Group: Sleep Edition (52)

Last night in group we talked about sleeping. (Yesterday’s post about karaoke was more what was on my mind so I went with that instead.) Sleep is important, because that’s the part that helps you repair your mind AND body for the next day. Sleep, not naps. Sometimes a nap is ok, but remember a nap is considered 30 minutes or less, otherwise your brain starts to think it’s actual sleepy time and will start to rev up for REM cycles and all that, then when you wake up you feel all out of whack.

I like sleep. I haven’t felt rested in a LONG time, but now I do wake up with more energy and less dread of the oncoming day. I think part of that was what time I went to sleep, but also I wasn’t doing my body any favors with freezer burritos and Easy Mac. Now I mostly go to bed, go to sleep, and sleep well until it’s time to wake up. I still think we need a new bed, but I feel less urgent about it now that I am able to get actual sleep.

I also had a few ideas for things to write about here, so at least I have some ideas for days when I don’t have any ideas. That’s helpful. (:

FOOD: OK not food, but beverages. One interesting side effect of sleeping better is that I don’t really dig caffeine anymore. I like a good cup of coffee and I like a soda every now and then, but I don’t require Rockstar for breakfast anymore (yes, anymore implies that was once the case, and that is true).

TIP: Get some rest, not sleep. Spend five minutes with your eyes shut, and just concentrate on your breathing. This is something that works for me, and it works better than a nap. I also like to sometimes just stop and take three deep breaths with my eyes shut and that helps me refocus and keep at what I’m doing.

Exercising (51)

Last night I dashed off my post before leaving for the evening. I went roller skating with my friend Jeff. We had a GREAT time. We talked and skated and entertained each other and I had a giant thing of water and didn’t want soda. It was so much fun. And no huffing puffing or sweating which Michelle says are big no-nos, so we kept it at a reasonable pace. I had forgotten how much I like roller skating. I gotta get back on that!

It’s weird to keep finding my inner active person. It’s been so long!

Today a friend of mine said on Twitter that he was cold and thought he might need a new vest. He was of course, referred to me to help get him toasty. I wish we had some sort of Before and After program where you signed up and like, got together and once you’d lost a certain amount of weight you could get a gift card to the employee store and get yourself a little something. A few weeks ago I took the rest of my Employee Store passes to my meeting and I gave them out so people get something a size or two smaller and they really appreciated it. I told you, I like helping out. (:

Food: Change it up! This is more for me than you, but come ON Kelly, you gotta switch it up sometimes! If you get bored you will want to cheat and you don’t want that. So try different veggies sometimes!

Tip: Get over yourself! Again, more for me than you. I’m not embarrassed about the triumphant return of my cheekbones, so I need to act like it. I mean, I do sometimes act like it, but if someone asks what’s working for me I will always tell them.

More events (50)

We wrapped up WordCamp yesterday. We worked REALLY hard. But since it was Saturday and Sunday, I don’t know how I’ll do the rest of the week as far as energy. I have a lot more than I used to, but I don’t like not having a break!

It was awesome. I had such a good time. I really like helping with events, I think it’s fun. I always take good care of the people who help out, too. I had two people who were signed up to help me both days and when food came they got food early, they were thanked a lot, and knowing I had someone I could ask and make something happen was invaluable. What a relief!

Well after our sessions wrapped up and we put the place back together, we went to dinner. It was nice, I got to have a meal with some new friends (I hope!) and some old ones. It was fun. It was at Nicholas II. Now if you don’t know, there are a few of these glorious restaurants around town. They are delicious. They are also pita-heavy. No really! They bring one out and it is HUGE, so yeah, it’s heavy. I broke down and had one bite of bread. Then I had some grilled meat and some veggies with hummus for dinner. It was really good, and since I had my built-in measuring, I knew about how much I was supposed to eat. That didn’t make it any easier, but I know I can do some of that stuff eventually, so it will be ok. Mostly I miss tortillas, that’s the one I need to figure out.

Today I just tried to survive, and it seems I’ve made it, so we’ll try again tomorrow. I didn’t weigh myself this morning in case, and I took a couple gratuitous trips up and down stairs today so maybe if I mismeasured or my window won’t allow me to have bread I’ll be ok. I’ll let you know tomorrow!

