I'm growing out a bad haircut so that means either I spend extra time styling it in an attempt to make it look semi-decent (it never achieves decent no matter how much time is taken or the number and variety of styling appliances & products) or it's ponytail time. Just one more thing in the-not-living-my-best-life-right-at-the-moment phase I appear to be stuck in (mourning the loss of my MIL, puff tooth, bum right hip, the tragic lack of bike riding).
So, why did this happen? Well, it was one of those moments of bad judgement. I was in a conversation with a stranger (happens all the time) at the market and I noticed that I liked her hair style. Asked where she gets it cut and she told me the story of going to the cheap new place and asking for a "dry haircut." And, it was only $14! Yep, I followed her words and now have regrets. At least it wasn't a tattoo.
Trying to get serious about shedding these 10 pounds that have crept back on. But, what do we make of the wonderful low fat dinner last night of ahi tuna on sauteed lightly in olive oil shredded green cabbage with a smallish serving of string peas followed by (during the viewing of the Mad Men finale) chocolate, TJ's lite kettle corn and two Manhattans?
Don't let that throw you off...Lee's getting serious. I rode 10 miles yesterday. In. The. Rain. And another 15 this afternoon.
So, there I was in October feeling pretty dang good about having banished Halloween candy from our house, but along comes December. I come up with the idea to perfect a recipe for melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip shortbread cookies. Such a stellar idea to see what kind of chocolate chips were best to use. Would that be semi-sweet chips, or maybe the large milk chocolate ones? I know, mini chocolate chips! Had to try them all. And, I can't lie, they were all good. On the plus side (in more ways than one), I did come up with a damn good cookie. On the freaky side, the cookies melted in my mouth all right but then transformed into extra weight in an almost X Files kind of way. I went from 128 to 133. That's five pounds. Do you know how long it takes for me to lose five pounds?
I'm happy to report that I've managed to lose a pound. Sure, I'm in my goal weight range but having been in the 120s so long, that's what feels right to me now. So it's hello! eggbeaters, FAGE nonfat Greek yogurt, and steamed broccoli & adios cookies, scones, fudge and sourdough baguettes.
Maybe I'll lay off the bright ideas for awhile, too.
I'm back from our trip to Boston and NYC to celebrate turning fifty. It was wonderful! I saw things I'd never seen before such as the very old cemeteries in Boston, Beacon Hill all dressed up for Halloween and New York! Incredible!
I've been thinking about this blog and what I should do with it. When I returned from our trip, I came down with the H1N1 flu. I had been expecting to jump back into my previous biking etc. life but instead got a thorough butt-kicking from the flu that had me spending a lot of time on the couch. Time to read & to think about what's next. And, here's what I'm going to do -- set some new goals, some of which I'll track here to help keep me accountable.
New goals
Exercise first thing in the morning. I really need to establish this habit.
Join an exercise class. I need and want to make new friends with women around my age who are active.
Spend less time on line and more time out in the community. Less tweeting and reading blogs and more volunteering.
Hey [candy]! Don't come around here no more... (Tom Petty)
We're busy getting ready for our trip to Boston & NYC. Since we won't be home this Halloween, there's no reason to buy candy or pumpkins either. It's a bit strange, but overall it feels great! A sense of freedom, I guess.
Now that I'm on the precipice of reaching the original goal of this blog -- to be fit by my 50th birthday, it seems it may be time to wrap things up. Still thinking about what this means for this little ol' blog.
Thank you for all the times you left encouraging comments along the way as the weight came off half pound by half pound. And, for continuing to be interested and supportive once I met my goals. I hope my example has been helpful in some way. Yes, you can change your fitness level and reach your happy or ideal weight by eating healthy foods and by doing some exercise that you actually like. You don't have to eat perfectly and you don't have to be a prisoner chained to a treadmill. And, maybe even more important, once you reach your goal it is not hard at all to maintain. Really.
I did this and so can you. Do it your way & keep going.
For various reasons, I've not been able to ride my bike for a while. But, here's the good thing that has come out of this: I've learned that maintaining my weight (130 again this week) is not dependent on my previous level of cycling, at least in the short term. I have a tendency to get pretty obsessive about things so this is a helpful revelation. I could easily become rigid about having to do a certain number of rides each week -- other aspects of life be damned! It's healthy to be flexible...in more ways than one.
