I am the Caboose

Caboose is a funny word. At least to me. It makes me laugh just saying it. Caboose (Amelia rolls on floor clutching side). How fun that I get to be one! Arlington Road Runners starts up again for the Spring/Summer training season tomorrow and I will be helping out again as a mentor. I was not going to do so this season because I was a pretty crap one over the winter, to be honest, and I wanted to switch gears to running (I was the slow poke walking mentor). But as it turns out, the leadership didn’t process that I had quit in a February email so there I was on the schedule to be the Caboose – aka Sweeper. That’s the last person who makes sure no one is left stranded, etc.

For one day, that’s totally fine. I WAS a bit bummed that I wouldn’t be able to run with Dina and maybe Jim (Laura and Dave will probably be faster). But I will have all summer to do so if our paces wind up staying comfortable so it’s not the end of the world. I am psyched that Mama Duck will most probably join me in my walk since she’s cleared only for walking right now. When June rolls around she’ll be smokin’ us all with her speedy pace.

So we’ll see about the whole mentoring thing. I let them know that I can do it if I can decide on my level after next Sat’s run (when I actually do my intervals). I would probably join the Blue group since that’s about my pace level and they only have one mentor so far. I really don’t care as long as I get to train at an appropriate pace for me while being a mentor for the group. It was just a little awkward last time b/c I had my own goals but they didn’t jibe with the group I was supposed to stick with. As long as that’s not a problem, it’s cool. AND I get to be the Caboose for a day…

Have You Called Jenny Yet?

No. And she can keep on holding her breath. Boy am I tempted every time Queen Latifah comes on telling me how she’s getting healthy with Jenny. (Jenny can keep Valerie – too perky for my taste). But I want to be healthy! I want to be skinny! Wouldn’t it be great if my food was delivered right to my door? I could switch my brain on autopilot and zone out for a couple months. When I came to, I’d be 30 lbs lighter and happy, right?

I wish. That’s not reality and I really want to thank my Duck friends, and Jim in particular, for beating me about the head at this suggestion. We all have our moments, I guess. Although I’ve had success with Jenny’s program in the past, I *know* it’s not long lasting. Why keep repeating the same action expecting different results? I need to keep up my quest for a healthy life the old fashioned way – Eat less, move more. It’s just not that complicated. I just have to DO it.

So, if you and Jenny are BFFs, more power to you. I’m a big proponent of each person finding his own way on this. But for me, I’ll pass. I need to keep in mind that it’s not how fast I can get the weight off, it’s how long I can KEEP it off. Slow and steady…

Yoga and Enchiladas – Two Good Choices

Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing a few of the lovely Ducks at a Weight Watchers meeting. Although I’m no longer a meeting-goer, the occasional drop-in is fun. One thing the leader, Kim, gave us was a card with some words on it. I promptly threw it out because I hate extraneous paper. Very nice, I know. But the point of it stuck with me and I picked the word “choose” for my focus today.

Which brings me to the random title of this post: Yoga and Enchiladas. The first opportunity to put this plan into action was whether or not to go to yoga at lunch. I went! I feel great. Good move – score 1 point. The second choice involved whether to give in to my pouty three year old self who was so very hungry after yoga and get Baja Fresh instead of waiting to get back to work and make my TJ Enchiladas. I waited. Score 2 more points (one for making the lower calorie choice, one for making the cheaper one).

I did just suggest that Cute Man and I get takeout, a movie, and some drinks at the carryout on the way home. Hmmm… Well, I’m not much of a drinker, so no big worries there. We wanted to get Juno anyway, so I kind of don’t feel too bad about buying it. It’s the food, as per usual, that is my Achilles heel. I know that I have tons of yummy food in my future (Passover in NJ comes complete with unequaled culinary delights, no doubt) so ordering tofu and mixed veggies doesn’t seem like too bad of a sacrifice. I may whip up some gingery beef or chicken broth to throw them in to. THAT would be good. This would also be a cheaper choice, so if, I mean WHEN I stick with my choice – score 2 more points. That’s 5 for the day and I think that would be a good first attempt.

What I’m Reading plus MAC-N-CHEESE!

Here’s just a little sampling of some of the amazing info I’ve come across in my travels through the blogosphere today. Happy reading!

Check out these awesome pics of people reading Dietgirl's book all over the world. Come on Ducks, whoever has a copy of it now should snap a pic for sure and send it in!

Nora Dunn over at Wise Bread gets the captain obvious award for her compilation of travel resources that can be used as alternatives to buying guidebooks. LOVED this. It was a total "should've had a V8" moment. Why pay for info that's already out there for FREE???

Monica at Smarter Fitter Blog had a great post today all about how resistance exercises can be better not only for positive changes in body composition but for overall weight loss in general. I better get movin’ in that department, I guess.

I am drooling just thinking about the recipe posted on Cheap Healthy Good for Alton Brown’s Lightened Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese. Not only do I adore all things Alton, but Mac-n-Cheese must be one of the most glorious foods EVER. I think I might just have to stop at Safeway on the way home for some stray ingredients. I’m pretty much losing my mind just thinking about it.

