Beyond Recovery: Christin's journal of progress (comments welcome)

[crusin'minnie]

I agree with you on the journaling. It makes a huge difference.

You are doing great with your exercise. Eventually I hope to get there too!!!

Glad to hear your classes are going well.


Hope your downhill trip is a speedy one.

 

[rcyannacci]

Well, I missed my deadline I tried to get all of my editing done today, but there was just too much to fix and not enough time. I guess I'll just work through the weekend because I can't afford to get any more behind on class prep or the next project deadline. This week just went so fast, and I felt like I never quite caught my breath.

Food today:
B- ww english muffing w/ PB
S- carrot muffin (made w/ splenda and egg beaters) and iced coffee
L- lean cuisine and baby carrots
D- another carrot muffin, and one chocolate kiss (the bag is empty, and will now stop taunting me...they were left-over from my baking for the Humane Society)
S- beef tips in mushroom soup, potatos (limited) and something green...haven't picked it yet.

30 min. on elliptical trainer...tried different shoes today, but still had some numbness, mainly on the bottom of my foot near my toes. I'm probably leaning too far forward.

Tomorrow is a friend's b-day party at an Italian restaurant. I'll try to lay off the bread.

Mon. I will start the Curves program. I picked up the book yesterday when I worked out, and it looks doable (although I need to study it better). At least it will take the pressure off making decisions for dinners since they include a few menus.

 

[pearlieq]

That's so neat that you got to do baking for the Humane Society! I totally agree with you about those little peanut butter kiss cookies--they are curiously popular!!! I hope you enjoyed the experience.

You're so close to ONEderland! I'm so excited for you. With that crazy schedule and all that exercise I'm sure you'll be there in no time!

Hang in there and remember to breathe. Like you said, the goal is in sight!

 

[goldcupmom]

Hi, Christin! Sorry I've been AWOL!

Numbness from Elliptical, ME TOO!!! And sometimes from fast walking, etc. I finally went to the DR and had it checked and was told it is because I have a thin 'fat pad' on my feet - Part of me THIN???? WOW!!!!! Said it was a combination of nerves getting compressed and, because of movement, and my overall weight, circulation inhibited. Said nothing to worry about, just bothersome.

ONDERLAND is SO VERY CLOSE!!! I believe that THIS IS THE WEEK!!!!
YOU GO GIRL!!

Have a good weekend and hang in there!

 

[rcyannacci]

Well, not one of the best Saturdays, but at least I got to sleep late. Got up at 9:00 and by 10 I was at my computer editting away. I got 3-4 hours in before DH and I left to go downtown. He was helping me take some video footage of Austin for this conference presention I'm doing in November; I'm trying to expand on some of the arguments in my dissertation, and make them relevant to discussions about civic government/programming. We drove by the convention center where many of the Katrina evacuees are staying, the old Real World house, and a number of other Austin sites.

DH got a little annoyed with me because I was wandering a bit, so we went to Whole Foods and grabbed a coffee and snack. I made the mistake to going back to the candy section, and couldn't resist getting some of their excellent English toffee. I only ate a few bites and saved the rest for later.

Sat:
B- 2 carrot muffins
L- 1/2 a California Pizza Kitchen personal frozen pizza (yummy!) and a few spinach turnovers (made these last week and froze them).
S- cup of tortilla soup and few bites of toffee
D- Cobb Salad, 2 drinks (gin and tonic)

Curves 40 minutes, plus 5 min leg lifts

Dinner out with friends was underwhelming. The Italian place we went to placed us out on the patio...Austin weather is still hot...and at little tables instead of 1 big table. Honestly, I hate large restaurant gatherings. There was about 25 of us, and I only got to talk to a few of them because we were all separated. Plus, we had to sit with people we didn't know, and I was just too exhausted to make polite, small talk. Anyway, it was our friend's b-day, so we couldn't skip it, but I just get so frustrated spending lots of $$$ doing stuff I don't care about and then not even having time to talk the the person having the b-day! OK- rant over.

Today is a major work day. My writing group needs my chapter by the end of hte day, so I'm off...

