I missed New Habit Monday

Of course, for awhile now it hasn't really been "new" habit Monday -- it's been a rehash of habits from the days of yore. This week it's all about being smart with carb intake -- both amount and type, with an emphasis on honing in on what really works for me as an individual.

This is easy for me; I figured out awhile ago that I don't do well on a typical low-carb diet. When I have a dinner of only vegetables and lean protein, about 45 minutes later all I want to do is eat eat eat (and not vegetables and lean protein, either). By tossing some quinoa, a sweet potato or wild rice into the mix, I find that I'm far more satiated than I otherwise would have been. The issue for me is not overdoing it -- I don't need heaping portions of it, just enough to take the edge off, ya know?

On another note entirely, one of my friends today posted on Facebook on how she had looked back at her BT log on this same day the past few years (beginnertriathlete.com ... remember, that's my virtual hangout despite the fact that I don't actually do triathlons anymore) .  This got me to thinking, and so I took a trip through the way-back machine as well (I love that I've had an online home now for about 9 years ... all that history...also makes me appreciate how I can write on and on about myself).

And you know what? Not last year, but every year before that I was working out and in shape and so utterly unappreciative of the motivation I had to get things done. I took it as a matter of fact that I would be running or biking or strength training or doing something active for an hour or more most days of the week -- being lazy never involved not working out for a full week, it was more like taking 2 days off. Now that I'm out of shape and fighting injury, I realize how much I took for granted. It's going to take me a long while to work my way back there -- and it's made me regret (even more - still - again) getting to the point where I am now. 

And this was an easy workout for a Saturday
because I was racing the next day. That's something
else I used to do -- I used to race. I miss that.

Reading about the nonchalant "went out and did an easy 6.5 miles today" or "up before work to get a quick bike spin out of the way" makes me want to be that person again (I still have no desire to swim, though - that will never change, I don't think! Brrr... cold water... hate it...). I feel like somehow I've lost part of my identity the last year or so and I really need to get it back.

And I know how to do it. One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. The hardest part is starting ... after that, it's simply moving forward just a little bit every day. Reading about my recent-past escapades drove home how much I like myself when I'm able to take working out for granted.

Sunday Funday: Week 31 Review

Is there anything more to say that I haven't already talked about this week? I really don't think so.

I've started studying for my third and final certification exam. My goal this week is to do this studying without having to snack at the same time. I might start doing some of it at the library so I'm forced to be better about it.

Oh, and I've got the MRI on my foot scheduled for tomorrow. We'll see if anything fun comes of that.

Measurements
Up another touch from last week. House is pretty much cleaned out of all my trigger foods (chocolate, pretzels, Pop-Tarts) and so I'm going to give it a go next week to stay on task.

Workouts
Nada. Nothing. And this probably won't change this week, I'm guessing. Perhaps I'll let my trainer talk me into a workout or two.

Habits
Been working on the 80% habit, except not so much working on the habit. This one serves me well when I'm mindful of it.

Intermittent Fasting
Getting back on that wagon tomorrow. 

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better
Weeks 28-29: Lean protein and vegetables with every meal
Weeks 30-31: Stop eating at 80% full (an encore presentation)

7 o'clock and all's well...

Things are on an upturn: I passed my second exam (with a lot more breathing room than I gave myself with the first one) and the water in my basement has dried up. The dogs are behaving themselves and I ordered a taco pizza to celebrate making it through the last two weeks.

Of course, the pizza wasn't necessary (but it sure was good!). I ordered that along with an eggplant dish so that I'd have leftovers for the upcoming week. Smart planning, right?

Look, Mom! Two exams passed!

Tomorrow I'll start studying for certification exam #3, which will be in two weeks (and then I'll be done! ... for the moment, at least), and also fit in cleaning the house which has gone to the dogs (no pun intended!) with my utter lack of time and desire to keep it neat.

This past week our lesson on Thursday was to do a 24-hour fast.  I tried -- both Thursday and Friday -- but both days made it to about mid-morning and caved and ate. I was home studying both days and I found that a rumbly stomach made it far more challenging to focus on what I was trying to learn. Simply put, hunger overrode my brain.