Commitment

You may have noticed that I took a week off. I just needed some space to readjust. I’m still on track but a little bit more on autopilot than I’d like. I see the signs of flagging motivation and I need to revive my commitment to my weight loss goals. Debt reduction is barreling forward pretty much on its own. The only major thing on that front that I am gearing up for using a hefty chunk of my tax rebate to pay off one of my credit cards completely. I plan to use about $400 of the rebate plus $500 of my ING savings to just knock that one off. That will reduce the emergency fund back down to $1000, which is totally fine. I will probably continue to periodically use it that way to go towards my debt, never allowing it to be below $1000. After the debt is eliminated, I will allow that fund to grow indefinitely, so that it is a true emergency fund. Once I get to that point, I’ll figure out exactly how big I want it to be before starting on saving for a house.

On the other hand, I just haven’t felt really inspired to exercise. I am excited about it in theory, but in practice, I’ve been blowing it off. Not good. No more. I must get back to my goal of 4 days of activity per week. 1 day of yoga so far so I’m not completely batting zero. I plan on doing a couch to 5k run this evening which will bring it to at least 2.

In terms of my eating habits, I have been allowing too much junk to creep in. I’ve been tracking my intake (for the most part – I had a couple head in the sand days last weekend) but not making the best choices. I need to remember that feeding myself good food makes me feel much better than the crap that tastes good in the moment but lacks good nutrition.

So that’s where I am – past the “motivated” stage and in to the commitment zone. I’m so glad to have so many great support systems in place to help me. Checking in with the Ducks every day always gives me something new to think about, joining back up with the roadrunners will give me some structure to my fitness program, getting fresh produced delivered from Washington's Green Grocer keeps great food options in the house, and going to yoga at Tranquil Space keeps me loose and calm. Not to mention my fabulously supportive and inspiring Cute Man. He is on track and doing well! I have the tools, time to use them!

Penguin Tracks

Last night was the first official Turtle/Penguin training waddle. It was a success! Dina (of Dinatopia and DC Duck Fame) is the Turtle, while I am the Penguin shuffling along side, and she came up with these adorably apt monikers. We met at Union Station and walked 15 minutes over to the National Mall as a warm up. We commenced with the 3/1.5 minute (waddle to walk ratio) intervals for the next 21 minutes. We survived to walk back to the station to grab dinner. The salad and wrap we shared were both really good. I had never tried out the restaurant in the middle (Center Café?) But will do so again, for sure. I am dreaming of peanut sauce salad dressing as we speak…

Hopefully, this will become a routine. The added accountability and camaraderie seemed to help us both get the job done. I, for one, most probably would have bailed if I was on my own. SO glad that didn’t happen. It’s nice to look at my weekly tracker and already see 3 of 4 Activity Day boxes checked. I have until Sunday to get one more.

The Power of Positive Thinking

My truly insightful and supportive friends, the Ducks have me thinking a LOT today. First, I got a wonderful response to my first posts via email. LOVED getting those emails and would adore having a comment or two here! Then today’s thread topic was all about thinking positively, which went right along with one of the responses I got about my first postings. I DO need to focus on all that I have accomplished! I have eradicated $12,500 of my debt in less than 4 years (one year of which I made $13/hour for a time, then it went up to $30,000 annually – NOT good for living in DC while paying off massive debt). I have made some serious sacrifices and trimmed a lot of fat from my spending, including donating my car and continuing to live in a small rented 1BR basement apartment with Cute Man – things that you’d think would be tough but have actually IMPROVED my quality of life. I am much happier walking and taking the metro than I ever was stuck in DC traffic. I am so relieved to be free from all the clutter I used to have before I moved in with Cute Man. I simply cannot accumulate things that I don’t have a place for.

All this reminds me that positive changes have many unintended consequences. When I set out to improve my financial life, I didn’t foresee the other ripple effects that it’s had in other areas. By changing my thinking to be more frugal, I’ve enriched my life in an amazing way. Now, when I’m faced with a choice of what to do, I usually pick the option that doesn’t involve spending money (or spending less). It gets me out DOING things more than out BUYING things. Who would have thought? I know that I will remember all of the experiences I have with people I love way more than any piece of stuff I could buy.

If I translate this over to thinking about my weight/health, I realize that I would like to do the same thing. When I have a choice to do something active versus not, I would like to choose the active choice (just like the frugal one comes naturally to me now). I can’t say this shift has already occurred, but now that I’ve noticed the connection, I plan to let it take hold. The key is that it’s not something I have to do – it’s something I want to do to improve my health and how I feel. Just like when I first stopped using my credit cards, it was an adjustment to wrap my head around NOT just buying whatever I wanted, I need to consciously practice making the healthier choice repeatedly before it becomes second nature. A great quote about this is “We are what we repeatedly do”. I can’t remember who said it, but it’s spot on.