Out With the Old

Most likely this will be my last post for 2013. I have been enjoying a period of permission to lay off eating real well and have not been exercising. It is almost like daring myself to see how far I can go before I blimp-up again! Today was the last yoga class for this year. It is in the same building where I teach classes in weight loss and healthy living. I dared myself to get on the scale today, after yoga class. I haven't weighed myself for several weeks now because I just know I will go over 200 pounds. I was right and I weighed in at 202 pounds. There is no real excuse. I have just been lazy. I have also been struggling with the cigarettes, but only had half of one yesterday and none, so far today. I have my fingers crossed that I am on my way to come back to the body and lifestyle that I like better.

I have heard about 'weight creep' and today's weigh-in was part of that process. What does one do about it? This is how I am tackling it. I am working on goals that I will set for the new year. I guess it is something like the traditional New Year's Resolutions. It is almost 2014. I need to be ready to do something that has me going in the right direction, in the new year!


One challenge that I am considering is to walk every day for at least ten minutes. That would give me 3,650 minutes of walking for the year. Right now it is cold outside. Abby and I do not like walking in the cold. But what could we do? We could pace in the house. We could go to The Center and walk on the track. We could also go to The Center and walk in the pool. There is no end of possibilities. Always try to not say "I can't" but instead say "Well, what can I do?" Negativity is what often does us in.

I have doubted my continued success for this past year. I have felt that no matter how often I tell myself (and others) that I can do this well into my later years, I am saying in my inside voice, that I can't. I will be 60 next year. Can I really keep this up? I am not sure. But I AM sure that I am not ready to give up. I want the body I had about a year ago when I was in the 180's. I am just thinking that I need to give myself permission to do this, one step at a time!!!

So the new year will start out with the celebrations and partying. I am already feeling joy in the fresh start and anticipation of new beginnings, that the new year brings to one's heart.

I need to keep the momentum up as we head into 2014.


Even though I will wake up a bit tired from celebrating, I will get my coffee and start the new day with hope and plans for changing back into the healthier person I know I can be!

I will go back to the basics and rebuild the old me that was the new me, last January. I am even craving oatmeal again! I haven't had any for months. I think my body wanted to hibernate. Time to wake up and smell the coffee, and roses, and life!

Walk-on dear readers, in ... to the new year … with me!

Merry Christmas - Part Two

Abby wanted to wish everyone a joyful holiday season too. These are just random thoughts she's had since Thanksgiving:

Walk-On!!!

Merry Christmas

Or Happy Holidays! Ziva just speaks dog, so I am not sure what she'd say, exactly.

We have such pretty places to go for walks:

Above is in a neighborhood near here, called Lakewood.

Below is also near here:

 "Old Mill" is an interesting park. Part of the old movie, "Gone with the Wind" was shot here. Those bridge railings look like tangled trees, but are actually sculpted from concrete!

Hope Santa is good to everyone! Don't forget to walk-on!!!

Z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

Getting enough sleep is very important for weight loss as well as healthy living. Many of us do not get enough sleep. You would think that the more you are awake, the more you burn calories. Funny thing about that though, your body needs to rest and rebuild cells. A lot of that happens when we are at rest and our metabolism doesn't have to think about other things like laundry, dishes, cleaning the toilet, what to fix for breakfast/lunch/dinner, feeding the dog, feeding the cat, getting to class, getting to the gym, going for walks, sweeping the sidewalk, etc. The brain does a lot of multi-tasking! It needs that down time to renew and rejuvenate.

Abby, often has trouble getting enough sleep. I wonder what the problem is?

I wonder?

The weather is getting friendlier for walking again. I've been busy, inside, due to ice and snow and cold. Trouble is, part of that business was baking things for holiday parties that were cancelled. Now what will I do with all this pumpkin cheesecake???

Walk-on....yes, I shall walk-on!!!

Abby has been busy during the month of November. She did her third Big Dam Bridge Full Moon Walk.

