New Day, New Week

I found myself saying last night that I couldn't wait for this week to be over.
It occured to me this morning, that today is technically the start of a new week for me. Today is weigh in day.

Granted, I'm not stepping on the scale today.
Would you want to weigh in after spending a weekend at the beach and then three days in Jewish Funeral Land...... yeah, I didn't think so.

I don't see a point in setting myself up for the disapointment, after a week full of heartbreak.

Yesterday, I gave myself some space.
I tracked everything I ate. I stayed mostly within my points.... darn that second glass of wine.
I haven't worked out since last week. I didn't push myself to squeeze it in yesterday or Wednesday. It wouldn't have ended well.
That being said, today is a new day an a new week.

The weather here is beautiful. It's warm, the humidity to down and there isn't a cloud in the sky. I'm looking forward to an excellent run tonight followed up with 30 minutes of yoga. I need to get back on track. I hope doing my favorite excercises will help jump start me into getting there.

I have all my meals planned for until Wednesday at lunch time.
I have every workout planned for now until Wednesday.
I have every intention of weighing in on Wednesday morning.

Why Wednesday?
Mr. Berg and I are going out of town Wednesday evening for my best friend's wedding. We won't return until the following week.

So Wednesday is weigh in day.

And since a new month is here. I should be setting some new goals for myself.
Honestly, right now, goals seem a little over whelming. I don't think the stress of the past week is behind me.
So for now, my goals are this:

1. Get to goal weight
2. Cook beets. Since I still haven't gotten around to doing that.


Today I'm going to focus on today.
Tomorrow I'll focus on tomorrow.
Day by day.
Week by week.

Here we go.....

Snowy Friday

It is a snowy morning here at Family Owned Inc. I can see the flurries from my office window. It's peaceful albeit slushy day outside.

I am feeling much better today. Yesterday I focused on healthy decisions, drank a lot of water and stayed away from all things processed. I did have a glass of wine last night while watching TV, but I only had to use 1 of my WPA. I'm not sweating it.

Despite still feeling like I was in funk when I went to bed last night, I had a great night's sleep. I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. (I also stuck my humpty dumpty pants in the goodwill pile).

Today will be a busy day here at Family Owned Inc. My morning is full of filing, paperwork and a new employee orientation. I'll be working through lunch so I can leave a little early to squeeze in a workout before getting ready for a fancy pants dinner tonight.

Speaking of fancy pants dinner, there's a challenge.

I know I'm having baked halibut. I have no idea what goes with the halibut, what it's baked in or how many delicious appetizer will be there.

In the words of Sarah Palin, I'm going rogue.

For the time being, the best I can do is control my day. I had a very healthy breakfast, I have a decent lunch planned. (As good as it gets for eating in the office). I'll worry about the dinner when I get there.

Today's Agenda:

Breakfast: The usual
AM Snack: Apple
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Thai Something or nother.... and a salad (like I said, it's the best I could do)
PM Snack: Carrots, if I need them, I might not
Dinner: Mystery Halibut and a glass of wine and then who knows.

Work Out: Cycle 2 Cardio Sculpt. I'm so excited for it. It's a little bit scary :)


Today is a good day. Yesterday was a good day, it just wasn't my day.

My Thoughts on P+

As of this morning, I've officially been doing WW's Points+ Plan for one week.
(for my sanity Points+ is now P+)

For the record, I jumped into the new program with both feet. I didn't grocery shop specifically for the plan, I didn't spend hours reading about it before starting. I just jumped in and got on with it.
As I went through the week, I did spend a good amount of time reading about the changes to the program, the new points calculations, the reasoning behind the changes, the research and science involved. I trust WW, their research, their studies and their program. If anything, I think their changes push more towards healthier eating and a healthier life style then it ever did before.

Overall:

• Fruit is Free- But that doesn't mean you need to go out an eat a watermelon, a pineapple and a bunch of bananas in one sitting. As Oprah once said "Eating too much of anything will eventually make you fat." And she's right. Fruit is full of good for you stuff, but it's also heavy in sugar. Thus, moderation people.
  For me, anywhere between 2-3 servings a day is about right.
• Healthier choices = healthier well being. Prior to P+ you had to make a decision to eat a 2pt package of 100 calorie cupcakes or a 2pt Bananas. What would you pick?
  I'd pick the cupcakes too. But guess what's going to fill you and keep you satisfied? Not the cupcakes, that I can assure you.
• Activity it still activity. There has been much debate on the message boards as to what equals an activity point. Guess what, it's different for everyone. Some people use heart rate monitors, some people use the activity calculator. Some people say 100 calories = 1 pt, others say 80 calories = 1pt.
  I don't have an answer, but I will say this: However you calculate, be it HRM, calculator, or smoke signals- consistency is key. Keep doing whatever way works best for you and the results should follow.
• Just because fruit is free, don't forget your veggies. Just don't, okay?
• And finally, if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times. Put crap in, crap comes out. Put good in and good comes out. Put the system to work for good, don't use it for pudding cups and crappy miniature cupcakes.

