My Path to Outer Skinniness

Good news #1: Yesterday was a good day. It was the first day of week 3 of the calorie counting challenge. I made it! I'm down 6 pounds in two weeks. Now I just have to keep it up. Good news #2: The second success was a good dragon boat practice. All of the issues I had before are becoming more solvable. I got wax for my paddle. I found out I have a renewal on my inhaler prescription so I can go get that, I got to paddle in the front of the boat which I really loved so I was really able pushed myself. Good news #3: I remembered that we had a very belated wedding gift from my parents friends Ken and Leslie Conachan. They gave us a gift card to Target. So I asked the husband if I could use it for a better bathroom scale and he said sure, so I got a fancy new scale. The thing I was most worried about was that it was going to say that I weigh more than I thought. Luckily our previous scale wasn't as bad as I thought and I am right where I thought I was. The other cool thing ...

Well, I was feeling so great about my progress and then my house of cards collapsed ever so slowly. I had the girl at the nail salon ask me if I was pregnant. NO. JUST FAT. THANKS FOR ASKING. This morning at dragon boat practice I kind of lost it. My back hurt because I can't afford to get it adjusted at the chiropractor, I couldn't breathe because my inhaler's almost empty because we can't afford for me to go to the doctor to refill the prescription. The boat was off balance so I had to lean to bury my blade which exacerbated the first two problems more. I also didn't have any wax for my paddle so I had to grip it harder which made me more tense and hurt my wrists. The last insult to injury is that I got seated in the back of the boat where the gunnel curves a bit and the seats are closer together and more narrow. The best part is that our coach filmed us today. I've been really trying to push myself so that I don't get cut from races anymore. I show ...

So far so good. The last two days have been a bit of a challenge, but nothing that I couldn't handle with some determination. I actually have managed to work pizza, onion rings, and beer into my meals! The trick is portion control and anticipation. I knew that we'd be eating out last night so I ate basically just vegetables until then and looked up what I could eat ahead of time so that I wasn't going too far overboard. Today I paddled and I figured that with a two hour practice (that I felt by the end!) I needed some serious recovery food so I allowed myself to eat eggs and potatoes with a piece of toast afterwards. I talked to my coach about possibly doing some one-on-one paddling so I can get better with the technique and feel more confident on the water. He had corrected me on something today that I didn't even realize what he meant for a good amount of time and I would rather fix those kinds of things without slowing the whole boat down while he explains it to me...

So, I contemplated moving my blog to livejournal, but I've decided that I've already spent hours configuring this journal and finally have it looking exactly how I want. So I'm sticking with this. I think I'm going to set a new goal for food. I'm going to count my calories for 2 weeks starting today. I think if I do I'll lose 10 pounds - or close to it. I can tell that I'm getting some tone from the few things I have been doing to exercise, I just want to keep some forward momentum. I've actually been eating fairly healthy for the most part. I found these really delicious chicken sausages that are only 90 calories at costco that I've been eating for lunches. I think if I can just watch that I don't eat too much of what I'm eating I'll be in a good place. Tuesday I paddled dragon boat practice without my inhaler. I felt like I was going to hyperventilate a few times, but I survived. It's amazing the mental conversation I had with m...

This video is from our second race in Salem. I'm in the green vest in the very last row. During practice Sunday I started thinking about Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink. The book talks about how when people reach an expert level at something they approach it differently when approached with a problem. It's because they know what information to discard, what's relevant and what's not. I think once you've reached an expert level at something (for me it's singing), you start to really understand how to analyze new things that you try and how to latch on to what you already know. That said I've been trying to find parallels in the technicality and physicality of boating that relate to what I know already and so far I have a pretty good list going. Here's what I got so far. Dragon Boating Singing Requires controlled breathing Requires controlled breathing Has you engage core strength to rotate and pull the paddle Has you ...

Well, after a whole day in the sun at Riverfront Park in Salem I can boast one of the finest farmer tans anyone has ever seen. Not only do I have awesome lines on my arms I also have the standard tank top strap lines and a sports bra scoop on my back! I will attribute these accomplishments to my not having a strapless dress and a wedding to worry about this year. All amusement aside, yesterday was a great day. My dragon boat team killed it and won the entire tournament! I was all smiles and excitement until I got home last night and started looking at the pictures my sister uploaded. Yeah, the belly roll needs to go. The good news is that spending the day with a bunch of healthy athletic people was really inspiring. One of my teammates (and I hope you read this!) told me about how he had worked his ass off - literally - and lost 30 pounds. He was such an inspiration! I would have never guessed that he had struggled like I do. I want someday for people to be surprised when they see ...

I feel like I haven't been keeping up on this as much as I once was. I've been in a continuous stride mode with everything health related. I'm not losing and I'm not gaining. The good news about this is that I have definitely adjusted my lifestyle around a lower weight even if it's not the weight I want to be. I've had two variables that have pushed me out of my complacency slightly. One is dragon boating and the other is the boy we have boarding with us. I have been busting my butt with my dragon boating team so that I can race in Salem. I probably didn't have to prove myself to be allowed to race but I felt like I did anyway. I've been giving myself mental pep talks whilst out paddling. Most of these are to the effect of "this is only an hour of your 24 hour day...you can breathe as soon as you're done....the strain and pain you feel in your muscles is your physical proof that you're going to get stronger" and so on. I've also...

Okay, so I had a bit of a lapse and I wanted to say thank you to everyone that responded. I was having a weak moment and was feeling very discouraged with my efforts. So thank you again for all being so supportive and responsive. Here's the update on the challenge. I kind of started it early, so today makes day 5 of my 7/30 day challenge, but to keep everyone on the same page we'll make May 1st the first day. I'm sort of going easy on the eating restrictions right now. I've continued with the gluten free for the most part. I did give myself a day on Thursday for having done it for a whole week without any slip-ups. Honestly I haven't noticed any difference in my digestion or my energy with change. I'm going to give it another week or two in order to be sure that it will make no difference in my health. As far as the exercise goes, I went to the free session of Bikram's Yoga yesterday and they let me sign up for the introductory rate again. So I get a...