 

[rcyannacci]

I decided not to do the Curves weightloss program. I was suppose to start today, but yesterday was so busy that I never had time to look through the list of food, much less go to the store and buy it. If I can't give it a priority, than I just shouldn't do it because I would ultimately just create more stress for myself. Decided.

Plus, I'm not doing so bad, actually. The scale is still moving down, albeit slowly, but I'm OK with that. And, if I lost too quickly, I'd completely run out of clothes! I'm already finding that most the teaching clothes I wore last year are to big to wear. I just wish I had the time and $$$ to go shopping. I need a fairy godmother with gift certificates to the mall...

Sunday-
B- 1 carrot muffin
L- left-over spinach turnovers
S- some popcorn and the piece of leftover toffee in my purse
D- some rotisserie chicken and a salad
S- 1 skinny cow ice-cream

Took the day off from exercise.

I stayed home today to finish my lesson plans for the week (all my materials are here instead of the library), so no elliptical trainer today. I think I'll head to the pool instead and swim laps. Then drop by Curves and tell them to drop me from the class.

OT topic o' the day- Desperate Housewives was robbed last night at the Emmy's, except I was glad Felicity Huffman won. Everyone Loves Raymond is funny, but not that funny...and really, how many nagging wife jokes can you tell? But, at least Lost won for drama. Very satisfying. As was looking at Keiffer Sutherland.

 

[Lesli54]

Sorry to hear that you missed your deadline, but is sounds like you are getting back on track.

I agree with skipping the Curves class. There is only so much of you to go around and creating more stress right now would not be good.

Hope that the week goes well for you.

 

[pearlieq]

Your trip to downtown sounds really neat! I'm sorry the birthday dinner was a bummer though--that does sound very expensive and not much fun.

I think you made the right choice by dropping the Curves weightloss program. I thumbed through the book and it just seemed a little...different, plus there seemed to be a lot of Curves products you had to buy. Anyway, the last thing you need right now is one more commitment!

I hope you have a great day today! Enjoy the pool!

Also, your emmy recap: word.

 

[Jane E.]

Loved reading about your day in Austin. It must be overwhelming for the evacuees. Is the city handling it well? How's the Real World house? I've watched that show since the first year in NY. Its addicting! However, it seems to be going downhill lately. Looks like you're staying on program! Great job for the week!

 

[rcyannacci]

Hi Jane- Austin is doing really well housing the evacuees, actually. We ended up with about 4000, mostly overflow from Houston. There were lines of Austin volunteers the next day wanting to help. Most have left the convention center at this point; some left (2 local travel agencies gave away 1-way flights so people could rejoin their families), lots have already found apartments. My department is hosting a tutoring program for kids entering the school system here; lots of businesses have set up various donation programs. For example, gyms have allowed members to donate some of thier days to people who want to come in and exercise.

I too have watched the Real World for way too long It's definitely gone down hill; it used to be about things other than drinking...but oh well. The house now is something of a shell. All the signage that was there is gone now; essentially, it's a converted warehouse. When I was there, other people had come by with their cameras to take pictures.

Once I finish my video project, I'll post a link in case anyone wants to watch it.

 

[rcyannacci]

Monday-
B- 2 carrot muffins and iced coffee (I've switched from skim milk to soy milk, which should be a little better in terms of protein)
L- 3/4 of a Thai Chicken CPK pizza
S- skinny cow icecream
S- another iced coffee (after swimming...I was afraid I'd be too tired to finish my work)
D- 2 grilled bratwursts, grilled onions and pierogies, and a salad. (I'm teaching eastern european theatre tomorrow, and was inspired for dinner as I was reading Pierogies are not the best choice right now...it's hard to justify the combined carbs of potatos AND pasta, it's just they are so yummy!)

Swam laps for 40 minutes...the pool was gorgeous today. Now that the evenings are a touch cooler, the pool has dropped a few degrees

Today goals: Teaching day! Headed to Curves in a few minutes, back to shower and get ready. Will pick up some better snack options at the store on my commute...tuesdays are hard for me still because my class times are usually when I eat lunch: 12:30-1:15, and 5:00-8:00.