Overwhelmed

To be honest, I sort of forgot what it felt like to be over whelmed at work. It has been a long time since I was actually truly very, very busy.  For months now my desk has been clean and my piles organized. You could walk into my office at any given moment and see exactly what I was working on.

Right now, if you walked in here, you'd probably run out screaming. I'm about ready to.

There are piles and folders and forms and sticky notes and paperclips everywhere. I currently have no idea where my pen is and I can't find my to-do list but I'm pretty sure it's under a pile of papers to my right. What I can tell you though, is where my Diet Pepsi is.

I always know where my Diet Pepsi is..... always.


So, if I'm so overwhelmed, why am I here and not working?

Mostly because I'm overwhelmed. I need to take a moment to acknowledge that. To tell myself, yes, you are overwhelmed but that's okay. You'll regroup and keep going.... you always do.

Being overwhelmed at work is some what similar to weight loss. At least, I think so.
Too much work and too much weight are both overwhelming and difficult to navigate. The important thing to remember is to regroup, take it a step at time.

I didn't gain 15 pounds over night, I won't lose it over night.
I may have gotten a crap load of work to do over night, but again, it won't stop over night either.

Break it down. Piece by piece.

Saturday will mark one month on the WW. I've lost almost 8 pounds at this point. I did it a little bit at a time. I didn't go to bed last night and wake up 8 pounds slimmer. It was done, slowly, over 4 weeks. It took 28 days.

Granted, it won't take 28 day to get through this pile.

But in 28 minutes, 2.8 hours I'll be further along then I am right now.
In 28 days from now, I might lose another 8 pounds. Who knows?

The point is. Take a deep breath and break it down. Piece by piece, step by step. Progress.....

With all of this, weight, work, life, it all just takes progress....

Buzzing and Bathroom Wars....

Today is going to be a busy day here in Berg Land. Between working, voting, hair appointments, banking, workingout and household chores there won't be much time for relaxing.

Thus, I was up early, early today to squeeze in a workout before work. I typically HATE early morning workouts. It's cold, it's early, it's typically down right miserable. But I knew I had to get the job done so off I went.

I was surprised at how well the work out went and how awake I feel now that it's done. Who needs caffeine? Work out! It's a much better buzz, I promise.

I had an ah-ha moment later this morning while in the shower (I get my best ideas in there). Why don't I wake up early every Tuesday and work out? Hmm......

You see, Tuesday are a rough days in the Berg Household. Mr. Berg has to wake up early for a weekly breakfast meeting. J-Berg does not.

Typically I'm up every morning between 5:30 and 5:45 depending on my schedule. Each morning the alarm goes off and I get up and go. I do not hit snooze, I do not go directly back to sleep. I wake up and go.
After my morning routine in the bathroom is done, I wake up Mr. Berg for the first time. Then I turn on the TV and the bedroom lights and plan my outfit and find my shoes. I then wake up Mr. Berg for the second time. I then do my make up and fix my hair before throwing things at Mr. Berg to get his ass out of bed. See where this is going?

Thus, Tuesdays are typically hell. Mr. Berg's alarm goes off three times. He hits the snooze button every single effing time. Then my alarm goes off, I get up and start my day. I've been awake for a half hour at this point. Mr. Berg magically wakes up 20 seconds after I close the bathroom door and demands the bathroom.

This does not fly. I typically have no qualms about sharing the bathroom. However, three are certain things everyone needs to do alone. I do not enjoy having an audience, particularly one that demands I leave.

So, going forward, I'm going to just cut the crap and go workout. Mr. Berg can act like the 30 something that he is and fend for himself and get his own butt out of bed.

Something tells me, next week, I'll finish my work out and come upstairs to find Mr. Berg still in bed......
Oh well, not a problem.


And PS- Please remember to get out there and vote today.
I did. It took 10 minutes and half of that was waiting in line for the old lady to find my name.

