Weekly Meeting Topic: Reframing Stress

At this week's meeting, we received shiny new pocket guides and the first issue of a new series of weekly pamphlets that are only available at meetings, called Weight Watchers Weekly. (I hear they are only available for meeting members, so if you're an online member I think you're out of luck.) I haven't even had a chance to look at it yet, I'm saving it for the bus tomorrow morning. I want to get this blog out so I can watch the season finale of The Biggest Loser, even though I'm not rooting for anyone in particular in the final 4, and I expect Rudy to win - though I don't want him to because he voted out Rebecca. I do hope Rebecca gets the at home prize and quite honestly, I hope I don't even have to look at that crazy bitch Tracy! Anyway...

We talked about stress and how it can affect, and derail, our weight loss efforts. That's probably a no brainer. Stress tends to affect myriad aspects of our lives... if we let it.

Then we talked about different things that cause us stress and other strategies for coping with those things. You may realize that by doing this you are using one of my favorite Weight Watchers Tools for Living, Reframing. To use the reframing tool, think about why you do certain things (in this case: dealing with stress), then think what you get from that behavior you engage in. Then think of something else - non food related - that you can do to get that same reward.

To show how this works in practice, I will give you one of my own personal examples:

One of the behaviors I had to work on was stress-related eating at work. Certain people and situations could sometimes put me over the edge and I would react by mindlessly eating food, usually really bad food. But I did not want to merely substitute 'bad' food with 'good' food. I wanted to work on that behavior and not reach for food in those situations at all.

This is how I did that:

• First, I had to be aware of the whole series of events - The people/situations that tended to make me eat poorly and mindlessly.
• Then I had to think about why I was engaged in that behavior - what was it getting me? It temporarily (very temporarily) distracted me and comforted me. But of course when I finished eating, I felt worse - stuffed with food and unneeded calories and the original problem was *still* there! So obviously that was not a good solution to the problem. So why was I doing it? Turning to the food provided a distraction and temporary feeling of pleasure.
• Then I had to think about how else could I get that (a distraction/happiness) without food? I decided to start walking; either outside or on the stairs. At the very least, I knew that I needed to remove myself form the situation temporarily, by at least getting up from my desk.

And that is how I handle those situations now. When I have that overwhelmed feeling of stress at work, I do not reach for food. Not even carrots or 'healthy' food. I remind myself that the food is NOT GOING TO HELP. I force myself to get up and walk, even if it's just for a few minutes, to clear my head and focus and get over that initial desire to reach for food.

Don't get me wrong - It took a while for me to get to the point where the new behavior now comes naturally, which isn't to say I am not still tempted to eat in those situations. Sometimes I am. But having handled the situation better numerous times now, I am so much better equipped to handle it better every time it happens.

Reframing. It's your friend. Try it!

Now for my weekly questions-

What did I accomplish this week?

• I tracked 7 days! Approximately 90% of everything I ate this week. That's great progress!
• I think this is a first ever: I took my vitamins everyday! And as of tomorrow, I am going to start taking them in the mornings instead. (thank you all for your input on that!)
• I did not track the night before as I thought I would try, but the 'point goals' I set up really worked for me. I'm going to continue to stick within my point goals (7 for breakfast, 8 for lunch, 5 for dinner = my daily total of 20.)
• I made two new vegetables this week: 1) I baked 4 sweet potatoes earlier this week and had them ready in the fridge when I needed them. I eat them like bananas. I love them!!! 2) I had collard greens for the first time ever @ Punk Rope happy hour last week and loved them instantly. Since then I have bought 2 batches of collard greens and have used them in various 'throw together' recipes, like the Vegan Apple Sage Sausage recipe I blogged about.
• I tried grits for the first time and loved them too! My new favorite breakfast at work is grits with 1/4 cup pumpkin and some cinnamon. The grits themselves are fairly bland and taste kind of like corn, but what I like is they are warm (like oatmeal) and there's a ton of iron, which I need. Awesome!
• I seriously did some amazing crosses in punk rope last week. I wish you all could have seen me. You'll have to take my word for it.
• I can't believe this, but I hit over 2000 readers last week! I never in my wildest dreams imagined having so many readers. Thank you all! :)

What do I want to work towards next week?

• Continue with my tracking, including using my 'point goals' as described above.
• Calibrate my sneakers (I know, I know, I can't believe I haven't done this yet either!)
• Get my lab results from my doctor so I can show off how fantastic they are.

In closing, there was a *great* quote on the board tonight. Please read this twice and really think about it: "Stress isn't what happens to us. It's our response to what happens. And response is something we choose.", Author: Maureen Killoran (sp?)

I thought that was an amazingly powerful quote and a great new way to think about stress. What's a new way to think about something? Oh yeah, reframing! What a great tool that reframing is! No wonder I love it so much! Remember, if you have CONTROL over something, you can CHOOSE something else. Think about that and make it work for you!

OK I have to go watch Biggest Loser now! Have a great week, everyone!

PS: Thank you for the nice link to my blog, northern belle! :)

Recipe: Vegan Apple Sage Sausage w/ Vegetables over Whole Wheat Macaroni

Since I couldn't come up with a clever name for this recipe, the title gives it away. This is one of my new favorite meals!

