All good intentions had me posting this last night, but I was so busy MOVING IT, that I just ran out of time!

I did not get in a formal workout, per se, but I did not sit down on the couch until 10:30pm last night- that is a feat, to say the least.

My night:

• Move 10,000 (ok, not 10,000 but a crapload) of boxes out of the house that needed to be in the recycle bin outside the condo building. When I got down to the bins, they were (of course) full, so I had to throw the boxes in the dumpster. Landfill 1, Environment 0. Oh, and there are still like 10,000 more to get rid of. Baby steps, people.
• I took out 5 bags of garbage. Yes, I am a dirty, dirty girl. Hey, atleast the garbage was in bags and not strewn around my house!
• I rejoiced and did a jig when my new debit card arrived in the mail (side note: reported the old one lost then found it 30 minutes later in the couch. Oops.). That counts as movement.
• Cleaned out the fridge and let me tell you, it was a feat!
• Spent 30 minutes working on and finalizing my shopping list and menu for the week (see the rejoicing a jigging above). More on the list on Food Friday.
• Ate dinner while working on said shopping list.
• Went to 2 grocery stores and got all my food for the week.
• Got home, put away the groceries and spent about 30 minutes cooking lunch for the next day (I know! Who stole the real me and put this ‘organized me’ in my place??)
• PACKED MY LUNCH for the next day!
• Washed my face, brushed my teeth and put in my Invisalign.
• Hopped into bed with just enough time to turn on Jon Stewart and Colbert.

While it may not have been a  “traditional” way to move, I certainly moved more than I have lately.

I hope to find a 5K in the city that is in the next 3 months to train for, so I can get back on the treadmill and begin to lose the spare tire that is again staring around my mid section. My pants don’t fit as well anymore, and I am not happy about that. 

I write all day for my “new’ job, so when I get home, I really don’t feel like updating my blog.

I have a lot to share– really, I do, but I am just so tired lately, I just want to veg in front of the TV.

Really good for my figure, let me tell you.

So I am going to try something new. I have seen something like this on other blogs, and I am going to try it for a while and see if it sparks my creativity- or at least gets me blogging more.

(I do tweet a lot, check out the left hand column for that…)

• Move It Monday – Use Monday’s to talk about what I did the previous week to move my body- this may include working out, walking, or cleaning (hey, it’s movement). Could also be discussion about The Biggest Loser, FitTV or a new workout video game/DVD I am trying out.
• Try It Tuesday – Tuesday’s will be product reviews- I am a market maven and love to try new stuff- you will get to see my review (in word or video format) here.
• Wordless Wednesday – my favorite photo(s) of the week
• Thankful Thursday – My life has been pretty negative lately- I need this. 5 things I am thankful for right now.
• Food Friday -I need this too –My weekly menu; what I will be eating, what coupons I will be using and my grocery lists
• Sum It Up Saturday (including WI’s) – Week in review (no matter how mundane) and WW’s Weigh in’s
• Share It Sunday -Websites that are fun, interesting, inspirational or educational. Maybe YOU will be here!!

I will start today with a Move it Monday — though there was not much movement last week…

Look for my update later…

AJLTL

I have never been one of those “type 1″ personalities.

I am (for the most part) calm and boring. If you piss me off, I will be mad for about 30 minutes, then ask myself- “is this worth it?”

It usually isn’t.

I am more of an instant gratification person. I want what I want, and I want it NOW. Or 5 minutes ago. I am a market maven- I go to the store to buy ” brand new” products even before they begin to put them on the store shelves. I have picked up instruments, hobbies, etc my whole life saying “Finally, THIS is what exactly I want to do”, then 2 weeks later, get bored and move on to something else. I procrastinate like NO ONE’S business (guess when I am writing this- yep, I have something due, but not DUE due, so it’s cool.) I never seem to have control over my brain. I find myself a bit scattered and a bit I don’t know, fuzzy alot of the time. (Could this be a form of Adult ADD internets?)

