I read somewhere, once, that cats have a better sense of smell than dogs... that they are better at perceiving many different scents than the canine sniffers... but since you can't train a cat or tell a cat what to do... they had to go with the dogs for rescue missions...
I mention this because my cats - especially Geordi (proun: "Jor-dee") - really REALLY loves the smell of menthyl - the stuff in Ben Gay or Icy Hot... that stuff. And because the disc in my lower back is hurting again - I thought the only way to workout yesterday was to put some vanishing scent Ben Gay on my back, then slowly walk on the treadmill so I could at least get some exercise in. Of all the aches and pains I suffer from - the disc going out in my back scares me the most - because it is THE most excruciating pain I have ever experienced; and when it goes... man, I don't even like to think about that...
So I rub some Ben Gay on my lower back, and no sooner do I do that than my cats appear - and let me tell you - their behavior when they smell that stuff is unnerving... they are possessed, little druggies seriously overdue for their next fix... and they won't leave me alone.
I manage - with some difficulty from trying to navigate a safe place for my feet as I walk among cats zooming in/out/around of my legs - to get to the treadmill and think "they hate this thing - they will surely leave me alone once I start this thing up..."
not quite so...
Geordi - who has never shown an interest in my exercise routine (I think it's a guy thing) - is pacing next to the treadmill, trying to figure out how to get on the thing; then he jumps up on the weight bench next to it - I can tell he's now contemplating jumping up onto the console, carefully calculating the distance, change in height, wind speeds in the room... Cleo - my other cat whom I call my personal trainer and does monitor my exercise routines - is trying to walk on the other side of me, between the treadmill and the bed against the wall (that the treadmill holds up) ~ where there is only space for her little body to get thru... and I realize these are now dangerous times...
Just as I said "NO" to both cats - and was still reaching for the stop button - poor Cleo panics about the small space she's in - steps on the treadmill and *ZING*!! is shot off the end before I can stop the thing... luckily for her, I was walking slow because of my back - and she wasn't hurt at all (thank god!!) but... poor gato!!! It just ended up scaring her... but it also brought into play that cardinal rule with cats: "if you must laugh at your cat, go outside to do it..."
I ended up kicking them both out of the room and closing the door...
And speaking of my personal trainer... the other day I was doing my floor exercises - working the legs and abs... and in order to see the tv better, I decided this time to put the foot stool up on the couch; Cleo thought this was pretty cool - as it reminded her of the pedestal she believes she belongs on I guess - so she jumped on top of that to monitor my progress on the floor. I tell her "now keep track of the reps I do on this side - 'cuz I think it's more than what we do on the other side..."
so I'm doing my leg lifts - all 3, 250 of them (or so it feels) and I flip to the other side - and notice... that Cleo is sleeping on top of the "pedestal"... I'm thinking to myself "if my left leg is skinnier than my right... it'll be her fault!!"
*sigh*
good help is hard to find...
Cleo would tell you otherwise, however...
I've noticed - since starting this weight loss journey - that she either has her own little exercise routine that she's flaunting - or it's her way to get me moving... I don't know which.
in my house - I have two bathrooms joined by a shower room - and when you leave one bathroom, cross the hall into my bedroom, and turn left - you can go back thru the 1st bathroom and in essence, go round-n-round in a circle thru these rooms if you want...
when I'm in the bathroom, Cleo will come strutting by, tail up, and throw me a "meow" over her shoulder as she turns to cross the hallway and proceed thru the bedroom, only to circle thru again, tail in the air... still strutting her stuff... with a look of "see?? this is how you do it" and she will continue to circle like this until I leave
first - energy levels drop thanks to TOM... then things happen at work to get me thinking... again... do I stay at this job that turned out to be a major, disappointing, GIANT leap backwards for me (been at it a year now) or do I pack up - once again - and move somewhere else to try yet again..? I can not tell you how exhausting it is to not like how your life is turning out so far... I'm tired of moving - I'm tired of new jobs - but this one is sooo not what I expected it to be. Where's that magic crystal ball when you need one?