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

• Whole Wheat Penne, 2 cups cooked (1 and 1/2 cups uncooked)
• Olive Oil, 2 tsp
• Green Peas, 1 cup
• Spanish Onion, diced, 1 Medium
• Red Pepper, diced, 1/2
• Green Pepper, diced, 1/2
• Field Roast Grains Apple Sage Sausage (Vegan), 1 link
• Collard Greens, chopped, 4 leaves
• Garlic Cloves, chopped, 2
• Salt

Here is a shot of the peas measured out with the onion, garlic and peppers chopped. Also, take note of the Professor on the right hand side, laying along the floor. He was watching me. Cute!

Directions:

First, get a saucepan of water to boil on a back burner. Add the macaroni and cook per the directions. While that is going, make the rest of the meal...

1- Heat up large skillet over medium high heat (I use cast iron, it shouldn't matter though). Add olive oil. Add frozen peas:

2- When the peas have defrosted, add onion. Stir:

3- After a minute or two, add peppers. Stir:

4- While stirring occasionally, I chopped up the collard greens and sausage:

5- Add sausage. Stir:

6- Add collard greens. Stir:

7- Add garlic. Stir carefully so nothing jumps out!

8- Continue to stir occasionally, allowing the collard greens to wilt a little:

9- Whole wheat macaroni is ready!

10- Put one cup of macaroni in a deep bowl:

11- Divide sausage & veggie mixture in half:

12- Put half veggie mixture over macaroni:

13- Add salt and enjoy!

I love this meal! It's very satisfying and super healthy. As shown above, it's 5.5 points per serving (3 points for the macaroni, 1 point for the oil, 2.5 for the sausage).

Even if you're not vegan or don't like some of those ingredients, I hope it inspires you to throw together a nice healthy meal for yourself. Enjoy!

Weekly Meeting Topic: Food Ruts (and photos from my Thanksgiving Bike Ride!)

Tonight we talked about food ruts, but I covered this topic fairly recently and don't have much to add, so I'm not covering it again.

Instead, I will mention that we met our new leader tonight! As I wrote two weeks ago, the new leader I had come to adore pretty quickly, Karen, left us for greener pastures. While I will never forget her and already miss her dearly, I think I like the new leader. She is also young, energetic and has a great personality. I was pleasantly surprised. So welcome to Tuesday nights on Park Avenue, Melanie, I'm glad you're with us.

Now for my weekly questions-

What did I accomplish this week?

• I tracked 4 days - not full days, but it's an improvement over last week.
• I took my vitamins 6/7 days. (I just thought of something, I think the problem I have is that my nights are so unstructured. Would it matter if I took my vitamins in the morning? I think I'd have a better success rate if I did that.)
• Yesterday I announced to the twitterverse that I was challenging myself to walk 80 flights of stairs and I did it! I have a new personal best on the stairs: I did 10 sets (80 flights) for the first time yesterday! My total time was 28 min, 11 seconds. Breaking that down, the average time it took me climb and descend 8 flights of stairs (1 set) was 2 minutes, 49.1 seconds. I was in my heart rate zone for 24.43 of those minutes. My average heart rate was 154, my high was 177 and I burned 253 calories.

What do I want to work towards next week?

• I am thinking about trying something new - tracking the night before. That might help me eat in a more structured way. I can use my tracker as a checklist. I'm going to try this out.
• I also want to set 'point goals' - 7 for breakfast, 8 for lunch, 5 for dinner (I only get 20 per day). Of course I will use my weekly 35 and activity points too, as needed.
• During tonight's rut meeting, I also thought of another way to modify my lunch a little - I still want to make my salad but instead of having the vegan sandwich in addition (3 points), I will use a 1-point tortilla and wrap some of the salad in the tortilla. I am excited by the thought!
• I still need to calibrate my Nike + sneakers. I never had a chance last weekend.
  
• Basically, I want to be more awesome this week when I was last week. Is that possible? Sure!

Since this is a short blog, I am going to post some photos I took on a glorious bike ride over Thanksgiving Day. I decided to bike to Macy's Herald Square after the parade ended, just because I had no idea what it would be like and thought I might get some interesting shots. It turned out to be a GREAT idea because so many streets were closed off to car traffic! I was so excited to bike North on 7th Ave (the wrong way, it runs south) towards Times Square! I even biked on 42nd St past Grand Central Terminal! I had such a great time. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

First I went to Rockefeller Center to see the tree. Smart idea right? Too bad about a billion tourists had the same idea! :) Here is a shot of 30 Rock. I love this deco building!

And here is the tree (the lights are on it, but it has not been lit yet):

You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get NO tourists in this shot, but I did it!

I biked past Central Park and couldn't get over how many pigeons were on this street light:

Here's an alternate view:

I biked south towards Macy's and was actually able to stop in the middle of the intersection of 34th St and 7th Ave to get this shot. I love no car traffic! (If you look closely, you will see a tourist crouching to take a photo of ME. Turned out he was Colombian and told me I look "Fabulous", with a sexy Spanish accent. I love NY!)

The world famous Macy's Herald Square:

There was confetti on the ground in Times Square:

I love this shot of a subway entrance in Times Square:

Cycling through Times Square I learned that they must take down the street lights along the parade route so that the balloon strings don't get caught. I never realized this! But I figured it out when I saw so many of them on flat bed trucks, waiting to be resurrected:

Biking East on 42nd St to head back to the 59th St Bridge, I got a shot of the stunning Chrysler Building and the moon!