That being said, I hoped when I started Weight Watchers (again, for the 400th time) 2 years ago that I would get CONTROL of my eating, CONTROL of my working out, and CONTROL of my issues that sometimes make me eat uncontrollably.

I would do really really well the first week, cutting up veggies on Sunday and eating them throughout the week, walking 4 or 5 times a week (either outside or on the treadmill) and I would write down EVERYTHING I ate.

I would go into the meeting, lose 5 lbs, be ecstatic, then head home. I would “try” to be good, having a “bad day” and not writing down anything, or eating WAAAAAY less than I should and starving every once in a while, but still, being “good” the majority of the time.

The second week, I would lose, but obviously not as much. By the 3rd week, I would either stop going, or go and watch the weight come back on. I would CRAVE food, and would not have the willpower to stop it. I always thought I was weak or just a freak for not being able to CONTROL myself. I would beat myself up, and the eating would continue. Then I would quit WW, eat what I want, and balloon up.

Then the whole “you should join WW” kick would start up again, and I would, only to fail once again.

Fun times.

That is not to say I haven’t lost any weight on WW- I have- 35lbs about 4 years ago. I was so happy with myself.

But I didn’t do it alone.

I was taking Phentermine, and it worked wonders. The cravings were gone, I was still able (and needed) to workout, and eat sensibly. I was under a doctor’s care, and I still had to make better choices. I did all of that plus some. 

I still felt weak and beat myself up for not doing it on my own. Why did it take a pill to help me CONTROL my cravings?? Shouldn’t I be able to do it on my own?

I was reading FB’s site today and she was talking about a weigh loss drug* that has really helped her gain some control over her cravings. 

She said this that really resonated with me:

I know there are people who think that taking an appetite suppressant is “cheating” or “crash dieting” or whatever, and although I can see how it might seem that way on the surface, I would encourage those people to talk to someone, anyone who has taken Adipex about their experience.  Adipex does not drag my ass out of bed to workout in the morning, or suddenly give me the power to make completely healthy food choices 24/7.  I still bust my ass to count calories and resist the urge to hit the vending machine between conference calls.  The difference is that I only think about unhealthy snacks a fraction as much when I’m on Adipex compared to when I’m not taking it.

She is totally right.

On Phentermine:

• I WAS hauling my ass to the gym 4-5 days a week.
• I WAS making a conscious choice to avoid birthday cake and cookies during morning meetings and birthday celebrations (and to bring my own healthy snack).
• I WAS eating better than I ever had in my life.
• I WAS taking care of my “emotional eating issues” by instead spending time with friends and enjoying life.

Overall, I just made better food choices.

I just happened to be on a drug that was assisting me in making those choices.

—

From now on, I  am not going to feel bad or weak or anything for taking something that helped me be closer to the person I want to be. I DID IT, I just needed help.

And what is the definition of “help” when it comes to weight loss anyway? Isn’t WW help? Jenny Craig? A Trainer? Bariatric Surgery? I won’t look down my nose at ANYONE who is doing what works for them to lose the weight healthfully and work to keep it off.

I have new weight loss goals (after moving and everything else, I have gained about 17lbs in 3 months. OOF) and though I have been working out 5 times a week, I am not seeing the scale move. I can eat a healthy breakfast, but then I get tempted to go out to eat at lunch and end up blowing my calories on crap food. Dinner is a DISASTER. I am going back down a road I don’t want to go down. I have been here before and it was not fun.

I am also going to find a doctor here and ask for a prescription. I know it works, and I won’t be ashamed to use it, and use it proudly. I AM going to meet my weight loss goals and I AM going to gain CONTROL.

I just need a little help, is all.

*I just looked up Adipex and realized FB and I were taking the same thing- Adipex is just the brand name for Phentermine. No wonder I like this girl so much!

Click – vote – spread the word.

And so it happened…

Driving from Iowa to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, I was passing someone in the interstate and ran over something big and dead in the road. I couldn’t swerve to miss it – and thought my car would clear it no problem.

It didn’t.

As soon as I drove over it I heard it hit– Ka-klunk.

Crap.

