Purging..in a Healthy Way

Daily Om ~ March 18, 2011
Blending Thought and Feeling
Leo Daily Horoscope

A need to explore the range of your abilities can come upon you suddenly today, prompting you to look for opportunities to make use of your intellectual and creative talents. You may feel innovative as you endeavor to imbue your practical projects with an aura of creativity. Similarly, your resourceful and clever mood can drive you to explore methods of using your creative skills in your professional life. You may discover today that the imaginative yet commonsensical ideas that appear in your mind help you to see your world in a more balanced way. This can be a wonderful time to tackle projects that have stymied you, because you may be able to perceive new techniques of achieving your goals.


While lying on the couch sniffling and sneezing for the past couple of days, I caught up on reading, favorite tv shows, and started planning some long-overdue house projects. Inspired by the book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston, I took a good look around the family room and, not happy with what I saw, decided to start purging. Choosing my bookshelves as the first area to tackle might not have been the best idea since the swirling dust contributed to a sneezing fit, but I did it anyway. By the time Beren got home last night, I had two out of three bookshelves cleared off & dusted, two huge stacks of books for donation and the remaining tomes neatly returned to their proper place. I freed up two whole shelves which I'm sure will fill up again eventually, but for now I'm quite content to leave them bare. I now have a bunch of books up for swap on Paperbackswap and another 50 or so set aside for donation to the library. Whew! As much as I adore my collection, so many of my books were no longer needed or loved, coming from a different time in my life. My interests have changed, why hold onto things that no longer make me happy?

This weekend I plan to continue with the de-cluttering, tackling the entertainment center next. It's very freeing to let go of this stuff, to clear out unwanted items to make room for fresh, new possessions, thoughts & ideas. The process is emotionally as well as physically fulfilling, and I can't help but wonder if purging myself of clutter is also contributing to the slight loss I noticed on the scale this morning? I'm clearing out unwanted junk in my home, in my mind, and maybe in my body as well! There are studies that back up this theory...hmm...something to think about while I tackle the dust bunnies today.

Have a Beauty-Full Day, TGIF!

Catching Some Zzzzz's

Yesterday's weigh-in was not as bad as anticipated, I lost a couple ounces, bringing me back down to 155. I expect that once I get rid of this nasty cold and can start exercising again, I'll drop the pounds in no time flat.

I got very little rest last night, up & down with the sniffling, sneezing and sore throat. Ugh! I decided to stay home from work and rest today, am sure my co-workers appreciate me not spreading my germs all over the office. I have a pile of books & movies to entertain me, have no doubt I'll be back to myself in time for the St Patty's Day festivities tomorrow! *grin*

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Under the Weather

Popping in for a minute..am headed to my JC weigh-in shortly, am not expecting fabulous results since 1) we just returned from a mini-vacation (more about that later) and 2) I have an awful, nasty cold! *achoo!*

I'm hoping to feel well enough tomorrow to do some blogging 'cause I miss you all! In the meantime, it'll take all of my effort just to get through the workday. *groan*

Have a (sniffle..sniffle) Beauty-Full Day,

Veggie Love

Looking over my food journal for the past week, I realized that I haven't been eating quite enough veggies. So, off to my local farmers market I went..



I came home with a big ol' bag of yummy fruits & vegetables, washed and prepared them all, then turned some of them into a huge salad.






While others, along with some peppers languishing in my crisper, got grilled and served alongside my Jenny Craig Lasagna.



I am amazed at the difference it makes when I "volumize" my meals with vegetables! I'm fuller, more satisfied and feel so good about putting more healthy stuff into my body!

Hope you're all having a wonderful, relaxing Sunday! Now, go eat your veggies! *smile*

xoxoxoxo

Bad News

I have rotten news to report today, friends; at my weigh-in this morning I was disgusted to see the numbers climb up on the scale - 2 pounds worth. Ack! I'm obviously disappointed and frustrated, but only with myself. It's not Jenny's fault, or my skinny-can-eat-whatever-he-wants boyfriend, or my kids who bring goodies into the house, or my stressful job, etc. etc. It's me. I know what I did "wrong" the past couple of weeks and need to own up to them before moving forward.

For instance, I stopped planning as carefully..



Didn't exercise enough...



and, silly as it may sound, I put down my crochet needle! Keeping my hands busy, doing something productive instead of eating, was a really big key to my success.



So, now that I've confessed to what I did "bad," next up is making the changes necessary in getting that scale moving back in the right direction!


*I went back to Week One Planned Menu and will follow it to a "t."

*I asked my JCC for my weigh-ins over the last two months so that I could see where the struggle started; as suspected, it was right about the halfway point. Something in my mind shifted. I'm not sure what that's about quite yet, but I'll be pondering it.

*Hearing great things about the Linda Spangle book, I ordered it from Amazon. I had previously borrowed it from the library but didn't have time to really work through the exercises.

*Planning, planning, planning. I'm going to log onto Sparkpeople every night and log my meals for the next day. I'm also getting up 15 minutes earlier (and staying off the computer) every morning so I can get 30-40 minutes on the treadmill before work. Saving it until I get home is not working, there are too many distractions that can turn into excuses.

*REST. I have not been sleeping well and we all know that factors into weight loss.

Off to implement some of those changes now, hope you're all having a beauty-full day! TGIF!

RIP Ms. Russell

Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell
June 21, 1921 ~ February 28, 2011



xoxooxo