No News . . .

In this case, no news is good news!   I admit to an epic fail at my goal of posting once a week in April (sorry!), but the rest of the story is full of successes.

On the exercise front, I've passed some invisible barrier in the past couple of weeks and it's coming much more easily now.  I'm enjoying running, and yes, it's now a lot more running than walking.  I've been going out for 90 minutes a few times a week and each time, my distance increases and my pace gets faster.  I'm not trying to embark on a racing career, but I'm feeling good about being able to run, and to feel like a "real" runner, again.  My ultimate goal is to be able to run 4 or 5 miles a few times a week.  For now, while the weather is great (not too hot!)  I'm doing a little more.  Follow my running with my little Nike+ avatar at the top of the right sidebar.

My biking has also gotten better.  As the weather has gotten so much better, I'm getting in about three good rides a week.  My balance issues of last year (that followed my spine surgery) are a thing of the past (YAY!) and I'm using my road bike a lot more than my hybrid.  I'm inspired by Lori and Michele in their biking successes and working on my endurance and stamina.  I'm also scheduled to take a basic bike maintenance course so that I won't have to trudge home walking my bike if I have a flat tire or other basic problem. You can follow my biking progress in the DailyMile widget in the right sidebar.  Thanks to Michele for the idea of using DailyMile.  A few nice long bike rides and several decent runs for a total of 99 miles over the past two weeks.  YTD total miles is at 407 as of April 15!

I am continuing with my own approach of using 17DD and WW Simply Filling with good results.  I'm losing every week at my WI's and am firmly back in "wonderland" again.  I'm averaging losing about 1.3 pounds a week.  Not bad for a 60 year old!  At this rate, I hope to be at my goal weight by the time we go to the beach in August.  I'm at that happy place now, where clothes that were not fitting are now fitting well or starting to get loose!  DH has reached his WW goal weight and son Jay has lost a little over 3 pounds since February.  Neither has a weight problem, but both are in "fighting trim" now and looking quite good.

I'm trying out new recipes and continuing to make our favorites and we're eating well.  Tonight I made roasted fennel.  I took the bulb, cut it in 2/3" slices, dipped it in a mixture of one part balsamic vinegar and one part olive oil and sprinkled some parmesan cheese on the top.  I roasted it in a 400 degree oven for 20+ minutes so that it was golden brown and quite tastey.  (the original recipe called for two parts dijon mustard to be added to the mixture, but I opted out of the mustard!).

I'll leave you with one picture from the past few weeks.  None of me, I was the photographer.  I'll try to  do better about getting myself in the picture next time.

DH and Ella, who has finally learned to smile for the camera!

Have you ever thought that you couldn't lose weight after a "certain age?"

Spring Focus Update

Sarah started this timely challenge at the beginning of May.  Her timing was perfect.  I challenged myself to lose 12 pounds in two months and have set myself several behavioral challenges as well.

Weight Challenge:  I have lost 15.8 pounds (at my Weight Watcher weigh-ins on Wednesdays) since May 4th.  This is an astonishing rate of weight loss for me.  I attribute it to, surprise, surprise, diet and exercise.  Things are looking good to lose a bit more before the end of the challenge.

Eating:  Believe me, I AM eating.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I'm using the WW CORE (Simply Filling) plan which I understand is quite similar to the South Beach plan.  This is the way I plan to eat--forever.  It makes a lot of sense and DH likes it too.  We have eaten this way for two years.  It's very "doable." Each meal, for almost two months has been basically on plan.  I have vacationed away from home and celebrated family occasions and eaten out occasionally during that time.  It took planning, but I feel like I ate like I wanted to eat.  A very "clean" diet.  There have been a few 'off-plan' things during that time--like a shared dessert on our anniversary and a handful of almonds on a cross country plane ride, but by and large, I have stayed OP (on plan).   I have deliberately eaten more fish than I used to (cutting down to 1 or fewer red-meat meals/week).  I also stopped having dinner left-overs for lunch the next day.  Instead, I plan a lighter lunch, without a starchy food.   I normally eat 6-7 fruits & vegetables/day and I eat plenty of fiber (from the fruits & vegetables, whole grain cereal in the morning, and whole grain pasta or brown rice with dinner).

Portion Control:  I spent a couple weeks checking on my portions by weighing and measuring.  I found that I was (surprise, surprise) over-estimating.  I think this was a good exercise, but I'm back to estimating--I hope more realistically.   I'll repeat the portion checks occasionally in the future to keep myself on track.

Drinking Water:  I started this at the beginning of the challenge.  I regularly drink 8+ cups of water a day now and will continue this.   I benefit from feeling full.  I especially need this in the summer as I need to rehydrate after exercise.

Exercise:  For the past two weeks I've challenged myself to exercise every day.   DONE!  I run four or more miles 3-4 times a week (if it's very hot, like today, there are some walking  bits interspersed).  I bike 13+ miles two or three times a week.  If I've run very early (like today) I may bike after dinner.  I also lift weights (resistance) at my gym two or three times a week.  If I haven't done any of these things (it's happened once in the past two weeks), I will exercise with my Wii (tennis or yoga). 

