Morning

It's morning. It's 6:30 am. It's not normal for me to be up and coherent enough to blog at this time of day.

I'm a night owl. I was up until 1 a.m. last night. It's my nature. I like to get up around 8 or 8:30. We try to start school around 9. Hubby is a morning person. He's chipper and happy and annoying as h-e-double-toothpicks. I don't like to get up when he's in such a state. He's bouncy, cheerful and talkative. Me? I need a half hour just to wake up enough to talk. Saying two simple words, "Good morning" is the most I can muster upon arousal.

Last night I was playing with my doggies after everyone else was in bed. I was loving them, they were loving me, snuggling, giving me kisses--it was a lovely bonding time. Then I started feeling really guilty. Hubby used to get up early and take them for a morning walk--before we got our third pup, that is. Border collies are interesting dogs, and quirky, and our three each have a quirk making it impossible -- well, not so fun for him to walk all three together.

First pup likes cars--he wants to herd them. Hubby has worked really well with this guy and it's under control. Second doggie is scared to death of drains in the street. He freaks. You have to cross the street or put something between him and the drain. We've worked with him on this to no avail. This doggie is also afraid of our laundry chute in the hallway. If that chute is open, he won't walk down the hall! Third doggie, mine--Pip, he's not afraid of anything but he barks when he sees people. I've worked with him a lot, but he's still a little reactive (barking) when he sees someone in the distance.

So I was feeling really guilty about my poor doggies missing their morning walks. It's not as if the don't get exercise, hubby takes them into the back yard and plays fetch. Border collies + fetch equals great fun. They live for it. One word, "ball" will set them off. Anyway, at 1 a.m., I wrote a note to my husband and taped it above the coffee pot where he would be sure to see it. It said:

If you can wake me, and I know that's a big if, I will walk the dogs with you.

Well, he did and I did.

I do not like mornings. Oh, I already mentioned that. It was dark, so I threw on sweats and put my hair in a ponytail. 31-degree windchill, south wind blowing 22 mph, and we set out. The air cuts through me, my eyes start pouring water. I just don't get along with cool temps, wind--it drives my eyes crazy. In Minnesota, 31-degree weather is warm. We wish for 31 degrees in January and February.

And we walked. Hubby said it was 12 minutes. I proclaim it 15. The dogs enjoyed it. I hate to admit it, but so did I.

Walking with my husband has always been difficult. He's 6'5", a whole foot taller than I am. His stride -- I have to practically run to keep up with his normal stride. He slowed a bit this morning, I stepped it up and we had a perfect match. My fitness has improved greatly, and I didn't get winded. It wasn't so bad.

Compromising is a good thing. I put my wants aside (wanting to sleep) and he put his aside (wanting to walk normally for him) and we had a nice, quite time together. I also put my selfishness aside and stepped it up for my doggies.

Before, I just couldn't have done this. I didn't have the energy, I couldn't keep up even on a 15-minute walk. I had no balance, I didn't enjoy walking. We walked a bit this summer, with the doggies, and things improved. But today, it was a different story.

When we turned the corner and were a half block from home, I did the unthinkable. I jogged. All the way home. A whole half block. This made my husband jog, because the two dogs he was walking got worked up. I did something quite extraordinary for me. The best thing was that I was able to do it. Now it was a slow jog, but it was a jog.

When we got home I stated: I do not like jogging or running. I have no desire to do it. I will never do a 5-K, a couch-to-whatever it's called program. I don't want to. Yet, it is nice to know that if I wanted to, I could. It made me smile when hubby said he doesn't like to run or jog, either.

So I think we'll just have to do this again tomorrow. And the next day. Doggies will appreciate it, and maybe some day I'll turn into a morning person. Or not, but at least I can get up.

Wendy Whiner

I am a whiner. I admit it. It is one of my worst qualities. I cringe when I look at some of my posts, because I whine. A lot. Sorry. I am brutally honest here on the blog, though, and you get the real deal, warts and all. (I don't have warts, though.)

I also whine when I'm sick. The past two days have been no exception. It's funny, because "they" say that men usually whine when sick. The opposite is true in my house. My husband never whines, but I always do. It get on his nerves, even though he doesn't say that to me, I know it does.

Between my son and I, we have gone through a box of Puffs in the past two days. We are quite the pair, sniffling, sneezing, blowing our noses, repeat. Today it seemed as if school would never end. I was so tired and desperately wanted to nap. Finally at 2:30 he started his last subject, and it was a reading assignment. I snuggled up and tried to sleep, but the medicine I took kept me awake. I don't like taking antihistimines. They make me feel flighty inside. I think I shall suffer tomorrow and do without. The neti pot does a fabulous job of keeping my sinuses clear.

The antihistimes also dry me up. I drank gallons today. Got all my water in before noon, and I drank two pots of decaf by myself. The hot was soothing. I don't like tea, sadly. I'm still thirsty. Tomorrow no more meds. I just don't like this!

whine, whine, whine

Yesterday I came way under calories and points. Very unusual for me. All bets are off when I'm sick and don't feel like eating--listen to your body! Today I've been trying to get more protein in, so I should be on target. I did get lots of exercise--with all that drinking, I put on lots of steps walking to the bathroom! lol

I hope tomorrow is better. I want to work out. I miss it. Amazing, I should say something like that!