Passing by Grand Central Terminal:

Here are a bunch of NYC Taxis lined up along 42nd Street, just outside of Grand Central Terminal (look to the bottom right at the red awnings - I shop at that Banana Republic often. I was in there tonight, in fact, and am going tomorrow after work for a 40% off sale! Yippee!)

Finally back on the Pulaski Bridge just a mile from my apartment, I stopped to get a shot of this hazy sunset:

It was a GREAT day for a bike ride in New York City! I love my life!

(All my photos from Thanksgiving Day can be seen here)

Have a fantastic week, everyone!

Activity and Fitness: Long Live Punk Rope!

As most of you know, I take a weekly Punk Rope class at my local YMCA. "What in the world is Punk Rope?", you ask? It's a super fun cardio class where we jump rope (to punk and other types of music) and run relays and do all sorts of other things that burn calories and strengthen and tone - all while having a great time.

It took me six months after joining the gym to try a class, and this was the first one I tried because it looked like so much fun. But I was so intimidated - I didn't know anyone and was so afraid of looking ridiculous and not being able to keep up. And believe me, I had no idea what I was doing and was very uncoordinated that first night. But I soon realized that my fitness level didn't matter - there were people of all fitness levels in the class and we were all there to get healthy and have fun.

Cut to nearly three years later and I have missed very few classes. I am so much better in this class than I ever thought was possible and love seeing my improvement. The class creator and instructor, Tim Haft, even once told me that in his 5 years of doing the class I was one of the most improved he had seen. In addition to becoming a better jumper, runner, team player, etc, I met people in that class that would become some of my best friends.

Since I love this class so much, I wanted to spread the word. Tim's birthday is coming up and to wish him a happy birthday and continued success, I am posting this for him -

Since 2004 Punk Rope has brought health, fitness, and joy to thousands of people around the globe, including many economically disadvantaged children who have limited access to recreation. Punk Rope is the only play-centered fitness class in the US and possibly in the world. We believe that increased play leads to increased happiness, which leads to world peace.

If you want to bring Punk Rope to you or your child's school, here is how to do so:

• If you have a child in school, let your kid’s PE teacher know about our school-based, Hopping for Health program and direct them to www.punkrope.com for more information.
• If you belong to a gym that doesn't offer Punk Rope, suggest to the group exercise director or fitness manager that they check us out at www.punkrope.com.

And if you want to bring Punk Rope directly into your home, or give a gift to a friend, shop the Punk Rope store! Here are just some items available (that package is a steal!):

• Give your friends, family, and colleagues one of our ropes or our DVD/CD for the holidays. Our ropes are an incredible value and we have some new styles that just arrived today that you won't find anywhere else. The Taj, with its exotic wood handles, is probably our favorite. And now we offer a Punk Rope starter package for only $15.99, which includes the Never Mind Aerobics DVD/CD, an adjustable rope, Rope Jumping 101, and a Punk Rope pin and patch. To entice you further, use the code iLuvPR when checking out an get 10% off your purchase.

Finally, if any of you in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area want to give Punk Rope a try, just leave me a comment or send me an email. I can get you a one time pass to try the class for free - you don't have to be a member of the YMCA. If you love it, you may be tempted to join the YMCA, but there is no obligation.

The great thing about the Greenpoint class is we have a monthly happy hour (this Wednesday night after class @ Beco on Richardson, in fact) and we do a lot of hanging out. We're a group that likes to work hard *and* play hard!

Happy Hour @ Beco -

There's the occasional Bingo night (Mark Bar on Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint)

Birthday Festivities (Josue's Birthday 2008 @ Diamond Bar on Franklin in Greenpoint)

The Punk Rope Olympics in McCarren Park this past spring-

On Halloween, you might find masked ladies and naughty librarians-

Picnics in McCarren Park-

The Annual World Domination Summer Party in Williamsburg -

(Shana & Me)

The free workshop Tim and Shana hosted in McCarren Park this summer where I *finally* learned how to do doubles! (Me & Sherry)

and of course, everyone's favorite reason to be a Greenpoint Punk Roper, super sexy and world famous Joe Katz-

If you're not lucky enough to reside in this awesome section of Brooklyn, check out where other Punk Rope classes are held, there may be one near you already! (You can also follow Punk Rope on Twitter!)

Happy Birthday, Tim. Long live you, and Punk Rope. See you Wednesday night in class!


Tim Haft and me, January 2008 at Coco's in Greenpoint-

Pics from the NY Bike Jumble!

I mentioned recently that on November 15th, I rode my bike to Park Slope where the NY Bike Jumble had arranged for professional photographer, Keiko Niwa, to take photos of cyclists and their bikes.

Here are my pictures! I love them!

Close up of the seat -

Yes, that *is* a vintage long line bra!

Close up on the Hello Kitty tire treads (probably my favorite feature of my bike!)

Fishnets and low heeled mary janes-

Me + my bike = BFF

Since this photo was taken, B's Bikes put a bolt on the fender so it no longer rattles. Thanks, Alex!

