Online Helpers for Your Fitness/Weight Loss Journey

When I'm handing out credit in my own weight loss successes, I always include the power of the internet in the list of contributors. Having these "go-to" places to find answers (or questions) when I needed them, not to mention support and inspiration, was (IS) a huge factor in my progress. HUGE! 

With the coming of the new year, I'm suspecting we'll have some new-to-the-community folks dropping by, and I thought now might be a good time to share some of my favorite resources. These first two resources are probably the "huge-est" contributors:

Sparkpeople  has been used by 6 million people in 150 countries. Personalized eating plans, calorie and exercise tracking, health and fitness information, recipes, exercise demonstrations and videos, interactive forums for virtually every interest group. You can do as much or as little of it as you want. No requirements, no pressure. Best of all, no $$$. It's all free.

The Healthy You Challenge  gave me access to some of the most motivated and motivational health and fitness bloggers out there. Provided by the gracious Diana, a.k.a. ScaleJunkie, the HYC is an index of bloggers all pursuing the same goals--better health and fitness. As the commercial says, PRICELESS. I honestly can't imagine where I'd be right now without this network.

A few other "go-to" sites for me:

Cooking (as viewed by the non-cook):
AllRecipes's Healthy Cooking section - lots of fresh ingredients and nutritionally rich recipes here.

Green Lite Bites - Healthy recipes and tips from Roni, of Roni's Weigh . Her young son helps with many recipes, so be prepared for rampant use of sprinkles. :)

HungryGirl - You've probably seen the cookbooks at your bookstore. If you're transitioning from a junkfood-filled existence to healthier eating, you might find some of these recipes useful. Long-term, they're probably not the healthiest way to eat (lots of processed foods like Splenda), but face it: sometimes a girl/guy just wants something a little bit decadent.

IAteAPie - "Diet" food reviews.

Exercise:
Virtual Fitness Trainer - information and exercise instructions.

Oxygen Magazine's Training Tips - For me, it's a little too much focus on how we should look rather than feel, but that's probably just me being cranky. The exercises are generally good.

Others:
The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin's recounting of her path to happiness may help you find your own way. She's just released a book of the same title, available from Amazon or other book retailers.

lifehacker - Thouands of tips for making life more manageable. 

zenhabits - Too commercial for me these days, but the archives are full of excellent articles on living a simpler life, many by guest bloggers from across the spectrum.

I didn't include personal pages because I have (at last count) over 100 of those in my reader. If you're new to the community, you can start with the HYC, as mentioned above, or check out my side bar for my (currently not updated) list of favorite bloggers, or click on the links of other folks responding to this post. When you find something you want to comment on, don't be shy--jump right in! I haven't met a blogger yet who didn't welcome new commenters! (Heck, some of us stand up and do a cheer when someone new shows up! Or maybe that's just me?)

Those are just a few of my "go to" online resources.  What are your favorites? Any tips for those who might be new to this fitness community of bloggers?

HYC Week 50

I think we can cross off "house painter" from the list of potential future careers. I just do NOT seem to have the knack for it. Or is it that I don't have the knack for it...YET? This article has me wondering if I just haven't given it enough time.

No weigh-in for this week. I'm forgoing gym time for painting time, trying to get my master bedroom finished once and for all. Well, except for carpet, which will be the final step in the home re-do. Since the gym is where the scale is, I'll have to skip the "official" check for the week. It was fine last Friday. Let's hope that continues.

Lest you think I'm skipping exercise, I can assure you that painting a room provides ample opportunity for giving the muscles a good workout. Paint can curls, step ladder step-ups (lost count around the 22,000 mark), squats, lunges, shoulder presses--oh yes, my muscles are getting plenty of business these days. None of it's cardio--well, except when I lose my impatient self loses her temper and starts ranting about something that's not working well. That gives the heart a good boost. :)

I hope to wrap up this project by Wednesday or Thursday night and get back to the gym by Friday, at the latest. I'll definitely be doing workouts on the weekend, because I have a Christmas party to go to on Sunday and there will be f-u-d-g-e there. The last time I had fudge was last Christmas, so I'm already salivating. (How many days 'til Sunday?)

Hope you're all having a great week!

HYC Week 49

Greetings from soggy Memphis! It's pouring here just now, perfect day to curl up with a good book.

But--poor me--I can't. I have the day off and a tough schedule ahead of me:
11:00 massage (therapeutic, not like I'm going to enjoy it or anything)
1:30 manicure (emergency, major chippage on the polish)
3:30 hair stylist (regular schedule)

Somewhere in there I have to fit in lunch and, perhaps, a snack. A few months ago, I won a stack of free cookie gift certificates, and I've used only one. Today might be a good day to indulge in another one. These are big-as-your-head cookies, so I'll have to have a good think before I indulge. Considering I've already been to the gym this morning, it's probably a done deal. :)

Speaking of the gym...I don't much like it. The biggest problem is that it's boring. I need to be entertained while I work out. I miss my guys. {pause for uncontrolled sobbing}

I did make use of the gym's scale this morning, and I'm happy to report that I'm still in a happy place, weight-wise.

I worry.

Hope you're having a great week so far, but I guess I'll see in a few minutes when I check out your blogs.

(Edited to add: Please pardon my dust as I do some reconstruction work around here. I apologize for any unnecessary mucking up of your readers.)

HYC Week 48

As I mentioned in my weekend wrap-up, I'm giving myself a grade of 'B' for the holiday week. I would've had an 'A', but I didn't make it to the gym as much as I had planned. I had the time; it just didn't happen. Fortunately, overeating didn't happen either, so it was a wash. The new scale I weigh on now (gym) is a little higher than my previous scale (training studio), but it stayed consistent from last week and my clothes still fit, so I'm claiming success. :)

Thanks to all of you who chimed in with winter hair care tips. My hair appreciates it a lot!

I started physical therapy on my shoulder last night. We did some sort of ultrasound thing on my neck/shoulder area, and the pain was non-existent for a few hours after the treatment. I'm optimistic that it will help in the long term.

That's it for today. I'm off to read up on YOUR progress while I watch The Biggest Loser weigh-in.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

HYC Week 47

Greetings from Cammyland!

This is my first week flying solo on exercise. Sadly, I had my final training session with Fitness Together last Friday. I'll miss seeing those guys regularly, but I hope to keep in touch with them. When folks help you change your life, you like to have them around. :)

Last night I went to the regular old boring gym and did an elliptical 5k. I'm pleased to report that I completed it in 29:01 minutes at level 8! Previously I had been doing level 5, but Trainer Daniel went all Jillian on me the other week and ran up the level to 15 causing me to nearly die within 2 minutes. I don't like to be defeated by these machines, so I'm ramping up my elliptical program. Now that I've done the level 8 at 30 minutes, I'll move up to level 10 and see how long it takes me to get the time for a 5k under 30 minutes. It may take all winter! :)

Today, I had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. It does not appear that he will get to use his surgery knowledge on me, thank goodness. He thinks the problem is arthritis in my neck and some compression between two discs.(Amazing how a problem in one area [neck] can cause pain in other areas [shoulder/back/arms.]} His remedy, in addition to some anti-inflammatory and steroidal-type medications, is a few weeks of physical therapy. If insurance covers it, I'll give it a whirl.

With the doctor's appointment and the subsequent pharmacy run, I missed my self-imposed gym window, so I'm exercising at home tonight. My plan is to watch The Biggest Loser and do some sort of exercise at every commercial break, with a focus on core and cardio. I should be able to do jumping jacks or hops through a commercial break, right? Riiiight...

Good Lord, could I get anymore rambly? I'm off to check on how well you guys are doing while watching TBL. But not during the 1,273 commercial breaks. I'll be UP and MOVING then!

HYC Check-In Week 46

Still in the yellow zone, but barely. I lost another 0.4 pounds, which puts me three pounds under goal. At this point, I have to laugh. I never thought I'd have this sort of "problem" with maintenance. :) I feel a cheeseburger coming on. (no fries, though.)

Trainer Daniel let me know tonight that my sessions are up at the end of this week. I'll be on my own starting next week. {tremble} I feel ill.

Just kidding. I may slip and slide, but I think I'm on the right track for the long term. I'll miss working out with the guys, mainly because I like them. Even when they try to make me do crazy things like pull-ups.

In my efforts toward combining fitness AND frugality, I'm trying something new this week. I've been keeping some sort of 100-calorie chocolate snack on hand for those days when only chocolate will do. The thing is, those 100-calorie snacks are kind of pricey. Delicious, but pricey. A six-serving box is usually $2.50-$3.00. Affordable, yes. Frugal, no.

So this week, I'm taking a DARING risk. I purchased an ENTIRE bag of Hershey's Dark Chocolate with Almonds Nuggets, and they're in MY HOUSE right this very minute!

A whole bag of chocolate, just sitting there!

The Plan is to have it on hand for those days, and then to have only two pieces. According to the package, a serving size is four pieces (220 calories), but I'm going to try just having two pieces, thus making it an approximation of the 100-calorie snack. I should get 18 servings from the bag, which was on sale for $2.29 at Target. Much more frugal, but time will tell if it's also more dangerous. I've already decided that one "overage" is tolerable, but if I find myself indulging too frequently, I'll cart the bag into the office and give the little chocolate-y jewels to my co-workers.