Ya know... I think the trouble with being an "orphan" is you have too many choices on what you can do with your life. No ties to anything ~ so I can pick up and move whenever I damn well please... but then you never feel settled ~ which is priceless. So why not put up with what you currently have, you ask?? Because I don't have to... vicious cycle... being an orphan with choices... life is too short to be constantly fighting the Great Depression.
ok... I'm venting...
Time to refocus my attention on the treadmill or something, so I can regain that lovin' feeling I had just last week... TOM go away so I can do that!!!
So I told you about EB (Evil Bitch - my alter ego) and how she tried to sabotage me on Sunday...
well... she called in some backup... must have... because TOM showed up early this month... which would explain why I had ice cream for dinner the past 3 nights... and why my energy level suddenly plummeted
but I'm proud to say... I still managed to walk these past 3 days!! (3 miles/2 miles/ and today 1 mile - after 30 min of leg lifts/abs/and other strange contortions)
I always feared that when TOM came calling... I'd abandon the exercising like I always do... but somehow I managed to stick with it !! And I believe I have you guys to thank; I appreciate everyone's comments here - plus I love reading your blogs in return!!! I think ~ this place really is motivational!! And it's filled with lots of great people...
so THANK YOU!!! for being so supportive !!
Everest update: still headed to Camp III - only 1,717 ft to go!!
I decided to head outside today for my walk because it's 39 degrees out and nothin' but sunshine for miles around... in other words, an absolutely gorgeous day. And I had to hurry out for my walk, because as I watched the football game, I could hear Evil Bitch (EB) saying... "just skip it; you're muscles are tired... just stay here on the couch..."
"That's not the plan" I shout back at EB, so I grab my iPod, my lightweight coat and head out into the sun.
Now... as I round the corner - only a block away - to head off to the neighborhood park, I notice I'm alittle underdressed... no mittens... wrong shoes... EB is really digging deep for "reasons" to turn around. "You're just going to have to walk alittle faster to keep warm" I growl at her, fearing she might be right, and off we go...
so I'm listening to my iPod - with EB grumbling in my head - and the 2nd song that comes on is Tina Turner's "You Better Be Good to Me"
"hear that EB?? You better be good to me....that's how it's gotta be now... 'cause I don't have no use... for what you losely call the truth... you better be good to me..." ...I sing as I dance sideways down the sidewalk, one hand over my stomach - the other outstretched to the side... "you better be good to me..."
And poor EB... she didn't stand a chance after that song either: nothin' but ass-kicking songs to follow... like Born to be Wild (Steppenwolf); Born to Run (da Boss); Great Balls of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)...
yep: that shut 'er up good.... and I ended up walking for an hour... (so... 2 miles maybe??)
Tina Turner rocks... and that song... just became my weight loss theme song...
and on the Everest front: Guess I left Camp II yesterday - also known as Advanced Base Camp (ABC) and I'm climbing up the Lhotse face to Camp III - which sits at 24,500 ft. ABC is at 21,300 ~ so I'm currently 2,633 ft away from Camp III... and climbing...
it is usually about this time (2-3 weeks after starting an exercise routine) where my ego gets the best of me ~ and I overdo things that end up side-lining me for quite awhile... and I was alittle worried about waking up on Saturday after going hog-wild on Friday with the hour-long weights workout and 2 mile walk in the a.m. ~ I figured... there's no way I'm going to be able to move a muscle...
and to my pleasant surprise... I could get out of bed without calling the paramedics!! I COULD EVEN WALK!! AND... I was not screaming out in pain during any of this!!
but that is not to say I was completely pain-free... I worked out most of the kinks after moving around - my abs were still sore... but I'm most proud of my arthritic knees. They still have pain - but not more pain... as it usually does about now... I'm not clinging to the railings going up/down stairs as I've had to do in the past after starting to exercise... I must be doing something right!! Is it possible ~ I've finally figured out what "take it slow at first" reallymeans?? and it's working?!?!?!
But... as I mentioned... that ego of mine can get me into trouble. Can you believe... as I was negotiating with myself on what exercise I'd do on Saturday... there was a side of me (must be the ego side) that wanted to do the step workout...? and the practical side said "you're going to overdo it; you're walking today..." So ~ being a libra ~ I compromised: I told myself "self - you can start out doing the step workout, but if your knees so much as scream in just alittle-bit of pain... you stop..."