Another close up of the super adorable treads -

This photo is my favorite-

Thank you, NY Bike Jumble for hosting this fun (and free) event! And thank you, Keiko for offering your services! I'm so glad I was able to take part. And thanks to my friend Rowan. If it had not been for her, I wouldn't even have known about this!

Giving Thanks - for being alive

I mentioned that this Thanksgiving I wanted to consider all the things I am thankful for. One of them, probably the biggest, is something that up until recently I never thought I would say-

I am thankful to be alive.

I spent the majority of my life severely depressed, an emotional and unstable wreck. And at times, I was suicidal.

For as long as I could remember, I hated myself. I hated waking up and having to live. I hated the world. And I spent a lot of time resenting my parents for bringing me into it against my will.

I was obsessed with death from a young age. I remember at age ten, I wrote out my first will. I'm not even kidding. When other kids were out playing ball, I was sitting in my room, alone, writing out who would get my possessions - the few possessions a ten year old has.

My first real depression started around age 14. And since then, I can't even tell you how many times I considered killing myself - I thought about how I would do it (I wanted it to be as peaceful and un-gory as possible, I figured an overdose would be my method of execution). I thought about who would be affected by my absence (other than my family, probably no one. I really had no friends for the majority of my life until recently). I thought about how people say "Suicide is selfish" but to me, it was selfish of other people to force me to be here if I didn't want to be here.

Despite spending a lot of time over the years thinking about killing myself - most recently in 2005, by far the most stressful and awful year of my life - the only thing that stopped me from attempting it was the fear of "What if death is worse than this?" I guess it was the not knowing what happens after death that scared me more than having to live my miserable life.

So I continued living (if you could call it that), waking up every day and going through the motions. But I wasn't happy about it. I didn't understand people that appeared happy - I thought they were stupid and in denial of the reality of their lives and the awful world. I considered myself a realist - always sad, always upset about something, always on the verge of tears because I knew the awful truth: that life, and people, sucked.

Long ago I had accepted that I would never be happy, and that was just the way it was. I honestly didn't think happiness was even possible, so I didn't bother considering what needed to change for me to be happy. It was just a given: I was fated to exist with life numbing depression.

Most of you reading this are probably surprised to hear all of that - anyone who has met me over the last few years don't know that Sheryl, because I couldn't be further from that person anymore.

So how did I get from there to where I am today? You likely know what I am going to say: it's a direct result of taking care of myself - of eating healthy and even more importantly - exercising.

I wrote about this in an old blog, but I think it's worth mentioning again. I never expected it, but exercise has had a huge and positive impact on my mental and emotional health.

I always heard that exercise was beneficial, but it took me 35 years to start exercising. And even then, I started off so slowly and did it half heartedly. But just 10 or 12 weeks into it, I felt the difference - I started feeling really good and started looking forward to that great feeling. Now, 3 years later, I can't believe what a profound impact exercise has had on my life. I am happy, positive, and full of life. I am literally a different person than I was. Exercise has given me a sense of pride and accomplishment I had never experienced before, or even thought was possible. It's a free and natural high. If all of that isn't great enough, it has also made my body look better than I ever imagined.

I couldn't be further from the depressed and suicidal woman I described above. I look back at old photos of me and can see my sadness. I feel like I am looking at another person. I now embrace life and look forward to so many things - big and small. I am genuinely excited to wake up every day and embrace the day. I am so happy to be alive. I'm thankful for everything, but most especially for being here. I finally stopped resenting my parents for bringing me into this world and am thankful that I did not kill myself the many times I considered it.

On this Thanksgiving after I post this blog, my plans include going to the gym to run on the treadmill and go out for a bike ride - two things that make me feel great and happy. I will think about how great it is to be alive and how thankful I am to have become the awesome person I am today.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Be thankful for everything you have, and have a wonderful day.

Weekly Meeting Topic: Emotional Eating and Holidays

At the beginning of the meeting, we talked about emotional eating. Probably because the holidays can trigger emotional eating for most of us - something about being around our families and out of our usual routine can easily throw us off track. Because of that, I think it's so important to be as prepared as possible for the holidays. So how can we do that?

• First, I think it's important to keep everything in perspective. As I mentioned in a previous blog, it's a holi-DAY, not holi-WEEK or holi-MONTH. If you're not going away for the holiday, it's likely only one meal. Contain it.
  
• Another thing to remember is just because you may have reacted a certain way (ie: been a total glutton in previous years), that doesn't mean you have to behave that way *this* year - you have the power to break that cycle at any time. You just have to understand that you are in control and then act on it. (My previous leader, Carolyn, used to say "Your past is not your present". I love that quote. )
• Set realistic goals for the holiday or event - Is your goal to stay within your points that day? Is your goal to track your food even if you go over? Maybe your goal is to give yourself a day off plan, get back on the next day, and just deal with the consequences. You get to pick whatever you want and you are comfortable with. Having realistic expectations is always helpful.
• Reframe the Holiday - Thanksgiving doesn't have to be in your mind as "an excuse for an all day, all you can eat event". Change how you think about the holiday - it's a time to be thankful for everything you have. Make it about the quality of time you spend with the people you love; not the quantity of food you can consume.
  

