hcerlan's Journal

Cold and snowing
Dec 04 2008 07:28

I hopped on the scale last night expecting the worst. The scale was much lower than I had anticipated 159.9. Honestly, I was banking on 165.  However, I can tell by my clothing and the overall tone of my body that things have gone fairly far south.  I have my work cut out for me.  I know I have lost a good portion of my muscle tone and packed on quite a bit of fat again.  Which got me to thinking about how important regular exercise actually is. It has been so sporadic for me since the spring.  And I am very much ready to delve back into it.  I miss my muscles very much. Toned muscles make me look SO much better. There is a happy medium inside me somewhere and I intend to find it. 

I am looking forward to the weekend. We are going to my second favorite town in the state - Manitou Springs. We make a trip there usually in December to do some of that unique Christmas shopping.  I can usually find a special gift or two and it is a fun way to spend the day. I spent a lot of time there as a child.  Even though my aunt was murdered there, I still have lots of good memories in that little town. When I visit, I really have fond thoughts of my aunt, I don't think about the bad part. That probably sounds strange but that is how it works. On Sunday, we have plans as well and afterwards, I will get to spend some time with Flicka.  Will probably take her for a long walk in the park behind the barn, that way she can get a better feel for the place.

And Carolyn has not said yes or no yet as to whether she will come all of the way out to my barn to work with us. I called her and thanked her for her generous offer and let her know all was well.  I told her where the place was and she just told me to call her when we got settled. A good sign I think.  I really hope she will come out.  Even if it means less visits.  Our progress together so far has been wonderful.

FOOD:
milk, whole oats, serving of light oj, slice of whole wheat toast 400 cals
honeycrisp apple, peanut butter 195 cals
turkey breast, large green salad w/mandarins and almond slices 230 cals
mandarin, blue corn and flax chips, monterey jack cheese slice 200 cals
tomtato soup, steamed broccoli 220 cal

Sipping tea. Lots of frost.
Dec 03 2008 08:08

One day it is in the high 60's, the next it is in the low 30's. It is hard to know what to wear!

We walked the dogs last night just a little over a mile.  It was kind of romantic - everyone had their Christmas lights on and there was a little bit of left over snow on the ground.  I think my congestion is beginning to break up so it felt good to get some light exercise.

The new barn lady called me at work yesterday just to let me know how Flicka is adjusting.  Kind of nice.  This gal is cute - she has stockings for each of the barn animals and each of her horses. Plus the couple of other horses that are boarded there. And every night, she goes out to check on the animals before she goes to bed.  I am curious to see what the differences will be.  But already, the place is much calmer than the old barn. The animals all co-exist peacefully and I don't think she would have it any other way. She is mother to all. 

Vacation starts next Tuesday and I am working on getting myself in a good place food and exercise wise by then.  Will be nice to have some structure back in my life again.

FOOD:
milk, shredded bran, light OJ, toast slice 395 cals
honeycrisp apple 65 cals
turkey breast, celery slices, string cheese 220 cals
clementine, all bran crackers, laughing cow wedge 195 cals
leftover turkey and veggie soup, whole wheat wide noodles, green salad 370 cal

Tuesday
Dec 02 2008 07:56

We finally made the Thanksgiving turkey last night. I spent most of the long holiday weekend in bed with a cold so not a thing got accomplished. Except, we got Flicka moved into her new barn on Saturday.  I am glad the looking is over with, what a frustrating experience. One day we spent 10 solid hours driving around, and calling numbers on signs inbetween showings. Some were dumps, some wanted upward of $600 a month. There is really nothing close to us but we found a private barn, 23 miles from our house. It is very small but the people are nice and seem to be knowledgeable.  The lady knows the actual protein content of her hay, what more can I say. There are ducks, a white goose, barn cats, dogs, chickens, horses, a pony and I am not even sure what else yet.  I keep thinking I will discover Charlotte and her Web.

I feel like I am SO ready to get back on track with the whole eating and exercise thing. My cold is almost cleared up enough to do some real sweating.  I am tired of just seeing this thing halfway.  My fire has been lit, so to speak. Time to do this thing.

FOOD:
milk, shredded bran, slice of whole grain toast 350 cals
ambrosia apple 60 cals
turkey breast, slice of pepperjack cheese, clementine 220 cals
all bran crackers, laughing cow wedge 165 cals
celery sticks, peanut butter 180 cals
turkey soup with whole wheat wide noodles, fresh veggies and herbs 300 cals

My rear hurts
Nov 18 2008 08:19

Between the walking and the riding on Sunday and my cardio/yoga workout last night, my rear hurts.  It is a good feeling though, so I cannot complain.

I also did my grocery shopping and some of my Thanksgiving shopping.  The major stuff anyhow.  Turkey, check! Pumpkin pie fixins, check! Bags of cranberries, check!

