It's a new day, a new beginning

One of my all time favorite quotes is from The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck, M.D. The quote, paraphrased, is "Every day is a new day, a new beginning. You can't change what happened yesterday, you can only learn from it and move forward." Today I am excited about moving forward.

Jeff and I went on a low carb diet back in January of 2004. I lost 130 lbs., and he lost 70. That's a misplaced overweight person between the two of us. I went from a size 4X (yes, 4x!) to a size 14. I'm only 5'2" and even a 14 is at least 2 dress sizes larger than I should be, but I hadn't been in that size since elementary school! So I was very very happy to be in a 14 for my son's wedding in September 2005. Jeff went from a size 44 pants to a size 34! He's 5'11" and was on the verge of being a bit TOO skinny, in my opinion... I do like a little "heft" on men :) No skin and bones for me to hug, thank you very much! We both worked out a lot -- a minimum of 3 times a week at the fitness center at Jeff's work, and I usually worked out at least 6 days a week.

Since the wedding we both spiralled downward. I don't know the exact amount I've gained back, but it feels like every pound and then some. Fortunately, it's not, according to my last trip to the doctor's about a month ago. But I have gained 50 of my 130 lbs back. UGH! Jeff has probably gained back 30 of his. You can see by the photo on the right -- WAY way too heavy!

So tomorrow we re-start low carb. Back to the very beginning and the basics for two weeks. Yes, we do Atkins. You can rant and rave anti-Atkins all you want and I won't believe any of it. My doctor recommended it back in 2004 and it was definitely a huge health benefit for me. My blood pressure dropped from 170/90 to 112/60. My cholesterol dropped 61 points. Jeff had very similar results. And my energy level, which currently seems to be absolutely non-existent, was sky-high. I miss how great I felt while on that diet!

I am excited about going back on this way of eating. We both love the food, we both feel better and more energetic, and the weight loss and medical results are all good. We start right back at Step One - Induction. For two weeks we eat only meat, eggs, up to 3 oz cheese a day, 2 cups of salad veggies and 1 cup of other legal (green high fiber) veggies per day. Even after Induction, we will stay away from all things white -- white flour, white sugar, potatoes, rice, and trans fats. We will eat lots of vegetables and proteins. Our diet will be high in protein, good fats and fiber. We will take an array of vitamins to ensure good health, and add fiber substitutes occassionally. And most important, we will return to our exercise regime.

I know how out of shape I am right now. It's pathetic, to be honest. But I do understand I can't jump back on the exercise wagon thinking I'm going to pick up where I left off. Starting tomorrow I am going to exercise for 5 minutes a day, 6 days a week. Yes, I said just 5 minutes. Why? Because I don't want to hurt and I certainly don't want to damage my back. If I do either of those, I won't exercise at all, and that will be the worst thing. So just 5 minutes a day either walking on my treadmill or outside 3 x week, and doing hand weights 2 x week and stability ball 1 x week. Once I get through that (both mentally and physically) I will start building my minutes up, slowly but surely, by 5 minute increments, or more if it feels comfortable. Once I can comfortably do 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, I'm going to go back to the fitness center for 3 x week x 45 minutes, then work out at home 2 x week x 30 minutes.

I can feel the same resolve I had back in January of 2004. I am going to do this and I am going to be successful at it. I am going to feel that high level of energy again! I am going to be able to admire myself in the mirror again! I am going to feel healthy and in control of what I eat again! It's going to work! There will be one difference -- as I get towards my goal weight (which I haven't determined yet), I am going to my doctor's nutritionist and learn how to make permanent changes in our way of eating so we don't regain this weight again.

So... it's a new day, a new beginning. I can't change what I did yesterday (regained weight) but I can learn from it and move forward... And that's exactly what I'm going to do!

Our Day at the Zoo

Not necessarily the best day to go to the Cincinnati Zoo -- the place was p-a-c-k-e-d! But Jeff, Brayden and I still managed to have a great time. For the first time, Brayden actually saw and acknowledged the animals -- up until now he's always been so busy watching the people around him, he never saw the animals. But today he saw them, waved to them, talked to them, pointed at them.. it was great. It was much hotter than we anticipated -- low 90's I believe -- so we only stayed about an hour or so. Since we have a membership, I'll take Brayden back once the cooler weather arrives.

Another day in...

Slept OK last night -- first time since Jeff's been gone. Got about 6 hours sleep, which is actually typical for me. I got up at 6am with great intentions of spending the day in my quilt room, but while cleaning up the kitchen and doing email, I received a call from my SIL and need to go pick him up at work and give him a ride home -- since he's been laid off. Sigh... No comment on that one is the safest comment to make at this point... So instead of spending the day quilting, I will pick SIL up, bring him home, and head to out to the Joann fabric store in Hamilton and pick up the quilt backing fabric I need to finish several quilts. Just plain off-white or muslin will be fine for the projects I need to finish. I feel so bad for my daughter, though at some point this is going to get old, I suppose. I know she was just starting to get ahead financially, and now he's out of work - again. She so deserves some peace and stability in her life -- but only she can decide if and when that is ever going to happen. Being mom to adult kids is a thousand times harder than being mom to small children. Even shaking my "mom finger" at her does no good -- or actually isn't even allowed anymore! She's a smart girl, she's fiercely indepedent, and she will do what is best for her and her son... Our opinions may differ on how she should do this, but it's her and only her decision to make.

Shopping soothes the soul - now and then

Finally got out of the house today and in my car for just a mini-road trip. Took friend Lynn down to Reading, OH to The Glass Barn -- an amazing hole-in-the-wall discount store that sometimes has great things, sometimes not. Today was a NOT. I did get two rolls of Mountain Mist quilt batting. It's polyester but that's just fine for baby quilts. It was also king size, and I can usually get 4 baby quilts out of one king size roll. At $4.99 a package, that will work out to just $1.25 for batting per baby quilt. Nothing wrong with that! I actually went to buy four or six new coffee mugs for the kitchen, but couldn't find what I wanted. I want just the right mug with just the right color in just the right size. Difficult to find. I came close -- I did come home with two great mugs, but the color is wrong for hanging in the kitchen. But size-wise and shape-wise they're perfect. We stopped at a thrift store just to see what we could see. Lynn found a delightful little tote bag/back pack done in very bright colors, with an applique Mexican motif with what I think is a llama, cactus, sun, trees and a little female doll in costume. I have no need for a bag like this, but I'm thinking it might be gorgeous to cut out this applique and use it as a center of a child's quilt. I'll take a picture of it when I get my camera back. (Jeff has taken the camera to MA with him.) I also picked up a yard of bright border fabric (.50) and two books for Brayden (.25 each). We went to lunch at the Red Squirrel on Rt 42 and Hauck Road. I normally love the Red Squirrel's food but ordered the chicken salad and it was typical made-ahead more-may0-than-chicken and too sweet. Fries were good tho. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate my sandwich a 3 and the fries a 7. Also, $10.45 for a chicken salad sandwich and drink seems a bit much! It's now 3pm and I haven't yet decided what to do with the rest of my day. Jeff called this morning and sounds like he's working hard. He did get time with our friends Paul and Jean in Maine yesterday, ate fresh caught lobster while sitting on Paul's dock, and then went out for a night sail. He sounded tired this morning, and was running late for his next vendor visit, but I could tell he had a great time. I miss him A LOT and am having a real hard time falling asleep at night without him there! LOL! Who knew?!?