Kangatopia

So, here’s the update on the home front. Shep and I will survive and be happy. I am going to put some muscle into it, and have decided to refuse to accept things any other way. Except that he’s been so sick lately and utterly consumed by the aches and pains of the flu, I think he’s in agreement. Therefore, I am calling a temporary hiatus on long, tearful posts.

And on to more interesting things

That is, I am now going to try to get myself into shape. Daylight savings time starts again soon, and that will be the official kick off (for me) of Cycling Season 2007 – wherein I try my best to not develop heart disease before I’m at the very least over the age of 82.

Where things left off

By December, I had lost about 40 pounds and had another 33 to go to meet my goal. Since that time, I have gained back approximately 7 and now have 40 pounds to lose to meet my eventual goal. 40 in 2006, 40 in 2007. I’m sorta hopeful to get it all over with by June, but realistically I’m sure it will take longer than that.

Cholesterol

Having recently watched a program on heart disease, Shep has become very concerned with his cholesterol intake. Thing is, last time it was checked last August, his LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) was really low, and his HDL (the good kind) was high. These are levels most people aspire to have. Shep eats a high fiber, meatless, low dairy diet and with all the hockey, cycling and sex gets a substantial amount of exercise, so it all stands to reason. Last time my levels were checked in October, my LDL was a little high, but my HDL very high. This year I want to tip the scales in favor of low LDL, high HDL and I have until October (when I’ll test it again) to get this sorted. This will mean that I am going to cut most of the meat from my diet, and try to cut back on cheese and other dairy, such as ice cream. I reckon that since I don’t want to give up my ice cream habit, I’ll probably start buying Whole Foods’s stocks of Soy Dream, or whatever the hell it’s called. It’s not wonderfully tasty like Blue Bell or Ben and Jerry’s, but it’ll do in a pinch.

Muscle Mass

I have been getting out on the occasional ride over the last little while. My general speed seems only slightly lower, but judging by the readings on the low performing, dirty white scale in my bathroom and how my clothes are fitting – my muscle mass has dissolved and been replaced by winter fat. This is not good. I look bad. I feel bad.

The Kids

My children do not need or want a grumpy, obese mommy. Monkey and I talk about bad foods, and how sugar makes you feel bad and gives you a fat tummy. She remarkably has picked up on and practices basic tenets of nutrition. Sugar is bad. Vegetables are good. Butter is bad. Fried foods are deadly. So is McDonalds. Sodas, even diet ones, will not eliminate a fat tummy. I’m curious to see how much of this she will retain and continue to observe.

It’s a bright, sunshiny day

Daylight savings time kicks in soon, and this will mean that I will have time to get out on the bike regularly. Not one to count my chickens too hastily, I should say that I am very hopeful to get out on my bike regularly. Then, I will try to resolve to write more about losing weight, getting healthy and what it feels like to ride down a really steep hill really fast.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 5:06 pm and is filed under Health, 2006, Just Mommy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

(just in case you were wondering) I have no tragic tale to tell from last wek’s wintery blast. The temps are back up to highs in the 50s. I have not been on the bike since last Saturday. However, due to a little craziness at the beginning of this week, I fasted for 2 days and lost 4 pounds. That was pretty great.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 6th, 2006 at 2:23 pm and is filed under Health, 2006. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

A few weeks ago I talked to my boss about changing my schedule to 7am-4pm.  This way I would have more time in the evenings to ride my bike during the less dangerous daylight hours or work out at the gym if the weather was bad.  It would also allow me a lot more time with the kids.  By getting the bike riding and/or gym work-outs (on Sunday I worked out at the gym and rode my bike.  Go me!) taken care of between 4 and 6pm, I could pick up the kids between 6 and 6:30, take them home for dinner, homework and playtime.  This schedule would make all the difference to our family, so it wasn’t just about how I get twitchy when I haven’t been on the bike in awhile.  It was about being a better, and more present, mom.  I admit that this discussion didn’t take place until daylight savings time ended, but my heart is really in the right place.  I promise.  Everybody wins.

I haven’t actually started working this schedule yet, but today panic started to set in.  The weather is supposed to get really cold, icy and generally crappy over the next 24 hours.  It won’t last long.  It will be gone by the weekend.  But, still, when can I ride?  What will I do???  It’s hysterics, it is.  I have found that a day off the bike is a day when Mommy goes a little bit crazier.  A week off the bike is guaranteed to result in a Mommy melt-down.  Mommy really needs to get back on that bike.  The silly thing is that I can’t imagine that I would have been able to ride tomorrow anyway.  I definitely can’t ride tonight, and Friday wasn’t looking much better.  The earliest will most likely be Saturday afternoon.  I guess I should just calm the hell down and go back to counting the minutes as usual.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2006 at 5:59 pm and is filed under Health, 2006, Just Mommy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Ok, seriously, just one more post and then, I promise, I am going to do some work or something. (But, I’ve had a lot of coffee and am feeling good, really good, really fucking great actually.) This dieting and exercise thing is really getting on my nerves. One day Shep wakes up and finding that he weighs 365 pounds and his heart is doing weird little acrobatics that a heart should only do when being tossed around outside the body by a doctor, scientist or serial killer, he decides to lose some weight. One year and one month later he weighs 195 pounds, and is as hot as a freshly baked muffin or tart or long haired romance novel cover guy. I wake up one day after getting dumped, and find that I gained a lot of weight during that relationship when I only needed to lose weight and decide that in order to regain my self-esteem and try to get my feet back on the ground emotionally that I will lose weight, explore my growing passion for cycling and try to forget about men and sex for awhile. (It was, by the way, just at that point that I met Shep. God, I love that man. I really can’t say it enough. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. )

So, now it’s been 8 months and I’ve lost 35 pounds, and stopped. That’s it. No more weight loss. Of course, it’s the holidays and winter so I’m eating a little more and can’t ride as much, but still.
I actually don’t know where I’m going with this, except to say that weight loss has stalled and I’d sort of hoped that it wouldn’t and now don’t know how to stave off the bulking up for winter biological urge. The only thing for it is to keep working out, and riding when I can, and hoping that I, at least, won’t gain through the holidays.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 at 1:03 pm and is filed under Health, 2006. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Last night was the kids annual daycare Thanksgiving feast. Fortunately, the food was crappy and cold - not unlike what you would expect from a daycare Thanksgiving feast - and I didn’t each much. Shep did though, but he also rode as a demon would - with all the time in the world to go on long bike rides - earlier in the day. (Yes, I’m jealous. It’s been over a week since I’ve been on my bike - and all the spin classes in the world don’t make up for the rush of wind, the masochistic squirrels, the shithead riders who don’t bother to call out when passing with only a few inches between them and you.) We also went to the gym last night, so any damage was alleviated. However, today, was the annual feast at my workplace. And well. I’m fucked. I wore very close fitting clothes today and was told by many how great I’m looking since my recent shedding of 35 pounds. Unfortunately, that 35 pounds is now only really about 5 - given the way I’m thinking I’m going to have to take off my pants and maybe go throw up in the bathroom.

This is my boss and me before everything got all out of control. I’m the goofy one.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 17th, 2006 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Health, 2006, Just Mommy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.