It seems I can no longer have a conversation with any member of my family (including my kids) that does not include a reminder that I have not submitted a blog entry in a while. I think that the ability to weild guilt must be genetic in the Ashkenazi Jewish DNA. Since I am the only human being at Pearlstone today, and I need to be at an appointment in Reisterstown in an hour anyway, I will use the quiet solitude to assuage my guilt, and catch you up on my life for the past month or so...
My last blog was just before Alex's return from Israel. As predicted, his return caused the need to adjust my "single gal's" routine a bit. and the weekend after he got back I got a pinched nerve in my lower back that my chiropractor said is a common side effect of rapid weight loss. I was grounded for a whole week from any extreme physical activity. But do not fear loyal followers of my quest for healthier living! While I have not been journaling my daily accomplishments and failures, I have been having a relatively easy time of keeping up the lifestyle.
My smaller portions have become routine, and I have combined the "gerber bowl method" with a system of calorie calculations. I am trying to eat approximately 1200 calories per day, which usually divides into 3 meals of 400 calories each, but sometimes winds up being a 200 calorie breakfast with a 100 calorie morning snack or sometimes, if I am having "one of those days" with which you are all familiar, I have my first meal at 1pm and reward myself with a 400 calorie snack at 3ish! :)
I am still working out regularly, if not as systematically as I was before. In addition to going to the gym for classes a few times a week, I have Monday and Thursday Bootcamp sessions, which have jumped up in intensity as we get further along into the program. This past Monday, our whole workout was outdoors in the hot humid night. We used the mall parking lot to run line exercises, did step aerobics on the parking bumps, and then went for a jog around the mall to the other side, where we ran steps for 15 minutes. I am now walking 3-4 miles every Thursday, and then we do stretches and lunge walks to wrap up.
During our vacation in Ocean City, it was a pleasure and a boost to my determination that I was able to bike for 5 miles each day without too much effort, go to the gym and work out for "fun," and walk miles and miles every day wherever we went. Alex and I only took our car out once the whole 2 weeks we were there, and that was because we would not have been able to carry all of the groceries that we needed. I resisted a lot of the temptations of travelling with my parents including an endless supply of snacks, desserts, and such in the house, and forays for ice cream every evening! I took a small lick here and there of the girls' cones just to clean off the "excess" (this should not be understood as a recreation of, but merely as a reference to, Grandpop Strongin's use of that word to insinuate something his children would not like, and which he would heroically "protect" them from, by eating 2/3 off of their cones for them.) There was one day when Alex and I went on a particularly long and very hot walk in the middle of the day, and when he stopped for water ice at Jakes I ordered a rootbeer float (a particular favorite of mine) but I only drank half, and Alex finished it for me as we walked home.
The day we returned from vacation (last Saturday) I went to the gym for bootcamp, and had my first weigh-in. We have reached the half-way mark, and will be weighed again at the end. I have officially lost 20 lbs, 2 inches off of each of my measurements, and 5% of my mass. It felt good to know that I ammaking quantifiable progress, but not nearly as good as wearing pants from the bottom of the drawer where I keep the ones that are too tight to be comfortable!
I also noticed a real change in the bathing suit photos from this summer's vacation compared to last summer's.
My last blog was just before Alex's return from Israel. As predicted, his return caused the need to adjust my "single gal's" routine a bit. and the weekend after he got back I got a pinched nerve in my lower back that my chiropractor said is a common side effect of rapid weight loss. I was grounded for a whole week from any extreme physical activity. But do not fear loyal followers of my quest for healthier living! While I have not been journaling my daily accomplishments and failures, I have been having a relatively easy time of keeping up the lifestyle.
My smaller portions have become routine, and I have combined the "gerber bowl method" with a system of calorie calculations. I am trying to eat approximately 1200 calories per day, which usually divides into 3 meals of 400 calories each, but sometimes winds up being a 200 calorie breakfast with a 100 calorie morning snack or sometimes, if I am having "one of those days" with which you are all familiar, I have my first meal at 1pm and reward myself with a 400 calorie snack at 3ish! :)
I am still working out regularly, if not as systematically as I was before. In addition to going to the gym for classes a few times a week, I have Monday and Thursday Bootcamp sessions, which have jumped up in intensity as we get further along into the program. This past Monday, our whole workout was outdoors in the hot humid night. We used the mall parking lot to run line exercises, did step aerobics on the parking bumps, and then went for a jog around the mall to the other side, where we ran steps for 15 minutes. I am now walking 3-4 miles every Thursday, and then we do stretches and lunge walks to wrap up.
During our vacation in Ocean City, it was a pleasure and a boost to my determination that I was able to bike for 5 miles each day without too much effort, go to the gym and work out for "fun," and walk miles and miles every day wherever we went. Alex and I only took our car out once the whole 2 weeks we were there, and that was because we would not have been able to carry all of the groceries that we needed. I resisted a lot of the temptations of travelling with my parents including an endless supply of snacks, desserts, and such in the house, and forays for ice cream every evening! I took a small lick here and there of the girls' cones just to clean off the "excess" (this should not be understood as a recreation of, but merely as a reference to, Grandpop Strongin's use of that word to insinuate something his children would not like, and which he would heroically "protect" them from, by eating 2/3 off of their cones for them.) There was one day when Alex and I went on a particularly long and very hot walk in the middle of the day, and when he stopped for water ice at Jakes I ordered a rootbeer float (a particular favorite of mine) but I only drank half, and Alex finished it for me as we walked home.
The day we returned from vacation (last Saturday) I went to the gym for bootcamp, and had my first weigh-in. We have reached the half-way mark, and will be weighed again at the end. I have officially lost 20 lbs, 2 inches off of each of my measurements, and 5% of my mass. It felt good to know that I ammaking quantifiable progress, but not nearly as good as wearing pants from the bottom of the drawer where I keep the ones that are too tight to be comfortable!
I also noticed a real change in the bathing suit photos from this summer's vacation compared to last summer's.
Hawaii Summer 07
Ocean City Summer 08
Ocean City Summer 08
I hereby pledge to blog once a week, no matter what! Please stop with the guilt trips and reminders!
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