WEEKEND WEIGH IN

A pretty good week. I went to the gym 3 times, I logged my food 5 days and I lost 2 pounds.

I have not been in a great place mentally. I thought that reaching goal of menopause meant that things would stabilize when it came to moods and hot flashes and sleeplessness. But, no. Apparently it can go on indefinitely. I have found that I am not having a fluctuation in moods - I am just down. I feel sad and tired and it frustrates me. The worst of it is that I had a total melt down at work which has completely shot my creditability.

So much for Mrs. Brightside...which reminds me, I come to that name for my blog because of a song I find irresistible for my workouts. It is by The Killers - called I'm Mr. Brightside. I have 4 songs by that band on my workout music.

Here is a link to the Youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnwLf88t_Wc

Since I got my iPod I have found I have much better and longer aerobic work outs when I have the right mix of music going.

WEEKEND WEIGH IN AND OTHER NOTES

The good news is that I logged my food for 5 days out of 7. The calorie counts have been high - averaging 1850 - so the loss of only 1 pound is to be accepted. I went to the gym 3 times this week.

I realized about half way through the week that the Splenda brown sugar I have been using on my morning oatmeal and blueberries has sugar in it. (It is not in the origional bag, it is in a sealed container...ooops.) Therefore I have not been completely sugar free.

My indulgence has been popcorn and mixed berries with Splenda. Yum.

This week - get the calorie counts down.

Ow

I went to the gym with Maggie on Sunday and I guess I over did it. I was on the stepper for 40 minutes, which is about average time-wise. But I was all hyped up and I was going fast.

I stretched out a lot after, but didn't go into the steam or whirlpool or even shower right away. By the time I showered and went to bed - I was in major achy mode. And my foot hurt - really sharp pain. Even 3 Advil did not sooth the pains enough to go to sleep. Took sleep med at 1 a.m.

I've got to ease into this...

JANUARY 8 - WHAT'S UP?

I have been entering my food to My Food Diary online. The calorie counts have been fairly high, but the point is to get mindfiul and into the habit of making the entries.

I am still coughing like crazy from the New Year's cold I caught - so the activity is limited. But I plan to start to the gym 3 mornings a week starting Tuesday.

Maggie goes back to school on Monday, so I have to get the courage to let her take photos of me before then - then I need to see if I can post them...

THE PLAN - PART 4

I plan to use the diet aid called Alli. I have used the prescription dose in the past with no ill effects. Even though there are horror stories out there about this fat absorbing diet aid, I used it when I was on a low carb diet and never had any problems.

I have a supply of the over the counter product, which is at a smaller dosage. I hope that it is effective, if not, I will see about getting a prescription again. My insurance does not pay for it (hurrah for Kaiser). The Kaiser doctors find it necessary to lecture me about my weight when I go in, but that is as far as Kaiser is willing to go to aid obese patients. Guilt. Very helpful.

PART 3 OF THE PLAN

I have been very successful in the past when I have cut sugar out of my diet. I am not going to do the carb free sort of plan where I have to be concerned with the sugar content of fruits (I really missed bananas) and condiments (I just can't get excited about how much sugar there is in catsup when I hardly ever eat it) and the sugar content of carrots? Really?

I mean plain old white sugar in all the goodies which can be made with it.

I got my baking itch scratched in December - I made six kinds of holiday cookies and enjoyed a luscious Gingerbread Pear cake Maggie made. I had dessert and a pastry on our trip to Napa. I even had a couple of bowls of peppermint ice cream. So I had my last hurrah with the sugar for the time being.

THE PLAN - PART 2

We belong to a wonderful gym. It is large, bright and, unlike our last gym, smells good. It has very nice shower facilities, lockers, steam and dry sauna ans whirlpool tub.

I will be going to this wonderful place at least 5 times per week. I will be using my favorite aerobic equipment (featured in the photo a seated step machine), weights, and spend time stretching.

I will weigh myself at least once per week. I say at least because I tend to weigh myself everytime I go to the gym. I don't have a scale at home.

I am interested in working up to the point of taking some classes and trying the elliptical machines. I don't know if I will like them, but at this time I am too heavy to use them. The little foot pads stay firmly on the ground when I mount. Yeah - kinda depressing.