Rough Week

I lost another pound this week, but it was not due to any effort on my part. This was a rough week for many reasons, most of which are probably 98% due to hormones. They're a bitch. Ladies, am I right?

Put together hormones and the fact that I am still not taking great care of myself emotionally and it was bound to get rough. To be honest, things have been building up for a few weeks now. Today I'm not in a place to delve into my mind's interworkings - I'm actually trying to stay out of there as much as possible for now, so I will revisit this later in the week. For today, I'm moving a moment at a time.

Hope you are all taking care of yourselves today, it's important. More to discuss in a couple of days...

Time for ACTION!

Only 1 pound lost this week, BUT my measurements went down by 1/2 an inch to 1 full inch in all but one area…stupid upper arms…always the last to go. Or maybe it just because I’m carrying a 22 pound monster around all the time and I’m developing guns! Probably not – there is nothing firm and muscular about my upper arms right now.

I was hoping for more weight loss this week, but to tell the truth, I’m ok with it since this was another week that didn’t go perfectly. There were TWO meals that included pizza, TWO handfuls of sugared up popcorn (caramel and cinnamon toast flavors) and at a birthday dinner at La Madeleine, I had THREE mini tarts (lemon, fruit AND chocolate crème brulee). It’s crazy, I do great for a few days and then just randomly the choices get bad. The pizza wasn’t terrible – I did fewer meat toppings and I had small servings, but I have no excuse for the sugar. I’ve thought about the pattern and the last 2 weeks have both been pretty rough at work. Stress definitely causes me to throw good choices out the window. I think that getting off of my butt and working out again would help, but my energy levels are so low right now with my lack of sleep that it’s hard to find motivation. I have options, there is no reason that I can’t get SOMETHING active done each day (or even every other day). I am just so tired at night and unwilling to get up early in the morning. So I’m going to start small: This week my goal will be to get in at least 3 30 minute walks. So before the next weigh in, I will get out and do some walking. I can do that, even with the kiddo, so that should be an attainable goal for this week.

I’m planning on doing Muddy Buddy again this year. I missed last year after doing it 2 years in a row, so I’d really like to get back out there. It’s not a race that I try to win, but I’d like to complete it without collapsing in the mud pit. I need to have enough energy at the end to have a killer fight with my buddy. I already have a buddy on board, so now I just need to get a few miles under my belt and some bicycle time. It’s in October, so I have some time, but it can sneak up on you if you don’t pay attention! I’m also planning on trying a yoga class that was recommended to me (thanks Heidi!) and J actually wants to do some yoga too, so we may find a way to do that together. I have plans…lots of plans…that’s the thing with plans; they generally don’t amount to much without action. So, now it’s time for some ACTION!

Not what I'd hoped...

So no weight loss this week. I kind of expected it, since after the brussel sprouts last week, it went a little downhill. I didn't go super crazy, but there was a Schlotzky's (sp?) sandwich for dinner one night, a larger-than-I-planned piece of birthday cake and a burger with fries. Not all on the same day, thankfully. I am actually glad I didn't GAIN weight. Ah well. It was a tough week. So yesterday I was back on track and today went well too. I did a better job with the shopping this week and we shouldn't run out of dinner options before the weekend - which contributed to the problem last week. Back on the horse, back on the horse.

I ate a brussel sprout! (I actually ate several)

Disclaimer: I stole this picture from Food Network. I should have taken a picture of my actual dish, but I forgot...and then we ate them all. But this photo is VERY close to what mine looked like. Anyway, the most important part of this post is that I ate brussel sprouts! Remember me, the woman that judges vegetables without trying them? Yes me. All I've known about brussel sprouts is that they are often fodder for TV sitcoms and commercials where children refuse to eat them and/or sneak them to the dog under the table. Based on that information (as a child, I believed everything I saw on TV) I have never given them a chance. No matter what people in my life said, I decided that brussel sprouts must really be bad if no one on TV will eat them.

After a recommendation from a friend (thanks again Laura!) I decided to take the plunge. I bought a package of fresh sprouts at the store last week and promised myself that I would make them for dinner this week. I had to make that promise because I'm notorious for buying new veggies and then "forgetting" about them while they go bad in the refrigerator. Tonight I tossed them in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper...then I roasted them for about 30 minutes. May I just say...."Yum!" I was not hopeful. I will admit that the entire time they were cooking (they were a side dish to pork chops, btw) I just kept thinking..."These will not taste good." "Maybe I should make another side just in case." Very pessimistic on my part, for sure. I was pleasantly surprised that not only did I enjoy them, but I would actually eat them again! It's a brand new day...my name is Tara and I fear no vegetable!

3 more bite the dust...

3 more pounds down. Feels good! I've decided that when I hit 20 pounds down I'm going for my very favorite - a cheeseburger with fries. It's going to be awesome. So I'm putting my current obsession with french fries on the shelf until I hit 20 lbs. That will keep me motivated to stay on track. I will say that I've snuck a few of G's arrowroot cookies - dude, those are ridiculously good. I have to stop eating my son's cookies. Seriously. It's just not right.

We have a birthday party this weekend and I can never turn down birthday cake. So the goal will be to just have a tiny piece of cake...not two pieces...which I'm completely capable of. Man I love birthday cake.