Do It Anyway!

It's Saturday afternoon and I need to run today.  I should have gone out this morning.  It's one of the goals I set in the Hot 100 Challenge. I've planned it, there's nothing else I have to do instead, I'm already dressed and my ipod is fully charged.  The thing is, I don't wanna go run right now.  It's hot today, tomorrow's supposed to be lots cooler. Stanford is playing Notre Dame in football starting in 10 minutes. (GO Cardinal!) Maybe later? Maybe tomorrow?  Maybe after I spend a couple of hours in blog land?

Ironically, my motivational reading for today (from 100 Days of Weight Loss) was titled:  Do it Anyway.  There are all kinds of things in life that we don't want to or like to do.  Changing a dirty diaper.  Running to the bathroom in the middle of a movie.  Doing the laundry.  We might procrastinate a little, but, in the end, you have to do it anyway.  

Running today is something that I have to do.  Even though I don't want to, I'm going to do it anyway. I can cheer on Stanford after I get back.  

See you later--I'm heading out for a run.

UPDATE
I did it anyway.  I just got back from a 4+ mile run.  It wasn't the best run ever; it was hot and I walked more than I'd have liked to.  All that is true.  But, I DID it.  And that feels great.  And Stanford is ahead at half time.  :D


How am I doing on my goals for the Hot 100?

• 60 minutes of exercise--CHECK
• No chocolate--CHECK
• Eating on my WW plan--CHECK  to lose 17 pounds by Jan 1st--We'll See!

Oh, you might have noticed another challenge in my sidebar--the Fall Focus Challenge with the orange & black with a Jack-o-Lantern logo.  Because I have a strong sense of loyalty and the Spring and Summer Focus Challenges really got me going I've joined yet another challenge.  This one starts on Monday September 27th and goes until December 6th.  For this challenge I have kept the same goals as the goals I set for the Hot 100 (above), only adjusting the weight loss goal to 13 pounds because this is a shorter time.  I figure it can't hurt to reinforce those goals.  If you'd like to join, just click on the Jack-o-Lantern in the right sidebar to link to the site.

I'm feeling very confident about riding out the rest of the day following my goals, herewith my chart:

Off and Running!

Today is the first day of the Hot 100 challenge.  I'm calling it Day 100 and crossing it off on my chart because I survived it in fine fashion.  I met all my goals easily in the first flush of challenge enthusiasm.  I have a book that I've decided to use during this challenge.  It's  Linda Spangle's A Daily Motivator  100 Days of Weight Loss:  The Secret to Being Successful on Any Diet Plan.  She doesn't even talk about what foods to eat, but instead has 100 days worth of short  (two page) topical essays. She addresses motivational issues like food triggers, getting support from family & friends, slowing down your eating, and emotional eating.  For today, for instance, she challenged the reader to think about something s/he may be afraid of concerning these next 100 days.  I admit I'm a little scared of failure because I've NEVER reached my WW goal in several past serious efforts.  She asks the reader to make a new ending to that fear and write it down.  Mine was "I've tried many times to reach my WW goal, but always before, I've failed, BUT this time I'm a lot more knowledgeable about the right things to eat, I have embraced regular exercise, and I have a great support network at home and on my blog so I CAN and I WILL succeed."

I've noticed over the past few days that my rate of eating is starting to creep back up to "rather speedy" in relation to Jay, my really slow eater, and to DH.  I'm going to have to do a little clock watching and slow things down a bit again.  Eating slowly really does help me enjoy my food more and also give me time to hear my "I'm Full" signal before I eat more than I need.

The Day Before Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day for me. First of all, I run my C25K Week 5 Day 3 run which entails 20 minutes of non-stop running. I'm trying to adopt the Little Engine that Could philosophy and think positively about this. I think I CAN do it. The weather is supposed to be perfect for running, cool and dry. I'm going to run early so I'll have everything laid out ready to get out the door after my cereal. At noon I have my WW meeting. I'm expecting good things.

I watched my grandbabies today. J is 10 months old and E is 2 1/2. E is starting intensive potty training (panties instead of a diaper, but not at all reliable at telling that she has to go!) and J seems just on the verge of starting to walk. You know they keep me busy. I love being with them. They both love being read to and they love "playing" the piano. We have two pianos in our living room (don't ask) and each wants to play his own! It was fairly chilly and rather rainy most of the day so we played indoors. I made them a "playhouse" by putting my largest tablecloth over our kitchen table. I anchored it down with lots of cookbooks because J kept tugging at the cloth. They loved it. The picture isn't great, because J kept going in and out under the cloth, but E had her little chair and some books and the toy baket in there. And yes, the electrical outlet has clear plastic plugs in place.

They arrive at 7:45 am and I give them breakfast and lunch as well as an afternoon snack. I've had a hard time staying away from their snacks. (E gets a few m&m's as a reward for performing on the potty so I have to keep some on hand). Jack is just starting finger foods and I have little packages of yogurt melts and pretzel rods and yum yums, and banana puffs. All new to me except the pretzels. The m&m's tempt me, but I asked her mom to bring a very small tupperware container of them (it holds maybe 1/2 cup) so there aren't enough for me to have any because I need to have them for E. I try to keep the other stuff out of sight and to keep myself feeling full with my ice water. I've been positively angelic this past week in regard to those temptations.

I'm still reading along in my book 100 Days of Weight Loss. One of the suggestions really struck a chord with me this week. It is the idea that I should eat dessert only when it's special. And no, not every dessert is special. My sister's pecan pie definitely ranks in that category, but I've fallen for countless lesser versions offered in countless restaurants. They never stack up to my sister's. I am beguiled by the desserts on the menu, but really, so often there is nothing there worth the calories. Other desserts that are "worthy" include my daughter's apple crisp. It used to be "my" apple crisp, but somehow hers is now the gold standard. And my own brownies. I have to stay far, far away from those brownies. Anyway, the author made me realize that I would be foolish to eat a dessert that isn't worthy. If I'm going to splurge, I may as well splurge on the best. So most restaurant desserts are out. And my sister and my daughter live hundreds of miles away.

Dinner tonight was baked tilapia with lemon, whole wheat couscous with a sprinkle of pine nuts, and fresh asparagus. Yum. I love those individually frozen fish servings. I get them at Costco and we're eating a lot more fish because it's so easy. I like the Alaskan salmon too, but it's a bit more pricy.