Frustration

I am stuck. I've been at the same weight now for almost four weeks. I didn't think it would be this hard to lose five pounds. The first five melted off in a couple weeks with minimal effort. But now I seem to be just maintaining. I'm going to have to step up my game to get those last few pounds off, but I just don't think I'll be able to do it by June 1st. That's just over a week away, and there's no healthy way to lose that much weight that fast. But I'm determined to reach the goal I set for myself back in March, if not by next week, then by June 15th. And I've set a new plan myself, which includes going to the gym a couple more times a week, in the mornings before work. Anyone want to join me?

I have to mention this: Tuesday evening I ran a whole mile. Four laps around the Northeast High School track without stopping! I couldn't even manage that when I was in high school. I'm ridiculously proud of myself.

I had this afternoon off, and I was very productive. I did several loads of laundry, and even folded it and put it away. And in between that, I sewed. I have a little pillow on my bed that I love, but the pillowcase was getting really pretty shabby, and since it's kind of an odd shape, I can't just go buy a new one. So I made one this afternoon. It turned out pretty well, and was fairly easy. For fabric I cut up the sham pillows that came with my comforter, so the pillowcase matches the rest of my bedding perfectly.

I enjoy sewing, because it takes a lot less time than knitting to get to the finished product. I'm contemplating what to make next. I would love to attempt to make something I could actually wear. There are lots of cute (free) patterns out on the web for fun accessories too, like this Buttercup bag. I already made one for practice, and I see many more in my future.

In other news, my friend Lisa now has a blog! Go check it out, and leave her a comment to encourage her to post more soon!

Slacking

For the past two days, I've really slacked on my diet. I was doing so well early this week, and I was just starting to feel like it was working. But then Thursday was payday, so I treated myself at lunchtime to Raising Cane's chicken fingers. I was planning to eat light at dinner, but then Lisa wanted to go out to dinner, and even though it was my turn to pick where we eat, she vetoed my "lighter" choice (Subway) and we settled on Wendy's. I tried to stick to a lighter dinner at Wendy's (well, lighter than what I normally eat there anyway), but things happened that were beyond my control (willpower). They were really short staffed at Wendy's, and obviously stressed about it, even though we were practically the only customers. We had to wait probably twenty minutes for our food, and then when it did arrive, there was somehow an extra patty on my burger. I didn't want to complain and stress out the staff even more, so I just ate it. And for our patience, the manager offered us a free dessert. How could I say no to the chocolate chip cookie dough Frostee?

And today, I just couldn't get back on track either. Although I did better than yesterday.

I haven't been too good about exercising this week either. The bitter cold has kept me from walking to work, and I missed Body Pump Wednesday night because of an upset stomach. I realized that I really miss ellipticizing, either at home or at the gym. So this weekend, I'm going to pick up where I left off on my diet, and do something active. At least the weather is supposed to be nicer, so maybe I'll go for a long walk.

The Diet Starts Tomorrow

Yeah. Right. That's what they all say. In fact, didn't I say that before? And look where I'm at now: six pounds heavier than I was then! That's right. Six pounds. Between Chinese food on Friday and pizza on Saturday, I managed to gain three pounds (I was down a pound from my vacation weight gain somewhere this week). I am officially the heaviest I have ever weighed. I don't even want to think about it.

So I'm getting out the food diary again. Actually, I got a pretty new one. It's shiny and red, with lined pages. (The unlined pages is the real reason that I stopped using my other one--seriously!) I am not going to try to set any official weight goals at this point; I'm just going to keep exercising and pay a little more attention to what I put in my mouth.

And in other news, my friend Kari from Washington has started a workout blog! Whoo hoo! Check it out!

Nibble While You Knit

I noticed something strange tonight while I was knitting: it made me hungry! Not that I was knitting so fast and furiously that I was just burning up the calories (oh, if that were possible!), but I realized tonight that I frequently snack on something at some point while I'm knitting. Usually it's something small and light like cereal or Cheez-Its, but often I stop in the middle of my project to get a bigger snack, like ice cream. I don't know when or how this started, but I defi-knit-ly need to nip this problem in the bud.

I managed to go for twenty minutes on my elliptical machine at home tonight. I am five weeks and nine pounds away from my goal (according to my scale tonight). So I need to step it up. I've been really slacking on cardio lately, so I need to get back to my original goal of thirty minutes every day. Mom, if I don't get up and do at least twenty minutes on the elliptical machine tomorrow before I drive to Schuyler, I will pay you $10.

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

For once, it wasn't me! I am the queen of those kinds of gaffes, forever saying just the wrong thing. However, I'm rarely on the receiving end and I find that position most uncomfortable. Especially since this one's a doozy! Read on.

The other day at work, one of our regular, normally aloof, patrons suddenly became rather chatty and as I was going about my work behind the desk, said this to me: "So is this your first?" I was stunned and stopped and stared, wondering if he could possibly be talking to me, and he continued, "Do you know if you're having a boy or girl?" I was so shocked, I could hardly stammer out that I was in fact not expecting anything. He was embarrassed and apologized, but that pretty effectively ruined my afternoon. Isn't this supposed to be one of the first things that people learn never, EVER to say?

And to make matters worse, I turned to my co-worker, who overheard all this and was as baffled as I was, and I sort of muttered in a bewildered, wounded way, "Do I really look pregnant?" and she did the unthinkable--she actually looked me up and down and said, "I think it's the jeans. Those lower waistbands change the way things look." I realize she was trying to be helpful, but this reminds me of that Friends episode where Chandler is schooled in the unspoken rules of relationships by Ross and Rachel after he offends Janice by giving her the once-over before answering that no, she doesn't look fat. The appropriate response is always "NO, of course not," regardless of the truth and you never, EVER look. I especially figured a fellow woman would know this. Fortunately, all my friends have since responded in the proscribed manner, and I'm beginning to believe them.

This little incident took place on Tuesday, and I've been rather down since then. Rather than having a motivational effect on my work-out ethic, I went sort of the opposite direction. But today I made it back to BodyPump and I ellipticized for twenty minutes after that. I decided that I am finally going to lose that ten pounds I always tell myself I'm going to lose. I'm going to watch what I eat and work out a lot more regularly. I have never been very good about dieting, but I've prepared some healthful menus for this coming week. And I plan to stick to it. In fact, I'm practicing this right now, while I'm writing this, because I'm craving a bowl of mint-chip ice cream that's downstairs in my freezer, but I am exercising my willpower by not going down to get it.

P.S. I wasn't going to post this story because it's rather embarrassing, but motivation is motivation, regardless of where it comes from, right? And what good is an embarrassing story if you can't let other people laugh at you?