No one has ever fretted about a bag of candy as much as I have about this one. It feels like some sort of test. So far I haven't even opened the bag, so I'm hopeful.

That's it for me this week. Still stressing, still smiling. Hope you're having a great week!

HYC Week 45

Well, I wasn't expecting this. In my new and evolving traffic light measurement system, I'm in the yellow zone (more than 2 lbs away from goal), but I'm on the minus side of the target. I lost two pounds over the past week. (Where was a nice 2-lb. loss when I was trying to lose weight, I ask you.)

It's not just the scale that has me a little concerned. Quite a few people have told me to 'stop dieting' over the past week or so. A couple even said that I could stand to put on some weight. These are friends-and-family types who have been amazingly supportive, so they have my ear.

For the next few days, I'm not going to do anything differently. This could be another weird scale bump. Lord knows, I've seen my share of those over the past few months.

I know there's a problem in the number of calories I'm taking in. I'm used to eating the way I have for 16 months, and it's tough to change. Basically, I need to add around 500 calories a day. Now, I would happily throw some Little Debbie's and/or some Cheetos in the mix, but that's not exactly a healthy lifestyle, is it? I think I'll use almonds and/or peanut butter instead. Maybe some more of the chocolate protein powder stuff. (MMM, maybe I can figure out how to use all three in some sort of hershey's with almonds meets Reese's cup kind of way. :))

I'll figure it out, I suppose. It's all a learning process.

In other news, BlogHer has announced their 2009 venue: Chicago! I'm planning to be there, and I hope bunches of you will join in the fun. I last attended BlogHer in 2007 and had a really good time. So start saving those pennies, nickels, and dimes!

Hope you all had a stellar week!

HYC Check-In Week 44

Good morning and Happy Election Day to those in the US! I'm heading out to vote in just a few minutes.

My official weekly weigh-in was good. I'm right where I was two weeks ago, which is 0.4 pounds below my target weight. I've declared that the 'green zone'. Two pounds below or above the target is green (go, go, go), within four pounds of target is yellow (meaning, I might want to proceed with caution), and five pounds from target is The Red Zone. I don't want to go there. :)

Today I'm going to make an appointment with an orthopedic type person and check out this shoulder/back pain. It's probably just a strain, but I want to rule out anything more serious. One thing that might help is skipping my Wednesday night strength workout. I've got to work late, and so I may just do squats/lunges/core stuff at home.

Last night I worked out with Trainer Daniel, the owner of the studio, and it was a nice change of pace. Each trainer has his/her own style, and mixing it up now and then is kind of fun. I'm really going to miss training with these guys when my sessions run out.

I'm out of time for today. Hope you all had a great week and are looking forward to a strong and successful week ahead!

HYC Week 43

Whew! Made it through the week still at goal. A little under actually, since I dropped a pound or so last week. I suppose I'll figure out how to eat/exercise without losing weight sometime soon. Huh. I suppose the approaching holiday season will help with that. LOL

I'm pleased to report that my handbag is still orderly (an ENTIRE day), although there was much reshuffling of pockets yesterday. Then this morning I decided I just HAD to carry my new red leather-ish purse, so everything had to be moved. Took about 15 seconds since it was all so organized.

The shoulder still hurts, although it didn't hurt during my workout last night. We did use slightly lighter weights, which helped. I also did the bench jumps again, and I have to say I *love* them. I feel like a kid! And then we do pull-ups, and I feel ancient.

As a heads up, Woot's deal today (Tuesday) is a pair of Sandisk MP3 players for $14.99. They each hold about 240 songs, so if you're looking for a cheapie player... Might be good stocking stuffers, too.

And that's about it for me. I'm spending most of my spare time trying to early vote. The polls are jammed, which pleases me except that I don't really want to stand in line.

Hope you all had a great week! I'm looking forward to catching up with you soon!

Are You Ready for It? (HYC Wk 42)

GOAL!!

100 pounds gone!!

Can you believe it??!! I don't think I can just yet. :)

Given all the family drama of the past few weeks, along with the other issues, I'm not quite feeling celebratory. There will be time for that soon enough. But I do feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. And oddly enough, determination. If I can survive the stress of the past few weeks without falling to pieces fitness-wise, then I can damn well keep this weight off.

Another odd thing is that many of the people I've told about it have said some variation of, "Just be sure you don't put it all back on." I want to respond, "Well, shoot. There goes that plan." Of course, they also have a tale of someone's cousin's sister-in-law's grandmother's best friend who lost a gazillion pounds and gained it all back. Thanks, that's what I need to hear right now. LOL

You know what? I am feeling celebratory. Downright giddy, now that I think about it. So giddy I can't even capture rational thoughts. I'll compose myself as much as possible and be back with something more sensible tomorrow. Meanwhile, here's the little bit of the journey I've been able to capture through pictures. I'm the teensiest bit proud. Please forgive me. :)

I'm not ending this post without offering a HUGE Thank YOU for your unending support and encouragement. Fit bloggers ROCK!

And now, I'm off to recover from tonight's workout (pull-ups=ouch!) and to savor. :)

HYC Challenge Week 40

Greetings from Stress City. I'm pretty sure I'm going to explode any day now.

Okay, maybe not. But these are stressy times, between family and job and house and...stuff. I don't know what's going on, but I suspect it's called Life. Nothing to do but tuck my shoulder down and plow through, but somedays the energy flags, you know? Still, I know better days are coming. They always do.

I apologize for being a hit-and-miss blog buddy these days. I'm hopeful Life will calm down soon. I miss connecting with you guys daily. To make matters worse, for some reason, my workplace has decided that Blogger websites are evil and must be stopped with a big red security violation.
Big bummer.

Okay, enough of that! On to the check in: Eeewww. Gained a pound. Or almost a pound. (Math+me=trouble) I actually expected a loss this week, considering that my waistband felt extra loose yesterday morning, but the scale let me down. Stupid scale.

For those keeping score, I didn't get my pancakes on Sunday. I had to work, so I rode my bike to the office and back, thus failing to meet the 10-mile minimum. It is only six miles round trip to my office, so pancakes must wait until some other weekend.

And finally, Thinking Thin asked about natural-ingredient moisturizers. Offhand, I know of two companies with good products. Alba Botanica and Lush Products. Maybe others will chime in with more?

That's it for me today. I've got to finish some laundry and then try to figure out why there's a big wet spot in the middle of my master bathroom floor. I sincerely hope you all are having a wonderful, stress-free week!

HYC Check-in Week 38

Kind of an unofficial check-in since I'm off my normal training schedule, but I wanted to see the immediate Austin damage.

Hell-o, there was none. I actually show a 2-pound loss! I wasn't going to worry about it had there been a gain, because my pants were a little loose this a.m. plus, you know, there WAS that venture into Tex-Mex world. I won't be surprised if there's a little post-vacation bounce up next week. I'll walk the straight and narrow until then. Or maybe just the straight or the narrow but not both. We'll have to see. :) (No, I don't have any idea what that means, either.)

My first-day-back workout was gruesome...and rewarding. Push-ups (with one hand on a medicine ball and the alternate leg in the air--graceful, I'm sure) and pull-ups and squats and step-ups and planks and bicycle crunches and something-else-I'm-forgetting. I don't always like doing it, but I do love the results!

Hope you're all having a most marvelous week!

HYC Follow-up

Well, I'm all packed and ready to go. I've already had my workout (yaay for 24-hr gym), and now that I've loaded the car, all that I'm missing is breakfast. Before I set off, I wanted to post a couple of follow-up items...

Thank you all for the lovely comments on my brief, but entirely enjoyable, size 4 experience. I still have issues with posting photos, but I do it to show those of you who are where I was (or beyond) that it IS entirely possible for us to beat this ugly weight monster. Plus, I thought my butt looked good. :) (You'll note the face doesn't show in that photo. That's due to the Sunday morning justgonnaruntoTargetforaminute lack of makeup or hairstyle. LOL)

Anyway, whether it's a size 4 or a size 14, we CAN get to AND STAY AT (that last bit's especially for me) a healthier weight!

Okay, and speaking of photos, some folks asked about my before photos. If you follow the "photos" category link on my sidebar, you'll get all my posts that have photos in them. There are some "before" and "during" photos scattered throughout.

Just_Kelly asked about my eating plan. Thanks for the question, Kelly. I started with sparkpeople.com, using their food logging feature to record what I ate. I also used their calorie guideline, which was 1300-1500 calorie per day in the beginning. Initially, I set goals of eating lean protein, 5-7 fruits and veggie servings, and whole grains. By recording and studying the numbers, I was able to figure out that when you're eating good-for-you foods, 1300 calories a day is A LOT!

Now I record only sporadically, and then I use an index card I keep in my purse. Mostly I just eat the same things a lot. Since I exercise so much, my view of food has changed (mostly) to getting the most fuel out of any meal.

I also set up room for splurges. I have Cake Day, which is a piece of cake for every 500 minutes of exercise. It's temporarily suspended during the vacation season, since vacations are MADE for splurging. A monthly splurge meal has also been part of my plan. One meal, anything I want. It starts when I sit down at the table and ends when I stand up. (Prevents one of those all day splurges. *g*)

I'm not sure if this answers your question. If not, feel free to let me know. (I'm posting inahurry.)