And here are some tips that work for the holidays or any event:

• Eat before the event. Make it healthy, make it light, and get in your fruit and dairy before the event since those are typically the foods that aren't showcased.
• Prepare or bring a dish that you enjoy and will work with your plan (And since many of you that asked me what I am preparing - I am not doing any cooking. If you are looking for suggestions, I suggest you check out the Weight Watchers recipes on their website. There's tons of great ideas. You can also just google recipes.)
• Mental Rehearsing: I love this tool. Before the event, envision where you are going to be and how you are going to handle situations. Walk yourself through the situation in your mind, behaving the way you want to. And when the day/situation occurs, it will be like acting out a script you've already done. This may sound crazy but it really works. I've used mental rehearsing so many times and it never lets me down!
• Of course you can save your flex and activity points for the holiday/event. That's a no brainer!
• Work out on the day of the event, before, if you can. I recommend before because it gives you more incentive to eat better. But if you can only work out after, I encourage that too. Any activity is better than no activity!
• I try to remind people to be very selective about what they eat during these special occasions. If there are foods there you eat often or can get easily any time of year, don't waste your points on them. Enjoy the special foods that aren't as readily available at other times.
• Remember that liquid calories/points add up very quickly. Some suggestions are that you may want to give yourself a limit on highly caloric beverages (say, 2 glasses of wine) or you may decide to choose between alcohol or dessert.

Those are just some general ideas. Nothing is mandatory, which is nice. You can pick the strategies that work for you and figure out your own.

Finally, remember, even if you have what you perceive as the most disastrous event, keep it in perspective: This is ONE MEAL. One meal will not unravel all your progress and make you gain all your weight back. But the trick is to keep it to that one meal. Don't let it spiral out of control. Get back on track as soon as possible to keep the scale damage, but more importantly the MENTAL damage, to a minimum.

Now for my weekly questions-

What did I accomplish this week?

• I tracked 2 days. That was disappointing, but I have no one to blame but myself. This week just seemed to slip through my hands!
• I took my vitamins 6/7 days.
  
• After not visiting my doctor for 2.5 years, I finally went last week. I was down in weight since that visit, so she was happy. My blood pressure is great (about 110/70) and I had blood drawn to check all my lab stuff. I can't wait to see my results!
• Since the weather has been pretty delightful I have been riding my bike as much as possible. Yay!
• Sitting in my meeting tonight it occurred to me - I have not binged in months! That's not to say I have been perfect - far from it. I have been over in points for weeks now. But I have not had one of those days where I just consume thousands of calories in a short period of time. That's amazing!!
• I did the stairs again last week - another 64 flights! And I beat my previous time by 15 seconds. Nice!
• I met last week's goal of running 2.5 miles in 30 minutes! According to the treadmill, I did just that: 2.5 miles. But according to my Nike+, I did closer to 3 miles. I am not sure of the discrepancy, see below...
  

What do I want to work towards next week?

• Get back to making journaling a priority: My goal is to track at least 5 days. Again, the accountability of tracking is more important to me right now than staying within my points. I want to write down what I eat. Even if it's not the best thing possible. I need to be accountable again!
  
• I have to recalibrate my Nike+ chip because the number of miles on the treadmill vs the number of miles in the Nike+ iPod program are off.
  
• I am hoping to get my Wii Fit set up this weekend (if my brother brings me his old TV, since mine died).
• I will remind myself to be thankful for everything I have and am capable of enjoying and doing - on Thanksgiving and every day!
  

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week! And thank you all for reading.

Recipe: Pumpkin Yogurt

I was in Whole Foods recently and saw "Pumpkin Yogurt", but it was made with milk. I'm a sucker for *anything* pumpkin, so I thought 'damnit, why don't they have a vegan version of that?'. Then it occurred to me - duh - buy the soy yogurt you were going to buy anyway and add pumpkin! Problem solved!

I went back to work and made it for the first time. I was instantly smitten. This is my favorite new dessert/snack:

• Vanilla Yogurt (I used soy yogurt since I don't eat dairy anymore, but of course any yogurt - or pudding - will do)
• Canned Pumpkin (1/4 cup)
• Cinnamon/Sugar (dash, optional, but awesome)

Put the yogurt/pudding in a bowl since there will not be enough room to add the pumpkin to the container. Add the cinnamon/brown sugar/nutmeg/whatever...

Stir and enjoy!

It is SO delicious! I considered adding 2 graham crackers to this snack so, just to eat along with it or dip into it. I just haven't gotten around to buying vegan graham crackers yet.

This will only set you back as many points as your yogurt or pudding costs. In my case, 3 points.

Enjoy!

Weekly Meeting Topic: Being Thankful

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week, but it is; so that was the focus of tonight's meeting. We started off by discussing what we are thankful for. I didn't respond, but listened as the other members spoke and jotted down my thoughts:

• I'm thankful for being alive and healthy
• I'm thankful for the people in my life who care about me
  
• I'm thankful for my great apartment in Brooklyn and to live in NYC
• (though it makes me completely crazy sometimes) I'm thankful for my job
• I'm thankful for everything that has occurred to make me who I am today
  

I think I've touched on this before, and it really deserves its own blog - but for the first time ever, I'm thankful to be alive and who I am. That feeling is so priceless and one I never experienced or even considered before I stared on my journey in 2006. Although there was a lot of pain leading up to it, I am thankful for everything that happened to put me in the position where I made the decision to change that year. And I am still amazed at everything I've achieved and continue to achieve as a result of that initial decision.

