I think that losing weight is a lot like growing your hair out...it's a slow process (and often frustrating, at least if you are as impatient as I am). Months can go by without really noticing a difference, and then one day you look in the mirror and it's like, "hey, my hair has gotten long!" or, "wow, I look a lot thinner now!"
This morning I climbed past our mounting pile of laundry and proceeded to search for something clean to wear. I pulled a pair of black khaki pants out of my drawer and tried them on. Holy cow, they fit! A little snug, but they fit! These pants were purchased last summer and have never been worn, they still had the tags on them. I ordered them last year from Eddie Bauer online, and was too lazy to return them after they were received and too small to wear. This means that I am officially smaller than I was when I got married!
It's funny because as I've lost weight, I've noticed the loss in different places...it seems like you don't necessarily lose it in the order in which it was gained. For instance, the first 15 lbs I lost, I swear it was all from my back. My waist size hardly changed until after I had lost about 20 lbs it started to feel like my pants were a little loose. Now I'm at 30 lbs lost, and I'm definitely much smaller. I notice how loose certain things are. It's a good feeling, and I hope it will give me the motivation to not only continue losing weight, but to work hard to maintain a healthier weight when I am at the size I'd like to be.
I was reading some charts on Weight Watchers (WW) that showed the ranges for healthy, overweight, and obese. As much as it pains me to admit it, before I started doing WW, I was in the obese category. When I think about it I just wonder how I let myself get that heavy. I was always a thin and active person through college. I can blame it on many things, but really the truth is I just wasn't making the best food choices and I wasn't exercising. Now I am merely just "overweight" which seems to be an easier pill to swallow than obese.
One of my biggest motivations for losing the weight is so that I can be at a healthy weight when we start TTC next year. I want to be fit and healthy so that:
A) our fertility will be improved (when we're ready to conceive I don't want to have to wait too long!)
B) I can minimize pregnancy risks associated with being heavier
C) I have myself set up with a good healthy routine to minimize gaining a lot during pregnancy. It's amazing really, I learned recently that pregnant women only need about 300 extra calories a day. None of this eating for two business.
Overall, I feel good and I am really glad that I am doing something about my health. Time for my late afternoon snack - carrots, baby tomatoes, and a string cheese.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Critical Mass-holes.
In Seattle many bicyclists participate in the monthly "critical mass" demonstration where hundreds of cyclists gather and take to the streets. In my extensive research on the topic (ok, that's a lie, I really just looked on wikipedia), I found out that it was started to draw attention to the general sense of bicycle unfriendliness in urban areas. Each month on the last Friday of the month, cyclist in cities all over the world gather and take to the streets during rush hour traffic.
I personally have always felt that demonstrations like this are really stupid. Blocking the roadways to try to make a point seems really selfish, arrogant, and immature to me. Is that really the best way to get a point across?
I think that Seattle is generally a pretty bike friendly town, the city has dumped countless dollars into road improvment projects and have created bike lanes through all the downtown streets. What do these bicyclists want, a medal? They complain that people don't yield to them or give them enough space. I'm sure there are cyclists who do obey the rules of the road, but I have personally witnessed a lot of bikers who ride reckless and dangerously.
The other day in the local newspapers it was reported that a driver got caught in the critical mass demonstration this past Friday while pulling out of a parking space in his subaru wagon. He was pulled from his car and beaten by cyclists who were angry the guy was in their way. The mob of angry bikers slashed the guys tires, dented in his car, and broke out the windows, in addition to splitting his head open. This is insane! A few of the bikers were arrested for malicious mischief. It should've been assault charges if you ask me. Also, why the heck doesn't the Seattle Police do more to either contain or stop the critical mass from occuring? They know when it will happen each month, why do they turn a blind eye? Something needs to be done to stop these out of control bikers from hurting people.
