Well, I'm still among the living. All I can say is I've been having a ball. Had another unplanned hiatus of sorts. My weekend was OFF-THE-CHAIN!!! Mostly jazzin', kickin' back, chillin' with my sweeter than sweet man, Drew (thanks for the new DVD player, baby). Yeah, I've been a bit off programme for the past few days or so, but lemme tell ya, every minute was WELL worth it, mos def. Sometimes a girl's just gotta do what she's gotta do. Know what I mean?
Not much to report on the weight management front. Made it to the gym Saturday, June 19, but haven't been back since. I did do an unusually high amount of housework last week, though. According to this calories burned estimator, I burned a total of 938 calories on June 21 (107 washing dishes and 832 doing housework), which is WAAAAAY more than I burn during my workouts. Perhaps their estimate is correct, but my skeptical mind just won't allow me to believe the numbers could be THAT high, so I divided by 2 to get 470. If they're correct, then it's all the better for me. When I get time, I'll do a bit of research to see if they could possibly be correct. If so, I will DEFINITELY be cleaning a LOT more often. Perhaps I should make Mondays a cleaning day every week.
Not much else going on at the moment. Haven't weighed since the last update or tracked any stats since June 24. The plan is to get back to basics tomorrow and take it from there. Probably won't weigh in again until next Monday or Tuesday. I'll be sure to update when I do.
I really need to get serious about making my own salad dressings and salsas. I know I've mentioned this before, but I've been procrastinating. Time to handle my bizness 'cause the sodium is kickin' my arse. I'm going to make conscious effort to get that done this weekend. I also need to get my butt in gear and complete a new workout routine/schedule and start planning my meals better. I've been thinking about the first new clothing/accessory items I want to buy (or receive as gifts) when I reach my goal weight.
Note to Drew: Since you roll through here on the downlow from time to time, note the above parenthetical phrase. *wink* Uhm, remember you said I'm drivin', right? :o) Yeah! [/Note]
As far as I'm concerned, G-Day (Goal Day) will become an official holiday, right up there with all the other majors. My personal independence day, if you will. I haven't decided what my celebration attire will be, partially because I'm not exactly sure when G-Day will be. According to my progress projections, it should occur sometime during the beginning of 2005, perhaps near my birthday, Feb 4. At the rate things are going, it may take a bit longer, but barring some type of major catastrophe, I WILL make it happen during the first quarter of 2005. Mos def! I have NO intentions of abandoning my original timeframe and am willing to make whatever adjustments are necessary to get me there.
This being the case, I should reach goal at some point during the winter months, which means dressing for colder weather. I'm basically a jeans kinda gal and considering that Texas, particularly Houston, has relatively mild winters, I'm thinking I'd like to rock a slick pair of formfitting jeans, a lightweight, jazzy, formfitting, V-neck or scoop-neck sweater and a fly leather jacket. Along with a nice belt, handbag, and a pair of slick kicks that complement the jacket. Yeah! That's sounds about right. I have approximately 7.5 months till G-Day which gives me plenty of time to figure out exactly what I want. I'm gonna start looking about and as I find potential G-Day Flywear items, I'll post 'em here.
Music I'm feelin' today: I'm in a jazzy/hip-hop-ish kinda of mood (yeah, I get down like that, too), and since That Badu Diva and Common (who happens to be her current beau) present a nice mix of the two, along with that funky Common/Badu keepin'-it-real element, they are in heavy rotation. Now this is subject to change by the end of the day, but that's how I'm rollin' at the moment. Quite a stark contrast to last weekend's music mood, but hey, that's me.
Note to Self: Must remember to pick of copies of Erykah's and Common's new joints. [/Note]
That's it for now. Got pretty aggressive productivity goals for this weekend so I need to get off my arse now and handle my bizness. The knowledge/power of self-determination is an awesome thang. Let's see how well I can work it this weekend, shall we?
The Weekend Hit List (In no particular order of priority)
Clean bathroom (general) Clean kitchen (general) Mop bath Mop kitchen Dust and tidy up living room Dust and tidy up dining room Vacuum living room Vacuum dining room Vacuum hallway Vacuum bedroom Laundry Workout at gym Yoga session Wash, condition, set hair Find battery charger for digicam Take photos/update site Return library books Grocery shop Cook for today Plan/cook/prep meals for next week Make salad dressing and salsa Clean car (inside) Facial Pedicure Manicure Any other high-priority things I may have forgotten
Dropped another 3 lbs. since my last weigh-in on June 3, which brings me to 210 and a total loss of 46. I know I should be glad, but quite frankly, I'm not excited. I just can't ignore the fact that I'm now 8 lbs. behind my projections and it's my own fault. I just didn't think it would take this long and I am pissed about it. I'm somewhat upset with myself at the moment.