 She also was trying to figure out what to do to make her weight move back down.

  Should she workout more?

Did she need to eat
 more or less? 

She was not amused

 with her obsessing.

 

She did have a mammogram that had normal results. Her bone scan showed she was losing some bone density and had shrunk an inch!

 With her partner out of town for three weeks, she started smoking again. It is bad when you are in yoga class and wishing you could have a smoke.

She is doing ok though and has her patches ready to help her quit the smokes again. She has decided to relax and just increase her daily activity levels back to what she was doing around the beginning of the year. She'd slacked off a bit TOO much we think.

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! Join Abby and I as we "Walk-On" into the rest of the holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope all my family and friends are having a wonderful day! If not, I hope they are not having a sucky day! I choose to just go with the flow today. I will have a few treats that are not exactly the lowest in calories. I am also eating some really good healthy foods. I wanted to focus on the day with family, rather than the day with fear of foods. It has been going just fine this way too! So Abby and I wish you all a:

Live life with amazing things. Feel good about yourself and your life.

Make the most of whatever time we have left.

AND, tomorrow, join me, Abby, and Ziva for a walk!

Giving Up INO

What would happen if I just gave up? What exactly does that mean? I have so many thoughts going through my head. I can find arguments for every type of eating and exercising plan as being the best one.
Who do I believe?
If I make a change, how long before I see results?
Am I eating too many fried eggs?
Do I have to walk a WHOLE lot more?
If I don't work out at a gym, will I be doomed to gain all the weight back?
Is Paleo right because they say they are?
Is the coffee creamer making me gain weight?
Am I eating more than I think I am?
Am I not eating enough?
Did I have too much bread last week?
Is the stress of hubby being gone, affecting me more than I think?
Is being off anti-depressants making me gain?
How delusional am I?
Is Atkins right, because Sharon Osborne swears by it?

Is it because I am not sleeping as much due to my bed warmer being in China?


I  d o n ' t   k n o w .

So what would happen, if I gave up?
Do I really have to count calories every day, for the rest of my life?
Do I really have to commit to two or three days a week, of bad ass workouts at a gym, on those machines?
Do I really have to go for hour long walks, every day,  to have them be beneficial?
And just why the "F" am I gaining weight?

Giving up is not an option. (INO = Is Not an Option)
I will find my 'happy space' in life and continue to live healthier than I was three years ago. I will keep striving to find the niches that work for me so I can stop obsessing and just get on with my life. I actually really do feel more confident that I will figure this all out, even though I have little nagging doubts that I might not.

Giving up, INO

Big salad for lunch:

Imitation crab meat

Feta Cheese

Spring salad mixed greens

Salad Dressing

Broccoli slaw (broccoli, carrots, red cabbage

Dill Pickles

Tomatoes
About 400 calories

Do you know that even if the ingredients say ZERO TRANS FATS, that there can still BE trans fats in your food? If there is less than .5% per serving the companies do not have to admit that there ARE some trans fats in their foods….er, fake foods.

That's the latest. I hope you enjoy the newest member of the WalkerLady team, Abigail Von Foodie. Actually I don't know if that is her real last name, but she is known as Abby or Abbs, around these parts. She hopes to become a regular guest on this blog. In case you didn't get the connection, Abby is my other favorite character from NCIS. Now I have Abby AND Ziva, in my life.

Walk-On! It is a wonderful day!!!

Well Poodles!

I don't know what to say. I got nothing.

The scale was up FOUR pounds this week. I honestly do not know why. I hope it is because I am not getting enough sleep. That is about the only change, due to hubby's business trip.

Anyway, I still am not giving up. I don't plan to either. I WILL get the right formula figured out so this weight gain stops. I am truly stumped on this one though. I just can't figure it out yet.

And I am in great spirits when I don't think about the scale. The weather is freakin' awesome!!! I plan to go for a good long walk tomorrow. The air is clean. The leaves are turning colors that would brighten anybodies mood. How can I be sad with all that around me?

