Jennifer

I am down to 155 lbs today. (Random thoughts-I am all over the place, I NEED breakfast, but will write this first.)

I am sure it is a loss of muscle. It was not a good week! LOL I love my toned muscles so I want to find them again. I did see them a couple times….hehe. I look amazing and I can see this. People do not get this, BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN MY MUSCLES BEFORE Buddyslim. How exciting!

I woke up, weighed myself and went for the best jog ever. It was just 25 minutes, but I was amazing. It was good to switch things up. Pilates is next when I get off this computer, after breakfast. I need to stretch or I will be a cripple!

And I am looking forward to my neighbor’s house warming party on Saturday night. I will miss them even if they say stupid things sometimes. Who doesn’t? (as I said awhile back, they were renting and the owner sold the condo for a sheepload of money.) I adore them and will miss them. Anyways, one wine, maybe two, we will see how it goes. That is the only night I am indulging after 6:00PM. That is right, I am going Nazi on this fine ass!!!

“My plan” Checklist

No eating after 6:00PM. - Teeth are brushed and I am done for the night If aliens force food down my throat, which they will not, I will be honest *sigh* ✓

Replacing EE with writing. n/a

Working on organization. - ✓

3 Meals & 2 snacks, water - ✓

Fruits and veggies (of course!) - 6 servings (lemon juice, cranberries, pineapple, spinach, broccoli, tomato, tomato sauce with extra mushrooms and veggies)

Protein (legumes/beans/grains/fish/yogurt/powders-Vega) - I got enough, but not from ideal sources, but it is all good I had some cottage cheese for breakfast. I also made homemade veg. lasagna for lunch, so more cheese. I highly recommend the Thai chicken and Tandoori chicken pizza at Boston Pizza. The chicken was fine, but I had so much cheese today…lol We got a medium half and half pizza and brought home leftovers. It was one of those days where you do not think about planning or good choices, but it was a good treat day. It was so yummy and really everything was in portions, so all good.

Good fat (nuts/seeds/almond butter/olive oil/avocado/salmon) - I had flax seed this AM, but it was a day for cheese and I enjoyed every bit of it!!!

Better workouts - 25 minute jog around the park/ball diamonds, 50 minutes of pilates (pilates is best in the AM for me as I am just more coordinated…lol, but still a good workout.)

Calcium (3) - like 4 servings (cheese, soymilk, and my multivitamin)

No treats in the house! We ate them all this past week! Bloody hell….lol We enjoyed and shared a bite size version of Boston Pizza’s Chocolate Brownie Addiction with a couple tablespoons each of real vanilla ice cream. They served the brownie warm and it was to die for, really. Sorry if anyone reads this. My bad! Treats actually taste better out-and-about anyways.

MY best guess for this days points is 31, which is not bad. Around 1500 calories I think.

SUNDAY I will report my Sat./Sun. checklist. I will be a good little weekend dieter for the first time since well…. a long time. This is cool. Now off to play a game and watch some TV. I know, seems boring, BUT I now love games!

So what does the scale tell us? It tells us we are down or up, but there is no explanation. So whether it is good or bad news, we have to keep everything in perspective. I know it is the many weeks that matter and never just one week. Because really it could have gone the other way too.

I am posting my plan early. Why not start NOW. I feel the weigh in tomorrow will be BLAH…. But I am not giving up. I start my plan today.

My plan

No eating after 6:00PM. If I am hungry I will drink water or herb tea. No caffeine for obvious reasons and also it will also stimulate my appetite. (IF I am faint with hunger, lol, I am not stupid, I will have an apple. BUT THAT IS IT !!!) I am allowing for one glass of wine perhaps on Saturday. Just depends if I am in the mood. BRUSH TEETH after supper.

Replacing EE with writing. When I feel the urge to eat for reasons other then hunger I am going to write something, anything.

Working on organization. Prepare work meals the night before and lay out clothes.  (nights before I work)  And generally just do the little things now instead of leaving things until they build up.

