Thursday, 5th of August 2010 at 01:36:57 AM 
Please, just five more minutes?
Oh, HELLO again! How ARE you? Last time we spoke here, I was WHINING in a most unattractive manner about how my summer was going to suck in a thousand pitiful ways. Well, the good news is that I took everyone’s advice to heart, and I have determinedly enjoyed at least every other minute of my summer. It’s been good, and thank you for the boost.
And so here we are again, hitting another FFP challenge. And although this one isn’t as clearly defined as the “10 pounds in 10 weeks” one, this is absolutely a health and fitness challenge. So what am I to do?
That, my dear friends, is a bit complicated. The truth is that I’m a fat hot mess. I’ve been sick (although nothing as interesting as Gray), and it’s left me sort of run down and pathetic. My actual doctor told me to take it easy for a while, an instruction that I find baffling and irritating. Take it easy? What does that even MEAN? I keep trying to live my life the same way I always have, but with some vague sense that I should take a nap sometime, and that’s not working. I am TIRED, y’all. And naps just never seem to happen.
So here I am, all wan and hollow cheeked (except the part where I’ve gained back over half of the weight I lost previously), reclining on my fainting couch, pressing a perfumed handkerchief to my pale lips. And maybe taking breaks to scarf mint Oreos, the devil’s own cookie. I need a dose of healthiness, that’s clear, but I’m also supposed to be (say it with me) taking it easy.
Life is also about to get a tad more complicated. Like, tomorrow. My firstborn son, my darling, my dearest ungrateful wretch who is now 1.25 inches taller than me, is going to school tomorrow. Tomorrow! High school! And I have to drive him there every morning, at an hour that I prefer to allow to creep past me in silence as I drool attractively on my pillow!
So that’s my situation. I’m in need of an infusion of health, and for once I don’t just mean that my pants are too tight (although they ARE). I have a lot to take care of, but I’m discovering that I’m no good at that when I’m a mess.
So okay, here’s my plan: I’m going to go for a walk in the mornings after dropping my son off at school. I keep hearing how lovely the early hours of the day are, and so I’m going to give them a shot, even though I have always believed that attitude to be a dirty lie. A brisk, 20 minute walk should be energizing, don’t you think? And tomorrow it will be a lovely and healthy choice for me, staggering blindly around some track, weeping about how my baby is growing up and leaving home, bye-bye…
And then I’m going to stop eating like a college freshman. Sugar is my main weakness, so my goal is to avoid the stuff, and eat scads of fruits and vegetables. No more Oreos.
And I’m going to get enough sleep, damnit. Which means going to bed earlier, since Tre’s school is clearly NOT going to change his start time to a reasonable hour (10 is a reasonable hour. 7:35 is just cruel).
I would like to lose weight, but that’s not really my goal (at least, not my “spoken outside my crazy head” goal). My days are getting busier and more demanding, and I’m sort of wobbly in the face of it all. So my goal is to take care of myself as fiercely as I would take care of one of my kids of they were weary.
And okay, maybe lose just a LITTLE weight.
Oh darn, you’re back. Ooops, I mean, how lovely to see you all again and how wonderful to have another healthy challenge with such a big side serving of guilt.
It’s winter here and I’ve gone into huddle-up-with-sugar mode. I’ve been awful the last few weeks – reading till after midnight, not bothering to cook, eating chocolate for afternoon tea to get through the day.
I haven’t put too much weight back on, but I sure will if I keep this up.
So … a challenge. Last time we did this I lost more than 10 pounds in 10 weeks. I’m going to see if I can do it again. That’ll get me close enough to my target weight.
Isn’t there somewhere more interesting than a track you could walk? I’m lucky that our best coffee shop is a mile away, so when the weather cooperates (that means it’s between 65 and 72 with low humidity and the stars in alignment) I can walk there, have a cup of coffee and then *have* to walk home. It’s the only time the weight really runs away in terror.
I’ve been rethinking my goals. Maybe instead of walking from Hobbiton to Rivendell, we ought to walk from The Plaza hotel to Tiffany’s. I just put it into Google maps and it’s a tenth of a mile. Perfect place to start! We can wear last night’s gowns and eat crullers for breakfast afterward.
<3 <3 You are so brave. That forced death march when you don’t feel all that great is the measure of a woman. Just be sure your doc gives you the all-clear.
I did the drop-off-and-walk thing one summer and it was one of the best ideas I ever had. My middle child was working and I needed the car, so I took him to work at 7:00 AM IN THE MORNING [yeah, I'm not a morning person either] and then I stopped at the track on my way home. I felt better that summer than any time since.
May I recommend a book? I recently read “Women Food and God” by Geneen Roth, and then I read it again. The book has food in the title but it’s not really about that. Roth writes about how we see ourselves and how that is reflected in how we treat ourselves. The book came to mind as I read your words. I would offer to walk with you if I lived near, and I’d give you a hug.
Try to remember that it isn’t torture. You get to eat yummy fruit and other tasty healthy things, and exercise is getting you to where you want to be health wise. It’s simply to path to getting what you want!