I'm curious to try it again when I don't have anything on the line, mostly just to see if I can do it, but unless something awesome happens in the last 8 hours of a 24-hour fast, I think that Intermittent Fasting might be more my style. The feedback from my Lean Eating pals was pretty evenly divided between people who thought it was the bee's knees (don't ask me, I don't know what that actually means either) and people who were sluggish and spent most of the day with visions of sugar plums (or vegetables and lean meats) dancing in their heads. I want to be able to offer up my own opinion. Maybe next week.

Water on the noggin'

Well, after the record 68" of snow the area has seen this winter (average is under 30"), it's finally starting to warm up just a bit.  I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this -- I'm just so DONE with this winter.

But how does that saying goes?  Be careful what you wish for ... 

The warming temperatures and melting snow brought the outdoors into my basement -- yes, puddles and puddles of water.  Just what I need while I'm dealing with studying for an exam on Saturday! My roommate's been helping switch out towels (most of the leakage is in the workout room, which is good -- no carpeting in there) and my Dad came over this afternoon to help me diagnose the problem, figure out if there's a fix (no, not really) and help get things as good as they can be for the time being. I'm lucky to have people around me who support me in a lot of different ways.

Onto more relevant topics ... I've been peeking ahead in our lessons and there's a good one for Thursday: a 24-hour fast.  I've done the intermittent fasting as I've talked about previously, usually going about 15-17 hours between meals, but a full 24 hours? That's a bird of a different color.

But I'm looking forward to it. I've not only been forgetting what it feels like to be hungry, but forgetting to realize that hunger isn't an emergency that needs tending to immediately. Fasting will be a good way to reset my brain. At least that's what I'm hoping for, because I kind of need a kick start back to reality.

This post is a little disjointed, but frankly, so am I at the moment. After 2 hours spent dealing with water and then another 2.5 hours studying (and it's not like I didn't work a full day first), my head is ready to relax. Or at least go to sleep. Which is what I'm going to do. Right now, in fact. Good-night!

Oh, my achin' foot

Stress fracture, bone abnormality
or just all in my head?

Saw the foot doctor today to get the X-rays read, and like Google had already told me -- if there's a stress fracture, it's not readily apparent. Which it should be, since the length of time that I've had the pain would be long enough for the calcification of the bone to show up. The doc did say that she saw some "abnormality of the bone" where I've got pain, but she's not exactly sure what might be the issue.

So - onto the next step: an MRI. Oh, joy. Part of me wants to abandon all this right now and just deal with it, like I have been for the past 7 or 8 months. It's not a stress fracture, so I'm not in danger of breaking my foot, right? It's only been 2 weeks and I'm already sooo over this whole thing. Doc did concede that if the walking boot didn't seem to be doing any good, then I could consider ditching it, though now I feel like I ought to give it more time. Catholic guilt at it's best.

Thing is, if it were just this same ol' low level pain all the time (think: 3 or 4 on a pain scale of 10), I wouldn't think anything of it. But there are moments when I step a little on the side of my foot, or just the wrong way and .... YEEEOOOOWWW... and all of a sudden, the 3 or 4 becomes an easy 8 or 9 (plus a few curse words). And it hurts whether I'm standing on it, running on it, squatting 145 pounds or laying down trying to sleep. Very weird, in my estimation.

If the MRI doesn't show anything then I really am going to just start ignoring the pain and waiting for it to go away on it's own eventually. What's the worst that can happen, right?

Sunday Funday: Week 30 Review

So.

Um, yea.  It's been awhile, hasn't it?

No good excuses, though I've been struggling (and losing) to keep forward momentum going.  

About 2 weeks ago, I finally made an appointment with a doctor to see about the pain that I've had in my foot since, oh, the summer or so.  The pain had never been bad, but it also never went away, and within the past month or two, it had gotten worse.  The doctor confirmed what I already suspected:  I had a stress fracture.  So, I'm in a walking boot with orders to not do much of anything.  And yes - of course I can still work out - upper body and core don't require me to use my legs - but have I?  Nope.

