Kari’s Blog

It’s been quite a year!  Lots of ups & downs, definitely more ups than downs, so I can’t complain about a thing. 

I don’t have much to blog tonight but we’re hosting a New Year’s Eve party in a couple of hours and I wanted to get on and check everyone’s blogs before I headed into the evening.  It’s always so encouraging to hear from everyone and read their thoughts, it’s very helpful to me as I head into a night of food & drink!

Watch this space tomorrow, I will be here to report that I’ve started off 2007 with a nice cleansing run in the cool New Year’s air!  Ciao!

Happy Early New Year to me!  My ?body composition monitor? came today, and I?ve already got it all programmed & set up in the bathroom.  Very exciting.  Not so exciting to learn that I have 29.6% body fat, but hey, facts are facts.  At least according to the table put out by the American Council on Exercise, I am at an ?acceptable? level of % fat.

Based on this number, I may need to adjust my goals slightly.  I?m still going to keep my goal of reaching 125lbs by Memorial Day, but at the same time I want to bring that 29.6% down under 25%.  Even 25% still seems high, but I guess I?ll believe the ACE. J 

Now, I?ve given thought to what I want to accomplish in 2007, and decided to choose three main goals (you might laugh at #3, but it?s important!)

# 1 ? Reduce my body fat % to below 25%.

(I think focusing on body fat is healthier than thinking about a specific number.  And, if I accomplish this, my goal weight will follow.)

WHY I want to do it:  To stay healthy and keep my weight reasonable as I enter my 30s.  To reduce my risk for so many of the health problems that have affected my family throughout the years:  diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke.  And as a bonus, to feel great and look awesome for my wedding in July.

HOW I will do it:

-          First, by eliminating emotional/boredom snacking during the day. (Mostly by avoiding the candy bowl at work!)

-          Second, by working out at least four times per week.  Ideally this will be Saturday & Sunday, and two days during the workweek.  But if I do need to miss a weekend day for some reason, I will make it up with extra days during the workweek.  Strength training at least one day per week.

-          Third, by continuing to blog about my journey, getting and giving support on this website.  Keeping tabs on my buddies and hearing their feedback and enthusiasm even on my hardest days.

-          Finally, by counting my calories again.  The best success I had last summer when I dropped so close to my goal weight was when I was logging every calorie and watching the balance between fat/carbs/protein on a daily basis.  I will log what I eat every day.

# 2 ? To dedicate more time to knowing myself.

WHY I want to do it:  Because I deserve it, and I?ve been so distracted by work and the pressure of other people?s problems for so long that I haven?t taken a good look at what I want to do in far too long.  So that I don?t wake up 30 years from now and have a list full of ?why didn?t I?s?.

HOW I will do it:    By trying new things, meeting new people, and spending at least one evening a week in quiet thought, reflecting and planning. 

# 3 ? To have a beautiful, enjoyable, low-stress wedding.

WHY I want to do it:  I know this might sound silly, but I?ve seen too many brides get so stressed out over the most insignificant things on their ?big days?, and I just don?t want it to happen to me.  I?ll be starting to get deeper into the details of planning in the coming months, and I just need this reminder to myself that while I want it to all be beautiful, the main thing that matters to me is sharing the day with people I love and celebrating the start of the rest of my life with my wonderful fiance. J

HOW I will do it:  By reminding myself how lucky I am to have found the person I love most in the world, and that our day will be special no matter what, so everything else is just minor details.

I think these are three very important things, and when I accomplish them I know I will look back and see 2007 as a very successful, happy year.

Happy New Year to All!

I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t been a perfect angel in respect to my eating this week - I have indulged in a sweet here & there, and gave in to a chai latte on my way to work yesterday, etc.  BUT, I have been eating much better at mealtimes - reasonable portions, good balance of protein/fat/carbs/veggies, etc, and I have been walking about 45 min/day with the dog.  I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that I’m not dropping pounds like crazy, but here’s the weird thing.  The past 4 days in a row (yes, I weigh myself every morning, like clockwork), my scale has been at the EXACT SAME NUMBER.  It’s a digital scale, and it goes in half-pound increments, and it has been at the same dang spot for four days! 

