Action 035: Wounded Soldiers.

I had the opportunity to go bowling with a friend and her kids at the bowling facility on the Naval Hospital grounds. First we went into the on site store, which is called The Exchange on military property (any military property that I know of). Because Walter Reed is closing, the Naval Hospital has become the new location for severely wounded military personnel. We all hear the stories on the news and read in our newspapers about how soldiers are wounded and feel bad. Yesterday, I saw three visibly severely wounded military men. One in a wheelchair, with no legs from the knees down. He was quite helpful when he saw Kerry and I walking around confused, cracking jokes and laughing with us. There was another who kept to himself, walking a bit crooked, clearly still trying to get used to his new metal right leg, from the calf down. And yet another man, who was taped up some, but otherwise, seemed, on the surface, to be uninjured in some severe way. Yet, he looked incredibly unhappy. He was with his father and sister (my guess based on what they looked like physically), and he really just didn't seem to have much to say and didn't smile once. These sights were small, but powerful reminders of what exactly our military does for us. There are those of us who never supported the way and think Bush is the world's biggest dumb dumb, but have always supported what our military does for this country. But this really brings it home just how many come home injured and how little we truly know about these heroes who signed up to protect this country and have literally given life and limb to make sure that protection remains strong. I'm often not particularly proud to be an American, as we are ass backwards in so many ways, but this experience? Well, there's really no place I'd rather be.

Action 034: 12.7 Miles

I have a half marathon coming up on June 2nd. My training has been less than stellar. Yet, yesterday, I busted out 12.7 miles like a boss. I even did it faster than I did last year when training for the full marathon!!! Super stoked. Next up? 14 miles,mso I'm free and clear to run 13.1 and come in at close to last place. I accept it now and realize that this is just the way it shall be.

Action 033: Stick to the Plan.

Well, I'd made this fantastic plan not to drink and to only have three bites of each type of food. Well, I had four ounces of alcohol and a bit more than three bites. BUT I had way less than I normally eat when I'm st this house for parties. So the plan didn't go exactly as planned, but it definitely went better and I was far more aware of what I was doing. And no dessert! Yay!

Action 032: Learn Math.

Again, please excuse no spaces - the iPad apparently hates to add in the spaces. I swear, I know how to use the "enter" button. This being said, I do need to learn something. How to do math specifically. I lost 3.6 this week, not 2.6. Clueless much? Still not thrilled with the .4 gain, but thrilled with the 3+ loss. I'll take it!!!

Action 031: Be Realistic.

I gained a very small amount of weight between yesterday and today, and I mean less than a half a pound. Yet I find myself disappointed because I gained at all. Plus, my abdomen is all bloated from the food eaten. Now, let's discuss why I shouldn't be disappointed. 1. I'm still 2.6 pounds down for the week. 2. I'm still 2.25 inches down for the week. 3. I ate less pizza than I have in years. 4. I drank less wine than I ever have at the friend's house (one single glass). 5. My cheekbones actually show. 6. I'm having some seriously fantastic runs these days. So, let's get real. I had fantastic days from Monday to Thursday. I had a better day than once upon a time and a fun evening. My mother always said she's lost 60 pounds and wouldn't have been able to do it without her one evening off. Most of the good diet plans and the like call for finding ways to still enjoy yourself. Weight Watchers gives you 49 extra points for the week to use however you so choose, specifically knowing that you still need to live and find pleasure in your life (for those of us still struggling in finding joy in healthy food haha). I lost more than two pounds this week. I'm motivated this week and next week, but I wasn't for the first week and a half or two that the white dress was ordered. So I can work til the cows come home, but the fact is that I'm doing hardcore on two weeks versus three and a half. That makes a difference. And the other fact is, I'm learning, finally, how I can live. I know how to cook every night now. I know how to get my dishes done as I go now. I know how to sit down and actually enjoy the healthy benefits of the food I'm putting in my body. I know how good it feels to workout almost everyday. So this week has truly been beneficial. Plus, my nerdy self is interested to see what happens tomorrow after a good day today. Maybe I just need to change my "pleasure" night to Saturday and not Friday. I know I'm not supposed to weigh in daily. That technique is recommended for maintainers, but not losers and I'm assuming the disappointment I've felt is the reason for that. It's simply not healthy. Don't think I'm not going to weigh in daily though. My self-diagnosed, super mild OCD won't allow for me not to weigh in almost daily and write the weight down in 19 million places. If you've ever seen my lists, and how many I make for the most ridiculous purposes, then you know I make no joke.

