Cross Country Calorie Count

For those of you who are new (and I'm thrilled there are several of you!), Saturday is my fitness day. At New Years I began following Weight Watchers and being more diligent about the exercise (though that is the part I've always been relatively good about).

So yesterday I drove my daughter to Chicago. She goes to camp in the summer on the west side of Michigan and several of the kids she's grown close to are from the Chicago area; they had spring break last week, she does next, and so they are all spending the one overlapping weekend together. It was my first 'road trip' while trying to eat right, and it seemed like something that is a challenge for MANY (and it starts with C, since C is what we are on, Blogging A to Z).





Car Challenges



The biggest problem is sitting for long hours with just yourself and your appetite, and the temptation is to much on things that are easy to hold... So how did I approach it? Carefully.



Big breakfast was intended to allow salad to satisfy me for lunch... Before leaving town I have a bagel with cream cheese, capers and salmon: about 9 points worth of breakfast, but protein sticks, and starches fill. Chicken Caesar salad for lunch (6 points). Satisfying? Not really QUITE, but enough that I got through without chips or cookies. Then I faced dinner with only 10 points left... what to do? Quiznos has something called 'Two for five”--a SMALL sandwich called a bullet and a salad... made the day in points... felt a little deprived, but not desperately so... it worked. I drank WAY too much caffeine, but you know... it was a road trip...

Coffee with Colette



You know, one of the reasons I didn't grumble about driving to Chicago and back in one day (it's 4 hours to the city limits, then getting around within, so I drove around for about 10 hours yesterday) was that I'd set a coffee date with one of my online friends.



Colette is one of those special people who has dealt with life challenges that make my own look like a walk in the park. She has come through it with a serene wisdom that is inspiring. She knows what REALLY matters, and can look at the other stuff with an open mind. “It's scary, but if it doesn't work (or if it does) it's as it should be.” It was so nice to spend an hour and a half just visiting.





Combining Concepts



It's the second time I've met Colette in person. Among my early Harry Potter friends, most were clustered on the east coast, in Europe or in Australia, with a few scattered elsewhere. Colette was among the few adult women in the midwest—the one who lives closest to me. Over the years I've met several of these friends, most because of work travel to places I might not otherwise go, but Chicago I've ventured to on purpose now and again. Last time I saw Colette was July 2007. I know THIS because our mutual friend BrioNI was here for the book release of Deathly Hallows (BrioNI is Australian and our circle of friends had several going to New York City for Scholastic's big giant book release block party—two of our Australian friends flew to the states for it because the collection of people in NYC meant they got to meet a dozen friends all at once). BrioNI though flew to Chicago to begin her travels. So when I picked up BrioNI to visit Ann Arbor (which people mostly only do to see ME—I've had friends here from Australia and Norway, if you don't believe me) we met for breakfast with Colette. How is THAT for a roundabout story?



Anyway, my point in terms of fitness, is that I realized yesterday I was within 5 pounds of the LAST time I met Colette (5 pounds LESS, actually) so my efforts this year have reversed 3 full years of weight gain. I have 3 more before that to reverse, but I am making real process, but half way there feels pretty good.



Last week I was concerned that I'd had a fluke drop, and three days of weighing after that suggested that was the case, but the rest of this week has been below, and as of today, I dropped 2 from last Saturday, so I guess it was real.



I also have a really embarrassing confession, but as it is embarrassing after the fact, and as this blog IS about confessions, I will just say it... I am on my 4th day in a row where the 3rd digit... the hundreds place, has rolled down. Yes, for the better part of 3 years, I weighed more than 200 pounds... no more. It's done for good... feels good.



I also had my first power walk of the season that didn't require a hoodie, so my iPod holder, that goes around my arm, was necessary. Last time I used it, it embarrassingly almost didn't go around my arm. Now it fits fine (makes sense since my arm circumference is down almost two inches)--biggest inch loss is the big giant butt (my widest point has dropped from a humiliating 52 to 47)--still too big, but as I always do when I make these confessions, I will remind you I am 5'11”.



So there you have it... true confessions of a person trying to cease and desist on the fat front...

Cute Cheeks



Very nice, eh?  And clearly an athlete!