I’m not complaining that I haven’t lost weight immediately after refocusing on my eating habits (ok….maybe I am a little bit :P), but really I’m just amazed that it hasn’t gone up or down at ALL in that long!  Normally I fluctuate from day to day, depending on how much water I get, my exercise, how much sodium I take in, etc.  Four days at exactly the same half-pound mark?  It just seems improbable, doesn’t it?  I was starting to wonder if my scale is just stuck there, but when DF steps on it definitely gives him a different number than it gives me, so I don’t think that’s it! LOL

Well, I ordered my new “body composition monitor” last week ( a scale that gives body fat % & water %, etc, in addition to weight), so we’ll see what that one says when it arrives.  I think I’m going to wait to do my first weigh-in of 2007 on the new scale, and reset by ticker to whatever that one gives, so that I can be consistent throughout the year.

Now, for 2007, I had mentioned writing resolutions, and Jo mentioned in her blog writing a plan & roadmap to achieve our resolutions.  I am going to do this tomorrow.  I will write out my top 3 resolutions for the year, with detailed plans for how I will accomplish them AND - I think this is really important - WHY I want to accomplish them and what I will reward myself with then I am successful!  Stay tuned!

I have a close friend who shares one of my passions - minimalist living!  Trying to keep our material possessions trimmed down to what we truly need and enjoy, rather than having things just to have them.  And we have a motto for those days when we look around & decide that there is too much clutter surrounding us again:  “Dare to Dump!”  It’s our rallying cry for really assessing WHY we’re keeping something and giving it away or just plain throwing it out if there’s no reason to keep it around any longer.

Well this week I’m applying “Dare to Dump” to several of the Christmas gifts I received.  Now before you think I’m the most ungrateful recipient ever, let me explain.  Many of my friends & family gave homemade or store-bought sweets & cookies for Christmas this year.  While I don’t mind indulging in a few here & there, the homemade treats just will not last long enough for me to eat them at a reasonable rate!  I have written sincere thank-yous to each of the givers, telling them what it means to me to be remembered by them during the holidays, and I mean every word of it.  BUT….when it comes to the boxes & plates & bags full of treats - I am DARING TO DUMP! Tonight I’m going to choose one piece from each gift I received to keep & eat over the next couple of weeks, and the rest - into the trash with it!

It just seems cruel for people to give so many calorie-filled sweets at this time of year when many of us are trying to focus on eating well and starting a new year of healthier living.  I think my friends would understand, if they saw the volume of sweets I was dealing with, my decision to ‘dump’ many of the bits & pieces.  It just has to be done!

And in 2007, I’m going to Dare to Dump the remaining pounds that I need to lose before the big wedding day in July! 

Speaking of 2007, I hope to write a blog this week about my New Year’s Resolutions, as well.  I know the cliche that 99.9% of resolutions aren’t kept more than a week, but I think it’s important to take a hard look at what I want to focus on in the coming year, so I can refer back when I’m feeling off track.  I can’t wait to hear other buddies resolutions as well!

I gave in to the holidays this weekend and went a little crazy with the food - lots of salmon spread, lots of cookies and candy, lots of LOTS of things!  Somehow, when I stepped on the scale this morning, I hadn’t gained a single pound from the entire escapade.  Thank heavens for small miracles!

Today was my first day coming back to the office after taking some time off to move & get settled in to our new place.  Remembering my new plan that I outlined several blogs ago, about how to fit in a gym workout without having to 1) pay and 2) drive, I put together my work clothes & toiletries into my gym bag last night and went to bed at a decent hour.  I woke up at 5:45 this morning, threw on my workout clothes, and got on the train.  When I got to my office, I made the 10 minute walk to the gym, worked out on the elliptical for 45 minutes, showered & got dressed, and walked back to work!  I was at my desk by 8:15 and feeling SO great that I got my workout in before I even sat down at my desk!

I was looking through my old blogs and I think the last time I actually exercised this early in the morning was sometime in August - so this was a big comeback for me!  Hooray!

I know a lot of my buddies are struggling with the holiday food overload, and I just want you all to know that YOU CAN DO IT!!!  Remember how far you’ve come, what you want to accomplish, and how many other things you have to be thankful for, and suddenly the urge to go back for more cookies will vanish, I promise!  And no matter how you do with eating/exercising this holiday season, I hope I see all of you back here after the New Year!  My great fear is that one of my fabulous buddies will get off track during the holidays and then feel embarassed to come back, so they’ll stop coming to the site!  Hear this, buddies:  I support you all no matter what, and I want to see you back here raring to go in 2007!

