Challenge

Last night I was challenged to follow a certain weight loss program to a "t."  For me, this means

• Staying on target (sometimes I feel like I have one on my back! Do you have those kinds of days?)
• Eating lots of fruits and veggies (no problem except I need to go to the store!)
• Treating myself so I don't feel deprived (that is something I will have NO problem accomplishing-- just hide the checkbook and the chocolate!)
• Moving my buns (and I'm not talking hamburger or hotdog variety-- I already have THAT under control.  Yipee!)

It doesn't sound too hard, does it?  I'm afraid the "move my buns" challenget might just be the hard one for me.  I have friends who love to exercise (could they really be MY friends???); I admire them.  Somehow that kind of dedication and/or love passed right on by me.  Of course I am paying the consequence now.  So, I accept this challenge wholeheartedly.  I will work on it.

How about you?  We don't have to make changes i.e. "New Year's Resolutions" only in January.  The middle of September sounds like a great time too.  Do you have a challenge to accept today?  No time like mid-September!

Say it ain't so!

It just hit me this morning.  I was walking behind my little shih tzu trying not to step on him as he darted left and right looking behind himself to see where I was going.  In the middle of one of his darts, he stopped and sniffed the cat’s behind for a second and resumed running in front of me anticipating my next move.  Forgetting about me again, he ran and grabbed the ear of the other dog and then full sprinted to playfully attack the other cat who by the way, was not amused with said puppy.  Besides having too many pets, I just realized I am like that little shihtz!  I start out on a mission (say, dieting) and I get side-tracked sniffing in places I shouldn’t (like any place that has “pie” in its name!), chasing after other play-things (insert anything here), and totally forgetting what I started out to do.

My goal as you will recall was a foul four-letter word in my spontaneous/ fly by the seat of my pants world: P-L-A-N.  I have a friend who just started a diet.  Every day she sends me her meal plan PLUS the next day’s meal plan!  It just does not compute with me.  I’m wondering what part of the brain is responsible for that four-letter word because I’m sure I must have had a lobotomy that took out the planning part of my brain at some point in my life.  Why don’t I use her meal plans, right?  Because she is not off grains AND I have to learn to meal plan for myself.  I’m stubborn that way….although I could stop writing for a moment and go and look at how the brain works and …..sniff…sniff…sniff…ooh, shiny!

I think my Grandmom had it right.  Every morning for breakfast she ate the same thing.  No guessing….no planning.  I remember visiting her.  We would head out to her local grocer and she would let me buy whatever I wanted and then we would think about her memorized grocery list….milk, butter, cream, bread.  She rattled off those staples every time.  As long as she had those 4 items, she was good to go!  So back to her breakfast… for as long as I can remember (and ahem, that’s a looooong time) she had cantaloupe, toast with butter, and a cup and a saucer full of coffee.  Her doctor limited her coffee intake to one cup a day.  In keeping with the Dr. orders, she would pour a cup of coffee to the brim and  over into her saucer.  I asked “Why not just have a second cup?”  Her reply, “Doctor’s orders.”  She was a funny old lady.  I miss her.  I can take a tip from her, though.  She was perfectly content with that breakfast every morning.  I need to find a breakfast that I like and stick to it.  No thinking; no planning; just eat it.  Make sure I have my staples on hand and then I’ll be good to go.  What do you think?  Is it a plan?

Wicked!

People are gonna talk.  I wanted her to be my buddy but she was nowhere to be found; so I had to buddy up with her partner.  Now they are going to know I've been with him-- he has a distinct scent.

Living in a small rural town, secrets are hard to keep.  Some are going to suspect and others will definitely know when they get a whiff of me.  Oh Ben, why do you have to drown yourself with that fragrance?  Now everyone will know what I've done.  How will I explain that pulled thigh muscle?  I'm ashamed; I knew better.  I'm a wimp; I was weak.  It was just so tempting.  I should have never attempted it without stretching out first.  It is all so wicked.

Next week I'll be prepared.  I went to Walmart and bought protection.  The saleslady smiled knowingly.  Are we that obvious?  I'm hoping I can sneak my new purchase on without too many stares.  Oh, you feel so good, though.  But I just can't have people talking.  I'm leaving you for....

relief in a foil packet

So good-bye, Ben... for now...

My eyes are watering; a tear rolls down my cheek.  Of course it could be from my pulled thigh muscle, but most likely from the menthol.

