Swirly Watermelon in Week 4

This is a really swirly watermelon that we ate last week. I thought it was pretty cool looking so I took this picture.


Week 4 of BetterU has come and gone, so what are the results?


I am back up two pounds, for a net loss so far of three pounds over this past month. I didn't do too well on my eating goals, so I'm chalking it up to that. I think that my activity level pretty much stayed the same, so that was good. Not happy with myself for many of my eating choices, but I am pleased that I kept being fairly active.





Goals for the past week were:





Buy a new pedometer and use it. Yes, check, done! And I really have been using it too and keeping track of my activity level. One day I had 14,350, another day I had just over 5,000.


I like this new pedometer because it has a flip up cover so that the reset button doesn't get pushed accidentally. Oh and of course the day after I gave up looking for my old one and bought a new one, I found the old one. So now I have a back up. My idea of clipping the pedometer to my glasses at night so that I'll remember to put it on right away in the morning has pretty much worked out.





Walk the dog and garden and stretch and situps everyday.


Yes to all but the situps. Why? Not sure, I think I forgot I'd put it as one of my goals. But the stretching sure felt good after all the gardening.





Weights at least 2 times this week.


Pretty minimal, because I didn't want to overdo, but I at least did it. Bench presses even, boy oh boy were my arms sore the next day.





Eat more vegies than bread.


Looking back on the food diary that I started (wow is that ever a revealing exercise!) Yes, I think I achieved this. No waste of greens or vegies this week to the compost pile, hooray.





Buy no candy.


I bought some chocolate covered almonds, but didn't eat them. I like to keep them in my studio as a pick-me-up when I'm in the middle of working to keep me going. But I wasn't in the studio at all, so I didn't eat any. However, I was given a piece of chocolate from my son who had received it as a birthday gift. I did say no twice though when he offered.







Find someone to be on my BetterU team.


I ended up asking my boys, one of whom is almost always around during shopping and cooking times, to help me with making better food choices. They agreed because they're nice and caring and I am persuasive. I told them they could tell me if I was getting grouchy. I think I still need to find a grown-up person too, so I'll work on that this week.








I wrote down some obstacles, acknowledging up front what I thought would prevent me from achieving last weeks goals. This is a new idea for me, from the BetterU journal, never tried anything other than just writing down the basic goals. A planning ahead, figuring out where you go astray from achieving the goals you're setting for yourself. It is useful, and I'm glad that I learned this technique from BetterU.





Obstacles to overcome:


I haven't been sleeping well, it always happens around this time of year, too much staying up late since it is still light so late...Must make the attempt to go to bed at the first sign of sleepiness instead of staying up past then.


I was about 50/50 on this and I hope that this week I can get some more sleep. I notice that the more active I am during the day, the easier it is to get to bed earlier than 1 or 2am. And conversely, the later I stay up, the harder it is to BE active the following day.





Must find the pedometer or buy a new one and actually use it.


I knew I'd find my old pedometer as soon as I bought a new one, but that is ok, now I have a backup, and I like the pretty new pink one better anyways. It is easier to find in the grass when it falls off! I





Willpower at the store to not grab candy.


When I bought the chocolate covered almonds, I was really really hungry. Duh, don't go food shopping when you're hungry. But at least I didn't eat them. But now they are here in the house just in case...A home without chocolate isn't a home or something silly like that.





Feeling tired and hurting makes it hard to get out there and walk and garden, etc. The answer


always is: Do It Anyways.


Why did I put this down as one of my obstacles, when it seems so obvious? Maybe I just wanted to acknowledge it right up front, so that when I see that I AM being active and Doing It Anyways that I'm getting past that obstacle that is always right in front of me, just like I want to be able to.





Now to go do my check-in at the BetterU website.

Better U Week 3 Down

Another green smoothie that isn't really green. Ran out of greens again so this has more strawberries than spinach. My planning is way off because all of a sudden my family is into lots and lots of deep leafy greens! It is that salad time of year I guess.

Whoops, another missed Monday for posting, well at least it is only Tuesday. I'm down two more pounds. So that is five all together. Not up, which is amazing and great because I had a birthday party and family party kind of weekend with lots of tempting food which I will be honest, I totally succumbed to. So that is proving to me that all this extra physical activity is
A) Worth the extra pain and fatigue

B) Actually working to help me lose weight

C) Needs to continue unless I make major major changes in how much I eat.

As far as goals go for last week, how did I do?

I did not find my pedometer, so I did not track my steps. I didn't buy one either, but I guess I will now that I've looked everywhere. I also did not start a food log, but I have started one as of rightnowtoday!

