oh man…

I did say this year was Back to the Basics but thank goodness for all those years of ballet and poms!!!  hahahaha!  :)

The Figure Method Video

week 3: lessons learned

I have to admit I don’t have to many to really no lessons learned this week because I’ve just been busy… so that’s probably the biggest lesson or struggle is how to balance life (hanging out with friends, getting stuff done around the house, etc) with working out.  I feel like right now I can only focus on one or the other, then I get frustrated because I’m behind in whatever I didn’t focus on.  If anyone out there has some solution or comments – please I’m completely open to seeing/hearing differently.

Though I will report that I’m only past day four of no candy month (four because I started late and then messed up and had candy that first day) but it is going ok.  I’m still in the phase of missing it and the crunch/workout it gives my jaw is great – but I’m hoping the apples and other harder type food will offset.  Normally when I do stuff like this it’s day 10 that is the ‘ah-ha’ marker and by the end I just feel so much better I’m happy to not go back.  Giddy up to day 5!

Oh and I’ve decided my next month will be to add in a salad every day – now that will be a challenge because I just tend to not like them and don’t even think about ordering them when I go out… but nonetheless I feel much much much better when I eat more of them.

Other really random but exciting things – I’ve officially booked my ticket to Argentina!  I’ve also booked my ticket back home for a friends bridal/bachelorette parties!  And I will be seeing some of the Alaska family in April!  …see it’s been a busy/exciting week.  So far I’m really thankful 2012 is going so well, hopefully your is too.  :)

giddy up!

Ok… well I’m saying giddy up because I’ve already done this once but since last year kind of sucked and I gained all my weight back I’ve got to crawl back up on that horse or wagon and just start over.  So, back to the beginning!  As you know, January I started moving more and am prepping for the walk in May, therefore February I’m going to focus more on my diet.  Granted I’m not the type of person at all that is able to just complete switch or give up or anything… so I’m talking long-term sustainability and slow permanent changes.

First up is candy!  Yes, I have a major sweet tooth and while I don’t really eat ice cream anymore (thank you Lenten season of 2000) it was something I literally ate daily for a long long long period of my life (personal ice cream bowl to prove it).  In Oct of 2010 I gave up candy for the whole month as well (allowed myself Halloween candy for the day) but it worked out really well and it stopped candy being my go to for stress, boredom, and whatever.    So here I go again… oh, and if anyone asks yes one piece of dark chocolate (my fav) will be allowed per day for an after lunch treat.  :)

week 2: lessons learned

Ok, so this week was not so great for the walking as I was pretty busy with work and just other life stuff – ugh.  Lessons learned this week:

• When it’s cold and rainy my knee hurts a ton and frankly is swollen and just makes me not want to walk/move.  Anyone have a solution?
• Sometimes general life needs to be ‘ready’ prior to working out otherwise I feel stressed.  Walking into the house and not knowing what’s for dinner or the last time I washed dishes is just not fun.  As much as walking helps the mind sometimes its just a good to clear the living space to be ready.
• This week we didn’t have time to walk during the week… holy cow it made the long walk much much harder on our bodies!!!  Last week at like mile 5.5 I started getting tired, this week at mile 4 my body was done.  :(  Ugh!

No worries, hopefully this week will be better but at least I’m still trying and getting out there for as little or as much as possible.  Hope you are too!  :)

Week 1: Lessons Learned

While I announced to the world that I was moving again, I wanted to keep myself accountable via sharing what I’ve been learning along the way.  I figure this way you’ll know if I’m actually walking or not!  So week one lessons learned are classic Chaz mistakes… I was not dressed appropriately!    What we realized is that it’s awfully cold outside, wind whips around and I need to have waaaaaaay more layers on!  Next lesson I learned that in light rain I would like to wear some sort of hat or visor.  While on the warmish days the rain feels good, by the end of the walk I’m just plain annoyed from wiping running water out of my eyes – so hat it is!  Final lesson of the week is that I need more cold weather workout clothes.  Once I finally figured out how many layers I need to wear I soon realized that I kept wearing them over and over and over and over again.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t need to have super fancy new flashy clothes, but I’d like enough that I don’t feel like I’m wearing the same clothes all the time - rotation is helpful for wear, tear, and laundry.  Also along the lines of new clothes (but not the rewear - only once) is I need new workout undies, specifically none cotton undies.  So if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to let me know!

