I went to bed at 9:30 last night, and when I automatically woke up at 6 AM today, it all came back to me -- ahhh yes, THIS is how we travel for work. I threw on workout clothes immediately; texted with The Hubs for a bit (he was up very early because the plumber was there doing some remaining bathroom work); grabbed a cup of Peet's coffee and hit the pavement.
The elevation made it too tough to run, but I walked for a good 60-75 minutes... exploring the city my favorite way -- on foot.
Yogurt parfait for breakfast; greek salad w/ chicken breast for lunch... trail mix of almonds w/ cranberries & sunflower seeds for snacks, and now we're off to dinner - I'm thinking tomato salad & the scallops. It's a vendor-funded dinner, so I know the cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and desserts will be plentiful... need to remember to stay mindful of the bigger picture and not screw up the progress made today. Our flight is at 9 AM tomorrow, and then we have another heavy business dinner tomorrow night - in Washington DC.
Off and running,
~Jessica
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Winded In The Mile High City
So, I'm in Denver -- a place I've been a half dozen times before, but not for years.
The last time I was in Denver, I was here visiting one of my best friends (who later would be my maid of honor), with our other college friends.
The day before I left for that girls weekend, I attended a Weight Watchers meeting where I not only earned my 50 lbs lost magnet, but entered the enviable "Onederland" again for the first time in... I don't know how long.
It was a huge victory for me, and the only thing bigger than my pride was the smile on my face in all the pictures we took that weekend - pictures I didn't hide from or shrink away from or spend long moments positioning myself "just right" for.
If there's something you can set your clock by -- it's that when I'm feeling good about my body, you can't get me off the stage / away from the camera, and when I'm not, I pretty much make you feel like an asshole for trying to take my picture.
Sorry -- I know it isn't your fault, and i know it isn't nice, but it is true. It's not you -- it's me.
Lately the camera and mirrors and I have not been friends. Heck, exercise kinda feels like a foreign memory and I haven't written in this blog in ages -- at least, written anything worth reading. But today I had a flashback of sorts that sent me running back here, tail between my legs, but also aglow with commitment.
I'm traveling for work -- something I haven't done much of in the last 18 months, but something that was a way of life for me for about five years. And those were the five years in which I lost all the weight, kept it off, ran a marathon... changed my life.
A few things have dawned on me today, with lots of time to think in planes, trains, and automobiles -- and that's that weight loss / maintenance is just freaking hard. People. Seriously. You don't know. I'm not talking about 5 or 6 lbs, the normal fluctuations (hell, I can jump 6 lbs on the scale after a big dinner or a quick bout of the flu), but I'm talking about sustaining a significant lifestyle change.
Because when your lifestyle changes, you must change with it -- in my case, as soon as I went back to the office life, things went to hell in a handbasket.
Because - people. It is hard.
HARD!!!
People who have not gone through significant weight loss don't really understand that the minute somebody alters your routine, your schedule, your habit by one little millimeter, EVERYTHING falls apart. At least that is how it was for me.
And in the past 3 years -- I have:
Kicked and ex-bf out of my house.
Started a new relationship.
Started a new job.
Started another new job.
Sustained the relationship.
Gotten engaged.
Gotten married.
Gotten my house ready to sell, then rent.
Moved out of my house.
Moved into my husband's house.
Changed my name.
And now, spent the past month getting HIS house -- our home -- ready to sell.,
So basically I"ve changed my address, my job, and even my name.
And, sadly, my weight.
I'm not really sure where I'm going for this, except to say that I stepped on the scale this morning, early in the morning, like the "olden days." Before breakast or coffee or a shower. There's no room for the scale in our bathroom anymore so it hangs out in the creepy basement - and I haven't made it a routine yet to go down there every day. So today, I stepped. And I gasped. And then I thought "the reason you just did this today is to be MINDFUL while you're on the road."
And just like that, I snapped back into my old habits:
Took a shower; made a smoothie. Got some exercise. Caught my flight; made a healthy dinner choice - stuck to just one glass of wine -- chose to walk home after dinner instead of taking the trolley -- and better yet, instead of venturing out for drinks wtih my co-workers. We have many days together ahead of us, and many dinners and drinks in the next few days.
So I'm here -- both emotionally and physically -- in my PJ pants, ready to call it a night early, and get up with the sun to walk or run (hey, that rhymed). I haven't run since about September, and now I'm at elevation, so it will most likely be a walk not a run.
But I will do it. And I will drink water. And I will make healthy choices. And I will get this weight off again if it kills me.