In SF they also have a monthly critical mass. Last fall, as he was recovering from surgery and walking with a cane, my dad stepped out of a restaurant and into a crosswalk in downtown SF. As he slowly moved across the street (with the white "walk" symbol illuminated across the road) suddenly the critical mass came barreling down the road. Other pedestrians in the crosswalk were able to scramble to safety, but my dad with his cane was slow moving. A biker clipped him as he rode by, knocking my dad to the ground. As he lay bleeding and trying to get up, bikers yelled mean things to him and he was almost run over by another. My dad ended up going to the hospital to stitch up his face and hands, and the biker was never caught for his actions.
F'ing cyclists.
I personally have always felt that demonstrations like this are really stupid. Blocking the roadways to try to make a point seems really selfish, arrogant, and immature to me. Is that really the best way to get a point across?
I think that Seattle is generally a pretty bike friendly town, the city has dumped countless dollars into road improvment projects and have created bike lanes through all the downtown streets. What do these bicyclists want, a medal? They complain that people don't yield to them or give them enough space. I'm sure there are cyclists who do obey the rules of the road, but I have personally witnessed a lot of bikers who ride reckless and dangerously.
The other day in the local newspapers it was reported that a driver got caught in the critical mass demonstration this past Friday while pulling out of a parking space in his subaru wagon. He was pulled from his car and beaten by cyclists who were angry the guy was in their way. The mob of angry bikers slashed the guys tires, dented in his car, and broke out the windows, in addition to splitting his head open. This is insane! A few of the bikers were arrested for malicious mischief. It should've been assault charges if you ask me. Also, why the heck doesn't the Seattle Police do more to either contain or stop the critical mass from occuring? They know when it will happen each month, why do they turn a blind eye? Something needs to be done to stop these out of control bikers from hurting people.
In SF they also have a monthly critical mass. Last fall, as he was recovering from surgery and walking with a cane, my dad stepped out of a restaurant and into a crosswalk in downtown SF. As he slowly moved across the street (with the white "walk" symbol illuminated across the road) suddenly the critical mass came barreling down the road. Other pedestrians in the crosswalk were able to scramble to safety, but my dad with his cane was slow moving. A biker clipped him as he rode by, knocking my dad to the ground. As he lay bleeding and trying to get up, bikers yelled mean things to him and he was almost run over by another. My dad ended up going to the hospital to stitch up his face and hands, and the biker was never caught for his actions.
F'ing cyclists.
I'll air some dirty laundry.
I know, it's summer, I should enjoy the outdoors. Believe me, I do. However, being a 5 on the 0-5 allergy scale for grass allergies, it's pretty damn hard to go outside without having a reaction since somewhere nearby there is always someone cutting their grass. So I've resigned myself to taking a vitamin D supplement, working out at the gym, and sitting on my ass in front of the TV rotting my brain. Mr.P says I watch too much tv. It's his fault really, he's the one who insisted on buying a 46" LCD tv as a housewarming gift to ourselves.
Several friends are having babies this summer, so I've committed myself to designing and handsewing them each a unique baby quilt. I'm frantically trying to finish one in the next few days and get it off in the mail before their baby is born. Quilting is a good activity for sitting and watching tv. Rather than really watch the tv, I'm listening to it.
I think Mr.P's concern over my viewing habits are that I watch what he deams to be poor quality tv. We all have our vices, mine is reality tv. America's Next Top Model, Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for the Next Elle Woods, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Farmer Wants a Wife. Those are the main ones that kept my interest in the past few months. Unfortunately, they are now over and I am hard pressed to find some quality reality tv to fill that void. I did find "Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood" which is growing on me. But it's a mere hour per week, I need at least one or two more hours to fullfill my weekly fix.
This may sound weird, but I have always had a bit of an irrational fear of little people. As in, dwarfs (don't use the "M" word, apparently that term is not acceptable anymore). Yes, I will admit that I am frightened by them. It's not in my top three fears (bunk beds, giant spiders, railroad crossings) but likely in the top five. I can't even really explain why, but in the rare instance I encounter a little person at the mall, the grocery store, or wherever, I causally move in the opposite direction. Perhaps my fear stems from a childhood fear of the movie "The Wizard of Oz." There are a lot of little people in that, so maybe that is the manifestation of my fear. It really is stupid I understand, seeing as how they are: A) normal people, B) probably nice people, C) at least a foot and a half shorter than me. At the gym the other day I was watching Oprah, and on the episode she was interviewing the family from the show "Little People, Big World." In hearing their stories and seeing them interacting, I was very interested. I'm thinking that I should set my DVR to record some episodes of "Little People, Big World" to watch while I wait for some good reality tv to come along.
