Week 2 - Day 1

One week down, five to go.

The first thing that I have to point out that I own one pair of lined workout pants. They are very tight, especially when I first put them on. This morning they fit quite nicely. Still a little tight around the waist, but my thighs didn't stretch the material to the point of a camel toe.

It was 36 degrees outside this morning and I still went to the park. I haven't accomplished much else today, but progress is progress. It is, after all, my first day off in a long while.

Unfortunately, I added 2 minutes to my last time. This is sad. I did, however, change my intervals. I jogged (okay, mostly shuffled) for 4 minutes and walked for 4 minutes.

I also bought a scale. It is still in the car... I will use it, I promise.

I ate a power bar and a banana this morning, and then for lunch I had a gluten-free grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of tomato soup. And some homemade hot chocolate. Dinner will probably be some Shepherd's Pie.

Day 4

Took Thursday off. Felt good to decide in advance instead of when I got up. I also bought a book on how to use our big blue exercise ball. Not adding that in, yet.

I'm working on two truisms: I can't do everything at once. One is more successful if instead of starting to run, to cut out candy and fast food, and to exercise and start using the scale and trying to lose 50 pounds in one week, one simply adds one thing at a time. The second truism is that it takes 6 weeks to form a habit, so my goal is to keep this up for 6 weeks. This week I started running. Next week I buy a scale.

Week 1 is complete. I made it to the park and walk/jogged 8 miles in 4 days.

Week 2 I change the interval from 2/6 to 4/4 and still try to get my time in under 30 minutes.

Week 3 I change the interval to 6/2 and add in ball work at home on the 1st and 4th day.

Week 4 Extend the ball work to 4 days and double my distance to 4 miles (16 miles per week).

Week 5 Maintain and change the interval to 8/2

Week 6 (and beyond) Maintain.

Today when I ran, I mostly succeeded in jogging instead of shuffling. I did not make my goal; though I did cut off another 2 minutes. Total time today was 34 minutes.

Before I ran I ate half of a gluten free bagel with cream cheese. Lunch was a hot dog sandwich on gluten free bread, with Cheddar. Dinner was a lot of grazing after opening night. If I were on a diet, I would have ruined it with the number of lemon meringue bars I ate, and the amount of alcohol I drank.

Saturday and Sunday I get off, and then start with WEEK 2 on Monday. If nothing else, I do certainly feel better, despite being incredibly sore. The soreness will pass... I hope.

Day 3

Didn't get enough sleep last night... which had nothing whatsoever to do with making love to my husband at 3am... well, almost nothing. I couldn't sleep, so I figured, what the heck.

Had to get up and take Josh to school, so while I was up, even though working on 4 hours of sleep, I went for my walk/jog (should I be really honest and write "shuffle"). Because I didn't get enough sleep, I drank more water than usual and had to stop mid-track and have a potty-break. I also ate a full powerbar. Those things are rather nasty.

Anyway. Did the same interval, 6 walk/2 jog... and I'm really trying to actually jog, not shuffle. Time was 36 minutes, so 2 minutes shaved from yesterday.

Food for the day, aside from what was mentioned above, included 2 scrambled eggs with cheese, 2 pieces of bacon, and a slice of sourdough, and a late night helping of stew.

Tomorrow I'm taking off. Friday, I'll try to lose a few more minutes... under 30 might have been a bit too optimistic. A couple of good nights of sleep and a day of rest might do wonders, though. Not holding my breath.

DAY 2

So, today, I took my watch with me to time, and actually did some interval training. Instead of jogging for 6 minutes, walking for 2, I did it the other way around. I really am out of shape, and don't want to kill myself here.

:D

2 miles took 38 minutes.

I resisted the urge to get drive through food afterwards, but I did come home and open a can of Chef Boyardee's Raviolis and a piece of sourdough. Baby steps. For Lunch/Dinner I had a tuna melt. I also had some coffee today and a bunch of apple chips. I need to eat more than 2 meals a day. Hopefully, that will get easier once I no longer have rehearsal every night!