Stylish, eh?

And remember me talking about that long-ass Microsoft class that I had taken?  Nine days, 12 hours a day?  Well, the class is done but the exams are not.  I've taken the first one, and passed (just barely!), but still have the next two ahead of me.  One thing that's messing with my brain a bit is that I thought the first exam would be the easiest, but it was much more difficult than I thought it would be, which makes me really stress out about the next two.  I've been studying every night, and yes, I can't seem to manage to not snack while I'm doing it.  I'm usually okay with being hungry, but it's almost like when I need to focus on something, I can't also deal with a rumbling stomach -- I need to be comfortable in any way possible to facilitate the studying.  Which is really, really bad for me eating healthy.  Because along with that, no, vegetables don't count as a snack that scratches that itch.

I've got my next exam this coming weekend, and then -- assuming I pass -- the one after that is in two weeks.  Enough time to study, but not enough time to overly worry about it.

So everything health-wise is going in the wrong direction:  weight, measurements, appetite, food choices, foot, sleep and stress level.  I need to rein things in and get back on track (though I've been telling myself that for two weeks now).  Somehow I need to start small and work my way back since I seem incapable of simply returning to the habits that I held just two weeks ago.

Along with that, I need a good dose of forgiveness as well.  I can't constantly berate myself on my mistakes -- that's counter-productive when what I really need is a genuine, heart-felt, "You're okay! You can do it!" from my head.

It's funny because things were going so well.  And then, not so well.  This is a pattern -- whenever my weight starts consistently going down (and I'm using weight simply as an easily quantified measure of progress), something happens and it rockets back up.  Of course, this is life -- never the same, never easy, always challenging.  I think that if you look at the graph of anyone's journey, you'll see the same thing -- periods of good with spikes of bad.  But the thing that I have to keep in mind:  I want the trend to be downward.  There are always going to be the bubbles of not-so-good, but the important part is recognizing and moving past it.  I can't do anything about yesterday, and I can't do anything about tomorrow, but I can certainly do something about today.

So - a very short review of the past (two) week(s):

Measurements
All up.  That's what happens when you eat everything in sight and don't workout.  I've said it before, but is amazes me how quickly the weight goes on and how slowly the weight comes off.

Workouts
Since I got the walking boot, I've done exactly one workout.  It was frustrating and annoying and I kind of hated it. Of course, that doesn't mean I shouldn't be doing it.

Habits
Another New Habit Monday has passed by -- this time it's revisiting the eating to 80% full habit.  This is definitely a foundational habit that I need to be paying more attention to. For the first time in awhile, I did that yesterday and not-so-remarkably felt better. Go figure.

Intermittent Fasting
Another thing I haven't been doing. Add it to the list.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better
Weeks 28-29: Lean protein and vegetables with every meal

Week 30:  Stop eating at 80% full (an encore presentation)

Sunday Funday: Week 28 Review

My class is over, but I have to admit -- I probably spent too much time "recovering" (meaning, not working out, not posting here, not doing anything productive).  But - I'm back!  Aren't you happy?

I'm studying for my first exam (which is this coming Saturday) and assuming that goes well, I'll schedule out the second and third.  I'm having a hard time cracking the books, but I've been pushing myself to anyway.  It'll be over soon, right?

Measurements
About the same as last week.  Again - with what I've been doing (ie nothing), I'm pretty happy with that.  I was up during the middle of the week, and brought it down by the weekend, so I'm headed in the right direction.  I'm as low as I've been for about a year, which feels pretty good.

Workouts
Um, yea.  So, I kinda dropped the ball on this one.  Monday and Tuesday I just couldn't wake up early enough before class to get it done.  Wednesday was a crazy day back at work.  And Thursday and Friday?  No excuse really, other than I didn't wanna do it.  But - tough strength training session yesterday (holy schnikey am I sore today!) and an hour on the treadmill today.  And I was peer-pressured into signing up for a half marathon on Labor Day weekend, so I suppose that means I ought to start training one of these days.

