Well, I was not real anxious to get on the scale this morning, but I had a nice surprise and am delighted to report that I’ve lost 16 pounds. That has been a lot of sacrifice, giving up a lot of foods that I really love and a change in my habits. But I think it has been worth it. I have really slimmed down and am wearing clothes that I had almost given up on. Woooo!
Well, Susan got a makeover – kind of. She got a color and cut at a local shop and I think she had her brows thinned. Plus a few new wardrobe pieces from the department store. So she looks much nicer now, in a well groomed way. Let’s face it – she will never be pretty. But at least she is making an effort and they did a nice job.
With the weather finally warming up and nice, every afternoon this week after work I’ve driven home and spent at least an hour outside in my yard with my dogs. I have a long cable that is anchored in the ground that attaches to their harness, so they aren’t on the leash and can roam about the yard freely while I sit on my swing or do yardwork.
Today my neighbor saw me outside and came over to visit for a bit. We sat on the swing and talked about girl stuff for a little while. Jane is about the same age as I am and yet we are worlds apart. She was telling me about her concerns that the neighborhood is deteriorating and that she doesn’t feel safe anymore. But we do watch out for each other.
This past week has been busy but not at the hectic level that stresses me out, so it has been pretty easy to keep my resolve and stick to my diet. I have been deliberate about my breakfast and lunch plans, and I bought extra fruit at the grocery store for a late afternoon snack, if I wanted one. I don’t know if I was truly not hungry or if the sight of fresh fruit just wasn’t apealing, but I did not snack at all this past week.
So here’s the progress report. I’ve lost 9 pounds in the past 7 days. Without much effort and without diet pills.
I am thrilled at the thought that I’ve lost a little over one pound each day. I know that I can’t keep up this same pace indefinitely, but I hope to lose another 10 pounds by the end of the month. So I have 10 days and 10 pounds to go. Wish me luck!
I was curious about the lyrics that Susan Doyle chose for her song that has shook up the world. She sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from the Braodway hit show, Les Miserables. I found this cool scroller on the ST Lyrics site, which makes it feel like a karaoke show!
Last night I had to get my taxes filed but I’ve started a new tradition of waiting until the last possible moment to put the forms and my check into the mail. Not that Uncle Sam cares about me nor what time I mailed it. It was a personal dig for my own satisfaction.
After the late night news and toward the end of Letterman, about 11:30, I got in the car and took the envelope to the 24 hour post office. As they had warned on the news, the line for the post office was indeed very long. There were TV news live coverage vans and a local radio station parked on the grass and along the curb doing live broadcasts from the post office.It added to the air of excitement to the whole scene.
I crept along with the rest of the last minute filers, and dropped my envelope off at 10 minutes before midnight. It was an exhilarating moment! There were still dozens of cars lined up behind me – I wonder if everyone truly got there in time for the midnight postmark?
I got home a few minutes after midnight and fell out on the bed. That is late for me on a week night. But I felt pretty good about the whole thing and it’s one less thing to worry about now.
After doing my taxes this morning I put everything into an envelope, put a stamp on it and then set it on the fireplace mantel. No, it didn’t fall into a fire. LOL
I left the tax papers at home and did not mail it until much later in the day. It was probably a passive aggressive moment, but I decided that I was going to wait until the last possible minute to mail it. So after I came home from work, I fixed my dinner and took my time eating it. Then I washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, did a load of laundry, and took care of some emails. Then I watched the late night news, where they had a live broadcast from the city’s only 24 hour post office and they reported that the line of cars to get to the mail drop off boxes was backed up all the way to the Interstate.
So I guess I had better get in the car and head out.
Starting my day way too early but I can’t sleep. So I thought I would poke around on the internet for a little bit and then just leave the house early and have an early start at the office.
Thinking about today – it’s not a significant day to me or anyone in my family as far as birthdays or anniversaries go.
Of course, tomorrow is the day that Federal tax returns must be filed. Mine aren’t ready but they will be in about another hour. Maybe that’s why I woke up early – I should get those finished up today and then I don’t have to worry about it later tonight or tomorrow.
So yesterday I made up my mind to start a diet and exercise plan today and that’s what I am going to do.
Breakfast included a power shake and lunch will be a garden salad with broiled chicken and just a spritz of low calorie French dressing.
Dinner will be grilled fish. I’m going to stop by the grocery store on the way home from work and pick up something fresh from the seafood department. My first choice is usually salmon, but if they have a nice tuna fillet or even talapia I might go with a white fish tonight and save the salmon for later in the week.
In just about a month we will be wearing shorts and tank tops, and soon after we’ll be back in bathing suits. So my diet and exercise program starts tomorrow – I swear! I’m counting on some ideas from the EnergyFirst.com web site to get me off on the right foot.
I found this very cool blender bottle to mix up my morning instant breakfast. It has a unique design that lets you thoroughly shake up any powdered drinks without leaving any lumps or clumps that stick to the bottom of a regular glass.
Every morning I’ll be fixing a new super food drink to carry with me in the car as an instant and nutritious breakfast. I can have a different flavor every day and not get bored with regular diet foods.
In the afternoons I can fix a small power shake at the office to give me an energy boost and keep down my appetite until I can get home to a good and healthy dinner. The power shake will have fruit yogurt and a protein powder that I can keep in the break room refrigerator and mix up fresh in just a couple minutes.