Several friends are having babies this summer, so I've committed myself to designing and handsewing them each a unique baby quilt. I'm frantically trying to finish one in the next few days and get it off in the mail before their baby is born. Quilting is a good activity for sitting and watching tv. Rather than really watch the tv, I'm listening to it.
I think Mr.P's concern over my viewing habits are that I watch what he deams to be poor quality tv. We all have our vices, mine is reality tv. America's Next Top Model, Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for the Next Elle Woods, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Farmer Wants a Wife. Those are the main ones that kept my interest in the past few months. Unfortunately, they are now over and I am hard pressed to find some quality reality tv to fill that void. I did find "Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood" which is growing on me. But it's a mere hour per week, I need at least one or two more hours to fullfill my weekly fix.
This may sound weird, but I have always had a bit of an irrational fear of little people. As in, dwarfs (don't use the "M" word, apparently that term is not acceptable anymore). Yes, I will admit that I am frightened by them. It's not in my top three fears (bunk beds, giant spiders, railroad crossings) but likely in the top five. I can't even really explain why, but in the rare instance I encounter a little person at the mall, the grocery store, or wherever, I causally move in the opposite direction. Perhaps my fear stems from a childhood fear of the movie "The Wizard of Oz." There are a lot of little people in that, so maybe that is the manifestation of my fear. It really is stupid I understand, seeing as how they are: A) normal people, B) probably nice people, C) at least a foot and a half shorter than me. At the gym the other day I was watching Oprah, and on the episode she was interviewing the family from the show "Little People, Big World." In hearing their stories and seeing them interacting, I was very interested. I'm thinking that I should set my DVR to record some episodes of "Little People, Big World" to watch while I wait for some good reality tv to come along.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Fat, Fertility, and Fear.
So as I mentioned before, I'm in the process of losing weight. Mr.P was a bad influence on me, he got me into the lazy habit of eating out all the time. From when we met until we married, I gained 30 lbs. After our wedding, I gained another 25 lbs. This spring I was horrified to see that *magic* number on the scale at the doctors office (we do not have a scale at home). It's not like I didn't realize I was heavier, I was aware, but in denial of how bad it was. In mid-April I joined Weight Watchers. It's been a positive program for me, in just over 3 months I've lost about 30 lbs. I'd like to lose another 20+ lbs before I get pregnant. I like the concept of the program, where all food items have a "point" value assigned to them based on the calories, fat and fiber. I've never been good at financial accounting, nor with my calorie consumption accounting. Having the "points" it really does keep me accountable for what I'm eating/drinking. I generally eat pretty healthy, I was just eating too much. Now we dine in a lot more, which is good because it saves us a lot of money too. I figure I should reach my weight goal by next spring.
I have this growing fear that next year when I'm in good shape and we're ready to start trying to get pregnant, it won't happen. I'm afraid we'll have fertility problems. Recently I've become addicted to reading info on thenestbaby.com and I have been really surprised by how common fertility problems are. I know it's silly to worry about things that I have no control over, and who knows, maybe we'll be one of those lucky couples who conceives right away. But what if we're not? I was hospitalized once for a ruptured ovarian cyst which can be a complication of poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). If I do have this disorder, that could mean serious fertility issues. I try to push the fear out of my mind...but it's hard.
I have this growing fear that next year when I'm in good shape and we're ready to start trying to get pregnant, it won't happen. I'm afraid we'll have fertility problems. Recently I've become addicted to reading info on thenestbaby.com and I have been really surprised by how common fertility problems are. I know it's silly to worry about things that I have no control over, and who knows, maybe we'll be one of those lucky couples who conceives right away. But what if we're not? I was hospitalized once for a ruptured ovarian cyst which can be a complication of poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). If I do have this disorder, that could mean serious fertility issues. I try to push the fear out of my mind...but it's hard.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Other People's Kids.
