Constant Commentary

So dusty.....  Time to clean it up and face reality.  Today I read a post on Emily Nolan's blog about her decision to lose weight.  This decision is huge because she is a large part of the 'body-acceptance-love-the-skin-you're-in' movement.  I don't know her entire life history or anything, but I think she is a plus-sized model.  (Ok... maybe my mind just has her grouped in with Ashley Graham, Danika Brysha and assume she is also a model? ...but I DO know that she was doing something with Lululemon at some point, so I think I am right. ---hey...there is no research team here at Constant Commentary!)   The backlash on these 'not size 0' ladies when they lose weight is absolutely disgusting , but.... I get it.  I would never SAY the horrible things that I see people say on their insta-blog-tweet-fbs, but I get it. As I read her post today, I was annoyed at her talking about her focus on the numbers on the scale and at the same time trying to sa...

Some snaps from the 21-day challenge that I just SLAYED AND TOOK NO PRISONERS!!! On June 27th I went to the doctor because I was a sicky-sicky and concerned about possible Lyme disease.  Not only was the number on the scale was no bueno, but I also had high blood pressure, which has never been an issue for me (except when I was pregnant).  She suspected that the HBP was due to illness, but said, "Well when we make your appointment for your yearly physical, we will want to check that again and possibly need to start treating it."  We all know what that means. Drugs.  No, thank you. I had already been exercising, and trying (<--note the word trying) to eat right, but I left at appointment feeling the need to kick things into gear and get into shape.  Part of my daily motivation was the August 25th appointment for a physical.  I daydream about going in and having a much better scale number and a normal blood pressure.  I daydream about the doctor...

As I filled many little fake plastic eggs for my way-too-old-for-this children (one of which is 20), it was not lost on me that perhaps since I know that sugar is poison and really has no place in a healthy lifestyle, that I should not feed copious amounts of it to my kids on holidays.  Particularly since my son definitely has a penchant to overdo.  We recently stopped buying cereal after numerous warnings to him about the 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar we kept catching him adding to it.  I have no illusions that at 14 years old, I am going to convince him to not eat sugar all the time.  But I CAN control what he eats at home with us! As I filled many little fake plastic eggs for my way-too-old-for-this children (one of which is 20), I had SEVERAL moments of weakness.  The first of which was at Target when I was going to get the kids Peeps for their baskets with the sole purpose of my getting to eat some.  The Peeps stayed in the cart for about 3 minutes and then wen...

Normally when I disappear from the blog, that means I have fallen into a bucket of sugar.  But not this time!  I have found that with all the writing I am doing for grad school, my writing itch gets plenty of scratchin'!  I celebrated my 42nd birthday on Saturday and I celebrated it with lots of love from family and friends and some super awesome presents, but NO CAKE or ICE CREAM!  I didn't even want it.  I know that having that stuff will just make me want more and more of it, and I also know that it will make me feel like crap mentally and physically, so I skipped it.  Yes it felt weird.  No I didn't feel like I was missing out.  Instead Lonnie and I spent the afternoon in the kitchen making my FAVORITE spicy chicken Mexican bowls with homemade guac, and because it was my birthday and I am not a masochist, I even had some rice in my bowl.  (ACTUALLY I am reading a great book called 'Paleo Takeout' and I learned that there is cons...

Today as I slid on my jeans for work...  I was actually planning on probably having to slide them back off again because they were too tight.   NOPE!  If anything,  they were looser!  As planned,  while in Mexico,  I ate and drank everything I wanted to.  Fortunately,  that is a LOT of great fresh Mexican food!  I never really eat junk food in Mexico because it's all just weird stuff.   Even if I am feeling snacky,  and go into a corner store,  I almost always come out empty handed because 1. I don't know what anything is and 2. None of it looks appetizing to me.  My downfall was traveling home.  I am VERY CAREFUL about what I eat around plane trips for fear of a repeat of the puking incident,  but once we got back in Boston ...and ended up stranded there for 2 days (thank you American Airlines for losing the one bag with our car keys in it).  I must admit,  all bets were off....

