Cheap Cheap goes the Chicken

I have done this experiment twice now. I buy baked chicken from the deli when it gets marked down for a quick sale. I have twice bought two containers of baked chicken for $4.13 per box. The full price is $6.99 per container. Each box has two breasts, two thighs, two wings, and two legs. I will then de-bone them as well as take the skin off. I break them up into containers to freeze for homemade chicken soups or other dishes requiring cooked, chopped chicken. After I do this you can see these results on my counter:

As I work to de-bone and de-skin the chicken, I usually nibble at the wings as they are too hard to strip the meat off of. I actually build this in to my lunch as part of the meal. So those three containers to the right are just meat and are mostly from four legs, four thighs, and four breasts. The pile on the left is the skin and bone.

Those three containers cost me $8.26. I weighed them and did the math. I am paying about $3.30 per pound for that chicken. Remember, this is for TWO birds. Now when I see organic chicken on sale that is already de-boned and has the skin removed, $4/lb doesn't seem as expensive. Keep this in mind when you buy whole chickens, whether organic or not. There IS a lot of waste. Chicken really isn't all that cheap when you compare this way, to boneless beef or pork cuts, or ground beef or pork.

I DO still like the convenience of the cooked chicken. I will not pay the full price for it ever! I would be paying close to $10 a pound then!!!

In other notes, we went for a walk today. We went on the trail to see if it was still blocked by the trees that came down during the Christmas storm we had. The trail had mostly been cleared. The huge fifty foot pile of debris in front of our house though, has NOT been picked up yet. We are not amused.

I was down another pound this week. I am not even trying hard to do anything. I am just living a nice normal life and giving myself some down time to relax once or twice a week. Guess what? I am doing just fine! Even I find it amazing to think I can live life this way! It is so easy! And boy do I get off on the men who seem to go out of their way to hold doors open for me! hahahaha My sweet husband has nothing to worry about though. He is still and always will be the love of my life. I just am not used to being treated with respect from strangers. That is kind of sad, isn't it? Hopefully I am helping others to become as happy and healthy and fit and just normal as I am!

Till next week...walk on!

Zippity Do Da!

Ahhhhhh, it feels soooooo good! Yes, after weeks of being way OFF track, I am finally back ON track! Zippity do da, zippity yay, my oh my, what a wonderful day!

I was all over the place for a while. I didn't give up but I sure was worried for a while. Silly me. I think part of the problem that it took so long to recover from the holidays was our weather here. One day we are in the cold and the next we are in spring like weather. I must admit that walking in the sunshine today was invigorating!

I even dropped a couple pounds. I am always curious to see if that trend stays on the downward slide or not. I would still like to get down another ten or so pounds.

I went back to the pool for the first time in months. My skin was so dried out afterwards! I put lotion on it and I smelled like chlorine. Yuck! I had showered afterwards, but I guess my skin had absorbed more chlorine that I had expected.

It has been fun to have new folks in our weight loss support group. I am always so hopeful that some of them will stick it out and gain control of their lives, learning to live healthier and to maybe lose a few pounds in the process.

I recently found another older photo of me. This couldn't get any more real because both photos were taken in the month of October. The one on the left was in 2007 and on the right October 2012. Gads, was I really THAT fat!!!??? And gads, am I really THAT skinny???!!!

I know this isn't the most interesting posting and is pretty much all about me. I don't have any new tips or tricks to share. I will say though, that giving up is never an option. You might have to side step to get around that big old tree in front of you, but just go forward as soon as you can get around it. You can do it. Shoot, I DID!

Walk-on my friends...see ya on the trail!

Reality Check

Ok, the holidays are over. The yoga classes are back in session. The last of the holiday treats have been consumed. The weight has gone up four pounds since just before Christmas.

I have not been exercising very hard. More like hardly at all. I have kept up with my yoga twice a week and I have walked 3-6 miles per week for the past ...oh, week or so. I have also not done much of anything for a few days in the middle of the week. I used to make it a point to do something six to seven days a week.

I've been enjoying a few too many sweet treats, wine, breads, cakes, candies, and the like. I know why the weight crept back up.

