Fighting my pillow

I keep trying to get up to run or do my ball DVD and keep tapping snooze. It's getting to be a bad habit. I'm not pleased with myself.
I love the sleep, but I feel very guilty.
My ass deserves better...
Tomorrow then.

Holiday interlude

*ahem*

My workouts lately have involved dancing like a monkey and yardwork. It's a crazy busy time, and although I'd like to claim I'm working out regularly I am keeping busy, and have acutally lost a few pounds running about on holidays and generally having a great time. Once I'm back from my final holidays in oh...mid august I"ll be posting more regularly here, but I apologise for life taking me away from here. I'll post more soon once life is back to no-holiday ho-hum regularity again.
Til then - monkey dancing!!!

he hee he he heee he heee...workout.

I figured I'd been lazy enough as of late, so this morning I got up and did 30 minutes on the elliptical at a decent speed, with incline at 2 and then a whackload (yes it is a scientific term) of crunches and side curls. I could, because my sweet husband had tidied up the living room and put all the paint stuff away - I have a house again! :)
I hadn't realised how much it was bothering me until it was cleaned up again...just in time to pile all our furniture (and camp gear..ahem) in it ;)

Workout tunes: Jesus Jones. Already.

It sure is hot out!

"How hot is it?"

Well I sat out for 10 minutes on my lunch break, and I do believe I have a slight bit of a sunburn on my arms. I'm well on my way to a daft looking tan. I'm trying to get a bit of sun so I don't burn this weekend, but it's not starting out too well so far...I generally stay out of the sun and skip tan straight to burn, so it's always a challenge. I have SPF 40 spray on lotion, but I don't like wearing it to work...it's all squidgy - guess I should anyways...

Note to self: wear sunscreen

Dates and perogies and TUMS - oh my!

In my quest for healthier nibbles I've discovered something that makes me feel like my grandma: I *LOVE* dates. I bought a container of soft, pitted dates yesterday and I can't stop nibbling on them. I've brought a little container of them mixed with sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds for a morning snack and I've already dipped into them...delicious!
I've always loved date cake and things with dates in them, but my Mum always bought cheap, squidgy or tough dates and so I figured (until recently) you had to cook them to make them good. While I was out on strike in November a girl I work with packed this as a snack for when she was picketing and after bugging her she told me I had to eat one or be quiet as I didn't know what I was missing...and I ate my words. And a date. And another date...
Turns out I love dates.

Unfortunately I also love saskatoon berry perogies.
Last night my friend who is staying with us (he of rich food) made a light meal of salad and apples, honey and cheese, but then made a lot of saskatoon berry perogies for dessert. We'd been out installing our new Thule roofrack and cargo carrier on our car for camping this summer (very cool) after work but it took HOURS and by the time we got home the evening was pretty much shot...and we were starving. SOooo I ate way too much. How much? Well, I couldn't get up to run this morning as my stomach felt uneasy from too much perogey. That's never happened before...and definitely won't again. I have trouble with discipline of when to stop eating. I just find that I eat very quickly and my "full" signal tends to kick in about 20 minutes after I eat. If I eat too much too quickly I'm doomed. Usually I dish out a small amount and go back after a while if I really want more (usually I don't). Portions have always been a problem - so I again have been reminded to eat less and slowly. Last night I was hungry and tired and didn't pay attention...and was reminded again of why I do that.
Why? Well, I got up to run this morning and was really queasy - too much rich and too sugary food too close to before I went to bed...no run today. It was very dissapointing, but I was actually worried I'd make myself sick if I exerted too much.
So, I am running tomorrow instead...this morning was TUMS and reading Jackie Chan's autobiography I am Jackie Chan to calm my tummy (very good book BTW). I'm not proud of myself. I'm feeling a bit better now and I just had a few dates for my breakfast snack here.

The perogies were delectable though. Homemade...with a bit of iced cream.
Oh yeah.

*sigh*
I'm afraid it's an uphill battle :)
I envy people who don't really think about food.
Cuz I do...

It's the little (odd) things

I am constantly amazed by the things I see in the mornings when I get up to run that I would not ever see otherwise...

This morning, there was mist covering the river and fog everywhere as the sun came up. You couldn't even see the other side of the river! It faded within 15 minutes or so but for the first bit of my run it was foggy from about 2 feet above the ground to about 30 feet in the air. The sunrise was this odd glowey orb in the mist. Down by the river as I ran by there was a beaver - over 3 feet long - looking for fish at the edge of the river. Neato. I've never seen one out in the open like that...usually they're jsut swimming by in the water in teh evenings.

On other days I've seen things like:
-A yard with 50 pink flamingos on the front lawn to celebrate someone's birthday
-The yellow and black checkerboard diamond "road end" sign from the end of a road sitting upright in the middle of the river (??). It is still there, but it's starting to tip over.
-I've heard actors practicing in the big tent by the river for the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan festival
-I've seen a short little old Austrian man running with his puffy manicured poodle (hee hee)
-I've read love poems and bad puns in chalk on the sidewalk
-I've seen a banner saying "Marry Me Melanie" hanging on the train bridge
-I've run by Canadian Geese sleeping on the river, floating downstream on a river of reflected starry sky - space geese!

So many little things I'd have missed if I was asleep in bed. Gives me reason to keep at it.

This morning was a bit hard - I had to fight off a side stitch, but I did my usual 2 minutes walk 5 minutes run 6 times and had a good breakfast and stretch with situps before riding the bike to work. I'm tired, but happy. Have a good day all...