Events (48)

I. Am. Exhausted.

Today was the first day of WordCamp Portland and it’s a truckload of fun, but this year I’m A/V coordinator so it’s been hectic, most of my stuff all comes down to arranging in the small window before someone actually starts their talk, so I didn’t have as much prep work up front and virtually all of it is day-of, which is today and tomorrow.

I had a serious headache start to brew in the afternoon, so I went home instead of to the party tonight. I’m hoping this means I will be able to survive tomorrow and tomorrow’s afterparty. I managed to eat on time or almost on time all day even with everything else going on so that was nice. I’m trying not to be surprised I am on top of things like that so it seems more like a habit and less like success at trying something new.

I am beat, so I am going to bed.

FOOD: Shakes “on the go” were easier than I thought. I took my blender bottle and while it wasn’t the icy cold I’m used to since I tend to toss a couple ice cubes in my shakes, it was still not bad. What was bad was “Hey 250+ people at WordCamp, THE PIZZA IS HERE!”* and having the whole place smell like pizza for two hours. (sigh) I did it though. It wasn’t easy but I did it.

TIP: Be honest with yourself. Be honest with others too, sure, but mostly yourself. If you know in your heart of hearts you aren’t gonna eat that veggie, don’t buy it! Find ones you actually do like or try some new places to uncover things you didn’t even know you could design.

I keep falling asleep writing this so I’m off to bed now. (:

*: Did I want Pizza? Heck yeah I wanted pizza. Did I have any? heck no. That felt better than it sounded but yeah it was definitely sub-optimal.)

Car-aoke (47)

So, I like to call it “car-aoke”: Me singing along in my car. I have a playlist on my phone of special songs I like to sing along to, and some even have their own car-eography (which is when you dance while you are driving) to go with them. I like to do karaoke too, the regular way in a bar with other people.

I noticed on my way home recently that singing along felt different, and it seemed like I sounded a little different too. I wonder if that’s real or imagined. I like it but I don’t know what caused the change.

FOOD: I am not a fan of the hot chocolate. So far I can’t get it to mix properly and when I heat it I don’t seem to get anyplace, it never turns into what it seems like it is supposed to. And since I’ve never succeeded at it I don’t know if it ever will. (All tips on the hot chocolate are appreciated.) Maybe if I made it while singing the song?

TIP: This comes from an earlier post of mine: Do you really need new pants, or do you just need a belt? Think long and hard and see which it is you are actually in need of. Don’t save those recently baggy clothes forever, but until you’re down to a new size for awhile (or have a ways to go till your goal), a belt is cheaper and helps you get all you can out of what you have.

Shopping (46)

At work today I went to the employee store and checked out the new stuff for fall and winter. I was looking at pants and guessed I’d need one size smaller than I was when I started, but I was wrong! I’m down two pants sizes! Hooray!

Also I tried on the two size smaller pants, but they were still impossibly long. So I didn’t get them since this all started because of my ongoing saga of ill-fitting pants. So instead, I bought a belt. (:

I also got a hug today from a woman I’ve talked to about medifast and how it’s doing for me. She said I am an inspiration and when I told her how much I’d lost she hugged me. It was nice! When she was leaving she looked me up and down and said “I hate you! But like, in the nicest way.” it was awesome. I say that because last week I said at Beer and Blog my goal was I wanted to go be mean to someone and get called a skinny bitch! (:

Yes I am kidding. (Hi Mom!) but it would sure be nice. I’m only part of the way along my path but I like to look ahead and daydream about the long term stuff.

Tomorrow: Car-aoke and how it is different!

(no food or tips today, sorry.)

Group (45)

Tonight we had group. It was nice to get to see people and how they are doing. Also we found out we have access to a trainer fellow who will do the calipers and tell us exactly our body fat percentage and such. I know I’m a geek, but I miss some of the active stuff. I used to take a kickboxing class and that was SO fun! I miss that and the hip hop class too. We have a Zumba class offered as one of the exercise programs at work so I might get into that. I know an instructor who will be really excited if I get going on that so maybe I will try it out. I like dance music and I like dancing so it shouldn’t be too hard to get into, but I tried it once before I started this and I was convinced it was a rather elaborate attempt on my life. So we will see.