Habits
So, I missed New Habit Monday.  That's probably okay because I've been absolutely terrible at getting it done.  The habit is to have a lean protein and a vegetable at EVERY meal. Unless Pop-Tarts (actually, Trader Joe's organic equivalent) have chicken and broccoli in them, I'm pretty well sunk before I've barely even begun the day.  This is one of those "just for two weeks" habits to get you out of your comfort zone and experiment with getting more good stuff into your diet.  So far, it's not working for me, but that's because I've spent exactly 0% effort into making it happen.

Intermittent Fasting
This has been my saving grace throughout this time, I'm pretty sure.  I simply eat less (even though it's not like I'm starving myself by any means).  It might not be for everyone, but it works for me.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better

Week 28:  Lean protein and vegetables with every meal

Sunday Funday: Week 27 Review

Right now it's Saturday night, and my class finished a bit early -- a nod to the fact that this is the weekend.  The class has been good, but utterly exhausting.  It's like Groundhog Day; every morning, the same thing.  Only three more days and I'll be done with it, though.  After that, all I'll have to do is schedule and pass three certification exams.  Piece o' cake. Or perhaps piece o' lean protein?

Poor Clarke.  Tail-less and wearing the Cone of Shame.

It's been an otherwise drama-filled week.  My one neurotic dog decided to (once again) chew a hole in his tail, and this time he didn't fool around -- he did a lot of damage.  I ended up having to get his tail amputated because the vet was fairly certain that it wasn't going to heal -- apparently the distal end of the tail was ice cold already.  Yes, it's been a helluva week. Thank God for my roommate who really stepped in a helped out a bunch.

So, while I have a few minutes, the update for the week:

Measurements
Despite the stress and weird schedule, I'm down a little.  This makes me happy. I haven't necessarily stayed true to my nutrition goals 100%, but I also never went overboard when I was stress-eating. This was trial by fire, and I think I did okay this time around.

Workouts
Class starts at 7am, and all but one day I got up early and fit my workout in before hitting the books.  This also makes me happy.  I knew that if it wasn't done first thing, it wouldn't get done at all, and so I simply made the decision that it was important to me.

Habits
A little more, a little better -- this whole week has been a test of this.  And I'd say that I've been doing pretty well. It helps to have this habit in the back of my head keeping me honest.

Intermittent Fasting (IF)
Been pretty good at keeping to this.  It helps that I'm not done with class until 7pm and by 8pm I'm headed to bed because I'm so freakin' tired.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better

We interrupt this blog to give you 9 days of probably close to nothing.

In my real life, I'm an I.T. professional and starting today, I'm taking a Microsoft class on Server 2012 for the next 9 days.  But not just a class -- an intense, bootcamp-style class (without the cardio or fun strength training).  Saturday and Sunday don't even offer a break from the 12 hour days.

In preparation for this, I made a bunch of food so that I could easily stay on track with my nutrition (if I so choose to).  Historically, these classes cause me to eat eat eat -- as I'm working away, or trying to stay awake during lectures, I always want something to munch on.  I've got veggie choices for these snack attacks, and not too much in the way of junk food in the house, so I'm hoping that this doesn't end up being a bad week.

So, posting will be light until I'm done with this special week and a half of hell.  I'm making a commitment to getting up early to get workouts in, and as long as the weather is okay, I'll walk the dogs a little longer twice a day because I'll need a break.  But I won't have time for much more than that.  It's an exhausting 7am-7pm work day.  Lovely.

Don't miss me too much!

Sunday Funday: Week 26 Review

"Weight-Loss HotPants" ... who knew that weight
loss only required the correct apparel?

Another week bites the dust.  Since the new year, things have been rolling along pretty well here in my little corner of the earth... and progress oftentimes begets more progress. I've been finding that my mindset has been fairly positive -- and on the days when it's not, or when I find myself wanting to chuck the whole damn program, I've been able to allow myself to acknowledge the feeling and understand that it'll most likely pass with a good night's sleep when I'm not so cranky.