Temptation Eyes

I was tempted today.  I had not had this particular hankering this past week so it took me by surprise this morning.  Funny thing about temptation, though: it never seems to go away.  Kick one and another rears it's ugly head.  While cutting out grains such as white bread, pretzels, pound cake...oops, I better stop, I might be tempting you...I have added another temptation to my-my-my-soul.  It can be quite distressing to this strawberry since I usually succumb to one or all of them....I might have grown up in the 70's but I'm not as strong as Helen Reddy would like me to be!  Lest you think I'm talking about food, I will confess it's my darn love/hate relationship with my scale.  Here we go again.  I had decided that the snake wouldn't define me.  I have accomplished many other achievements and let's face it....it's just a number.  Yet this morning I could hear Kaa lissssping look into my eyes.  I'll admit, I was almost hypnotized into stepping on that snake of a scale!  I want to see those number drop but I have to keep reminding myself that I didn't pack on the weight in one week so it won't plummet like the stock market in one week either.  I don't want to discourage myself this early either.  I have been working hard at changing myself from the inside out so I don't want to sabotage a good thing after one week.  Lord, help me.  Kaa better watch it.  He might find himself in the grain silo!

I do have a positive *thing* to report.  Yesterday I went out to lunch with a friend and this certain eatery is known for their scrumptious desserts-- talk about temptations!  If you ask me, there is some addictive additive baked in them.  Once I had a slice of her bread pudding and I swear I was back in there buying a whole pan of it.  Now that is addictive, wouldn't you say?  But yesterday, I ordered a healthy turkey salad and no, it was not on a croissant!  Halfway through my lunch, the owner brought over a mini lemon poppy-seed pound cake (straight out of the oven -no joke!).  She called it a muffin...I called it ssss-serpent!  Here's the good news.  

I was not tempted to eat it.

Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained

I did not step on Kaa this morning either.  I CAN do this.  I'm stronger than I think.  Helen Reddy was right!

If I have to I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

Friday update

I wanted to post an update:

Confession:  I have NOT been super-organized thus far but I'm working on it.  As I mentioned today in a separate post- baby steps...baby steps.  As for the grain silo: it is still in operation.  I find the cravings for popcorn and/or chips is non-existent now that they are in the old junk cabinet.  Out of sight/ out of mind.  The boys get in there and pull out bread and chips for sandwiches but I hardly ever open that cabinet.  It is truly a win/ win for me and them!  I am consuming more water and tea and less sodas so I don't know if it is because I'm limiting the caffeine or because I've cut out the grains that I am sleeping better at night.  That's my update for this week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

We are the champions my friend
And we'll keep on fightin' till the end
We are the champions, We are the champions
No time for losers 'cause we are the champions

The song is stuck in my head.  I heard it on the radio coming back from getting a crunchy iced Diet Coke.  Don't judge me; I need it (said with a childlike whine).  I can get that way-- just ask anyone (forgive me, Mom!).  That song has a special meaning too.  I remember sitting in the back of a certain Cadillac in the late 70's belting it out with my friends as we came back late from a long lunch making us tardy for our next class.  Fortunately we had tennis right after lunch (does it make sense to you that we had lunch then PE?) and the thrill of sneaking, rather running in our platform shoes to our lockers to get our tennis gear...well, it just brings a smile to my face.  I can also trace this back to the start of my bad eating habits.  In high school, I was active.  I could down a burger and fries and work it off (unintentionally mind you) just by being an active teen.  I played tennis at school, volleyball on the beach, swimming at the club, and flag football with the youth group.  Heck, now just wearing those 3" platform shoes constitutes working out in my book!  I ate and didn't think a thing about it.  We would laugh at my eating M&Ms and drinking a Tab.

