Sunday, July 31, 2011

Snapshot Sunday: Simmentals

Today was a long, tedious and hot day of taking care of our first crop round bales. I helped my mother transport the bales across a set of railroad tracks to our storage area. At one point, I wondered, was this work worth it all? Am I really able to do this and help my mother continue to do this? 
Eventually, after we finished, I had a strong craving for something involving ice cream. So, after taking care of the hay, the dishes, and a few other errands around my grandfather's house, my mother and I sat on the front steps, drinking our root beer floats and watching our Simmentals graze in the upper field. In that moment I knew that it was all worth it.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Weigh-In #6 - Woohoo!

Okay, so weighed in today down another 1.8 pound, which I consider somewhat of a miracle due to the fact that I consumed Chinese food TWICE in the last week.  But I managed to bear down, focused on eating right the rest of the week, put in quality exercise time, and it worked out.  I actually learned a lot about myself this week because I was able to recover from some "bad days" and I was able to structure myself and plan ahead. Yesterday, I knew I would be making pizza for dinner. And pizza = me overeating, usually.  So I banked a lot of points for my evening meal.  Using store-bought pizza dough, I measured out sauce, cheese and pepperoni, and then added vegetables. It was not a large pizza, but my portion was filling and the points were not as high as I expected. Needless to say, it was satisfying to find a way to indulge in a relatively healthy way.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Luke Bryan was right - rain is a good thing!!

We have had a bit of a dry spell here in central Maine, so today's rain is very welcome. Personally, I do not grow crops to speak of, but my mother and I have a small garden that's quite thirsty.  Frankly, I think everyone should have a garden or access to some sort of garden in which they have to provide labor to help its production.  I grew up on a farm, but still, I never worried about crop production. With gardening, not only am I concerned about the needs of individual plants and weeding, but the weather becomes a constant reminder of the potential security of finances and food over the coming winter months. Although it's somewhat comforting to know that should the potatoes really, truly be lost (as it appears they are), we can still find spuds in the store. Yet, for farmers to lose a crop - there isn't a back-up option. So when I hear the soft rain falling outside, not only am I thankful for our plants being nurtured by Mother Nature, but I am also thankful for the farmers receiving what they need as well. As my grandfather once said, "You never realize that the rain coming down out of the sky means literally thousands of dollars."  In many ways, rain is a good thing.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Weigh-In #5 - Wow!

After a not-so-great week, I rebounded by sticking to my plan, exercising more often and it paid off.  I lost 4.2 pounds, and it felt great.  Of course, then I had an overnight work trip and the darn road trip derailed me for a day again, but I think I have recovered and will do okay this week.  It's been so hot and humid the last few days, I've been drinking my weight in water. I do believe I will also be able to get back on track with my exercise routine to further help with my journey forward..

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Weigh-In #4 - Whoops...

Okay, this week was not as good as the previous ones. I gained a pound and a half.  I know exactly how that happened too. I ate way more than both points allowed and activity points earned.  As frustrated as I was with myself  - and I did allow a bad day to develop into a bad week - I'm proud that I stepped on the scale today and weighed in, fighting the urge to run away and hide from the truth.

One major thing I learned this past weekend: it is imperative that I prepare for road trips.  I drove a combined 11-12 hours, and probably snacked for about eight of them.  It was not because I was hungry; I was straight up bored out of my gourd!

So this week is one to learn from, but it's also nice knowing I can put it behind me and let go. It's in the past. I've started a new week with new points, and can improve on my performance. Besides, I'm still down five pounds overall. Optimism is a great trait to have in this whole weight loss thing.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Weigh-In #3

So I weighed in yesterday, and I was down 2.6 pounds, bringing my total loss up to 6.6! I was especially surprised because the previous week included a lot of  what is seemingly "bad" food around the Fourth of July holiday (homemade danish, cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, breakfast pizza) BUT even when I went over my points allowed, I made sure to continue writing down what I ate.  To not track food just ignores the problem. Perhaps I had done enough other things right to keep me on the path for weight loss, but I learned that it is important not to give up on myself - no matter what.