Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Training and End of Summer

Thank you for the feedback on yesterday's post! There are so many variables! To answer your question Anonymous, the total caloric burned number is generated by the Fitbit. It is the total for the entire day. It does have it broken down but for the display purposes I just take the daily total.

I finally went to the gym after work!! I am so glad that I went! I did a little cardio and some leg machines. I happened to inquire with one of the Personal Trainers about the calorie question and he said the best deficit would be 500-750 per day. He was a nice young man and very approachable. I told him I was looking to have someone set up a progressive program for me. Well, we looked and they are running a special for 3 sessions for $129. I did do this promotion last year but apparently I am eligible to sign up for it again so I did! I need to call today and schedule my 1st appt.

I don't know if you all remember but I signed up for my very 1st 5K and it is on September 18th.  I am going to walk this one.  I am hoping that a year from now I will be able to run it but at this weight, I think walking is better. Maybe I could throw in a little slogging. I have done nothing to prepare for this but Riley (the trainer) is a running guy so I am going to ask him what my best plan of action will be.


Tonight I am meeting with the Home Instead rep at my mom's house. It should take about an hour to do the assessment. I hope it goes well. I am pretty confident it will though. I will be going home after the appt. She has a doctor's appt. tomorrow and she wanted me to take her and I have a few hours on the books so I am going to go with her. Unfortunately, it is her PCP which I am not a fan of (either is she) but Dr. G is the gate keeper for her to go see specialists. I want her to go back to the Neurologist who can make a better assessment about what is going on with her and get her the treatment and meds she needs. Until next time...

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Calories and Cathartic

Had a good evening last night. Had a BLT for dinner and made it a wrap. It was tasty! After dinner, I did some crunches and used the medicine ball for some upper arm work. I did not have a chance to do measurements and hoping to do them tonight. Maybe I will even take some comparison pics - we will see.

My calorie goal has been 1400-1600 calories per day. According to the Fitbit, I should be eating more calories. For example, yesterday I consumed 1704 cals but it said I was 332 under. That seems kind of strange to me. I know it is based on my weight, age, activity level etc. but it just seems like a lot. Hard to imagine I am not eating enough. Any thoughts?


I am planning on going to the gym after work today. My gym bag is packed and ready to go. I plan on doing some cardio and then some leg machines since I worked on my arms and upper body last night.  My girlfriends are starting a Aqua Fitness class today that is offered through the city. I am going to sign up for it but start it next week. It is for 8 weeks every Tuesday and I can make up the ones we have missed already.  It will be fun to have a buddies to exercise with.

I wrote a scathing letter to my brother yesterday. He has decided to come to visit again this weekend but I learned about his visit from my mom.  I have held it in for years and years and I finally let it fly. He did not respond but I am not surprised. I called him on ALL his bullsh*t like forgetting mom's birthday, not taking care of things when he visits etc. It was not my intent to fight with him but I could not hold it in anymore. I feel worlds better now that I put it out there. Hopefully, it will bring some kind of resolution. Until next time...

Monday, August 29, 2011

Mawkish Monday and STS Finale

First off, I have to say that I hope those of you in the path of Irene are safe and sound. I have no idea how scary that must be. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Weight: I stayed the same. 248 - Total for Challenge: 2 lbs (how pitiful!)
Water Consumption: I actually did pretty good with water this week.
Activities: I did not try a new class. I did not get 10K per day

I just suck when it comes to challenges. I have high hopes and then I peter out a few weeks after it starts. I will be taking this into consideration when another challenge starts. They are meant to encourage each other not to set yourself for failure. Blerghh.... I am hoping to do some measurements tonight to see if I made any headway there. I am feeling different in my clothes so I think I may have lost some inches. We shall see...

Had a decent weekend. Eating was hit and miss though. I have a tendancy to try to only eat two meals on the weekends and it throws my blood sugar off. I need to be more diligent about smaller snacks in between so my blood sugar does not plummet. Saturday I spent time with my mom. I explained that we are going to meet with someone from Home Instead to learn more about their program. She seemed pretty receptive to it, thankfully.