For Christmas we went to a new friend's house for dinner. She is gluten intolerant, so I made an effort to make a whole bunch of gluten free stuff. We did an experiment for Josh (kids on the Autism Spectrum are advised to modify their diet so as to be lactose and gluten free, we've done really well with the lactose free so far) of going for a 24 hour period gluten free. He could tell the difference. Result: we're transitioning into a gluten and lactose free household. Bryan is lactose intolerant, and I am mildly so, and lactose isn't in as much as one would think it is in. Gluten, however, is in many, many, many more things than you would think. Making gluten free ANYTHING is a challenge.

We shop at Sam's Club, though, so I have a lot of gluten products to get through before we start to restock our pantry. In the meantime, I get to eat Ravioli's guilt free... right?

GOAL:

Interval training 2 more days this week. Go 2 miles in under 30 minutes.

Next week, change the intervals to 4/4, and keep it under 30 minutes. I think I might be the only person ever who walks faster than I jog. :D

New Year's Resolution 2010

I just posted cast pictures of the show that I am directing, and of course there is a picture of the cast and crew, which includes me. It is one thing to see yourself in the mirror, because you get used to your face, and don't notice just how ROUND it is getting, when it used to be a nice oval.

So here's the problem, I eat fast food way, way too much, and I don't exercise at all.

I have a two-part resolution. Cook more, and exercise more. If I have food that is made at home, I am less likely to go to a drive through. Hopefully. The exercise part is about the metabolism. I used to have a super fast metabolism, and I still eat like I did then, but my metabolism has slowed down a LOT so I don't look like I did then anymore.

A big reason why people are so successful on Weight Watchers is that they keep track of what they do and eat. That's now my focus.

January 3, 2011

EXERCISE:

Speed Walk... the timer got all screwed up, so I don't know how long.

Distance: 2 miles

FOOD:

Breakfast-

1/2 power bar

2 scrambled eggs w/cheese and tomato

2 slices of bacon

1 slice of sourdough bread

Lunch-

Marie Calendar's Chicken Pot Pie

Dinner-

Pepsi

Starting a Business

At Christmastime of 2008 my husband became one of many people who lost his job. He worked for a California-based commercial construction company that had decided to move him to Texas in June. The market was better in Texas, he was told. It is. However, it is a good-ole-boy network, and difficult to break into. DH is a drywall estimator. He looks at a bid request, estimates how much it will cost to build, including labor, and adds on the contractor's mark-up.

He came out to Texas at the bidding of his former boss. We were hoping for lots of good things. Former employer (we'll call him FE) didn't really do any research on the market here. He didn't have reliable employees, he didn't know the pricing, he didn't know the competition or the contractors he'd be working for. DH had a gas card that stopped working, DH was getting reimbursed slower and slower, and several other clues. So when FE finally admitted that he was out of money, we weren't really all that surprised. Annoyed, but not surprised. DH was operating in the dark, but under complete faith, and FE acted in an incredibly irresponsible manner towards someone he was responsible for.

Be that as it may, DH found another job, doing essentially the same thing, except no responsibility for project management. This is fine with DH, as this is the least favorite part of his job. Only problem is that this new job is a $20K annual pay cut. We've just moved from an apartment into a house and are paying $400 more in rent per month. We can't afford a pay cut. So, DH is filing bankruptcy (many bills left over from the unfortunately recent ex).

He starts working, likes it lots. He's getting paid as an independent contractor while on a trial employment. He and I start talking, and realize that what he does, he could do on a larger production level, selling his estimates (less the contractor markup) to several dry-wall contractors. So, now we're starting our own business. He's estimating, I'm managing paper.

This leads to many, many questions.

Incorporation or Sole Proprietorship?
What to deduct and how?
Business plan?

Do I get to sleep again?

I'm done.

I like to play, but if it goes to far, I get scared and then I get angry. And I'm done.
I like to touch, but if it goes to far, I get scared and then I get angry. And I'm done.
I like to love, but if it goes to far, I get scared and then I get angry. And I'm done.
I like to fight, but if it goes to far, I get scared and then I get angry. And I'm done.
When you're angry, you're done.
I have no where to go from here. How do I respond? I'm not done.
I don't want to be scared.
I don't want to be angry.
I don't want to be done.
I want to play, touch, love, fight, and laugh and love and never be done.
But I'm scared.

And you're done.