3 Meals & 2 snacks, water, water water.

Fruits and veggies (of course!) BUT also PROTEIN and GOOD FAT. I have not been so aware lately. If I am organized and have good choices, this will be easy.

Better workouts - Gym/weights 2x, pilates 2x, yoga 1x, cardio (at least 30 minutes of high intensity, aim for 45 a couple days) 6x, I will try roller blading for the first time.

Calcium- 3 servings or supplements

NO treats in the house!

That is it. Simple and Realistic. Well the not eating after 6:00 will be tricky especially over the weekend. And EE will be ok I think. It is so devious. You think you have it under control, but then it surprises you. Oh well, forgiveness and moving forward better and stronger.
Because I read my Buddy blogs I was able to get some cool ideas and feel focussed again. Thank you Buddies.

Special thoughts for Mark who HAD his surgery!! *warm wishes and thoughtful prayers for a speedy recovery*

Have a fabulous weekend ALL

Years ago a client told me a story about how a waitress in a cafe spilled an entire pot of hot coffee on her hand and arm. Her boss quickly put vinegar and baking soda on the arm/hand. He wrapped it up and sent her home and said “see you tomorrow”. And sure enough that lady was at her job the very next day.

Now me….. this AM I put a rack on a still hot burner (I forgot it was still hot from cooking my scrambled eggs) even though I had shut it off minutes ago. Well I went to pick up that rack (bloody hell) and was then screaming in pain. My thumb, parts of my palm, index finger and to a lessor degree, the tips of my other fingers. I was screaming in pain as my flesh went white and flaky. I quickly ran cold water over it and David came running down the stairs. I was crying in pain, like I have never had a burn this bad. He said “what can we put on it”. I immediately recalled the story and in a mad state said vinegar and baking soda. He applied both and there was immediate relief. I left it on until it flaked off. With in two hours I was at the grocery story getting some things for supper. I got back and it was dry and stinging. It seemed very much like a callus in the worst places. I applied aloe vera and it stung. In 15 mintutes after this you can not tell there was a burn. It feels only slightly twingy where the worst burn was. WOW.

You hear things, stories, but I am so glad I was able to know that lady and hear that story. The worst burn would have been on the index finger joint.

I just needed to share. It is like nothing happened.

No sympathy, but I did burn my hand this AM… Seriously, unless you have a tale of your silliness, please, no worries or concern lol It is just the 2 fingers that form the “L”oser sign. I think it will be ok because I remembered a trick that an old client told me. So I applied it. Well David did. If it is practically healed tomorrow I will believe such things and report what the 2 healer ingredients were. I am skeptical but was desperate! I was so hungry and just a little dense. I will forgive myself…lol

Anyways, I want to read about my buddies so I will. This typing thing does not strain the burns. It is bending/grabbing things that sucks. My boyfriend asked if I needed to be fed my breakfast. I wanted to slap him and kiss him. This is the life of me. Nothing simple in my head.

My body is liking where it is at. I can not believe it is me in the mirror. Never have seen a thin me. I desire a lean and strong me though. 150 might be hard if I focus too much on not getting there in a certain time, but I think I am coming to a place of calmness. I am still going to work out and eat well, but maybe I am realizing that relaxation is #1 priority. It was so cool to start my day (way to early btw) with a mineral salt bath and a few drops of my fave scents - lime and bergamot. WOW. All good things come from this relaxation. But I guess before this there must be knowledge and that comes with reflection and not being afraid to know one’s true self.

All right people, let’s be gentle with our thoughts and dedicated to and realistic with our goals.

All the best. Hugs….

 I read something the other day and it made me think.  Excellent.  Thinking is truly a good thing.  It should indeed come before speaking/writing (lol).   I am sure we all have experienced this.  But we read and we learn and I was inspired to do some thinking yesterday.  It came to light that someone was struggling with how people were not responding to her blogs.  I found that really got my gears going.

