April 22, 2009

True Life - I joined Weight Watchers at Work.



“Never was a mustard girl, thought it was a good solution hanging with Mayo girls....”

I’m not going to talk about what I weigh, what I have weighed in the past, and my current week by week .lbs to .lbs. (Not in an actual numbers sense- that is..) I’m not advocating anyone else join or advising anyone on what to give up. I am however, interested in chronicling my attempt at a “diet” which is supposedly not a “diet”. Quite simply, I wanted to try to be a healthier person, and my job is going to reimburse me if get on board and give it a try. So why not?

In high school, some P.E. adviser came in and said to have a healthy lifestyle you have to EITHER diet OR exercise. I decided I would run. I would run forever, if it meant I could eat whatever I wanted. The first time I ran, I ran breathless to the end of the yard, walked back into the house and devoured half a Red Baron Pizza. Now that I was a runner that pizza was mine..right?..right????!

Wrong...... Every food has a price, and many of the prices exists well out of running range. Unless you are an nfl athlete.

I have only ever been what I would consider “fighting weight” during the last three years of college. I had lost some significant poundage post the "freshman 15" at ODU. When asked how - I just said..”I don’t know, I was just happy I guess.” It was true. I was happy (and very very busy).

I’m still very very busy and fairly happy (not joyous, but content all the same). I’ve gained 22 lbs since I transitioned from college student to working girl. You just can’t run constantly when restricted to a square sunless space 8 hours a day. When I get stressed, I’d become accustomed (addicted) to grabbing a high everything Mt. Dew. Since that was my drug of choice, it had to be the thing to battle out first.

After a week of water, diet drinks, 3 days of what I would call semi-starvation and the consumption of foods that tasted like paper; this weekend marked the end of the detox phase where I felt like chasing wild animals and eating them or consuming entire 2-liters of soda. My caffeine headache has subsided to a small throb.

Pictured above are some remnants of this weeks soda detox which included: Lots of Propel (the only form of water I can stomach), some disgusting Crystal Light pomegranate (fruit punch is waay better), and splenda tea in a milk jug (which bothered me immensely that a caffeine product was living in a house that dairy built.)

I was successful in week one of W.W. weight loss, only hungry 3 of 7 days, only “cranky” 2 of the 7, and physically tired all 7 days. Today I'm going to Arby's as a "reward" for yesterdays accomplishment.

Here's hoping I can stay strong the next 11 weeks.

April 2, 2009

Christmas Moose on Skates

So I joined the Herndon/Reston Freecycle group on Yahoo about three weeks ago, because we have a lot of crap that I don't really want to throw away, but it is such a hassle to use Craigslist, with the emailing back and forth, and the haggling, and the setting up a time to meet, blah blah blah. Plus, some of it is stuff that people won't really pay for.

So far, I have "freecycled" candle holders, an old XM receiver, a cake pan (w/lid!), miscellaneous bath products, an espresso machine, plastic bed risers, and dog coats that didn't fit Shortie. It is great, you can just give the "winner" your address and put the crap in a bag with their name on it on your front porch. No money is exchanged, so you don't actually have to meet any of these people!

In return, I've received a meatloaf pan, some plastic hangers, a Foreman grill, and a mini fridge! The mini fridge is my best score so far. You really have to move fast to get the good stuff, like French doors, rocking chairs, digital cameras, or moving boxes.

Some of the people are a little weird, like the lady who wants you to tell her why you want her castoffs. I guess it helps her decide who is worthy. Me, I just give to whoever contacts me first. I think that is the best way to be fair.

Sometimes, I'm really surpised by the things that I see on Freecycle. But even these items go pretty fast. Once an item is claimed, the offerer posts that the item has been taken. That's how I know somebody out there wants these things, such as:

An electric breast pump -- used!
Hershey's Strawberry Syrup
Bag of car cleaning products
Five (5) holiday cards --unused I presume
Vitamin samples
Traditional pudding bag (WTF?)
Half empty (or half full if you are an optimist) bottle of aftershave
Microwave turntable
Disney smashed pennies (?)
Dog pooper scooper -- used!

And....

One Christmas Moose on Skates!