I didn't work out this morning like I hoped this morning. I spent about 10 minutes scraping the ice off of the car. Also, I needed to get to work half an hour earlier than usual since I had to do two deposits before going to my 10 a.m. meeting. So I only worked out about 20 minutes. And I saw a friend at the gym who I talked to for a little bit. I did:

60 chest presses on stability ball with medicine ball
12 step ups on bench
12 reverse lunges
10 lat pull-downs
12 crunches

And I ate:
Breakfast = egg & toast
Snack = watermelon & walnuts
Lunch = chicken tetrazzini with spaghetti squash
Snack = apple and cheese
Dinner = cream cheese baked chicken, rice, and salad

Last 6 pounds

I am almost at my goal weight. Sometimes it's frustrating because I go to the gym for an hour 5 days a week. My program is losing effectiveness, which is normal, so I've decided to change it up. Even if I don't reach my goal weight, I'll be happy if my clothes fit the way I want them to and I see other gains in strength and tone. I have been using Bill Phillips' Body for Life program for about 5 years and saw amazing gains, especially in muscle tone, but I'm getting flabby again. Part of the problem is that the gym I go to doesn't have free weights, which limits the lifts that I can do.

This is what my new program will look like:

Every workout will begin with 5-10 minutes of brisk walking on treadmill

Monday--Circuit (Back = pull downs, chest = chest presses on stability ball w/ medicine ball, glutes/quads/hamstrings = reverse lunges & step ups, & Abs)

Tuesday--Mat Pilates or other core exercises

Wednesday--40 min treadmill, bike, or elliptical (5 min abs)

Thursday--Circuit (Biceps, triceps, hips, shoulders)

Friday---Pilates & core again

I also know that part of the stalemate is due to office treats. At least twice a week someone brings in cookies or bagels and there is candy everywhere. I'm hypoglycemic, so I don't binge, but the little calorie-dense, nutrient-deficient treats add up. So I've decided to start keeping a food diary...maybe I'll think twice if I have to write it down. I need to take in about 1600 calories a day to reach my goal in two months.

Saturday Food Diary
Breakfast = egg, toast, milk
Snack = 3 saltines, 1 crouton (I was tasting to see if they were stale), and hot cocoa
Lunch = Bean & Cheese quesadilla (tortilla, refried beans, shredded cheddar, olives, lettuce, salsa, & sour cream), 1/4 c. toasted pumpkin seeds
Snack = Pumpkin Seed Toffee
Dinner = Chicken Tetrazzini with Spaghetti Squash, green beans & tomatoes, salad
Snack = Bread w/ Pumpkin Marmalade, Hot Cocoa, 1 Easy Street Wheat
Total calories = 1709

Less Waste, More Thought

Since I'm tired of taking all this stuff with me every time I move and it's kind of gross to give makeup away, I'm using it. Husband is kind of excited about this new change, i.e. pretty wife. I've decided that if it's almost gone, that should be the extra weight I get rid of first, especially if I have extras.

Part of the experiment should be to see how long it actually takes to go through a bottle of such and such to avoid accumulating so much and to estimate how much money you save by finding alternatives. I haven't bought shampoo in over a year because the volunteers at our Katrina camp kept leaving their sample size shampoos in the showers. I wonder how much money I saved on shampoo last year.

This also got me thinking...there's got to be some use for all the little bottles and containers that beauty products are packaged in. I know an outdoor leadership school that uses small bottles to pack spices in their cooking kits.

So here are 3 questions...does anybody else feel inundated by "stuff"? How can we avoid so much waste? (Obviously recycle, if available, but are there any reuse ideas?) How can we encourage friends and family to get us less wasteful gifts (it seems like everyone's fall-back gift for ladies is bath items or candles, which congregate in the cupboards or never get used...my mother in-law has 4 in her guest bedroom alone.)

Thanks!

Too Much Stuff

So here it is...I have too much stuff...and I don't even buy stuff. For instance--makeup. In the last 1 1/2 years, I have bought 1 mascara, 1 blush, 1 lip gloss, and 1 eyeshadow and I still have an entire box of makeup. I have perfume from almost a decade ago. It seems like every birthday and Christmas I get more lotion and perfume. The only thing that I do manage to use within the year is the Avon shower gel that my husband's grandmother gets me every Christmas.

So, the great whittle down experiment begins. I will begin to actually use all the beauty products that are piling up: lotion, foot lotion, teeth whitening gel, body powder, makeup, perfume, hair stuff, etc. I'm not buying anymore until what I have is used!

I've just spent 16 months working disaster relief in Mississippi...I'm not really a girly girl, but I'm kind of looking forward to pampering myself on a regular basis. This means wearing makeup everyday if I want to buy any more within the next five years...

The problem is...I've had some of this stuff for almost a decade...I'm TIRED of it. Some people would say, throw it away and start over, but not me. There is an amazing feeling of satisfaction when you use ALL of the chapstick.

So...before bed = teeth whitener, lotion, and chapstick.