After we talked about what we were thankful for, we went over what we are going to be eating on Thanksgiving Day and reviewing points for common holiday foods. I don't celebrate Thanksgiving in a traditional way, nor do I eat those foods, so this didn't really apply to me. But it's always a great idea to *plan ahead*. Familiarize yourself with the points and portion sizes of foods you are likely to eat at your holiday meal. Do everything you can in advance so you can be in control when it happens.

In addition to that suggestion, here are some other tips that I recommend for any holiday or big event:

• Eat light earlier in the day, before the event, but make sure you eat! You don't want to arrive starving.
• Do your activity before the event to keep you focused and give yourself extra points (if you want them) and/or plan to do activity after the event (even going for a post-meal walk counts!).
  
• Save your weekly flex points for the day of the event (in case you need them).
• Bring or prepare a dish if possible - that way you know there is at least one points friendly thing that you like.
• Don't forget your water! Not only do you need it, but it will help curb your appetite.

Another thing to consider is if you know there is a particular food item you love which will be served at your holiday or event, think about how you are going to handle that food: Can you mentally prepare yourself to enjoy a reasonable portion responsibly? Or will it be a trigger food that you may prefer to avoid completely? Either way, have a plan. Planning is key for this kind of occasion.

Finally, if things don't go as planned, do not beat yourself up over it. That's counter productive and often turns a relatively small indiscretion into another day or week of poor choices. Remind yourself to learn from your experience and get back on track before it snowballs.

Now for my weekly questions-

What did I accomplish this week?

• I tracked all 7 days!! My ultimate tracking goal was to track as much as possible, even if I went over. And I did just that. I did total tracking 5 days, and partial tracking 2 days. At the end of the week, I consumed all my daily points, weekly points, my activity points, and I even used points I didn't have. Obviously that is not ideal, but I feel like I am on the road to tracking *and* staying within my points. It will happen!
  
• I took vitamins 6/7 days (Friday continues to be a challenge...)
  
• You may recall I have been trying to get my hemoglobin up so I could donate blood. I tried twice in the last few weeks, but was shy of the 12.5 minimum. I kept getting readings of 12.1 through 12.4. I was determined to raise this number, so I bought new iron pills (the ones I was taking expired years ago), I continued eating arugula and spinach, and thanks to tips from my readers I have also been enjoying raisins. When I went to donate yesterday and they checked my hemoglobin, I knocked that reading out of the park with a 13.7! Go me!
• I mentioned a few weeks ago that I needed to scheduled a doctor's appointment for a physical. I finally scheduled it for this Friday and I can't wait to see my great lab results!
  
• Last Friday, I had a stressful afternoon at work. I actually said out loud to William "Let's go to the Pharmacy and get candy." As soon as I said it, I couldn't even believe those words came out of my mouth. Since banning artificial foods this spring, I have not had a moment like that. I quickly tweeted my dilemma and reminded myself that "Chocolate will NOT make everything better." Then I got into my gym clothes and hit the stairs. I did 6 sets, which isn't much but more important than the workout was what it gave me - a chance to think and clear my head. When I returned to my desk I felt great and did not even entertain the notion of consuming candy or chocolate. That was a big victory.
• As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I reached a new record on the stairs
• And as I mentioned in Sunday's blog, I set up my new Nike + sneakers and reached a new record on the treadmill

What do I want to work towards next week?

• Continue with the great progress I made journaling! My goal is to track at least 5 days - again, even if I go over. Right now I am focusing on tracking as a priority. I will try to not go over, but I am more focused on the accountability right now.
  
• Run 2.5 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes.
  
• I accidentally bought 5 jars of that amazing peanut butter I love (long story). I hid them in a very annoying place. My goal is to be able to live with them in my apartment without consuming them (back story: I had to ban peanut butter from my house a few months ago when I was eating a half jar at a time)
• I'm thinking of making TWIET (Tweet what I eat Tuesday) a weekly occurrence. I'm just afraid of annoying all my non WW Twitter followers. I might do it though.
  

And lastly, for a bit of sad news:

If you read last night's blog, you may remember that I mentioned that everything in life has a 'last' time and you often don't know when it is the 'last'. Sadly, tonight, I had a 'last' that I was not expecting. When I arrived at my Weight Watchers meeting, I learned that it was the last time that the leader, Karen, would be running the meeting. I was so upset to hear this - I only started going to this location about 2 months ago and I immediately liked her, which is why I decided to relocate and make that my permanent meeting. But this was especially heartbreaking to me because you may recall I lost my longtime leader this past February. I don't know if I will stay at this meeting, it depends who they replace her with. We'll see...

Karen, Happy Thanksgiving and have a safe move. I didn't say it in the meeting tonight because I didn't want to cry, but I'm thankful for YOU. I'm going to miss you (and your awesome drawings) terribly but wish you the best in the next chapter of your life. I hope your new members appreciate you half as much as I do. Good luck and farewell.

Stair Master, continued, followed by a touching moment

Chances are you know that one of my weekly workouts is walking up and down the stairs in the building where I work. My office building has 8 floors from basement to roof, and once a week I walk up and down the 8 flights 5 times consecutively for a total of 40 flights.

This may not sound like a big deal, but it is challenging. Stairs have always been something I avoided, even hated. But living in NYC, you have to take the stairs a lot. So I figured why not get better at them?