See ya on the trails!

Are we there yet?

I feel like a little kid..."Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

I weighed in today and nothing has changed. I am still at 195, where I have been for months now... give or take a few pounds. It is scary being so close to 200 pounds. For the first time EVER in my life, I lost all this weight the right way and have kept it off for almost two years. According to all the things I've read, I think I need to lose 20-30 more pounds. I am still in the overweight category and also still have 37% body fat.

So what is going on? I don't know for sure. I started tracking my calorie intake again and I am on track for what I should be eating. I tried eating less. I tried eating more. Nothing budged. Maybe it was my exercising? I had sloughed off during the summer a bit. So I instigated the 30/30 challenge and did 30 minutes a day of walking for 30 days. Nothing budged. I am still with the gym, but I know I am under performing there. I talked to a trainer and have a new plan of attack that I will be trying for another month to see if that makes for a change.

As close as I am to what weight I should be, as set by the experts, I know it is harder to lose weight. Perhaps this is the weight I need to be at? I don't know how much more I am willing to do to lose weight. I have never had to live a life in this type of body.

I hope to work on the updates from my annual physical, later this weekend. Most of the numbers were pretty good. Since the weather is super duper right now, I plan to walk this weekend for the fun of it! I hope you all are Walking-On, too. 

Birthday Girl

Yup, it is my birthday.

Sorry I haven't posted much. I have been super busy helping hubby get ready for an extended trip to China. It wasn't a planned thing and there are a lot of preparations to make. I wish I could go with him! I do promise to update the blog soon though. I have just gotten my annual test results back and will do a posting on all the new information that brings to light.

I am walking a lot again, as the weather is super duper fantabulous!!! So happy birthday to ME and many many more...especially now that I am going to be able to enjoy my 'senior' years in a much healthier fashion!

Walk-on my dear readers! Hugs to you all!

Neigh . . . not negative

If things were different now, I would own a horse again. You really need a small farm or a good job to afford to board your horse at someone else's farm. I don't have either at this time.

I used to own a lot of horses. I had a stallion, three mares, a few yearlings, and foals. I have had horses in my life from about age 13 till age 50. I miss them a lot. I've trained a lot of horses. I never showed them in competitions much and spent more time brushing them and working with them on the ground, rather than riding. I always felt sorry for the horses when I was riding them because I was so fat.

I wish I could have a horse now. I wouldn't  want to train one anymore.  I would just like to have one to entice me outside to go visit him or her. I'd feed it an apple. I'd brush it. I'd comb the tangles out of the mane and tail. Once in a while I'd saddle it up and go for a ride. I wonder how it would be to ride a horse when I am at the weight I am at now? I bet the horse would like it, or at least not dislike it so much.

Here is a tidbit that you may not know about me. The name Walker Lady came from the horses I used to raise. I loved the breed of horse called a Tennessee Walking Horse. They don't trot like other breeds do. They do what is called a running walk, which is very smooth and not bouncy at all.

It is autumn here and the cooler weather makes me think of all the horses I used to ride all those years ago. I live in the 'burbs now, and sadly, they won't allow me to keep a horse in the backyard, even though we do have a large yard. But a girl can dream.

Hope you are all doing well! I've been walking every day for 30 minutes, so I am on track for the 30/30 challenge. Are you? If not, walk-on dear readers, walk-on!

30/30 Challenge and FitBit Flurry

I've not been a happy camper. I upped my exercise a little bit and am tracking my food again and guess what? The scale went up. BAH! Yes, it could be I am building some muscle, but somehow I don't think it is. It could be stress. I tend to pooh-pooh the stress levels I live with, as normal living that everyone does. Maybe I have more stress than I think I do? Whatever the reason, I am not thrilled that the scale is not going back into the 180's, like I think it should be. I am not over exercising. Sometimes you can over exercise and under eat. That isn't the case with me.

