My Year in Review!

Alright, here's the deal. This past year has been great in some respects and not so great in others. Rather than dwelling on the things that I can't help, let's look at the things I can control.

2011 Successes!

• I started bike commuting!
• I started biking for fun too!
• Related to the above, I lost nearly 30 pounds!
• I started the MeYou Health Daily Challenge
• I started designing again.
• I started quilting again.
• I told my best friend that I love him for challenging me artistically.
• I successfully stopped taking my OCD meds.
• I started eating better.

2011 Epic Fails!

• I never replaced bike commuting with anything else when I stopped bike commuting because it started getting dark early.
• I still haven't gotten the studio organized.
• I didn't post on either blog regularly.
• I got lazy and stopped doing the Daily Challenge
• I only finished one of the quilts I started.
• I didn't do any work towards getting the art studio open.
• I got sloppy about eating as my work schedule starting getting more hectic and I got less active.

So what have we learned? I need to get organized. I still need to find something to replace my bike commute in the winter-time. Mostly, I need to learn to stick with what works (fitness and eating wise), even when something more interesting comes along. I need to get on a schedule and stick to it. Basically, I need to plan better.

The weather is turning colder.

This is my favorite season, without a doubt! It's cool enough to work on my bigger projects, like finishing my quilt tops and maybe starting a big afghan project. It's apple picking season, which means homemade apple sauce, and pumpkins are just around the corner for jack o'lanterns and pumpkin butter! A friend has baby #2 due in a couple weeks and another friend is having a Halloween wedding!

With all of the cold weather cooking I like to do, you guys are gonna have to stay on my butt about eating right. And I'll probably need some extra nagging to make sure that I stay active as it starts to be too cold to ride my bike. That's right! Free license to be a pain in my ass! What more could you ask for!?!?

It's been tricky to balance Carl's lowered carb eating with my hypoglycemia, but we're doing pretty good. I've been eating a lot of rice and couscous because they're quick to whip up on the side of an otherwise low carb meal. Carl's heartburn is greatly improved and he's lost about 10 lbs.

We're feeling pretty good about things right now, especially as we, just yesterday polished off the end of the first big ol' pot of winter chili! (It was chili verde and it was awesome!)

Wish us luck as we transition from wild, unpredictable PA summer weather into freezing, unpredictable PA winter. I'll enjoy the fall either way, I'm just not sure about the effect on my waistline.

Pluggin' along.

I made 80 miles on my bike for June! I was aiming for 100, but I'll take it. I'll try for 100 again this month. This time I know that I need to take a couple significant rides other than the trip to work to get there.

Carl still hasn't gotten into the habit of running, even though he keeps saying he wants to. I've even offered to go with him and give it a shot. Any ideas how to motivate him???

I got a tip from Me You Health about using cucumber to flavor water and I'll tell you what, I'm completely in love with it! Super easy, just drop a few slices in your glass and let it sit a minute.

I feel like I may have lost a bit more, but I haven't been near a scale to check. I'll have to weigh in at my mom's in the morning. Unless I'm not remembering correctly when I think that she has a scale.

I have a bike ride planned with my mom in the morning, so I'm gonna keep this short.

A few thoughts on Getting Healthy!

The Daily Challenge at MeYou Health is built around this idea. Health.com slideshows devoted to it. I was doing it by myself because the bigger goals seemed to intimidating. What am I talking about?

Small Actions. Baby Steps. Mini-goals.

Call them whatever you want, but time and time again, it's been found that this is the best way to make a big change in your life. With weight loss, they may not give you the most immediate results, but they're going to be the things that you stick with.

Swaps are the easiest baby step to take. Here are some that have worked really well for us.

• Iced Tea instead of Diet Coke (Carl)
• Whole Grain/Whole Wheat/High Protein Pasta instead of Semolina Pasta
• Pita Chips instead of Potato Chips (mine)
• Edy's Fruit Bars instead of Ice Cream
• Seltzer/Homemade Sodas instead of Mass Produced Soda
• Trail Mix instead of Junk Food
• Jayone Rice Rolls or Ryvita Fruit and Nut instead of Cookies
• Kashi Cereals instead of High Carb/Low Protein Options (mine)
• Almond Milk instead of Cow's Milk (mine)

Little stuff. When we crave crispy, we eat crispy. When we want pasta we eat pasta. If I want milk, I drink milk. We just make the smarter choice.

Carl is walking and doing more and more of the really nearby (within a few blocks) errands. I'm riding my bike to do the ones that are a little further (Up to 5 mile round trip). We drive if it's too far to walk/ride or if it involves hauling something home, like the case of seltzer I bought last night.

We've both opted to completely ignore the numbers. I look out of curiosity and because Lyam is diabetic and I like to have an idea of carb counts for him, and because I need to make sure I get enough protein at breakfast, but that's it. The only number we're concerning ourselves with is our respective pants sizes.

We don't count carbs. We don't count calories, points or fat. We don't weigh ourselves. We don't even own a scale. We promised not to drive if we don't need to. We promised that every time we light the grill, we're going to add a vegetable too. We promised to support each other and to help each other make smarter eating decisions. And he promised to let me buy new bras and underwear if I can get below 200 lbs.

I'm beginning to see that he's losing weight (in fact, he just told me he's wearing shorts he couldn't fit in 2 weeks ago!). When my Grandma wanted me to weigh myself the other day, I discovered that along with a pants size, I had dropped 16 lbs!

And the best part is, by making swaps instead of sacrifices, the only thing I miss is cheese, and since I've become quite lactose intolerant, there's not a lot I can do with that one, except have 1 or 2 slices of swiss on a sandwich when I can't take the craving anymore. If I have more dairy than that or anything and creamier, I get too sick and it's not worth it.

