Fitness Ridge, I'm Comin' Home!

Read the fine print, dork. It expires NEXT year! 

It's nearly New Year's Eve which may be the catalyst. Not because of resolutions (which I seem to make everyday), but more about the $100 off coupon that expires tomorrow (whoops ... see caption).  Also, I spent a sedentary week following the beach trip, with maybe two trips to the gym. Yesterday's two-mile walk/run nearly put me in the morgue! I'm sick and tired of this! I do. I hurt. I don't. I do. I hurt. I don't .... blah, blah, blah.

Another motivator is the BLR FaceBook page. I love the inspiration those guys give me (as I sit on my arse). Still, it is inspirational. One dude recently lost 17 pounds in a week. True, he's a dude and dudes do that, but still!! 17!

Loser for Soup has also inspired ol' sedentary me. She planned on running a 5K a year ago, and now she's going to do it. Thanks, Loser.

I may be the most tenacious, most consistently NOT losing person I know.

A Little Christmas Cheer Me Up

So the no carb thing ... totally couldn't continue after a couple of days. Even though they were spaced out, by the time I tried the third day, I thought I'd lose my tuna. This just isn't the way my system works.

So I focused on my exercise. Two successive days of hitting it and I threw out my back. Dear LORD, what the heck??? Tons of Advil and days of walking on the beach and many, many stairs and I think I'll be ok.

Meanwhile, I found some sage advice on Hot In Cleveland, "Happy Fat".  Worth watching and so much fun.

May we all dance in 2012

Not Bad

I've done the carb-free days on Monday and Thursday and I have to say, not bad. Not fun, but doable. Though I really hate going without carbs, it prevented me from "just one bite" of so many things. (It is the Christmas season.) The cool thing is that I can tell myself I can have that tomorrow, just not today. Chances are, I don't have that same opportunity the next day. I added sprouted lentils with the health-building sauce that I picked up at a communal fat farm decades ago. That helped so much. I really need plants in my system. I'm assuming lentils are ok. They're above-ground.

My weigh-in last week wasn't as horrible as I was expecting. Not good, by any stretch, but way better than I'd imagined. I'll weigh every month. Less is just crazy with my bod.

I want to go back to the ridge, but this vacation is out. I think I'll set up a week in the spring. That will give me some time to train for the beatings. Time to play Ms. Claus ... go, go, go!

A Sane Person Would Just Give Up

I have got to be super stubborn. None of my great ideas were workable, but I'm NOT giving up, damn it.

Apple cider vinegar in lieu of acid reflux meds - BUZZ. I've not felt so much pain in a long while. And I took more than a tablespoon of vinegar prior to each meal. It helped my stomach, but the junk that made it to my esophagus must have burned holes up there. Dang, that was painful! I'll be researching this some more, because it seems intuitive that turning off the acid isn't good for weight loss.

Primal Body, Primal Mind or Visa Versa - BUZZ. Didn't buy it, fortunately. I can't go without ANY tubers or starches, ever. I really tried. Just can't. Makes me queezy. I will say that I did drop a lot of the carbs that I was eating.

So, what WILL I do? I hate this weight, but I feel so stuck. I love exercise, yet by the time I pack it in at work, I'm whipped. I am old, after all. Nonetheless, I have to apply what I know to my life. I'm keeping my daily thoughts on my calendar, to prevent a bogged-down blog.

UPDATE 5 MINUTES LATER: The universe does listen! The daily podcast that I listen to just had this nutritionist on who supported a recent trial of 3 groups. One cut calories to 1500/day, one cut to 600/day and no carbs twice a week, and the last ate regularly but cut out carbs (no tubers or starches) twice a week with NO other restrictions. Group 1 and 2 lost about 5 pounds (can't remember in how long). The last lost 9! I'm in! She further recommended doing it on Monday and Thursday because of our lifestyles and spacing it out. Here's her website: http://susansmithjones.com/  Let us pray, yeah?

Feeling Something Coming On

I know, it's been said before, but I think I may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't explain why, but suddenly I'm hearing things that I believe in my core are true. So far, two things have enlightened me: my meds are PREVENTING weight loss and my whole idea of what is skinny food is wrong. Who knew?

#1: I'm going to work myself off of the acid reflux meds. I guess that, while they turn off the acid, the acid is necessary to break down our food. Without breaking it down, I'm not getting what I need, nutritionally, so I remain hungry. They say a teaspoon (God, I hope it was only a teaspoon) of Apple Cider Vinegar before each meal will work better than the meds. Here's to health! Starting the vinegar tomorrow.

#2:  I've already started to s-l-o-w-l-y wean myself from sugars and carbs. I only heard the author talk on the radio, but I'm buying her book, Primal Body, Primal Mind.

Meanwhile, a slow weaning was recommended, so I'm thinking that I'll only buy proteins and above-ground veggies (started that tonight) and finish off the carbs in the pantry. It will take awhile. That's ok ... I don't do withdrawals. In the long run, though, I'd much rather live without bread than stay fat. It's all good. She also said that, with the proper fats in my system, I'll be far less tired and more alert. More likely to actually GO to the gym!

For the record, I've been MIA because of a wonderful vacation on a cruise ship. You heard me. The all-you-can-eat-boat. Truth be known, I think that's where I started to put this together. I was forced to eat regular dinners (Versus my FAVORITE ... cereal. We're often addicted to the very foods we should avoid.). I felt so much less bloated after a week, even with dessert and wine. Hmmm, I said. That cereal may be posing a problem. D'ya think?

My exercise was off prior to the cruise. I pulled my subpectoral on the eliptical, then really did it in pilates. I haven't been to the gym, since. It's just starting to feel ok, though I'm still doing the Aleve.