One constant throughout the past six months or more, has been my yoga class, twice a week. I have slacked off on walking. Biking stopped when the hot weather hit. I did finally get back in the gym and am still going there. The workouts have been mediocre at best. My heart is not in it. I wish I had money for a trainer, but I don't. The trainer I used to work with is affordable but is not available. I am trying to suck it up and do something that resembles a workout in the gym, but so far it has been hit and miss.

What am I going to try to do next? Well, I bought a FitBit and have been using it for almost two weeks now. I am liking this gadget a lot! I can see where it isn't for everyone, but for me, it is almost perfect. I like it best for tracking steps, activity, sleep patterns, and their badges help motivate. You get new badges for accomplishing things. Two that I recently got were this one for flights of stairs walked:

I was actually walking in a very hilly area. I was surprised that hills count as flights of stairs. (duh) I like that I can walk stairs without actually walking stairs. Hills are easier on knees than actual stair steps.

The other recent badge was this one for having walked over 10,000 steps:

Fitbit has motivated me several times. I seem to have a competitive nature inside me. When I noticed I was only a few hundred steps from 10,000, I made it a point to walk extra steps to achieve that! 

I really love the sleep tracking feature. I found out I slept more than I thought I did. I sleep about the same when using medication vs no medication. That really surprised me. I thought when I was on my medication, I slept better. I found out that wasn't true. 

Next week I go in for my annual checkup. I plan to ask doc about my meds. I originally took them to help 'turn off my brain' so I could fall asleep and not be anxious about things in life. I do not like taking a chemical aide to control anxiety or depression or sleep. That includes smoking and alcohol too. This is the part of changing my lifestyle that has become the hardest. The mental issues. Yes, I just said I am mental. I think most of us are. I'd like to say all of us, but I don't believe in absolutes. 

So what am I doing to change things around this time? I am starting a 30/30 challenge! Starting today I pledge to walk 30 minutes a day for 30 days in a row. I already got my first 30 done this morning! I am including the support group where I co-teach weight loss and healthier living classes. I was pleasantly surprised at the positive response from the group members! This will keep me more motivated as well as hopefully motivating my fellow support group at the same time!

This afternoon I plan to go to the gym before getting my son at school. I have been going in the mornings, but I would rather walk in the mornings. I don't know how this will go, but I am going to give it a try. I also need to make a chart to put up at the center so the group and I can track how well we are doing with this 30/30 challenge. 

That's it for today. I hope you have a great weekend! Join in the fun and pledge to do a 30/30 challenge with me! After all, it is one way you can "Walk-On"!!!

Low down at the gym, and super easy cake recipe!

I am still going to the gym twice a week. I feel I am not fully back on track yet, but I am not giving up. I was able to talk to the manager of the gym and told him of all my experiences. Even after telling him I was almost 59 years old, he did not rush me or make me feel like I was being a pain in the puddin'. (as my friend Robert would say) I have found other people are not as respectful towards their elders. This guy was. Good for him!

He listened to me and cleared up a lot of misunderstandings. That was the good thing. The bad thing is that most of my experiences were actually pretty close to how this gym is run. While I am not thrilled about it, I will deal with it and not use this as an excuse to give up. He did say they are adding classes and he thanked me for valuable feedback. He thought those that were doing the assessments were doing a better job than they were. He liked some of my suggestions and said he would like to see those implemented.

The one thing I think they should have is an intro to their machines. Just show folks how to adjust the weights and seats. Most machines are similar, so just showing that on a few of them would help beginners get off to a good start.

I don't expect a full workout when joining, but I still was disappointed in not being shown how their machines worked. Anyway, I feel placated and will continue on. Better news is that my old trainer finally got back in touch with me and he is a member of the same gym! His wife has been ill and that is why he hadn't been in touch. I am hopeful that I will be able to work out with him again soon. I would feel better with a little more guidance.

In other news, I am a member of Sparkpeople.com. I like their web site for tracking foods or exercises or weight. I have been a member for a little over two years. It is free, so the price is right. I got an email from them saying I had earned an award because I had walked 700 miles! It was true though, over the past two years I really had walked that many miles!!! Yeah me!


