Saturday, May 3, 2014

Weigh-In Saturday

Starting weight: 301
Last week's weight: 205
Today's weight: 204
Total loss: 97 pounds
Banded: 6/7/2013

Some weeks are golden. Those weeks where everything seems to be headed in the right direction. Everyone is happy, the sun is shining, and all seems right with the world.

This was not one of those weeks.

In fact, this week was the exact opposite of that.

Oh...where to begin?

I'll begin with the obvious. I'm sure you guys are well aware that a devastating tornado ripped through the central part of my state on Sunday night. Tornadoes are commonplace here, but this one was so violent, so destructive, that even lifelong Arkansans like myself are left speechless. Thank you so much to those of you who emailed to see if John and I were okay. We were lucky. So many were not. The tornado hit about an hour north of us. The main two towns affected were Mayflower and Vilonia. President Obama will be here on Wednesday to tour the tornado damage. I feel so badly for all the families who are suffering. I cannot fathom what they are going through. Because Arkansas is such a small state, almost everyone I know has a friend, a relative...someone who was a victim of this horrific event. Several of my coworkers have family members that lost everything.

Everyone was pretty tired Monday morning when school started. The kids were very subdued. Many had been up all night because of the tornado sirens and weather radio warnings. It was a weird day. Our school clubs immediately began to organize a relief effort drive. Things like dog and cat food, hand sanitizer, first aid supplies, gas station gift cards, etc.  All to be collected and taken by our local police department to the towns affected.

I was scheduled for a workout Monday afternoon, so I changed into my workout clothes and headed to the gym. I got there and the parking lot was completely empty. I guess more people than me just weren't feeling it that day. I don't know what is going on with me lately, but I have just been so tired. Not just on that particular and not just from lack of sleep. It's a full body fatigue. It's been concerning me a bit so I have scheduled a doctors appointment to do some blood work. I am way overdue for a physical, and I figured with almost 100 pounds lost, this is a great time to go get some numbers. Like many overweight people tend to do, I avoided going to the doctor for years. No more. I have decided that for the rest of my life, I will be an advocate for my own health and well-being. Now that I'm in my early forties and I have seen people my age affected by all sorts of things, it's even more of a necessity.

So anyway...back to the work out. You guys know that it has only been recently that I've started to truly like exercise. Hated it for YEARS. I had this thing that I used to do on days when my motivation was lagging. I would tell myself..."hey...just get dressed and go to the gym. If you aren't feeling better 15 minutes into the workout, you can leave and go home." Well...you know how that went. I never took myself up on it. After 15 minutes, I was always..."hell yeah...I'm here, I'm doing this!!" I haven't had to do that in a LONG time. But as I walked into the gym on Monday, I was steadily making deals with myself. "Just get this done and then you can go home." I lasted about 8 minutes. Seven minutes and 43 seconds, to be exact. I hopped off the arc trainer, grabbed my water bottle, and flew down the stairs to my car. The whole time I'm thinking "what the hell am I doing? This is not what I do!!!" But my body was speaking to me louder than my conscience. And it was saying "just get home and rest."

So I got home, got something to drink, and I sat down on the couch to watch the national and local news. Although the tornado had been the main topic of conversation all day, these were the first pictures and footage I had seen of the destruction. And I boo hooed like a big ol' baby. Even harder when I realized that one of the people being interviewed, one of the people who had lost their homes, was a former student of mine. A pretty young girl I taught 20 years ago. Now a grown woman who must somehow begin the arduous task of rebuilding her family's life.

After about an hour, my hunger was getting out of contol, so I decided to cook a healthy dinner. The whole time I'm thinking "okay...I completely bombed my workout, the least I can do is be healthy with my food choices." So I went into the kitchen, and made some tilapia and broccoli. And it was delicious.
 
And then about 20 minutes later I ate 9 chocolate chip cookies and a Cadbury creme egg.

And guess what? I'm fine with it. Some days are gonna be like that. Considering the way I was feeling, I'm pretty proud of myself that a bottle of tequila wasn't involved. I recognized what I was doing, which was stress eating, and I let go of my ideas of being "the perfect bandster" in that moment.

But the trick is not letting days turn into weeks into months. I've been in that downward spiral and I know exactly how it works. I've learned a thing or two about myself in the past year. And I now know how to put that knowledge to good use. Have the moment, let it go, and move ON.

On Tuesday after school, I went to see Rachel and sweet baby boy. BFF time always makes me feel better. We went to Chipotle, and then to J.Crew. I wanted to go there becuase I've had my eye on this shirt for a while.
They had it. I bought it. And the best part was that I didn't need extra-large this time. I got an a large and rocked it yesterday with some dark wash jeans and my new Donald J. Pliner wedges.
 
Shout out to my sister for those, by the way. She is the generous soul that gives me my all time favorite thing....Nordstrom gift cards ....for my birthday and Christmas. :) Thanks, Jen! :)

Wednesday was back to the gym. And I don't mind telling you that I was a bit concerned after Monday's debacle. But I needn't have been. Wednesday's workout was just fine. Afterwards, I went and met my friend Rory for a wonderful dinner. I haven't seen her in almost a year. She is the mother of 5 year old twin boys, so yeah...she's slightly busy.

And finally Friday arrived. I had an early dinner with my friend Jordan after school, and then we went to Target. Always fun.

Oh and I lost a pound this week. That seems sort of beside the point, but I was grateful for that.

John's band is in Fayetteville, Arkansas tonight playing a wedding. About 5 hours away. Yes… Wedding Season has officially begun. I like it for him, because he so good at what he does, but kind of bummed that I'm not seeing him tonight. He'll get home in the wee hours of the morning, and will likely sleep all day tomorrow. The life of a musician with a day job!

Furry Lewis and I are gonna catch up on some TV tonight and chill at the house. I have the past three episodes of The Good Wife on the DVR and I'm quite excited about that.

I'm also going to make my junk food tacos. They aren't really junk food, but they taste that way. If you're a fan of Jack in the Box tacos...and really...who isn't?.....you'll probably like these. Unlike a lot of the recipes I post, the brand of the ingredients matters a lot on this one. If you have a Walmart Supercenter near you, you should be able to find the La Tiara brand. After trying it for the first time last summer, I'll never use anything else. I'm not going to go to tell you how to make tacos, you already know that, so I'll just post a pic of what you need.
Oh! But definitely warm the taco shells in the oven. That's a crucial step. And don't skip the processed cheese. We are going for trashy here, people. Healthy Trashy!

Hey...that is a great idea for my first cookbook. Healthy Trashy LapBand Eats. I'm sure my surgeon would be so proud.

Here's to better weather, and better days ahead. I hope each of you has a great week.

Thanks for reading.



2 comments:

  1. Wowww, that is quite a week. Sending everybody out there my thoughts and good vibes. Something strange--last night I actually dreamed I was in the middle of 4 tornadoes at a friend's place in Indiana. For an AZ girl through and through, it was terrifying. The craziest weather we get is an occasional haboob (sudden microburst/duststorms), or intense thunder storms.

    As for the workout, sometimes our bodies truly do need the rest. Sounds like the week has definitely taken a toll on your heart and head, and that can definitely affect the body. Glad you gave yourself what you needed :)

    P.S. UGGGGHHH those SHOESSSS! I WANT!!

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    1. SUCH a strange week. And you're totally right...my heart was what was hurting the most.

      On a happy note, the shoes are some of my favorites. And would you believe they make me about 5'4???? Hells yeah! :)

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