Well... this week's 'iced coffee selfie that illustrates nothing' actually does illustrate something.  Don't wear this shirt and a sports bra that smashes the boobies.  I look like a blob. Last week I had been thinking that by this week I would not have that iced coffee in my hand and would be off artificial sweeteners.  I am not.  Not even a little.  I am trying to be more mindful about it and make a least a few choices here and there that don't involve that garbage.  I didn't have any diet soda at all yesterday,  and I drank a cup of tea with no real or fake sugar in it at all, and actually enjoyed it! We leave on Friday for our vacation and I feel awesome that I have been able to stick to this the whole time!!  I do wish I had exercised more and was in better running shape, but, oh well... it is what it is. The big test now is coming HOME from vacation and staying attached to this new lifestyle.  I am actually not worried about the vacatio...

Yesterday and today have been Hellacious work days.   I had to get gas today because I was on 'E. ' I also had to get gas YESTERDAY because I was on 'E. ' I've been everywhere man.  <--sing that By the end of today I was... AM (still on the clock til midnight) EXHAUSTED.   I was soooo tempted to swing into McDonald's emotionally AND HUNGERALLY, BUT I resisted.   And I had help holding out til I got home thanks to an awesome text husband letting me know that he had cooked a Frittata and had it ready and waiting for me to come home.   So OF COURSE I wasn't going to eat and ruin my appetite and his efforts to help me stay on track!  Another victory.... I felt like a cup of tea (Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride is MY JAM!) to warm me up emotionally AND hungerally ;)   And I actually thought to myself,  "Well I don't want to get my blood sugar all up right before bed."  Who the hell AM I!? SO...  I enjoyed my tea without ...

Luna looks on in the kitchen as the crazy lady takes a yoga selfie I can't believe that I am on day 30 and still going strong!  I guess since it's been a month now, I should do a little run-down of changes that I have or have not noticed. Things that have not changed.... I am still fat.  (I shouldn't say things like that, I know.... positive self talk... blah blah blah....) I still have a LOT of bags of clothes that are waiting for me to be smaller so that I can wear them. I cannot run 3 miles without walking at all. I still do not go to the gym or exercise as much as I would like to I still love Justin Bieber And One Direction. Things that HAVE changed.... I have LESS fat on my body. The button on my jeans is not standing on the ledge threatening to of jump from the pressure it's under. I can wear some of the clothes that I had not been wearing because they didn't fit properply. I can run/walk in 1 minute intervals easily for 15 minutes (and surely more than that, ...

Need to stop this day counting thing soon, it's confusing as hell! NO time yesterday to blog or take my weekly 'useless-does-not-illustrate-anything-at-all iced coffee selfie' ;-)  I actually got called in to work before I even got out of bed!!  I DID manage to hork down leftover chicken with guac from Sunday nights dinner though, so was able to start a crazy day off right!  It felt good to make myself a priority and not just throw everything out the window and eat shitty food because I am overwhelmed and busy. I was on the road all day, and did not have time or inclination to pack a lunch, so when I finally had a second to breath, I ran into a grocery store deep in the woods of Greenville, Maine, picked up a cheese stick, a bag of macadamia nuts (YUM!!!  Hadn't had those in FOREVER!!!), and a yellow pepper and munched my way back to civilization.  Again.... feeling AWESOME that I am not using the hectic-ness of my job as an excuse to derail.  I even stoppe...

Maybe blog slacking means I need less motivational tools to keep going! We managed to get our butts to the gym both days this weekend!   This morning was our Sunday morning yoga class and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! My main focus at the gym is liftng weights and I am loving that too!  I love feeling strong and powerful.   If we have time and I am feeling like it, I do some run/walking on the treadmill.   Instead of couch to 5k, I am alternating running and walking for 1 minute each and will build up from there.   I worked with a trainer last year and he wasn't too crazy about the couch to 5k program and recommended this instead. As far as the eating part goes, it's going great!  Yesterday Lonnie  and I went on a mini road trip.  The plan for our last stop was the grocery, but by the time we got there, we had hit a wall, hard.  There was talk of having a cheat day aND just buying some snacks, but I couldn't do it.   And I hon...