Given the holiday weekend I may not be back online until next Tuesday, so please have a safe, joyous holiday with your loved ones, no matter what or where you’re celebrating. 

Boy oh boy, buddies, I can’t tell you how many times I thought about you and wanted to log in to post over the past week - but we were moving and the cable guy just came today to hook up our internet access again…and since I was taking vacation time to set up the new house, I wasn’t at work to get online there….major Buddyslim withdrawals!!

We had a great, tiring, successful weekend and week of getting settled in to our new place.  My younger brother helped us on Sunday to move some of the heavier pieces of furniture, and I spent Monday through Wednesday unpacking and cleaning the old house up. 

We ate out almost every meal over the past few days, since we didn’t have our kitchen set up, but I’m thrilled to say that I made the healthiest choices possible at most of our meals, and all the exercise of moving helped and I’ve lost another 1/2 lb!  Woohoo!

In the exercise realm, DF announced this week that he wants to start running with me on weekends!  He’s going to buy a pair of running shoes for Christmas and we’re going to take the dog out on Saturday & Sundays for nice leisurely jogs - no specific time or distance in mind, just good old fashioned “for the fun of it” exercising, so I’m really looking forward to that!

I hope everyone has a great pre-Christmas weekend!!!

Today is starting off on a slightly brighter note than yesterday.  I felt bad after I posted my blog going off ranting about DF’s family & their fickleness regarding what exactly they want to do for Christmas.  When I got home last night DF & I decided that next weekend we’ll just make a huge batch of fudge, put some on little Christmas plates for each family, and wrap it up.  That’s what they get, like it or not! :-)  So I’m putting the stress of that behind me.

Same thing for moving this weekend.  All week long I’ve been go-go-go wanting to get everything ready so that we’d be completely prepared on Sunday when we pick up the U-haul.  Last night DF convinced me that we’d have all day Saturday to do last minute preparations, so we could stand to take a night off from the craziness.  So tonight, we’re going to see the Blazers play the Clippers, and hopefuly we’ll get to see a win!

I weighed myself this morning and am down 1/2 lb since last week…it’s not my official weigh-in day yet, but it’s nice to see that even with all the stress in my life right now, I’m managing to control things and not go on big binges!  Now I just need to get through the weekend, and I’m sure hauling furniture & boxes will burn a bunch of calories, so that’s a good thing!

Go Blazers!

I am going to have to accept the fact that for now, until the holidays are over, it is going to be very difficult for me to stay focused on the weight loss.  I haven’t lost (but haven’t gained!!) anything in the past two weeks.  It’s not a plateau, it’s just a result of not fitting in my workouts. 

Now I’m going to go on a rant because this all came up today and it is making me want to throw a chair out the window.

My fiancee’s family had the idea at Thanksgiving to adopt a family in need this year, and buy them gifts for Christmas instead of doing gift exchanges among the adults of the extended family.  We all do well enough, pay our bills and aren’t in need of anything crucial, so thought we’d take the money we normally spend on each other, and put it toward another family who needed it more.  They decided to do this, and one of DF’s aunts found a family through her church and got a list of the things they need.  Based on this, I went out & started buying things for the person DF & I had been ‘assigned’ from the family.

Now, out of the blue, I get an email from this aunt that since some people in the family had already bought gifts throughout the year for extended family members, instead of not doing gifts for each other, we’re now apparently doing “small gifts” for each family.  OK, well, I am on a limited budget, and all I ever get for these family members is “small” gifts.  Now it’s 10 days before Christmas, and I have to come up with money & ideas for all of these people, in addition to the money I’ve already spent on the family we adopted, and it is fully stressing me out.  I have a set budget for things like this, and changing plans like this just blows it out of the water.  Now I’m going to have to spend some of my wedding savings money to buy little junky gifts for these people, when I know they don’t even really need anything, just so we’re not the “bad family who showed up without gifts” on Christmas day.