"ok" I says... and found that ~ not only did I make it thru the whole routine (well - up until the point where we take our pulse and since I'm still in the red zone on that - I stop there)... BUT... I felt really strong doing the workout !!
I must be making progress....!
So today ~ and I can already tell you that the practical side is ruling today and there will be no negotiations ~ it's just a walk... and tomorrow I rest (I told myself at the beginning of all this that I can always take Mondays off... if I want to)...
I think my muscles have earned a rest... they are tired... in a good way
Yesterday ~ on account of my scale's inability to make up it's mind ~ I thought I'd try out one of my new workout videos. It was a combo step and weight -thing by Karen Voight. Now... I have two other DVDs by her and typically like her stuff... but this new one?? what-the-hell???
the first step segment can only be described... by picturing a high school cheerleader, hyper because she's either drunk or on drugs, doing a random mixture of cheerleading moves, dancing, and jumps up/down on the step with no apparent rhyme or reason. After about 5 minutes of this insanity ~ I stood there with my hands on my hips thinking... "she's acting like a psycho-woman" !! she's waaaaay to hyper for me...
Fast-forward to the next step segment and finally... some normalcy... and the weight segments were ok - so I guess I'll keep the DVD... (I like that the DVD has different segments to choose from, so I don't have to suffer thru that first one, ever again...)
then Today... my alarm goes off at 5am and at first, I didn't want to get up because I was truly tired... but then I heard myself think: "you can sleep in tomorrow; get yer ass outta bed..." and I listened!!! what is going on here...? Is psycho woman rubbing off on me?
but THEN!
from god-knows-where... I'm driving home and I think to myself: I think I'll workout when I get home...
I don't think I've got a fever or anything..?
Well... so that Karen Voight can redeem herself... I pop in another one of her DVDs - Great Weighted Workout - which I had before and liked... and proceed to work out with her.
At one point, I'm laying face-down on the floor, raising my leg to work the hamstrings, and my furry personal trainer, (my cat Cleo) walks up to me and and says:
Cleo: Did you fall down and you can't get up?
Me: No, kitty... I'm exercising...
Cleo: Looks like you're just laying there..?
Me: See my leg raising up and down?? I'm exercising...
Cleo: Why is your leg going up/down?
Me: Because the lady on the TV told me to do this...
Cleo: You look silly...
and she proceeds to walk on and over me on her way to the cat food dish...
some trainer, huh?
On the bright side of all this ~ I managed to get within 59 ft of Camp II !!! Look at me go!!!
(by the way: I tried the scale again this morning and it came up with 171 again... so I feel alittle better about recording it yesterday... *whew* !!)
I decided when I started this journey that I would only weigh in on the 10th, 20th and 30th of each month... I don't want the scale to control my life ~ yet I want my ship to sail (my weight tracker on the blog)
so today... I stepped on the scale...
now...
I am not a morning person... but when I stepped on the scale, I saw I was down a pound... doesn't sound like much, I know, but it just might be my first honest pound I've ever lost. EVER!! So... I thought I'd step on it again - just to see it again... and that lost pound seemed to be back. Just like that... wiped the smile right off my face...
so I moved the scale and tried again... no lost pounds.
so I moved the scale back to the original place, and it decides that now I'm 0.5 lbs lighter...
is this some kind of "scale humor"?? If so... not funny ~ especially at 6 am...
so I decided to claim this lost pound - the first reading of the day - so that I can use it to motivate me to keep it off and then some... but I'm no longer calling it my first honest pound...
on the everest front: I "left" Camp I yesterday and am 422 ft down/up the trail. That's 978 more feet until Camp II...
Yesterday I allowed a bad day at work to get to me and I grabbed a big bowl of ice cream for dinner instead of exercise... I tried to reason with myself because I know I'm prone to "self-punishment" like this... but... I did it anyway. You win some, you lose some... and that's just how it goes.
But... I'm always curious as to why we do that to ourselves... we're mad about something so... we take it out on ourselves?!?!? why?? why do we do that? Drives me crazy...