I am still not back where I'd like to be. I have been struggling. I have not given in, but there have been ups and downs. What am I doing about it, you ask? Ok, maybe you didn't ask, but I am going to tell you anyway. First off, I made myself go to the gym and workout. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't professional. It wasn't perfect. It was exercising on purpose though!

Today I also went back to the zero fat Fage. Not because I am concerned about fat, but more-so because I eat at least two containers per day and by going to the zero fat one, I save 100 calories per day. Every little bit helps. I preach it. I teach it. I need to also believe it.

Speaking of food, I found this fantastic recipe for cake today:  

ONE INGREDIENT NO BAKE CAKE

1. Buy one cake from a bakery or grocery store. Make sure it is one you really like.
2. Scrape off all the frosting and set that aside for later.
3. Cut the cake in large cubes and place in food processor or blender with a pulse feature.
4. Pulse the cake several times until it is all crumbly.
5. Pour cake crumbs out on a cake plate.
6. With your hands, form crumbs into the shape of a cake.
7. Get the frosting you set aside and re-frost the cake. You can microwave it for a few seconds to make it easier to use.
8. Serve to family and tell them you made it with your own two hands!

Doesn't that sound great? You don't even have to warm up the kitchen with a hot oven!

Lastly today, I have a more serious topic. I broke down and bought myself a fitbit. It is a gaget for tracking activity, including sleep, and a whole lot more stuff.

I will report on what I think of it once I have started using it. They normally cost about $100 but I am a savvy shopper and ended up paying $10 for mine. How's that for a bargain!!!

Till next time, Walk-On and be happy. Life is too short to not live happy.

Gym Games - Take Two

Yesterday I did a mile and a quarter walk and a yoga class. Yeah me!

Today I went back to the gym. Since I last posted here, I tried contacting their customer service person by phone and email. So far, no response. I also was looking at my credit card charges (I habitually keep close tabs on my finances) and saw they had charged me 11¢ on my card. I had paid them 11¢ in cash. No big deal, but it is irritating.

I also talked to a gal in the yoga class yesterday who said she was assured she would be shown all the equipment when signing up for this gym. When in the gym today I watched and it sure looked like all these new people were being shown machines to use. Remember, I had specifically asked about being shown some of the machines when I joined. I also asked the person at the front desk where the locker rooms were. She didn't ask me if I had ever had a tour of the facilities or if I wanted a tour, but she did point me in the right direction.

Maybe I am getting crabby in my old(er) age. Maybe I expect too much. Maybe I AM right in wanting to question this gym's practices and procedures! I am out there, in the community. I could be a wonderful resource for new customers for this gym. Maybe they really don't care, as long as they get the upfront fees? I hope I am wrong about that.

Ok, enough complaining. I figured out how to use several machines for an overall workout and finished up with 25 minutes on the spin bike. I wanted to add the bike so I can rebuild up my muscles for fall biking excursions with the family.

The weather is going to warm back up for a while again. This might slow down the urge to get back into walking. However, I now have the gym as a backup. It is close to home. It is easy to stop off at, after dropping my son at school. I hope to get the negative vibes taken care of so that I keep going to this gym. I think once I take my concerns and critiques to the management, I will feel I've done my best. I shall keep you posted!

Have a GREAT weekend and maybe, Walk-On!

Gym Games

I did it. I signed up and did my first visit to the gym. Thank goodness it is cheap because if I had to pay full price for what I experienced, I would have been very unhappy! I've been through this before though. I don't know why I thought maybe this would be different.

Here's how it went this time:
I went in and said "I'd like to join and take advantage of their current special."
I was asked which level membership I wanted and I said the $10 one.
"Why don't you want the $20 membership? You don't want free tanning?"
(what? am I a pasty ghostly looking person...you think I need a tan?)
I say "No thank you."
I am shown the computer and told to type in my information, and I do.
I actually READ the agreements and am asked three times if I needed help at that point. They couldn't believe I was really reading the fine print!
I give them eleven cents (ten cents plus a damn penny tax), and make an appointment for the next morning to come in for my assessment and workout.