I hate to make it sound like it’s all about money, but it just bothers me that they get so uptight about the gift exchanging to begin with, and have to put restrictions & guidelines on it & make it into such a huge deal.  I wish for just one year, we could focus on the TRUE MEANING of the holiday and not have to rush around buying things for people to show them we care about them.  Wouldn’t it be nice to show your love for your family by having a meal together, spending time really TALKING and seeing how each other are doing, getting updated on each other’s lives, etc?  Wouldn’t that be more meaningful than staring at each other across the room while everyone tears printed paper off of items that (in my case at least) were rushed out & bought at the last minutes, to fulfill some imposed obligation?

It’s just depressing me that people are focused so much on the material pieces of the season.  I wish I could speak up and say as much to the family, but being that it’s DF’s family I don’t always speak my mind, for fear of offending.  I don’t want them to think I’m just saying it to get out of giving gifts, either.  I wish we could all just enjoy one another and have that be gift enough.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

I’ve been finding all sorts of excuses lately for not exercising.  “It’s too dark.”  ”I’m too tired.”  “There’s too much other stuff going on.” Rosa’s last blog really hit home with me - she had a day where she thought up excuses not to work out, but forced her way to the treadmill and was glad when she was finished!!  I need to dedicate some serious time to coming up with a plan to fit in my workouts.  This is where I need your help & suggestions, buddies!

(Note: I wrote out this whole entry and SWEAR I posted it but it’s not showing up!! ARRGGH!!)

Here’s the thing:  In my ideal world, it would always be daylight when I wanted to run, the weather would be perfect, and I would have a wonderfully planned route to take a nice jog through the city.  I MUCH prefer running outside because it feels like fun to me - not so much a WORKout as a fun outing. :)  But during the winter, it’s too dark in the mornings & evenings to do these runs during the weekdays (before or after work).  I won’t run in the dark partially for safety reasons - if I scream and there’s no one around to hear, bad things could happen.  But I could address that part by running with my dog, or finding a running buddy, or taking a self-defense class. The ONE issue that I can’t overcome about the dark is that I can’t see what’s in front of me!  I have a huge fear of tripping over a rock, root, or lump in the sidewalk and falling face down, twisting an ankle or worse.  So I avoid the runs in the darkness.  This means that all winter long, I’m relegated to the gym.

Now here’s my issue.  We’re moving to our new condo this weekend.  It’s much smaller than our house, and we’re not able to take along all our great exercise equipment.  I have two gym options.  One of them is downtown Portland - but in the opposite direction of the way I go to / from work.  The other is a gym that is about 1/4 mile from my office. This wouldn’t be a problem if I drove my car to work, but I ride the train (it’s cheaper, easier, & faster).  It’s hard to fit a workout in during the day at the close to the office gym, because once I walk 1/4 a mile, change, exercise, shower, change, walk 1/4 mile back…..we’re talking serious time and I can’t take 2 hour lunches everyday!  But I need to find a solution.  NOT working out is NOT an option.

So far the only idea I’ve come up with is to do my workout at the office gym in the mornings before work.  I could roll out of bed, throw my work clothes, makeup, hairdryer, etc into a gym bag, ride the train to work, walk 1/4 mile to the gym, workout, shower & get ready, and walk to the office.  I’d have to be on the train by about 5:30 to make this work, but I think it may be my only option.  I don’t like having to bring all my work clothes with me (I’ve done this before and I invariably wind up forgetting something important like socks, underwear, etc :P), but I may have no other choice.  The other downside to this is the 1/4 mile walk to the office after the workout - it’s rainy & cold sometimes and could mess up my work clothes!!  I guess I could invest in a nice long raincoat to protect them…..hmmmm…something to think about.

Anyway, since this seems to be the only way I’m going to make it work with our new downtown lifestyle, I’m going to try it for a week after we get finished with our move, and see how it works.  In the meantime, if anyone has other great ideas, please let me know!!!

One final note.  I don’t think I blogged about this when it happened a couple of weeks ago, so I want to say it here.  I went to the gyn. for a 6 month checkup and when they weighed me they said I was down 9 lbs since my last check-in!  Now I could have looked at this and thought “WHAT??!?  Only nine pounds in six months?!?”  But I didn’t have that thought even for a second!  What I thought was “Wow, my choices are really making a difference - over the long term!”  If I have to lose at the rate of 1.5 lbs per month and that’s what it takes to get lasting results - I’ll do it!! :-)  It was nice to have the dr. notice that I was making an effort, too.  Very encouraging!