April Fool's!

Hope everybody's having a good April 1. Is it lucky to have a check-in for HYC on April Fool's? Well, for check-in #8, I'm glad that I'm down a pound considering I only exercised for 1 day! But, I was good about journalling so I avoided any mishaps due to my feeling ill. I've still got a nasty cough but HOPE that it won't last much longer. Thanks to all for wishing me a speedy recovery :)

I was thrilled to see my tulips coming up. It was warmer today and it's been raining for a bit. I'll take April showers any day to get those May flowers blooming. I want to get to the gym this morning to do a BodyPump class. I've been good about cardio but need to focus more on some weight training. I can't wait for warmer weather. I also started WEEK 2 of the Couch to 5K. Should be interesting.

In celebration of April Fool's, I came across an interesting website--Museum of Hoaxes . There's some good information about the history of the day and also a listing of top hoaxes played around the world.

Have a great day and here's to a brand, spanking new month. My goal is to lose 10 pounds this month but I will be happy with any loss. Cheers!

Tuesday Check-In #7

I'm sick. I think it started on my second Couch to 5k run, week 2. I did it outside and although it wasn't too cold, there was a nasty wind. I barely finished that run and when I got home was already feeling the effects. By the next day it was a little worse. Easter Sunday wasn't much fun, both my mother and myself coughing up one lung at a time!

Needless to say I didn't think I'd have much luck with the scale. I managed to squeeze in my final run but did very little else in the exercise department. I was very good about journalling and was pleasantly surprised to see that I'm down a pound. I guess all that coughing must have burned some extra calories!

I need to start week 3 of my running program today but that's up in the air right now. Hopefully I'll be better this afternoon. I hope that everyone else had a good week and I'll be checking up on your posts throughout the day. Gesundheit!

Wednesday note: Well, I thought I was starting Week 3 but looks like I doubled up on Week 1! OOPS!! No worries, I did day 1 of Week 2 a little while ago. My cough is still troublesome but I squeaked through it. My days will be a bit off now but that's okay. Thanks for the positive thoughts and I hope that I'll be 100% soon!

Tuesday Check-In #6

Come on, has it really been six weeks since I've been tuning in to the HYC? Time really flies. I'm so glad that I've taken this a little more seriously and have been doing SOMETHING! After the previous week having been such a downer, I'm glad to say that this one has been the exact opposite.

I'm down 3.5 pounds and have kicked it up a notch on the exercise belt. So, I'll be giving myself a 5 pounds gone badge this week! I also started the Couch to 5K training program. I think that's what really helped in the loss this past week. I was going to go outside to start week 2 but I think it'll have to be indoors because it's RAINING. Well, I won't complain too much because it ain't snow :)!

Coffee Break

Well, the muffins are quite tasty. They don't have very much oil (they use apple sauce), yet are still quite moist. Just 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chips but it's enough to get a few in each muffin.

I decided against publishing the recipe but you can find it in Weight Watchers Simply The Best: 250 Prize-winning Family Recipes. There is an excellent selection of recipes and I plan on making more things from it.

Something I really need to do is learn to eat fish. I know how good it is for you but oh, how I hate it! Maybe I'll find one recipe that will make me learn to like it!

Feeling Fine!

Thanks so much to all of you for the positive and uplifting comments! I feel so much better. I did go to the gym and have even started the Couch to 5K plan (yesterday and today I feel it). I know that I'm ready to "spring" ahead now and make this a fantastic year.

I've been missing Katschi's food shots and hope that she'll be back at it soon. I was motivated by the sunny day to do some baking and as I was preparing my lunch, I thought I'd take the time to present it as nicely as she does. My lunch was a serving of my mother's AWESOME and I cannot stress this enough, AUTHENTIC Hungarian goulash. She will serve it with potatoes but my brother and I love it with spaetzle (Swiss--basically homemade pasta). I had half a cup of each for a total of 6 points and a nice big glass of water.

My girlfriend is stopping by later with her kiddies so, what to serve them? I had some very ripe bananas just waiting to be turned into something yummy. This morning I took out one of my WW Cookbooks and found a recipe for Chipper Banana Muffins. They are 3 points each and baked up beautifully. I won't have one until she comes over. I know the kids will devour them and the rest I will wrap up individually and freeze. I made 2 recipes (did I mention that I had LOTS of bananas?) which made 3 dozen. I'll do a follow-up post with the muffin recipe for any who are interested.

Enjoy the day whatever you may be doing. Spring is in the air and I'M LOVIN' IT! P.S. Decided to go green for the grass that I hope to be seeing soon and for St. Patty's day on Monday.