Really, it's the living day-to-day that I'm trying to learn.  I know I sound like a broken record, but by the time I'm done with my Lean Eating year, I don't want to have a program that I can use, I want to have built a lifestyle that I can easily live for the rest of my life.

And now, I'll stop waxing poetic and run the numbers:

Measurements:
Only good news here, once again.  The addition of the Withings wi-fi scale to the mix has helped kick things back into gear again for me.  See, for a very long time, I've always done my personal weigh-in's on Friday.  So, I want to have a good number then.  Lean Eating has me weighing in on Saturdays -- so, no cheating Friday night.  And the Withings website goes by a calendar week that ends on Sunday -- so if I want to hit my weekly goal, I can't go crazy on Saturday, either.  And so now the weekends, when I used to gain back most of the weight that I lost over the week, are now just like every other day.  

Workouts
A decent week for me.  Things got off track immediately with the migraine on Monday, but I rallied back as the week went on, and I ended this week with two days of awesome training.  Feels good.

Habits
A little more, a little better is the phrase for this two week period and I've been trying to take it to heart.  I'm working on habits that, if I can successfully master them, will be the foundation of the rest of my life (not much hyperbole here, eh?).  Top of the list has been eating slowly, and while this one still proves to be difficult for me, being mindful of it has been helpful.

Intermittent Fasting
Yup, still doing it.  I'm telling you, this has been the change that's made the most impact for me.  Simply by limiting the hours that I'm eating to 8-10 hours a day, it's been easier to stay away from the crap food and drop some of the weight.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)

Week 26:  A little more, a little better

My new toy

Yea, I got a new toy to play with ... it's a scale!  WOOT! 

(no one has ever accused me of being normal)

Okay, it's more than just a scale -- it's the Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale and it's really cool.  It's all sleek and modern looking and it talks to my computer (well, technically, it talks to my network, but I won't bore you with details) and reports my weight, heart rate and other fun stuff every time I step on it.

And then I can see my stats in beautiful graphs online (and on the Android app, of course). And seriously, folks -- the website that Withings has is pretty dang good.  I'm a fan.

I didn't buy a wi-fi enabled scale for a long time because it seemed to be overkill -- I mean, it's not like I lack the brain cells to weigh myself in the morning and then remember that number until I get in front of a computer.  But, what I found was that on days when I weighed myself and I didn't like the number it spat back at me?  I wouldn't record it. I'd only record the weights where it was lower than the last time I recorded it.

This scale keeps me honest.  It's virtual accountability because somehow it makes a difference to me when I see the graph of my weight every day. And when the graph goes up, it makes me want to make choices to cause that number to go down.  I'm not getting fixated on what the scale tells me (there are better ways to measure progress), but knowing that the feedback is out there really does prod me into making better choices.

I've had it for about two weeks now and the novelty hasn't worn off yet -- it still might -- but the Withings web site keeps me coming back.  It breaks down all the stats and keeps track of your main goal and then breaks it out into weekly goals. It's one thing to say "I'm going to lose 10 pounds by summer" and another thing for an app/website to remind you each week what you're trying to accomplish, telling you how far you have to go, congratulate you when you hit your goal and even moving your end date around, depending on your progress.

And another upside to it -- it also integrates with a number of other websites, like Fitbit.com and MyFitnessPal.com.  And that integration is another form of accountability -- with it also posting results to MFP, I know that my pals over there are going to see it! Pressure!  

And I like all that. I think it's been a good investment so far and if it keeps pushing me to do better (like the new habit this week:  a little more, a little better), then it's worth the money.

So...

Pros:  automatically updates via wi-fi after weigh-in, Withings website is impressive at presenting data and managing goals (especially since I also have the Pulse to feed data into it), virtual accountability via updates to other affiliated websites, is at least as accurate as my last scale (for a week, they were always within .5 pounds of each other)

Cons:  surface could possibly become marred if harsh cleaning chemicals are used on it, when I tried to use it on carpet (using the add-on feet made for that purpose), the scale calculated my weight as 30 pounds lighter (which, sure, is awesome, but unfortunately not correct)

New Habit Monday: A Little More, A Little Better (and a day late)

I'm only a day late (but not a dollar short).  Yesterday was completely swallowed up by a pretty fierce migraine headache -- for the first time in awhile, meds didn't help and it was quite a ride before it was over.  Today I've got the after-headache headache (which is like the after-party party except without the fun ... it's actually more like the after-party party hangover), but I'm mostly recovered.

