Cheer up! Bob Mayer workshop

If you're a writer, this will mean something to you. If you're not, suffice it to say that I got to go to a workshop and hang out with my friends all day! The workshop was excellent. Bob is a fantastic presenter, though I would fail showing us movie clips without the sound and reading us the captions. The rest rocked, and he was a font of timely information about the industry as well as writing.

His other seminar, Warrior Writer, sounded just as good. I bought the book Who Dares Wins, which is what the Warrior Writer is based on. So far I love it. He's got a very interesting perspective. He's written romance with Jennifer Crusie, but he's a thriller writer, so he can relate to pretty much any writing audience well. He showed us a lot of skydiving deployment clips! "Easier to jump than to land" indeed!

Visit Bob's website! Check out his new publishing company, too.

And--back to the subject of this blog--I did great eating-wise today! First I stopped at Walmart and picked up some Goldfish crackers, some hard candy in case my blood sugar got low before lunch/break, and some breakfast bars. Then at lunch, I picked well, skipping the potato salad (a hard one during the summer, but so full of calories it's criminal) and eating a good portion of cottage cheese. I had 3 finger-sized eclairs and a bite of a my friend's cheesecake for dessert. Water to drink.

After my family picked me up, we went to dinner at Chili's, and I ate fajitas but only ate 2 tortillas and skipped the rice. Again drank water. Haven't added up yesterday's calories yet, but you start to get a feel for these things, and I think I stayed in my calorie allotment!

How did I let this happen?

I resolved to take my kids to the pool once a week this summer. Yes. Me. I don't swim, and I don't do fun. My husband does the fun stuff, but he's in school. So if it is to be, it is up to me.

My suit is too small. I squished into it and went off to the pool. Walking past the mirror in the bathroom, something inside me died.

I say all the time that I don't mind being fat. I don't. I really don't. Except when it keeps me from doing things. Hence the desire to get fit so I can do things like go to Mesa Verde and take the very reasonable hikes.

But standing there in the pool bathroom, oh how I minded being fat. Thought of my kids having a fat mom with them at the pool. Hating myself for letting this happen. I'm so blue. This is a tough process. I'm even bluer than when the nurse from my doc's office called the other day and said I had to exercise more because I'm not making fast enough progress with my weight loss. I'm exercising as much as I can handle already! And if I lose 10-15 pounds this summer, I'll be thrilled!

All I want to do is lie in bed and cry in my Pepsi and eat some Kettle Brand Crinkle chips, black pepper flavor. But since I have to squish into the suit again next Thu or Fri, I guess I'll just get this little tearfest over with and go back to work.

Compromise. I'm letting myself have a real Pepsi. Don't tell Lindsey (my coach). :) Back to work...

Living strong with fibromyalgia and obesity

I am working hard to make healthier choices and strengthen my resolve to exercise and lose weight. When I saw that number at the doctor--282 lbs--that was my "aha" moment.

My body is already changing--down to 272 pounds as of today!

So far yoga is the most fibro-friendly exercise I have tried. Low impact, still making my muscles tighter and my weight go down!

I have also hired a nutrition coach to help me monitor my intake. I am an emotional eater, so this is HARD for me. But I am finding new foods to enjoy and cooking more for myself. My nutrition coach.

Recent meal made from scratch: chicken parmigiana! Here's a recipe for it I plan to try next time. I didn't know about the baking part of the process. I just made my own gluten-free breading with cornmeal and Italian seasoning and fried/browned the breasts on the stovetop in a little tiny bit of olive oil.