Today is a holiday for the kids, not for me.  So as I am on-call, I just said goodbye to them as they headed off TO THE GYM TOGETHER!! GOOD LORD I DID SOMETHING RIGHT!!! Monday selfie- coffee happened much earlier on the road! The weekend was very blah, but also very YAY!  On Saturday Lonnie was gone all day at a coughcoughgamingconventioncoughcough.  I knew that he would eat "off plan" since he was out all day, so as I drove to the grocery store I gave myself permission to also have a little treat/splurge.  I thought ALL the way there about what I have really missed and really would like and came up with NOTHING.  My old favorite sweet treats like cake... ice cream... candy.... no thanks, the thought of them just made me feel a little sick to my stomach.  (You know... like that feeling you have after eating too many pancakes and then someone offers you a cinnamon bun?)  So no sweets.  Ooooh!  How about chips?  Cheez-its (my lifelone nem...

...probably  doesn't help when I do these two for 1 bloggys. Still plugging along.  Last night we went out to dinner and Lonnie and I both sucked it up and stayed on it and were WAY high maintenance.  But I think we were nice enough, and gave a good enough tip that hopefully the waitress won't quit when she sees us walk in next time :)  Lonnie got sizzlin' fajitas with lettuce instead of tortillas to wrap them in, and I got a bunless burger and grilled asparagus.  It was all delicious, we had a great time, and didn't end our day feeling like we cheated or failed.  YAY US! Lazy, Cozy, I DON'T WANNA GET OUT OF BED selfie Where I am still struggling is the gym part.  It's SO. BITTERLY. COLD! I just can't bring myself to get dressed and to the the gym and then come out afterwards either sweaty or freshly showered---either way DOUBLE FROZEN!  I realize it's a stupid excuse.  But it's real.  And you know I love keepin' it real. Also Lonnie and...

Running at the gym... back to the beginning of Couch to 5k Yoga mat LOCKED AND LOADED What a great weekend! We actually got our asses to the gym BOTH days, and this morning got up early to get to Yoga by 9:15.  Yoga for fat people is just.... well... it's something.  Fortunately, I am very bendy, so my frustration when the chub gets in the way gets cancelled out by my competitive nature, "HA!  Yeah I'm fat, but I can touch the floor with my forward fold so HA!"  I totally fell on my ass trying to do one legged balancing pose because I have zero balance and it. was. HYSTERICAL! We even went to the movies today and ate a healthy, late, protein-packed, breakfast Fritatta before leaving, passed on the moviesnacks and ordered our favorite grilled chicken salads to pick up on the way home.  I did "splurge" a little and did not pick out my croutons, but I DID skip the included pita bread that I usually use to scrape up every last bit of their magical basil vinaigr...

I got on the scale this morning.  Since I haven't been on the scale in a couple months, I have no idea how much I have lost since I started doing this, but I DO know that the number was lower than it was when I was on the scale a couple months ago, so YAY!  I try very hard to stay away from the scale altogether.  I read a book once that talked about being a slave to the scale, and it is SO TRUE.  I could be "ON IT" and feeling great, clothes fitting right, then get on the scale and see a number that is upsetting and BOOM.... no longer feeling great.  Because of a tiny electronic box.  My 20 year old daughter has NO idea what she weighs except when she goes to the doctor.  She thinks scales are stupid.  She just lives her life and eats normally, stops when she is full, and eats what she wants.  I am SO THANKFUL every day that I was able to raise her this way and not pass down my issues.  I worked hard to not ever limit food or make food a...

I actually made it to the gym today!   I was lifting heavy and feeling like a beast. Aaaaaaaand then within 10 minutes of each other,  two beautiful young,  toned girls showed up.   And they meant business.   I mean the full on 'this weighs 3 times what I do weight dropping on the floor with a giant crash each time' business. I totally let it get to me and all I wanted to do was finish up my set as fast as I could and get the fuck outta there.   UGH!    SO NOT COOL OF ME!  :::::sigh:::::%

