Plans for 2010

Time to make my new year's resolutions. This year, like half the country, I would like to eat better and lose weight. Specifically, I would like to lose 15 lbs this year and try it again next year! Yes, I realize that 30 lbs in one year is possible, but I don't want to make a daunting goal that I am more likely to give up on.

To jump start my year, I am issuing a 6 week challenge to myself. Until Valentine's day when I treat myself (er, my sweetie treats me to) a big fat steak and some chocolate laden gargantuan dessert - I am making a concerted effort to make these small changes to my diet.

Each day I will eat three servings of veggies, three servings of fruit and three servings of dairy. I will also eat less white flour and a limit of 300 calories of junk. Oh, and 6 glasses of water. More fiber perhaps and less food overall. This should keep me from thinking that I am starving and result in a healthier diet. It is sad to say, but the limit on the sweets will be the biggest change, and 300 calories sounds generous on paper! I have let me sweet tooth run wild with the excuse that I often exercise and am still nursing. Well, the 20 month old is just not drinking away all the extra calories! I am considering a food log - just trying to convince myself!

On the exercise front- I am going to try to walk 2 -3 miles, five days a week. I hope to throw some jogging in too. A couple of days ago I tried a 2 mile walk and jogged about 1/3 of it. My body isn't used to weight bearing exercise (I like to bike) and I now am sore with my shins especially hurting! My heel spur is doing okay though - my shins and hips were actually more sore than my heel. I think I'll start with a week of just walking. I got new shoes too to help with the motivation and perhaps the shin pain!

My overall exercise goals for the year are 1200 miles on the bike and 250 miles on my feet. These may change if I opt to incorporate other exercises. Finding my core muscles (what is left of them after 4 kids) would be nice! I made an account for a training log and am hoping to keep track of my miles on foot. I wish my legs had an odometer like my bike!!

That is all for now. I am hoping to blog about my progress. Wouldn't it be great if I could knock out half my weight goal in the first 6 weeks? Optimism runs great on December 31st!!!!

Conversation with Audrey

Walking up the steps this morning to get "clothes on for today," Audrey and I have this conversation.

Sparky (our Sheltie) was coming up the stairs with us and crowded Audrey causing her to stumble just a little. She didn't fall and wasn't hurt, but a little peeved.

Audrey: "Sparky made me fall!"
Mom: Calls Sparky back to the steps near Audrey, with his head hung appropriately down. Looks at Audrey and says (for Sparky): "I'm sorry Audrey - I didn't mean to make you fall. Will you forgive me?"
Audrey: Looks at me and after a few seconds says, "Mom, he doesn't talk."

Um, yeah, I guess she is right.

Adventures in Potty Training, Volume 1

Our 2 1/2 year old daughter, Audrey is currently potty training, which is always good for a few laughs, once the mess is cleaned up! Audrey is a very confident little girl and ready to try about anything - on her own. This has led to a few interesting potty training incidents and the latest happened today.

She was outside playing for a few minutes while I was making myself a sandwich. I walked outside to find her in her little pink hoodie with her pants and underwear around her ankles, walking slowly toward the door. I immediately checked to see if the neighbors were watching, and luckily they were not. I entertained the thought of taking a picture, but thought better of it. She says, "I peed outside like Sparky (the dog) down there by the tree." So I said, "Well, go ahead and pull your pants back up", and she said - "No, I need a bath!" Like a true girl, she had evidently squatted and peed all over her pants! A little embarrassing to admit that I sometimes let them do it, but her brothers do a better job of peeing by a tree! (And the dog too, for that matter!) Things might get interesting this summer if they get away with peeing outside and she doesn't!

So all this gets me thinking about summer camp circa 1982 when I was 8 years old wearing a green shirt with glittery words that read 'Anything Boys Can Do, Girls Can Do Better' that my Grandma Nita had gotten for me. At that time, one of the older boys took the opportunity to remark that anyone who believed that had not tried peeing on the side of a wall. Point well made.

Indication that I might be a stress eater...

Losing weight is not rocket science. Calories in, calories out. To lose weight, burn more calories than you ingest. Simple. Well, simple to know what you should do, but difficult to do it. Case in point, things have been a little stressful in the Hockman household as of late with Grandma in the hospital. I have handled it in healthy and unhealthy ways. For example, after a short hiatus, I have gotten back on the exercise track and am working on an 8 week learn to run program. I have made it to week 3, working up to 5 minutes of running followed by 1 minute of walking, repeated 6 times. That is good. Tonight, I took my recovery walk and came home and finished a Chocolate Wave cake from Meijer that I bought on Sunday. Three days is not an unusually fast time for a cake to disappear at my house, but usually I am not the only one eating it! Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking when I turned the package over after finishing it. I really did not need to see that there were 17 servings. I don't even want to talk about the calories per serving. Let's just suffice it to say that it was good cake. Tomorrow I run 6 minutes followed by a 1 minute walk, repeated 4 times, all followed by 2 more minutes of running. It may take the remaining 5 1/2 weeks of the program to run off the cake. I think it was worth it!