Champion

So here is my exercise "progress" in September:

I went for five 45 minute walks.
I went for three 40 minute walks.
I went for eight 30 minute walks.
I lifted weights seven times.

In other words, I exercised 23 times in September! Granted, sometimes it was twice a day, but I still feel really good about that number. I'd like to see if go up in October, though. Hopefully it will.

I also have lost 6.6 pounds in September, however I still technically have one more September weigh in. I originally thought I had lost 7 pounds so far this month, but apparently I am REALLY bad at math. Oh well. At least someone else is doing the actual counting that matters (the lady at the scale each week). So a .4 loss would put me at my goal of 7 pounds. And I know that my weigh in will be Oct. 1st this week, but the progress will have been from last week. At least, that's how I measure things.

EDIT

It is raining out. I don't want to exercise in the rain. The last time I did it, I got sick later that week. So. I will just be doing weights tonight. Which is still good, just not as good. But I don't want to work out in the rain unless there is NO OTHER CHOICE.

Ready Prematurely

This week, for whatever reason, I've been having difficulty eating up to my minimum points target. Saturday I had 10 points left at 9pm and I was just not hungry at all. I made myself eat a big baked potato with lots of fixings, but even that still left me 1 point short. And then on Sunday I made sure to snack and eat a big dinner, but after the workshop at 10pm I still was 5 points short. I don't know what's going on. I've also only used 8 of my anytime points this week and I haven't had the urge to use any more than that. I'm not doing anything different, at least I don't think so. The only thing I've added to my diet is probably 2 apples a day...I wonder if the added fiber is keeping my hunger levels low. Hmm. Either way, it's something I want to talk to my leader about. One day wouldn't make me nervous, but two days in a row has me a little concerned.

I've only eaten out twice this week, which I am proud of. Holly and I went to the Chicago Diner on Wednesday. I had the vegan shepherd's pie with SWEET POTATOES on top. Oh man, it was a food orgasm. I also found out that the ingredients for the meat part were just lentils, mushrooms, seitan, and leafy greens. Healthy and oh so yummy! I also had some squash soup, which was one of the best things I've had at the diner. It was really light, because they didn't use any cream or butter. Soooooo good. I also had Subway on Saturday, again with Miss Holly. I had the sweet onion chicken sandwich, which has a pretty low points value. We ate it in the sun on this tiny little patio along a high way. It was pretty ridiculous.

Other than that, Dan and I have been trying to be really good about cooking in all week. When we feel the urge to go out to eat, we go out to the grocery store and customize a meal together. It's fun and we still feel like we've "gone out." We are dorks, but I enjoy it.

I've worked out 3 days this week. I didn't work out on Saturday, but I think that the amount of running around that Holly and I did should account for some sort of good exercise. I also intend on working out today and tomorrow, which will bring my total up to 5 days.

So my wedding is 7 months away (HOLY GOD), and at the rate I've been losing so far (10 pounds a month) I could lose up to 70 additional pounds by then. Of course, I am not going to set my goal that high because it is unrealistic, so if I could lose 40 more I would be glowing. Anyway, whether it is 40 pounds or 70 pounds, there are a lot of changes in clothes sizes in between. So Holly will be making me a wrap skirt for my wedding and we're going to measure it in March. We figure that whether I stay the same or lose another 20 pounds the wrap will help us adjust. I'm so excited.

There are so many good things happening right now that I just want to stop and be thankful for. I am engaged to my best friend. He fully supports everything I do and everything I am (or try to be). I can't say enough how excited we both are to be married. I have been asked a couple times if we're going to wait to get married so we can enjoy the engagement, but our answer is something we are both really clear on...we will enjoy the engagement, sure, but what we really WANT to enjoy is being married. We both really want to be married to each other, so much that we had seriously discussed getting married over Thanksgiving this year. Being engaged is exciting and special and fun, but what I'm more excited about is that I'll be married to Dan very soon. We have been together two and a half years and we'll be married 3 months after our three year anniversary. The wedding planning has been happening fast, but I think it has to when the date is less than a year away. We also both know what we want, which has made it extremely easy.

Other things that I am feeling particularly blessed about: Having AMAZING weight watcher buddies! This is the first time in such a long time that I've felt so supported, motivated, and excited about taking care of myself. I feel encouraged and loved, and what more could a person ask for? It's also been helpful to come home to Dan who is always encouraging us to make healthy choices as a couple, both in what we keep in the house and also where we go out to eat. He hasn't tempted me once and I adore him for it.