I know that here on Buddyslim I have responded to all my Buddies and then even those who do not respond and that is part of the way I encourage myself.  I know that life happens and one can not always get on here to contribute.  But in order for the site to work people have to work together.  I think it is most important to make a commitment to yourself, your goals and your own success.  But there are people who depend on the word of others.  I really do not like this.  I would hate it if people were out there feeling alone because they are not getting responses.  In this world you have to use your “voice” or your words and get people to see you.  I like my secret time, or personal space or “hey, no body see me” time.  I want to be invisible!   But if you want people to read your blogs on BUDDYSLIM, people have to make a commitment I think to be involved in other people’s journeys too.   I think it is important to try another shoe and not just wear your own.  We learn from others I think as much as we learn from our own failures and successes.  So for the people out there who are sad that people are not seeing them and their blogs I say, help others where you can and let the wonderful people who are not so different then you or me, let them see you.

I love helping people and I hope that anyone here who has a question can contact me.  I will never proclaim to know, but I can share my experience and my wide range of ideas on a variety of topics…. especially feminine health and emotional well being.  BUT, some weeks are more busy then others.  I try at least once a week to catch up with my Buddies.  And I try for weeks often with those who are not around.  But hey life happens.  We all get busy or maybe Buddyslim is just not what one needs.  But I do what I can when I can.

It is really important that people know it is tough to keep up with everyone, but it is so worth the effort.  And the one thing I have learned here is that sometimes you have to let Buddies go who seem to need to do their own unique thing.  I like to try and keep up with the generous and committed Buddies I have.  There are some truly special people out there who just give and give and give.  They are so compassionate and what would this site be like without these awesome giving souls?

But we have to commit to ourselves first!   Commit to giving back to the site and our Buddies second!  And third,  give our all to our plans and our goals.   That is the same as the first!  Well, yes!

I was in a funk lately and a dear Buddy recognized this so she sent me a personal and friendly kick in the butt.  And for Shanna, I am grateful.  I had 4 slacker days, but I know how to get back.  I have done it before and I can still have a good week with my last 3.  Yesterday was scary when I woke up, but I had the words of a Buddy to shake me a little.  And you know, that is this site.  But you have to share a little and get out there and help others.  I do not venture out into Blog Land so much anymore, because it is important that I remain committed to the buddies I have.   The days seem so short sometimes…. lol  Before I know it I will be in my 90s  *sigh*   :)  BUT not before I reach goal! 

I often wondered how one could have 100+ buddies and keep up with all of them.  Do some people edit?  Ahh….. I am just in the questioning mood today.  Hehe….  I have no answers.  Just countless questions.  I feel alive.  I am grateful for you wonderful people.  I am off to work my behind off…..  If I am successful, some of my thighs will also fall off.  I am joking, they are diminishing and I love it.

Waist: 28   /   Thighs:  23 (they are firmer…wow)   /   Hips:  39
Weight: is the same - 156 lbs   [JOY! It is not 193.5 like when I started WW 2 years ago (I think)] …… This is me, slow as a turtle.  Nothing comes easy OR falls off with out a lot of EFFORT.

Actually EFFORT is everything !!!

I love the option to write a blog but not post it. I so had to vent this weekend, but did not feel the need to have a portion of the over weight population that visits here read it so, I just kept it private and did I feel unloaded. Sweet! Anyways, we all have stress. Well it is life and not at all something I worried about excessively over the weekend or am doing so now. Progress! I was a tad “relaxed” with some meals over the weekend and that felt pretty good. But like they say, it is good to get back to the old.
But now it is back to being focussed. Anyways I am sharing my food today here as I want to get back to my plan. What is my plan? Oh yeh, what is it? Well, not recording has been working pretty good for the last couple weeks. But what I do is think of about how many points I want for each meal or snack. So it goes like this 7-3-7-3-6. Well that is 26, not 24. Well when I work out as much as I have and only consume about 1200-1300 calories I feel a little ill. So I upped it and I am still under 1400. But if I need 1600 to feel healthy then so bit it. If I know I am going out, I just have a smaller or free (veggies and maybe a little hummus) snack and tack it on to that meal. Anyways after much freedom in my mind and with my hands this weekend, my whole being welcomes the light eating back.