Next Day:
I come in and am weighed and have to fill out health forms. I am again urged to consider the $20 membership. I said no thanks again.
Now we get to the workout. I am not expecting much and I got even less than that.
The "workout" consisted on me riding a spin bike for 5-10 minutes to get my heart rate up. This trainer type person uses the exercise theory of maximum heart rate workouts. He wanted me to get my heart rate up around 130. I kept pushing up the resistance and couldn't get my heart rate to go over 92. The trainer must have been running out of time and said it didn't matter. He wanted to get on with the rest of the workout.
The rest of the workout consisted of some squats using an exercise ball, some arm lifts using free weights, and some push ups. Huh? No one shows you how to use the machines? Nope. I asked what was I supposed to do if I didn't understand how a machine worked? I was told they all have instructions printed on signs by each machine...oh, but you CAN have a trainer for $50 per one hour session. Or for a better 'deal' you can buy a package of sessions for as low as $45 per session. Sorry, I can't afford that.

I expect a gym to try to up-sell. I also expected a full tour of the facility. I don't know where the locker room is yet. I asked about the plugs on the exercise machines. Were they for earphones so you could hear the TV's? The answer was, "I don't think those are hooked up yet." What??? I was also given no information about additional classes. Part of the $20 membership includes free classes. If they want to up-sell, shouldn't they tout all these terrific classes they have?

I was disappointed about the lack of affordable trainers as well as the lack of direction from the gym staff. I must say, this isn't typical. I've joined other gyms over the years and this was the first one that didn't even show you how to use the machines!

So I will be on my own. I plan to give it a good try. I am going to figure out a routine that works for me and fine tune it as I go along. If, after eight weeks, I feel it isn't working for me, I plan to go another route. I WILL get strength training exercise worked into my exercise regimes though, one way or another. I am stubborn that way.

Tomorrow...gorgeous weather forecast and Ziva says we WILL go for a walk!

Till next time,
Walk-On dear readers!

New Month, New Day, New Beginnings

From now till Sept. 10th you can sign up for 10 Fitness for ten cents. (Regular price is $59 for the $10/mo. plan or $19 for the $20/mo. plan) This also covers the first month. Now the Premium plan for $20/mo. requires a 12 month contract, but the Regular $10/mo. plan has no contract and you can cancel at will.

I think I am going to give it a try. I decided to go with the $10/mo. plan vs the $20/mo plan because I don't think I need to spend money on a computer generated food plan or workout plan that isn't geared towards crazy old(er) women. :D

If I save $10 a month, I could afford a trainer for a few sessions too. Just thought I'd let you know in case you wanted to try it too. I will bring it up at the Wednesday meeting as well. I want to do a Tuesday/Thursday and either Saturday or Sunday session with the strength training. (3 days a week)

I will be covering goal setting in the support group and setting myself up as an example. I think this will put the push to get back on track, in my brain! I'll keep you posted.

Oh, and the weather is due to change within a week, to the cooler side. I plan to walk on again...I hope you will too!

Tootles!

Taking Charge, Taking Control

Often our lives can spiral out of control and before we know it, we have backslid into something we don't like, or are doing something that is not good for us. When this happens we need to become aware of it. Then we need to change the problem and take control. It is better for us to dictate where we are headed rather than outside influences dictating and pushing us where we shouldn't be.

This has all happened to me recently. I've been on a slow spiral that has slid down to where I don't want to be. I am dangerously close to gaining too much weight back and letting that dictate how my life is going. I tried to deny there was a problem. I didn't want to say anything because I always think I have to be so perfect in order for people to believe in me and therefore believe in themselves that they (and I) CAN make this new lifestyle work!