I also feel so thankful to have such an amazing cast and crew for Into the Pool. One of our actors last night said something that meant a lot to me; she said that she was extremely excited about the project because she hasn't worked on a show that made her feel proud for a long time. It gave me chills when she said it, as a company member, as the director, and as the fiancee of the playwright. This script makes me feel extremely proud, too. I love that I daydream about the blocking at work and have been feeling so inspired by things I hear through out the day. This show could be really good.

The only thing that could be better is my work situation, but I am always saying that. I know I am building my resume and I know that when I apply to grad school I will be able to say, "This is the professional theatre experience I have gained since college. See, I was working in my field, damnit!" But it is hard to not be making a salary and to have two jobs. I keep thinking that it is just 9 more months and then I will either be getting ready to go back to grad school or finally deciding to just take the 9-5 so I can really focus on theatre at night. That is the big decision that is forever up and coming. I will say that when I sat down to write my curriculum, it came so easily to me. And I feel ready to step back into the classroom, albeit a little scared. I can't imagine how amazing it must be to teach theatre all day through out the school year, to have the option of directing high school students at night, and then to have the summers off to travel or do professional theatre. I am beginning to think it is what I really want, but this school year will really help me make a more informed decision.

This has gone off the diet path. Oh well. It's important to say things when you feel the need to say them.

Engaged and aged.

Got up early and did the 30 minute walk this morning. It felt really good and I noticed at points that I was moving much faster than when I originally started. I'm going to lift weights tonight and then tomorrow I have the day off so I imagine a long walk in store.

Huzzah. I am proud of myself.

26.4 feels even better!

I hit 26.4 pounds today! Woo hoo! I have lost a total of 7.4 pounds this month and my goal was 7,  so I am awesome (plus, there is still a week left in the month, ha ha)!!

Another friend joined tonight, which is exciting! I'm really proud of her already and now we have a group of three at the meetings. It helps when you have friends to support, in my opinion. Now we can all gossip about what we eat all day (wow, it makes us sound so exciting).

8.6 until I hit my first "big" goal, aka 35 pounds. I haven't quite decided what I'm even going to do for my 25 pound reward, but I suspect an Old Navy sweater may be in the cards.

In other exciting clothes news, Holly and I are going shopping for the skirt fabric for my wedding this weekend. She isn't going to build the actual skirt until we get closer to the wedding, because I will have probably dropped a couple of sizes by then. But the fabric is the first step, so we're going out to the burbs this weekend to visit quilt stores. Hooray!

I didn't exercise today...but I'm feeling okay about that. I will be lifting weights and walking tomorrow and Dan and I always take long walks over the weekend. Aileen is brilliant in saying that any progress is GOOD progress, so I am trying to live more by that motto and less by the challenge oriented weight loss. 

Man. I feel good.

Wedding Buzz....

Weigh in is tonight and for once I am just completely stumped as to how I "did" this week. I am ridiculously proud of myself regardless of whether I gain weight or lose, because either way I am following the plan. But the week has just been odd so I don't really know what sort of progress I'll make.

I ended up exercising 4 times this week. I didn't sleep very well on Monday night so it was difficult to wake up early on Tuesday and then Tuesday night I had dinner with my Dad so that was out.

I also went out to eat three times this week, but two of them were to celebrate my ENGAGEMENT and the other was a lovely belated birthday/catch up date with Bernadette. So yes, clearly I got engaged this week and if I gain this week from the 1/4 of a margarita I drank to celebrate....who cares? But either way I still have to weigh in...

Friday night I took Dan to Killer Margaritas for our post engagement celebration! I had veggie fajitas and they were delicious. We sat on the upper deck and at first we were the only people up there, so that was really adorable.

On Saturday Dan said we could do whatever I wanted for dinner, so we ended up going to the farmers market and purchasing every good looking vegetable in sight! I made a huge pot of steamed veggies with just a rice pilaf.

On Sunday Bernadette and I went out so I could spill all the details! We went to Ping Pong, so I got the harvest chicken and vegetables with brown rice. I also had a glass of wine and some frozen yogurt, but I was still under my points by the end of the day. I am sweet!

Last night was dinner with my Dad. We went to Ping Pong (he ended up being to afraid of the Chicago Diner, I think). I got Tofu with veggies and cashews and he got the Mango Chicken. It's fun that we're both on weight watchers, because we were discussing what we think the points value of each thing we were eating would be. Dads are so silly.