Action 030: Workout in Peace.

In the building I currently live, there is a gym downstairs.  I generally don't care one way or the other if people are present when I'm working out, as I've finally learned to get past the fact that my butt bounces all over the place when I run (ok, most of the time get past that...).

But last night... oh, it was so lovely to just have the place to myself.  To mouth along to the words of my music and not be given weird looks.  To note my bouncing butt and giggle out loud at myself.  To feel good about the movement of my body and the ability of it to just keep on trucking...

Sometimes, it's just really nice to have peace in the gym.  It's not really ever something you'd get at a big, normal gym (and I do also belong to one of those), so I'm enjoying it while it lasts here.

Action 029: Have a Glass of Wine.

I dined at the same friend's house who asked me to take her kid into the nail salon.  We ate early and had a glass of wine, having an adult discussion about said teenage kid.

It was pizza.  I mean, really.  I don't care how good I'm being, but this pizza?  There was no saying no.  I ate WAY less that I used to, so that's a step in the right direction.  I also considered turning down the wine, but you know... Life still has to be lived and enjoyed.  If one glass of wine in a week were to truly throw off an entire week's worth of work, I'd be a little concerned (we won't discuss the potential effects of the pizza haha).

It was truly an interesting and useful conversation, one that will call on me to help her out some more in figuring out how to get inside this kid's head and help him wake up a little bit.  It was a productive and necessary conversation to have, as he isn't getting any younger and high school beckons.  Having a glass of wine really did help this conversation go down smooth!

Action 028: Get a Pedicure.

A friend of mine asked me to take her son to get a pedicure today (to help stop the growth of in-grown toenails) and if I were to do this, she would pay for me to get one for myself as well.  Do I look like a dumb-dumb?!  Of course I said yes!

Oh, but it was so nice to just sit back and relax.  I haven't been able to get my toes done in MONTHS and to be able to let somebody else deal with them was simply a delight.  They have been messy and gross and starting to in-grow as well.  All of this working out and running means my nails haven't been as with it as they once were and certainly not as easy to control on my own.

I was also reminded I am insanely ticklish on the feet.  I don't think I've laughed that hard in forever.  I seriously had the other patrons of the nail place staring at me, wondering how I'm actually an adult and not able to control myself better.

Hey, I never said I was normal...

Action 027: Enjoy the Show.

I was on the phone with a friend when I happened to decide to step out on my porch and enjoy the delightful nighttime weather, when it happened... LIGHTENING!  And then... more lightening!  And more and more and more!

See, in Southern California, things like that just don't happen, certainly not at the beach.  So when it does happen out here, I get ridiculously excited.  My friend laughed a bit at me and was curious as to the "so what?" of the lightening.  But, I just enjoy it because I never had it.  I loved it every summer when I used to visit Iowa.

I actually miss that sometimes.  The lightening and thunderstorms there were just epic, with beautiful purple rays of light stretching to the ground.  It was a delight to watch, with tendrils of fear at the power nature has and her ability to remind you that you are utterly inferior.

Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the show.

Action 026: Be the Bird.

I wrote on another web site that I'm on, "Today was a statue day instead of a bird day.  Tomorrow I WILL make it a bird day."  Then I asked if I really said that out loud.

What does this reference?  Well, you can either be the bird or the statue the bird poops on.  Clearly, unless you are a truly strange human being, you want to be the bird.

So... be the bird.  And if you do get pooped on, go take a metaphorical bath, and be the bird after.

I say this... now to practice it...

Action 025: Dealing with Rejection.

Dealing with rejection is hard, regardless of the circumstances. Male (or female), jobs... Whatever. I spent a year and a half of my life with a man who constantly and consistently rejected me and made me feel inferior. I pulled myself out of that quicksand, but now find myself in a whole new batch of it. This time? It's all about the jobs. Granted, there are some jobs I'm not 100% qualified for, but could potentially fit. Nonetheless, I'm not getting callbacks and I have outright been told no by two companies thus far. It just makes me want to go hide under the covers and not come out. Either that or go stuff my face with some sugar loaded something or other. But that's not how I roll. So it's just keep on trucking and trying to find a way and a means to that way. I have so much experience and so much education and to have all of it mean absolutely nothing right now is discouraging and demeaning. But I can't change any of it, so I have to keep trying to find ways to make it work. And not hide under the covers or stuff my face. (Sorry for the lack of spaces, my phone won't hold spaces for some reason!)

