Tri 4 The Cure

10 weeks to go until the big sprint triathlon. I'm trying not to hyperventilate at that prospect. I have set my ambitious training program goals (and my really, really ambitious goals for the year). I will come back and fill those in when I have longer than 15 minutes (I have promised my child I would make her lunch. When does it end?) I also have decided not to weigh myself again until race day. Because I am very tired of having a crap week based on the scale. I'm going to take my measurements and post my weight and before/after photos. Not quite brave enough to post the measurements but I will post any changes. OK that about sets me up to begin the first 10 weeks of lifelong health!

Sweet Dilemma and A Goal

OK I am totally flummoxed (I love that word) about what to do with my coffee. I always used Splenda so I wouldn't add calories. Then I started trying to stay away from chemicals and switched to sugar. But I keep reading about the horrible effects of eating too much sugar. So I switched back to Splenda. And then I read about the high incidence of weight gain for people who use sugar substitutes. Aaaagh I don't know what to do anymore. I am leaning towards using sugar because at least it's natural. But I just have to learn to use less. I think before I was using a tablespoon total (for three cups). I'll work on that.

As for the goal, I would like to track what I eat (good or bad) on The Daily Plate for at least five days this week.

I would also like to make this big goal to jump into my training program (to be detailed later) but I would be happy to limp into the program this week following my extremely unpleasant recent illness.

Will Post Again...

when I can breathe in without coughing up a portion of lung. TMI?

In Need of a Coach

Please send me your coaches free of charge. Or just start telling me to get up and do it already. Actually, being yelled at doesn't work for me. Say it nicely. I know I need to start training for the April triathlon. But it seems so far away and I'm just so sleepy. I woke up early this morning to take the dog for a walk because I had to leave right after dropping the kids off at school. And you know what? I went back to sleep because 6:30 is unbelievably cold and dark. I'm starting to think I prefer the summer temps even though your internal organs roast. I cannot get with the cold. And it provides another convenient excuse! OK for reals. I just need a training plan. So if you can't provide a coach, could you at least give me a plan? I actually have three or four plans to follow but maybe I'm just so overwhelmed with plans I can't get started. Yeah, I like that one. I did buy a Bosu Ball. Have yet to take it out of the box. I feel a little protective of it because I see the way my children have been looking at it. Waiting for all that Vitamin D energy to kick in. Any day now.

It's the Vitamin D

So apparently I am low on that most important of vitamins, and not the "vitamins" your mother hides in the back of the medicine chest, I mean Vitamin D. I'm pretty sure I get enough sun. I live in the desert. I drink at least a cup of milk with my coffee. So not sure why I'm low on the D. The doctor prescribed a supplement for the next 12 weeks. I think I'm taking roughly one million units of vitamin D now. The rare side effects include weight loss and loss of appetite. They suggest you call your doctor. How about I call my girlfriends and we go out for dessert (in the desert) to celebrate?!

The New Year

I did not make any foolish weight resolutions this year. Though I do think it would be awesome to wake up January 1st and not have "goal weight" in the back of my mind. Just imagine how many other things I could concentrate on. As you can see by my weight, the holidays were not kind. As a result, I am almost back up to my weight of 192 from three years ago. So not cool. But I'm not going to panic and vow to eat 1,000 calories a day while exercising 7 days a week. I just can't take that pressure. I would like to start training for the triathlon. Kind of a necessity. And I would like to enter my food daily on The Daily Plate. Beyond that I am still open. And waiting on those blood test results to let me off the hook!

What is Up?

Did you expect me to say, "my weight"? I'm not even going there. Last week I kept track of my calories and exercise on The Daily Plate. While I did not eat and exercise like a champ, I did expect some sort of return on my investment. And instead I was rewarded with a half pound gain. You might think this would lead me to eat lots of holiday goodies to punish myself. And you would be right. But I felt really bad about it. And yes, I do realize how unhealthy it is to 1. punish yourself for gaining weight and 2. to do it with food, which makes absolutely no sense. I am back to searching for a blog or website to tell me exactly what I should do, even though I know what I should do. And it probably does not include Sonic. I read something recently that said the decision making part of our brain is in the same section with the willpower part so every decision we make lowers our willpower threshold. And I am clinging to that reasoning. I am also going to the doctor to have my thyroid checked (again). I have had my thyroid levels checked at least three times in the past couple years because I swear there is something wrong with me. My OB/GYN seems to think it's the natural byproduct of three children. I know my life is sometimes crazy and exhausting but I wake up tired and I actually fell asleep watching a movie last week. I have been reading a lot of information about hypothyroid and it seems some doctors are more aggressive about the levels than others. I plan to bring a list of my symptoms (hello, my blood pressure is a tad above zombie level and my temperature is consistently under 98) and I will insist that something is wrong and I want it to be fixed. Now. How awesome would it be to finally feel "normal" after three years of feeling like a different person. Maybe I'm not just lazy and hungry, maybe it's a "condition."