Friday, June 29, 2012

Just Sayin'

Yesterday I had to spend part of my morning at the DMV and didn't plan my food well.  I wound up grabbing a breakfast sandwich on my way into work because my breakfast options are limited downtown.  The better choice would probably have been the Greek yogurt with honey, but I was starving and egg and sausage sounded good.  I should have taken them off the whole wheat English muffin they came on. In the middle of the afternoon I was hungry (and lazy) and ate a granola bar from the office kitchenette instead of the raw nuts I keep in my desk drawer.

Guess who had a headache last night? 

It's kind of uncanny.  I don't eat wheat for a bit and as soon as I eat some I get my first headache in weeks.

The workouts are still on hold.  It still hurts my face to bend over - sinus pressure be gone!  But I have been walking most days and we've had company so there have been massive cleanings in the evenings, which in hot and muggy weather means I'm sweating, at least.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Getting Better

I'm still coughing a little and I'm still a bit stuffed up and I still feel a lot of pressure on the front of my face when I bend over, but I feel worlds better than I did last week.  Last Thursday I felt like death, so I stayed home from work.  And I didn't even work, like I usually do when I stay home.  I just lay in bed upstairs in the air conditioning (last Thursday was really hot and we have AC on the 2nd floor) and watched old episodes of Medium.

Friday I went back to work, Saturday was busy, Sunday was busy, but I felt so much better on those days than I did on Thursday that a runny nose and a bit of a cough wasn't going to stop me.  I haven't worked out yet this week, but I'm getting really antsy to do something.  Fingers crossed that I'll feel up to swimming tomorrow.  I'm going to go on a walk today at lunch, I know that much.

Work has been really slow this week, which feels bizarre after the last year of go go go!  It's been almost exactly a year since we started the huge project that has been consuming my life.  My part of the project is basically over, except for a few odds and ends to tie up before closing next month.  I've been trying to get all my ducks in a row so that when it's time to finish, I'll be ready to go. 

I've been getting home early (like around 5:45 or 6) and have been able to putter around the house a bit, do laundry, cook.  It all feels so decadent after the last year.  I know the work will pick up again, so I'm just enjoying this Summer lull for the moment.

My eating has been stellar this week.  I started Monday, feeling dedicated to just eat the way that makes me feel the best, darn it. So far, so good.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

I Swam (Again)

Yesterday I got back in the pool for the first time in a few weeks.  We have a new Masters coach so I signed up and went yesterday morning.  It's amazing how paying for those extra sessions is really good motivation to get out of bed early.

The new coach is tough.  Where the old coach focused a lot on drills and technique during our Tuesday morning sessions, the new coach actually wants us to swim.  A lot.  After just a few weeks out of the pool, I feel like a super slow slug, and I was having kind of a rough time yesterday.

But I know I'll get my endurance and speed back. 

Despite my poor performance yesterday, the coach sent out lane assignments and she put me in a lane with 3 of the super fast people.  Um, what?  I think she must have me confused with someone else...  Well, we'll see how long that lasts.  I hate getting lapped, but I have a feeling that's what I have to look forward to in the next few Tuesdays.

I planned to go to strength training this morning, but last night my throat started hurting and one nostril got clogged.  Darn it!  Jason came back from vacation with his family a few weeks ago with a wicked cold that had made it's way through the entire family.  I thought I had survived the incubation period, but maybe not.  Or maybe this is something completely different. 

Either way, I feel yucky, but a conference call later today means I'm in the office.  Also, it's freaking hot outside and my office has AC.  If only I could have come to work in my pajamas...

I'm hoping this cold dabbles with me and moves on and I can work out again in a couple of days.  It stinks that just as my motivation comes back, I get sidetracked.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Feeling Tired of My Excuses

I honestly can't tell you where my motivation has gone.  Maybe it's just that I've been busy at work and I don't having the energy and concentration for anything else.  Well, work has slowed down a little so really, if I'm honest, I DO have the energy and the concentration to focus on being healthy.  But I can't get motivated.  I'm not really sure why, but in addition to not working out for the 2nd week in a row, the Whole30 has gone by the wayside.

I'm trying to figure out what's going on with me mentally because I swear I USED to be able to challenge myself and actually follow through.  Remember last Summer and last Fall when I set challenges for myself and actually completed them?  Yeah, those were good times.

You know what's good for motivation, though?  Going shopping for formal wear.  I'm really, really good with finding super cute knit and rayon dresses at Ann Taylor and Kohl's and Dress Barn that are flattering and comfy and suitable for my business casual office.

However, it seems like the size inflation that is rampant in all other clothing* hasn't hit the formal wear section at Macy's yet.  I have to go to fancy events sometimes for work (including one tomorrow night) and I've worn my current cocktail dresses into the ground.  So today on my lunch hour I went looking for something new.