Had such a great time with my daughter. We had lunch at the Zuni Cafe, checked out a new bookstore nearby and walked a few blocks to get some ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery (salted caramel again!). It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco. We also got in some wine tasting at local wineries. After she left to go back to her home in Austin, I was left with those feelings I used to get when she'd head back to college after coming home for a visit.
What is it about the end of summer that makes everything seem more poignant?
There's a new (to me anyway) breakfast kid in town and he's gaining ground on ya, oatmeal. I'm talking about Ezekiel cinnamon raisin English muffins served toasted w/almond butter. Tis good. Very good. Heading off for a ride. Yesterday, was my longest ride to date -- 35 miles. Didn't make my weekly goal of 100 miles due to intestinal disturbances Saturday morning that I'm attributing to the not-quite-right tasting fish taco from a local Salvadoran restaurant on Friday night before book club. Even so, came close to reaching the goal at 89 miles.
Our daughter is visiting this week. We'll pick her up at the Oakland airport tomorrow. We're going to do some stuff in SF or Berkeley before heading to our house in the foothills aka Podunkville. I'm fa-cited!
Although this is definitely not a Monday weigh in, I'm holding steady at 130 straight up.
Remember to have fun today...I'm sending you happy vibes, can you feel them?
This week I tried something new with cycling: two 30 mile rides. So instead of riding five days, I rode four and walked 4 miles instead one day. The walking was easier than I remembered, probably because I've increased my endurance with the cycling and because I'm lighter. Still, my feet have really softened up. Even got a blister! Total cycling miles: 113. I'm going to increase the walking/hiking and keep the 100 miles a week of cycling goal. As much as I love riding my bike, I think weight bearing exercise is important.
I'm going to try making a green smoothie. Freakin' finally. If I thought I was late to the party with having an iPod, I'm really lagging behind with the green smoothie. Any favorite recipes to share?
Yesterday, I stepped on the scale and it shocked me by giving this number: 130. Straight up. I had reached my goal weight or rather the lowest weight in my goal weight range. Holy smokes! You know what this means...I have to post the obligatory bikini photo (of Valerie Bertinelli). Here it is: I'm just like Val except that I'm six months older and a half an inch taller. And, I've never been an actress or been married to an alcoholic rock star. Well, I wasn't paid to lose weight either. I guess we're not alike at all except that we decided to make changes in our lives that would result in being in great shape (maybe the best of our lives) as we head toward the big 50. That's something, I suppose.
Biked 125 miles last week.
ADDED: Just got word that Jillian's Sunday show on KFI is on hiatus. I like to listen to her show while I'm riding. This show on 7/14 gave me goosebumps. The entire show was engaging but the way she started the show gave me such a boost. "You're not doing the world any favors by living small." Listen to it here.
It seems like the heart of summer but for teachers and kids around here, school's going to start pretty darn soon. Still, this song (Summertime Thing by Chuck Prophet) has been on my mind the past week as I've seen tons of people heading to the river with their rafts. Sure seems like the summertime thing to do when temps hit the triple digits. We might take the kayaks up to Tahoe tomorrow for the first time this summer.
My exercise is limited to bike riding and using 5 lb free weights for my arms. Both my arms and legs are looking athletic (we're talking muscle definition - holy kick ass, batman) now. I like it!
Reading "The Tortilla Curtain" by TC Boyle for the neighborhood book club. It's an interesting story and well-written. May check out more fiction by this author.
A while back, I listened to the Fresh Air podcast of Terri Gross's interview with Woody Allen. One question she asked toward the end was something like, what are the films by others that you love or that you've watched more than once. This got my attention because I don't usually watch films more than once or reread books. The number of films I've purposefully re-watched can be counted on one hand. Of these films, it's Allen's "Annie Hall" that I've seen the most times. Anyway, the film he first mentioned was "The Bicycle Thief." This film has been stuck 3/4 down in my long netflix queue forever. I moved it up and we watched it the other night. Great film.
Eating is going well and so is the bike riding. I rode 119 miles this past week. Took my bike in for its free first tune up and adjustment. They also cleaned my bike. This is a nice service from the local business where we bought the bike. Is it my imagination...? My bike seems to be riding even more smoothly than before its tune up. I expected the gears to shift like magic after being expertly adjusted but didn't think it would seem to roll even easier than before. Love this bike.
In other news, there is still some lingering drama involving my husband's family. We're in the process of preparing my mother-in-law's house to be sold. Brother-in-law turns fifty today. He still denies his addiction to prescription pain killers. Is living in his car...the whole family is taking a crash course in trying to understand the difference between help/support and enabling.