My negative Nelly inner voice is saying, "Here we go, we are going to get fat again." My positive Polly inner voice is saying "No, this too shall pass and we will be back on track soon."
Nelly: "You can't do this long term. You are a fake."
Polly: "That's just silly! You've worked too hard...well not hard, because it was easy. But you've stayed with the plan and did the work needed to lose all that weight! Give yourself a break!"
Nelly: "That is just a bunch of BS. Once a fatty, always a fatty."
Polly: "Yes, it IS true, once a fatty, always a fatty. You will never forget you WERE a fatty. But you will not give back all those diamonds you EARNED girl! Now hush up and give yourself some credit here!"
Nelly: "You..." !!!SLAP!!!
Polly: "Shut up Nelly! She is doing just fine. Leave her alone. Come on Walker Lady, let's plan our week and get back on track."

See you next time. Till then, walk on!!!

Trail check

If you haven't heard, our area was hit by a pretty good winter storm on Christmas Day. Some folks were without power for over a week! Everywhere there are trees and limbs and broken branches that will need to be cleaned up. We had some damage here too, but the house wasn't hit.

We went out today to see what damages there were to the Levy trail we like going on so much. Most of the trail survived and all of it could still be traversed. There were a few tricky parts though!

Ziva let me lead the way so I could feel special.
She is such a brave dog. (coughcough)

New Yoga pose?

There was evidence of folks having cut up some of the trees and branches that were blocking the trail. There was a section of trail that I think of as the 'party' section that you could have driven on as it was so clean. Funny how all the trees and limbs seem to fall sideways along that part of the trail so it was still passable!

With changes coming to my exercise routine again, it was good to know that I still have my trail to fall back on, when all else fails.

Till next time, walk-on!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What's that? It's been a new year for a week now? Really? Gee, time flies! I should have known time was flying since I have been working on getting this post done since New Year's Day.

SO, we made it to another year! Time to celebrate! Time to get back on track if we've strayed off the healthy eating path or if we have not been doing our exercises as we should. (Don't look at me that way!) Of course I was PERFECT over the holidays. Why I exercised every single day! I didn't over indulge. Not me. I am perfect.

Does that all sound right to you? Of course not. I am human! I DID have a perfect holiday as far as exercise and eating healthy. I enjoyed indulgences. I used a lot of shopping in place of actually going to classes for exercising. (Not to mention many of the classes were not going on due to the holidays) I know I gained weight over the holidays. I had way too many carbs, mostly in the form of Chex mix. I had too much alcohol, mostly in wine. I gained about 2.5 pounds. I am not upset about this at all! Ok, I AM a little upset, only because it took so long to lose those same two pounds before! Will it take a long time to get them back off? I don't know yet.

I won't let this set me back though. In fact, I think this will be a great time to see if the theory of 'shocking' the system works. I might have inadvertently kick started a weight loss slide! Then again, maybe not. hahaha

Seriously, there are so many things in transition, it will be interesting to see what does and what does not change. Will the weight go off a little faster or will I be stuck on a plateau for months again? What new exercise regime will I do now that the weight training classes are no longer offered? Will I be walking the trail more? I have so many choices...it is actually exciting!

I haven't made any New Year resolutions. I don't need to. I am resolved to keep on eating right and exercising and enjoying it as much as I can! I will also try not counting calories for a while, to see how 'normal' I can become. Today is the first day that I am doing that.

Ok, if I don't get this posting done and published right now, it will be 2014 before it appears! Or you might think something happened to me and that I quit. Nope, not me! I am still here. I hope you are too! Get back with 'it' as soon as you can folks. It's a great life. Let's live it to the fullest!

As always, dear readers, walk on!

WHO? ME?

Just stopping by to say another quick hello! We are snowed in and I am missing my exercise classes. I knew I liked them, but I didn't know how much I liked them until I'd been deprived of being able to go to them!!!

I think I have gained about ten pounds over the holidays so far. Wayyyyy too many carbs...that chex-mix is wicked good! I hope to walk to the store today to get some much needed fresh produce. We can't drive out there yet and might not be able to for a few more days. My wrist got tweaked and I can't even shovel snow, which I would gladly have done for exercise!