Action 024: Dessert?

This plan I'm on doesn't call for dessert.  It's a quickie five day shock to the system plan.  Although I have modified it to be within healthy ranges and up'd the protein for my workout benefit, I haven't changed the gist of the plan... I've just added a little to it.

That being said, I am kind of missing some sugar.  I'm waiting for all of those stories to be true, that once you've gone a few days without it, you won't even miss it anymore.  Then again, I did have a bit of jam yesterday, so maybe that counts as sugar and I haven't actually gone without it?

But I'm talking real sugar.  Like some ice cream.  Like, super yummy delicious vanilla bean ice cream coated with root beer.  Oh yeah, we're talking a big ol' craving for a root beer float.  I'm not sure if this is the lack of fattening sugar talking or the still presence of girly time of the month (that is absolutely wreaking havoc on my poor body).  Regardless, my lip smacking still remains.

I'm going to have to come up with some sort of plan post white dress to integrate even a little bit of a snack.  Maybe if I get the mini cans of diet root beer and ice cream, make it myself... things like that.  Where instead of going out and buying larges and the like, I do it myself, just on a much smaller scale.

Something to think about in a week and a half!  I shall keep you updated on how that goes for me.

Action 023: Remind Yourself.

I made an absolutely delicious dinner tonight, if I do say so myself (and ho boy do I).

I've been so lazy over the past few years and gotten myself into the, it's easier to grab food on the run than it is to cook rut.

Ok, so I hate to clean up the dishes, that part I'm not going to lie about, but...

The food is just so good!  I'm actually a pretty solid cook all things considered.  No, I'm not next in line to be Top Chef or anything, but I can make a solid plate of healthy food and not kill anybody.

Sooooo, woohoo!!!

Rockin' it.  I'm still feeling good. 

Action 022: Surprise Yourself.

I have a large welt on my inner thigh that is bugging the living daylights out of me.

I ran, very uncomfortably, with it yesterday. What this means is that I was whole-heartedly not looking forward to today's cardio workout, which was sprints. Well, not only did I get done the six rounds, I ended up doing eight! Sure, it was painful and annoying the entire time, but I pushed past it and managed to get it done above and beyond the planned workout.

BOOM!  Bring it on workouts!  Now time to get in some toning...  Or a lot of toning.

Action 021:Two Whole Days!

I have been good for two whole days. Now, this might sound a bit funky. I mean, two days isn't that much in the whole scheme, but still... I have, for the last few years, barely been good for a day, much less two.

So this is a start. That, and, two days lead to more days and next thing you know... Lifestyle change!!! So here's to many more days!

Action 020: Track Everything.

I am tracking absolutely everything during this process for a multitude of reasons.

One: So I'll keep myself accountable and do what I say I'm going to do.  I write down all of my food and workout for the day in a little journal.  I even correlated the colors of my pens to match the color of the cover of the journal... Yeah, so I'm a little anal... Shhhh...

Two: I'm doing a cost analysis.  And so far... I'm saving money per day!  Even on days where I'm eating fish or meat fresh from the counter.

Three: I can show Christine on Saturday how well I did, so that SOMEBODY knows other than me that I actually stuck to the plan.  It's one thing to show it, it's another to back it up.  And ho boy, am I backing it up.

So all food that goes in, whether on plan or not, is getting written down.  The workouts are important to get in, but the losing weight and the belly is in the food.

"Exercise to look good in clothes, eat right to look good naked."  Said by somebody or other... I'm not even 100% sure I got the quote EXACTLY right, but I think I did...

Action 019: Take a Rest Day.

I took a rest day yesterday, an unintended one, and I'm thrilled I did I got in a solid workout today, but it was nowhere near where I can be.

My legs were still sore and tired, and my motivation was not quite as high as it has been lately. I can only imagine how much worse both would have been if I hadn't taken the rest day (post race) that I did.

A good lesson from this, and for me, a reminder, is that our bodies need time to recover and rest days are necessary. Hopefully I'll come back, read this blog, and remind myself of this often.

Here's to tomorrow's workout being rockstar status.