A moment of clarity - thoughts in my head

Hmmm...a friend asked me if anything stuck out in my head as to a time or event the made me realise I needed to be more healthy.
A memory I'd forgotten popped into my mind:
Years ago, J and I had been lured out on a long mellow bike ride with friends, and I just couldn't keep up with them. I was way behind, constantly huffing and puffing and when we reached where we were going I honestly felt hot and dizzy and a bit sick. I felt like the fat kid at camp who could never keep up. The thing is, we weren't going that far or that fast. True, my friends were bike nuts and biked everywhere, but honestly...it should not have been that hard. They were keeping a slow pace for me as I didn't bike much at all at the time. I did not enjoy the ride.

It was crushing for me. I blinked back tears that I don't think anyone noticed as I pedalled furiously, feeling awful about myself. It was the proof I had been ignoring that I was doing NOTHING active...and hadn't been for a very long time. It forced me to realise that I needed to do more. That I couldn't do the things I wanted to in life. That doing *anything* would be better than nothing. My body felt like a prison. I'd felt fat before, but never like this. It was different. I felt unwell doing normal things.

THAT was the time I realised that I didn't want to be thin, I wanted to be able to live the life I wanted to live.
And that was when it all started to come together. It changed it from a negative attitude about food and weight to a positive change and I think it is what has made it stick for me over time. I went for walks in the morning. I started to do my exercise DVD. I tried to eat better. Bit by bit I felt better and fitter...and then there was no turning back. I realised that all good things take work, but that they are worth it. I was becoming hooked on being me. I was discovering I enjoyed things I never imagined I would, like running.

Once I knew how it felt to feel good and healthy, I was hooked.
On life.

The Burger Incident...or lessons from my stomach Vol. 6

I never learn it seems...last night, as a reward for all the paint slaving, we went out for supper at a local brewpub and then to see WallE. The film was fantastic, and the food was great...at the time. I had some strawberry ale (in anticipation of my own home brew which will be ready any day now-meehee!) and a bacon burger and fries...and gravy.
I know, I know...stupid.
There were lots of other healthier items on there. I could say I had had a quick tiny lunch and was craving some tasty pubby yummy food (this place makes great burgers), but honestly...I just caved. I could only eat half the burger, but (of course) ate most of the fries...they were yummy. I gave the other half of the burger to my husband (like *he* needed it- i have to stop feeding him my extra calories...I don't want to keep sabotaging his weight loss plan). Later I learned why I don't do this anymore...

image: Natalie Dee

Cuz here's the thing- since I have started eating healthier, super greasy or rich foods do not agree with me when I have more than a little of them. And I *know* this...so after the movie my stomach churned and I felt yucky and lethargic. Sometimes I need to be reminded that bad foods just don't feel good anymore because (duh) they're bad for me. I think my stomach is trying to tell me something. OK...I *know* my stomach is trying to tell me something:
"Stop that! Treat me better. YOU deserve better than that. Food is not a comfort. Food is not a reward. It's just food..."

On the up hand though - feeling better this morning, I discovered (wondering what damage the Burger Incident had done) that during painting, I lost those pesky 5 pounds I've been trying to shed since Christmas. Sweating and working hard all last week *does* pay off...in more ways than one. My stomach and back and abs are quite a bit more toned, but I just hadn't stopped to realise it. I'll have to keep up with the muscle work and running to keep it up. That discovery (and the "burger incident") have given me the kick in the ass to get back into the world of eating right and healthy again. During renos it was eat what was there (ordering in or my friends cooking -which is absolutely delicious but *way* too full of fatty meats and creamy sauces. He wonders why he struggles with his weight, but honestly, his cooking and food are very full of oils and calorie filled fatty ingredients). I must do better - portion sizes and all.

Soo...with that knowledge, I am determined. This morning the rain cleared up just in time for me to leave the house so I walked to work. It was a lovely morning...sunny and everything had a shininess to it. And it was good for me...and so it is back to it again.

Constant vigilance! :)

It's over!

Of course now that I'm done (yay!) my painting and am back at work the hot sunny weather that made me wilt on the scaffolding last week has been replaced with squidgy rain.
So no running this morning. I slept in actually, as I was up finishing the last of the scaffolding painting until after midnight. We had to return it today (before 12:18 apparently - they take this 1 week rental business very literally!) and so I wanted to be done the renos so we could get back to a semblance of normal life. I do not want to paint for a long time - so all my family out there: if you have painting to be done, please don't call me for at least a month or I may develop a nervous twitch.
I am back at work (odd) and must get to it, but just thought I'd say hello before I jumped back into things. Tomorrow, I hope the rain will be done, or at least at a reasonably light drizzle so I can get out for a run and wave my paint enlarged calves and arms in the breeze.
Have a agood day all.

Upper body paint workout

I've discovered the ultimate upper body workout-painting ceilings
Man, after 2 days of washing walls, patching and sanding, it's been 2 solid days of ceiling painting. My arms are already more muscular than before...altho my right arm is more muscled. And my calves are getting a workout going up and down the ladder. I'll be one oddly muscled individual I'm sure. I know my back, abs and arms are working hard.

But it's all for a good reason - tomorrow I get to prime and start on the colours. Yay. :)
There'll be photos as I go on my other blog if you're curious. It's been 8-10 hour days of painting, so there's been no other workouts, but at the end of the day after much stretching I've been sleeping like a rock. 2 or 3 more days and the painting will be done...it's a big job but I"m excited. It's like making the house our own :)