Being engaged is crazy! I'm not used to getting this much attention at work at all and it is strange how people I barely know want to know every detail! Yikes!

If you want to know "how it happened" just let me know and I will tell you about it. I'm trying really hard to maintain the integrity of my "diet only blog," but clearly if the want is out there, I will blog about it.

Love you all! Hope you've had a good week everybody!

Just a little exercise update...

For the month of September, I've exercised on 13 out of 22 days so far. I've also done 6 days of weight training. I have gotten a bit faster and I'm also sweating more by the end of each workout. It feels good.

This week alone I've done 4 days of exercise and been able to really stay on point. I feel like it will be a good week on the scale, but who know? At this point I am just happy to be making progress each week.

Speaking of progress, my goal for October will simply be to work out more days than I have in September. 

Ears are for losers.

So I am reasonably sure that I have an ear infection. SWEET. It probably has something to do with all the running around in the rain I did last weekend. Man, being reckless sure is fun at the time, but it sucks when you have to actually pay for it.

I stayed home sick from work yesterday. I went to bed late on Wednesday night, but I literally slept until noon on Thursday morning. That may not seem that long for most people, but even on the weekends I am typically up by 9. So.

Exercise was null yesterday, as I couldn't find the strength to be standing up for very long. I took some "severe head congestion" medicine today, so I'm feeling a bit better. Dan and I are going to powerwalk to Hollywood Video tonight (the whole walk takes about 40 minutes). I also hope to lift weights tonight, as I missed it on Thursday.

The diet part of my week has been going well, granted it's day two of this week. There was a party for our wig designer today, of course I couldn't go because I had to "guard the phones." Cody said I could go up after she finished to grab some food. Normally I tend to avoid these types of events for that very reason, but I decided just to go up and see if there was anything possible. It turns out that Meloo ordered vegan food for some of the costume shop girls! I got a tiny amount of vegan paella and a tiny amount of vegan shepard's pie. I also loaded up on grapes. I couldn't finish the paella (the rice was weird, so I just ate the veggies and tofu). I ate the "meat" from the shephard's pie, but I didn't eat the potatoes. It was a good, but I didn't over eat at all. I feel proud of myself. So with the jamba juice I've had this morning, the grapes, and all the veggies in the paella I would say that I'm having a really good day HG wise.

My goal for this weekend is simply to get some exercise in on Saturday and Sunday and to control my snack cravings. It is okay if I snack, as long as I CONTROL myself. Dan is planning to take me on a picnic on Saturday and he will be exercising with me as well. I love my lovely boyfriend.

Maintain is the word.

I stayed in the exact same place at WI this week, which actually made me happy. I have felt paranoid that I was going to gain all week. 

The plan for this upcoming week is to do just continue on the yellow brick road. I didn't use any of my anytime points last night, which I normally do after a WI. I would like to get in 5 days of exercise this week. I still feel very motivated, but things have been going relatively well and so far there isn't much that I need to change. I do think I learned a lesson about fat content and that even if the points are the same for a piece of cheese and a piece of fruit, I should TRY and pick the fruit. And, I mean I knew that already but I think last week I gave in to small temptations (all within my points for the day, but all with a higher fat content than I've been eating). We also discussed trying not to set ultimatums last night, so clearly if I want the cheese I am not going to deprive myself. Cheese is good, man. If there is one thing I've learned from my best friend Annie, it's that cheese is good. Annie, I hope you're reading this right now.

Maximum Power.

This week has been going okay. It has definitely not been my best week, but it's not my worst either. I have exercised on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday, which is really good for my first week of trying to be back on track. I'm heading out to do laundry now and then I will be taking my 30 minute walk before I head to Pulaski for Professional Development Training. 

I used all of my anytime points this week, which I haven't done in a while. I wouldn't say that I necessarily needed them so much as that I found myself really wanting to use them. We'll see how it goes. With the exercise upped this week it may balance out and lead to a weight loss, but it may also just lead to a week of maintaining. Hopefully I won't gain, but I was a little shocked by my bigger weight loss last week and I tend to "balance out" the week after a bigger weight loss. When I say balance out I mean that if I lose over 2 pounds one week than I typically lose under 2 pounds the second week. And as it is supposed to be abnormal to lose over 2 pounds anyway (or to lose less than .5 each week too). So.

