29 December 2007

The first day of a 4 day weekend.....

I do love the holidays and the long weekends back to back. I wish every week was only 3 days long.

For the past 6-8 months I've been having some dietary issues. It really all began 2 years ago when my blood sugar went crazy during the Honolulu marathon and I didn't think I was going to finish it. I've had blood sugar issues for years but that was the worst episode ever. At that point I realized I needed to get this under control. Some reading revealed that wild swings in blood sugar levels can cause brain damage - yikes!!! So I began serious work on my diet.

I spent a lot of time reading and learning about blood sugar and then started trying to learn which things effected me. Not being one who can eliminate things completely, cold turkey, I took it slow. I would eliminate one item then slowly add it back in to see if that was what was bothering me. This went on for a while. I've pretty much got the blood sugar thing under control. I've even learned that by keeping it steady the majority of the time, I can have sugary things without throwing it out of whack.

But now, for the last 2-3 months, I've been noticing other problems. At certain times I get very bloated and uncomfortable. I've tried to figure out what it causing it, but my hit or miss method is not working. I've decided it's time for drastic action. I'm going to cut everything out of my diet except fruits, vegetables, and meat. If it didn't swim, fly, run, or grow in the ground, I'm not eating it. I'm doing that for 2 weeks then I will start slowly adding things back into my diet to try and figure out what is disagreeing with me. I'm not thrilled about doing this but when the bloating happens it is so incredibly painful that it's not worth eating whatever is causing it. So, it's time to find out. Also, I'll only be so restrictive for 2 weeks. Just long enough to clean out the system and start fresh so to speak.

One of the things I have to eliminate is caffeine. When I was seeing the nutritionist about my blood sugar, she told me to cut out caffeine. Caffeine can play hell with your blood sugar because of the "excitement" in your system it causes. I of course, knew better, and refused to give it up. But I did cut back to just about 1/2 a cup a day. Well, it's time to cut it out completely and see if that's one of my problems. Today is my first day without my morning coffee. I know I can do it, I've kicked drugs, cigarettes, drinking. I also know it won't be pretty. That's why I've chosen to start today and to do it first. I have 4 days to get over the crankiness, tiredness, jumpy feelings before I go back to work. I'm not starting the 'diet' until the 2nd but I want to get the caffeine out of the way first.

So if I get cranky and bitchy, you'll know why :)

28 December 2007

The year is winding down......




If you were around last year, you know I absolutely adore New Years. I love the idea of fresh starts, clean slates, new beginnings, whatever you want to call them, I love them. I have a terrible habit of obsessing over past failings so the chance to, symbolically, wipe the slate clean and start over is a powerful visualization for me. That's how I view New Years. The past is dead and gone and there is nothing but a bright future ahead. So I'm really looking forward to next Monday night. Towards that end, I'm getting ready. One of the getting ready items is reviewing the past. I had a lot of goals this year, not all of which I shared :). In looking back I met most of them, not all but most. That's great. I'm really very pleased with the way this year turned out. I did not lose the weight I wanted to but I did learn a lot about myself. I've done a lot of mental work and made some real progress, that is huge, huge I tell you!!! So overall a good year. I've learned a lot and I have a great idea of where I want to go in 2008. I can't wait. One thing I may have to do this year is get some Samsonite luggage. We will be doing some traveling so new luggage is definitely in order :)

27 December 2007

First steps

are to get this room clean. I'm going to start the New Year with a clean, orderly computer room. I have 4 days off and one of them will be spent right here - cleaning up. I may get some new furniture for the room. Maybe some modern furniture is in order. Glass and chrome all around. Then again, maybe not :).

26 December 2007

Now that that's over....

we can all relax. I'm probably one of the grinchiest people around, yet I still get swept up in all the Christmas hype. Every year I say not this year, and every year I end up participating against my will. But overall it was a nice Christmas.

I got Hubby an HDTV and what a chore that was. There was the initial finding and buying of the TV itself - that was fun. The cable company ran out of HD cable boxes and I couldn't pick one up until Sunday. I had hubby so completely convinced that there was no way he was getting another TV that he never suspected. It was fun to surprise him. I haven't pulled off a good surprise in years, he usually figures it out. So that was fun. Other than that it was a pretty quiet day and that I definitely like.

I did get up in the morning and run 5 miles. I hadn't run on Sunday due to having to go pick up the cable box (it was across the island and I had to go and come back before Hubby got home). So I headed out and headed the uphill way. This way is primarily uphill the whole way out and generally downhill on the return. I did the entire 5 miles without stopping at all (huge success). The hills hardly bothered me at all and I felt good both during and after. I did the 5 in 1:06, not too shabby if I may say so myself. So, as I was running up the last hill I made a decision. I am going to do the 10k on New Years Day. I checked some previous years results and I will be far from the last one in. I might even place in my age group since it seems not many in my age show up. So that's on again.

Well, that's it for now. I went back to work today and it really gave me a headache. I'm going to have dinner and head off to bed early.

24 December 2007

Just a quick note...

I've been doing a bunch of holiday stuff today and I'm getting ready to go out tonight. But I have Dr. Phil on and he just said, 'if you chose the behavior, you chose the consequence.' I like that. A Lot. I just wanted to note it and say hi.

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. When I get some time I'll tell you the story of hubby's Christmas gift, it's a hoot!!!

Conversation with Hubby

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