That is the key word, isn't it? Work. It really is not laborious work, but since we learned that the way we used to live does NOT work, we DO have to learn how to make things work, in the healthier way. We have to be more mindful than the naturally thin folks that we imagine are out there. You know those folks, don't you? They eat everything and don't have a care in the world. We hate them. We imagine every skinny person we see has some sort of advantage over us. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Maybe they do and maybe they don't. One thing is for sure though, WE are not THEM. WE have to work at learning how to live the life we want to live. What works for them, doesn't necessarily work for us.

My excuses for spiraling backasswards are that summer was not conducive to my normal exercise routine. I was sick for a few weeks and that slowed me down. I was distracted by outside stress factors. I didn't feel like it. I thought I could live with being 20+ pounds overweight as long as I kept that initial 100 pounds off. I am too old. I am tired.

I realize this is not going to serve me well...this train of thought of just accepting this is the new me and it is good enough. It is not good enough. I know it. I feel it. I need to own it. The old me would have gained all the weight back and just have had a major pity party about it. The new me is stubbornly refusing to give in. I am not where I would like to be, and I plan to do something about it.

How do I do this? The first thing is to do more than yoga twice a week. That is the ONLY exercising I have been doing....twice a week, yoga class. Good for me for doing that much! Bad for me to not be doing the strength training that I preach and preach and preach to the folks in the support group. How can I be a leader and not do what I say? It really IS good advice!!!

So I plan to do some goal setting in the classes and to set myself up as a model goal maker. Then I plan...I WILL work on achieving those goals. I know I can do this. I have just gotten lazy. My first goal is to incorporate two days a week of strength training. Today was the first day for this week. I plan to do it again on Thursday.

A note about goal setting. What I have in mind will be to commit to two 30 minute strength training sessions per week. Now I CAN do more, but I do not want to do less. That is the secret to successful goals...set them up so that you can easily achieve them. You can increase your goals later, but to start with, make it easy! Then build on that. Remember, when I started my journey, I could only commit to ten minutes a day! Even now I am still committed to two days a week of yoga classes. I need to add the strength training though, so two 30 minutes sessions per week should be quite doable!

I can hardly wait till this current oppressive heat wave is gone! I think that getting back to walking the trails again will help everything too. I miss being able to walk-on!!!

Till next time...just do something!!!

Oh no, she's going batty!

MY time of year is around the corner! I feel so jazzed! We have had a week of a fall weather teaser. The humidity is low, the temps are lower than the air conditioner setting and gasp...I have been able to open the windows! OH what joy and rapture that is!

I love fall. October is my birth month. The air is crisper. The kid is back in school. I am free to do things on my time line. I am pumped.

I am also a little batty. I changed my tracker at the beginning of my blog page to show some bats. I'd like to see if I can loose 25 pounds. I am not sure I can, but I am ready to make some changes to see what might happen. This is not an unreasonable goal. I just don't know for sure if I will do it. Stay tuned to find out!

The good news, to me anyway, is that I have the food part of the equation down. I have not been calorie counting for several months. My weight is staying pretty much the same. I have really slacked off on my exercise though. That is about to change. (insert eerie mysterious music here)

Speaking of changes, here is a shot of part of the trail I like going on, near my house:

 

Yesterday I took a different route home. It goes right by this area of my trail. 

I was shocked to see what happened to my beautiful trail when looking the other way:

It had been scalped!!! It used to be just as pretty as the first photo. The actual old trail bed is there in the center. On the left is Locust Street. There used to be trees and landscaping filling in the left side ditch. On the right side were trees with a pretty stream flowing through it. Now it is just ugly!

I am not sure if this means they will be paving this section or not. I know there was a lot of tree damage from the storms we had last winter, but I didn't think it warranted taking out all those trees! It hurts to think of the birds and other animals that were un-homed because this happened now...after many nests would have been established. And the pretty stream with the rock slab sides...it used to be so natural and serene looking!
Sigh....sometimes progress seems like such a bad thing.