Well, I'm not laughing now.  I am a meal planning, menu dodging mess.  Most kids gain the freshman 20 their first year of college.  Not mine, they lost 20 their first year of college; I know, a sad testimony.  Just this past week, everyone was on their own.  It's hard enough giving up grains and pasta the first couple of weeks, but to cook them for someone else and watch them eat 'em is downright criminal.  So while I was abstaining from them, my boys were on their own.  It's Friday and my week starts on the weekend.  I can get a lot accomplished during the weekend (unless it's Labor Day or Groundhog Day), but this is a new way of life for me so today is the day.  Going against my grain means I need to do that 4-letter word.  Every diet nutritionist will tell you....P-L-A-N.  I took a personality test the other day and my personality showed up as "performer."  HA.  I guess I am a sort of drama queen so I'm channeling my inner Hazel-- I loved those old reruns (I wonder if netflix has them...maybe I'll look on amazon).  Arrrggg, stay focused, Strawberry!  Hazel was always getting into some sort of mischief and still had a hot meal on the table for Mr. and Mrs. B and Sport; she is my hero. I have donned my favorite apron....

favorite apron

pulled out my favorite pink planner.....

favorite pretty-n-pink planner

and have set out to plan.  Now where do I begin?  Maybe I should enroll in a time management class?  No, not necessary.  Maybe I should look up planners online and see what is really supposed to be in them.  This is all new to me.  Several years ago (possibly a decade but who's counting?), I purchased some inserts for my pretty pink planner.  Now that I've re-opened it, I see I set up a meal planning tab with pages labeled "menu planner."  I think they are secretly laughing at me.  Flipping through it, I see that I purchased a calendar too.  I wonder how long I have to wait to use them again-- they're dated 2008-09?  I'll look up the calendar cycle later!

I feel good; I'm taking the first step in organizing my meals.  My goal is to start small-- starting with planning tonight's dinner.  My problem has always been trying to tackle too much all at once.  I know I won't plan out a whole week's worth of dinners, but one dinner at day is not too overwhelming for even this chronically disorganized soul.  But first, I better write my name in the front; that way, if it gets lost, I'll be able to find it.  After all, I'm drinking green tea and doesn't it promote good mental health?!  Baby steps....baby steps.

Time to sing:  We are the champions, we are the champions.....

Fits Me to a Tea!

Recently a friend turned me on to a British murder series, Midsomer Murders based off the books by Caroline Graham.  So instead of say cleaning house or washing clothes or any myriad of things I could be doing, I'm sitting on my arse mesmerized by English cottages with beautiful gardens, British accents, and funny sayings such as "nutters and more nutters."  Can I just say the visual stimuli of this show is absolutely flooding my senses?  Unfortunately, this marketing ploy has seeped into Hubby's psyche too.  Just yesterday he said "I say, we really should consider naming our abode."  I thought up a few cutesy names for our domicile but Chaos Cottage or Hectic Hall or Messy Mansion just doesn't have the same ring as Holly House or Beehive Bungalow or Church End Cottage.

Besides giving me the wanderlust and looking into English bed and breakfasts, I have bought every brand and flavor of tea bags (thankfully I live in a small rural area) and I'm not really a tea drinker! What is it with the English and their tea?  But this morning I pulled out my little individual teapot with matching tea cup and brewed myself a wild berry zinger...no wise-crack!  Okay, I have to laugh too- this fits me to a, well, tee!

I'm glad I wasn't born before Tea!

I have been reading up on tea, especially green tea.  The University of Maryland Medical Center has an online article about the benefits of green tea.  They say tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world.  In my world, it's Diet Coke.  Although I have reduced my consumption of the product ( I heard  Diet Coke sales plunged this past week and execs are scratching their heads in confusion), I have not cut it out completely.  I have, however, increased my consumption of tea.  Again the UMMC article states that green tea has been used as a "stimulant, diuretic (to promote the excretion of urine"-- oh yes, I can attest to that!), "astringent (to control bleeding and help heal wounds), and to improve heart health" (this strawberry is all for that!).  "Other traditional uses of green tea including treating flatulence" (no comment), "regulating body temperature and blood sugar, promoting digestion, and improving mental processes."  Good grief, why wouldn't I want to drink it?  Anything to keep me regular AND help me find my car keys.

Of course, there is another benefit to drinking green tea that many dieters have most likely already heard.  Green tea may boost metabolism and help burn fat.  So far drinking tea and sitting watching murder mysteries hasn't bolted my metabolism into action.  Although, I have pulled out the deflated exercise ball I bought many moons ago.  The makers were so thoughtful to include a tiny hand pump versus a motorized air pump.  I can sit and watch my TV while pumping little miniscule puffs of air into a 65 cm anti-burst exercise ball.  I have been working on it for days.  At this rate my great grandchildren will continue with the tradition of blowing up the damn thing one little baby's breath at a time.