27 August 2011

Getting mind and body together


Okay, I'm back for my regular ranting. I decided that I really needed to post about my original topic because it pertains so much to my well-being.

I am preparing to get serious about weight loss starting on Monday. Yes, I know all about don't wait, do it now, blah, blah, blah. The fact of the matter is that I have to plan what I'm going to do for workouts, when I'm going to do them, what I'm going to eat, go shopping, etc. Just starting doesn't work for me unless all the pieces are in place.

Which has got me thinking about how to succeed. Should I just start working out on my own - which has always worked for me in the past? Or should I consider alternatives since I'm not in the best shape and I have some issues going on? Decisions, decisions. My sister has had success with physical therapy nj and that has really got me to thinking about these things. She is a hair dresser and has some major back issues but has definitely gotten better my working with professionals. Maybe I should consider that also.

We are moving into Fall, or what passes for that here in Hawaii, and there are a lot of programs starting up. There are marathon training, boot camps, triathlon training, etc. A couple of them are run by physical therapists and are really good. We used to have a physical therapist as a teacher and it was awesome having him around. Anyway, those are some of the decisions I'm making this weekend. The fact is I need to hit the ground running on Monday which means having a solid plan in place and knowing exactly what I'm doing.

BTW: I love that pose in the picture.  Spending so much time sitting at a desk or in front of the computer, doing that feels so good on my back....

What Makes You Eat More Food



What Makes You Eat More Food

I've taken to putting pictures with all my posts lately and while looking around for this picture stumbled across the above linked article on Time magazine. So I'm scrapping the post I was planning and doing a post on this instead.

They list 7 things that make you eat more and I found them fascinating and thought I would talk about them a little.

Time of day - Every morning before school a bunch of us teachers gather in the faculty room. We eat breakfast and socialize. It's a nice relaxing way to start the day. Yesterday I go down there and didn't have anything to eat. Everyone wanted to know where my breakfast was and when I responded that I wasn't hungry they all started in; you have to eat, you'll be sorry later, you can't eat during class. I found this quite interesting. So not only does the clock tell us when we should eat, but apparently our co-workers do too. Then, the worst part of this, after everyone else left I succumbed to the pressure and had an omelet and tater tots that I really didn't want. When the only time I had to eat lunch rolled around I was not hungry at all but ate anyway. I'm not sure how to combat this, especially since I am on such a rigid schedule and I have to eat when I have time.

Sight - Just seeing something you like can start the juices flowing and make you hungry. This happens to me with sweets. Regular food - sometimes, but sweets all the time. I hate this. I try to convince myself that I don't like things but it rarely works.

Variety - This one talks about how even after a huge meal we will manage to eat dessert because our sweet tooth hasn't been satisfied. That is so true. But I find when I eat lots of whole food and avoid sweets I stop craving them, so apparently there is a way around this one.

Smell - This only works on me if I'm already hungry. If I'm not hungry and smell something good, I will think ummm, smells good, but rarely will smell alone make me eat if I'm not hungry.

Alcohol - this is the truth and a large part of the reason I stopped drinking so much. When I drink, I eat, and I crave sweets. Nuff said.

Temperature - This one was new to me. Apparently when we are cold we eat more. That is why restaurants keep the temps down. I bet that's the same reason grocery stores are freezing cold.

Refined Carbs - Yeah, this one I knew from sad experience. The more refined carbs I eat the more I want. It's not pretty and I try, try, try to stay away from them as much as possible.

This was very interesting and basically no matter how many fat burners or diet pills or whatever you take, you really have to be aware of these things and not fall into their traps.

Boy, was I mad today


Around noon today I got an email from our vice principle asking some completely inane questions that just ticked me off. I ended up getting pretty angry about the whole thing and being pissed off most of the day. The questions he was asking were just bizarre. Why did someone's grade go up? Well, they turned in work..... Duh!!! We keep electronic gradebooks and one of the categories, that administration came up with, is CW or classwork. The way the gradebook is set up you enter the name of the activity and then the category. So it will say something like, Element crossword puzzle, CW. Pretty self explanatory. At least I thought it was. One of the questions in his email was what these CW activities were. Ummm....pretty much what the name of the activity says...in this case it was Chapter 3 essay and Chemical scavenger hunt...It was such a ridiculous question because the information was there and all filled out. Ugh!!! I replied with a pretty blunt email and for all my responses I've been thinking Duh!!! Apparently he didn't see it that way though because I saw him at the end of the day and all was good. {{sigh}}

The reason I'm going into so much detail about this is because I think part of the problem is the lack of working out. I can generally handle my emotions pretty well but I think working out is the key. Well, it starts tomorrow...Now I have to get some sleep...

25 August 2011

Must Plan Ahead


Okay, here's a couple of things that, in my mind at least, are contradictions. First, I've heard over and over and over again, don't wait until tomorrow (or Monday, or Saturday or your day of choice here) start today. Start small. Start making good choices. Start now. That's a great idea. I think it's awesome to avoid procrastination and just do it.

On the other hand is one of my favorite quotes, a failure to plan is a plan to fail. And I think that's a little bit of what's happening with me. I know what I want to do, but there is so much going on in my life that I'm not planning and as a result - failing. So while I want to start now, this second, I need to take a few moments and sit down and plan.

Which leads me to my starting over, again. I'm okay with starting over a 1,000 times because at least I'm working at it. I wanted to quit smoking for years and I must have quit 100 times. Finally, it took. I don't know exactly what made it happen but it did. So, I'm going to keep trying. I'm going to keep starting over until I don't have to start over because I'm well on my journey. I'm going to keep at it until I get it right.

What that means now is that I'm going to spend some time planning. The first thing I need to do is catch up on some sleep. I have been running seriously sleep deprived for the past couple of weeks when there is really no good reason for it. So starting tonight I'm going to bed at a decent hour and getting some good sleep. Next, I really need to examine my food. I have to keep my intake down but still get enough, it's a delicate balance. I find that if I go eating too little for too long I get super tired, headaches, and generally feel crappy. So I need to come up with lots of healthy, whole foods, that will give me the energy to get through my day.

Finally, I need a workout routine. I have reached the point where I have the desire, a strong desire, to workout but am still not doing it. So that needs to change. I'm going to start out by doing cardio and weights until I lose some of the weight. Once I drop a few pounds I want to start running again. Right now my knee is giving me serious problems and I know it's because of my weight.

So the plan for this weekend:
  • Get enough sleep
  • Work out some good food to eat that keeps me full and provides good calories
  • Develop a workout routine that fits with my life and fitness level right now.
  • Go shopping and stock up

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...