Kelly's question reminded me of another question that was asked while I was on my previous vacation. Several people asked about the stair-climbing challenge I'm leading at work, and I apologize for forgetting to respond to it. How rude!
Click here to find a description of the plan. Most of us are somewhere in the Grand Canyon right now. :)

Gotta run!

HYC Check in Week 37

Another Kevin-less workout.... I suppose it was a good workout anyway, just different. Oh well, onward and upward.

The mysterious 3-lb bounce from midweek last week is gone, so I'm basically right where I was last Monday. Or maybe not. Take a look at this:

Sunday morning (9/14/08) Target dressing room: my happy butt in a pair of size 4 jeans. Stretchy size 4's, and I couldn't have sat down in them without hurting something essential, but by golly, that tag running down the leg says 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 .

I didn't buy them, because as you can see the fit is poor, but I wanted to capture the moment for posterity. When you start out in a size 22, a size 4 (even a stretchy one) is a definite photo op. I'm not likely to see a non-stretchy size 4--ever. It's not even a goal. It's enough to have worn them for even a minute!

Tops are still mostly size large, if you were wondering, with a couple of mediums among newer purchases. That's a size L t-shirt I'm wearing in the picture.

And that, my friends, is my victory of the week. Nothing from the scale, and yet I am content.

I head out tomorrow for my Texas road trip. I'll be attempting to connect from the road, but you know how that works out sometimes. Before I leave, I want to share two good links from yahoo!:

Excellent link here on reasons we regain lost weight. I've not only bookmarked it; I've printed it and posted it on my bulletin board.

And another one of those superfood articles. This one reminded me to explore the wonderful world of quinoa.

Hope you all are having a great week so far!

And if you have a few spare dollars hanging about, please consider sponsoring me in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's walk on October 4th!

HYC Check-in Week 36

Not much to report this week that I haven't already covered in previous posts, so I'm going to spend a moment talking about the scale, if you don't mind.

The diabolical scale took away my vacation pound. And I was so proud of it, too! Poor little pound...

If you hang around here semi-frequently, you know that I don't live and die by the scale numbers. I learned my lesson with that after the first six weeks of this Serious Life Conversion, when I learned I had lost only TEN pounds, despite having eaten right and exercised ALL the time. (All together now: poor, poor Cammy!)

Unfortunately, I learned this sad, sad news on the morning I was leaving to attend BlogHer '07 in Chicago. I spent most of the 8-hour drive fretting about the dismal results. (Aren't you glad you weren't along for that ride?) By the time I arrived in Chicago, I had pushed the worst of the black thoughts to the back of my mind.

Michigan Avenue will do that to a girl.

It was only after I arrived at the conference and had walked a mile-and-a-half and climbed two flights of stairs with my computer bag strapped to my back, AND I WASN'T EVEN BREATHING HARD that the magical light bulb finally came on. The weight didn't matter.

Thud.

Okay, so if the weight didn't matter, just what did matter?
- I had lost 20+ inches, 10 of them around my core.
- I had already lost a clothing size and was well on my way to losing another one.
- I was eating nutritious meals that gave me energy.
- I had already had to reduce the dosage on my blood pressure medication--by half.

More than anything else, though, was the emotional benefit of knowing that I had taken charge of my life and was doing something good for ME!

And I had been upset because the scale showed only ten pounds lost. Silly girl.

So now I weigh myself regularly, but it's just a benchmarking kind of thing. I know from experience that my weight can bounce around a couple of pounds during the week (probably during the same day), so I don't attach any importance to numbers within a "normal" range. If the number should show a steady incline (or decline, for that matter), then I'll deal with it. Otherwise, it's just a number. Kind of like age. :)

If you're fretting about the scale, I encourage you to take a step back (a deep breath probably wouldn't hurt either) and look at the bigger picture. List all the things that you are doing right and how they benefit you. You're adding YEARS to your lives, for cryin' out loud! Celebrate that, when the scale doesn't give you something tangible to be happy about.

End of lecture. I'm off to have a celebratory sugar-free fudgesicle and, perhaps, a peach. :)

~~

Check-in among other things

It's been a little crazy getting settled back in. I apologize for erratic posting and commenting.

Thanks to all for the comments on this week's Makeover Monday post and for the additional tips. I'm lucky enough to have avoided true credit problems, and it breaks my heart to see others struggling with it, whether through their own mistakes or life circumstances. I know that I might not always be so fortunate, which is why I make every effort to stay debt free (minus the mortgage payment, that is.) In fact, if things continue as they were predicted at work today, I may be out of a job in a few months. I should know more in a few weeks. No matter what happens, I'll deal with it (an enhanced severance package wouldn't hurt), but it does make one apprehensive. :)

Lest you think work has been all bad, I can happily report that I have successfully resisted treats offered at two management recognition events this week. The staff secretly got together and planned a surprise breakfast for us yesterday and an ice cream sundae party today. I was lucky yesterday morning because I had just finished my breakfast (oatmeal with peanut butter, followed by cantaloupe--yum!), and I couldn't have eaten anything more if I'd wanted to. They had all sorts of biscuits, breakfast cakes, sausages, bacon, pancake, muffins, and fruit, but all I could do was smile and say, "Thank you." I really didn't want to offend anyone (it was so nice of them to do it!), but I also didn't want to go splodey all over the lobby. *g*

At today's ice cream event, they didn't have low fat or low sugar offerings, so I ran to the fridge for my Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Yogurt, then came back and squirted some peanut butter sauce on it for my own version of a sundae. Not bad, but not ice cream. Next time I'll try it with chocolate sauce. :)

Then we had The Meeting about the Future, and I was glad I hadn't eaten anything heavy.

But the day ended on a bright note--several, in fact. I weighed before my workout and I'm down another half pound since last Friday. Yaay! I had a great workout with Trainer Kevin, who makes me laugh in spite of the pain, and then I just finished a good phone conversation with my friend (and inspiration), Morgan. So the truly important things were all achieved. :)

Just a reminder, I'm participating in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk in Memphis on October 4th. If you've got a few extra dollars hanging around, those folks would sure appreciate the sponsorship and I would, too. Just don't put it on your credit card unless you pay it off at the end of the month. ;) (And if you'd like to sponsor me without the credit card, feel free to drop me a line at cammysaid (a t) gmail (d o t) com, and I'll send you my address.)

I'm still trying to catch up with my RSS feeds, but I'll eventually get there. I hope you've all had a splendid few weeks and are looking forward to more ahead. If not, may your troubles end soon.

~

What Vacation?

I made it home safely, but it feels like I've been on the go since I returned. Between the laundry and the errands and the housework that didn't get done before I left, it's been a blur.


Good news: I managed to lose a half pound or so while I was on vacation (97 pounds total!), which just goes to show that an illicit corn pup never hurt anyone. :) Also, I worked out with Trainer Kevin on Friday, and I was able to complete everything pretty well. The hit-and-miss approach to training I used on vacation seemed be enough to keep me on the right path. I used the stairs a lot and got in some good walks here and there, as well as doing the odd set of squats or lunges or pushups. I had planned more, but in the end I didn't drive 15 hours to spend my time in the fitness center or up in my room doing squats. The ultimate goal was to spend as much time as possible with my friends!

Today, I finally got to haul my bicycle to the riding trails, and I enjoyed it so much I'm going back tomorrow. The full trail is only 6.2 miles, and my goal tomorrow is to ride it twice. I may even shoot for three times, if the legs hold out. It's that much fun.

I'll never catch up with my reader, but I'm looking forward to trying. I apologize in advance for any comments I make on your blogs that expose my ignorance. :)

HYC Check-in Week 33

I'm heading off for vacation this afternoon, and I'm READY for it. I'll be seeing people I haven't seen in a couple of years, and I'm eagerly anticipating their reactions to the New! Improved! Cammy. I'll also be meeting a couple of blogging buddies along the way, but more about that later. I'm soooo afraid of jinxing it. :)

For my check-in, I'm 0.6 pounds down from last week. I'm really enjoying where I am, weight-wise, right now, and I'm thinking I have definitely moved into my longer term "goal range." I'd like to lose another 4 pounds just to see that number on the scale for the first time since high school, but where I am now is good, too. I'll take some time to live it for a while and see what happens.

My stair climbing challenge at work is going well. Before I leave this afternoon, I will earn my 4th sticker, meaning I have climbed the St. Louis Arch, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, and the Sears Tower--347 stories in all. I'll be facing the Grand Canyon when I return. Ouch! My co-workers seem to be having fun with it, and that thrills me.

Time for me to get to work. I hope to be able to check in on all of you from time to time, but if I don't have the opportunity...stay strong, stay committed, and stay focused. Oh, and stay away from the Little Debbie's. :)

Have a great week, everyone!
~

HYC Check-in Week 32

As I enter my last week of being a 40-something, I'm especially pleased to report an early birthday present: New Bling! And because it's been a long time coming, I made extra bling!




According the scale monster, I lost 2.8 lbs. this week! To be honest, I wasn't terribly surprised. For one thing, it follows the pattern I've had all along: littlebit,littlebit,littlebit,lottabit. Also, I've been noticing some more positive body changes in the past week. But the number is good, too. And if it bounces back up next week, so be it. I'll count next Monday as my birthday weigh-in. My initial goal was to lose 50 lbs by my 50th birthday, so unless I have one helluva splurge, I think it's in the bag. LOL

In other news, no pictures of the new bike rack yet. I have to get adapter for it so that I can haul around my "girlie" bike. That's okay. It gave me an opportunity to do a Farewell Tour of the subdivision and I managed to cover about 9 miles Sunday a.m. Learned a lot, too, which I need to get down on paper so that I can share with you. Time, time, time...

