Tagged & Busy

I've been so busy this past week. It's been a good busy, though. I made the decision to not start a third blog about my diet and exercising, cuz that's just too many blogs! LOL Those topics are part of my best life, so they should go here.

This is a taste of what's been happening with me lately:

1. WORKOUT: I began my third week of walking Saturday night, and I am shocked to be able to say that I've walked every night for 16 days and I've walked the distance I was supposed to, to boot. I did have a few nights where I tried to talk myself out of it, but that was at first. The longer I have stuck to my guns, the more determined I become to keep on schedule with it.

Not that my schedule is not at all demanding to anyone but me, LOL. But I needed to start small, and so that makes it easier to do while I form my habit. The plan I have followed was to walk 1/8 mile every day the first week; 2/8 mile second week; 3/8 mile third week, and so on. Like I said, not at all demanding.

A lil background info here: the reason I'm using 1/8 miles is because that is the exact distance I can waslk before my right pelvic/back area begins hurting horridly. I have to let it subside on its own, and it takes an hour or longer. (One time, I ignored this limitation on a walk around the block and my muscles back there clenched up so bad and shook so bad that I literally could not move.) So, I have to break up my distance into eighths. I sure was glad to see that study in the news recently, reinforcing what I already knew about intermittent bouts of daily exercise-- that it's beneficial in its own right. I've linked a great summary of these findings, that explains how someone can "up" their fat-burning abilities by when they eat and exercise, and this could be especially helpful to low-carbers, because they eat a good amount of fats. Check it out, it's quite interesting. This is an earlier 2004 study that I've linked, but the recent findings only confirm this study and it's explained very well in this piece.

I did break my dollar diet and order a pedometer at Amazon. It came highly recommended on the About.com Walking site (link is to the left). I've broken down how many steps it takes to walk my 1/8 and had already begun counting steps on my walks, so I read up on Step-Count walking at about.com, and I believe this will be helpful for me in pushing myself to do more.

Since I sleep in the daytime, I walk at night. Because it's the nighttime (often 1, 2, or 3 in the morning even), I know how many feet each lot width is (80), and my saunter is 20 right steps from driveway to driveway on my street. So, I calculated how many 20's I need to do to reach 1/8 mile, and I do that to measure. I only go like 5 lots down from my house on the sidewalk, and I take Reggie with me. Or I just walk back and forth in front of our house on the sidewalk, although I feel dopey doing it in case there is a neighbor with insomnia watching me, LOL. Seriously, I don't care. If someone's watching, I'd love to tell them to enjoy it. LOL But seriously, we have two neighborhood cats who sleep in the street every night, this is how dead our traffic is at night. Lots of retired neighbors, and they go to bed by 10 p.m. Anyway, I vary the walking up, since I don't do it all at once. It's only been 2 weeks, but I can feel benefits already. I know from 2 other times in my life where I employed a walking regimen in losing weight, this will work. I just have to keep doing it.

2. THERAPY: I've gone to group and I've gone to all my one-on-ones, just like I've been supposed to. I tell ya, the things I've realized are too numerous to list here right now, much less discuss in detail. Maybe later, for another day. But, I can say that I have learned just how easy it was for me to slip into a passive life. How easy it was for my family to enable it, too. We've all learned and realized, and I am so grateful for and proud of Miguel and Missy.

The more time has passed, the more I've realized that it wasn't so much the shopping that was the problem, although I did purchase scrapping stuff way in excess of what I really needed. It's been all of the time online I spent, especially the message boards. I could not read just a couple of posts. I had to get on there and read them all. Then, had to post. Several times a day. Then, I'd get into the challenges and contests and this and that whatever others were doing, and soon, that was ALL I was doing. Being off them enabled me to "dry out" and look objectively. Again, I am not dissing that. I totally love doing it. It made me happy. I just could not control it, for my life. Ever hear of a saying "Your Mileage May Vary"? Totally appropriate here. Anyway, between the boards and all my emails I used to get and no longer do (clicking on all the links in emails and ezines from scrapping sites to see the galleries and articles and whatever else was to be clicked on), this was a LOTTA time I now have back. It has not been easy, but so far I've been good about not even going there...or there...or there.

Since it was not required that I go to these help groups and therapy (only suggested at maybe helping me to figure it all out), I can quit at any time, and I am considering stopping group. I get 8 therapy one-on-one visits through insurance, so I'll finish those. It's relaxing to discuss whatever I want to. I also get to report on my progress on all my goals. It's just a nice reinforcement.

3. DIET: On the Diet scene, that's been going good too. The thing I've been working on is making myself weigh every other day (as opposed to once or twice a week, like I used to do during the first phase of Atkins). Learning how many carbs I can eat and still lose weight requires me to know my weight fluctuations so I can know how I lose weight. So far, I see that I lose in Wooshes, with some days weighing 3 lbs more than I should, then losing, then gaining a bit back; and if I only weigh every week, what if I'm on a high day weightwise? That is disappointing and can affect motivation. I should really weigh every day, and I'll get there.

I found some cool low carb items at the grocery and have been enjoying delicious Mission carb balance tortillas, sugar-free peanut butter, applesauce, and cocktail sauce (for some delicious shrimp cocktails, yum). I'm trying to keep my carb count below 50, but also I am having a nice cheat meal every 3-4 days to see how I handle it long term over a week or two (if I still lose weight, and so far I have been). I'm still eating mostly protein and salads though. And I'm trying to add good carbs, or at least non-horrible ones. LOL

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TAGGED!
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I got an email from a friend letting me know that Jayne tagged me. This is personal trivia, so here goes:

Here are 8 Random Facts About Me:

1. In the hot months, I sleep in the daytime and stay up at night.

2. I think Posh and Becks are "Major!", and I love Posh's new reality show.

3. I watch way too much Turner Classic Movies. I even keep it on when I sleep with the sound turned down on low.

4. I usually towel dry my hair, let it air dry, and I don't brush it out until the next day.

5. Although I rarely drink wine, my favorite is a Texas Shiraz (red), slightly chilled.

6. Most of my makeup is made by Avon, as is most of my perfume. Love the stuff.

7. I color my hair with L'Oreal Preference. It's the only one that covers my hair and doesn't turn my hair reddish. Yup, I'm worth it, LOL.

8. Whenever I'm feeling "off", I drink some water. If that doesn't help, I drink a cup of green tea. If that doesn't help, I'm probably sick or the arthritis is flaring.

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