Thanks to my VERY dear (and oh so sweet) man, my regular eating, sleeping and exercise schedules were disrupted from Sunday to Wednesday so until today, there had been no exercise since Saturday, June 12 (well not at the gym anyway). Thanks a lot, Drew! Okay, I guess I can't blame it all on him, since I could have done more to mitigate the damage. But I was enjoying myself immensely, so I decided to just hang loose and go with it. The upside is that we spent some much needed quality time together and have made plans to do so much more often. We were able to develop a deeper understanding of each other and bond more closely. The downside is that I was severely sleep deprived, didn't eat properly/enough and had no exercise and very little water for a couple of days. Now mind you, I had mad fun and wouldn't change a thing, but I am glad to be getting back into my regular routine. I now realize just how much I need that structure. I'll just have to move on from here.
I've been in a crabby mood most of the day, which I attribute mainly to PMS. Thus, I'm not in the mood to blog today and I don't want to load up this entry with a bunch of negative stuff. I'll save that for my private journal. I may be back later this evening to post my stats. Perhaps a yoga session this evening will help to elevate my mood. It usually does.
The good news is that the weekend is on it's way. Hope er'body has a good one.
An unusual Sunday morning. Quite. My ears and heart delight themselves in the brilliance and serenity of Mozart, particularly his Quartet No. 1 in A Major, exquisitely performed by the South German Philharmonic Orchestra. Rock me, Amadeus! Wolfgang at his best, most certainly. The perfect complement to Gibran's fine works, no doubt. A most superb pairing, indeed.
My pseudo-philosophical self (one of several selves residing within me) browses Kahlil's Treasured Writings, pondering his perspective on various issues and aspects of life and man. As I search for solace in his masterful words, his concise, yet profound writings on "action" issue a challenge I cannot ignore.
Gibran on Action
"A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle."
"Believing is a fine thing, but placing those beliefs into execution is a test of strength. Many are those who talk like the roar of the sea, but their lives are shallow and stagnant, like the rotting marshes. Many are those who lift their heads above the mountain tops, but their spirits remain dormant in the obscurity of the caverns."
Lynne's mood: Introspective. Quietly contemplating the life and depth of my own spirit as I continue my onging search for my balance. For I am, afterall, a continual work in progress.
Though I'm feeling even better now than I felt when I posted earlier, and a lot better than yesterday, my legs still don't feel as though I should attempt a strenuous workout so I decided not to push myself. I don't want to run the risk of possibly being sidelined with an avoidable over-training injury just when I'm finally starting to get my groove back. Easy does it for me today. Rather than do my planned weights/walking workout at the gym this afternoon, I've opted for a yoga session instead. Besides, I've been extremely lax with regard to stretching and right now my body definitely needs the yoga more.
I am acutely aware of how much I benefit physically and mentally from yoga, but why I have such a tendency to neglect it these days escapes me. I've made an agreement with myself to be more faithful with my yoga practice and incorporate at least two sessions per week into my routine, starting today. I also have a clear understanding of the importance of pre- and post-workout stretching, so again, the answer to why I don't do it eludes me. Lazy I suppose, but I've promised myself that I will stretch for at least 5 to 10 min. before and after all workouts. I still haven't firmed up my new workout schedule yet, but since Monday is now an official rest day I plan to hit the gym tomorrow for weights and walking.
One thing I know for sure is that my lazy arse needs to start towing the damn line. Yep! I've been thinking about it and have come to the only logical conclusion. I've been slacking. Plain and simple. And since there's no one around to ride my arse about my training and nutrition, I must assume the roles of food and exercise police. That being the case, I'm going to step up the plate, take control and handle the job properly. One of my own quotes comes to mind, "Make no excuses. Accept no excuses. Just get it done!" so my mantra going forward is pretty clear, "Handle Ya Bizness!" Yep, it's all about tough love, baby. NO MORE SLACKING!