I forgot to mention that I bought a new "adult-sized" hula hoop over the weekend. Sports Authority had them on sale, so I picked it up for less than $5.00. Woo-hoo! The bigger size does help, somewhat, as I'm up to 10 swivels before the squat becomes necessary. :)

Something else I meant to mention is that Target has it's Championn sports bras on sale this week--$12.99! I picked up two new ones: aqua and Picasso Blue. I so love the C9 brand.

And that's it for me. A good week behind me, and I'm looking forward to another good week ahead. Between the upcoming birthday celebrations and my pending vacation, I need to mind my fitness manners this week.

I hope you have an excellent week! You KNOW that you want to! :)

HYC Check In Week 31

If we had awards for boring check in reports, I'm pretty sure I'd win. If you're looking for drama, angst, or controversy, it's not here. I kind of like it that way. :)

For the scale portion of the check in, I show either a half-pound gain or maybe a little more. Or is it a little less? Math escapes me. I'm calling it a flat week, celebrating, and moving on.

I took advantage of the tax-free weekend to replace my worn out sneakers. I've loved my Asics, but I decided to try this pair of Mizuno's for the next while. Tonight will be the first test walk, if I get out of the office in time.

Not to alarm anyone, but I cooked last night. Barbecued chicken on my George Foreman grill. I had a rather large nibble, and I have to say it's pretty tasty chicken. I may try something new this weekend. If this trend continues, I may invest in a newer model grill, one with removable grilling plates. We'll see. I do not need another kitchen appliance to dust.

And finally, will someone please tell me how in the hell to hula-hoop? I found mine in a closet, and I've tried and tried, but so far bending over to pick it up off the floor is the only workout I'm getting. Well, that, and laughing hysterically, which as we learned yesterday is really good for us.

I hope you all had an awesome week! You certainly deserved it!

~

HYC Update - Week 30

Another good week. Survived my workouts (with only a couple of new bruises to show for it), ate mostly healthy stuff (one cookie), and met Laurie Notaro. Life is good.

Oh, that reminds me. Add 'Scored cheap Life is Good t-shirt on e-bay' to the list. I only discovered the Life is Good brand last year (I live in a cave) and hadn't seen this one in the stores. So cute.

And headed to my mailbox.

The scale caught up with me this week, and I lost two entire pounds in one week. No fractions, no smidgens, no itty bits. Whole pounds. Ahhh. Pardon me while I bask, because who knows what the damn thing will do next week. If it's kind, I will get another 0.6 pound loss and get new bling, but alas, it is outside my control. My job is to do and to record. And to move on. :)

Only one new thing on the agenda. I joined Diet Book's Labor Day Challenge. I'm copycatting V. and adding in yoga practice to my schedule. I'm shooting for twice this week, and there's no really good reason to think I won't do it.

I hope you all had a splendid week!

~

Healthy You Challenge - Week 29

Welcome to Pout Fest 2008! Actually, I think the festival ended last night because I wasn't pouting at the end of the day, but during the day yesterday? Pouting, in abundance!

1) Doctor did NOT change the blood pressure medication. "Not this time." With medication, my BP was 130/88, which is the high end of the normal range, so I know he's right, but still. I'm disappointed.

2) The doctor also wanted to take a 'wait and see' approach to my sports injury bad posture injury. I think that's because after only a couple days of trying to sit with my legs uncrossed, I can sense a definite improvement. Sigh. So close...

(For those who don't know me, I am seriously kidding about being disappointed with NOT having an injury. I will be quite happy if it's this simple to fix!)

3) I lost an entire half-pound (or so) this week! I'm certain it would have been lots and lots more if not for Mother Nature. I could've possibly lost an entire pound if not for the gifts of being a girl. Oh well, we'll get that other half pound next week, right? Right.

4) It was 98 degrees at 11:00 yesterday morning! The temps got into the 100s at some point and were still hovering near there at 7:00 last night. And yet, people are out walking, running, biking--and not a water bottle in sight. I swear, some folks looked like they were staggering. Me? I sweated it out with Trainer Kevin (he who thinks lunge-lunge-squat is fun!) in the hot-ish studio and then headed home.

I know I had other things to report on, but they completely escape me now. This heat saps my brain....

Hope you all had a great week and are off to a great start this week!

~

Healthy You Challenge Week 28

If I could remember what I weighed last week, it might be easier to report how much I lost this week. I do know that the loss was just an itty-bit, mere fractions of a pound, but I'll take it. I'm at -92 overall, which is satisfying enough.

In flipping back through my calendar, I see that I netted no loss for the past 4 weeks, and I'm a little surprised that I'm not freaked out about that. In fact, I'm thinking this might be a good thing, this "pre-maintenance" phase. After all the months of practicing for it, I'm learning that I can live like this. Eat healthy foods I like (with enough splurgettes to keep me happy) and continue to challenge myself with exercise (to balance those splurgettes.) I'd still like to lose a few more pounds, but if I don't, I like where I am okay.

And that's it for me, this week. I hope you all had a wonderful week and are looking forward to another great one ahead!

HYC Check-in Week 27

Going through a bit of a stress test this week. My mother was admitted to the hospital yesterday after suffering an "episode" over the weekend. The doctors can't see evidence of a stroke, but they're still running tests. Also possible: an insulin plunge or a reaction to some medication she was taking. Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow. I'm not going to bother asking for your good wishes for her; I already feel them, and I thank you. :)

On the lighter, brighter side of life, I'm managing to get my workouts in. I did a strength training session last night and an elliptical 5k tonight (29:05!) Exercise definitely helps during times of stress, lemme tell ya. Also helpful: Nature Valley Granola Bars in the ER vending machine.

I weighed in last night, but promptly forgot what the specific number was. I know I was up, but it was less than a pound. (All together now: Stupid scale!) That leaves me at -91 and change, so I'm not complaining too much.

Oh, and thanks so much for the kind comments re: my latest photo post. Let me assure you that I look a little less like a linebacker most of the time. The photo was taken just after my workout, so the muscles were all primped up.

And that's it for me. I hope you all had a marvelous week. I guess I'll find out in a few minutes when I begin my blog blitz! :)

~

HYC Update - Week 26

Be careful what you wish for. I wished I would lose the totally unnecessary 2.6 lbs. Mother Nature passed me last week, and my wish was granted. Not an ounce more, not an ounce less. I'm back at -92.6 lost. I should've wished I would lose 3 lbs. or 5 lbs. or something huge, but no, I had to go and wish for the minimum. I considered throwing a hissy fit, but while I reserve the option to pitch one later, I think I'll just tippy toe off into the sunset and consider myself lucky. With a bit of grateful and successful in there, too. :)

Nothing unusual or remotely interesting, for that matter, to report for this week. I have to work the holiday, or most of it, and then I'm on my own for my Friday strength training. I shall miss Trainer Kevin's post-workout stretching, but I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do on my own. Wish me luck!

And that's that. I'm off to check in on your week and hope to catch up by tonight. Oh, and if you've read this far, I challenge you to find two blogs you haven't visited before, or maybe just recently, and leave a cheery comment this week. Share the energy, so to speak!

HYC Update Week 25

Remember the 2.8 lbs I lost last week? Gone, all gone. Thanks so much, Mother Nature.

No tangible (or formerly tangible) reason for the gain, so it should come right back off. Nothing to do but wait.

::drums fingers on desktop::

Or, I suppose I could pretend I'm having a dress rehearsal for future years. What am I going to do a year from now, or two years from now, if/when a weekly weigh-in has a similar result?

Same thing I'm doing this week. Nothing. :)

If this sort of gain doesn't come right back off, or even worse, if there's another gain in a second week, then I'll start logging what I'm eating and look back through the little desk calendar where I jot a note about my daily exercise (aka The Cake Day Countdown Diary.) If I see a bad pattern, I'll break it. No pattern? Nothing to do, but continue doing the right things.

We can't control our weight. We can control our actions.

I need that tattooed somewhere.

Hope you all had a wonderful week, full of lots of healthy choices and great decisions!

HYC Follow-Up and Class Mini-Report

You all sure know how to make a girl's heart sing! Thanks for the great feedback on this week's check-in! Following up on a few items...

Val, I think you might be on to something. It is probably that I'm doing it "the easy way"--proper portions, healthy foods, and exercise--which I didn't really think would work this well. :)

Katy and Skinny Inside, I wish I knew the final magic number--the weight charts are all over the place. My BMI is under 20 (still waiting for final assessment results), and I'm not sure what that means, if anything, in determining my ideal weight. At least a dozen people have told me not to lose anymore weight, but I still see the flabby stuff and can't help but wonder if it's possible to lose some of that flab if I lose a few more pounds. I just don't know what's the right thing to do. That's why I'm going to play around with setting my own goals (kind of try them on for size, if you will) but to be honest, if I don't lose another pound from what I weigh now, I'll still be satisfied with my results. For fun and entertainment, though, I've decided that I might be about 7.4 pounds from goal #1, 12.4 pounds from goal #2, and 17.4 pounds from goal #3.