Since starting this routine a few months ago, I can already see huge improvements in my speed, stamina and endurance. I remember the first time I did this, I thought I was going to pass out when I was done. My entire body was shaking and my legs were sore for 3 days. 3 days! Now I am fine within minutes, my body doesn't shake, and there is no recovery time. The actual workout is still challenging, but far less so.

Recently I increased from 5 sets to 6. And today, my co-worker William joined me. He said "Let's do it till we drop!" and that reminded me of something I like to tell myself often when I need motivation - "The only thing stopping me is me." So I decided that today I would challenge myself a little more and broke a personal record. I did 8 sets - for a total of 64 consecutive flights up and down.

Despite being drenched in sweat when I finished, I felt great! What a natural high! I was so proud of myself for pushing myself a little further. And even better, I did it in great time:

• Total time for 64 flights up & down: 21 minutes, 46 seconds
  
• Total time in my target heart rate: 20 minutes, 35 seconds
  
• Average heart rate: 149
• Maximum heart rate: 172
• Calories burned: 182

I did the math and it broke down to get the average time per set (one set = up and down 8 flights of stairs). It came to 2 minutes and 43 seconds per set. Not bad at all!

After that, I changed back into my regular clothes and headed out to Whole Foods. As I exited the stairwell on the ground floor, there was an adorable old man in a tweed coat standing there, probably in his late 70's. I held the stairwell door open for him. He told me I could close it because he was taking the elevator. Then he added that he WISHED he could take the stairs, but he's unable to any more. He added that when he was younger he would run up 6 flights no problem; but now he couldn't even walk a flight. And he WISHED he could.

This nearly broke my heart. First, for him, to have been able to do something and had it eventually taken away - to know that he is unable to do something he used to do and he longed to be able to do it again. But also for me, because I always remind myself that everything we do - every single thing that we take for granted every day - every one of those things will eventually have a *last* time. And perhaps the cruelest part of life is that you won't know it's your last time - the last time you get out of bed, the last time you come home at night, the last time you kiss someone you love, or the last time you have the opportunity to do something as mundane as walk up a flight of stairs.

As brief as that encounter was, I am going to remember that old man and his words the next time I need inner strength to do something. It was a great but sad reminder that life is short and can change at any moment. I will do what I can while I am still capable; and with the awareness that one day I will not be able to do those things any more. That tragic but simple fact is what got me started on my journey 3 years ago and continues to be my biggest motivator.

And this is the exact point I tried to sum up in a very popular post last month: Appreciate everything you have and everything you can do - regarding your health or any other area of your life. Do not take your life or opportunities for granted. You only get one chance to live your life and be who you are. Seize every moment, every day, every event and every challenge. And don't waste any more time. You can't go back and enjoy things that are now gone, but you can make the choice to start living in a new way - appreciating what you still have and do what you are capable of doing today. You don't want to wake up one day and regret what you should have done when you had the chance. Make a point to do it now - whatever IT is - while you fortunate enough to be able to do it. Even if it's something as simple as walking up the stairs...

Numbers, Stats and a great day for a bike ride in NYC!

Today I did something I haven't done in a while, I weighed and measured myself. Here are the results, along with the last two times I took all my measurements; most recently, nearly a year ago. And since I get asked very often, I am 5'2". (note: to see all the columns in the spreadsheets and charts, you may need to click on them and go to Flickr to view them larger):

I'm not sure why my thigh and calf are a half inch bigger, but my waist and rib cage are 1 inch smaller. I actually expected everything to be bigger, because I noticed last week that my skirts were tight (read: tighter than usual). That was actually what prompted me to measure myself in the first place. I was a little surprised by those numbers, but that's what they are currently.

In other news, yesterday I finally set up my new Nike + sneakers and broke them in at the gym on the treadmill. I uploaded my "power song" ("Singin a Song about Today", by Mooney Suzuki), and I linked the iPod Nike program to my "iWorkout" playlist (which starts off with Hoku's "Perfect Day", followed mostly Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor"). When I got home from the gym, I uploaded my run information from iPod onto the website. (Oh, and if you want to add me on Nike +, my log in is "bitchcakes".) I haven't quite figured out the site yet, but I love it already! It keeps records and stats and has charts. Charts!!! (I love charts!)

In this chart, you can see that I was doing my interval running. I like to alternate between walking and running every 90 seconds. But I had trouble setting up this treadmill at first, so the first 3 minutes were spent walking until I figured it out. I go from a fast walk (3.8 miles per hour) to a run - which, yesterday, I did at 6 miles per hour! (I usually run at 5.8 mph, so this was a new record).

And when I saw this page on the website, I was blown away. I set a new speed record! My average mile time was 11 minutes and 14 seconds. Awesome!

I already love my new Nike + sneakers and iPod syncing feature. I can't wait to use it again for running so I can track more stats on the website!

After my run, I did the Total Body Conditioning class that kicks my ass (but I love it!). In there, I burned over 300 calories and felt ready to conquer the day! I love that class!

Then, my friend Rowan told me about a fantastic bike event going on in Park Slope, Brooklyn today - the NY Bike Jumble was hosting a "Bike Photo Booth" where they had a professional photographer who was taking photos of cyclists with their bikes. Best part: it was FREE!