Tuesday Check-In #5

Well, nothing exciting to report today. I'm still up that pesky pound and am really quite annoyed with myself. I allowed the bad weather and hormones to bring me down. I was pretty miserable for the better part of the weekend. I'm not prone to crying and feeling sorry for myself but that was my Sunday! SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!

Needless to say, I need to get my head straight and think about what's really important. I can't let the little things get to me. Never mind about the big things like, say, finding a job. I have to try to keep it together and look for the payoff at the end.

So, I'm off to the gym after an almost 2 week hiatus. The sun is shining and gliding class awaits. I hope that everyone else had a better week. If not, how do you deal with stress? I should do yoga but that requires getting my butt out the door :)

Embrace Yourself

Happy Friday everyone!

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately (being unemployed does have the advantage of giving you FAR TOO MUCH FREE TIME!) Quite a few have had stories that dealt with body image--either the blogger's own concept or the one that society places on us, particularly women. I really thought this would be a good time to share a story about the attitude of some people.

After I left my job at Chrysler, I took a part-time position as a sales associate at a high-end women's clothing store. I worked (left the job last week, but that's another story!) with an interesting assortment of women. We were different ages, some single, some married, some thin, some average and some quite heavy.

One of the part-time girls shared a story with the rest of us about a customer she waited on. Now, I have to say that this girl is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. She has a bubbly personality, is very friendly and sincerely wants to help the customer find the right pieces for their wardrobe. If you've ever worked in retail you may know how tough this is, especially if you have sales quotas that need to be met. Well, this customer was not very pleasant. She was thinner than the sales girl but not by that much. This gal had a hard time finding something for this woman. Can't remember but I think she was looking for pants (sometimes impossible to fit perfectly). She brought the woman a pair of pants in a size 10--can't remember the reason for this, it may have been the only pair in that style.

Well, apparently the customer was very insulted. "What do these designer's think, that we're all obese and wearing size 10's or bigger?" OBESE?!?!?!?!?!?!? Well, this poor girl was stunned. "I'm a size 10. You think that I'm obese?" The woman didn't even have the decency to apologize and just walked away, looking just the tiniest bit embarassed by her comment. Believe me, plenty of people would LOVE to look like our size 10 sales girl.

What do you say to people who have the attitude that a normal size 10 is obese? Where did they get the notion that that is an abnormal size? Is it from the mags that show models who are wearing size 0's? COME ON, who wants to be a size 0?

I think it's important to remember why we're doing this challenge, whether we're trying to lose a pesky 5-20 pounds or a seemingly insurmountable number like 100-200 pounds. We want to be healthy! We want to feel good about ourselves when we go out with family and friends. We want to be able to shop for clothes and feel good when we put them on. Reason after reason after reason for why we're doing this.

Don't let people like that woman bring you down. Love yourself and know that you will get to a place you need to be. If you're a size 2--fabulous! If you're a 12--hey, good for you! If you're a 16--fantastic! It's not about numbers, it's about feeling healthy and loving you for who you are.

Embrace your curves and look forward to spring and summer no matter what size you are!

Love and well wishes always!

Tuesday Check-In #4

Well, TOM'S visiting this week and that's always a cause for a bit of anxiety. I'm glad to say that it's only an increase of 1 pound rather than the usual 3-5. WHEW!! I need to visit the gym more this week. My 2 shovelling sessions of last week really hurt me so one more time--I'm ready for Spring!!!

Here's a cute joke for today. Enjoy!

MISSING HUSBAND
Rick was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was really angry. She told him 'Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in less than 6 seconds, AND IT BETTER BE THERE!!' The next morning Rick got up early and left for work. When his wife woke up she looked out the window and sure enough there was a box gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway. Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway, and brought the box back in the house. She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale. Rick has been missing since Friday. Please pray for him.

My Other Blog

If anybody wants a dose of non-diet blogging, I've got another link--at the left--to Musings. I started it because my original intention for blogging was to write down my thoughts on a variety of interests. Book and movie reviews, music, current events...

It finally gives me the chance to write again. Readers and critiques are always encouraged!

March 1

Well, March came in like a lion. More shovelling was in store for us as we got up this morning. Fortunately, it's a bright sunny day and warmer than it has been.

I just wanted to share that I did not get the job I had the interview for last week. I was a little disappointed because I know it's the kind of job that I could easily do but, I'm also a bit relieved because it's not something I really WANTED to do. It's like the guy you start to see after a major relationship ends and just before a new one starts!

I'm glad that I started the Healthy You Challenge because there is definitely room for a lot of improvement there but now I have a different challenge to add to that one--finding a job I really love. How fantastic it must be for people to get up in the morning and look forward to the day ahead! That is what I want for myself and anyone else out there.

Thanks for the support and until Tuesday check-in, have a great weekend.