I did walk the dog some, but not everyday.
I did a lot of gardening and a huge aerobic blast of house cleaning on Saturday before my son's birthday party. I also tried my parent's WiiFit which was both intensely embarrassing (as I had to weigh-in right in front of my whole family!) and super fun. I really want to get one now.
It was scary to see how bad my balance is, and it told me I was 53. grrrrrr

I did a lot of great cooking this week, making up some new recipes, using hardly any oil to cook with, and different combos of vegies. So far so good, the family is playing along with me and have not complained. I'm lucky that they like good healthy food. I did buy lots of junk food (for the teens birthday party) and that was way too hard to have around, I just don't have the willpower. Maybe I can have them hide it from me or something. I've been letting them choose the ice cream flavor, that way it is usually not my faves and I won't want to have it as much. Pretty sneaky huh?

Goals for the week upcoming:

Buy a new pedometer and use it.

Walk the dog and garden and stretch and situps everyday. Weights at least 2 times this week.

Eat more vegies than bread.

Buy no candy.


Find someone to be on my BetterU team. Thinking who will be willing, available and helpful.....


Obstacles to overcome:

I haven't been sleeping well, it always happens around this time of year, too much staying up late since it is still light so late...Must make the attempt to go to bed at the first sign of sleepiness instead of staying up past then.

Must find the pedometer or buy a new one and actually use it.

Willpower at the store to not grab candy.

Feeling tired and hurting makes it hard to get out there and walk and garden, etc. The answer always is: Do It Anyways.

Keeping On, Keeping Up

Here we are at the beginning of the third week of Better U. How am I doing? Well I lost one pound last week. So that is three all together. Still movement in the right direction! I'm glad about that.

I haven't been changing my eating habits enough, it was one of those whirlwind weeks (kids graduating and ending the school year) where I just was too tired to make the right choices. A lot of junk was eaten. We also had many meals out in restaurants. And I had to bake two chocolate cakes for my kids to take to school, which required a lot of frosting and bowl clean up. ahem. I really struggle with planning ahead for weeks like this. I know they are coming, I know the schedule we'll be keeping, so I should just stock up and be ready. There is always next time. This is a learning experience, right?! And this week I'll just have to try to make the better choices as they come up.

I did a little bit of walking. But not with Zelda the wonder dog. She was out of commission this week as last weekend my husband took her on waaaay too long of a walk and swim in the river. I think she might be getting arthritis. So some non-dog-walking happened. But not every day, and not nearly enough. Next week I'll do more walking, hopefully with Zelda.

I did spend many hours in the garden though. Unfortunately they were mostly all at once yesterday. I'm pretty sore today and very pooped, it takes a while longer for me to rebound from a big effort like this. And oh do my hands hurt (maybe I'm getting arthritis? pretty early for that in my life I think). Probably just from holding all the garden tools and wrassling with the blackberry vines.
But I felt really energized and UP after being outside and moving and doing and hanging out with my green friends in the garden. I guess I just need to set a timer or something so I don't overdo.
Because today I've done zero exercise. I get so much out of gardening though, it is one of my favorite things to do in the world, and I am very much in the aerobic zone for most of the time, so it is a good workout for me.

I think I had only 2 green smoothies. I misplanned and I found that I was out of crucial ingredients (like spinach and bananas), and oh those other goodies were so much more available and easy and didn't require a blender. Next week I'll do better with this.

And now some thoughts on keeping up with my family. My husband and I used to be really active, we ran together, lifted weights, went hiking and backpacking almost every weekend, etc. Then came the kids and we just slacked off on all those activities and threw ourselves into doing things with our children because that was the most important thing to us. Now we're finding that the boys are at an age where they want to go out and do stuff with us such as we used to. My husband can still do it. I can, but only to a point. And that limit is really bothering me, I've been kind of obsessing about what I can and can't do.

I don't want my children to remember me as that mom that couldn't make it to the top of the hike. And so far I've only done that once, but it was over 100F in Sedona, and I only was about 1/4 mile from the trail's end. But oh was that embarrassing, I hated how I felt. They were worried about me, I felt badly because they were worried, etc. Why bother, just give up and sit back at the hotel eating my woes away. Nope. Not me.


So, I can still hike. Some. But not like I used to be able to. I used to backpack! That sounds pretty unattainable at this point. I'm much slower than I was before. I have to take more breaks. I don't handle the heat as well. Luckily I'm very stubborn. But that can be dangerous, as I can push myself too far and then crash suddenly, with no energy it is hard to make it off the mountain.
Here is a picture I took this spring in Tahoe, after I'd been left behind by my teenaged son and husband as they went scrambling up the snowy rocks off the trail. I wasn't able to follow. I didn't particularly want to. But I wouldn't even have dared to try. I don't have the balance I would need to attempt something like this. The meds I'm on mostly contribute to that, but I have to be more careful. But at that point in the hike I was already kind of shaky and tired, so pushing myself by rock scrambling on icy rocks wasn't a good choice for me. I took lots of pictures and worried myself into quite a state when they were gone for a long time.