My weekly Monday morning iced-coffee photo that really illustrates nothing...lol I have a love/hate relationship with Mondays.  I enjoy my job, and Mondays are usually a day where I get to do the stuff I enjoy doing at work (as opposed to my overnight shifts where sometimes I have to do things that I were prefer not to do).  So I look forward to Mondays.  BUT... like anyone else, I hate when the weekend ends! "Sticking to it" this weekend went GREAT!  I had a 1/2 cup of rice in my taco bowl, and we put a little honey in our coconut shrimp batter, but all of those are still whole foods, and we kept it to a minimum, so YAY US!  In the past, we have always had a "cheat day."  This time, since my current goal was is just stick to this for a month, I decided on no cheat days.  This was a little scary.  But you know what I have learned.  Cheat days are BULLSHIT.   Cheat days are just terrible.   Cheat days are wrong.  ...

SLEEPY!  I have had probably the WORST work week I have had since becoming a crisis worker, but yet, I woke up today from sleeping after yet another  up-all-night shift feeling fantastic. I feel lighter, have more energy, and feel more mentally in control of things.  LOVES IT! I went into my shift prepared and armed with a snack of rendered pepperoni chips and cheese.  I actually didn't get a headache like I usually do on night shifts.  Did still have nausea when the hardcore sleep deprivation kicked in. Still haven't made it to the gym and that is driving me bonkers.  Couldn't have gone today anyway because they closed early and I had to sleep.  Lonnie and I plan to go tomorrow.  That place will be a shit show with all the New Year's Resolutioners! Fun low carb research today!  Football snacks.... http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbholidaymenus/a/locarbsuperbowl.htm I think we are going with coconut shrimp and veggies and dip....

Got some inspiration from a friend and co-worker today.  She was on a strict low-carb diet (Not what I do, I eat all whole foods.) for 8 months until just recently when she wasn't feeling well and could only stomach crackers.  She laughed and said that she also used it as an excuse to completely fall off the wagon for the past 2 weeks.  My kind of people!  ;-)  We talked about how much better we feel when watching the carbs and in trying to talk her back into it, got me all fired up about it too! I know it's only day 4, but today, on day 4, I am wearing jeans that were a tad on the painful side a couple weeks ago.  Jeans that I could wear to work, but that I could not WAIT to strip off the second I got home.  I have been wearing them all day today :) Struggles: Got up late and didn't have time to eat before rushing out to my weekly staff meeting.  Got a sugar-free iced coffee at McDonald's.  This was a bad choice because a. We all know Mcdona...

Winter Zombie It was a cold and blizzardy day yesterday. Got around 8 inches.... and it snowed too!! I never did make it to the gym.  Then I got called to do an awake overnight shift at the children's crisis unit.  UGH.  I did not bring any snacks with me as I was in a rush to get out the door, I probably couldn't have eaten anyway, overnight shifts when I have to stay awake all night make me sick to my stomach and get raging headaches. I DID make a responsible choice when I got home though and had a protein-filled small breakfast before hitting the sack. As I was only able to sleep til around noon, I skipped the gym again today as I am a bit on the zombie side.  I definitely could have gone.  But I didn't.  I just HATE going out in the cold, trudging through the snow, warming up the car, scraping the car, and then getting back into the freezing car after the gym.  I realize this is a ridiculous excuse. I DID, however, stick to watching the carbs and d...

Breakfast: Green Beans, chicken, little bits of bacon. YES PLEASE I woke up this morning with a rager of a headache.  I know this headache well.... it's my body screaming, "WHERE THE FUCK IS ALL MY SUGAR!!!!!!??????  I LOVE THAT SHIT!!!!  GIMME GIMME GIMME!!!"  I ALSO woke up this morning feeling physically 'empty' and flatter.  Losing water and bloat, I assume.  I LOVE this feeling.  It feels like success and that screams MUCH louder than the headache! Day 1 was a resounding success!!  I worked a 14 hour shift and felt the pangs of temptation a few times.  It was a looooong, annoying day, as I was assigned to a task that I do not enjoy because the usual person who does it and likes is it on vacation.  The worst part of the day was lunchtime.  It was FREEZING and blustery yesterday, and I dreaded the thought of getting out of the car to go into the grocery store salad bar.  I longed to stay in my warm, cozy car drive through my...