Ahhhh Football Season begins

Well, last night was the first pre-season game and we decided to stay home and watch it rather than go out. We haven't gotten the pre-season games since we moved out to the eastern shore -- something that has bothered us both enormously. But every year we try and this year, lo and behold, we're able to watch the game at home! Yay!

We were very curious to watch our Redskins to see if all the changes (AGAIN) paid off THIS TIME. I know pre-season games aren't really much more than exhibitions for the coaches to pick the starting line-up, but you know, we haven't had a fun football game in a LONG time, pre-season or otherwise, and last night was fun! They were actually playing football! They were passing and catching and tackling and blocking! It was awesome! It gives me hope for the regular season. I know you don't get to the Super Bowl in one season after changing things as much as the Redskins have, but I'm hopeful that I won't be embarrassed to be a Redskins fan this year. Just don't humiliate me boys. That's all I ask. For now, I'm actually looking forward to next week's game.

I'm still sticking to my new routine and it's great. I'm feeling really good. Even my golf game has improved -- probably because my belly isn't in the way. Like I've said before. I'll never be tiny, but I'm smaller and it feels good. And my blood pressure has been awesome. My doctor had added a third medication to control it this past winter and my asthma caused us to drop one of them, but it doesn't matter now because my numbers are better than they were before on just 2 meds, so I'm good! And, my weight is still trickling down. I'm almost down to 160 lbs. I haven't gone shopping for clothes, but I might be close to a size 12 which would be wonderful. I will definitely need slacks for work this winter. I think I only have 3 pair of pants that fit right now. It's so much fun to get back into clothes that I haven't been able to get into for years. I don't even know why I kept them, but I did, and it's just plain fun to put them on. It makes me smile every time.

And, for me, it's all about exercise. No one can really loose weight with just diet. And I definitely can't. First of all, it's boring to eat the way you have to eat when you do it via food alone. But it's also about the metabolism, and the only way to rev up your metabolism is to build more muscle -- can't do that through diet alone. I am way more toned than I've been in a really long time, maybe ever, actually. As a runner, I burned a lot of calories, but running doesn't tone you. I think the exercise videos that I have that combine light weights with exercise, have been incredibly effective for me. And, as a result, I don't have to eat like I live in a refugee camp. I really do eat. My body is just using it.

Who knows. Maybe I could be a size 6 if I also ate less, but I'm not that interested in being a size 6. I just didn't want to feel like a blob -- and I don't anymore. :-)

One day at a time

I'm still plugging along. Eating less bread (a lot less bread). Not snacking (mostly). Exercising daily. Remember, I'm not on a diet per se. I've adjusted/corrected my eating habits. I've lost about 16 lbs and it hasn't been bad. This week has been more difficult because my "why am I doing this" attitude tried to come back. I guess I'm going to always struggle with that. I didn't used to, but I think this side of the hill makes those thoughts inevitable. But I keep telling myself that even though I won't be a size 8, I am already feeling better and that's worth a lot.

It's disappointing that no one can tell that I've lost weight, but I definitely notice. I no longer feel like I'm going to explode out of my slacks and I'm able to wear some pants that I had to stop wearing. And I guess that explains why no one can tell ... I'm wearing the same clothes. I haven't lost enough to drop a size, I'm just able to wear my existing clothes again and not feel terrified of an embarrassing moment, but they are definitely loose now. So I have to stay focussed on the positive.

I'm still fighting the perpetual cough. All the various medications that have been prescribed have helped, but it hasn't gone away. I've been coughing more this week and it's frustrating my husband because he went out and bought better filters for the house vents and a couple of air purifiers to help reduce the pet dander, and I seem to be coughing more this week. I can't explain it.

I decided to try a home-grown remedy since modern science isn't quite doing the job. I got some apple cider vinegar and fresh, local honey to mix with hot water and sip in the morning and evening in an effort to get rid of it. We'll see how it goes. It won't hurt and, who knows, it might help. It's a generally good-for-you kinda of tonic anyway, so what the hell.

So I continue to fight the loosing battle of the wrong side of the bell curve. The positive results give me the illusion that I'm winning the battle. I know there's no way to WIN the battle. Aging is aging ... no getting around it. So, even though I can't change that fact, I can make the journey less miserable. That's all any of us can do. So in that sense, I guess I'm winning. :-)

Glutino?

I have had this persistent/chronic cough since I had bronchitis at the beginning of November. The latest plan is to treat it as "adult onset asthma", so I have an inhaler and a new allergy medication in addition to my blood pressure meds. If this doesn't get rid of the cough, then we (my doctor and I) will try taking me off of lisinopril and try something else for the blood pressure because one of the common side effects of lisinopril is a persistent cough.

The reason we didn't change the BP medication first is because the cough isn't a dry, tickle kind of cough; it's a productive cough.

I got to thinking, I wonder, if with everything else that's going to pot on me these days, could wheat/gluten be becoming an issue for me. It's odd that I would love something that makes me ill, but it fits with the other craziness going on with my body any more. Although, I HAVE dramatically reduced my bread intake, I am still having bread. Mostly whole grain, but that's the not the same as gluten free.