Got to read for almost an hour right before bed.  All three cats were snuggled at my feet. Love that :)  Had strange and nostalgic dreams.  Woke up pondering....I will probably be a day dreamer all day long. I should snap out of it as I have major billings to work on.  It's just that I am generally very analytical so it is rare when my mind goes off on a tangent.  I kind of like the change of pace.

Snapped a pic of Karma, ahem, lying on the couch snoozing early this morning.  Normally, no dogs on the furniture and no cats on the tables or countertops.  But Karma has special privileges and it was fairly obvious that Daddy tucked her in the night before ;)

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa295/hcerlan/Horsestuff/ Photo-00641.jpg

FOOD:
nonfat milk, blueberry multigrain kashi, sweet wheat toast 400 cals
provolone slice, southern rose apple, wasa fiber crackers 210 cals
chicken stew with veggies 280 cals
carrots, celery, fiber one crackers, laughing cow wedge 205 cals
buffalo burger in lettuce wrap, cottage cheese w/ herbs 305 cal

Has anybody seen my lost weekend?
Nov 17 2008 07:28

Wow, that weekend sure did flash by.  I could have used one more day off to get some things done. I didn't accomplish much of anything!  Well, I am taking a week of my vacation in less than a month. I know I will make good use of it. And as a bonus, I always manage to 'lean up' when I am away from the office. The scale drops and I feel great - and then I come back to work and slip.  I will have to watch that this time.  I was at my very lowest after vacation in July and at the very least, I would love to get back into that place.

Today is my exercise day.  And I plan on grocery shopping as well.  Now I have to make up for all of the things I didn't do over the weekend! I need to clean up my eating, as it was kind of off over the weekend.  I will get this right again.  

FOOD:
nonfat milk, blueberry multigrain kashi, double fiber toast 410 cals
cameo apple, wasa fiber crackers, laughing cow wedge 180 cals
chicken breast, broccoli, whole wheat fettucine, olive oil, fresh herbs 320 cals
baby carrots, celery, montery jack cheese slice 130 cals
sweet potato soup, romaine and veggie salad 300 cals

Hello snow
Nov 14 2008 07:42

Did my thing at the barn with the trainer. Finally. She was generous with her time and apologetic about her absences.  She is professional, yet down to earth and that is why I dig her so much I think.  Oh, and she mentioned appreciating the card so sending it was ok.  I am glad you all steered me in that direction. When in doubt, go with the heart right? Hard for me since I am overly analytical :)

All in all, the night was good. Flicka and I are connecting on such a deep level right now. The extra work is paying off more than I ever imagined. Truly rewarding for us.  Still had the headache though, right up until I got out of bed and started moving around this morning.  That was a two full day sucker. The snow finally came and now I feel some relief.  Weather headaches are hard to quell. Homeopathy helped my hormonal migraines but the others are just untouchable.  And I can't do regular migraine meds due to issues with tachycardia arrhythmia that run in the family. I have to rely upon the usual aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.  Doesn't always work.

Ah, Friday at last. Okay, better get on with work.  Tomorrow morning I WILL workout before heading to the barn.  It's going to feel good, I just know it.

 FOOD:
nonfat milk, shredded bran, double fiber toast 410 cals
ambrosia apple, wasa fiber crackers, laughing cow wedge 230 cals
leftover roasted corn and chipotle soup 220 cals
1 oz pepperjack cheese, all bran crackers 210 cals
panang curry with beef, brown rice 400 cals

Meeting the goal
Nov 13 2008 07:28

The bare bones schedule I set for myself for the week includes a workout on M, W and Sat.  Barn days T, Th and Sat.  That leaves F and Sun. for chores and leisure time. I am meeting my goals thusfar this week. Makes me happy to say that.  Doesn't take much, does it? ha ha   Well, I feel really pleased because last night I had no desire to workout.  Had a headache from the weather changing and my energy was not good. The 45 minute commute home had me on edge.  But I did the strength training routine anyway and actually felt better for it in the end.

So today I am in the office in my barn clothes once more.   I wonder if anyone will make a comment.....I did clean the mud off of my boots though! I usually try and dress nice even though others here don't. I am hoping for an actual get together with the trainer tonight.  We shall see.  Tommorow it is only supposed to be in the 30's so hopefully today will hold with bearable temperatures. 

Robert had another visit with the hand surgeon yesterday.  He is coming along but still not released to go back to work.  He is doing several rounds of therapy each week and trying to get healed up. This has been tough on us, especially financially. Very tight. But at least he can spend extra time with Karma at home.  I think in that aspect, it is good for them both. And at least we are making it.  I am thankful for all that we have.

Looking forward, as always, to Friday!