Because if I don't, it will.
Off and running,
~Jessica
The last time I was in Denver, I was here visiting one of my best friends (who later would be my maid of honor), with our other college friends.
The day before I left for that girls weekend, I attended a Weight Watchers meeting where I not only earned my 50 lbs lost magnet, but entered the enviable "Onederland" again for the first time in... I don't know how long.
It was a huge victory for me, and the only thing bigger than my pride was the smile on my face in all the pictures we took that weekend - pictures I didn't hide from or shrink away from or spend long moments positioning myself "just right" for.
If there's something you can set your clock by -- it's that when I'm feeling good about my body, you can't get me off the stage / away from the camera, and when I'm not, I pretty much make you feel like an asshole for trying to take my picture.
Sorry -- I know it isn't your fault, and i know it isn't nice, but it is true. It's not you -- it's me.
Lately the camera and mirrors and I have not been friends. Heck, exercise kinda feels like a foreign memory and I haven't written in this blog in ages -- at least, written anything worth reading. But today I had a flashback of sorts that sent me running back here, tail between my legs, but also aglow with commitment.
I'm traveling for work -- something I haven't done much of in the last 18 months, but something that was a way of life for me for about five years. And those were the five years in which I lost all the weight, kept it off, ran a marathon... changed my life.
A few things have dawned on me today, with lots of time to think in planes, trains, and automobiles -- and that's that weight loss / maintenance is just freaking hard. People. Seriously. You don't know. I'm not talking about 5 or 6 lbs, the normal fluctuations (hell, I can jump 6 lbs on the scale after a big dinner or a quick bout of the flu), but I'm talking about sustaining a significant lifestyle change.
Because when your lifestyle changes, you must change with it -- in my case, as soon as I went back to the office life, things went to hell in a handbasket.
Because - people. It is hard.
HARD!!!
People who have not gone through significant weight loss don't really understand that the minute somebody alters your routine, your schedule, your habit by one little millimeter, EVERYTHING falls apart. At least that is how it was for me.
And in the past 3 years -- I have:
Kicked and ex-bf out of my house.
Started a new relationship.
Started a new job.
Started another new job.
Sustained the relationship.
Gotten engaged.
Gotten married.
Gotten my house ready to sell, then rent.
Moved out of my house.
Moved into my husband's house.
Changed my name.
And now, spent the past month getting HIS house -- our home -- ready to sell.,
So basically I"ve changed my address, my job, and even my name.
And, sadly, my weight.
I'm not really sure where I'm going for this, except to say that I stepped on the scale this morning, early in the morning, like the "olden days." Before breakast or coffee or a shower. There's no room for the scale in our bathroom anymore so it hangs out in the creepy basement - and I haven't made it a routine yet to go down there every day. So today, I stepped. And I gasped. And then I thought "the reason you just did this today is to be MINDFUL while you're on the road."
And just like that, I snapped back into my old habits:
Took a shower; made a smoothie. Got some exercise. Caught my flight; made a healthy dinner choice - stuck to just one glass of wine -- chose to walk home after dinner instead of taking the trolley -- and better yet, instead of venturing out for drinks wtih my co-workers. We have many days together ahead of us, and many dinners and drinks in the next few days.
So I'm here -- both emotionally and physically -- in my PJ pants, ready to call it a night early, and get up with the sun to walk or run (hey, that rhymed). I haven't run since about September, and now I'm at elevation, so it will most likely be a walk not a run.
But I will do it. And I will drink water. And I will make healthy choices. And I will get this weight off again if it kills me.
Because if I don't, it will.
Off and running,
~Jessica
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Alive & Kickin'
Hello? Is this thing on? Is anybody out there?
I have neglected my poor little blog for two weeks -- and prior to that was generally being a bad blogger. To be honest - I just don't have a lot to say right now.
(Pause while my husband dies of laughter over the notion of my not having anything to talk about)
In reality - life has just been really busy. Getting the house ready to sell. Getting more and more acclimated in my new job (which I LOVE). Family functions and friend functions and trying to find time to just BE.
Exercise? What's that!?
Lately exercise has come in the form of moving furniture, packing and storing boxes, and digging in the dirt -- this morning I am pleasantly sore in several places I forgot I had muscles, due to two days in a row of pretty intense yard work. But the treadmill has been even more neglected than this blog.
We're whipping the back yard into shape, and ya'll know how much I love a good session in the yard. In May and June when it is beautiful and non-humid, there are few things I love more than beautifying my space. The Hubs yard has needed a LOT of work, so needless to say, I'm getting my fill. By the 4th of July I'm usually over it and just want everything to die so I don't have to water it, but these days are fun.