It would be soooo cool to reach one of these goals, decide I'm too thin, and then have to actively try to GAIN weight. Something tells me it wouldn't be that difficult. :) Well, unless I was all healthy about it.

In case anyone has ever wondered why I don't post my actual weight on my blog when I have posted it in comments on your blogs, it's because I let some folks at work in on my blog link, and while I think I trust them, I'm a bit anxious that somehow the link might get spread around. I really don't want to sit across from a bunch of folks at a meeting and have them know what I weigh at any given moment. I'm not trying to hide anything here, so if you think it would help you to know where I started and where I am now, or if you're just plain ol' curious, drop me an email at cammysaid (at) gmail (dot)com and I'll spill. (There will, of course, be a slight charge for the information. Just to cover shipping and handling, you know.)

Deborah, you flatter me! You're also afraid of me and know that if you drop it all now, I'll just hop in my car and come to the mountainside. :) Seriously, you've come so far (over halfway to your goal). You're in it to win it, as they say, and I truly don't think there's anything that can stop you.

Pattie - I thank you for the offer of construction assistance, and while I hope I don't need the help, I'm awfully grateful it's there! Thank you.

Grumpy Chair - I haven't read Thin for Life, but I added it to my reading list tonight. The instructor in my nutrition class (more about that in a minute) recommended it. Two recs in one day will probably get it boosted up in the order. Thanks!

Those of you who commented about reaching goal range, well, let's just commit to sticking together on this thing. There's safety in numbers, or so I hear. :)

Thanks again for the wonderful comments!

On to the class! Who can guess what's unique about this picture? Besides the subject. (tee-hee!)


Give up? Okay, I'll tell you. When I walked into the room and saw these chairs, my first thought was, "Oh, shit." (Sorry for the language, but it's what I thought.) Many a miserable hour of my life has been spent crammed into one of these things. I used to pray for a lecture-style classroom with regular tables and chairs and would always cringe (and head for the back of the room) when I discovered this sort of classroom setup.

But that's over. For the first time in 30 years, I fit in a classroom chair. No spillage, no squished bits, I could even turn around and look behind me. I could freaking breathe. I was so excited that I asked a nice lady named Eileen to snap a photo to commemorate the occasion. ::is a nerd:: Besides, I needed a new photo to go with my new bling, which I forgot to update until midday. ::is a scatterbrained nerd:: Anyway, this is my -92.6 lbs picture to go with my new bling.

Now are we ready to talk about the class? Well, no, not really, because the instructor didn't cover much we don't already know. As a nutritionist, she follows a middle-of-the-road approach, especially with a diverse audience like a classroom setting, and pretty much follows the standard food guide for us average bears. She's also a bit of a Vitamin D freak, believing that we don't get nearly enough. I'll find out more about that next week. Tonight she mainly covered macronutrients (carbs, protein, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and how our bodies use them. I did take notes and will try to get them transcribed and posted later in the week for discussion and debate. I'm out of time for now.

Hope you're all having a great week!

HYC Update - Week 24

I'm pleased, and a tad surprised, to report a 2.8 pound loss from last week (-1.6 from Friday). I honestly don't expect to see those kinds of losses this close to the goal range, but then I've never been anywhere NEAR a goal range before, so what do I know.

Average exercise was good last week, somewhere around 75 minutes per day. That includes a significant amount of heavy yard work (my neighbor keeps yelling at me to rest! LOL), two strength training sessions, one walk and one 8-mile bike ride.

Tonight is the first session of the nutrition class I signed up for. I'm really looking forward to it, as I'm starting to feel the faint stirrings of anxiety as I get closer to a maintenance lifestyle. Even though I'm the one who has made the healthy eating decisions, and I'm the one who exercised six days a week for the past year, and I'm the one who changed her longheld beliefs about fitness and weight loss, it all still feels a little bit "magical", as if I didn't really do that much. Which is crazy girl talk, I think, but then again, I never said I wasn't a teensy bit crazy. :)

Oh well, if the first year was "Getting to the Promised Land", we'll make the second year "Building a House in the Promised Land." I'm going to do everything I can to make it a sturdy house, able to withstand the fiercest storms, because it's where I hope to live for a long, long time.

I hope you all had a magnificent week. I'll try to check in throughout the day, but I'm not sure how far I'll get due to the class tonight. But I'll catch up eventually!

~

HYC Update Week 23

Happy Tuesday to all!

I was SO sure this would be a new bling week for me, but that blasted scale gave up a miserly 0.6 pounds, leaving me 0.2 lbs from 90! See, I *knew* I should've shaved my legs! (kidding, kidding. They're not that bad. ::shudder::)

Ah well, what are you gonna do? Cry about it?

Oh wait, tears have weight, don't they? Hmmm….Nah, they make me blotchy.

Big week for me this week on the fitness front. Friday is my one-year anniversary of working out with the Fitness Together folks (although I missed about two months of workouts for toe surgery and vacations) and we're going to do an assessment, the first one I've had since last September. (I'm holding onto a scant hope that there will also be cake to commemorate the occasion, but considering the look I got when I suggested it, I may have to wait until Cake Day, later this month.)

The assessment consists of a weigh-in, measurements of neck, shoulders, bust, waist, arms (upper and lower), hips, thighs and calves. Since my breasts are now located where my waist was and my waist slid down to the hip area, the results should be interesting. :)

Also in the assessment is a body fat reading, a resting heart rate and a post-cardio heart rate involving step-ups, push-ups, bench presses and a flexibility test. There might be other things I'm forgetting.

And an ultraslim possibility of cake.

Other than that, it will be another ordinary (and hot!) week for me. Hope you're all having a magnificent week! That's my wish for you, anyway.

HYC Update Week 22

Well, well, well. You remember that pound I mysteriously, and through no fault of my own, gained last week? The one I subsequently named NED (not effing deserved)?
Well, NED has just as mysteriously disappeared into the night, taking a few of his unsavory friends with him!

Do NOT ask me how or why, but the scale shows a loss of 3.8 lbs this week! (I checked it twice!) That's a total of 89.2 lbs.!! Yikes! I still have no idea what my goal weight will be, but I do think I see land ahead. :)

Not much different planned for my week. I'm turning up the heat by planning a 12-mile bike ride this weekend. Other than that, business as usual.

I hope you all had a wonderful week and are looking forward to a great week ahead!

~

HYC Update Week 21

Ooomf. Eeek. Ouch. Up a pound this week. No good reason for it, so I'm hopeful it will go the way of all unearned pounds by this time next week.

Thanks to all who made suggestions for my uber-hunger problem on Sunday. As it turns out, I think the problem wasn't the bike ride, but more that it's just my "nibbly time" and that will soon be past. Still, though, your suggestions were good, and I'll definitely start next weekend's longer ride with something a little more substantial. I think it's high time I tried this oats & peanut butter thing.

Overall, nutrition and exercise were good last week. I probably pushed the calorie limits a bit much on Sunday and Monday, but if I did, they were good calories so I'm not going to sweat it.

I hope you all had a wonderful week and are looking forward to a bright and shiny week ahead!

~

HYC Update Week 20

Week 20???

My, how time flies...

Thank you all so much for your sweet, sweet responses to our Makeover Monday topic for this week. One thing I discovered yesterday is that the Forgiveness Declaration will be a living, breathing document. As I learn, it will grow. :)

Onto the update: you'll remember my carb-o-rama of the weekend? Well, it apparently did not cause a huge issue, because I lost 0.4 pounds for the week! While I would love to have lost more, I think I'll just smile gratefully and tippy toe away from the scale until next week. Turtle karma, indeed. :)

Let's see, what else...oh, I completed my requirements for last week's WOMAN Challenge, averaging 57 minutes of exercise per day. This week I hope to do the same, plus they threw in a bonus challenge opportunity. My challene will be to eat a fruit or vegetable I haven't eaten before. (You KNEW I'd choose the one that involved eating.LOL) I'm going with pumpkin and I'm making some sort of pumpkin spice bars.

Yes, you read that correctly: I'm cooking! (those of you who are laughing don't get any!) I'll try to remember to take pictures of the result. With any luck, they'll be delicious. If not, we can always use a good giggle.

And that's it for me. I hope you all have a healthy, happy week!

~

HYC Update - Week 19

Brief report, for a change. :)

Another pound gone. Cake Day + 1-lb. Loss = Happy Cammy!

This week's biggest challenge will be the family reunion (a.k.a. Carb Carnival) on Saturday. Naturally, it will be my splurge meal for May, unless I get lucky and everyone brings things I don't like. ::fingers crossed:: I'm taking pimento cheese salad and melba toast rounds and some sort of fruit. I see a long bike ride for my weekend. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. Last year, I weighed 85 86 pounds more than I do right now, so there should be some dropped jaws. There'd better be.

I hope everyone had a successful week. I'm looking forward to reading your check-in reports!

~

HYC Update - Week 18

The extra two days until weigh-in paid off! Can you believe this?

Surprise Bling!!!

I stepped on the scale tonight and could NOT believe my eyes. Minus 1.7 pounds for a total of 85 lbs.! Talk about your "something wonderful". LOL

At some point over the past few months, I decided new bling equals new photo, so here we go:

This is Christmas 2004 compared to last week. I don't mind sharing with you that this one hurts a little.

Okay, a lot.

