Blogger is still being weird. I've been trying to get into this all day. Very strange.

Today is my break day. I've not yet worked out and I've not really been paying close attention to my eating. Even though it's my break day, I'm not going crazy (ie eating anything and everything). My hunny is taking a break too today. I'm going to cut this short because I can not trust Blogger at the moment.

Hope you all have a great, relaxing weekend!!!

Blogger is doing weird things today. Hopefully I'll be able to finish a post without getting booted off.

I truly can not believe that it's Friday already. Actually, part of me can't believe that it's not already Saturday (although, if it were Saturday, I'd not be in the office right now). This morning, I could not get up. I totally slept in, something I almost never do through the week. I slowly crawled out of bed and, en route to the bathroom, tried to talk myself out of working out, "you don't have enough time...you'll be late for work..." I told myself to shut up, pulled on my gear and did it! I dragged my sorry, sleepy ass downstairs and just exercised. I was really glad that I did it when it was over. Really glad.

The past couple of days have been weird. In the evenings, I've allowed myself to have snacks that are really not stuff that I normally have. I don't know why that is but I'm going with it. I don't go too nuts or anything, it's just odd because they are things (ie fatty stuff) that I am pretty good at avoiding. I'm not doing any major damage to my program though. I'm carefully calculating everything that I'm eating on Fitday. I'm sure that it'll pass. My eating has been a-okay so far today. This weekend I have a lot of running around to do so I should be busy enough that I don't get distracted and start a snacking frenzy.

Is anyone else having trouble with evening snacking? I wonder if it's connected to the days getting shorter...?

Carla left me the following comment, in response to my WIW: "Easing on the work outs while you're sick is completely legitimate in, in my mind anyhow. That's not an excuse. " She's right, it is a legitimate reason for not working out. It's the only "excuse" though, that I'll allow myself anymore. I really want to get this weight off and I know that working out 5-6 days a week is the only way that it's going to happen.

I have lost 70 pounds to date and I have a lot more to lose. I know it's going to take me a long time to get to my goal so if I let myself weenie out of workouts, that is just going to add to it. I'm not a complete hard ass but I am trying to be really disciplined as far as my exercise schedule goes because I know that eating well isn't enough.

I went back to my doctor yesterday for my monthly check-in. I'm down 12 pounds since my last visit and we're both pretty happy about that. I told her about Fred's book and she asked me if I would lend it to her after I had finished it. I told her that I'd be happy to. I'd love to see her start recommending it to her patients.

We chatted a little bit about what I've been doing over the past month and we briefly discussed weight-loss drugs. She told me that the majority of her patients who want to lose weight, ask for pills before they've tried anything else because they're looking for a "quick fix." This didn't shock me really. I've had a couple of people I know ask me about the "websites I'm using to lose weight." When I refer them to Fitday I think that they are disappointed. I'm sure that they think that there is some web page out there which will give them a secret solution to their weight problems. Unfortunately, the simple solution is not a secret, it's just not easy. Nothing worth having is easy though, in my opinion anyway.

This week's Wednesday Weigh-In:
What are your excuses for eating something you shouldn't or for not working out? What is the best and/or worst excuse you've ever heard?

The only acceptable excuse I can allow myself for not working out is when I'm not feeling well. If I'm really sick, if my back is bothering me or if I'm completely exhausted due to circumstances beyond my control, I'll let myself off the hook from working out. I allow myself a break during these times so I don't hurt myself.

I allow myself a "break" day once a week. On Saturdays, I can eat anything I want. I never go overboard and binge though. Usually, I'll have a small amount of chocolate, or we'll go out for a more "fatty" meal than I'd normally have. There are certain foods that I try to avoid (cheese and bread being big ones) but there isn't anything that I don't allow myself to have. I know that it's better for me to give into a food craving than it is to deprive myself. If I really want something "bad" I'll have it outside the house (like going for an ice cream cone instead of buying a container and having it in the freezer to tempt me) in a controlled environment, in a very limited portion size.