 

[rcyannacci]

Crazy Week!!!

First, I turned in my chapter draft. Hooray!!! Unfortunatly, my talk with my advisor, while positive about the work I have accomplished, was disappointing because she is still not convinced that I will finish in time for a May defense.

Class this week was fantastic...I really felt like I relaxed a bit more in the seminar, and my creative drama classes were a lot of fun. Even if it is taking more of my time away from writing, I'm so energized by teaching new material.

Exercise this week: Not bad. I made it to Curves twice, and the UT gym twice. I took the weekend off because I haven't been feeling so great...not sure what it is. I am wondering if I'm allergic to soy milk...I changed to using Silk in my iced coffees, and this week I started to have some strange things happen...like one of my eyes swell up. It's puffy in the morning, then goes down all day, but then I wake up with it again. Weird. And today my whole face felt a little puffy. Doesn't that sound like allergies?

Food was off and on. Luckily today was back on. Yesterday was definitely off. I broke and had 1/2 a piece of cake this week because I was stressing so much about my conference project (due at the end of this week). I also ate too many skinny cow ice creams.

But, I was home all day today and made a conscious effort to do better. Dinner was a chicken breast, 1/2 a sweet potato, and some mustard greens. And nothing after.

I'm going to set a new goal for myself. 195 by the time I leave for the conference on Nov. 10th. I'm at 201 now, so that's 6 pounds. I've been hovering on the line for too long and need to bump it back down.

HOpe everyone has a good week!

 

[rcyannacci]

Better day yesterday- stayed home to work on my video project with DH (he's my videographer), until he left for work, then I switched over to class prep. Curse me for assigning so much reading! I was finally done around 10:30 pm, then I got to watch the Netflix DVD I'd been waiting to see all day.

Food was pretty good...I'm getting better about knocking out that after-dinner snack again.
B- ww Eng. muffin w/ peanut butter and jelly (I know, too much sugar, but I ran out of fruit. I'm just too scared to go back to the grocery after the mess of the Rita evacuation! People grabbing their eggs and milk and everything else under the sun was downright frightening!)
L- open-faced turkey sandwich, on ww bun and cheddar cheese on top, side of grapes
S- skinny cow ice cream (it is still SO hot here in TX, and my office gets all of the sun. Even w/ A/C, it's still 85 in here during the afternoon!
D- 1 piece of left-over chicken breast, 1/2 a dozen left-over steamed shrimp in buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing, and a side of lima beans. It was just me tonight, and it was really satisfying to eat exactly what I wanted AND clear away from left-overs.

Exercise- Curves 40 minutes. (It was too hot at Curves too!) I need to get back to my ab crunches. I think I can see a difference from not doing them for 2 weeks.

Goals for today:
*leave for school in enough time to stop by the grocery and pick up some healthy stuff for both lunch and dinner (today is my monster class day).
*save something good to eat for my drive home, so I'm not tempted to stop for the Chick-fil-a chicken strips salad that's been my ritual for the last few weeks.
*go to Curves this morning before I leave, but focus on cardio instead of weight training.
*make peace with my writing group. I got mad at some of them last Friday because 3 out of the 5 decided not to come to the meeting. I had given them my chapter to read the week before, and we were going to discuss it, so I felt a bit slighted. I jsut need to get over it, but file it away in my memory so I don't feel bad if I don't give their writing as much attention.

 

[septbride2002]

Shrimp in buffalo sauce - you must share! It sounds delicious! I love being home by myself for dinner to - no one to look at you strangely when you put odd combinations together.

You've been doing so awesome - keep up the great work!

~Amanda

 

[Cruise04]

You are really doing great!!!! Keeping up with trying to eat well, exercising - even if it's a little, and all your other "duties" and your writing. Keep up the good work!!!!

Keep on
Chris

 

[rcyannacci]

Thanks, ladies, for the support.

Yesterday didn't turn out as planned but could have been much worse. I just can't get a handle on my monster teaching day, especially because both my classes are scheduled during meal times.