But that's the way it was. I have to quit thinking of that self as a failure and remember that she was simply someone who hadn't found her way yet. She didn't quit trying, even when she wasn't successful. And she had a nice smile. :)

Someday I'm going to have to deal with all that, but for tonight, I'm tapping into my inner Scarlett and pushing it off until another day.

Yet another wonderful thing that happened was that yesterday's post brought some new visitors to my blog! I thank you for stopping by, and I'm very much looking forward to checking out your blogs!

And for you "old regulars", I hope you know I adore each and every one of you! Your support and enthusiasm and good humor are the best bling of all!

I hope you're all having a wickedly wonderful week! I'm trying to catch up on the check in, so please forgive me if I haven't checked you out yet. I'll be there eventually! :)

~

HYC Update - Week 17

And a Happy Monday, Blog-eteers!

Things are rolling along here. Literally, now that I have my new bike. LOL Great workouts (LOVE the new training shoes--hardly a wobble during lunges!) and I'm trying a few new things here and there.

The merciful scale provided me another 1-pound loss this week, bringing me to a total of 83.4! I'm thrilled AND grateful. I see new bling just around the corner!

Or, maybe not. I have a possible splurge meal for tomorrow. I'm hoping it won't be THAT much of a splurge (I'd love new bling!), but when I learned a work luncheon was scheduled for one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, I decided to save my monthly allotment. Just in case. :) Besides, I missed my March splurge meal (never crossed my mind), so I feel completely okay with taking one now, should I need it.

Hope you all had a great week and are looking forward to an even better one!

Update 1:00 p.m.(CST) - The splurge meal designation was necessary, and it was delicious. I had 3/4 of a Mexican pizza, which is a large (think plate-sized) ultra-thin tortilla, ground beef--most of which I removed, cheese and black olives.) And about a million tortilla chips with salsa. At least that's what it seemed like, considering that I've had zero tortilla chips since August.

~

HYC Update Week 16

Well, You People have done it now! On and on with your constant motivation and inspiration. Your "Way to Go, Cammy" and your "Keep up the great work!" I hope you're all very proud of yourselves!

I lost a cup size! How did this happen? I started out a 46C, which I know is too large, but I really just wanted the number to change. The letter was fine. 'C' for Cammy. See?

This weekend I tried on a 38C and while the 38 part fit, apparently I have plummeted all the way down to a B cup. I mean, fine. I'm happy about the 38, but was it necessary to take away an entire cup size? And to make matter worse, the bra I tried on was...God, I don't know if I can say it...padded.

::pause for uncontrollable sobbing::

I couldn't make myself buy the bra. Not yet.

On the up side *G*, I lost 1.8 pounds last week, for a total of 82.4! I'm pretty sure it was all sweat. Plus, I'm sneezing a lot. And then there's the whole fiber thing. :)

I'm backsliding a little lot on the water intake, and that's an area of focus for the coming week. It's especially important if I'm going to sweat so much in my workouts. I can't be walking around dehydrated. Probably lose another cup size. ::sniffle::

Oh, and speaking of workouts, I downloaded What I Like About You by The Romantics last week, and it is a FANTASTIC song for the elliptical. I almost catapulted myself right off the silly beast while that song was playing. LOL

Another song I downloaded last week was The Biggest Loser theme song, Proud, by Heather Small. This is a rather cheesy admission, but when I was first kicking off this makeover, I would walk on my treadmill every night until the re-run of Season 2 TBL came on the Style Network. I'd hear that theme music from the other room, and I'd feel a kinship with the contestants--we were all working at bettering ourselves.

I had never really listened to the complete lyrics until Saturday morning at the gym, and I did feel proud. Getting up on a Saturday morning and hitting the gym. Planning a healthy breakfast after my workout. I felt great! Huge smile on my face!

And then I heard this part:
Still so many answers I don't know
Realise that to question is how we grow
So I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending
I am on my way

And suddenly, tears were streaming down my cheeks. For the first time, I think, it dawned on me that I am freaking doing this. I've been so focused on putting one foot in front of the other, so to speak, that I hadn't really taken it all in. I am on my way!

We are all on our way. It's not always pretty, rarely ever easy, but always moving us toward a better life. I'm truly blessed to be on the journey with you.

Despite your contribution to the loss of my cup size. :)

Happy Monday (or Tuesday), everyone!

(with apologies to Andrew and Jim *G*)

~

Stop the Presses: Late-breaking Development

From dictionary.com

cloud nine
–noun Informal. a state of perfect happiness (usually in the
phrase on cloud nine).
[Origin: 1955–60]

Okay, so if perfect happiness is cloud nine, I'm not sure what cloud number I'm on. Oh wait, yes I do. It's cloud 14, or 14.7 to be precise. That, my friends, was the news I got tonight when I had a body fat check-up at the gym. A year ago my body fat was measured at 36.3% and tonight it's 14.7%, belly fat notwithstanding.

Color me happy.

And proud.

Now seems like the perfect time to thank you all again for your tremendous support. Most of us didn't "meet" until January, but that was a bit of a blessing, I think. Getting to know all of you kept me focused and committed through the ugliness of winter. I appreciate you all so very much!

~

HYC Update Week 15

At least, I think it's week 15.

Anyway, I'm updating early, mainly because I have nothing much to report, but also because I really like keeping Tuesdays free to see what all of YOU are doing.

I'm back to a 0.2 loss for this week. I'll gladly take it, of course, but I do wish it had been more. Oh well, I'm going to pull out all the stops and see if I can double it for next week. Heck, I might even go for the triple! LOL

Everything just keeps rolling along on the nutrition and exercise fronts. I keep waiting for a big meltdown or hissy fit, but so far nothing. Welcome to the new normal, Cammy. :)

This week I plan to order the bicycle (and helmet) I won from myself in February, so I should have a new toy in May. I found a park I didn't know existed (sad, because it's less than a mile from my house!), and I'm thinking it might be a good place to ride my shiny new bike!

Other than that, no big changes on the horizon. Just business as usual.

I'm looking forward to catching up with all of YOUR successes over the next few days! Like I've said before, if you're still here and still trying, you ARE successful!

~

Healthy You Challenge Update Week 14

It was a little bit of a deja vu moment. When I stepped on the scale tonight, I went through the exact thought process I did on Friday night. Stared down at the result and then thought, Nothing to do now but keep on doing what I'm doing. I actually appreciate the sameness--the routineness--of it. Consistency, that's the word I'm looking for.


Well, okay, tonight there was one difference. I showed a 1.4 pound loss from last Monday! You know what that means, don't you? BLING!! I earned my 80 pound badge!


While I did take a moment to savor it, I had to hustle out to my workout. Consistency. I've never had a lot of that before. :)


To commemorate this auspicious occasion, I offer a glimpse at the difference 80 lbs makes:

These are head shots for my work profile, so you'll understand why I'm not at my best. :) The photo on the right was taken a couple of weeks ago, just after I'd finished leading a workshop all morning (to explain the somewhat washed-out look *G*). The photo on the left is somewhat embarrassing, but I try to focus on my smile and remember that I was (and am) a mostly good person no matter the size.

(edited to fix photo size)
I thank ALL of you so very much for your amazing support, always, but especially these past few weeks while I truly tippy-toed my way to new bling. We can all exhale now; I think the next one will be a while coming. And that's okay. Nothing to do but keep on doing what I'm doing. :)

Also a thank you for the well wishes on the dental dilemma. My dentist called in an antibiotic today, and I'm already feeling much relief! I may even sleep!

Fingers crossed that everyone had a successful week, on the scale or beside it!

Go Tigers!

~

HYC Update Week 13

Happy Tuesday, Boys and Girls,

No new badge bling this week. I am 0.2 pounds closer (0.6 pounds away from that magical 8-0), but...***sob***...I am bling-less. I had a hellacious sneeze during my workout and I wanted so badly to go weigh again just in case that did the trick, but my rule is one weigh-in only. Stupid rule. Stupid scale.

Yes, I can see the positive in that it's better than being 0.2 pounds the other direction; however, I have to tell you: This Means War!! I will NOT tippy-toe my way to my new bling! I'm pulling out all the stops. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I'm even going to take the drastic step of...preparing some of my own meals! Two, at least.

Take that, you stupid scale!


So, as you can see, a good week overall. :-)

Now I'm off to check in on all of you while I watch The Biggest Loser (my new Tuesday night tradition). I'll also be compiling my Hot Seat answers, so if you've got any questions, tonight's the night to ask them.

Have a great week, everyone!

~

HYC Update - Week 12

Ah, another week rolls around. It's the time of year when I'm certain--beyond all doubt--that I will never be warm again. Those of you who are still around here in July will see me write fondly of these days when the temps (and the humidity) are in the 90s, but for now I just want to be warm.

Irene tagged me on the 6-word thingie. The idea, as I understand it, is to write a 6-word sentence that describes your life so far. Here's my entry:

I learned in time to live.

I'll tag...everybody who hasn't been tagged so far. :) Let me know your entries!

Check In:
First things first, I have my iPhone! Besides the internet, the mp3 player and the expected phone capabilities, I've discovered that it has a camera, a stopwatch, and a timer! It's a fantastic fitness reward!

Food and exercise continue along the proper paths. My calories are still on the upper end of the desired range most days, but I think the addition of interval training has taken care of those. In fact, I think I needed those calories. One thing I've learned on this trip is that you have to eat to lose weight, and the evidence seems to back it up.