It would be nice to hit the 25 pound mark, but I don't think it will be happening this week. Maybe next week, though. 

wii mania...

35 pounds is my first "big" goal and I've been thinking a lot about what I'd like to purchase as a reward for this event. I've narrowed it down to a couple options, but the one I keep coming back to is a Wii Fit. There are numerous reasons I am interested, but the biggest one is that this little machine tracks your progress in numerous ways. It can track changes in your BMI, your balance, strength, and general fitness level. One of the biggest reasons I used to love working out on an elliptical was because every day I could see how many strides I was adding to my workout. Seeing the numbers change was a big enough incentive for me to work that much harder. With winter just around the corner, it would be good to have another option for exercise in my apartment. So wii fit may be the answer. I have 12 pounds to go until I'm at the goal, which will probably be in 2 months or so.

I've also learned an important lesson. NEVER GO TO WHOLE FOODS HUNGRY. I can handle most grocery stores when I'm hungry, as I have a lot of self control and there is never anything there that I could potentially be craving enough to purchase. But yesterday I had a progresso bowl of soup for lunch, which I've found is not very satisfying on it's own. And I had lunch at 12:30, so by the time I was in Whole Foods I was ravenous. I went in with the intention of buying vegan cheese and whole wheat pasta. I left with grapes, a big container of mixed fruit, cauliflower, a small piece of chocolate, a vegan cookie, hummus, pita bread, a box of tiny cranberry orange scones, and a wedge of spanish cheese. It was ridiculous. There were several points in which I could clearly see that I was just hungry and didn't need any of the things in my cart, but oh how I WANTED them. Thank God I had used less than half of my points for the day, because I had calories left to sample a scone, the chocolate, and the cheese. But it's strange how even though I knew I could eat them and even had the calories to do it, I still felt guilty afterwards. I swear to you there was a message from God on the chocolate. No joke. I had eaten the scone and a bite of the cheese and had tore open the chocolate with the intent of eating it in one bite (it was a SMALL piece). But written on the chocolate (I am not making this up) were the words, "Slow down, you move too fast." Touche.

P.S - the Vegan Mac and Cheese was SO good! Dan and I have really perfected this recipe. It's not difficult, in fact it takes very little time and effort. Here is how we do it:

1/2 package of Vegan Cheese (it melts!) - 5 points total
Whole Wheat Pasta of any variety - 3 points per cup
1 package of Boca Ground Meat - 1 point total
1/8 cup of soy milk (or low fat milk if you prefer)

Make your pasta the way you like it best. Cut the cheese up into tiny pieces. Once you've drained the pasta, keep the stove on a very low heat and mix in the cheese bits and the milk. It usually takes the cheese at least 5 minutes to melt completely. Prepare your Boca meat however you like (it cooks in the microwave in 1 minute, but you could also do it in the skillet). Mix in the meat and stir for another minute. Enjoy! Makes 2 servings. 6 points total.

Let's set some dates...

I've been thinking a lot about "progress" dates for this year and next. What I mean by that is that there are several holidays and events coming up that I want to use also as moments to really stop and look at what I've lost and feel accomplished. I haven't set weight goals for them yet, but as they come I'm sure I will be able to focus on what my needs for each one will be. They cover almost exactly one year. I haven't been able to think of any goal dates between February and July, though. I could set valentine's day, st. patrick's day and easter, but they seem sort of silly to me. Ah well.

Oct. 9 - Disney Drip!
Nov. 27 - Thanksgiving!
Dec. 25 - Christmas!
Jan. 9 - ITP Opening!
Aug. 1 - My birthday!
Aug. 16 - 4th show Opening!
Oct. 10 - Bernadette and Remy's Wedding!

23.2 feels good.

Back to very specific exercise tracking (for my own benefit, sorry readers, I know it's boring).

9.1 - 45 minute walk
9.5 - 45 minute walk
9.6 - 45 minute walk
9.9 - 30 minute weight training
9.11 - 30 minute walk, 20 minute weight training

9.12 - 30 minute walk in the RAIN

9.14 - 30 minute walk, 20 minute weight training

9.15 - 45 minute walk

9.16 - 30 minute walk, 30 minute weight training

9.19 - 20 minute walk, 20 minute walk

9.20 - 40 minute walk

9.21 - 45 minute walk, 30 minute weights

9.22 - 30 minute walk

9.25 - 30 minute walk

9.26 - 30 minute walk, 30 minute weights

9.28 - 40 minute walk

9.29 - 30 minute weights

9.30 - 30 minute walk

Drunken Glory!