     This Week:

     Mon--Run--4 mi

     Tues--Gym--20K lbs

     Wed--Run--4 mi

     Thu--Gym--21K lbs

     Fri--Run--6.2 mi

     Sat--Bike--14 mi

     Sun--Gym-22K lbs,  Walk--2 mi

     Mon--Run--5 mi

Eating Slowly: A little over a week ago, I decided to try to eat more slowly.  I'd heard the suggestion before and was quite aware that I was a speed-eater, but I'd never really tried.  I limited my challenge to eating dinner.   This has been a real eye-opener.  It was hard, at first, but I have been able to increase my average eating time (10 minutes is a generous guess of how long I took to eat dinner).  For more than a week, I've taken 15 or more minutes to eat dinner.  The benefits are 1) I feel more "normal" eating more slowly, 2) I enjoy the food more--savoring flavor, texture, mouth-feel, and taste,  and 3) I have more of a chance to hear my own signals that I am "full."

Wednesday Round Up

I've got quite a few irons in the fire, goal-wise, on the diet and exercise front. I'd thought I'd bring you up to date on how things are going.

Exercise: Two weeks ago I set myself a goal to exercise seven day a week. I've been able to do this. Sometimes I had to work around the weather--can't bike in a thunderstorm, but I have some options and use them when I need to. Most of my exercise takes 45-60 minutes. Here's my exercise for this past week:

Wed--Ran 3.7 miles, C25K Week 8 Day 3

Thu--Gym, Lifted 18,000 lbs. 11 resistance machines, 2 sets of 15 reps.

Fri --Ran 4.1 miles, C25K Week 9 Day 1

Sat --Ran 2.6 miles, C25K Week 9 Day 2

Sun--Wii Tennis, Singles, Grand Slam, 90 minutes (rained out of bike ride)

Mon--Ran 4.2 miles, C25K Week 9 Day 3 -- Last Day!

Tues--Gym, Lifted 20,000 lbs. 11 resistance machines, 2 sets of 15 reps.

Wed--Ran 4.1 miles

Water: One of my first non-scale goals with the Spring Focus was to drink 8 or more cups of water each and every day. I have pretty much aced this one too, except for a few days when I was traveling, at a concert, or otherwise knew I would be unable to get to facilities. I love this one. I think it has helped tremendously. Not only to keep me well hydrated, but also to keep me feeling fairly full. I think many times I probably ate because I mistook a thirst signal for a hunger signal. This one is definitely a keeper.

Portions: Another recent goal was to really check out my portions. I did, by measuring and weighing, and found that I was overestimating serving portions. I cut down my portions, especially of whole grain carbs (ww pasta, brown rice, ww orzo, ww couscous, corn) and think I've reached a happy place in my portion size. I've stopped measuring and weighing, but think this is a good thing for me to check up on every once in a while.

Weight: I was hesitant to set a goal weight loss for the Spring Focus, but finally allowed as how I'd love to try to lose 12 pounds in the two month challenge time, between May 4th and July 4th. I'm pleased and amazed to report, that, as of my weigh in today, I've lost 15.8 pounds. If you haven't read Charlie's

(Back to the Fridge)

post about the Stupid Switch, go there as soon as you finish this post. I firmly believe he's right. My switch is definitely in the "on" position right now, and I'm going to tippy toe around so as not to accidentally toggle it to "off!." So today, I was down another 2.6 pounds. YIPEE!!!

Is your switch "on" or "off?"

192.2

Spring Focus Update

The Spring Focus is going well. I'm in the groove, which is great news.

First of all, since May 4th, the official beginning of SF, I've lost 3.6 pounds as recorded at my Weight Watcher's weigh in. I'm a slow loser, so this is fabulous. My goal is to lose 12 pounds by July 4. This is kind of a random number, I'll be content to keep up with OP eating and exercise and to keep losing. It doesn't have to be 12 (but that would be nice!).

One of my short term goals is to really solidify the habit of drinking 8+ cups of water a day. Except for one intentional lapse (when we had pricey theatre tickets and I didn't want to have to get up and go) I've really done well with this. Having my own pitcher full of water staring me in the face if I go to 'check on' how things in the fridge are doing really helps. I even find myself getting thirsty if I go for an hour or so without drinking.

A new short term goal, that I'm just beginning is to really pay attention to portions. Today I discovered that I was mis-estimating my standby ff cottage cheese--I thought I was serving myself about 3/4 of a cup, but it was actually less than 1/2 cup! I used a measuring cup to serve myself whole wheat pasta for my spaghetti tonight.

My exercise is an ongoing focus for me. I've just finished week 6 of my C25K and am feeling great about it. DH and I go for a 13 mile bike ride about two times/week. We also go to the gym to lift weights, weight machines, twice a week. Throw in a little Wii tennis for fun and occasional 2 mile walks in the evening.

End Notes

It's almost the end of my day and I just wanted to check in. I had the children today and we had fun, as always. E and I planted out a few flats of impatiens while J was napping. She was very intrigued by all the worms.

I made an old WW standby, Chicken Piccatta, for dinner. We had it with brown rice and spinach aglio e olio with a splash of lemon and toasted pine nuts. We went to the gym for an hour after dinner.

Tomorrow is C25K Week 6 Day 1. It looks doable and I'll get it done early, before a late morning dentist appointment. Our son and his wife gave us tickets to The Mikado for Christmas. It's tomorrow night at Wolf Trap. It should be fantastic. I'm going to put together a gourmet WW picnic to eat "on the lawn" before the performance.

I noticed something today. A good thing. My wedding and engagement rings are starting to spin on my finger. My fingers must be getting skinny! Yay fingers. Now for the rest of my body

Oh, and I forgot to post this yesterday. I lost .6 at my WI yesterday. Remember, I'm a slow loser, so this is good news. More than two sticks o' butter.