There, whine over.

And one nice thing: If you don't read Actual Scale's blog, you should. She is celebrating 50-pounds lost by having a give away for an Amazon gift card. I think that's a fabulous thing to give away! Congrats on your great loss!

Thank You, Body Fat, Sick, etc.

Thank you for all the supportive comments. One comment mentioned body fat. I looked at my scale, Googled the model, and found my scale does measure body fat! Who knew?

So, I am at 44% body fat. A lot, right? I'd hate to know what the number was when I weighed 282.5. You can bet your bottom dollar I'm going to calculate my body fat as well as weight from here on out!

Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, the obesity category is 42% and up. And I'm at 44. Oh, so close. Weight wise, I'll be out of the obese category when I get to 179 pounds. Other websites set the obese category at 40% body fat. I like the percentage better with the fat than the weight! At any rate, the numbers made me happy. Getting closer.

I do believe the exercise is what is messing me up here. Years ago, when I lost over 70 pounds with Weight Watchers, it came off fast. Then, I was very strong. I could help carry a hide-a-bed couch with hubby with no problem. I was once at a park with a bunch of moms and kids, and we had to move a picnic table. Three women on one end, me on the other. I was stronger than all three put together--they were in shock, and I couldn't believe they couldn't lift the table! Then one day that strength just seemed to disappear. My husband has mentioned this several times.

So I do believe I lost muscle, and right now I'm building it back up. I am really feeling changes in my muscles--changes that would really show if I didn't have so much fat. I'm getting my strength back. I also know that when I lift and exercise, that my muscles retain water while repairing.

I can't go any more difficult than I am with exercise--I'm working my tail off. The FIRM tapes are tough and I'm giving it my all. Remember all those sweat-soaked shirts in blogland a few months ago? I could definitely compete with them now. My t-shirts are soaked when I'm done working out.

I do follow Weight Watchers, and I use the Winning Points plan. I'm on target with their program. I am also counting calories, which is silly because WW works, but it is all right where it should be.

So this weight number may be a combination of a lot of things.

I simply have to quit worrying about that scale. What I'm doing I know is improving my health. We can see (subtle) and feel (not subtle at all!) the changes.

~~~
Today I was really sick. I got my son's virus. I started out okay, but dwindled fast. My husband took the afternoon off, and that was a good thing. We did school this morning, and I took two Benadryl and fell asleep--for 3 1/2 hours! Hubby cooked dinner, and I've been on the couch or in the bed the rest of the night. I'm feeling a bit better right now, so I'm hoping tomorrow will be much better. I really was ticked because I didn't work out. I debated it, but figured my body needed rest more.

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I noticed on a swap board the other night that someone had a FIRM barbell for sale. These go fast when one is for sale, so I didn't think I'd get it--but I did! I think the gal has more than one, but I'm not sure. It's a great deal, and it's a me-sized barbell. It is under 5 feet long. I am thrilled. Sending the check off tomorrow and in a couple week I'll be one happy camper!

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I'm so behind on blog reading. Even if I'm better tomorrow, I might not make it to commenting. School takes up a lot of my time, and so does being a housewife. I really wish I had the time I did this summer for the blog world. I do read, though, and I'm cheering everyone on when I read--even if I don't take the time to comment.

With that, I'm going back to bed. I'm resting much easier knowing I can monitor my body fat as well as weight now!

Monday Morning Weigh-In

Weight: 227
Loss: A big fat ZERO
Total Loss: 55.5


Okay, listen up, body. I'm sick and tired of small and/or no losses. Look, I'm exercising, I'm eating as I'm supposed to, all food gets weighed and measured before it goes into my mouth. I'm drinking my water, I'm doing everything I'm supposed to!

Body, you are defying science. Knock it off.

~~~
As frustrating as this is, and it is VERY frustrating, I will persevere.

I am really enjoying the exercise, I am seeing subtle changes all the time in my body and loving that. My fitness has improved greatly. I can do so much more in my FIRM tapes than when I started them, so I can see the changes in my health in that regard. My strength is coming back, my cardiovascular health has improved greatly--I can do so much more. So I kind of focus on that rather than letting the scale get me down. It would be nice if the two worked together, though!

Hubby and I had a long talk about my losses this weekend, and we both did some Googling. It didn't really help. I do weigh everything so I'm not getting more calories than I thought. I am one to double-check recipes, so it's not that.

It's just me.

In the end, I kept telling my husband that I am getting what I want: a healthier body. I am firming up, I am getting more strength, I am able to work harder cardio-wise, I am building muscle. I am watching what I eat. What more could I want? Well, for the scale to cooperate, BUT in the scheme of things, it doesn't matter. Health does. While it's important for that weight to go down, down, down, I know that it will.

We averaged my weight loss this weekend (not including this week's 0) and it was 1.5 a week. That made me feel a lot better, because it wasn't as low as I felt it was.

So, onward. I'm just going to keep on doing what I've been doing, because I can do that the rest of my life!