Wednesday Randomness, Squished Boobies and a lot of Linky Love!

I have a lot of randomness to get to today, so I hope I don't ramble too much.

• First I'll say thanks for the support on the previous post. It was a lot of complaining and I kinda feel bad when I do that, but fact is this blog is mainly for me to express how I'm feeling and what's going on. That's just how I felt on Monday. I am feeling better and I'm back on track with my diet and exercise. Back down a couple of pounds so that helps a bit as well. We'll figure out when to have surgery in the next month or two.

• A few days ago, my buddy from NYC gave me a neato little badge of honor and I hadn't yet acknowledged it. Thank you lots!

Over the last couple of days I have thought a lot about my recent stall and gain. Health problems or steroids be damned, I can make better choices. And then yesterday Allan wrote something that is so damned simple. "If you are hungry, eat something healthy until you aren't hungry anymore and then stop eating." So good to be reminded of the fact that we make this weight loss thing harder than it needs to be. First it's Food and then it's poop. That's all. Why do we make it so complicated?

• In light of the above, I'm on a mission for "back to basics". I really thought about what I'm doing differently this summer vs last and realized that I'm not working out as often even though my workouts are harder now. So this morning, despite my inner child throwing a tantrum, I dragged my ass out of bed early and got on the bike. Boy, I guess I'd forgotten what a great workout the stationary can be and how nice it is to start your day with sweating!  I was even rewarded with a couple of NSVs! 
• MY THIGHS don't rub together anymore while I'm riding the bike! I realized it and HAD to take a picture just to prove it to myself and you.  This is NOT a gratuitous crotch shot! LOOK!

• And while we're on this subject. See the cute work out top I scored at Kohl's for $5! It's cute AND a size large. So this morning I get up and see it in my drawer. I figure it'll be too small, but I thought, why not try it on? It fits and it's cool and comfortable. 

Note the sweat!

• I WON a couple of very neato prizes from my friend Tami over at Nutmeg Notebook. I won a cookbook and a gift card to try some new great organic foods. Thanks Tami!  I can't wait to get them and try them out. I chuckled today at Suzi's question about my favorite cookbook. Between Tami and Biz and all of the rest of the great foodie bloggers I don't really ever need one anymore.

• I had my boobies squished today. It was my first mammogram. I am a year late getting started, for which I felt a tad guilty. But now, I can say with conviction that it's not that bad!  It was over really quickly. Soooo if you haven' t had your boobies squished, GO!  AND my gentlemen friends I will take this moment to remind you to have your prostate probed! Early detection is key!   I have to say that my friend Jan over at Writing to Wellness who is right now recovering from breast cancer surgery inspired me to no longer avoid the issue. She is really inspiring to me as she goes through all this with a great attitude and not giving up on her goal for fitness.  AND.....I got an NSV there also!
• I have PECTORAL muscles!  Well of course everyone has them, but in women, they are usually much smaller than in men. That's one reason why women tend to have more trouble with "real" push ups".  My muscles show up on the mammogram, meaning I have well developed muscle under those boobies!  Only about 2% of women can say that! Yeah me! And yeah for all those push ups and planks and stuff.

• Along the lines of back to basics.....I've been working to greatly reduce my carb intake this week. Carbs taste good, but it makes me grumpy when I eat too many because I get hungrier faster. Anne H over at Carb Tripper  has got me thinking lately about watching my carbs. So today when faced with a challenge: I needed a quick lunch after my mammogram. I thought I'd hit Subway OR I could go to the yummy frozen yogurt place next door. My carb craving self wanted the yummy sweet yogurt. There was a lot of inner self talk about, "it's natural and nutritious" or "it has some protein in it". But I resisted and hit Subway instead for a SALAD, no bread, just turkey and no cheese to avoid the fat. AND vinegar only for dressing!

• Of course the story Big Clyde wrote about the other day didn't hurt. Ice cream is a weakness for me. Really any frozen treat: ice cream, yogurt, ice milk, ice cream sandwiches, fudge pops. You get the idea. But that ice cream story of his just stuck in my brain. The mental imagery is......well.....unpleasant. It was a funny story and I loved reading it and hey if it helps me avoid the ice cream, great! So thanks, Clyde!........I think......

OK. So that's a lot of randomness for one day! Thanks to all you out there that always support me. Thanks to all of you in blog land who are leading the way and staying on track. You all inspire me to keep going.  What about you? Any randomness in your life lately?

A good day and BLOG LOVE.

As far as Tuesdays go, today has been a good one so far. I screwed my hubbie out of coffee when I reset the time to pm on accident. Sorry! But, I noticed in time to get my coffee brewed and I reset the clock to the right time so all was not lost.

Can I just say how much I've enjoyed the actual food for breakfast these last 2 days? I had egg substitute and wheat english muffin. Tasty yummy. Of course I drank tons of water and my coffee. At lunch I went to TKD. It was one of those days where I was struggling to get through class. I think it's because of the hard workout yesterday. My back and chest are sore and my legs are tired from the weight lifting. I pushed my way through class, but I was much less powerful with my punches or kicks. I also had a harder time with coordination so I kept screwing up the combinations. 

It didn't help that the instructor had us doing push ups and after the 40 with a twist I did yesterday, it was rough to get through. He had us doing push up then move to the side, then push up and move back and push up again. Don't remember the techinical word for these kinds of pushups, but I can think of a few and none of them are nice words. And after the 30 situps yesterday, the 25 leg lifts and then long hold leg lifts were pretty awful. But, I made it through and after class I felt good that I'd finished and pushed through.

Tonight I have a dinner meeting. I know, "Danger, danger". But I've already checked the menu and there will be grilled salmon and veggies, so I'll be on plan. Of course they'll also be dessert and bread, but I won't be having any of that. I'll save my evening snack for when I get home and I've had my water today as usual, although I'm feeling a bit dry after my hard workout at lunch.  The scale keeps moving downward and I'm super excited to see what the next weigh in brings.

Have I told you lately how much your comments mean to me? There have been so many times that one of you left a comment just when I needed it most. So please keep commenting and I'll keep reading and commenting on your blogs as well. If I don't already follow you, leave a comment. I love finding new blogs to follow!

I really enjoyed all the comments yesterday. Hearing from some old friends like Tish, Alan, Michelle, Christine and Karen was fabulous.  Stop by Tish's blog if you don't already follow her. She's back from a hiatus and been through a lot lately. Lend her some support. AND I always enjoy hearing from new bloggers.  Check out these guys who have recently just gotten started. They could use your support. Meghan at I'm On My Way and Letters to Absolem from Cupcakes to Crunches. BTW Meghan, I tried to comment on your blog, but couldn't. In answer to your question, I wear my fitbit in my bra and haven't had any problems and believe me I sweat a TON at TKD.  Also Treading Lightly has been around about a month and I've recently discovered his blog so check it out.

Finally, while I'm spreading the blog love, Head over to SJB's blog at This isn't Cute Anymore. She's back with us after an absence and needs our support to get back in the grove. We've all been there. Those times where we were not eating right, not exercising. It's like you wake up from a bad dream and realize somehow you've wound up somewhere you don't recognize. The weight back on and feeling defeated. The key is to pick up and move forward.  Don't lie to yourself. Realize that you have the control. Only you can chose to be healthy, to LIVE or not. And that choice is one we all make every day.

I've learned so much here in blog land. I've come so far and I really believe that blogging has been an invaluable tool in my healthy lifestyle.  How do you get back on track when you've had slip ups? What are some gems you can leave for our new blog friends?

Have a great evening!