FOOD:
nonfat milk, shredded bran, double fiber toast slice 410 cals
odwalla bar 240 cals
leftover wasabi pork tenderloin, steamed grean beans w/almonds 240 cals
REVISE/lunch out with Robert 
ambrosia apple, laughing cow wedge, wasa fiber crackers 200 cals
Roasted corn and chipotle pepper soup, green salad 330 cals

Righting the ship
Nov 12 2008 07:41

Yesterday was not as perfect as the previous day as far as my eating was concerned.  I kind of let myself down by eating way too much. I had a cheese and cracker thing even after my dinner and really overdid it.  But other aspects of the day were perfect and I will embrace those and do better with the eating today. Will catch myself before I even have a chance to fall. At least I didn't eat junk.

Our trainer put off our appointment again, she is trying to get herself back on track I think. I understand how hard that is after the loss of a pet. I went to the barn alone since I was already dressed in barn clothes.  Flicka was a little distracted so I took her into the large arena and turned her loose. She was explosive, running loops at full speed. For the first time since I brought her home, she had herself leveled out into a full run. It was a sight to see her bucking, twisting and even rearing once. I stood in the center and just watched her in awe.  Beautiful to watch a powerful creature in motion like that.  I was wishing for a large pasture but the arena at least gave her some leg room.  She then ran right up beside me, threw on the brakes, snorting, and stood stock still as if she were ready for whatever I wanted to do.  And she was perfect after that. Did everything I asked of her. She tickles me to death.

So today is another planned exercise day.  I am a bit sore from Monday's aerobics but today will focus on strength training.  I should be ok.  I think I am looking forward to it.  Yeah, I am.

FOOD:
nonfat milk, kashi blueberry and grains, double fiber toast 410 cals
ambrosia apple, pepperjack cheese slice, wasa fiber crackers 200 cals
veggie salad, grilled chicken, light sesame dressing 260 cals
yogurt parfait (yogurt, raspberries and tsp of granola) 190 cals
wasabi pork tenderloin, green beans w/almonds, whole wheat couscous 440 cal

Picture perfect. Going for a repeat.
Nov 11 2008 07:29

 Well, yesterday was picture perfect.  I stuck exactly to my menu - with the exception of one extra wasa cracker and one extra laughing cow light wedge.  Those added up to only 70 more cals. Wooo hooo! As soon as I got home I changed into my workout gear and did 35 minutes of high and medium intensity aerobics.  Cooled down, called my Utah grandmother for a quick hello. Ate a light dinner. Cut coupons and hit the market for groceries.  Had a fierce sweet tooth so I calmed it with a cup of hot peppermint tea.  Not thinking that a cup of tea before bed might not be a good idea.  Especially tea made from milk thistle, which is a liver cleanser.  I was up 4 times that I remember for the eternal pee fest.  Will have to come up with a new sweet tooth solution if this happens again before bedtime.

Wanted to take the dogs right before bed but they were both limping around on sore joints.  Must have been the cold weather. They both have old injuries that tend to flare up.  So we decided to keep them quiet for a couple of days.  I am sure they feel cooped up :(  Might be time to start acupuncture for the both of them.  Have had success with this in the past.

I have the delayed meeting with the wonderful trainer after work, so Flicka and I will get some quality reinforcement/learning time together.  All I have to to is stick with the food menu again today.  Tomorrow I will worry about another workout!

FOOD:
nonfat milk, kashi blueberry mixed grain, double fiber toast slice 410 cals
all-bran crackers, ambrosia apple, laughing cow wedge 210 cals
lean cuisine bbq chicken pizza 350 cals
mandarin orange, 2 wasa fiber crackers, pepperjack cheese 1oz 190 cals
big veggie salad, grilled chicken, light sesame dressing 280 cals

Sweat dead ahead
Nov 10 2008 07:24

Wow, the weekend went by quickly...but it was wonderful.  I took every opportunity to pump myself up for this new week ahead.  I do get lots general exercise from walking and barn chores but nothing to really raise my heart rate or challenge my muscles for a long time. At least nothing consistent. It is going to be rough. I am realistic enough to know that.  But I MUST do this.  And so I shall.

Yesterday, Robert stayed home to relax and I went to the barn alone.  Flicka and I walked about two miles out and then I rode her home.  Found out she is a dude magnet.  Men stopped and wanted to talk. It was kind of funny having these guys crush on my horse. She got some very nice compliments. But the best part was just her and I kind of relying upon one another.  Wasn't sure how she would act as we hadn't ridden off the property for a long time.  Plus she is so young and inexperienced.  But she was calm and focused and it went really well for both of us.  Great way to spend a Sunday. I highly recommend it :)

Tonight I will get my workout taken care of very first thing when I get home.  Then we can take the hounds for a walk, let them run a bit off leash. Karma is still holding on, bless her heart.   A light dinner after that and an early bedtime.  Sounds doable.

FOOD:
nonfat milk, shredded bran, double fiber toast slice 370 cals
gala apple, laughing cow wedge, all bran crackers 210 cals
leftover potato soup over whole wheat couscous 280 cals
pineapple spears, wasa fiber crackers, light cream cheese 165 cals
taco salad (no shell) (ground beef, black olives, romaine, tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeno, red onion, light sour cream, lime) 300 cal