Monday, April 30, 2007

Down a little, up a little...

Is this the story of my life? Is this better or worse than being on a plateau? These are weight control questions that I have no idea what the answer is. So, I am see- sawing for the past two weeks. Now, is this because I am only 4 pounds away from goal? Am I losing the enthusiasm that powered me for many months? Why am I faltering when the end is so close? Maybe I have been too busy, and haven't exercised enough. And, the week ahead is just a busy as the week that just passed. After that, things slow down a bit. Thank goodness.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Haning around my old school

Today I had to make a visit to my old school,Haven Middle Sch00l, on Greenbay and Lincoln in Evanston. Now this is always an experience for me, since I taught at this school for 6 years, but I also attended it for 7th and 8th grade. Just for the record, none of the teachers who taught me are there anymore. Only 1 or 2 teachers who were there when I taught there are still there. The building looks the same outside, and the inside hasn't changed much either. It looks slightly worn out, but it looked that way in 1958 and in 1970. The kids look similar to the kids of the 1970's, except that their hair is shorter and bell bottom jeans aren't in style anymore. They don't look anything like the kids of the 1950's. Girls wore only skirts then, and nobody wore jeans to school. The school is more diverse today, both students and faculty. The old desks are gone, there have been some remodeling, but it's still my old school. It was easy to find my way around, because the floor plan must be imprinted on my brain. I walked by my kindergarten room, which was my classroom for a year. My other classroom has been turned into something else. I remembered the teachers who once taught in the other rooms. When I went there, the first floor was an elementary school. When I taught there, the middle school had taken over that space. I didn't mention that I also attended kindergarten and part of first grade at the elementary school. Junior High was not a happy time for me, but surprisingly, I did like teaching at Haven. It was a little strange to work with people who once were people who taught me.

Weight Watchers weigh in was Monday. I just got on the scale, but didn't stay for the meeting. I had another meeting at 9:30. I'm sorry that I missed the program topic--keeping the weight off. I did just fine--down .8 pound. My goal gets closer.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Remember Earth Day?

Earth day used to be a really big deal in the 1970's. I remember going to a big teach-in at Northwestern sometime in the early 70's--maybe even on the first earth day. The one seminar that stayed in my mind over the years was on zero population growth. Unfortunately, the population of of US has grown much faster than that since 1973. I also remember waiting in line to buy gasoline because of shortages, having the gas stations open for only a few hours a day because they didn't have any gas to sell. I remember people being concerned about the gas mil age that their car got. People worried about phosphates in detergent and all kinds of things that people don't really care about anymore.
Now, I'm not going to go as far as to have a worm farm under my sink in order to get recycle kitchen leftovers, but I do a little bit, and could do a lot more.
If you haven't seen "An Inconvenient Truth," plan to see it soon. It amazes me that people are questioning scientific research and equating ideology to scientific research, and that there is "another side" to the global warming issue. .

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Candy again

So, candy has made another appearance in my weight loss drama. Yesterday, in the grocery store, I was lured into the candy aisle and a bag of fruit slices found its way into my cart. This is not great candy, it's not even good. The main attraction is its gummy, tart, fruit flavored sweetness. So I started to eat them in the car, put them in the trunk when I got home, took them out on the way to Oakton, and ate them again in the car. By the time I got to school, I was so full, almost to the bloated feeling. I did manage to leave them alone on the way back. Today, I dumped them into the trash at Costco. I did eat half the bag yesterday. Now, keeping the end in mind, I have no idea why I ate this junk. Was eating this candy worth it? NO. Will I pay for it by postponing achieving my goal? I think so. So why did I do it? Why did I continue to eat, even after I finished dinner and wasn't hungry? I ask myself, how will I be able to maintain my weight after I get to goal?
On a related subject, I got rid of a lot of clothing that was too big. I have no backup stuff to wear if I gain. I'm spending my money on clothing that fits now. I hope that this is a case of three steps forward, one step back. Isn't that the way that most journeys go? So I will finish with my favorite weight management quote:
"Don't sacrifice what you want the most for what you want for the moment."

Monday, April 16, 2007

The Goal is in Sight

The Weight Watchers train is back on track. It was sidetracked, not derailed. The 3 pounds that I gained last week are gone, and I am now 4.4 pounds away from my goal. So was this a real gain, or was it just a water gain, caused by eating too many super salty foods over the weekend? My guess is with the water. This was a detour, rather than a back slide.
I have a very busy week ahead, several work meetings and preparation for a shower that I am giving on Saturday. Added to my class preparations, it makes for a hectic few days.
I went to the gym yesterday, and plan to go again on Friday. That is about it for heavy workouts. I will have to be happy with the air dyne bike at home. I plan to do some abdominal work with my new foam roller. This is a modified torture device--you lay on the roller, which is a feat in itself, and then do some leg lifts and crunches. The trick is not to fall off the roller, which makes the abdominal muscles work harder. I'm doing better on this thing, but I have to admit that I fell off it at the gym yesterday.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Is it spring yet?

April 11 snowstorm. It snowed most of the day.

We were greeted by the sound of precipitation on the sky lites very early this morning. When we got up, there was a lot of wet know piling up on the window, and outside the grass was covered and the sidewalk was slushy. My husband canceled his business trip to Rockford, but I went to my meeting. It wasn't cold, but the snow was coming down hard. Now, as far as I know, we are in meteorological spring, as well as astronomical spring. Snow on the 11th of April is just not right.

Monday, April 09, 2007

A HUGE setback.