I have a friend at work who is on it now but he isn’t really getting the support so he’s been asking me questions and I have pointed out good parts of the book. It feels nice to be helpful. It feels weird to be the person who knows all about it though since I don’t feel like I have been at it long enough to help other people answer questions, but I guess once you’re tech support you’re kind of alway tech support. (:

Drudgery and Chocolate Crunch (44)

Mostly it was drudgery today. Not stressful or anything, just a pretty normal ridiculously busy day. This one’s another stream of consciousness kind of thing, so brace yourself.

* Today I tried some new bars: Chocolate Crunch. They are pretty good. I keep wanting to call them “Chocorate crackah!” Like the mail order bride in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, but I haven’t decided if that’s a permanent thing or just me feeling a little silly today.

* I’m starting to wonder if I’m sleeping better because I’m snoring less. Somehow I end up going to bed later than Scott does so he hasn’t been able to tell me. I hope so. It’s a nice idea.

* My feet haven’t really healed up. They get better but then the healing parts get itchy. Real itchy. So they are slowly improving.

* I need to get to bed earlier. I’ve gone back to ignoring my phone alarm telling me to get to bed, so I need to pay more attention to that.

* Tomorrow is group, and I haven’t lost any more weight really, which I’m bummed about. But last week I got to give away a bunch of passes to the employee store, and that was awesome.

* I’m doing pretty well with eating on time, I was sort of slacking on it for awhile, but I got it back in line. It helps a lot.

* I need to find some other veggies that I like. Peppers and cucumbers are good but getting old.

* I have GOT to find an alternative to the tortilla. Good Gord I miss it.

* Now when I take my jeans out of the dryer I can put them on and button them up and zip them and they are FINE, not extra snug. It’s nice!

Food: Chocolate crunch bars are yummy. If you’re a chocolate person I recommend them.

Tip: More for me than anyone reading, but GET SOME SLEEP! It’s important, just like eating on time and drinking your water.

And with that, I’m off to do a little sleeping myself.

Determination (43)

Nothing today. I survived a kind of stressful Monday so I’m feeling like I won. That helps. In other news, today I really do miss tacos. I don’t need 10 and not every night, but I used to eat them pretty often, so it’s still an adjustment.

Food: I have now successfully replicated my soup results! In more than one flavor! Here’s my “soup in the workplace” tip: Use the hot water dispenser to add water to the soup. It should be thick still, not paste, but not runny. Toss that in the microwave till it boils for a little bit (our water is pretty hot so this is about 30 seconds for me). Take it out and stir it a little, and if it’s gotten real thick add a little more water. Toss it back in for another round of boiling (again, about 30 for me). Once you do that, set it on your desk and cover it (I use a CD in a plastic sleeve that I don’t need except for this). Wait awhile (I give it about 20 minutes) and when you’re ready to eat, if it needs a little more heat go for it. Mine usually got extra thick here, so I usually just hit it with the hot water dispenser again but no microwave, and I have non-crunchy soup!

Tip: Find the piece of getting healthy that appeals to you and focus on that. For me it’s technology (the app on my iPhone that tracks my weight, this blog). If you are really into planning, work out your meal plans for the week. There are all sorts of pieces you can focus on to get some sort of enjoyment out of doing this, and every time you find that thing it makes it easier.

The Answer! (42)

I had to do it, I can’t pass up a chance at a 42 reference.

I don’t really have answers, sorry. But today was nice. I took stuff with me to eat and we went for a drive along the Clackamas river and towards Mt Hood. We had a nice time. I took some photos and maybe I’ll post a couple if they turn out nicely. I managed to make it on time for all my food and that was nice. It was sunny and there wasn’t a cold breeze so we had a nice afternoon.

Food: I accidentally left my blender bottle overnight without rinsing it. I don’t suggest it. It smelled pretty funky and as an added bonus was hard to scrub out. So try to remember to at least run a little water. (:

Tip: try new food sometimes. I thought I didn’t like peppers, but I tried some that weren’t green and I like them a lot, so revisit your list of dislikes and you might be surprised.

I’m posting early tonight because my evening will be uneventful. On the way down the mountain we got a flat so I’m posting from the tire place patching it up.