The crazy scale showed a 2.8 pound loss this week, for a total of 79.2! I have the sneaky suspicion I got a lucky bounce. :) But, I'll not look a gift pound in the mouth. Or something like that. This week's focus will be on moving toward a shiny new badge, and if I have to deal with a bounce the other direction, so be it.

Busy week at work this week, but I hope to catch up on everyone's progress in a timely fashion. Make no mistake, if you 're still here and you're still fighting, then you're making progress!

HYC Update Week 11 (day early)

First, a big shout out to those of you who weighed in on the iPhone situation. Bunch of enablers, aren't you? :) I'll keep you posted on the progress of the purchase.

Also, I'm thrilled the JOLT thing was so well-received. I play so many mind games with myself trying to make this process fun that I sometimes worry that I've gone over the edge. From your responses, I take it that if I have gone over the edge, I'm in very good company.

Oh, and Andrew? You've definitely got me considering the chocolate option for May! *G*

Now, on to my HYC check-in, which I'm posting early because I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to move tomorrow. Tonight's workout was intense!

The check-in:
1) Exercise - I'm giving myself a high rating for this week. I tippy-toed into the world of interval training, and I'm enjoying it so far. It's a fun way to ramp up the intensity in a manageable way. Neat side benefit: doing intervals has the effect of breaking up the cardio session into smaller segments. No more, "Oh God, I have 35 minutes left!" Now it's more like, "Three minutes until I have to move it up again. Breathe." With all the focus on moving the resistance up and down every few minutes, time flies by and before I know it, the blessed, beautiful "COOL DOWN" light flashes.
2) Water is winning in the water v. Diet Coke battle. I had one extra DC over the weekend, and I'm okay with that. I do think that now that I'm counting all my exercise minutes (including trainer minutes) on my Splurge-ometer, the DC penalty points will also increase to 50. I would've still had the extra drink over the weekend, but I was sorely tempted a few times during the week. Making the penalty higher should ensure that I don't give in to the mid-week temptation.
3) Healthy eating was pretty good throughout the week. As I mentioned earlier in the week, it's just routine now to opt for good choices and controlled portions. (Not that there aren't times when I wouldn't happily dive into a platter of Mexican food instead of blackened chicken salad.)
3) Weigh-in tonight was okay. I lost 0.4 pounds, which is good enough for a week with c-a-k-e in it. I'm going for the remainder of the pound this week. Maybe a cousin or two will join it. ;) :)

I know I had other things to report, but I have no clue at this moment what they were, thanks to The Workout That Ate My Brain. As a friend of mine said, "There's a reason they call it dope-amine." LOL

Here's wishing all of you a happy, healthy, warmer (or cooler, to the south) week!

~

HYC Week 10 Follow-up and News

First, the news: I had my annual blood pressure check up with my doctor this morning. (Thank God I didn't choose fasting as a weight loss plan, because I was wobbling by 10 a.m. Mornings like this are why I whole-heartedly support government-subsidized breakfasts for schoolchildren. I couldn't even spell my name after about 8:30 a.m.) Anyway, after the usual blood tests, EKG, etc., he handed me the anticipated prescription and said, "I'm only writing it for six months, not twelve months like I usually do. I want to see where you are with your weight loss and BP in August, and then we'll talk about changing you to another medication or eliminating it completely." (Since I hit the minus 20-lbs. mark, I've been on the lowest dosage of my current medication.) Talk about motivation! I could turn 50 medication-free!

Now, following up with answers to questions a few lovely readers asked:

Q: Lynn asked how long it has taken me to reach the -76 lb. mark.

A: I don't have an exact start date, because as you know, I've kind of tippy-toed my way through, but I think I can safely use May 2007 as the starting point. So basically 9 months or so.


Huh. If you could see my sagging belly skin, you would see the irony in that. :)

~~~

Q: Trisaratops wondered if it ever gets easy, if the habits get ingrained.

A: I wouldn't call it easy exactly, but it does become routine. It can be frustrating at times when the stoopid scale does its own thing, but I've been able to refocus each time I put myself in that trap and continue moving forward. I can honestly tell you that the only really, really tough time was after I had surgery on my feet, which I stupidly scheduled for the week before Thanksgiving last year. I couldn't exercise at all for three weeks, and then I could only do seated lifting and crunches. I think I missed cardio for about four or five weeks, right through the Christmas holidays. Still, when all was said and done, I was up 0.5 pounds for the recuperation period. I think that's when it really registered that I had made a lifestyle change. I kind of suspected it after I took three road trips last year and maintained a reasonable level of healthy living on each and every one. (Including the teeny, tiny piece of cake Moon and I shared on one of those trips! LOL)

Between those trips and the surgery aftermath/Christmas holidays, I now know I can manage my weight. That's huge for me.

~~~

Susie had a couple of questions:
Q1: How much Diet Coke am I drinking?

A1: I have a Diet Coke with meals only, which means 3/day. That's a 50% reduction for most days, and possibly up to 75% on some days. I'm pleased with the progress. It's been a little over a week, and I've had one "extra" diet drink. Since it was mindfully chosen, I'm okay with it, even though it did cost me a 10-point penalty on my splurge-ometer.

Q2: What did I challenge myself to do for March?

A2: Not much of anything. :) No, seriously, my goal continues to be 1000 minutes each and every month simply because that works out to 30 minutes a day. That's what's recommended, and that's the minimum goal. For life.

Where I've run into a problem is in the amount of time I'm spending exercising. You see, I've never factored into my total the 3 hours per week I spend working with the trainer. I counted the wrap-up 15 minutes of cardio, but not the workout itself. I actually was counting those days as a 15-minutes deficit because I *only* got 15 minutes of cardio in (despite the fact that my heart was beating like a jackhammer during and after the workout). To make it worse, I was adding the "missing" 15 minutes to other days. Factor in rest days and odd days here and there when I missed exercising due to OT at work or a family commitment, and my cardio-only sessions were getting longer and longer. I wasn't taking regular rest days, and by body was getting very tired. Not good.

So my new plan (still in an evaluation stage) is to count all of my exercise minutes toward the 1000 minute goal. My trainers use interval resistance training, which involves cardio exercise, so I feel very comfortable counting those minutes three times per week. The three other days of exercise are 30 minute sessions (sometimes 45 minutes, but only once per week usually) of "pure" cardio. As I mentioned in my update, I'm playing around with interval training on those days, and so far I really enjoy it.