Sunday, I went to Aptos (Santa Cruz) to see my Uncle Steve and his wife Debbie. Had a nice visit with them and they sent me home with a basket of goodies which included pluots, homemade relish and marinade. Also included was a lb. each of these
Debbie works at Whole Foods in their corporate office so they get all sorts of vendors coming in trying to get their products sold their and they reap the benefits. He gave me some of the Three Peckered Billy Goat last year and it knocked my socks off so I am anxious to try the Dead Man's Reach which is made by the same company. I will be sure to let you know how it is. Until next time...

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Exchanging Comments

A common question I get is how I follow up on comments on my blog. I generally will go to the commenter's blog if they have one and leave my response/comments there. But, there is another way of doing it that enables you to communicate which is by email.

If you use Blogger, Go to the Dashboard and click on Edit Profile next to your picture:

Then scroll down the page under Privacy and mark the box SHOW MY EMAIL box.



Put the email address you would like your followers to use. If you are concerned about privacy, you could created a non-identifying email address for this purpose. By default this is noreply-comment@blogger.com








Then scroll down to the Identity Section on go to the Email Address field. The email address you use should be input here. I use my regular email addy but again you can create one just for this purpose.



Then click on Save Profile. You are all set to communicate back and forth by email!


 


P.S. If you have any questions on this please let me know. I wish more people did this!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Torn

Had an emotional day yesterday but we made some headway as far as care for my mom. There is a company called Home Instead that provides services to seniors. I am going to see my mom tomorrow and have a discussion about it. I will try not to be emotional and just stick to the facts. My brother contacted the company too but I told him I thought it was redundant. I am literally about to blow a gasket with him too but I know that will not help the situation. He can't even remember to call my mom on Mother's day or her Birthday but he thinks he can come in and fix everything and then bail again. Sorry, dude, it just doesn't work that way. Bungie brother is what I have been referring to him as. He is more concerned about money and himself then he is about us and it is painfully obvious.

Sunday afternoon, I will be going to Santa Cruz (Aptos) to see my biological Uncle Steve and his wife Debbie. I will be going in the afternoon and we will BBQ and hang out. I have not seen him since last summer but we have stayed in touch through FB and by phone. I can't believe it has been a year since I discovered I had biological family that I never knew existed. I am still processing all the information even though it has been a little over a year. It changed how I view myself and enlightened me on why I behave certain ways. It challenges the nature vs. nurture theory for sure. I have a whole post brewing on that topic.

Hoping to get to the gym this weekend. I could go tomorrow afternoon or Sunday morning. At least if I did that I could say I completed at least ONE part of the STS challenge. We will see I guess... Until next time...

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Woes and Blows

I am surprised there was even a deficit yesterday. I ate way too much and my belly is making me pay today.  It started with going to Foster's Freeze at lunch. I had a fish sandwich but it was 600 some odd calories. Had a decent dinner but then had two Skinny Cow ice creams and then some banana bread. I have not eaten that many calories in a LONG time. Ughhhh...

One of the reasons I think I stuffed my pie hole is the situation with my mom. She is having a hard time adjusting to her new "normal" not being able to drive and having vision and memory problems.  I am checking into this organization called Home Instead which provides companionship and various duties like cooking and light housekeeping so she can stay at home. I know that she would prefer to stay at home as long as possible vs. going into a retirement community. When we had someone come in to assist her when she had heart surgery in 2007 it worked out really well so I am hopeful.

The other issue is my brother. He is not involved in the day-to-day things regarding my mom but he seems to think he can come in and fix everything and leave. Reality just does not work that way and so I am the one who handles the aftermath. I wish he was more involved but that just ain't happening so I will just deal accordingly. It is hard for me to watch my mom's deteriorating vision and memory. I have been through some major stuff with her and she made it through okay (breast cancer and heart surgery etc.) so we can handle this. It is a part of life and I know millions of people deal with worse every day but this is my situation and it is upsetting me right now. Until next time...

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Putting it Away

Yesterday I showed you the new handbag that I got for my 70 lb. goal which I have NOT achieved yet. Well, some of you said that I should wait until I achieve the goal before I use it. I already switched over but in honor of your requests, I am going to switch back to the old one tonight and wait until I actually DO achieve the goal to start using. Fair enough?