I found a dress, but it's pretty frumpy and I don't love it.  I did love 2 other dresses I tried on that right now are too small, but that would have fit me a couple of years ago.  I didn't buy them because I already have enough aspirational clothing in my closet (aka, those clothes I could wear a couple of years ago). 

Sad.

The moral of the story is, Stop making excuses!!!  Get up and go work out in the mornings!  No more fudging the Whole30!  Because if you fudge enough, then, guess what, it's not a Whole30 anymore.

Tomorrow, Day 1 (again): swimming in the morning and eating right for the rest of the day.


*Because I am a realist, and I know I am NOT a Medium anymore.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Exercise Fail

I'm not exactly sure what's wrong with me, but I just cannot seem to get up to exercise.  On Monday I really had no excuse, since I woke up before my alarm went off, but then managed to talk myself out of going to strength training.

I went to bed on Monday night bound and determined to wake up on Tuesday and go swimming.  I even said as much to the friends we had over for dinner.  Well, when my alarm went off yesterday morning, I was about as far away from awake as possible.  I felt immensely tired so I just flipped off the alarm and slept for another hour and a half.

Today, though.  Today was the day.  I would get up and go to strength training!  My alarm went off and I hit snooze a couple of times (as you do), all the while thinking, yay, I'm getting up soon to go to class!  Just a few more minutes.

But apparently I fell back asleep after the last snooze.  I woke up 10 minutes after class started. 

On the upside, I've managed to get in long walks both Monday and Tuesday, but I really want to get back into the strength training.  I guess my body is more interested in sleep.  Yeah, that's nice and all, but at some point, I need to work out.

I've been waking up naturally at around 6:30 or 7.  I wish I didn't have to work normal office hours, because if I could go to the gym at 7:30, I have a feeling it would happen a lot more often than when I have to go at 6:30.  Or maybe I would just go to bed an hour later.

Maybe the moral of this story is that I need to go to bed an hour earlier.  Because I'm an old lady.

Monday, June 04, 2012

Whole30 Day 4

Starting a Whole30 on day 1 of a 30-day month is really handy when it comes to keeping track of what day I'm on.

The weekend went pretty well, except for lunch yesterday.  We had a fundraiser at church to pay for the Young Women (teenage girls) to go to a week-long camp in a couple of months.  It was Fast Sunday (we all fast the first Sunday of every month), so I hadn't eaten anything that morning.  Plus, I had picked Jason up at the Boston airport very late the night before and was exhausted.  After running around for an hour, getting everything coordinated and set up, we were all really hungry.* 

So I ate what was there.  A couple brownies, a couple bites of lasagna, some enchiladas, and something one of my Counselors made called "frog eye salad", which is apparently very big in Utah and I think was just Cool Whip, canned oranges and pineapple tidbits, and tapioca pearls.

Nothing was Whole30 approved, really.  But I got back on the ball when I made our dinner several hours later, and I intend to stick to the plan this week.  For instance, I have a work meeting tonight, where we'll be getting dinner.  I already know I won't be eating the rolls or the dessert.

Rather than proclaim "I FAILED!" and go have a donut, I prefer to be more philosophical and make a note that I should be more prepared in future situations like yesterday, but not beat myself up about it.


*As a side note, sometimes it's kind of a drag being in charge.  I'm the YW President, so the other leaders and the girls ultimately look to me for tasks when we're setting up this sort of party.  When I was younger, I was a total bossypants and was perfectly happy to tell everyone what to do.  Now, while I still like to organize things, there are times when I just don't want to be the lead person anymore.  I like to think that as I'm getting older and maturing, I'm becoming less Type A and more laid-back.  That sounds better than lazy.

Friday, June 01, 2012

Whole30 Day 1! Migraine!

So, my head hurts.  Actually, I'm sitting in my darkened office with my AC turned down really low, and it's finally feeling a little better.  It's not like I even have a withdrawal headache.  Nope, this headache is a direct result of eating too much crap the last couple of days, plain and simple.  So I may still have a withdrawal headache to go through in a few days.

I'll tell you what, though.  This is awesome motivation for not eating grains and refined sugar in mass quantities any time soon.

Basically, I had a last hurrah last night and got some Ben and Jerry's.  This was after I had a Starbuck's scone for breakfast AND some pasta salad from the cafe next door for lunch.

(Side note: the pasta salad next door is AMAZING!  Pasta shells, olive oil, minced garlic, sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach.  So.  Good.  Really, the pasta is my least favorite part.  I should just get the rest of the ingredients and make my own sans pasta.)

Remember when I mentioned that I think wheat might be a migraine trigger for me?  I think that's been confirmed.

Basically, I kind of feel like an idiot.  Why do I do these things to myself?  I think I'm going to leave work a bit early after posting this and walk home.  It's a lovely day outside and I think the fresh air will help.