My favorite Fat 2 Fit podcast sent out a notice that they plan to be back in 2013. I sure hope so! I miss that podcast a lot. It won't be the same guys, but I am hoping it will be the same theme...I can't imagine it won't be! "Eat like the thinner person you want to become." That is it in a nutshell. MMMMMMM nuts, cashews, pecans, almonds....we have a lot of those in the house right now too. I think I gained a pound, just thinking about them!

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season as well. Be kind to yourself and get back on track as much as you can, as soon as you can. That is what I plan to do!

Till next year, walk on my friends!!!

Dashing through the snow...

Just dashing in for a quick hello! 

Hello!

No snow here yet. Perhaps by Christmas Day!
Today begins a five day stint with no exercise classes. Whatever will I do?
I am going out to dinner tonight, to celebrate with my husband. It is his birthday today!
I am glad the world didn't end, as some feared.
I refuse to change the number above, that says what I weigh. I've been all over the place and even saw a 180 for a day. I will see what happens in 2013, after the holidays and all the goodies I plan to enjoy!

Has anyone noticed that chicken prices are not very good right now? I have a freezer full of beef roasts and ground beef. I have one package of pork. I have no chicken. Well, I suppose I could have chicken if I bought regular chicken and wasn't waiting for the organic chicken to be on sale. How dare I want to wait for a sale price? It might have something to do with the organic chicken being higher priced per pound than the steak that I buy sometimes!!!
I should look into raising chickens in the back yard. But then I would have to butcher them myself as my hubby and child would hightail it out of here if they saw me wielding an ax.

For the first time that I can recall, I am looking forward to enjoying a goodie or two this holiday season. For the first time, I am not afraid of having a treat or two! For the first time I am not worried. For the first time, I feel in control of what I choose to eat. I will over indulge a bit here and there and I might gain a pound or so. THIS year though, I know I can take it back off as I get back into my routine of exercising and eating right.

It is still SO very easy! I cannot believe how successful I have been and continue to be! Really, if you are struggling, don't give up. Figure out what works for you and in the words of Picard, "Make it so."

On a serious note, yes, I DID walk in remembrance for the children and adults who died in Newtown. It felt good to pay homage to them. I am doing more, but for today, this was the right thing to do.

Now dear readers...enjoy the holidays, your families, your lives, and as always,

Walk On

Time on the 21st

I just haven't felt like posting anything since Friday's tragedy in Connecticut. How does anyone deal with the horror of those little lives being taken so violently? I don't know. I do know I was immensely happy to hug my 6th grader when he came home from school that day. I felt guilty because I had a child to hug.
I have heard some talk of folks saying they are walking for at least 27 minutes on Friday the 21st, in order to remember those 27 lives lost, both young and old. For 27 minutes they will walk in silent contemplation and reverence. I plan to do something similar during my Friday walk. I don't want to hold it to a specific 27 minutes, but will dedicate 30 minutes without music or podcasts playing in my ears...to remember all that have been lost too many times in too many places. Join me?

Being Comfortable

I am enjoying a most delicious apple right now. I take a bite and type and bite and type. As long as I don't drool on the keyboard, I think this will work out just fine!
Speaking of working out, I was thinking about my exercise regimen yesterday. I really like the balance I have right now:

• Sundays I often go for a very long walk. 
• Monday is yoga and I like how I get to stretch all my muscles after having done whatever I've done on the weekends. It seems to start the week out right.
• Tuesday is a short walk in the morning and upper body weight training class in the afternoon.
• Wednesday I am back in yoga class. After the workout on Tuesday, I find yoga relieves tight and sore muscles.
• Thursday is a short walk in the morning again. In the afternoon I go to weight training class for the lower body and legs.
• Friday is a free-for-all day. I usually schedule some sort of errand running or I might do the short walk. Sometimes I don't leave the house, but I will do some housework. I also have recently made a morning appointment with myself to sit for 15 minutes and work on my art journaling.
• Saturday is a toss-up day. I can go for a walk, work on the strength machines, go in the pool, or do major yard work or housework or shopping or nothing. 

I am comfortable. Not TOO comfortable, but just the right amount of comfortable. As each week passes and my weight does not go up, I am thinking..."Is this real? Why is this time SO different? How can this be SO freakin' easy???" Is it because I give myself permission to not be perfect? Is it because I don't need to be 120 pounds to be healthy? I think for each of us, the answer is a different reason.