Onto the matter at hand -- the new habit!  In the spirit of Lean Eating trying to launch us from the nest and get us thinking on our own, we are supposed to concentrate on picking a habit and then doing "A little more, a little better".  So, if I usually eat 3 servings of vegetables a day, I might focus on getting the full 5 servings.  Or if I don't get enough sleep, I could choose to make sure to get to bed earlier.  And I can pick a different habit every day or pick just one and stick with it. It's all in the effort to more consistently follow the guidelines that will lead me to a healthy lifestyle.

I like this one.  Like last week, which was "do anything you want" week, it plays into getting me to think more about real life. I need to figure out how these Lean Eating tenets will form a solid foundation that will allow me to live and eat and play without even thinking about it.  Work on the habits until they become (duh) habitual.

There are a few I'm going to concentrate on.  First -- eating slowly.  I only sporadically pay attention to this one, and it's all too easy to sit down with a full plate of food and then POOF! it's gone. How'd that happen? Just taking my time and, you know, tasting my food helps me make better decisions about my hunger level.

Second, I'm going to go back and do the food recording.  That habit happened during the week where my grandma's health failed and she passed away, so I didn't really do it the right way.  I'm not worrying about calories at all, but just keep track of everything that goes in my mouth so I can get a true picture of what could be improved.

Third -- and this is the habit/practice that is possibly the most critical -- simply be mindful.  Don't shut my brain off when I'm shopping and I want cookies.  Just think about it. Do I really want the cookies?  Or, more to the point, do I really want the setback that those cookies represent (because you know I'm not just having a few, I'm eating the whole box)?  MINDFUL.  That's the key to everything.

Sunday Funday: Week 25 Review

Before the snow and cold got too bad,
Belle got to play a little fetch (her favorite thing!)

What an absolutely crazy weather week.  Last Sunday dumped a (metaphorical) ton of snow on us.  The high temperature on Monday and Tuesday was well below zero (with windchills around -40*F), and then by Thursday it's raining.  While rain isn't my favorite, I'll say that I definitely like it more than the 18" of snow plus dangerous cold. Both Belle and Clarke totally agree with me.

It's been a good, positive week around these parts for me.  I'm starting to feel like this is all starting to click into place.  As much as I hate to admit it, I think the lesson about the photo shoot pushed me to really consider what I was doing and why and how I needed to finish this out.

Another geek-like purchase:  I got a wifi-enabled scale.  Right now I weigh myself close to every day, but only record it when it's good.  This way, every time I'm on the scale, it gets sent online for me to look at.  I think this is going to keep me more accountable on the weekends, which is when I tend to "cheat" because my weekly measurements are out of the way and I've got 7 days before I have to do it again.  Perhaps I'll review it here later this week.

And anyway, enough chit chat...

Measurements
Only good news here.  My weight is down far enough that I've officially lost 10+ pounds since I started.  WaHOOOOOO! The number on the scale isn't the only metric I care about, but it's where I'll see the most immediate progress.  Measurements were about the same as last week.

Workouts
This was a "do whatever you like" week.  Work out hard, do the same workouts, relax and do nothing at all ... up to me.  I trained every day except Friday (and I doubled up on Saturday to make up for the skipped Friday).  I strength-trained three times and did cardio the other days -- felt good.

Intermittent Fasting
This is back on track and feeling good.  Because of my schedule and a marathon dog training session last night that lasted until my bedtime, I didn't have dinner and ended up fasting for 21 hours (and doing my morning workout in a fasted state).  And you know what? It wasn't so bad. There were times when I felt a pang of hunger, but it passed and then everything was fine.  Remember:  hunger is not an emergency.