Oh, and I now require myself to take a rest day each week. In fact, I'm deciding as I type this that rest day exercise doesn't count toward my monthly points. There, that'll show me.

~~~

Thank you all for your encouraging and helpful comments and questions!

~

Healthy You Challenge Update - Week 10

The short and sweet (but sugar-free, of course) of it:
1) Blue Jeans!
2) Serious Diet Coke reduction, which translates to a serious increase in water intake. I'm getting 8+ glasses of water a day, every day.
3) Diet and exercise were good this week, kind of 'same old, same old', but I could stand to watch my calories a bit more closely. I think getting into Spring (and out of the house) will help with that a lot.
4) The fickle scale was merciful this week, shooting me past the 75-pound mark to Minus 76! Yep, Cammy's got a brand new badge. :-)

Goals for this week are to keep an eye on those calories and to continue to play around with interval training. (I'm sort of at the pre-interval level now.)

And that's my report for this week. Wishing you all a healthy, happy week ahead!

*Updated to indicate the correct week, amidst heavy blushing*

Healthy You Challenge (9) 03/04/08

Nothing much to report from my end of the world. I weighed in last night and was either the same as last week or up 0.2 pounds. I forgot what I weighed last week, but I can live with where I am now. Literally. :) Also, I met my exercise challenge of 1,000 cardio minutes with a few to spare.

I consider it a successful week.

What follows is rambly and mostly written for myself, but feel free to read on if you think you might find anything useful.

I've spent the past couple of days pondering ways to "shake things up" formyself for March. I've been feeling a bit bored lately, in that sometimes it feels like all I do is work, work out, and sleep.

Oh, and eat. :) Part of that feeling is bound to be related to the winter blahs, and partof it is because I've been putting in extra exercise time to compensate for the week I missed with the flu. Something needs to change, but what? What can I tippy-toe into next?

Well, I certainly can't add more time to my workout schedule. In fact, I'd like to reduce it a bit. Plus, I have a whole list of projects I need to accomplish, with decluttering being at the forefront. I'd like to focus on a different project each month, and also set aside a smidgen of my day for writing fiction.

Ooh, those look like goals! :)

Okay, so those are the goals: less daily workout time, dedicated project time, dedicated fiction time. Applying Tippy-Toe Logic, I now have toquantify them and turn them into something fun, something I feel motivated to do. And that includes a reward! Maybe even multiple rewards!

So here's what I'm going the plan for March:

Exercise:

3 strength training sessions a week (includes 15 min. cardio)

3 cardio sessions a week, 30 minute minimums

1 mandatory rest day

Diet:

Reduce the amount of Diet Coke I drink to 'Meals Only' No 'tweeners.

Project:

1 decluttering session every day, minium 15 minutes

Fiction Writing:

1 writing session every day, minimum 15 minutes

Now for the fun part: rewards! As you may or may not know, I set a 2500-minute reward for my cardio minutes as a piece of strawberry cake. That's the only real splurge I have; anything else gets worked into my daily eating plan. The problem is that on my current reward schedule, that would be one splurge every 3 months or so, and frankly, I deserve better. :) So the new reward plan incorporates diet, exercise, projects AND writing.

All my worlds tied neatly together. ::happy sigh::

Rewards:

Cardio minutes are still 1 point each (no daily maximum) That's no different from what I'm doing now. What is different is that I'm adding points for water, which will be worth 1 point for each 8-oz. glass (8 points daily maximum). Also, IF I meet my daily exercise goals, I can now add minutes to the reward goal for decluttering and writing: 1 point for each minute actively pursuing those objectives, with a 15 minute daily point cap for each.

One penalty item has also been added for drama and effect. :) For each "unauthorized" Diet Coke I drink, I will add 10 minutes to the 2,500-point target. One extra Diet Coke raises the goal to 2,510 points, two takes it to 2,520 points, and so on. You have to understand how much I really want this piece of cake to know how motivating the penalty possibility will be. (And yet, it allows me a little wiggle room for going out with friends and such.)

I think this approach will put a little zip into things and keep me focused on exactly what my goals are for the month. It encourages exercise first, which I like, but takes away the necessity of hour-a-day every day workouts. Plus, it will keep me focused on moving forward in all areas.

And if it doesn't work, I'll change it up again next month.

Healthy You Challenge - 02/26/08

Wow, another week zips past! It was a pretty good one for me:
1) I hit all my exercise goals and even made it through 882 minutes of my1000 minute cardio goal. I might just make the goal after all. Then again, my body is NOT happy that we haven't had our rest day, so I may have to pamper the silly thing and take a day off. (I keep telling it, "We restedf or 40+ years!", but it doesn't always listen.)
2) Mostly-healthy eating continues. I doubt I'll ever make it to healthfood maniac, but I have definitely reformed.
3) To my complete and utter astonishment, the scale went fickle the other way this week, and I showed a 3-lb. loss! That makes a total of 74 lbs.gone! While I'm grateful, I'm not preparing my side panel for a new badge just yet. It would not surprise me at all to have a flat week or even a small gain next week. (Or perhaps a huge gain if the product placement people don't quit putting pizzas on every channel.*G*)

No new goals, really, except to get back into the swing of decluttering the house now that the pesky flu is gone. My father's men's club at church is having a rummage sale, and that has really inspired me to re-evaluate some of the items I'd previously held onto because they were "too good to just give away." Never mind that I'm not actually using or enjoying them.*Sigh.* I never said I was bright. :) Anyway, somehow the knowledge that the men's club will benefit from the sale of these items seems to have unlocked a hoarding mechanism in my brain, and many items are on their way O-U-T.

Oh, and Susie asked about a new photo. I hope to have one soon! I have to take new photos for my work ID and career profile database. Those are usually head shots, but I'll ask someone to snap one in a head-to-tippy toe view.

I'm planning to have a marvelous week, and I hope all of you are, too! The only problem with trying to be all healthy and organized is that it takes up valuable blog-reading time. Please know that I'm wishing you well, and while I might not get to your blog today, I'll catch up with you sometime this week!

Healthy You Challenge 02/19/08

Another week, and oh what a week! The flu is not fun, but I'm happy to report that it is survivable!

If you'll look to the right of the screen (and you may want to put on sunglasses first to avoid the shiny glare) is my brand new badge! That's right, I tippy-toed across the 70-pound mark! Given the large amounts of orange juice (Simply Orange - medium pulp) I was drinking last week, along with the relative lack of exercise, I wouldn't have been surprised to see a small gain or even a flat spot. But that didn't happen! So off we go in pursuit of the next new shiny. Four more pounds!

Exercise was pretty much a bust for most of last week, but I did limp to the 600-minute mark on cardio. I may not make the 1000-minute goal, but it won't be because I didn't make a good try for it. I suspect it will cut into my blogging time, so please bear with me...

Finally, I'm doing much better on drinking water now. Most days I make the 8-glass goal without a problem; at minimum, I'm getting half that amount daily. Ah, progress!

Hope you all have most marveleous week!

Healthy You Challenge Update - 02/12/08

Since I missed my workout last night due to this flu thing, I didn't get to have an official weigh-in. The unofficial ones last week showed me over the -70 mark, but I'm going to wait until I weigh in on Thursday to claim a shiny new badge. It will be interesting to see what my body does with this illness. Given the way I feel and what I've experienced the last few days, I would expect to be down another five pounds or more, but I know that the body manages calories differently when it's ailing. I'll be happy if I maintain the same weight.

As far as healthy eating, I'm trying to stay focused on fruits (mainly caloric-but-oh-so-wonderful-on-my-throat orange juice) and fluids. The only "danger" food in the house right now is peanut butter, which is tasting salt-ily delicious to me. I'm doling it out a tablespoon at a time on my skinny bread. I think I'm okay on calories, but to be honest, I'm just not sweating it. My body's doing enough of that on its own. :)

On the exercise front, I've reached Minute #412 in my 1000 cardio minutes for February challenge. Go me! I hope to get back to it really, really soon!

Okay, back to the sick bed (which I'm starting to despise). I hope you all had a great week, and most especially, that you're healthy!

Healthy You Challenge Update - 02/04/08

Wow, these Tuesdays do roll around quickly, don't they? So, let's see how it went:
1) Big NSV in getting rid of my too-big clothes. In fact, I'm claiming it as a victory on two fronts: weight loss and clutterbugishness.
2) Great workouts, but a little bit of slugginess on the cardio. I'm taking an off-exercise day today, which I'm hoping is the response my body is looking for. I'll use the workout time to declutter...something. *sigh* So many opportunities, so little time....
3) Despite a splurge meal with my family on Saturday, the scale budged a little! I'm at -68.4 pounds, which I consider amazing given the number of carbs consumed at said family meal. I'm going to push hard for -70 next week! Oh, the drama, the excitement....

I'm looking forward to using some of my off-day time to check on your progress. I hope you had a great week and that this one is shaping up nicely, too!

Heallthy You Challenge Update - 01/29/08

Normally, I'm not able to post during the day, but I'm working at home this afternoon (me and the Sears repairman), and I realized I hadn't taken a break since I walked in the door! Whew!

Okay, this week's progress:
1) I'm a happy girl. No specific reason, just happy.
2) My new gym finally opened, and I went both Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday morning I had the whole place to myself. It was wonderful.
3) I'm making minor progress with the water. I finally realized I was not approaching the solution in true tippy toe fashion--small, incremental changes. So for now my focus is on getting 4 glasses of water each day, minimum. We'll add more in a few weeks.
4) I'm at 930 minutes on my cardio challenge. I should make my goal with about 30 minutes to "rollover" to February.
5) That nasty scale showed me at a 1-pound gain for the week! Boo hiss! If I'd actually *had* 3500 extra calories to enjoy during the week, I wouldn't be miffed at all, but considering I did pretty well exercise and food-wise, I'm chalking it up to water weight, muscle weight, or a governmental conspiracy.

Have a happy and healthy week everyone!

Healthy You Challenge 01/22/08

A positive report for my 2nd week on the Healthy You Challenge:
1) I'm at the 750-minute mark on my personal cardio challenge. Only 250 minutes to go, and ten days to do it. Well, nine days, because I'll take a rest day on Thursday. Since February is a short month, I've decided to allow myself "rollover minutes" from January. Everything over 1000 cardio minutes for January rolls to February. That should keep me pushing!
2) I changed training facilities last night, and it was my first time to weigh on a new scale. According to the new beast, I've lost 66.6 pounds. (Hope that's not an omen, though it might explain my mood. *G*) Who knows if it's an actual weight loss, or just a different scale. We'll know more next week. Meanwhile, I'll keep exercising and eating healthier and the scale will do what it will do.

Focus for the next week:
1) Water, water, every day – I've got to get better at consistency.
2) Home organization – I still believe my clutter tendencies and my weight are somehow linked, so I'm working on both this week.
3) Walking and walking and walking....
4) Continue to be grateful for the tremendous support and energy created in this network.

Healthy You Challenge Update

My first week as a part of the Healthy You Challenge, and I'm amazed at how much good energy simply joining the challenge created. I joined over the weekend, just after receiving thought-it-was-bad-but-it-really-wasn't news, and it really helped me stay on track. Thanks to everyone who has stopped in so far. I truly appreciate it! I haven't checked out ALL the blogs on the roll, but I'll get there.

My progress report:
Weight: if I did the math right, I'm down 1.5 pounds last week for a total of 64.4 pounds overall. (As you will learn, my approach is not exactly scientific.)
Nutrition: I continue to eat a healthier diet. Still too many processed foods, but I'll deal with that later. For now, I'm still just focusing on fruits and veggies, lean proteins, and avoiding the Little Debbie aisle.
Exercise: I tippy-toed across the 500-minute mark (503) in my goal for 1000 cardio minutes in January (thus passing my cardio output for the entire year 2006). Today will be a rest day as my toesies are tired. My first no-exercise day of the year!
NSV: Didn't fall victim to the emotional upheaval of the weekend. I just took a deep breath, got on the treadmill, and kept going.
This and that: Cleaned out kitchen cabinets (decluttering), joined the HYC (trying new things), and blogged almost everyday (focus).

All things considered, not a bad week a'tall.