Something I told myself a long long time ago when I was thinking more about how to reach a healthy weight was this. Food is not a happy pill, but rather it is energy/fuel. But it sure can be fun to put yummy things in. I think treats do actually taste better when they are had only once in awhile. Fruits and veggies actually taste better when they are consumed in their truest unaltered form. Is this girl in love with good nutrition? Well perhaps. But that does not always mean I do it well. But it is like a very good relationship I think. You just work at it and have fun the rest of the time. Ha! Nope I did not put any magic mushrooms in this mornings breakfast shake. Hehe…

Something else I know. I make the best salads. I went to a restaurant last night and we picked a good one thinking it would be satisfying. I ordered this raspberry feta shrimp salad and it would have been to die for had the dressing been less like raspberry water and had the LETTUCE NOT BEEN ICEBURG. I am a food snob now. This body is a temple and when I want yummy, I want something yummy. My lesson is stay at home…lol ! I told the waitress that salad was amazing, but that this lettuce is flavourless and not my favorite. Vitamin-less lettuce in my opinion and flavorless. Well, I guess it pays to ask questions before you order. That is a better learning lesson I suppose. That is cool, it just confirmed that I know best for me and should not be so lazy too.

Well I feel I have much to do today, but I am still going to record my food here. Just to keep me focussed. I do not want to stray after a long weekend of “relaxation”. I am back to a plan of simple whole foods for the most part. Tea. This is not an ideal menu of course, but it is an “I’m busy and just need to get something into me” menu.

MONDAY:

1/2 banana, heaping T. of crushed walnuts (first thing when I get up)

Shake (I just threw things into the blender and it worked *shocking*) - Strawberries, pineapple, small piece of ginger, flowering kale leaves (less strong then the other kind I have had ??? ok), water and 2 dashes of cinnamon (YUM) (B6)

1/2 c. quinoa, 1/2 c. unsweetened soymilk, cinnamon, 1 T. hempseeds, Green tea with lemongrass

Grapefruit, broccoli and small Vega & water

Sprouted grain sandwich with light herbed (dill, basil, chives, lemon thyme) cream cheese and lemon dill salmon steak, cucumber and tomato salad, Matcha tea

Elliptical (45) and light weights - I did 30 and no weights. I think I pulled a little muscle at some point. Best to take it easy.

Hamburger soup with lots of veggies, extra lean ground beef and broken multi grain spaghetti, Earl grey chai

3/4 c. Mochaccino Frozen yogurt and Maltesers (10ish)  - I said to myself, I will record and get back, but I had treats.  Oh well.  I wanted and did not fight.  Tomorrow I fight the fight a bit better…hehe.

I received a note that I do not even need to lose anymore and I must confess when I see that picture of mine I see someone that is me, but I can not believe it is me. Well I look chiseled, but I think I must have not had a lot of salt…lmao. No worries about me loosing too much. Soon I will post a brave picture of me and my legs and then you can see where the fat is. I think I am about 23-25% B.F. When I get to goal or a little after I am just going to get a real assessment of my body composition. It is something I always wanted to do for curiosity, but did not really want to know, ya know? :)  I am not blind! I have come a long way and am very happy with my body. I am not all nit picky either. Basically I want to get toned, but all in good time! My time. I am guessing when my new size 8 black cargo pants are loose, then I will be there. And then the shopping will begin.

Anyways…. one more down. 156 lbs. I must confess getting to 150 may because I want to be 100 less….lmao, ya know, NOT 95. What a geek. *kisses and hugs to me*

I wish you all a great weekend.

Well yesterday was the first day at Buddyslim that I was absolutely sad about the distance that is between us as Buddies. There are so many cool people scattered all over the world and I had a moment. All I wanted to do was reach out and hug someone. I guess all on here if you have been here awhile or whatever, you just feel like you have real friends. I did not know I could experience this kind of a true friendship. To have a true friendship on here is something unique and not at all something I can put into words. SO, at this time, I will not even try. Even if some other Buddies are gone, I still think of them too and hope for good things for them. Maybe they think that I have forgotten them because I do not bug them with relentless and lame boosters like “have a great weekend” or “hang in there, we can do this because we are just too cool not to” but it is not possible.