Have a great day everyone!!

VOTE!!

Guess What ?

I had a wonderful, wonderful weekend.

Mr. Berg left around 6am on Saturday for his work event. I slept until almost 8 and hit the ground rounding. By 1pm I had done seven loads of laundry, been to Target, the bank, the grocery store, the craft store and had stopped by my parents house to bring in the mail since they were out of town.

Our cleaning crew had been in on Friday, so I didn't need to worry about cleaning the typical stuff. Instead I wiped down grimey door handles, splash marks on some of my cabinets and walls, and cleaned off my ceiling fans. If you cannot remember the last time you wiped down the blades of your ceiling fans, I suggest you do that NOW. You will be amazed at the grossness.

I was worried about staying on point for this past weekend. I ended up doing just fine. While I was at the grocery store I picked up a few mircowave meals in case I wasn't in the mood to cook. They ended up being a great idea. I had ravioli for lunch on Saturday and again for dinner on Sunday. Both times I added a big salad and some fruit.

I never felt the need to keep eating or forage for snacks. Instead, I stuck to my plan and never once felt hungry.

I drank plenty of water, got on the right amount of vegatables and had fun doing it.

To add to a good weekend, I had ordered some new Firm videos last week. They arrived on Saturday and I put them to good use right away.

1/2 through my workout on Sunday our power went out. After about 20 minutes it returned and picked up where I left off. The old J-Berg would have taken the power outtage as an excuse to have a beer.

Overall, I'm pretty proud of myself and I'm pretty excited to see what happens on the scale on Thursday. Can't say I've ever felt that way before.

By Sunday afternoon I was bored. There was nothing worth watching on TV, I can caught up on all of my DVR'd shows, I watched what I wanted to watch on on demand. I had read the Sunday paper, I planned my meals for NOVEMBER, I cut my coupons. I was bored. I watched the Princess Diaries, that's how bored I was.

But I did manage to sew some buttons that had fallen off my clothes, that should count for something right?

All in all, my weekend alone was a success.

I nearly jumped Mr. Berg when he got home, but that my friends isn't a story for today......

Embracing the Suck!

I'm happy to report I remembered my glasses this morning when I stood on the scale.
(You don't want to know the number of times I've stood on the scale, sighed, and went back into the bedroom to find my glasses and do it all over again. Exactly how blind am I that I can't see the numbers five feet below me?)

I'm also happy to report that I now weight exactly the same as I did when I finished my goals back in September: 142.2 pounds.

This my friends, is where the real work begins. This is where the rubber meet the road and JBerg gets here booty in gear. It's time to embrace the suck.

The past few days of intense WW have gone surprisingly well. I've measured, I've portioned, I've second guessed and stressed and tracked and researched.
I feel confident in my abilities. I feel like I know what I'm doing. If there is ever a doubt, the WW website has excellent resources. I utilize it often.

What worries me is the upcoming weekend.
Monday through Friday I schedule my meals, structure my day and I don't typically break from that system.
The weekends are a totally different story. Especially this weekend. Mr. Berg is away this weekend. I'm home alone for 36 hours.

CRAP!

So far I have planned my breakfasts and my lunches. I have a huge to do list to keep me busy on Saturday and Sunday I'm planning to be as lazy as humanly possible (with a scheduled work out of course).

Dinners are a little up in the air right now and I don't know how I feel about that. I like the freedom of picking what I want to eat. But another part of me thinks that's a bad idea.
The logical part of me knows that's a bad idea.

So..... what's a girl to do.

I have no idea. I might buy some lean cuisines and take the guess work out of it.

Regardless

I'm proud of myself for recognizing a potential road block and embracing it rather then saying "Oh well, let's eat crap."
I really want to excel this weekend. I want to look at my points tracker and say "Hey, you did a great job." No one will be around to talk me out of the box of girl scout cookies in the pantry. No one will be around to remove the chips and salsa from the table. But I know I can do it. Standing on that scale this morning and realizing how close I am to my goal was both motivating and refreshing.

Now, time to examine my grocery list and have at it.

How To Be Happy, Now or Boot Camp for the Self Entitled Me.

After reading an incredible post by my dear "friend" Blair (and by dear friend, I mean, she has no idea who I am and I'm hopelessly in love with her) I have decided on the theme for my "Fall Goals"

As we've talked about before, I made a list of goals for myself to take me through the end of summer into early fall. I didn't realize it at the time, by my goals almost center around seasons. So, sticking to that "theme" my new goals will be begin September 12th, a week and a few days prior to the first day of Fall.