Habits
This weeks habit was no new habits! The official line was to take a look back at the previous habits and perhaps work on some of the ones that were more troublesome for us. I opted to just eat healthy, work out every day and basically treat this week as if it were the rest of my life.  And things were good.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods

Week 25:  No new habits (work on the previous ones)

I did what??

I spatchcocked a chicken today!  I bet not many people can claim the same thing...

And it was very tasty! Recently I've started to eat meat obtained only from animals that were humanely treated and not fed hormones and antibiotics.  I initially made the switch mostly for ethical reasons (I read an article that I probably shouldn't have read ... but that's not something I'm going to get on a soapbox about here) but was completely surprised to find that the taste and quality were much better than what I was used to getting from my local Target or Jewel.

I've been getting my meat from two different sources:  Whole Foods (because they rate their meat based on how the animals were treated) and from Wallace Farms (thanks for the recommendation, Janet!), which is a family farm located in Iowa that has a distribution centers here in Illinois.  And yes, it kind of sucks having to make specials trips just to do my meat shopping, but we all have our #firstworldproblem burdens to bear.

Honestly, I never thought I'd taste a difference -- my palate isn't all that discriminating and I'm not drawn to high-brow food or anything like that. I gotta figure that if I consider Kraft American singles to be pretty tasty cheese, then it's not like I can claim to only want the finer foods in life.  But - surprisingly - there is quite a difference.  I suspect that if you catch your local supermarket just at the right time with the right cut of meat, it could be as good, but I haven't had anything from Whole Foods or Wallace Farms that I even thought was just average, much less subpar. And that's certainly happened more than once with supermarket meat.

Is it worth all the extra money?  Maybe.  Maybe not?  I suppose it depends on your budget and beliefs and the availability of choice in your neighborhood and even whether it's something that you think tastes better than the supermarket alternative.  For me, I'm convinced that this is something I want to add into my lifestyle.  It means that I don't buy as much meat, but what I do have, I thoroughly enjoy.  And one bonus for me -- because of the cost, I will *never* let it go bad and not use it.  I'm notorious for buying food and letting it go bad sitting in the fridge, sadly waiting for me to do something with it, but when I'm paying sometimes as much as double the cost for a cut of meat, you can bet that I'll be going all Julia Childs on it. 

So, what started out as me getting on a moral high horse, ended with me simply opting to pay more for something that I think tastes better, morals be damned.  It's a happy coincidence that both my morals and my taste buds like the same thing. 

Strike a pose/Vogue

The other day my lesson for the day brought up the idea of scheduling a professional photo shoot at the end of May for my final photo submission.

Um, yea.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Professional photo shoot.

My first reaction was "la la la la I can't hear you LA LA LA LA" ... as I ran away from the computer.

My second reaction was pretty much a repeat of my first.  As was the third and fourth reaction.

By the fifth reaction, I was able to at least read the entire article -- progress. 

I haven't been swayed, but I'm willing to keep the book open on the suggestion and give myself a little more time to mull it over.

See, if in 5 months I've hit all my goals, then a photo shoot could be pretty awesome. But it goes without saying that if I don't make the progress that I'm happy with, a photo shoot could be emotionally difficult to deal with.

The problem is that I should be confident that I'll look the way I want by May 31st.  I'm doing the right things, I'm making the healthy decisions, the outcomes should follow.  But there's still that voice in my head that doesn't believe that I can do this.  THAT'S what I need to work on -- that voice.  Ironically, the voice that says I can't do this is the one thing that could actually keep me from being successful.

I understand the importance of living the dream -- that you become the reality that you envision.  And I completely get how negative thinking can derail progress.  That any seed of doubt can be my undoing.  But that doesn't stop the voice and the pit-of-my-stomach feeling that I'm going to fail.  The "why bother?" voice that tells me that I shouldn't get my expectations up.

So, the photo shoot?  That's one thing.  What I really need to work on is the fact that there's a part of me that doesn't think I'll ever be ready for a photo shoot.