Last night I was tired and did not feel like cooking so my friend and I walked over to a Pho restaurant that is close to my apt. They have just about every dish you could imagine on their menu. The food is tasty and the prices are very reasonable so it is a win-win. They also have smoothies that have the pearls in the bottom. Have you ever tried one of those? I have seen them for years but never brave enough to try it so I did the last time I was there. The pearls are made from gelatin. Did you know that gelatin is good for you? Here are some of the health benefits:
  • Gelatin appears to be beneficial to athletes for muscle growth and metabolism.
  • Gelatin promotes a feeling of fullness.
  • Gelatin helps maintain regularity
  • Gelatin's high collagen protein content helps keep your skin smooth and firm. Many creams contain collagen to moisturize the skin but it is more effective when taken through food.
  • Gelatin strengthens the hair, keeping it looking shiny and healthy.
  • Gelatin is also excellent for the nails because it makes them stronger, so they do not break easily.
  • Gelatin is excellent for your bones because of its high concentration of glycoprotein and proline amino acids. If you have a deficiency in both amino acids, you can have joint pain. When it is taken orally, it travels directly to your blood and from there; it goes to its destination, the connective tissue. By adding at least 10 grams of gelatin to your regular diet, your joints will quickly regenerate in case you overexert yourself.
I had heard that it was good for you but I did not realize that it had so many benefits. I am not a huge fan of jello but with all those benefits, I might have to learn to like it - lol! Until next time...

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Treats and Eats

I had a great day yesterday. After work, I decided to ride my bike to do some errands. Nikki went with me and we went to Radio Shack and Office Max. I went in to buy a Universal remote control as the one in the front room randomly stopped working. Well... I ended up buying a 32" LCD Flat Screen TV.


I had been researching them and they had one for a really good price so I bit the bullet and bought it. We continued our shopping and then went home and I got my car so we could pick it up. I enlisted Nikki's brother Joe to help me hook it up and he did it. For his efforts, I took him and Nikki to McD's to get something and he said that I was the coolest "older person" he has ever met. He is 14 and meant it in the kindest way but I teased him saying I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. :-)

On Sunday night, I made some fabulous Banana bread with Flaxseed. They came out very moist and they were quite filling. Making them was a little labor intensive because you have to soak the oats first but other then that they were easy. They have 5 grams of protein 150 cals per serving. You can find the recipe here.

I treated myself to my 70 lb. goal treat over the weekend. I am close and since we were at Santana Row and they have a Vera Bradley store, I decided to get one a few pounds in advance. It is called a Hipster and the pattern is called Baroque.
It is a little smaller then what I am used to but I am trying to pare down on everything that I carry with me so this will help. Until next time...

Monday, August 22, 2011

Slimmer this Summer Week 11

Hello ladies and gents! How was your weekend? Mine was good...

So we are coming up on the last week of the Slimmer This Summer Challenge. I have not made much headway with my weight but I do plan on doing measurements and pictures to compare from the beginning of the summer. I feel like there have been changes in my body so we shall see.

Weight: I stayed the same. 248 - Looks like I am stuck here...
Water Consumption: I actually did pretty good with water this week.
Activities: I did not try a new class. I did not get 10K per day

Well leave it to me to wait until the last freaking minute to complete something. I will be going to a new class this week come hell or high water. I will look at the schedule today and pick something out. I am leaning towards an Aqua fitness class but I will see what is available.

I mentioned last week that my bro and his family were here visiting. I saw them on Saturday and Sunday for brunch/lunch.  They brought their dogs with them and they were very fun and entertaining.

This is Roxie (she is a lover)

Spike Sunning after a swim
Goodness gracious it was hard to get a good pic of them. I imagine it is like getting kids to sit still and smile. We went shopping on Sunday and I got myself a treat but I will tell you more about it tomorrow. Until next time...

Sunday, August 21, 2011

P!nk - Raise Your Glass



I have been watching Glee Project and they sang this song on the Finale. It is a great workout song to boot!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Fish and Friday!

Happy Friday! Woot Woot! Always glad to see Friday as a working gal. It has been a pretty good week though so I am not thoroughly exhausted. I went to Planet Beach last night as planned. I love their services but their scheduling stinks. I was scheduled for 4 different services but they did not have me on the schedule last night for the one I wanted (red light therapy) so I had to make an extra appt. just to get that one in.  THEN, I forgot my Fitbit there. Ughh! I was showing someone how it works and did not put it back on afterwards so I will go and pick it up today. I peeked at the scale and it seems to be moving so that is a good thing.