All those years of trying to lose weight and failing over and over again...why am I successful now? In part I think it comes down to the fact that I educated myself and continue to educate myself about foods and new discoveries in the world of heath. I remain a skeptic about most things (especially the NEWEST things) and stick to the basics that keep working well for me, time and time again. In part, I...

• eat sensibly and mindfully.
• add vegetables every time I can.
• make changes where I can and don't stress about the changes I can't make.
• keep active in life or in exercise classes.
• utilize a support group that helps me stay motivated and is very therapeutic.
• change up my exercise routine if I get bored doing what I am doing. 
• if something keeps tripping me up, I figure out how to not trip over it!

My weight has remained down from where it was a month ago. The more I live, what seems normal to me, the more I am amazed that I am not gaining, and in fact I lost a bit. This is exciting...well to ME it is!

Till next time, Walk-on!!!

Granny was right

Granny was right about more than we realized at the time.

Remember when she was doctoring her family? 

It has been so long ago since I've seen this show but I still recall one episode that has stuck in my mind all these years. There was an episode where a woman asked Granny for help. She couldn't sleep at night. Did Granny have some hill-country medicine that would help her sleep?

What did Granny prescribe? I seem to recall butter churning, floor washing, wall washing, washing clothes by hand with a washboard, and various chores that were normal for Granny to do every day. The woman was well off and had a maid that did all her household chores. When she followed Granny's advice she slept like a baby that night.

I've always remembered that part of that episode. If you're lazing around and at the end of the day you can't sleep, SOMETIMES it is because you haven't been active enough during the day.

A parade of wheat

It has been a whirlwind around this household! After the 'Big Dam Bridge Full Moon Walk' we had a birthday for my son. We then followed up that with a parade! The three of us were in the parade group from Fit 2 Live out of North Little Rock.

That is my son on the left, my husband in the middle and myself on the right. The parade theme was "A Psychedelic Christmas" so I found my original big bell, bell bottom jeans from 1974. Funny how tight they fit back in '74 and how lose they were now! I had to wear a belt to hold them up. What a fun way to get a 4+ mile walk done for that day's exercise!

So many things are on my mind! Before I forget all of them, I am trying to type really really fast! Here are the tidbits from my mind today:

• My weight started a downward trend again! I am not sure why but I am not going to argue the fact that over the last four weeks I've dropped at least two pounds!
• It has now been over a week since I quit smoking. I've been off the patch for four or five days. I declare that I have again, quit!
• I like having a trainer to work with on weight training. He keeps track of what I am doing and what I need to do and when I need to change it up. I like the freedom to not have to think about every detail and to just DO what he says I should.
• I like the structure of the yoga classes too, for the same reasons as the weight training sessions. 
• Having two days a week of structured yoga and structured weight training is plenty for me. The other three days are toss up days to exercise how I want to. I do make it a point to do something in the name of exercise each day, but I no longer am worried that I am not doing enough or doing exercise hard enough.
• I am starting to wean myself off of calorie counting. My New Year's goal is to stop all together. It is scary but at the same time exhilarating to think I can do this!
• My eating habits are getting more and more second nature. I love not having to be so damned obsessive about every morsel that goes into my mouth.
• I enjoy helping others with their weight issues. The longer I am successful at this the more empowered I feel that I CAN make a difference in someone else's life so that they do not have to suffer like I did.
• When I 'cheat' or just have to have something extra I am making it a point to have some mixed nuts, or a piece of fruit, or Greek yogurt. My theory is that since those are more natural foods, they will be absorbed better, health-wise, than a processed food would be.

I saw this on Facebook the other day:

I love the one that says the unopened registers

are there for decoration only! hahaha

My eating habits are leaning more and more towards eating more protein, vegetables, fruits, and drinking more water. I am trying to cut more and more wheat carbs out of my diet. That is an experiment I am working on to see if it makes a difference in how I feel or if the belly fat that I still carry around goes away more.