And then on that same trip, they tried snow boarding for the first time. But I didn't even bother. Because I am so overweight, I'm really self-conscious about wearing the special clothing sports like this require. It never fits, and so it isn't comfortable. And if I'm renting it, I'm worrying about busting the seams open. Plus the last time I went skiing as an adult I hurt myself, and since then I've had some bad knee problems. And I didn't like skiing all that much to risk injuring myself. But I had to sit there and wait while they had fun together learning something new. I read a good book, and sat in the sun and that was fine. But it was boring, and I felt left out which isn't too great on a family vacation.

So other than feeling sorry for myself and worrying about worrying my family, these thoughts aren't all that useful. But I know that underlying all this is one of the main reasons that I'm interested in making changes in what I'm eating and how I'm keeping my body in shape. So that I can go out and do stuff with my family.

Jeans-o-meter

It is the second Monday of Better U. And so, how am I doing so far?

Well according to the only scale I have available (which usually matches my doctor's scale) I have lost 2 pounds from last week.

I'm not too excited (well ok I am so sue me) because of how far I have to go. In the whole big picture scheme of things, it isn't much at all. Damn those percentages! But at least it is a change in the right direction, ie down down down.

My first overall goal is to fit into the next size down of clothes. I'm judging by the jeans that I recently uncovered while unpacking from our epic house remodel. They were purchased, never used as the tags are still on, and they don't fit me now since I've gone up a size. I only wear jeans during the winter usually, and I can't have them be too tight in the thighs or the waist because of the pressure that puts on my lumps. They have to fit well, on the loose side. I'm not sure how many pounds that goal translates to. But I will try them on every week to encourage myself.

When I look at the price tag, I am reminded of much money this extra weight is really costing me. Buying new clothes just because my current ones don't fit. Sheesh, what a dumb way to spend money I don't really have. Or the extra food, mostly junk food at that, which is rather spendy.

On the green smoothie goal I did get 3 out of 7. Failing grade, but now that I'm thinking about them I'll make the effort to fix one for myself in the weeks ahead.

On the walking/exercise goal I got 4 out of 7 days. Including one day of several hours of gardening. That's a huge increase, so I'm happy with that. I have to be careful with how much I do at once, otherwise I'll be laid out on the couch for days recovering.

Goals for this coming week:

Walking Zelda everyday

Gardening for an hour, 2 times (spread it out, don't overdo)

7 lunchtime (or daily) green smoothies

Ice cream only once this week.

Challenges this week will be the social obligations we have this week where we'll be eating out. That and the end of the school year for my boys, which means a big adjustment. My plan to meet those challenges is to keep walking, and to make good choices when I eat out and what I buy to have for food at home.

Choices Made

Here's my green smoothie from two days ago. Spinach, Frozen Strawberries, Banana, Green Grapes, Agave, Water and Flax Oil all blended together. I didn't have one yesterday since I wasn't home much, and when I was, I wasn't hungry. I'm looking forward to one today because I got some nice fresh spinach at the local farmer's market. So that will go into the blender, stems and all.

I made a much better choice than I normally would have at the luncheon I attended yesterday. Instead of sauce smothered or fried-up seafood, I got a Greek shrimp salad with a vinaigrette. Very nice. Instead of a Coke, I ordered an ice tea and only put a teensy bit of sugar in. Instead of using up all the butter on my roll, I used only about 1/4 of it. This is a really big point here for me, because I lose all sense and discretion and restraint when I'm out at a restaurant. I'm glad that I'm thinking about what I eat as each choice is set in front of me. It helps to have a few guidelines (like baked, not fried) that are at the top of your mind when you go into a restaurant situation.

No dog walking happened, but I took a good walk while I was out. Yes it was through the mall, but I was on a bowtie-procurement-deadline so I was going much faster than mall-crawling, even walking up the escalator. After all the whizzing around I was way too pooped when I got home, sorry about that Zelda.

I'm down to my last banana, time to make up a grocery list using some of the recipes that I found at the BetterU website. One of them involves brown rice (and it says to use frozen brown rice! Never heard of this???), so I have to remember to start that cooking earlier than normal.
Love that nutty flavor of brown rice.

Deep Dark Circles

Another walk after 10pm, this time in the unusually wet and stormy night (it usually doesn't thunderstorm/lightning/rain at this time of year in California). I was really dizzy last night, but I found that it helped if I turned the flashlight on. It was unbelievably yummy smelling last night because of the little taste of rain, and walking in the dark made it even more delicious.