When I got home I had this for dinner. It is Salmon with Tomato Peach Salsa.  It was on the cover of Cooking Light's July issue. It was super tasty and super easy to make. Definitely will be having it again. I just love my salmon :-)
As for the weekend, I don't have any specific plans. My brother and his family AND DOGS are here so I will be getting together with them at some point. We will be meeting up with our extended family as well. I don't plan on seeing them tonight though. This may sound catty but I look at it as an opportunity for me to take a break. Hopefully the pool is heated this time and I get a chance to take a dip. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  Until next time...


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Late Night

I had a good time at the Amos Lee concert. We were a little late leaving so I did not get a chance to eat dinner. I did pack snacks though so I did eat a little bit but I also had a few beers. I tried one called Drifter Pale Ale and it was pretty darn tasty. The venue was spectacular! We were in the 3rd row of the balcony. This is what it looks like

I was worried about being in Downtown Oakland but it turned out just fine. We did lots of walking though because Dave forgot the tickets in the car so we had to walk back and get them. I did 10K steps which should be my daily normal but I average about 6,500 per day. We stayed until about 11:00 p.m. and took off. I really did not want to leave but it is an hour away from home so I did not get home until after midnight and went to bed around 12:30 p.m. I feel like a fuddy duddy but being that it was a work night I guess it not so bad... I do love my sleep though...

I took a few pictures around my apartment complex to try out the new camera. It is pretty easy to use and I like that the display is 2.5 inches so you can see your image clearly. I will be practising more this weekend too with my brother and his family AND DOGS being here.


Tonight is my third visit to Planet Beach - I still have one more visit since they comped me one for having to make multiple calls to schedule an appt. I will most likely do it in late September. Plan on having Fish for dinner with pasta and veggies. I should be home by 7:00 p.m. or so. I am going to make it an early evening but hopefully I can get a little activity in. Until next time...

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Pictures, Books and Music

Had a good day yesterday all around. I did not get in any extra activity but I did stay within my calorie budget so I am feeling good on that front. I really appreciate your feedback yesterday. I thought this little quote summarized it well...
As I said I would do, I took a picture of my new do post coloring. I always seem to miss the little baby hairs on my sideburns. Of course, that is the first part that goes gray too. Oh well... I will just pretend they are highlights!
I have been using this phone App on my iPhone called Instagram. I noticed pictures on a few other blogs with different effects and they used Instagram to create them. This particular effect is called Early Bird. I actually don't hate pictures of myself these days. It is a nice feeling...

Speaking of pictures... I am getting this delivered today. I get daily emails from Amazon and this little beauty retails for $110 but I got it for $40 on a one day offer. Just in time for me to go to my concert tonight :-)
Tonight I am going to go see Amos Lee at the Fox Theater in Oakland. I am excited to see him as I have been a fan since I first heard his music. I am a little nervous about the area around the theater but I am sure it will be heavily patrolled for event. I am going to take a short lunch and leave at 4:30 so we can get a head start.
For those of you who have a Kindle, I found this great website that has Free Books available.  It is called
E-Reader News Today They are rated just like they are on Amazon and really are FREE. I have quite a list of books to read.

Until next time...


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

No Excuses

I didn't have much of an appetite yesterday so calories came in kinda low.  I have been taking a supplement to increase the strength of my nails and hair and it also has the side benefit of suppressing my appetite. I walk a tightrope though if I don't eat and my blood sugar takes a nose dive. I really need to be more diligent about testing. I can poke my belly every morning to do my insulin but I just can't seem to get in a routine with the meter testing. I do have a travel meter and home meter so I really have no excuse.

I don't have ANY excuses for not exercising either. I am my own freaking road block. I could sit here and analyze way I am making excuses but it isn't going to get me anywhere. I just need to get off my arse and make it happen. I can talk about it until I am blue in the face but it still won't get me out there. What am I waiting for? A gold sealed invitation??? I am stalled with my WL because I am not being active and that is all there is to it.