There is a theory out there that says the wheat we eat now is so far removed from the wheat our grandparents ate, that it is the cause for every ailment under the sun! I am undecided about *GMO stuff, but heck, this is worth a try! (*GMO = genetically modified organism) We often eat too much wheat anyway. Look at the processed foods and just see if there is any wheat in it. We are supposed to be surprised at what does actually have wheat in the ingredients.

We think of breads and such as having wheat, but I think we forget just how much wheat we use in other products. Maybe it IS something and maybe it isn't. I am ever the skeptic, so I can't take anyone's word for it. I will be my own guinea pig again. I'll keep you posted on the results.

That's it in a nutshell for today! My exercise of choice today is decorating the house for the holidays. It is a lot of work but it is also a fun way to exercise!

Till next time...walk-on!

It was a cold and stormy night...

No, not quite. It was cold but the sky was clear. It was almost a full moon. My husband and son joined me in our second annual "Big Dam Bridge Full Moon Walk" last night.

When we arrived, it was almost dark. Aren't those lights pretty? They changed with the music that was playing over the loudspeakers.

There I am, about halfway back to the North Little Rock side, where we started at:

I love how the lights are checking me.

Here I am, posing for a photo. I was on the Little Rock side of the bridge at this point. I wish I could share with you just how exhilarated I was! As I strode along, this feeling of power and strength and pure enjoyment flooded over me. When I did this same walk last year, I didn't weigh THAT much more than I do now...I was about 25 pounds more a year ago. It was a bit of a struggle to do that walk, but this time...this time I felt SO STRONG! That feeling carried me all through today. I was proud of myself. It is a strange feeling to admit that I could be PROUD of what I've accomplished. Little old me...I DID it. I lost the weight. I worked at getting stronger. I accomplished so much! Little old me.......and now I hope I can help others to feel this good about themselves too.

Walk-on dear readers...walk-on.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving Day! 

I am thankful to all my readers who see my messages and are inspired to keep on, keeping on, with improving their lives, losing weight, and just living healthier! YOU keep ME going! Yes, you do!!!

I am totally not stressed out about today. I plan to eat well and sensibly. I will have pumpkin pie. It won't be the whole pie though, and I plan to enjoy every bite of what I do have. I also will go for a little walk later today as it is super lovely outside today!

I am grateful, that after all these years, I seem to have finally figured things out! I am successful, for the first time EVER, all on my own with no surgery, pills, gimmicks, or major life stresses used to lose weight for a short time, only to then gain it all back again.

I love my diamonds! I did have help though. Without the support of my husband and the folks in my support group, I really believe I would not have been this successful.

So again, thank you!

Not real exercise?

I didn't go to the gym today.
I didn't go for a swim.
I didn't walk on the trail today.
I didn't pick up my weights.
I didn't sit on the bouncy ball.
I didn't stretch out the bands.
I didn't do yoga or a DVD.
however.....
I did cover our 21,000 square foot lawn with fertilizer.
I did feed and mulch the roses.
I did sweep the sidewalk clear.
I did clip off the dead heads of flowers.
I did trim down some shrubs.
I did rake out my neighbor's huge flower bed.
I did sweep off her sidewalk.
I did a load of laundry and a little housework too.
I guess I did a little bit. How about you?

Did I mention we have NINE mature oak trees in our large yard? AND that we take care of our neighbor's yard too? I think almost three hours of yard work will count as exercising today.

Happy Fall! Oh, and walk-on dear readers, walk-on.

Random Thoughts

In no particular order, here are a bunch of random thoughts going through my head today:

1. No news about my friend who was injured. I hope to hear something on Monday at yoga class.

2. I finally took some photos off my phone and have them in my computer now. I have done this before, but here is a reminder of why I don't like the trail so much in the summertime in the south:

That is 77 inside and 110 outside. I bet I could have fried eggs without grease this summer if I'd put them out on the driveway!!!

3. About a month ago these flowers started blooming again. My cell phone camera doesn't begin to do them justice!

They are bigger than a baseball!

4. I have not stopped smoking, but have set Monday as the day to wake up and be smoke free once more! (damn cigarettes)

5. Mark Sisson of paleo eating fame was on a podcast I listened to today. He talks a good talk. He suggests trying his methods for four weeks and judge for yourself. I hate when things sound good because so many turn out to be just another twist on low carb or low fat or .