Now let me explain, this is new too for me. I am to me a often cold person and a “keep my heart protected” kind of person. In person I am like this anyways. Well sometimes. With my clients I am awesome and good at what I do. On here I just seem to let it all hang out (oh grief, lol, ya know what I mean). I want to be warmer in person. I do not want to be that person that because they have been hurt they turn into a hedgehog, curling up and not coming out until it is safe. You see, I have kinks to work out. Always growing……

Yesterday I wanted to be near to someone special, when in life I often want to be as far away from people as possible. Five years ago, I seemed to be the life of the party, but things change. I do want to go back to a place where I am confident again and able to talk well with people and experience good times. I know for certain that weight loss does not bring about confidence. Well not for me anyways. I guess being around positive people is the key. I am certain of this.

Somedays I feel so far from where I want to be and then a moment later I see that I am doing just fine.  I am moving at just the right pace.  IT IS ALWAYS PERSPECTIVE!  It is forgiveness.  It is about compassion.  It is about using our words in the best possible way I think.

This is just a little something for me. I guess you could say I need to get it off my chest. There was some negativity going on in my head yesterday (AND work is a bit stressful, but I still feel like I must do it) and it was not so easy.

It was really important for me to feel that discomfort because I had to see that how I sometimes see things in definitely not how they are. That was my moment. Ok… I had a couple neat moments! I was creating fictitious images of reality in the pursuit to Know. But that is not knowing at all of course. Sometimes I have that song in my head “everybody hates me, nobody likes me, going to the garden to eat worms”. And it is a lonely feeling. Sometimes we have to be annoyed with others to see our own issues. But I tell you, I love these moments when you wake up from the pity daze (pity party?) and you say, I get it. Well I love Oprah and I am thankful for her shows. I can not say I make a point to see her show on any sort of a regular basis. But it seems to me that I always seem to see the Right shows. Anyways, vagueness is where it is at. This is for me. I love the “ahhh HA” moments in life. I am really thankful for the calmness in knowing that what I do though to help people is where I must be. Sometimes I have an uneasiness about what I am Really Suppose To Be Doing. Life is truly a gift.

I have been completely half-assed with my plan (great days and bad days!) this week and that MIGHT make for a successful zizagged week - we will see tomorrow *sigh*. But today on my day off I give it my all. Today I commit to a day of intensity, relaxation and completely healthy foods. This is not a hardship. This is a gift. This is my challenge for myself. Because as much as I love this site and how so many wonderful people have been here for me, I NEED ME TO BE IN MY CORNER FIRST AND AWAYS!

And a Big Thank You to all the special people out there. Ahhh come on, you know you are special…hehe

*clink* Tea cheers to you & me!

MY CHECKLIST: (Inspired by Jo’s list and an article I read about scheduling yourself too.)

Elliptical (45) - For 10 minutes of the 45 I lifted and worked out with 2- 5 lb. weights. My body and heart said 10 minutes was enough!!!

Yoga (50) - it ended up being 45 min. of Hard Body Yoga with NO froggie squats. lol

Interval walk (30) or just a walk (1 hour)

Free weights/lunges/crunches - while I watched Y&R

3 balanced meals

2-3 balanced snacks - just 2 as supper was plenty sufficient

Laundry

Clean kitchen & bathroom

Buddyslim catch-up Love my buddies

30 minutes to relax and do nothing - 20 is what I could find

Read my new book ( Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali) - before bed

Cleaned the kids litter boxes (Oscar’s and yes, Meeshka (hamster) has a litter box)

Tea breaks

So, meals have been quick and not so thought through lately and that is really working out for my losses. I mean it can go the other way sometimes, not thinking. David had his wisdom teeth out, so everything has been smoothies, soups and puddings.   Well I am eating some different/normal foods.  He told me I should post the soup I made on Sunday. He is such a sweetie. Anyways there are some complications (dry sockets?) and he will have to keep up with the mostly liquid diet. I am fussing to make sure he gets good nutrition and protein in particular. Mostly because it can be in a shake or a soup, I am making sure he gets plenty of good stuff….hehe. Though he fends for himself fine. Swirls from the Mac’s store…lol Nice. Ahh.. feeding that spirit.