I lost 3.2 pounds this week, bringing my weight loss total to 23.2 pounds! Hooray!

Also, I have 3.8 pounds until I reach my goal for September. Very exciting!

Dan picked me up a spinach, sweet potato and black bean taco from the Chicago Diner for dinner. He also got me a vegan chocolate chip cookie. Nom nom nom, it was delicious and nutritious!

I picked up some Mikes Hard Lite to celebrate. I haven't had a lot of alcohol lately, so I'm definitely feeling buzzed after only 2 Mikes.

My goal for this week is to simply stay on point and work out for 30 minutes every day.

smack down!

Last night after laundry I started my weight training regiment. I focused primarily on my arms, abs, thighs, and butt. I also did a lot of stretching, as I've been feeling a little tense lately. I've found that I enjoy doing this type of exercise while watching tv and since we have a lot of space it works out pretty well.

Dan and I are going for a 30 minute walk tonight after my Weight Watchers meeting, as has become a customary part of my weight loss journey. Tomorrow morning I will be going back to my 6am walk with the dogs, as I am finally feeling clear headed, well rested, and not sick. Back to 30 minutes, I say! Huzzah!

Perspective

So here is the revised plan. Aileen, you are amazing.

1. I'm going back to 30 minutes until I feel comfortable increasing the time.
2. I'm going to set my goal at 30x26 (or at one day off per week).
3. I'm going back to the early morning walk, because I know I have time everyday to commit.

Regardless, the weight lifting plan remains the same for this month, with my lovely man Dan as my partner. Wee!

Reset Button?

So the 45x30 challenge has been a disaster thus far. Since it started I have only exercised three of the nine days. I missed 2 days due to rain, 3 days due to feeling sick, and 1 day due to lack of sleep. Right now I see two options at my feet:

1. Start over! Tomorrow is the 10th, so I could make the challenge 45x20.

2. Admit that 45 minutes still seems like a lot of exercise to me. Go back to the 30x30 challenge until I feel really comfortable adding in the extra minutes.

3. Change the challenge rules to allow myself one day off a week.

Advice would be appreciated. I by no means am giving up on exercise, but I do want to create a new plan that works for me.

I've been really wanting to continue exercising in the morning, as once I am awake I find it really easy. I do get a little nervous being out so early in the dark alone, though. Aileen, do you have any suggestions as to how to get over this ridiculous fear?

Anyway, I've been on point for eating this week and have only used half of my anytime points. This weekend I had a much easier time not snacking, for whatever reason. I've been switching back and forth at work between eating lean cuisines and bringing a wrap. I've also been trying hard to meet all my healthy guidelines, so I've been eating a banana with my breakfast, putting lots of romaine and spinach on my wraps, and having at least one vegetable with dinner. I like to snack on fruit during the day, but only if it is really fresh and in season which is hard to find in the city, even at the farmers markets (in my opinion). I think I was spoiled growing up in Minnesota where apple farms and berry farms were always so close to our house. Sad.

In terms of progress, my jeans are really loose on my thighs and butt now. A couple of my tighter shirts no longer hug my stomach. And my newer red skirt (that I am in love with) slides down my hips now. I think I will see even more progress once I am able to get back on track with exercise, but for now I feel pretty good.

Theatre Chairs

Dan and I went to see Torch Song Trilogy this afternoon. It was good, but it was three hours long and the chairs were SO UNCOMFORTABLE. As a result, my neck and shoulders are killing me. It was nice to see Evan and Ryan, though. Ryan always makes me cry onstage and today was no exception. He is a very powerful performer. The women in the show were also pretty incredible and I'd be interested to see them read for our future shows.

Dan and I did 45 minute walks on Friday and Saturday. No exercise today, though. I was going to walk after the show, but the chairs dashed all hopes of that. I have taken three advil, drank a large amount of caffeine, and even put icy hot on it to no avail. I should have gone to a chiropractor when I first hurt my back, but I had to be impatient about it (as I am about most things). oh well. I guess you reap what you sow. I am going to do a long day of exercise tomorrow (since it is my day off) to make up for it and then get back to my AM walks on Tuesday. Hooray.

We went out to eat with Ryan and Yolanda last night, which was delightful. It was nice to be out leisurely with friends. We've been so busy with Blackbird stuff that we haven't really had time to just be with anybody in a while. And it was pretty easy to eat well too. I had a spicy black bean burger and a plain salad. It's nice to have so much support from friends. I also have to give props to Yolanda for her sweet Obama shirt. Obama 08, indeed.