When I was in the grocery store, I saw a cereal called "Glutino" in the "natural/organic" aisle. It looked like gluten-free cheerios, so I got it to try. It's actually pretty tasty. I guess the only real way to know if I have developed an issue with gluten, is to stop eating foods that contain gluten, but I don't think that's very likely. I'm not THAT miserable. Certainly not miserable enough to go that far ... unless nothing else works I guess. If I have to go that route, fortunately the health food grocery stores have gluten free bread options. We'll see.

In the mean time, I'm staying pretty much on track with my eating plan and I have increased my exercise in an effort to pump up my metabolism. I'll never be a bony ass with my little program ... I've always been a sturdy girl. But I'd be delighted if eating this way knocked off 20 pounds or so. That's not asking tooooo much, is it?

Good football weekend

It was a busy weekend. I visited my mom near D.C. We babysat our grandson while the kids helped friends paint some rooms in their new house. And we watched a lot of football.

I took my new Wii to my mom's house to show my mom and sister. Mom thought it was interesting, but wasn't interested enough to try it -- she is 83. But I thought she might try the bowling. My sister really seemed to get into it. I wonder if I can get a commission from Nintendo for sales that I make? :-)

Though the weekend was fun, it was far from anything you'd eat on a diet, but since I'm not on a diet, it's all good. 3 glasses of wine at mom's house. Buttered popcorn with football (not ALL of the games -- just one). And eating with a 3 year old rarely consititutes healthy eating. But, I don't think I went nuts either, so I'm feeling pretty ok about it. Afterall, I'm not on a diet ... I'm in the process of changing my eating habits as part of a general lifestyle change/improvement.

Even though I'm thinking about and talking about food constantly, I am trying to not think of what I'm doing as a diet. It's a quality of life issue for me. I had managed to let myself go to where I just wasn't feeling good about myself or even just good in general. I'm not a candidate for "The Biggest Looser", I'm just slipping into the next size and I don't want to go. Ergo, changes need to be made. Baby steps.

Finally!

The universe threw me a bone and I actually lost a few pounds. Woo hoo. I think I will start weighing "in" on Fridays instead of Mondays. :-)

I do well during the day, but still find myself hungry in the evenings. Hopefully, that feeling will eventually go away -- I'll just get used to this being the amount of food that I eat. It's only been 2 weeks afterall.

All-in-all, it hasn't been too difficult. My eating habits are/were not that bad as far as what I ate. Apparently, quantity was more of an issue than I realized. I have to make concious decisions about stopping and not having some things -- like unlimited amounts of bread. I do love bread. I wonder what weight these eating habits will take me to?

Of course, I've also re-engergized my workouts. I had really slacked off this past year (or more) -- since I hurt my knee I guess. That started the pity party. But the Wii makes it fun and I'm really liking the new video I got recently -- Denise Austin's Boot Camp workout. I am actually feeling better even though it's only been a few pounds.

Gotta keep it going.

More changes ... not in a good way

I've noticed that my skin seems to scratch/break easier. I guess the loss of collogen or whatever, that affects the elasticity. You see it in "older" folks all the time, but I guess I never thought about when it begins. Let's face it, you don't wake up one day and all at once have thin skin. So I'm thinking it begins like this. You start noticing more nicks and scratches. It's not noticeable to anyone but me at this point, so I won't loose sleep over it. It's just another annoyance that this side of the hill/bell curve offers that the other side doesn't. Oh joy.

And this chronic cough, that seems to have been a gift remaining from a bout of bronchitis that I had last fall, just won't go away. I don't know if, in addition to all my other complaints, this has turned into asthma, but the doctors don't have a better idea at this point. I guess it's back to my primary care group to see what other ideas they have.

I did well on my new regimen again today. I'm hungry right now, but I guess that's not avoidable. I am eating less after all. Hopefully, my body will adjust to the new portions and stop being hungry. Apparently, that doesn't happen in a week. There really isn't any reason for me to be hungry. I ate more than any diet would allow, but I ate a lot less than I normally do. And that's all I'm planning to do -- all I'm willing to do. I haven't gotten get rid of my entire "I don't give a crap" attitude. I do want to enjoy meals. I don't want to count calories and live on teeny, packaged portions for the rest of my life. I am willing to cut back on how much I eat and indulge less often. That's reasonable.

I worked out this morning and had a walk at lunch at work. I might play a little tennis later this evening. The trick will be to stick with this for more than a few weeks. I usually manage to be "good" for a month or so and then, when the pounds don't melt the way I think they should, I give up in disgust. I have to remember that I'm not 20 anymore. Nothing about this body works the way it used to. Since I don't really consider this a diet ... just a diet change, I'm trying not to obsess about the weight part. Though you can't tell it from reading this blog. But I don't get on the scale every morning or multiple times a day like I usually do.

So I continue on my slide down the hill, but trying to slow the slide down a little.