6. Crabby McSlacker, over on Cranky Fitness, asked on a recent post if we are guinea pigs with ourselves. I read her posting last night and was tired, but that thought stuck with me a lot today. Do we experiment on ourselves to see what works and what doesn't? I would say a resounding yes! 
See #5 above...am I thinking about experimenting with myself with Sisson's program? (the key word there is thinking about) I am not ready to give up on grains and dairy yet though.

7. I am really enjoying weight training classes. I think I am getting stronger. There are hopes that we can keep working together when these free sessions end.

8. I've been avoiding the trail a lot. I have no real reason or excuse. I finally forced myself out of the house at ten this morning and took off. Again, this photo doesn't do it justice. I am SO glad I did go out there.

9. THE BLAME GAME: I was thinking about how we play the 'blame game' with excuses as to why we do this or that or turn out the way we do. I think I started gaining weight around age four when my sister was born. So should I blame her for me being fat? My parents entertained a lot and always had chips and snacks and very buttery popcorn around. Should I blame them for me being fat? Fat makes us fat, or so they said in the 70's. Now they say it is sugar. Should I blame the government for getting it wrong?

I've said it before and I will say it again...we CAN blame everyone and everything we want to blame for how we ARE. We can really only blame ourselves for how we proceed from here.

10. For whatever reason, I have managed to lose over 100 pounds. "Whatever reason"? I worked at it. I didn't give up. I tried again. I tried a different way than from before. THIS time, it worked. THIS time it continues to work. I don't feel like I am starving. I don't feel I am over exercising. I am leading an active life but not at breakneck speed.

Will my way of losing weight work for you? It might. I can offer suggestions. I can offer tips. The trouble is, what happened to me, happened to ME. Not you. YOU have to experiment with yourself to learn what will work best for you.

We all have generalities that we can follow that seem to work on some levels for all of us. Knowing what we eat; eating quality food; fitting exercise in our lives; those all make a difference. Remember that we are all different. We all have to devise a lifestyle that will work for us, personally.

"OH that is TOO hard! I don't want to do all that WORK to lose weight!" Fine. You don't have to! That's the good news, right? Yes, there is bad news. You won't change if you don't change.

That's it for today friends. Walk-on!

Hurting for a friend

I am sad today. At our yoga class we learned that a well liked member had been in an accident on Saturday. She is 65 and was riding her bicycle when she collided with a vehicle. She's been in a coma ever since. We don't know the prognosis.
She was one of the first ones in class that I talked to on a regular basis. An avid bicyclist and gardener, she always seemed full of energy and had a smile. I hope she will be ok. 

And they call it "The Streak"!

I admit it...I am a streaker! When I started changing my life around, I was adamant that FAT was very bad and was making me fat. I cut back everywhere on fatty foods. The less fat the better...in EVERYTHING! I was on a zero tolerance, no fat streak.

I then went on a tangent of having oatmeal every morning. Without fail, I HAD to have oatmeal.

I had a streak of Greek yogurt eating. I often had four or five servings a day!

There was the chicken salad for lunch streak that turned in to baked chicken with spinach salad for every lunch streak.

Right now I am eating eggs a lot. I love them poached on an English muffin with a piece of Canadian bacon. I have two eggs, one each on a half muffin, for breakfast. Yum!

There was the walking over ten miles a week streak, and the swim in the pool five days a week streak. That was followed by shopping every day at the thrift store streak. Shopping became my exercise of choice for a while.

I seem to go in streaks all over the place!

 The trail is beautiful this time of year.

 Ziva is always ready to go farther.

 I noticed this interesting piece of wood buried in the trail bed.

 Early morning sun makes the trail almost look magical.

 This could be a weed, but it still stuck out and begged to be noticed.

 Long tall morning shadows are interesting too.

 Walk-on dear readers!
 But with clothes on please...we don't do that type of streaking!

Move along, move along, nothing to see here

As I write this, this morning, I am beating myself up over two stupid things. The first is that I am still struggling with cigarettes. I am not smoking much, but I am smoking some. I know I will quit again. I hope I get myself kicked in the butt hard enough to make that happen REAL soon. Right now I am having a royal pity party though, and it ain't happening.