My regular British programme lineup, to which my undivided attention is usually devoted on Saturday evenings, has been replaced (due to the PBS pledge drive) with the Fleetwood Mac Live In Boston concert, so it looks like I'll be groovin' with my girl, Stevie Nicks, tonight. Kool beans! :o) They'll be here in Houston on June 17 and I would definitely go to the concert, but the venue (The Woodlands) is waaaaaaay farther than I'm willing to drive, especially since I know I'd be sipping my beloved Merlot. That's too bad 'cause I'd really LOVE to see them again. And the fabulous Miss Nicks is lookin' DAYUM good at 57!
That's it for the moment. Going to my mat now. Pleasant weekend, all! :o)
Namasté!
Update - 10:10pm: The yoga session went well and was relaxing, as usual. Very much needed, mos def. I've been doing myself a huge disservice by flaking on my practice all this time. I'm amazed that I moved through all the poses so easily after not practicing for well over a month, maybe two. What's even more amazing is that I hardly broke a sweat this time. I guess I've become more flexible and fitter since the last time I practiced. Having lost a few more pounds probably made a difference, too. I know I sure feel a LOT better now, especially my legs and back. I'm kool with that!
I had to adjust my calories down from the 1,644 I had anticipated, which subsequently lowered the related stats. I don't usually post my calories before I eat them, but since I planned all of today's meals this morning, I felt comfortable doing so. I got a later than planned start with my yoga session and didn't finish it until 8:45p. About an hour before I had a planned snack and immediately afterwards I had my yogurt protein shake. Now I'm not hungry and since it's after 10pm I'll have to skip the dinner I had planned. The yoga session seems to have calmed my appetite. I didn't do anything strenuous today so I think I can get by with such a low calorie intake for one day. I believe I managed to eat enough carbs and protein to fuel tomorrow's workout. If I didn't, I guess I'll just have to make up for it in the morning, but I'm definitely not going to force myself to eat and then force myself to stay awake for another two hours while the meal digests. Bump that! I'm sleepy. I'm going to lie down, finish watching the Fleetwood Mac concert and relax until I fall asleep.
I've been up and down with food, exercise and water this week, but I seem to be regaining my focus. I feel my sense of direction returning, slowly, but surely. I'm starting to concentrate more on what I'm eating (and not eating) and put together a reasonable workout routine. After last Sunday's weight training and walking workout at the gym, I didn't do anything else until Friday morning. All week long I kept lying to myself (again) about afterwork workouts at the gym. Thursday evening I finally admitted that they're just not going to happen, so I drug my arse outta bed yesterday morning at 5am and got to the gym at 6. I did a relatively fast-paced, 65-min. walk. Warmed up for 10 min. at 3.0 mph, 20 min. at 3.3, then intervals of 3 min. at 3.5 and 2 min. at 3.3, followed by a 5-min. cool down at 3.0/2.8. Mentally, I felt good about the workout and proud of myself for handling my bizness, but my legs felt a tad drained for the rest of the day and I had an overall feeling of tiredness.
I believe one reason could be that I pushed myself a bit too much (though I'm not sure) after laying off for nearly three weeks, with the exception of a couple of sporadic workouts here and there. Another reason (I'm fairly certain of this one) is that I've not been eating enough carbs over the last few days. It may very well be a combination of both. I've been intentionally cutting back a bit on carbs for the past couple of days, but this morning my body promptly (and somewhat painfully) reminded me that it must have adequate carbs to get me through my workouts. What the heck was I thinking? And sure enough, I upped my carbs this morning and now I'm feeling much better. Also, even though I slept for nearly eight hours last night, I fell asleep afterwards for another two hours. I guess I was more tired than I realised. This experience has thoroughly convinced me of the absolute necessity of getting adequate rest and properly fueling my body. What and when you eat has a significant impact on performance and recovery, so I'm going to do more research on sports/exercise nutrition so that I can develop an eating plan that will complement my workouts and weight loss at once. Hopefully, I'll get it sorted soon.
I'm heading to the gym later this afternoon around 4pm. I decided to workout later rather than early morning to allow my legs more recovery time. The plan is to do heavy weights and three easy (3.0 mph) miles on the treadmill. I have no problem with afternoon/evening gym workouts on weekends since it's usually not crowded and pretty calm. Here are this week's digits. I'll probably update later.
Guess who got off their butt and burned off over 600 calories today? Yep! I went to the gym this afternoon and got in a kick-arse workout. I lifted more weight today than ever. Not only that, but I also managed to get in just over 4 miles of walking on the treadmill. And it felt soooooo good. Needless to say, I am quite pleased. Depending on how I feel in the morning, I may just hit it again. We’ll see. June is starting to shape up to a decent start. I’m really gonna work hard to keep this momentum going. Here is one of my favourite quotes that got me off my butt today:
"Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously and never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop this picture!" —Norman Vincent Peale
That’s it for now. Gotta go catch the Lakers/Pistons game. Should be rather interesting. The French Open is just about over, except for the doubles championship, but Wimbledon starts in two weeks. YaY!!! I can hardly wait.