I hope to be posting more again, as my life changes into fall/winter mode. Until next time, walk-on!!!

It feels like summer is more than half overwith!

I recently did a body fat test, using one of those gizmos that runs a current through your body. It doesn't hurt by the way. Now if you have a pacemaker, it could hurt you, so use with caution, if you do use such a tool. It showed I had a little over 38% body fat. I should be about 5% lower for my age.

According to the manual that came with it, I should weigh about 165 pounds. This new information gave me pause to consider setting that as a goal-weight to achieve. I would have 24-25 pounds to lose. Do I want to really put in the changes to achieve this? I honestly am not sure yet.

I saw this on FaceBook the other day and thought it worth sharing:

Clever!!!

Some of you know that I struggle with self perception. I found this photo of five women who all weigh 150 pounds:

I feel like I look like the second woman from the left. Today I am not so concerned with what I look like I weigh. I know, to most others, that I am at least a little overweight but not grossly so. I can live with that...for today. Tomorrow I might change my mind. I am female. I can do that if I want to...so there!

Have you ever wondered how some of those diet ads get their before and after photos? Take a look at this one:

Would it surprise you to know that this was a before and after that was stolen from someones blog? And that it took at least a year for her to lose her weight? She did not put the days on there, the ad-stealers did. Her name is Roni. I like her, and her blog, a lot! You should visit her blog that she calls Roni's Weigh. She shares so much information (and has two adorable little boys). She was none too pleased about her photo being used. Then, to add insult to injury, the FaceBook comments were not very nice either! Some of the comments were that she looked anorexic, had no fashion sense, and that she looked better in the first picture.

Why are fat people so despised? I've seen some really nasty comments on other blogs. I have not gotten any here yet. I say yet, and hope it never happens. Roni has a good attitude about this all and is attempting to get her photo taken off the pill pushing web site it appeared on. I don't blame her for being angry! I don't know if I could have been as gracious about it all.

Anyway, this goes to show, as if we didn't already know, that those miracle ads do not guarantee that the people in their photos are real representatives of users of their products. I hate, hate, hate, loath, detest, and despise those who exploit the fluffy among us and who to try to make a buck off of us and our vulnerability.

People, people, people...it is all about LIFESTYLE CHANGES!!! It is not going to be found in a miracle drug, a shot, a surgery, starvation, or without being able to move at least a little bit. It is not that hard! Really!

Ok, off my soapbox now.
I hope you are all having a wonderful end to the summer! School will soon be back in session and I hope to make a few changes to see what I might be able to do with those 25 pounds. Best of all, when the weather turns cooler I will again be able to.....

WALK ON

dear readers
walk on.....

Wasn't it JUST the 4th of July?

I have just not felt much like posting boring posts and have also been super busy in my life, so a lot of this posting is from the 4th of July...over THREE weeks ago!

First up are the parfaits I made. I used blueberries, raspberries, angel food cake, and whipped cream made from real cream! It was my tribute to the "Red, White, and Blue" theme of the holiday:

It was good, but would have been better if I had been able to find edible strawberries that day. I am getting super picky about the foods I buy!

Here is my husband and me at the park, waiting for darkness to fall so the fireworks would begin! I was wearing my shirt tucked in! Fat people aren't supposed to do that, are they? hehehehe

My son.  That smile makes me think he's up to something!

My hubby. My Irish folk singer!

And some of the fireworks:

ooooooooooooo

aaaahhhhhhhhh

ooooooooooooo

aaaaahhhhhhhh

My lettuce growing experiment has had mixed results. I had put it in a sunny window. They got too much sun and started sending out seed stems. Once they do this, the leaves will be bitter.

I tried a mini-hydroponic type planter that did not work. Now I just snip the leaves as soon as they are a few inches tall. Those that sent out the long stems were tossed. Was it worth the hassle? Not really.

Soon it will be time to transplant the pineapple into dirt. I hope I have better luck growing that!

That's it for today! Hope you're having a wonderful summer...Walk-On!