Tues.-
B- oops...skipped in my rush to get to Curves. Did have an iced coffee with soy milk
S- the chicken strips from the chicken strip salad I picked up on my commute. I ate while driving.
L- the rest of my salad.
S- few grapes
S- bananna and iced coffee
D- part of a taco salad I picked up on the way home. Yuck! Not enough lettuce and drowning in black beans. I threw most of it away.

Curves 30 minutes, plus 10 minutes on abs and legs.

Today could be interesting too, since I've run out of packable items for lunch, and since DH and I won't be home until just before 7:00. I'll be headed to the gym in the morning, so maybe I'll find a good salad somewhere to buy and eat while at my office.

 

[rcyannacci]

Wednesday and Thursday- not great, not too bad.

Wed. 30 min on elliptical trainer
Thurs. 40 min at Curves, plus 5 on abs

Eating this week has been more of a challenge because neither my DH or I went to the store this week. We spent most of our time at work or working on my conference project (video editing). So lots of sandwiches (too much bread) and take-out salads. Oh, and the chocolate bar I left in my car; in a moment of extreme weakness (hadn't had lunch yet and it was 3:00pm), I licked the melted chocolate off the wrapper while driving down the highway.

Anyway, in case anyone is interested, here is a link to the project that's been keeping me away from my journal :

https://webspace.utexas.edu/xythoswfs/webui/yannacci/www?action=frameset&subaction=view&uniq=-uwl7j3

It's called the "scenographic city," and you would need a high-speed connection to watch it.

Anyway, I'll be off to the grocery tomorrow and will hopefully have a better week next week, now that my schedule will be at least a little more manageable.

 

[Jane E.]

Thanks for posting the link. I loved checking out your video. Its amazing how where you live & what you do will completely change one's experience in a city. Don't ya miss those vodka shots & late night arrests? Speaking of Real World, I'd read that some of the casts had problems with the locals. How did they do in Austin? With all of that work you're doing its a wonder that you have time for workouts & eating on program.

I miss the old MTV too. I used to love watching Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellancamp, Pat Benatar etc. For awhile VH-1 played videos that I enjoyed but now they're just doing trashy entertainment shows! And don't get me started on A&E!!!!

 

[rcyannacci]

Jane- I'm so excited you watched the video! I'm really proud of it, so it's a treat to get feedback! Part of my goal with my research is putting it into a language that is geared toward multiple public audiences (not just stodgy academics!). I think the Real Worlders always have a bit of a problem with locals; my friend in Chicago said that cast had problems too, including people protesting at the location. But in Austin, it becomes really visible with Danny's fight. And, I so hear you about reality invading channels like VH1 and A&E; Bravo has become the reality network all of a sudden! Crazy! I guess we'll have to get satalite cable to watch videos (not that I have that much time )

Ok...journal...

Yesterday was pretty bad...I'm not going to lie.

It started out good...ww english muffin w/ PB and jelly for breakfast, and 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer at the gym.

Then lunch...out with friends to a place on campus...the special was a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, which I had with fried. The only good thing I did was nix 1/2 the bun.

I was determined to have only veggies for dinner, when DH picked me up from school, we got caught in awful traffic (which always irritates both of us), so we decided to escape reality for a while and go see the movie Serenity, which opened yesterday. So dinner was Nacho chips and cheese dip and 1/2 a small popcorn. Yikes!!!

On the way home, we picked up a bag salad, and I ate 1/3 of the bag and then ended with a skinny cow (what made me take this last step after indulging all day...I have no idea).

So, we'll just call that Black Friday ... and move on.

Off to Curves. I'll weigh in and make sure I didn't do too much damage this week.

HOpe everyone had a good weekend!!!

 

[pearlieq]

I cannot wait to watch your video! Thanks for sharing the link!!! I'll have to pester DH to get the sound working in my laptop right away!

Sorry you had a rough day yesterday, but it sounds like you've got it in perspective and are ready to move on. Great job keeping up with your exercise--with all that you've got on your plate that's a big accomplishment.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!