Today was unseasonably warm, so it was the perfect day for it! I made my way outside and was THRILLED to be on my bike again. I didn't think I'd have a great biking day like this until next spring. It was delightful!

I headed over to Park Slope, passing by some incredibly beautiful homes (many of which still had pumpkins on their stoops or Halloween decorations up):

I made it to the Old Stone House and had a handful of photos taken of me with my bike. (I'll do a future blog and post them here when they email them to me.)

After that, I took the Manhattan Bridge over to Manhattan:

I met up with a friend in Little Italy and spent some time with her. On my way out of that neighborhood, I saw this group of handsome young Italian men on Mulberry St that were posing for a photo. I seized the moment and took a photo of them too. Then some of them posed with me while their friend took photos us.

After that visit, I headed north and west to visit my Dad at work (no photos). And finally, I headed south to get back to the Williamsburg Bridge. On my way, I found a terrific display at Fishs Eddy on Broadway at 19th St. (I love this store and buy kitchen stuff there often.) Look how they created NYC skyscrapers out of silverware! Incredible!

I can't remember where in Manhattan I found this great neon:

And I returned to Brooklyn just in time to catch a breathtaking sunset:

When I finally got home, I entered all my heart rate monitor data for the biking I did today. I can't believe how many calories I burned! (This is a snapshot of my Heart Rate Monitor spreadsheet, which you may have noticed I added a few more columns to):



So, in total today, I biked 27 miles in about 3.5 hours and burned over 1500 calories! Wow. I'm pretty impressed!

What a fantastic and active weekend I had! I only wish it didn't have to end. :(

Weekly Meeting Topic: Holiday Traditions

(sorry this post is a night late, I got sidetracked last night after the meeting...)

This week we talked about the upcoming holidays and the role that traditions play in the holidays. We likely all have some family traditions that we look forward to (or perhaps not) and those traditions could be getting in the way of your short term and long term goals, not to mention your mental well-being. But the great thing is that traditions have to start somewhere, and you can create *new* traditions - healthy traditions that will help you this and every year going forward. Take some time to evaluate your current traditions and see which ones you'd consider changing or eliminating and what new ones you'd like to incorporate instead.

I don't celebrate holidays so this isn't such a challenge for me. But my meeting members discussed some new traditions they were considering this year that will help them in their journey. These were some suggestions, but I'm sure they'll spark some of your own ideas:

• Instead of sitting on the couch watching sports and/or eating more, start a tradition of doing something physical like going out for a walk. (One member said he was going to walk around the neighborhood and look at some of the holiday lights and decorations. I thought that was a great idea!)
• If you have a good group of people at your holiday gathering and want to stay indoors, you can spend some time playing games. Give your body a chance to digest and keep your mind active instead of your mouth.
  
• Have something to look forward to *other* than food - like catching up with the friends or relatives you haven't seen in a while; and if you're going away - enjoying the sights and experiences of another city.
• Create a tradition to work out before your holiday event. It will help keep you focused and earn you some activity points.
  

I think the important points to remember are:

• As my leader pointed out, it's a HoliDAY - not a holiweek or holimonth.Keep it to the one day.
• Keep the focus OFF the food. Yes, the food will be there in abundance, possibly calling you by name. Perhaps some of those foods are only available this time of year. If that's the case and you want to enjoy them, then go ahead - as responsibly and aware as possible. I do not believe in depriving yourself - you should enjoy those special foods if that's what you want to do. But that food should not be the focus of the day - the event, company and venue should be.
  
• And like I always say, no matter what happens, remember that you can restart at any time - don't wait for January 1st or December 1st or next Monday. Start over at that next meal. The sooner you restart, the less damage you do. In fact, if you catch yourself fast enough, chances are it won't even show up at the scale.
  

Now for my weekly questions-

What did I accomplish this week?

• I tracked 3 days. That's shy of my 4 day goal and less than half the week but like I always remind myself - tracking *something* is better than tracking nothing.
• I took vitamins 5/7 days (this is still a challenge for me!)
  
• I learned I really do not like kale. I am going to stop buying it and look for other ways to get my iron. In fact, I started using spinach and arugula in my super salad. I especially like the arugula and am going to make it that way from now on.
• I followed through on TWIET (Tweet what I eat Tuesday)
• A friend of mine that I hadn't seen at the gym in a few months saw me in punk rope tonight and he commented on how great I was running! He called me a track star! That was a huge compliment - he didn't know I recently started running, so for him to notice the difference and tell me meant a lot. Thanks, JJ!
  

What do I want to work towards next week?

• I still have not had time to program my new sneakers with my iPod! Or use them on the treadmill! I will definitely do that before next Tuesday night's blog.
• I will continue to work on tracking. My goal is to tack 100% of at least 4 days and at least *some* of the other 3 days. I know this will help me and I need to do it.
• I will make my doctor appointment that I mentioned last week (I've worked a ton of hours since last Wednesday and have not had time to pick a day off and make an appt but I will do it tomorrow or Friday)
• Next week William and I will get back to our 3 days a week gym schedule (and my stair workout). That was also a to do for this week but it's not going to happen because we're still dealing with a very hectic workload this week. We've had no time for lunch. (Speaking of no time- my Wii arrived and I have not had time to even unpack it yet!)

Have a great week, everyone! :)