Of course, like everyone, I sometimes go away for the weekend and will miss a workout but I've noticed, over the past few months, that I physically can not (thankfully!) eat the way I used to so even when I do have a "break" meal or a treat, I don't go nuts and get off of my plan because of it.

mmm...another yummy tip courtesy of Yahoo:

In Praise of Avocados

If you like avocados but avoid them because they're "fattening," take heart. Avocados' fat isn't the artery-clogging kind. Put 2-3 thin slices on salads and sandwiches to add flavor, and give your heart a healthy dose of monounsaturated fat and vitamin E. Just remember, even "good fat" has lots of calories, so if you are watching your waistline, limit your portion to only a couple of thin avocado slices with your meal.

Today is just whizzing by, at lightning speed. I actually like work days because they are easier for me to manage. On a regular work day, I workout early in the morning and I know exactly what I'm eating for breakfast and lunch. I don't "stock pile" food at work so once I've eaten what I brought with me, it's gone and I'm done 'til dinner. We're going to try to eat most of our evening meals at home this week.

Last night, we had a fabulous dinner and it ended up being very filling and low in calories. We had picked up some beautiful pork loin and did them on the barbecue. They were marinated in balsamic vinegar, garlic and ginger with a smidgen of hoisin and they were delicious. We also had grilled sweet peppers and a tonne of fresh tomatoes. My mum and dad are on vacation so she gave us a huge basket of tomatoes before they left (we're going to raid their garden again this weekend). I love fresh field tomatoes, I could eat them like an apple. Also, yesterday, I did something that I hadn't done in ages...I baked bread. I pulled out my bread machine and made us a beautiful loaf of fresh whole wheat bread. It was such a nice treat to have fresh bread with the tomatoes. It was still warm when we were slicing it and it didn't need any margarine or spread, it was wonderful just as it was. I wouldn't get back into the habit of making bread all the time but it was a really nice treat for us to have last night.

As promised, I started Fred's book while I rode my recumbent bike yesterday afternoon. It's really good so far. My ride just flew by as I read. He's such a good writer, and such an inspiration. I love his no-nonsense approach to all of this weight-loss stuff! If you haven't picked up a copy yet, I would strongly urge you to do so, it's great!

The weekend has been a blur. I had to work yesterday and that has kind of thrown me off kilter. I was expecting to have to work for 4 hours but, in the end, it was more like an entire day. We were working at a luncheon for new students and their parents. Welcoming them to campus I guess. We did get a break to eat and I saw what the students who live in residence, on meal plans, eat. To me, it didn't seem like there were many options for people who were trying to eat in a healthy manner. There was a really nice salad bar, very fresh, with lots of variety, but they only had full-fat dressings. Other than that, there was not a lot of low-fat options. I was a little surprised by this. I can't imagine how difficult it would be for me to live on what they have to offer. I guess you just eat teeny tiny portions of what is available but that's not very practical, in my opinion anyway.

Because work kept me so busy yesterday I didn't work out. I didn't have time in the morning and had intended to do it last night but I was so exhausted, I thought that I'd probably hurt myself if I tried to do any exercise. I'm glad that today is a holiday and I could take it easy. I have been doing laundry all day and puttering around the house a bit. I'm planning to go for ride and a workout as soon as this post is finished.

On Saturday, I did finish up with Good In Bed. I thought that it was terrific. I'm going to start Fred's book today, I plan to get started on it while I'm on the bike this afternoon!

This week's Progress Prompt:

Diet blogs are in the news. Three questions come to mind. Why are there such a proliferation of diet blogs on the Internet?

I don't like the term "diet blog" because I'm not dieting. This is a new lifestyle for me. Diet to me, is something you do for a period of time and then it's over. I know that this is not going to end for me, that I will eat this way and exercise for the rest of my life. I also don't know that I would say that there is a "proliferation" of them but there are definitely a good number. I think it's still a relatively small percentage of the whole blogging community though, overall.

Why do a large percentage of diet blogs disappear into cyberspace and never to return ever again?

I do notice, from time to time, the odd blogger who "disappears" or who at least stops the fitness blog. As a person who "multi-blogs" I can see why some people would give up one or another of their journals for simplicity sake. If someone stops writing (and this is a person who I really enjoy reading about), I will drop them a line to see how they are doing. Sometimes, it's a simple case of them being too busy to post.

Why do we rarely see one achieve her or his goal weight while in *active blogging status*?

I see, more and more, that fitness bloggers are getting closer to goal, or doing maintenance. This is still a relatively new thing and it can take some people a couple of years to get to goal. I expect to see more and more active bloggers reaching goal and I hope that they keep us up-to-date on how they are doing with maintenance.