Enjoy summer -- it seems to go by faster every year.
Three for girls and four for boys Five for silver six for gold and Seven for a secret never to be told... ~ Counting Crows "A Murder of One"
Thought these three crows in the tree looked great while I was riding on the bike trail. Not sure my quick photo captured the beauty. Oh, well...it was an enjoyable ride on a quiet Monday morning. I actually didn't want the ride to end. A new feeling for me as I'm usually pretty ready to stop after 21 or so miles. I rode for a total of 108 miles this week even with the wicked heat (we're talking 107!). Didn't do so well on my goal of trying four new recipes though. I ended up trying two new side dishes: a tomato salad and grilled eggplant. Both were super good.
Inspired by watching the Tour de France, I tried something new today. I stood up and pedaled during the short hills. I'm sure my form was wobbly as hell but I felt like a kid again. Maybe I'll get better with practice.
It's been a quiet week here in P-ville. Some yard work, some catching up on reading, some netflixing*, and some time spent riding Bykasandra**. Weight seems to be maintaining at 132.8ish. Challenged myself to ride 100 miles and amazingly I surpassed this goal and rode a total of 120 miles. Surprise! My legs feel stronger with each ride -- it's a great feeling.
This week my challenge is to make four new dinners (clean eating style). I've really slacked off on this and we're in a rut. If you have some recipes to recommend, I love 'em.
Have a terrific week -- smile, persevere, and use determination to make progress toward your goals whatever they may be...
* Loved "Billy the Kid." "Local Hero" was pretty good, too. ** name for my bike suggested by Roxie.
[Photo: Probably the last bloom of the zinfandel daylilies for the summer.]
Yesterday, I rode a total of 32 miles. I went for a 20 mile ride by myself in the morning and thought that I could handle another ride with my husband after he got off work. He was up for it so off we went to explore a new to us section of the trail. It was very pretty. We initially took a wrong turn that led us to an off shoot of the trail that while pretty and enjoyable, was too close to highway 50. We eventually found our way onto the correct main trail for the ride back. On this section, it was easy to believe we were camping and out for a ride in the mountains.
I feel grateful to live near this exceptional bike path along the American River. Also thankful for all those involved in creating and maintaining this public bike path. It's doubtful that a project of this scale would even be thought feasible at this time given the state's budget crisis.
As I've noted previously, getting a pair of bike shorts has made all the difference. I bought a pair of canari women's shorts at REI. The style has 'baggy' shorts over the padded form-fitting part. Love em! I'm waiting for my shorts to dry right now before heading out for a ride this morning. I feel like I need to ride whenever I have the opportunity because the weather has been so great. It could easily be well into the triple digits with smoky rotten air from wild fires (like the last couple of summers). Gotta take advantage of the somewhat clean air (moderate air quality) and the cool delta breeze along the river.
The addition of my iPod has made riding even better. I love listening to podcasts and music as I ride along. Makes the miles fly by! One podcast I like a lot is Nutrition Diva. The topics are relevant; she has a wonderful voice; and, the length of the podcast is perfect.
Lately, I've been thinking about biking in a zen-like way. Remember the saying about how a person cannot enter the same river twice because both the person and the river will have changed? It's like that for me each time I ride my bike on the American River trail. I'm usually a little lighter weight-wise (not so much lately as I'm now maintaining) and my legs are growing stronger with every ride. This incremental change is exciting to me!
Yesterday, it felt weird to weigh myself and not post about the number on the scale. But since I've reached my goal range and am in maintenance mode, it is time to let go of the weekly posted weigh ins. I'm not stepping on the scale everyday either, although I do faithfully record the miles of my bike rides on daily mile.
Had a great time in SF. My friend had weight loss surgery about a year ago and has lost a great deal of weight. She looks good and is enjoying being able to do things she wasn't able to do before. I'm so proud of her! We ended up in City Lights bookstore and had dinner in little Italy.
If you had a treadmill desk at work your employer couldn't require you to wear pantyhose via some restrictive dress code, right? That's just wrong anyway. Requiring the wearing of pantyhose that is, not the treadmill desk which I think I'd like, but only, ONLY if no pantyhose was ever involved.
Also, Karen at Fitcetera is doing this thing at her blog that I love. She's posting a daily youtube of comedy routines. You'll find it in the upper right corner of her blog. Here's today's (dare ya not to laugh!):