I waited for the thump-thump of a flat tire or something on the car’s dash to tell me I totally screwed up my car, but nothing happened. 

I then got really sick and forgot all about the “dead thing in the road”. Fast forward a week and as I was walking out of work, I noticed something dangling from the bottom of my car. Upon further (really far actually) looking, I realized it was something DEAD under my car.

ICK!

I went to the car wash (with an under carriage cleaning option)  and tried to wash the “thing” off.

Yeah, not so much.

Dead thing 1, me 0.

I went to a local Honda dealer and they actually laughed me off the lot- they weren’t gonna touch it.

Dead thing 2, me 0.

So I called MY dealer (about 15 miles away) and they told me to bring the car in this morning.

I was not so much worried about the dead animal part on my car; I was more worried about the damage it might have done when I hit it.

Ok, I was worried about the dead animal part too- It is 90 degrees here right now- I DID NOT want my car smelling like animal carcass! EW EW EW!

When I got to the dealership, we all had a good laugh and I asked them if I could take a picture of whatever it it when they get the car up on the lift.

When I walked out there, I saw THIS:

Yes- That is a

DEER RIB

hanging out of my car frame!!! It was so wedged in there, the poor mechanic was pulling so hard, the whole car was moving.

I am serious.

You can’t see how wrapped up the hide and bone is in the frame. Thank goodness it didn’t puncture a tire or the oil line or something.

The cool thing is, no damage to the not-even-two-month-old car. It is fully removed and they even washed my car for me.

AND, my AWESOME dealership did not even charge me for the service call. I love them!!

SO SO SO glad it is off my car!

SO GLAD!!

So that was my Saturday, how was yours?

Guess who:

• Drove over 2000 miles/31 hours in her new Honda Fit in 13 days?
• Totally enjoyed visiting family and friends in Iowa at my grandma’s 80th birthday?
• Ate way too much fast food and cake and sweets and alcohol in 13 days?
• Laughed, cried, and just had a grand old time at my Best Friend’s wedding?
• Danced their @ss off at the reception, and had horrible 2 inch bloody spots under their arms (from a sadomasochistic longline bra)?
• Started feeling crappy on Sunday after the wedding, and ended up with a horrific mouth infection? (Wait– does this sound vaguely familiar? Click here then here)
• Ended up stopping in Clarksville, TN to “sleep off” the infection, only to wake up the next morning with a 102.2 fever?
• ‘s face hurt so bad, they could not lightly touch their right cheek without crying out?
• Could not feel their right throat because of the GIGANTIC lymph nodes?
• Had a chipmunk cheek?
• Can’t remember driving the final 5 hours home?
• Spent the rest of the day in bed, until their mom called and while on the phone with mom, bawled and said mom forced person bawling (from California, mind you) to the doctor?
• Came home from the doctor with NOTHING. NO-THING. 102.2 fever. Crying. Lymph nodes the size of boulders! PAIN!! But NOTHING.
• Diagnosed self (then doctor finally called) with SHINGLES OF THE MOUTH*. Yes, you heard it hear first, shingles of the mouth. Ick.
• Spent 3 days in bed suffering?
• Had to miss a friend’s baby shower because shingles is contagious?
• Is finally better 9 days later?
• Accidentally hit an already dead animal on the road and currently has a large DEAD ANIMAL PART hanging from the bottom of said Honda Fit?
• Went to random dealership today to have said deer part removed (no WAY in hell she is touching it) and they laughed. A lot. And left said deer part on the bottom of said car?
• Called dealership car was purchased at and after THEY laughed made appt for tomorrow to get said deer part removed (and yes, their will be photos)?

Who, you ask? Why all these things would pertain to lil’ o’ ME!

Oh yeah, my life is super fantastic.

*Shingles – brought on by SUPER stressed out times (moving across the country against my will, anyone?). Had the same thing in October 2007 and they could not figure out what is was- but it was obviously shingles this time.

I just need to not get stressed out, eat correctly and workout. All things I should have been doing but wasn’t. I need to take care of myself obviously. This was a BIG wake up call.

I am on the far right.