D o   y o u   k n o w   w h a t   I   l o v e   m o s t   o f   a l l   a b o u t   e a t i n g   t h e   w a y   I   d o??? ……. I am not preoccupied with wanting more. There are plenty of things to do in life other then eating despite what our culture tells us. I get good nutrition and my body does not have those nasty cravings. So I know the key for me is to deal with stress in good and healthy ways other then filling me up with too much food and the not so good kinds. I eat basic and then sometimes I indulge and make a nice meal. But food does not have to be an event each and every meal. For instance, some times fresh fruit, plain yogurt with cinnamon and stevia topped with a few nuts is perfect. No wanting.

I like that when I have a treat, it is a good time. I savor it and do not stuff myself. I like that I can tell the difference now between eating for hunger and eating for fulfillment. I mean I still might eat when I am sad, but I can stop before the first “treat” turns into 10 pounds after a bad month. No matter if I have a bad day because I do not handle things so well. Sometimes it takes time to decipher the issues. That is cool. I have a day and get back to my good place. I like this much more forgiving ME. *smiles*

I want so much to be able to be like the thin population and to not have to be aware of myself. But knowing how I am will allow me to be successful at maintaining. Hehe… here I am thinking about maintaining. I just know that I will get there. BUT, there is no end of the race. This journey continues for me only as long as I be my own best friend and take the time to understand myself. I know I will fall down, step backwards and stumble onto my face, but I have to know now that I have the tools to get back up. I feel so confident that I can handle.

So what is COOL with me? What a geek, I still use cool. I am old, but I am loving it! I am older and in the best place of my life. So, back to cool things with me. I put on rollerblades the other day. Yes that was my cool thing. I stood up too. We would have went out, but I will admit that I needed some help because I do not want to crack my head open. I do not want to see what is inside…hehe [Only obsessed (The) Goodgirl Movie watchers will laugh at this statement.] Nope I am learning slowly that it is good to have help sometimes. So I will be seriously trying rollerblading, but David was not feeling well and I wanted a flat parking lot and his help. Yes, I am a chicken. But breaking some bone(s) alone would not have been a good Sunday. Just standing was a BIG something for me because I find it VERY high up there on those wheels. What else is neat in my world? Well I had the heart rate monitor on and after doing the elliptical for 150-160 beats per minutes for aver 75% of my workout (45 minutes) my heart rate recovered to 75 in less then a minute. I was pleased and shocked.

Oh yeh I made am appetizing soup with out really thinking so hard or using a recipe. Basically I took roasted veggies (I used turnips, sweet potato, carrot and onions - could use anything, but for sure onions), and blended them in the blender with herbs, liquid (I only had water so I used plenty of herbs and spices - like chilli powder, garlic, onion powder, cumin, thyme - all dry), small amount of canned corn, chipotle sauce, sea salt and pepper and blended in a blender. When it was completely blended I added something a little crazy. David said he wanted a bacon burger, but of course he could not have it, so I pulled out 2 strips of turkey bacon (some nitrites, but it was a treat too and I wanted to make it taste appealing for him) and cooked and then blended it too with the rest of the “substance” lmao. I added enough water to make it a thick soup. It smelled so amazing. I put it on the stove and added 3 kinds of cheese. The soup with out cheese was low calorie/point so I figure who cares, plus David needed some calories too. It was so nutritious and with the cheese it was a real treat. He said you HAVE TO post it. Well I will just share it here. It is a no brainer and who ever reads it can experiment on their own. Playing is fun……hehe. I knew it would be good, but I did not know it would be great. I am certain a chicken, beef or vegetable stock that is free of added junk would be very yummy too. (my portion of the soup was 5 points and it was a good amount - about 1.5 cups)

I look forward to connecting with my Buddies Thursday. That is my day off. YAH