*sigh*
anyway...
the plan I thought I'd try is ~ Tuesday thru Friday - I get up at 5am (despite complaining about it in an earlier blog) and walk on the treadmill. Then I can decide later in the day if I do more exercise when I get home... I figure at least this way, I'll have some exercise during the week. I historically do a poor job of exercising during the work week; I rock when I don't have to work that day... so I thought maybe... with this plan... I can break the evil cycle of not exercising during the week.
I changed my mind about getting up early because I listened to a podcast on iTunes (thanks to the blogger who mentioned it!! unfortunately I forgot who that was!! sorry!!!). This particular podcast was talking about believing in yourself with regards to your weight loss efforts... and that was kind of a motivational affirmation for me. If I believe enough in myself, then I'll do what I canto succeed in losing weight... which includes... dragging my butt outta bed an hour earlier to walk on the treadmill. There's no reason why I can't do that...
so... at 5 am I'm happy to announce I did make it outta bed... I did manage to get those shoes on... and I walked 2 miles this morning before work...
and before I go... I just read BellyDancer's blog ~ and I loved this idea!! I had heard a similar plan - to put $ into a piggy bank for each pound you lose... but I like her idea better!! So... maybe a buck for each time I exercise... and $5 for when I lose 5 lbs...?? That should motivate me...! Thanks for that idea!!
today, I arrived in Camp I on Everest so I am currently at 19,900 ft on the mountain. I actually went over the ft needed to get there - so I'll pretend I did a happy dance once I got there and used up the extra ft I earned... that way I can start fresh tomorrow (actually - might be Tuesday) for Camp II.
Camp II is also known as Advanced Base Camp (ABC) and sits at 21,300 ft - so that's 1,400 ft to go.
This is the first time I've tried setting mini, short-term goals for myself - even if they are imaginary ones I've tried setting the big picture goals before and found that I get impatient when I see no or slow progress towards that goal - then I get discouraged - and quit. So big goals like "I'll lose 20 lbs by Valentine's Day" actually serve as an excuse to quit when I don't lose even one pound in two weeks. I thought long and hard about why that is - why do I get so discouraged - and decided that maybe I need to try something different. I am, after all, making life-long changes, so goals with specific deadlines really don't apply here...
So... my new plan is to take it day by day... each day, I work out a plan and just concentrate on the day: "today - I'll eat a vege..." "today - I'll go for a walk outside" "today - I'm tired but... let's just try 15 mins of weights and see where it takes me..." and if "today - I don't feel like working out" ... that's ok; because the deal then is... tomorrow, there will be no excuses...
and so far ~ I have to say this plan is working!! I did some cleaning today so was on my feet alot - but I told myself that I had to work out anyway... I just had to decide what I'd do... I finally decided that I would walk 30 min on the treadmill - and then when I stepped on it - decided if I'm only going to do 30 min - then it has to be at a higher speed than yesterday when I did an hour... so that's what I did. I had, however, also planned to do 30 min of weights - but I really was tired so settled for 15 min... but at least I did weights!! ~ and that's what counts.
so - now I'm off to curl up with my heating pad and my book....
a couple of people asked me about the Roasted butternut squash I was trying the other night... and it turned out... ohhh...?? ok I guess.
I had gone out to find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn to find a recipe - and wish I had then used the roasted stuff to make the Butternut Squash Bake that uses roasted squash (see link in the Roasted Squash recipe)... or else I should have sprinkled nutmeg instead of the salt/pepper combo on the Roasted stuff ... I think that would have made it better.
Anyway ~ if I ever find myself confronted with a butternut squash on my kitchen counter again ~ I'm going to try the Bake recipe instead...
(and in case you thought I was making butternut squash ravioli - that I had tried - and liked - that was a frozen dinner -thing from Lean Cuisine.) I don't eat many frozen - already prepared things because they are all so high in sodium and I'm battling borderline high blood pressure ~ but this one is worth it. THIS - coming from someone who dislikes veges even...
It just ended up scaring her... but it also brought into play that cardinal rule with cats: "if you must laugh at your cat, go outside to do it..."
and I ended up walking for an hour... (so... 2 miles maybe??)
she's waaaaay to hyper for me...