The other thing that I am beating myself up for, is over shampoo. Shampoo??? WHAT? Yes, shampoo. I am cheap frugal. It is a holdover from 20 years with my first husband who was a penny pincher extraordinaire. Sometimes this IS a good thing, but not always.

When I go grocery shopping I go down isle 20 in my local Kroger's, to see what is in the markdown section. I have had great luck with trying new things there, that I would never have bought at full price. The latest was Pantene shampoo and conditioner that was 50% off! Wow, a quality shampoo instead of the cheapo watered down stuff that is .99 cents a bottle! What a deal.....until this past week. We used it and it left a waxy feeling in our hair. We could not rinse it out! My hair looked wet or greasy, even though it was just cleaned!

So today I went to the store to return the bottles that I hadn't used. All SIXTEEN bottles worth...over $48 of shampoo and conditioner. The store would not take it back because it was marked down and I didn't have a receipt. I don't blame them, but that hurt the pocketbook a LOT. I did arrange to have the bottles donated to a women's shelter so perhaps someone there could get more use out of it. But I am kicking myself and feeling REALLY bad that I made such a huge and to me, costly mistake.

That's about it for today. The weight is staying the same again, but at  somewhat lower number that is three pounds down from where it had been for over five months. That is good. I am trying very hard to keep doing what I need to do to keep things in line as far as exercise and food intake. My heart is not in it. However, being the cheap frugal person that I am, I am STILL hanging on to those 100+ diamonds and I will not give up. I trust that things will turn around for the better soon...they always do. And I know in the whole scheme of things in life, that this too, shall pass and it really is NOT that big of a deal!

Walk-On my friends, walk-on......oh, and don't buy Pantene shampoo!!!

Floating Along

Weigh-in later today. Struggling with those blasted cigarettes this week. Kinda floating along right now with a maintenence mode of good eating most of the time and exercising too. Keep watching. Knowing me, things will change again soon! (in a good way)

Keep positive! Walk-on and see you around the bend!

The Numb3rs Game

As Frosty the Snowman says when he is awakened,
"Happy Birthday"!

Yes, today is my birthday. Number 58! I can hardly believe I am that old. I can hardly believe I am this young! I realized that my Mom was only five years older than I am today, when she passed away. My baby sister who passed away a few years ago last week, would have turned 50 this year. My oldest son will turn 30 in a few weeks and my youngest son will turn 12, a few weeks later.

What a life I have lead! What an adventure! What a thrill to contemplate all the curiosities the future will bring! And I have a much brighter future with a lot better quality of life ahead because of all the changes I've made over the past 24 months.

Let's do the boring stuff now, to see what has changed:

Year               2010            2012
Weight            291              188          
Cholesterol     225              177          
Waist              51"               36"          
BP                  159/89         113/70
BMI                43                 27
Body Fat        42%              27%
Size                28                16

One of my old goals was to be at 175 by today. I missed that. Will I ever be at that weight? Maybe. I am not as concerned as I was just a few months ago, about reaching that goal weight. I am still learning how to live life in this new body. I am still learning how to accept that I am looking like a normal person. I still have a body image problem in that I still often see a fat woman in the mirror.

For 2012 I made the One-derland goal in January and the 100 pound total loss goal in April.
I've  stalled out since then. However, I find it very easy to maintain where I am at. I still count calories because I still struggle with knowing if I have eaten too much or more often now, if I have eaten too little! I cannot believe I just typed that!!!

MY NEW GOALS for 2013:

1. To continue to eat healthy and to live an active and FUN life!
2. To continue to work on believing in myself that I CAN keep this life style going and that I WON'T gain back the weight.
3. To continue to educate myself and others about living a better life.
4. To continue finding new and fun activities to spice up my activity levels. (I am going to check out martial arts in November!)

Notice that there are no numbers in the goals I have set. I am enjoying where I am at right now. If more weight comes off later, that would be terrific. As long as more weight doesn't come back on, I think I will work more on just learning how to live this way for now. I have to learn how to buy the right clothes that flatter me. I want them to be comfortable too, but I want them to actually enhance these new parts that are looking pretty good for an old lady.

  

Happy Birthday to me! Walk-on friends of my blog! See you around the bend.