So I don't mention it enough, but Dan is quite amazing, brilliant, and supportive. It's already been very exciting to work on Into the Pool with him and we're only in the preliminary stages. I also feel very good that we'll be at rehearsals together (with Ryan, Yolanda, and Holly too) because we'll be able to help each other eat healthy. I was already talking to Holly about how I plan on bringing fruit to all of the workshops so that there is a healthy snack for everybody and we've been talking about how we could meet before workshops to go for long walks or to get a healthy dinner. The cool thing is that the five of us could all meet to walk, or to dine, or whatever. We'll have to form some sort of theatre health club.

But back to Dan Jackson. I blog about him a lot on my semi private blog (that exactly 4 people read) and I figure that the majority of the people reading this right now have probably met him. But I have to give him props. No matter what crazy scheme I have in mind, he is always right there beside me. He walks in the park with me every time I'm not feeling the motivation. He cooks healthy meals for us, takes me out to healthy restaurants, and looks the other way when I sneak healthy food into the movie theatre. He keeps me in balance. If it wasn't for Dan, I would probably be out every night spending my money on scarves or alcohol. But he also is almost always willing to go do whatever ridiculous thing I *HAVE* to do on the weekends. And when he isn't in the mood, he never makes me feel guilty about going out without him. He's good to all my friends. In fact, he is going with me and friends next weekend to the Renegade Craft Fair to show support of our friend Holly. He's cool with living in Boystown and hanging out at gay bars. He loves Disney World and various other kitschy attractions. Hell, he is taking me to Disney World in October and has traveled to the Wisconsin Dells with me twice in the last year! Dan is just a very good guy. I feel really lucky. I like to think I keep him in balance, too. It's a good partnership.

I say this because I do feel very lucky to have such balance in my life while I'm in the midst of such a big lifestyle change. Because no matter what anyone says, the way you eat, exercise and choose to take care of your body is a HUGE part of your life every single day. For three and a half years with Damian I had absolutely no support whatsoever. He was a very apathetic person. And even though I'm sure he cared about him, he didn't really care about helping me. That really sucked. So I feel good that I can share and change with someone in my life. It feels good. Although I have to give props to all the other people who are helping me on the journey. You all know who you are. :) And as ridiculous as it is, I have to give props to my boss (who doesn't read this blog, I'm sure). At first it made me laugh that we were both doing weight watchers at the same time, but now it actually has become pretty helpful. It's nice to have another person in the office who is abstaining from the free food.

Have I mentioned that we actually held hands during a company party with cajun food? No joke. My boss grabbed my hand for support while we stared at all the greasy, sweaty food. We had an odd relationship. An odd, odd relationship.

The dust has settled...

Dan dusted our bedroom yesterday and as a result I slept through the night for the first time in three weeks and woke up with clear sinuses. It is utterly ridiculous that we didn't think of this after the second week of my complaints of a stuffy nose. Last summer when we moved in I could barely breathe in our apartment until we had dusted, swept, and mopped several times. And even though I often dust the dressers, the bookshelves, the desk and the window sills, we haven't actually done the blinds or the ceiling fan for a few months. So. Never again.

I lost .2 pounds this week, which put me exactly at a 20 pounds! Woo hoo! I started laughing when I saw the book. I am really happy that I lost at all, with only three days of exercise last week and TOM in town. Awesome! On a side note, I had set a goal to lose 5 pounds in August and I not only met it but surpassed it. I feel pretty good about that.

My goal for September is to lose 7 pounds. I'm setting the bar higher than I did last time, but I still don't want to shoot for 10, because it is a much harder goal to meet.

Also, for all you dieters out there, here are my products of the week that I can't live without:

1. Jello brand Dulche de Leche pudding cups. They are 60 calories per cup and they are a very satisfying snack. The top layer is caramel and the bottom layer is a sort of butterscotch/vanilla flavored pudding. It tastes very decadent.

2. Chex Mix Turtle Trail Bars (thanks Yolanda). They come in around 2 points and are probably the best tasting granola bar I've ever had. The chex mix is covered in caramel and there are pieces of pretzel and chocolate too. It tastes a lot like a candy bar, so I keep one in my purse now in case I get a sweet craving. They are also pretty big and usually fill me up for a couple hours.

3. Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Bars. Oh my God. These bars are SERIOUSLY delicious. They are one point per serving and on the smaller side, but I would compare them to eating a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. The peanut butter is incredibly creamy and the chocolate is very chewy, just like the real thing. It's probably half the size of a 3 musketeers bar, but SO worth it.

That's all I've got for the day. Now that my sinuses are clear the headache is gone along with the feeling of drowsiness I'd been dealing with for so long. Back to exercise, I say! Hoorah! If it is raining tonight, my plan is to do yoga, weight training, and perhaps some Wii boxing. Very exciting stuff.

TOM

Weigh in tonight. TOM started today, which isn't a good sign. It can add up to 3 pounds in water weight, which sucks. Even if you actually maintained your weight for the week, you would show up as 3 pounds heavier. Blah. Everyone from WW says that TOM weight goes away the following week and not to worry, and that it is difficult to show your true weight loss during TOM. So I'm not going to be upset if I have a gain tonight. I'm just stating it in advance.

I'll wipe my nose on you!

So here is the deal. For the past three weeks I've been dealing with runny noses, sneezing, and just general misery in the face. I am at a point where I think it HAS to be allergies, but I still don't know quite what to do about it.

I didn't walk yesterday morning because I could barely breath through my nose. I was going to walk last night, but by the time we made decisions about casting and called everyone it was after 8pm and we still hadn't had dinner. So it sucked, but I was okay with it.

This morning my nose woke me up at 4am. I couldn't get it to calm down. Ridiculous! And now I am trying to weigh out whether I suffer the nose and the breathing and just walk, or try to wait again until tonight! It's always the worst in the morning and it usually clears up by mid afternoon. Actually, I just checked with Dan and he said that he would go on a walk with me before Weight Watchers and before dinner. So that's good at least.

We're also going to dust the hell out of our bedroom, just in case that's what the problem is. The last time we dusted may have been during Margaret Fleming...

In general though, I hope this nose/allergy crap goes away. I HATE feeling sick in the morning. I hate waking up early because my nose is stuffed up. Yuck!

There is a weigh in tonight! I'm nervous, as always and thinking about everything I potentially did wrong this week. Oh well, for better or for worse it is always better to weigh in than to skip it.

Today was the start of of my 45x30 and it went splendidly. I start out by walking north on Pine Grove to Irving Park. I head east on Irving to the lake front paths and then I take the walkers path that veers around the playground south to Addison. It took exactly 45 minutes. I don't know if I'd feel comfortable doing it by myself really early in the morning though, because it goes right along the empty golf course (the golf course seems so eerie to me when it is deserted). 

This month also marks the start of weight training three times a week. For now I'm planning that I'll do it on Tuesdays, Thursdays and then either on Saturday or Sunday. 

There are a lot of mile marks coming up for me this month and next. The workshops begin for Into the Pool begin on September 14th. I begin teaching October 6th, but the professional development seminars begin in two weeks. Dan and I are going to Disney World on October 9th. I'd like to lose another 10 pounds before Disney World. It's exactly five weeks away, which would mean I'd have to lose an average of 2 pounds per week. I'll be fine either way if I don't meet the goal, but it's fun to think about. Dan has said that we can make sure to work out each day that we're in Disney, even if it's just swimming laps in the pool or walking the whole park each day before we start going on rides.

I feel good about this week. I made the HG peanut butter fudge tonight, which is an excellent treat to have throughout the week. Dan is feeling under the weather, I think I gave him my cold from last week. :(

Dan and I wanted to watch some of the RNC tonight, but Gustav has interrupted coverage on all our news stations. They are predicting that up to other 5 hurricanes may hit New Orleans this week, which is pretty damn scary. We expected to turn the channel and be horrified by Republicans, not tropical storms! Just kidding, all you Republicans that I know and love.

Seriously, though. I truly hope that there can be a sense of unity in our country again instead of all the Republican versus Democrat crap that we are constantly wading through. At the end of the day, we're all just people with a lot of different opinions. There are even very few Democrats that I've found who believe the same things I do. One of the best things that Obama has said to date is that, "there is a difference between the way the world is and the way it could be. Most people are afraid to look at the areas in between." Well, he said it more eloquently than that, but I really agree. In fact, if you were to look at Blackbird's mission statement, I believe you would find very similar words. :) But I do think, with this election at least, that we do really need to consider the big picture (what absolutely needs to change). 

Rhetoric, go!