This season of goals will focus less on the internal me, and more on the external me. So often I find myself focused on what I wish I could have, rather then what I already do.
I can't beging to explain how many hours I've been dreaming of my next vacation. My thoughts are often centered on how happy I could be if I could just go to Sandal's Bahamas or Crusie to Belize. I'm always caught up on how happy I could be if I could have that new Lilly Dress or if I could buy those new pillows from Pottery Barn.

Well, guess what? I've been on some amazing vacations already. I've climbed Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica, I've snorkled beside Bird Island in Antigua. I took a helicopter and hiked on top of a glacier in Alaska for Pete's sake. And I'm unhappy? Girlfriend needs to get some perspective.

I have a closet full of beautiful clothes, I should be happy to have them instead of wishing for Frye boots. I have more handbags then I know what to do with, why do I feel I need another one.

If I'm not careful, I could easily be living beyond my means and in a lot debt trying to live a life I think I need and cannot afford. Americans are in enough trouble as it is, I don't need to add to that lifesyle.

Truth of that matter is this: I have an excellent life. I have an wonderful marriage, incredible parents, an awesome brother and a beautiful home. I am lucky for what I have. I need to hurry up and embrace it. We never know how long we have in life, we never know how long we will get to spend with the people we love. I need to enjoy what I have now.

And so, my goals

1. Do one "out of the ordinary" nice thing for Mr. Berg a week. Out of the ordinary does not mean kiss him good night or pick his underpants off the floor. That's what all good wives do.... atleast that is what I tell myself.
2. Cook or Bake one new recipe a week. I have a kitchen full of wonderful new things thanks to my new marriage and my new house. Time to start using them.
3. Call or Email a close friend every week. I am a terrible, terrible friend when it comes to making phone calls and keeping in touch. Time to put an emphasis on this!
4. Work Out 3 to 4 times a week. I always feel 100% better about myself and my body when I make an effort to move it. Yes, this was a goal last time as well, but until it is enstilled, it needs to stay in the forefront.

I like these goals, I feel comfortable with them. They emcompass a lot of my concerns for myself and my life. Three related to my external life- my husband, my friends, the food that I make for our family and our friends. The fourth ensures I carve out some time for me. Does exercise count as me time? Maybe not. But for now, that will have to do.

As the fall and our season of Thankfullness arrives, it is important for me to recognize what I am thankful for and all of the reasons I have to be thankful.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have been blessed with both a realitivily functional life and the strength to take on the challenges that it does bring. I need to do a better job of being thankful and embracing all the riches that I have in life.

Look for my new goals check in starting on September 16th.

Randomly Random... An Assortment of Thoughts (bulleted to look pretty)

• I've had a headache since yesterday. I'm blaming the weather system moving though our area for this. It sucks, but we so need the rain.
• Today I'm wearing my prettiest of dresses. It is black and white and slightly poofy. One of my apprentices graduates tonight. I figured this was as good of an occasion as any to wear it.
• Diet Pepsi is my life saver.
• I've given myself the week off on my goals. I can't exercise thanks to the bum thumb. However, I am ready to jump back on the wagon come Sunday.
• Speaking of the bum thumb, it is UGLY. The tear is now purple and the edge is scalloped. Grossness.
• I have evolved to lazy wife status. Typically I wash our sheets once a week, wash our towels twice a week and vacuum/ dust every other day. I think I vacuumed on Monday. Haven't washed a thing since some time last week and I probably won't until Sunday.
• Mr. President's birthday is on Saturday. We'll be 'down at the shore' come Friday night. Can't wait!
• Sophie Cat is so glad FIL is gone. FIL talks to both Fat Cat and Sophie Cat with a baby voice. Fat Cat thinks this is amazing. Sophie Cat is far to advanced for this type of nonsense. She spent her entire weekend giving FIL the side eye and took up residence in the basement. She only emerged for food and adult converstation.
• My funk still comes and goes. I've noticed a direct corelation between diet and exercise and the lack of funk in my life. However, there are still days when I let it win and don't take care of myself. There is no excuse for this.
• Tonight between the hours of 4 and 10pm I will spend 4 hours in my car. I am so not excited.
• Next week's menu has been planned. Good Stuff to come.
• I'm looking foward to spending time one on one time with my husband this weekend. We've been so busy, we haven't spent time together and I miss him.