So, I just got home from my Weight Watchers meeting and the news isn't good. I'm up 3 pounds. This is the biggest set back since I started the program in September.
Now, how did this happen? I'm thinking that all that candy finally caught up to me. I also think that my Easter dinner was salty, and salt attracts water--thus a water gain--hopefully temproary. Now, am I rationalizing all of this? On the positive side, I went to the gym 3 times this week, and exercised at home once. On the negative side, I wasn't so good at logging in all that went into my mouth. I just slacking off and it's catching up with me. I've been lucky with my slacking so far.
Next to the scale at the meeting, there was an application for a contest--Weight Watchers inspiring stories. Is my story inspiring? Maybe so, but so far, its been a story of success. Is success inspiring if there is no failure mixed in? Would anybody want to read about a person who sticks to the program and never wavers? Maybe so. Will I let this failure get me down and end my successful run?

Saturday, April 07, 2007

A Foodie Adventure

Yesterday my husband and I went out on a adventure to find some Polish sausage for Easter. Last year we bought some Bobak's sausage at Jewel, but this year they didn't have any. So we asked a person who worked at Jewel for a suggestion, and she sent up to Rich's Foods, on Harlem Ave and Lawrence in Chicago. This was a little bit of a drive, and we never expected to end up in Poland.
Rich's is a deli and grocery store which caters to immigrants from Eastern Europe. Yes, they had sausage, but you had to wait for at least an hour to get the the deli counter. They had quite a few varieties of sausage, most of which were totally unknown to us. I know that what I wanted was Krakowska sausage, which has a lot of garlic. That was not available in the prepackaged section, so we bought some smoked and unsmoked sausage, not knowing what we were getting. We also bought some coleslaw, perogies, a babka and a poppy seed cake, which was labeled makowiec. We bought some pickles from a barrel. They had so much imported food, like butter and bottled water from Poland, as well as canned and packed goods, candy and liquor. It seemed like no one spoke English there.
Then we went to the bakery in the mall, Oak Mill Bakery. They had a lovely selection of fancy cookies and tarts, of the usual varieties as well as apple cake, cheese cake and babka of every kind. Polish was the language of choice there too. We bought some petit fours and pastries and a cheese cake.
So when we got home, we decided to some of the foods out. The suasage was very good, but not garlicy like I was used to, but it wasn't Krakowska. The poppy seedcake was excellent and so were the perogies. So, everything will be served on Sunday. My mother is already excited about the pickles, which she hopes will taste like the ones her uncle Kost Rychly made year ago in Minneapolis.
This was a good adventure for a foodie, as well as a cultural experience.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Oh no, Snow!

Yes, you read it correctly, there were a few flurries today when I came out of the gym and a few more when I walked Alma. It was, however, a great day for a chai misto at Starbucks. I have been to the gym twice this week and am going again of Friday. This is mixing it up, as my WW leader instructed. I also did some air dyne bike time yesterday. And, wonder of wonders, I ordered a exercise ball and a foam roller yesterday at Runners Edge. Now, neither of these exercise aids are my favorites, in fact I rather dislike both of them. But, the will enable me to do more working out at home on my off gym days.
As I approach my WW goal, I am getting a more worried about maintaining. Seeing that I am having a problem with candy lately, I don't want to lose what I have accomplished. So, having that big ball around is a reminder that I can and will do those ball crunches and push-ups.
One of my yoga instructors once mentioned that after learning to do all the poses, you start over and learn them again. I guess that is like this WW adventure. I know that when I reach my goal, I am starting over again. Another journey, this one is much scarier that the weight loss one. Maintaining my weight is for a much longer period--like forever.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Accentuate the Positive!

The candy got the best of me. At my WW meeting this morning, I was up .4 pound. I can handle this because I did it to myself. I think I must have had 50 points in candy this week, in addition to a huge dinner on Friday, I'm glad that my gain was so small. I am about 5 pounds away from goal, and I have lost a total of 38 pounds. I don't think that I should obsess over .4 of a pound gain. Accentuate the positive!
On other topics, I sorted out my busy day yesterday and made it to the gym. I did most everything I had to do and survived. Today I will do my lesson plan, pay my bills and make out checks for April.
It is a beautiful day, sunny, not too warm. A real spring day, not what we usually get, which is a not summer day. This is our usual spring weather: cold, cold, cold, then 90 degree days. I want a nice SPRING day, temp. in the low 70's, sunny, mild breezes. Is this too much to wish for?

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Nothing going on, so why so busy?

Having two jobs is finally getting to me. So far, it hasn't seemed to be a problem, but now, I am feeling overwhelmed. What is suffering? Going to the gym, staying involved with my WW program, volunteering at the Botanic Garden, things that I have really enjoyed. The worst part of these jobs has been getting hit by taxes. I wonder whether it has been worth it. Am I working for the IRS? It sure seems like that is the case.
Today is a good example. I wanted to go to the gym, but I have to finish up the laundry, go to Target to get something for my mother, go over to help her organize her taxes, and think about my lesson plans for next week. I am also working on a survey for the new teachers--that is for my other job. Then I have to call the person I am giving a wedding shower with to discuss some shower issues. The day seems like there is a lot of time, but the hours just go by so quickly.
I have been eating candy--the worst kind--hard candy that is full of sugar, which feeds my sweet tooth, but also rots my teeth. Why am I doing this? There is a pattern recently of candy, candy, candy. I am sabotaging myself. I haven't been keeping my goal in mind. Why am I doing this? Is it because I am overwhelmed with stuff? Is candy calming me down? This seems to be strange. Sucking on candy, a pacifier?
So, I still have to water my plants, put them back in their spots, maybe take a walk, for some exercise, and do the thing listed above. Some restful Sunday.