Adding exercise...

It is very cold out. Freeze off appendages cold. So, I am trying to up my exercise in short spells, so I don't turn into a human-sicle. For instance, instead of driving right up to the barn to feed the horses a lunch time snack, I parked at the end of the very long driveway, and walked as fast as I could to the paddock. Got my heart rate up, but wasn't out long enough to lose important body parts to the cold. Later I cleaned out the chicken coop. That might not SEEM like exercise, but it is. Hauling shavings and tools, sweeping, shoveling, scraping, back and forth the the garage to get fresh food and water. So... far from any sort of traditional work out, but moving none the less. I am being much more conscious of what and when I eat. No movement on the scale today, but I am hopeful for what the coming days will bring.

Day 3, Yippee!

It is cold, (25) with a wicked wind blowing new snow. I grabbed my camera and went for a walk. I wore heavy winter boots, to maneuver over the snowy, icy road. I learned that boots are not the best exercise footwear, but still, I got out and got my heart rate up. I only walked about 20 minutes, but that, I say, is better than nothing. I spotted a fluffy Robin in a crab apple. I bet he is wishing he headed south.

The scale reported another pound lost today. GOOD scale! I was pleased with my efforts yesterday:

Breakfast-

cider

kashi bar

Lunch-

Poached egg on toast

Snack-

small ice cream cone

Supper-

(appetizer 4 sinful Ritz crackers with cream cheese!)

lean steak

rice pilaf

asparagus

squash

dessert-

apple turnover

Not exactly diet food, any of it, but controlled portions and not much in the way of in between meal snacking. I am pretty sure it is the in between stuff that is my downfall. I am noticing that I crave "a little something" often during the day, but eat rather little at actual meal time. I am retraining myself! As I type this it is 10:30 AM and I would very much like some lunch. The bowl of cereal I had for breakfast left me wanting more. But, I can wait... because I am going to be more fit by 50!

Things I am doing right...

Day #1 complete, and because God loves me and wants me to be happy, I lost a pound! This despite the evil left over goodies from Christmas that are filling every nook in this house. I tossed some of them, but succumbed to the rum cake. I did keep a list of every thing I ate all day, and I found that since I was trying to NOT focus on food, I was hyper focused on food!!

I did drink lots of water. I keep my trusty Camelbak bottle on hand at all times with cold, filtered water and I generally polish off 2-3 bottles per day. I did NOT exercise, (unless lots of housework counts!) because it was pouring cold buckets of rain all day. Today, though, I will go for a nice walk. Stay tuned, lets see what tomorrow will bring!

The adventure begins!

I woke up before dawn, excited to begin this new adventure. I don't have any set plan, rather I am winging it a bit. I decided to roll several other things into my adventure . Things that will help me feel positive and proactive. Here is the short list:
1. Wear make up daily. I feel better when I do, but am often too lazy. It takes mere moments to swipe on some mascara and put on base and blush. I am worth a few moments!
2. I am going to weigh in daily. When I hopped on the digital scale this morning it said I weighed 0.0! A miracle! Or, I need a new battery for the scale. I'll pick one up today.
3. I am going to be more mindful of what goes in my mouth. I am going to pay SOME attention to calories. Every morning I eat a Kashi breakfast bar. I love them, they are full of nuts and whole grains and they are quite healthy. But I normally stuff, chew and swallow so fast that my brain does not even register that I have eaten. I am going to be mindful of eating that bar from now on. Taste it, enjoy it, savor it. Same goes for whatever else I eat. No eating on the run, I plan to make meals count.
4. I will continue my morning habit of drinking a cup of hot apple cider with 2 tsp. of Bragg's vinegar. I have been drinking the Bragg's in tea or cider almost every day for the last 11 months. I am a bit of a zealot about the stuff. It has vastly improved my skin, makes my aging knees feel like they are not aging, and I have not had a cold since I started taking it. My entire life I have gotten 3 or more bad colds per year. When the cold runs it course I almost always end up with a nasty sinus infection that hangs on and on, making me feel miserable for weeks. I am not sure why the Bragg's works, but it does!

So, today's breakfast was a Kashi bar, 148 calories and a cup of cider, about 150 calories (that is what apple juice would be. I couldn't find a calorie count for cider.) I plan to have some fruit mid morning when I get the munchies. Stay tuned for the next post to see what I cooked up for exercise today and other notes on the "More fit at 50" campaign.

Fat and 49

I am 49 years old. Mostly, I adore my life. I have the most wonderful husband (for 25 years!), a healthy, smart, terrific daughter, a great house... and PETS! 4 dogs, a horse, chickens, a stray cat that sneaks into the garage and a canary. I like my job(s.) My life? It is just blessed. My biggest problem is extra poundage. Rolls of fat, to be exact. Look at my CHINS. No one really needs more than one, do they?

On March 31 I will turn 50. And 50, by any ones account- is a VERY BIG DEAL. Today, taking a post-Christmas nap, it came to me. I don't want turn 50... fat. So I am embarking, publicly, on a "more fit at 50" campaign. I don't want to do anything crazy, like fast for days on end, but I do want to lose some tonnage and change the way I eat and move between now and then. Dr. Laura Schlesinger (love her or hate her, she has some sound ideas!) says that the trick to managing weight is to "eat less, move more." That idea resonates with me, and I am going to put it in action starting tomorrow.

At the present time I am a basically healthy person. I have problems with: poor circulation in my left leg after traumatic damage to my Achilles tendon and surgery to repair it and some heart burn issues that concern me. My blood pressure is a bit higher than it should be. At almost 50 I am staring harder at my mortality than ever before. More than I fear death, I fear INFIRMITY. I don't want to be stuck in a wheel chair or a nursing home in my old age. I think losing weight will help me to live my life longer and healthier and with more zest and feist.
I am rich in so many blessings... my curse is the fat I carry. And I can fix that, if I try. I just need to try. Bringing my efforts public might help me. I could use some support. And some people who want to join me by enriching their lives by losing the weight that is holding them down.
Care to join me on my journey? You need not be turning 50... any age will do. Let's get more fit. Eat less. Move more. Feel better. Live longer, richer, healthier, happier. December 27Th is the beginning.