Bullets: Reflux! And things on my mind.

• Period tightness strikes again! I had my first bout of actual reflux last night. Not just heartburn (which I very rarely get post-banding), but actual woke-up-choking-with-my-throat-on-fire reflux. Yuck. At least I know Aunt Flo is looming, and I'm always tighter right before. I'm sticking to liquids and mushies today just to make sure I don't irritate my stomach. Don't worry, if it keeps happening, I promise to go for an unfill!
  
  
• This morning we had a full staff meeting, and I had to talk in front of everyone (about 60 people) twice. I've never really had a hard time with public speaking, but I kept thinking of how nice it was not to obsess about how fat I might look. In fact, my pants are even a little too big! I guess I should have been worried about them falling off me in front of the crowd instead! JK, they're not that big.
  
  
• Lately I've come across before/after pics (none from the blogs here) of banded people who have lost around 100lbs and the differences between the people who really embrace exercise and those who don't is absolutely incredible. I know I need to start hitting the weights more, because I don't want to end up skinny and flabby! That was certainly not the point of all this! I need a plan and I need to stick to it. 
  
  
• Yesterday I was in class all day, so I had my trusty 32 oz of unsweetened iced tea to get me through it. Bad me, I was sipping through a straw and all that did for me was make me gurgle all day. Damn near constantly. Talk about embarrassing!

Oh my poor neglected blog...

It's horrible isn't it? And with the weather getting nicer, I'm afraid it could get a lot worse. I've noticed a few others out there recommitting to blogging in order to help get back and track. Perhaps that is what I need to? I am happy to say that I am back down to my stickiest low of 203. I was up as high as 210 at one point. Of course, that is when I decided to go shopping, so now the three pairs of pants I bought that day are too big (good problem?).

I've also not been reading much, so I want to send a big heartfelt thanks to anyone still reading and commenting here. You guys are the bestest, and I promise to reciprocate.

The truth is, I am not really committed to anything right now. I'm still doing WW with hubs, but I haven't been very good about logging my food for the past two weeks. I do have a good fill, so there's that. Every time one of my kids get sick, it throws me off my exercise routine, and it is so hard to get back on that horse. I have one more personal training session I need to use before the end of this month. Hopefully that will help me get going again.

I'm taking the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Signature Series class right now, and one of the topics today was a personal mission statement. Our assignment is to draft one, and I'm thinking I need to include something about my health and my weight; something to guide my actions towards that goal. There was a lot to think about, that's for sure.

Anyway, as usual, it's time to pick up the kiddos. Ta for now!

Them bones...

Today I was standing with my hand on my hip, and I thought, "What the heck is this hard thing under my fist. Don't even tell me I have some sort of growth." Duh. Hello pelvic girdle bones! It's been awhile since we had any meaningful contact! Weird.

Climb and February Wrap-up

So, how about that stair climb, eh? It was really really amazing, and I could see doing it again next year. I had a couple really great NSVs that day too. First, I wore a pair of sweatpants over my capris and didn't feel like a cow. Whee! Heck, the fact that I fit in a pair of pants while already wearing a pair of pants was pretty cool. Also, I caught myself having some really crazy negative self talk when I was around the 20th floor -- almost talking myself into quitting. I managed to turn it around and keep going. There is nothing like getting to the finish line after something like that! There are a few things I would do different next year. I would recruit some people to do it with me and I will spend more time training on actual stairs. The stepmill is great, but it is no substitute for the real thing!

 

Wrap Up. Not much different to report. Let's review my 2012 goals and my progress:

Health

1. Get to Goal Weight: 170lbs - Back down to my relative low of 205. Progress.
2. Give paleo-style eating an honest month (at least) of effort - Still doing Weight Watchers with hubby. It's going really well so far!
3. Set monthly exercise goals and track consistently (and blog it!). I think I forgot to set February goals. Oops.
4. Find fitness events to stay motivated to exercise. - Completed the American Lung Association Stair Climb on March 4! One down, three to go!
5. Take supplements daily. - Still working on it. I'm having difficulty with pills.

Overall: 2/5 is an improvement over last month!

Home

1. Paint and install old headboard. - Plans are made, but we haven't figured out a date yet. Weekends fill up fast!
2. Follow the 2012 Organize in 5 Daily Diary. - OMG, I'm so behind. I haven't done a thing this month!
3. Find a space in the basement to organize crafty items/tools. - Made plans with my mom to work on this.
4. Carve out a little office niche somewhere in the house. - See previous.

Overall: Making some good plans for the basement. Now I just need to act!

Work

1. Finish Service Excellence Certification - Classes are coming up, so we're in a holding pattern on this one.
2. Do monthly or semi monthly staff morale projects. - Nothing. Poo.

Overall: Holding steady!

 

Plans for March: 

I plan to workout at least ten times this month. And I need to find my next fitness event. It'll be summer by then, so I'm thinking I'll find a 5k to walk. My mom is going to help me do a mom2mom sale to start emptying out space in the basement. Then I'll just need to clean really well and put together my old desk. It's a start!

Stair Climb... CHECK!

BYOC!

Two posts in one day. Who am I?!

1.  Since I talked about psychics this week - I'm curious....if you could see one for free and you could only ask one question - what would it be?

I have school on the brain, so I'd probably ask if sending my kids to Catholic school would have them turn out any better than if they went to public school. Cuz that would save me a lot of $$$.

2.  What's your favorite ice cream flavor and topping?

Chocolate and any combination with chocolate. For topping, I really love peanut butter. And hot fudge.

3.  What's your preferred method of working out?  DVDs, an external gym, gym inside your home, classes?

The gym, all the way. I don't have the motivation to do anything at home, other than a nice walk outside. Plus, I love having access to all the free weights and stuff.

4.  If you work outside the home or if you ever did or will in the future - do you think it's better/easier to work with men or woman?  Who do you work mostly with now?

I work with 98% women. I would much prefer to have more guys around -- they really do balance things out. In my old department there are now 7 male techs where there used to be only 2, and everyone is much happier in general. 

5.  Repeat question.  Summarize your week in real life and in blog land.

Same ol', same ol'. Except for the stair climb on Sunday. Super pumped!

In blogland, I'm still struggling to get back on the wagon, but I'm also super excited for BOOBs 3.0!

TGIF

How did it get to be March already? And yes, I probably say that at the beginning of each month!

I'm feeling kinda tight this morning. I bought some oatmeal from the cafeteria, but I can't even choke down one bite. It doesn't really help that I don't particularly like oatmeal. 

Yesterday morning I went for a stress test, specifically a stress echocardiogram. In case you are curious, a stress test involves walking on a treadmill and the speed and incline increases every three minutes. With the stress echo, they take ultrasound images of your heart before and at peak exercise (yes, you literally have to jump off the treadmill and lay down so they can image your heart while it's beating fast). Well, I killed it! I went for 11 minutes, which puts me at above average for cardiorespiratory fitness. I guess all that stair climbing is paying off! My echocardiogram looked good too. No mitral valve prolapse -- I was concerned because my dad has it (among other heart issues). So, all good for now. 

Two more days till my stair climb! I got a babysitter for Sunday morning, so my hubs can come downtown with me. I'll make sure to bring the camera and take some pics.