The green smoothie yesterday was good too, this time I used green grapes instead of a clementine which made the smoothie a little more green and tart too since the grapes weren't terribly sweet.


Look at those deep dark circles, very unusual for me.
I am so beyond tired and fatigued, I wonder if I need to get my thyroid meds changed. I think it is time for the retest that I take every six months.

My challenge today will be going out to a restaurant lunch with my parents and some visiting relatives. Hope there is something baked not fried and maybe salad-ish.

The Raw Truth

I almost failed on the first day of NewBetterImprovedMe, putting off walking the dog at every opportunity, making the usual excuses and rationalizations and finding other things that needed doing instead. But at 10pm last night, my husband and I took a short walk up the street in the beautiful moonlight with Zelda the wonder dog. (and Spike one of our cats who loves to follow his dog).


So yes! Goal #1 on Day #1 just barely accomplished but still accomplished. It is amazing to me, how great I am at putting up barriers and sabotaging my own best intentions for myself. I need to use my awesome powers for good instead of evil...

The second most important goal for me was to drink a green smoothie for most of my lunch time eating. That was more easily accomplished, because I love them, even though I've gotten out of the habit over the last six months or so. From sheer laziness? Or did I get tired of them? I really couldn't say, just that I've been telling myself over the last few months I need to start making those green smoothies again...So here I am actually doing it, yay me!

My recipe is from the

Green for Life book which is written by a really interesting woman named Victoria Boutenko. There are all kinds of reasons to eat raw foods, some of which make complete sense to me, some of which don't. There is absolutely some scientific evidence to back up all the anecdotal evidence in this book. This is not something I could envision doing 100%, going completely vegetarian and to boot, raw, ie. uncooked. But I found that having a green smoothie once a day made a big difference in how much energy I had. So I'm going back to it to see if I'll get that energy boost again. Plus it is a great way to eat more greens and fruit.

My recipe on this day was:

• 1 cup Frozen Strawberries, (which taste great but make the smoothie kinda icky brownish),



• two big handfuls of raw spinach,



• one pretty ripe banana,



• one small clementine orange



• a tablespoon of Flax Seed Oil,



• a teaspoon of Agave Nectar,



• and about a cup and a half of water.



• All blended up really well in the blender.

The fun thing about these smoothies is that it doesn't exactly taste like spinach or fruit, it just tastes GREEN and very FRESH.

Why Do It Anyways?

The title of my blog says it all for me: "Do It Anyways".

This is my current life motto. I have to think this way because of the disease that I have which has reduced my options down to either:

1) Laying around doing nothing, eating and continually expanding

or

2) Being in motion and exercising and just plain doing stuff even though it hurts.

Because it always hurts, whether I exercise or not, so I might as well exercise if I want to keep living. Which I do. I have to remind myself of that, sometimes more often than I'd like when I'm in a big pain cycle or flare.

This thing that I have is extremely rare, incurable (at the moment), hardly studied and managed only through surgery and pain medication. The name of it is Dercum's Disease in case you happen to be interested. When I have to describe it to people I usually say that it is like fibromyalgia with bonus lumps. The lumps are lipomas and angiolipomas which are conglomerations of fat that grow all through my body (so far head,hands & feet are spared). Lipomas on their own are quite common, most people (and dogs) have them and they don't hurt and rarely need to be operated on. Mine though are very numerous, over 200 at last count, some as small as a grain of rice, other golfball sized.

I have surgery to have several at a time removed when the site specific pain gets to be too much. Thanks to a great dermatological surgeon and a great acupuncture, I've now got the surgery recovery down to a fairly easy thing. It wasn't that way at first though.

I have found that almost any significant amount of activity means that I pay for it later on, especially the next day. Sometimes I'm immobilized by weakness, pain, and lethargy for more than a day. So it is a constant struggle for me to make the choice to do stuff, to go out and use my body as everyone else can, because I know I'll pay for it the next day. But I have a family and I want to have a life where I'm involved with them, participating in their lives and activities, so I can't just skip going places all the time, that isn't going to work for me or them.

My biggest activity goal for participating in this 12 week New U program is to walk my dog, Zelda everyday. We live on a very steep street, so this isn't just an amble around the block I'm talking about. I get out of breath and sweat and everything. Sometimes I can make it on the long circuit which is about 1.5 miles (that's my "block"), sometimes only the 1/3 mile to the mailbox, sometimes just to the faux stop sign. So my main goal is to do some version of this walking the dog thing, every day. I want and need to establish this habit. Zelda needs to lose weight too, so hopefully she'll have a positive, fruitful New U experience also...

BetterU

This is the first day of my 12 weeks in this program BetterU. You can join in at anytime. It is a great way to look differently at how exercise and eating habits are affecting one's health.