SturgeonQueen's Journal, 23 May 10

Hey girl. I was just there a day or two ago! What's going on?? Something in the air? LOL And it's perfectly fine to take a day off. As long as you don't do it my style - do nothing and EAT everything! Wrong, no matter how you look at it! : ) It does get old. And then I suddenly see a muscle flex where there was only fat previously, or I put on a pair of jeans I think I'm lookin' pretty cute in (until one of my kids' skinny friends comes over and I suddenly feel like a cow!), or when I realize I'm not grunting as I bend over or just feel generally much more comfortable in my own skin - then I decide it's worth it and I'm going to carry on. It doesn't have to be done in one day or week or month. It's the journey, right? : ) Hey, I'm watching an Oprah I recorded and she's interviewing the woman who wrote the book, women food and god. Now I realize you're not exactly a believer, but this woman has some REALLY interesting points. I'm distracted for whatever reason and not truly following it (I've hit the back button 7 times over the last ten minutes! The attention span of a gnat, I'm tellin' ya) but it got my attention enough to go to Amazon and order the book (I have Amazon prime - free second day shipping, love it!). One of the things she's talking about is that the issue of weight is actually the doorway to fulfilling ourselves. Like, do you ever feel there is more out there for you than this - that feeling of awe and wonder. And it doesn't matter if you call it God or not, but that many of us feel a sort of a disconnect from "that which is real" that many of us all God. Oh! I'm probably TOTALLY turning you off to checking out the book here! I am not describing it well at all. Anyway, I'll try ANYTHING!! : ) So I've ordered the book and it should be here on Tues. and maybe I'll take it camping with me : ) Well, whatever. Know I love ya, girl! D 

Me too! I mean, raised Lutheran. Didn't go to church forever, then did for a period of a few years and then stopped again. Oh well. It's not the church going, it's the mindset, I think. But anyway, I finished watching it (and you've got too much of a life to follow Oprah!) and "protected" it in the DVR. I thought it was that good. Not so much I think God is going to fix my weight issues. Just that I have always had this feeling there is something "more". That I'm somehow missing it and I guess...disturbingly enough...probably not good enough for whatever it is I am missing. *sigh* Don't you wonder what happens to people that warps us so?! __________ I hope I'm not a bad buddy for you! I'm wondering if you see my diet calendar and think - well, I can't eat THAT much - look what it's doing to D!! Trust me - 1450 calories is not a lot of calories. I'm reading a book by Mary Shomon right now, The Thyroid Diet, and although it's obviously geared toward those with hypothyroidism, she makes some great dietary points that apply to everyone. Just try to keep in mind that eating too few calories can cause a whole host of problems. All these hormones are released when eating, or thinking about food, or during the digestion process, and when it's too little, it's nearly as bad as too much. Like Kate on this board says, it's a balancing act and you have to find what works for you. The last thing you want to do is to shut down your metabolism, and besides, I'd rather eat like "a normal person" when I reach my goals, than to have to stay at a very low calorie diet for the rest of my life. Your metabolism will shut down up to 60% to protect itself from starvation, and will figure out how to get the nutrients it needs from other sources if need be (muscle). So keep that in mind when you shudder at adding some calories. Do you really think you could live on 1250 calories a day for the rest of your life? I think it would suck. No meals out at a nice restaurant, no nights of too much wine or beer : ), always thinking about every morsel that goes in your body. I mean, we WILL, to a point, of course. If we go back to what got us here in the first place, we'll just end up where we were before. Only worse probably 'cause of all the guilt and shame attached. But there's a difference in choosing healthy, wholesome foods to eat and nourish your body on a daily basis, and being on a reduced calorie diet. Right? : ) Sorry if I'm lecturing you again. I guess in my desire to protect you from years of harmful thinking and dieting ahead, I'm throwing in my two cents wotth. : ) Hang in there. Oh hey. My birthday is in August. I'm thinking of asking my son how often he actually uses his Wii and if it's not that much, could he hook it up so it's accessible, and then ask my husband for the Wii games. If so, what do you recommend? My husband is pretty generous with gifts anymore. I taught him well! It took awhile. I once got a massive scale for Christmas! I thought it was a big kitty tower or something having to do with cats since I wanted a cat. This was obviously YEARS ago. I laughed my ass off when I opened it and found a scale. Which, incidentally, is the same one I just replaced! What? 14 or 15 years later?? : ) 

Haha - no no you're not lecturing! It's so helpful to hear things from someone elses perspective with their opinions and recommendations because it helps straighten out my thinking!! So I appreciate every word of it! But yeah, I wonder what made me so cynical already, lol and I'm only 26! -------------- I'm working on adding calories, I think one of the reasons I was dreading adding calories is because most of the time I would default those calories to snacks like cookies and stuff (100 calorie packs, etc) but now I'm trying to switch that up and if I can get into the habit of eating healthy calories then I shouldn't feel guilty about the actual number of calories I'm eating. We just either don't go shopping enough or don't have enough fridge space because we are always running out of fruits and veggies. I swear we bought a bag of salad on Friday and it's gone, I only remember eating it twice. So I guess we need to bulk up. BUT Success story for my bf today (speaking of training husbands and boyfriends - lol), he came downstairs and said "I'm going to Baskin Robbins, do you want to come?" and of course I was like "Uhh no way thanks, but yeah" - and even though he mentioned their low fat and non fat frozen yogurt, I said no and let him go. When he came back, in his hands were two baskets of fresh strawberries from a local farm. He said he was thinking about ice cream vs. this, and this was the same price and we both could enjoy it. I was really happy! And they were so good! ------------------------ About the Wii, my recommendation is the Wii Active and Wii More Active. Now I don't know if your son has the balance board, but those two games don't NEED it, but if you have it you can use it. The Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus (the games that come with the balance board) are like 150 bucks, and they are less of a workout, more of games. I mean you can certainly do workouts, the strength training and yoga on the Wii Fit game is really fun. On the Wii Fit Plus it actually tells you calores, as does the Wii Active and More Active. BUT The Active games are more of a personal trainer. They come with a leg strap and resistance band, and that's all you need besides the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. I really love them, I wish you could like come over and preview mine, check it out and see if you like it! Hahah! ------------------------ BTW You inspired me to get off my butt and workout tonight! Just over an hour, I didn't think I was going to do that today, but of course you always have away of motivating me! So thank you!! Talk to you soon!! :D 

Wow! I'm so impressed with your boyfriend, too! Give him a hug from me : ) That's about the sweetest story I've heard._________________ I think you're on to something with not wanting to add 100 calorie packs for your additional calories. I have a "big" refrigerator, but since it's counter depth (which I LOVE) and has the water and ice in the door (it's my "cadillac" : ) but, consequently, not a lot of room on the inside. But, hope you find a way to shove veggies in there : ) Oops, gonna be late - need to shower for the lunch with my neighbor. I did work out : )  

Hey, thanks for the tips on the Wii. I need to talk to Michael about the possibility of using his Wii system. I think I am getting a little bored with my workouts, but I generally try (operative word) to put a lot of effort into them. I guess I tell myself, I'm here, sweating and grunting and taking the time to do it, I might as well put the effort into it. It doesn't always work, but usually : )____________________________I don't know if you ever check out my food journal (sometimes it's embarrassing) but I LOVE strawberries and seem to eat them everyday. I'm going to hate it when they're out of season and go back to frozen ones. Your boyfriend was a sweetie to bring you something you can enjoy with him.