Last night we had dinner at our friends, the M's house. They have a 9 month old baby girl. In thinking back on the night, I realize that I did not hold or play with her the whole time we were there. Does that make me a bad person? Here I am, someone who daydreams about having my own child, but yet I hardly acknowledge my friend's child. At one point I thought about picking her up, but I was also holding a glass of really good wine and I didn't want to risk spilling.
The truth is, by nature I am not a kid person. I don't have a lot of experience being around kids, and I'm not one of those people who loves to play with and hang out with other peoples kids at social gatherings. I feel like I'm the kind of person who will grow into being a kid person once I have my own kids. I saw this happen with my sister, she was even less kid friendly than me, and she is now an awesome, doting, stay-at-home mom to her two daughters.
It's an interesting discussion piece, the idea of whether or not kid friendly is an innate behavior, or something that can be learned. I'll have to contemplate this some more.
The truth is, by nature I am not a kid person. I don't have a lot of experience being around kids, and I'm not one of those people who loves to play with and hang out with other peoples kids at social gatherings. I feel like I'm the kind of person who will grow into being a kid person once I have my own kids. I saw this happen with my sister, she was even less kid friendly than me, and she is now an awesome, doting, stay-at-home mom to her two daughters.
It's an interesting discussion piece, the idea of whether or not kid friendly is an innate behavior, or something that can be learned. I'll have to contemplate this some more.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Starting Over.
I've recreated the blog that I began last year, which I had neglected to water much like my house plants.
I've decided to start over. Rather than me randomly musing about things that tick me off (although it may come up from time to time) I'm going to write about the journey Mr.P and I are undertaking...the beginning phase of operation baby. And when I say beginning, I mean planning and discussing phase. For overachievers like us, there are many things to do beforehand (and don't worry, when we do eventually get pregnant, I will say goodbye to the beer and wine for awhile!)
We have always talked about having kids (always a good idea to discuss this before you get married. I know a couple who didn't and ended up divorcing over their disagreement on the subject. True story). At the time we got married we were in both wedding planning zone and house renovation zone. Here we are coming up on our one year anniversary and we have had babies on the brain. Mr.P is in his early thirties, and I am turning 29 this summer. Not that our bodies are not capable of handling procreation for years and years to come...but we do realize that we would prefer to start our family sooner rather than later. Mr.P's parents were really young when they had him, and my parents were much older when they had me. Our upbringings were affected by our parents age, and in very different ways. To balance that out, we feel that starting a family in our late twenties/early thirties is just the right time for us.
The goal of this blog is to record our journey from the bottle (our beloved wine and beer) to baby (our next love). For entertainment, I'll also muse about some of the interesting, random, disgusting, and inspirational moments we have along the way.
Cheers!
I've decided to start over. Rather than me randomly musing about things that tick me off (although it may come up from time to time) I'm going to write about the journey Mr.P and I are undertaking...the beginning phase of operation baby. And when I say beginning, I mean planning and discussing phase. For overachievers like us, there are many things to do beforehand (and don't worry, when we do eventually get pregnant, I will say goodbye to the beer and wine for awhile!)
We have always talked about having kids (always a good idea to discuss this before you get married. I know a couple who didn't and ended up divorcing over their disagreement on the subject. True story). At the time we got married we were in both wedding planning zone and house renovation zone. Here we are coming up on our one year anniversary and we have had babies on the brain. Mr.P is in his early thirties, and I am turning 29 this summer. Not that our bodies are not capable of handling procreation for years and years to come...but we do realize that we would prefer to start our family sooner rather than later. Mr.P's parents were really young when they had him, and my parents were much older when they had me. Our upbringings were affected by our parents age, and in very different ways. To balance that out, we feel that starting a family in our late twenties/early thirties is just the right time for us.
The goal of this blog is to record our journey from the bottle (our beloved wine and beer) to baby (our next love). For entertainment, I'll also muse about some of the interesting, random, disgusting, and inspirational moments we have along the way.
Cheers!
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