I haven't updated since June 1 because there's nothing major to report. The only positives are that I worked out at the gym Thursday morning (6/1) and I finally weighed after 2 1/2 weeks. The scale registered 213; another 2-pound loss. All things considered, I guess I should be happy for a small loss rather than a gain. But nutty butt just isn't impressed with that, considering I'm about 7 pounds behind schedule. I still haven't figured out what my deal is, but I'm not going to give up. I'm still working on regaining my focus and getting my butt back in gear. I haven't been back to the gym since Thursday so I'm going to make every effort to go today.
Remember the plan of walking outdoors at 5:30 in the morning before work? Well, that bright idea never saw the light of day. Even at 5:30am it's still above 70 degrees and extremely humid here, so I've decided to make an effort to improve my time management, prepare my workout clothes, work clothes, lunch, etc., the night before, and get to the gym by 6am to do a somewhat scaled down version (knock off 20 min.) of my normal routine. I figure that is much better than nothing. It worked pretty well on Thursday. I'll try it again Tuesday and see what happens.
I know I need to get around to see all the beautiful people who've dropped by here during my absence. You guys are so sweet and I so appreciate your support. Please forgive me for being remiss, but know that I will get to you very soon. I'm just in a bit of a weird mood at the moment. I really don't feel like blogging either, but the stats were starting to pile up again. Read 'em and weep! :o(
The Memorial Day weekend was a much needed break for me. Got a lot of housework done, rested quite a bit and watched the French Open. (I can hardly BELIEVE that Venus and Serena were both knocked out in the quarter finals! What is up with that?!) Had a great time with my dinner guest. Prepared healthy, non-traditional foods this time. No BBQ! Instead, I served mixed salad greens with fresh cilantro, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and my homemade mango dressing; roasted chicken breasts; beef smothered in mushrooms, poblano peppers, onions and spicy tomato/adobo sauce; Caribbean style chickpeas with scallions, poblano and sweet red peppers; sautéed sweet potatoes and onions in white wine; and mango-green tea with fresh ginger, orange, lemon and lime slices. There was also plenty of Merlot and smooth jazz. ;o)
I really, REALLY needed some time off. I was able to get a few things out of my system and thoroughly enjoy myself. But now that the holiday weekend is over, it's time for me to get the molasses out my arse and get with the program. Fa' REAL! My goal for June is to lose eight more pounds. For the next two weeks, I have to be in the office an hour earlier than my normal time, and since my gym doesn't open until 6am I won't have enough time to get to work by 8am. Since I'm not one to hit the gym in the evenings, it looks like my morning gym workouts will be on hold until after June 15. I will resume weight training and indoor walking on June 16.
Meanwhile, my plan for the next couple of weeks is to get in a one-hour/3-mile walk each morning, starting at 5:30am. That'll give me plenty of time to get to work by 8. And speaking of walking, I've decided pass on the 5K walk this Saturday. It's just KRAZY hot in Houston right now (and it's only June 1). Temps here are already in the mid 90s (heat index of between 102 and 110) and the humidity is ridiculous. Case in point, it's about 9:30pm right now and the temp is STILL 86 degrees! Not fun! By about 7am, the temperature here is already around 77, which is why I'm going to walk at 5:30a. The way things are going, we're definitely gonna burn up in July and August.
That's pretty much it for now. Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend.
Not the
average girl in the videos, that's for dang sure. Lover of
jazz, good wine, green and chai teas. Sometimes serious, often
playful, always intelligent. Strong at times, weak at
others. Decent looking on the regular, sexy when I wanna
be. Hater of BS and drama, minder of my own bizness. Still
not satisfied? Click here.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?'' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't
feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory that is within us. It's not just some of us; it's in
every one of us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
—Marianne Williamson
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design by DivaFlava.com (Uhm, that would be me)
Not the
average girl in the videos, that's for dang sure. Lover of
jazz, good wine, green and chai teas. Sometimes serious, often
playful, always intelligent. Strong at times, weak at
others. Decent looking on the regular, sexy when I wanna
be. Hater of BS and drama, minder of my own bizness. Still
not satisfied? Click 
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