Diet, Exercise and I Need Help With My Playlist

When I started this blog I said it was going to be, at least in part, a way to document my diet and weight loss–in the hopes that it would help keep me on track. If you have been reading for any amount of time, you know that I haven’t done much posting about this. So, since that was part of my motivation for starting the blog in the first place, I thought it was time for an update.

The eating healthy is going well for the most part. There are of course the occasional setbacks…like the entire month of December. My weight went up a bit over the holidays, but doesn’t everyone’s? I’m not stressing over it. Rather, I’ve thrown myself back into making sure I’m eating well and not indulging in sweets too terribly often. Even with the over indulgence of the holiday season, it is nice to log onto Livestrong and see this:

This is since August.

I’m also making sure to get in my exercise. My daily walks on the treadmill are becoming a bit tedious, thanks in part to my workout playlist. This my dear readers, is where I need your help! I am asking, just this once, that you delurk and give me some suggestions to put in my workout playlist! I find that good, upbeat music, makes working out much more bearable. Will you help me, please?

Happy New Year

For many out there the new year has already begun. There are still several hours here before we reach the end of 2011. I’ve managed to catch a cold, so I’m not sure I’ll be up to ring in 2012. However, since I’m not feeling so hot I have spent a lot of time lounging around and working on my new header. When you’re not feeling well, working with pictures of your favorite actor-in several of your favorite roles-really does help pass the time and distract you from the stuffy head and sore throat. If you’ve come by looking for the new header, it should be up some time tomorrow.

I’m looking forward to 2012. The needs that have kept me at home with my family will soon be in the past. Hopefully in the next few months I’ll be settling into a new job halfway around the world. My brother and sister-in-law told us over Christmas that they are expecting another child. So come the middle of the year I’ll have another niece or nephew to spoil!!! I have never really been one for New Year’s resolutions. However, I will be making an effort to get back on track with my diet (the holiday season is just too full of goodies).

For each of you who read this: I wish you every happiness in this coming year. I hope you achieve your goals, whatever they may be and I wish you health, and joy and many blessings!

And since so many are dressed up and going to parties tonight..I thought some eye candy in a tux was appropriate.

 

A cravat counts, right?

*Thanks to www.richardarmitagenet.com for the pictures.

 

Vacation and Backtracking

I’ve been out-of-town for a few days. Veteran’s Day allowed me the chance to visit my brother’s family. I don’t get to see them enough…especially when my nieces are 18 months and four years old. They change so much, even in just a few months. We spent the better part of one day wandering around the zoo. My older niece has always loved the zoo, she especially likes when she gets to say “all aboard” on the train. The thing that made this trip so special was that the 18 month old has just started using inflection in her indecipherable babble. Even though we had no idea what she was saying, we could tell when she was really excited to see something. She loved the penguins. I also adore hearing my 4 year old niece sing the Spiderman theme song repeatedly! Clearly my brother and sister-in-law are doing something right.

As much as I enjoyed seeing them, it is now time for some damage control on the diet front.  With the exception of breakfasts, we ate every meal out. Now, I know there are restaurants where you can eat a fairly healthy meal, but those aren’t the kind of restaurants we went too. Add to that my food restrictions… and it will be a long, long time before I want to eat nachos again. So here I am, a couple of pounds up, after only three days away. I’ll just have to pick back up and start where I was before this little mini-vacation. This trip does make me wonder how I’m going to manage the holidays. Anyone have any tips for how to NOT ruin your diet during the holiday season? I’m all ears.

I found a tomato free recipe for jambalaya, that I’m going to make for dinner tonight. If it turns out well, I’ll post about it tomorrow.