Weighty Matters

I'm someone who loves my sleep. I mean, I love sleep like a fat kid loves chocolate cake. Like the quote from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: "She used to say she could taste sleep and that it was as delicious as a BLT on fresh French bread." Even in elementary school, I had a late bedtime (compared to so many other kids) but my mother must have found it pure hell to try to drag me out of bed in the mornings. She asked, cajoled, threatened, demanded, and basically did whatever it took ...... my sleep needs simply didn't coincide with the demands of real life. Here I am 30+ years later, and nothing's changed. I cannot fall asleep before 11:00 but in order to accomplish everything I have to, I have to be up at 5:30 on a normal morning, 5:00 if I have to be at work at 8:00. No, I'm not kidding. Why 2 hours to get ready? You eat breakfast, unravel the leg bandages, roll them back up, hit the shower, dry off, put back on a pair of support hose, fix lunch (a...

After 4 years, it is the end of an era. I am losing my 7:00 meeting on Thursday nights. Several back-to-back meetings at various locations and centers are being consolidated, and this happens to be one of them. But oh my..... I've built so much of my schedule and my world around Thursday evenings being MY time. Right now, unless I can change my schedule to attend the 5:30 meeting, my only option is Sunday afternoons.... and really, do I want to weigh in after Sunday dinner? :D So I will do what I can to get to Thursdays at 5:30. To everyone who has been part of my life for those 7:00 meetings, I sure hope to see you soon. You have meant the world to me! **** Week 2 of the "Dave Workout, Plan One" ..... we upped the weight to a 15-pound dumbbell, and added yet another lifting/stretch thing to it. Oh. Em. Gee. I feel it this week in my abs and my shoulders/arms. It's still a good hurt. Strangely enough, I'm enjoying this. They have a word for that: masochism. :D

My personal trainer, that is. I started a new fitness routine this week. Medicine balls and twists. Dumbbells used as kettlebells. Learning to juggle (kinda sorta). Glutes & hams, with calf raises and lowers. Heavier weights than usual. Dave told me Monday night, "You are going to be sore tomorrow." Dave was wrong; I was getting sore 2 hours later!!! But it feels good . It is hard work that feels good to body and soul. Am I perfect, do I remember all the routine yet? No. And trying to do the routine in the mornings is tough because I only have so much time, but I do as much as time will allow, and I am finally at a point where my schedule is evening out. *** Last night, I had the opportunity to share a portion of my story at a WW meeting/open house. I really enjoyed getting to meet everyone, and hearing their stories and questions. If there's anything I want others to hear by sharing my tale, it's that there is hope, there is success, there is great joy in getting...

I'm reading the Geneen Roth book little bit by little bit. It's pretty deep, so I want to savor it and not just give it the speed-read treatment. In fact, tonight over dinner, I read more of it, and got just whammied by what I was reading. About paying attention to your body and to stop the obsessing (and get to what's really eating you instead....) This weekend, I experienced this for myself a little on Saturday night. I had a birthday party for a high school friend, and I didn't worry about the food. I ate what I wanted, to satisfaction, and earlier than my usual dinnertime. Amazingly enough, I didn't eat again until very late (just to have a snack before bed)..... I was very satisfied, to say the least. And I made it a point that I was going to count it against my weekly 35 points. I also worked out a little more this week, because I know I feel lousy when I don't. It is starting to pay off. I am down 1.6 from my official weigh-in, and only 2.8 to go in order...

I'm reading a new book, just in Chapter One right now, but it is quite an interesting premise: Geneen Roth's Women, Food and God -- about how the choices we've made with food (and other things) reflect our deepest core values and our spirituality. I cannot wait to keep reading it..... if I'm not dead asleep Sunday afternoon (after a pretty busy week and weekend), then I will be nose-deep in this book!

It is what it is. Yeah, I'm up. Not quite as much as February (oooh, a whole 6/10ths difference), but it's up. Oh well, weekly weigh-ins, here I come! So what do I do need to do differently to get this fixed and soon? Set a better schedule. The last couple of weeks have been a lot of curveballs and change-ups to my time frames. So that ends. Not only do I need to map out my day and eating plans to accommodate my new evening meetings, but my exercise as well. I've gotten off a good set schedule, and I need to get back. This will be a little easier once choir practice ends, so hopefully in about 2 weeks, I'll have a really good schedule set. Do more cooking. Another thing I haven't had time for, but really need to work on. I have new recipes to try out, and I can't wait!!! Figure out exactly (calorie-wise) what I should be eating each day -- not just the points, but the calories too. Points are a little different because I can use one point on something that...