So, with that… last week was fairly successful in the walking and I’m glad to state that we both are just plain feeling better.  We even are looking forward to the walk. 

avon walk

Hey there!  So anyone heard of the Avon Breast Cancer walk?  If you have – awesome; if you haven’t – I’m with you.  Either way, a friend of mine convinced me last year that I should join her in the walk… I hemmed and hawed but eventually agreed and signed up.  Well, that was a year ago… 2012 felt so far away!  Needless to say, it is now 2012 and the walk in DC is coming right up (ok, in May so maybe not tomorrow but soon).  We all know how wonderfully my knees like to work so this short little 26.2 miles of walking is not something I will be able to just do… Enter in THE SCHEDULE!

note:  I tried to enter it here for you all to witness but please just pretend you see it…

I have to explain this schedule… now since my knee needs some time working up to this I thought I’d need a plan.  Well, I can get a little overwhelmed when doing the research and in the process of being overwhelmed a friend of mine (different from above said friend) was also talking about how she wanted to start walking/working out again – click! Light bulb goes off!  Not only is she an amazing research/planner extraordinaire, she needs to me to keep her motivated, and she keeps me on schedule to keep me motivated.  This is the worlds biggest win win – amazing we are not in the news!  ;)

Bottom line is that we are loving it, I’m getting Back to the Basics this year, starting to move more and it feels good.  :)  If you want to join us, let me know as we can even do long distance motivation/communication to keep everyone moving.  Oh and in case you were wondering, yes, I’m back in ballet classes!

pcos update

ok two things on the update front…

1. I’ve officially decided I’d like to work towards being off my meds and controlling PCOS more naturally.  Therefore, I stopped, full on, for a total 30 days not eating any sweets – no candy, no desserts, no extras.   Since then, the holidays have popped up and I’ve tried my hardest not eating too many sweets and to be honest, it’s working.  I can completely tell the difference even when I have a piece of candy so it just solidifies my whole going more natural in my mind. 

2. Because I started this about a month and a half prior to this past doctors appointment (begin of Nov) it made a small but positive difference in my important blood work numbers.  My weight is back down to where it was pre-job transition stress and I’ve lost an inch around my waist and my doctor is happy about where my blood work is at! 

So after the holidays I’ll get back on track, working slowly but steadily toward controlling my PCOS with natural ways.  Thanks for all your support over this past few years… can’t wait to be med free someday. 

new eyes

I did it!  I officially have two newly corrected eyes…its so surreal.  Because I was a contacts wearer for so long it is a little deceiving but in general so amazing.  I still wake up in the morning and have to double-check that I can see crossed the room; as it just seems so strange to be able to do that.  My eyes are still pretty dry and get tired very easy but in all much easier to heal than some of my past surgeries (jaw wired shut anyone?!).  I would recommend this to anyone…being less dependent on corrective vision was well worth the surgery,  money, and wait (for all these years).

accupunture

It totally works!  I’m so happy to have started this new, to me, form of healing this year.  If you haven’t tried it yet…please do!  My headaches are all but gone, my allergies are so much less (and this year has been reported as a very bad year), and in general the time you get to just relax on the table is amazing for the soul.  All around a very positive experience.

so close!

Hey there…since my blog is now out-of-order I’m going backwards to try to catch up.  The week before my birthday I had my three-month check in with the doctor.  I’m proud to say that I lost another six pounds (yes, Christmas was in there) and an inch around my waist!    At this moment I am eight pounds away from the top of her goal weight for me.  She is fairly happy with all my blood work tests however my Tri’s (and only my Tri’s) are still very high.  I will admit to this being kind of frustrating as I had cut out much of the sugars of my eating, really limited candy and desserts but it appears to not be working so well.  Therefore next time I go in, with the results from this month, she will decide if I need something more.  I’m bummed.   

That being said, I know I’ve come a long way and am really happy with it all.  I know this past month has been a disaster with snow, traveling, work, and birthday so I need to hop back on the band wagon to eating better, working out again, and cutting the sweets.  Anyone with thoughts or advice on cutting sweets again (for a big sweet tooth)??!  What about drink preferences…we all know I won’t be cutting out alcohol totally but which one is less sugar?