To end on a more positive note, yesterday, the President of our company came to see her/our new building. I thought one of the Directors or the Construction supervisor would show her around but I was the one who got to do it. It was a great experience seeing how proud she was of the building and to realize that 48 years ago she started in one classroom and now has 22 schools and a brand new, state of the art, new building for her California region schools. She was beaming and it was a great experience! She just turned 80 last Friday and still very active in the day to day business of running the organization and I believe to be the key to her longevity. Until next time...

Monday, August 15, 2011

Slimmer this Summer Week 10

Hello! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good.

Weight: I stayed the same. 248 - Challenge to stay the same NOT...
Water Consumption: I actually did pretty good with water this week.
Activities: I did not try a new class. I did not get 10K per day

I have failed with this challenge but I am thankful I have maintained through the turmoil also known as my life lately. All I can do is push forward and try harder.  I did get in some walking over the weekend but that was not enough.

I did something this weekend that I have not done in 20+ years. It was really liberating! I wore shorts! I bought a pair at Wal-Mart on Friday and decided to wear them Saturday. I wanted to exchange a top that was too big so I went back and wore the shorts there. All I could think of is "Great, now I am going to be on the People of Walmart website." Well, luckily I did not see any flashes going off so I think I made it out unscathed. No one looked at me funny either. The only person who commented later in the evening was a neighbor of my friend. Lu just told her that it was burns - easier to explain since her English is not very good (She speaks Korean) What is really is, is Necrobiosis Lipoidica Diabeticorum or NLD. I have hidden my legs ALL this time and have spent some days really hot wearing capris or pants but I finally said the heck with it and let my freak flag fly. Actually, I think that the Red Light therapy that I have been doing at Planet Beach has been helping but it is a lot lighter then it used to be so I felt less self-conscious about it. I even bought a 2nd pair so we will see where I wear them next LOL! 

Until next time...

Friday, August 12, 2011

Winner and Randomness

Eating was rather spotty again. Even though I am staying within my calorie goals, I am not making the best food choices. I have been kinda winging it lately... not a good thing to do but it is what it is.

The winner of the Easy Lunchboxes is Mir a.k.a. Princess Dieter from Two Years to Happy Weight After. I have been in touch with her to let her know she won. Congrats Mir!

I wanted to share this random hint. I recently saw a commercial advertising a Magic Eraser for cleaning the bathroom. Well, I had recently purchased some "generic" Erasers from Dollar Tree and figured they couldn't be all that different. Where I live, the water is really hard and it leaves major deposits on the glass shower doors. Well, I used it on the inside of the glass and it came out cleaner then ANY other product I have tried including like CLR and other heavy duty stuff. Who woulda thunk it eh? Try it and let me know what you think.

Weekend plans are to relax and regroup, oh and color my hair! I need to go see my mom at some point. We talked about going to see The Help and I need to help her straighten up some in her office. I am so glad my brother is coming next week. He can take the load off for me. In fact, I have a concert to go to the night he arrives and then the next night I have my 3rd spa visit at Planet Beach so I won't see them until next Friday.

I hope you all have a great weekend! Until next time...


Thursday, August 11, 2011

Fun and Firsts

Did okay with food yesterday except I waited too long in between lunch and dinner and was famished by the time I got home from my getting my hair cut. I did not go overboard on calories but it was definitely not good for my blood sugar.  I will take a picture of my new do BUT I want to color it first, which I can hopefully do tonight. Oh the joys of aging... 


I saw this sweet kitty as I was walking back to my car last night and spent some time with her. She looks like she has been declawed but was outside. She was a bit scruffy so I assume she is getting fed but not going inside anywhere. I can't really have pets where I live but she was sooooo sweet that I did contemplate taking her home for a split second.  I may have to go back and see if she is there.

I have an iPhone 4 and just recently downloaded the app for the Starbuck's card. You can load your Starbuck's card onto your Smart phone and when you are ready to pay you just press "Touch to Pay" and it deducts the amount right off your card instantly and then updates your balance.


Today was the 1st time I used it and all I can say is WOW! It is very fast and very easy to use. I can see other companies implementing the same kind of process. At least it is one less card in my wallet right?

The elevator in our building is still being worked on and has not been approved yet BUT they let me and one of my coworkers, Randy, ride in it today. We were the first employees to be able to ride in it. It just made my morning being able to do that. I was the 1st person to use the ladies room in this building too.  I know it sounds silly and yes I am easily amused. Until next time...