Screw the numbers. Start small. Eat Smart. Do more. Lose weight. Get happy.

Don't dwell on the numbers. If you do the right thing, the numbers will follow.

Make little changes. Don't say, I'm never going to have pasta again. Instead, say "I'll have pasta less often and when I do it will be whole grain (or veggie pasta, whatever works for you)"

Make smarter food choices. If you have a fast food craving, don't make yourself suffer, get the kids meal. 20 years ago, that was the value meal anyway at most places. Plus, you get free toy!

Get off your ass! Park a row further from the building at work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk the long way around the building. All that little stuff adds up!

The inches/pounds/sizes will come off. Have faith in that. It may take a little longer before you see results, but you won't give up before you see them like you would on a crazy diet.

The happy happens all by itself. And it multiplies every time someone says you look thinner. Or that what you're doing must be so hard (and you know it isn't!)

One more time!

Screw the numbers. Start small. Eat Smart. Do more. Lose weight. Get happy.

Check-In. New Loves!

A few websites that I've found that have been wonderful for my personal "Get Healthy" movement.

Me You Health - Daily Challenge - you fill out a short questionaire, they give you your well being rating and then everyday you get a Be Healthy Challenge. They range from arm wrestle someone in your house to make a pledge to learn to use the right amount of sunscreen. It's a huge community of people all supporting each other! You can give out Smiles (similar to Facebook "Likes") and post congrats and support to friends and strangers! Tons of fun.

Bike Journal - If I belonged to a Bike Club, I'd get even more use out of this website, but they give you tools to track your bike rides. There's a journal, a great forum, and a huge community.

In other news, I'm proud to say that I've biked just over 25 miles in June so far! If I can keep up with this rate, I'll hit 100 miles this month! Not bad for a hippy chick who didn't even own a bike 6 weeks ago!

I'm settling further and further into the smaller pants size and I'm finding that some of my size 18's are actually way too big to wear outside the house. I'm starting to collect them together, so anybody interested in Hand-Me-Downs??

Except for my closing shifts, where I ride my bike less (Carl picks me up and brings the bike rack, so I'm not riding in the dark.) and get home later still wound up, I'm sleeping much better most nights and have even cut the dose on my OCD meds back down to where it was before our house fire last year.

Carl has given up on Diet Coke altogether and as a Congrats present I bought him a 64 oz water jug that he uses to carry fresh brewed tea or filtered water with him to work. And, he's taken to munching on seasoned nori strips which, as far as I'm concerned, he can eat till he floats, they have 1 Calorie and 1/10 of 1 carb each!

All in all, we're in doing pretty good with the get healthy stuff and when the veggies start to come in out in our little garden, I think we'll do even better!

Check-in. Healthier Choices.

I've lost nearly a pants size!

We're learning a lot about ourselves through this whole get healthy process. Here's the highlights!

• I feel like a little kid when I'm flying down a hill on my bike!
• If we have Edy's Fruit Bars or Whole Fruit Bars in the freezer, they're nearly always our first choice when we go for a snack.
• The fruit bars have also cut down on Carl's ice cream cravings, while making giving up dairy easier for me.
• Keeping chocolate in the house, but somewhere that's a pain to get to, has cut down on chocolate binges for both of us, and has almost completely eliminated my urges to buy a candy bar at the check-out.
• Pita chips have solved my issue with not being able to substitute crunchy for crispy.
• The 5 mile round trip to work on my bike seems to be what I need to be able to sleep well.
• I have a lot of fun battling traffic on my bike. Although I still walk it across the 22 interchange on my way to work.

All in all, I think that we're making a lot of change for the better and Carl is even starting to make plans for what he's going to do to make up for the fact that he can't really bike to work even if he wanted to.

Check-In. Go figure.

I was up this morning with plenty of time to walk to work. I was keeping an eye on the weather and it seemed like the rain was holding off. I decided that I was going to spend a little more time on the internet and then ride my bike.

I got my bag together and headed out and I think it actually started raining during the time it took for me to walk away from the laptop and out the front door. And it kept raining. The whole time that I was on my way to work.

From the water thrown off the tires, I basically looked like I fell ass first into a puddle. I do take a change of clothes with me, but I was so soaked that my soggy underwear was starting to soak through my dress pants after I changed.

BLarg! Guess I'll be walking some of the days this week.

Check-In. Slacker!

Alright, so I've been really slackerly about posting. For about a week.

Here's the run down.

Eating has been really sloppy, but with a family picnic and the resultant leftovers, that one's tough to avoid. At least with my family.

I've found that in very small quantities, I can tolerate Swiss and Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese relatively well. But it needs to be a very small quantity and I can tell from how my belly feels that I cheated. Honestly, it's worth it every now and then because I'm practically going through withdrawal here. I didn't mind giving up milk, butter or ice cream, but not having cheese has been crazy tough.

I bought a bike on Thursday! I made the potentially stupid decision make my first ride my Trip to Work yesterday and it actually turned out great! I got there in about half the time compared to walking!

I had forgotten how much I love tearing down a great big hill! SO much fun. I also love how much more freedom I feel like I have compared to walking. I can get myself to and from work, without begging rides and I don't have to lose almost 2 hours of my day to do it! Plus, I have wiggle room in my mornings again.

I can tell I'm still not in good enough shape to haul things with me on the bike, but I'm getting places and fending for myself in traffic and it's great. I was surprised to find that while not particularly courteous, drivers in Allentown are much more bike-friendly than people in Whitehall. It's almost like hitting an invisible barrier coming into and out of the city.

I have people in the city waiting for me to finish crossing, waving me ahead of them for left turns, etc. In Whitehall, I got cut off and almost plowed into the side of some guys car yesterday, people ride your butt as if you've a car under the speed limit and so on. Of course, I only rode to and from work once. It could have all been a fluke.