On that note - heading into the office a bit early so that I can leave early so that I can get back out there!
Off and running,
~Jessica
I have neglected my poor little blog for two weeks -- and prior to that was generally being a bad blogger. To be honest - I just don't have a lot to say right now.
(Pause while my husband dies of laughter over the notion of my not having anything to talk about)
In reality - life has just been really busy. Getting the house ready to sell. Getting more and more acclimated in my new job (which I LOVE). Family functions and friend functions and trying to find time to just BE.
Exercise? What's that!?
Lately exercise has come in the form of moving furniture, packing and storing boxes, and digging in the dirt -- this morning I am pleasantly sore in several places I forgot I had muscles, due to two days in a row of pretty intense yard work. But the treadmill has been even more neglected than this blog.
We're whipping the back yard into shape, and ya'll know how much I love a good session in the yard. In May and June when it is beautiful and non-humid, there are few things I love more than beautifying my space. The Hubs yard has needed a LOT of work, so needless to say, I'm getting my fill. By the 4th of July I'm usually over it and just want everything to die so I don't have to water it, but these days are fun.
On that note - heading into the office a bit early so that I can leave early so that I can get back out there!
Off and running,
~Jessica
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Caffeination Elevation
I've always been a light coffee drinker -- apart from my days of slinging lattes at the local coffee shop, I have never been one who consumes coffee throughout the day, but moreso just as a part of my morning routine. I have often commented that I like the RITUAL of coffee (the smell, the warmth, the pouring it into my favorite cup and curling up on the sofa to read email), better than coffee itself.
Since I'm a morning person to begin with, I don't really NEED coffee to get my day started - but I enjoy it, especially in the spring and fall months, when I can take it on the patio and read in the brisk air.
As I've gotten older, or maybe just more in tune with my body, I feel the effects of caffeine more - so I rarely drink it after my morning cup or two... and never later than 3 PM.
Anyway -- the reason I'm telling you this is because over the past week I've discovered something amazing. Something I think I cannot "unlearn." Half and half.
Hold the phone! Why didn't anybody TELL me that a couple of tablespoons of half and half elevated my boring cup of "regular drip, room for skim" to an indulgent, creamy, rich, sinful morning treat?!
Here's what happened - while grabbing a box of my usual fat free half and half (note: what IS fat free half and half, anyway!? I mean, real half and half is half cream, half non-fat milk, but if the whole thing is fat free, then isn't it just ... skim milk?! I don't get it), I accidentally grabbed REAL half and half. Yup. Real, caloric, fatty half and half. And didn't realize it until probably day 2 or 3 of drinking it in my coffee. I'd just completely cleaned my coffee pot (vineger, the whole bit), due to a big of a drip explosion, so at first I was "blaming" my delicious morning beverage on the newly cleaned coffee pot - but this morning I figured it out.
Half and half, I think I love you.
And I'm certain I have to give you up, for fear that I will be halfway out of my jeans after a few more weeks of this indulgence.
Off and running,
~Jessica
Since I'm a morning person to begin with, I don't really NEED coffee to get my day started - but I enjoy it, especially in the spring and fall months, when I can take it on the patio and read in the brisk air.
As I've gotten older, or maybe just more in tune with my body, I feel the effects of caffeine more - so I rarely drink it after my morning cup or two... and never later than 3 PM.
Anyway -- the reason I'm telling you this is because over the past week I've discovered something amazing. Something I think I cannot "unlearn." Half and half.
Hold the phone! Why didn't anybody TELL me that a couple of tablespoons of half and half elevated my boring cup of "regular drip, room for skim" to an indulgent, creamy, rich, sinful morning treat?!
Here's what happened - while grabbing a box of my usual fat free half and half (note: what IS fat free half and half, anyway!? I mean, real half and half is half cream, half non-fat milk, but if the whole thing is fat free, then isn't it just ... skim milk?! I don't get it), I accidentally grabbed REAL half and half. Yup. Real, caloric, fatty half and half. And didn't realize it until probably day 2 or 3 of drinking it in my coffee. I'd just completely cleaned my coffee pot (vineger, the whole bit), due to a big of a drip explosion, so at first I was "blaming" my delicious morning beverage on the newly cleaned coffee pot - but this morning I figured it out.
Half and half, I think I love you.
And I'm certain I have to give you up, for fear that I will be halfway out of my jeans after a few more weeks of this indulgence.
Off and running,
~Jessica
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