Still Blitzin' Amid Tater Tots and Girl Scout Cookies!

STAY AWAY FROM THE TATER TOTS!!!!!!

Yep, this has been the story of my life these past few days as I've dodged tater tots, pizza and most challenging of all the dreaded GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!!!! nooooooooooooo!!!!!

they're everywhere, I'm telling you, those girl scout cookies. People on Facebook posting their cute little daughters hanging out with the colorful boxes of cookies. Just seeing those is a trigger, especially the green box which represents thin mints! Then they're here at work. Yesterday there were a lot more of them...

Hmm...an apple sitting next to girl scout cookies in the kitchen at work!

So, this is what I'm up against. YET I've done it -- I've managed to "stay in the box!" when I mention to people around me that I have to stay in the box, they kind of look at me funny like what? in the box? what's that? it just seems to natural to me because I've heard it at my HMR weight management programs so many times -- avoid the gap, stay in the box...! it's like we have our special terminology that means so much, and I kind of dig it. I also dig the whole thing of, "It's not will power, it's skill power!" because when it comes down to it, it is a constant battle.

When I get home from work each night the tater tots are sitting out on the stove, or it's something else. It's almost like a smoker who quits smoking and constantly has to see cigarettes.

The weekend of course as I knew, was challenging. I admit I ate 4 Benefit bars on Saturday, more than I should've but I had to get through while traveling from San Francisco to Fremont to Bronco Billy's Pizza Parlor where we had our HUGE ukulele jam -- over 100 people showed up to sing and play Beatles songs. I was amazed and thrilled. and the good news is, even though the pizza flowed freely throughout, as well as the beer, etc...I was so busy leading our jam that I didn't notice it. So when it all started I got me a cup with diet soda and a large plate for the salad bar and just filled it with a bunch of veggies and stuff and a 5 bean caserole entree. someone mentioned, hey that looks good -- can I order that? hehehe!

I didn't get to sit down and enjoy the food, but rather just take bites here and there, but that was OKAY cuz I was in the zone. I had a Beatles jam to run and that was all that mattered...

me, Steve, George, Diane, June and George leading a song...I don't remember which song now, there were so many!!! Steve rocked the U-bass and June harmonized...and it was just total insanity.

So we sailed through and closed the place down with twist and shout and everyone dancing!

It was pretty amazing...

Sunday was more 50th anniversary Beatles-related stuff...and a trip to the Mud Puddle in Niles where I could've run into a lot of trouble as some of us "ate out" afterwards, UGH...! me, Steve, Margaret and my neighbor Mitch whom I dragged along...someone gave him a guitar and he played it and the ukulele players took over the mud Puddle for a couple of hours. good fun. but then there was that food thing... someone brought cookies, and I ate a Benefit Bar cuz it's what I had. 

So we're at this Italian restaurant in Niles hangin' out...and I'm like, what am I gonna do now? Do I panic, do I run to my car and get an HMR meal? I ended up ordering coffee and a salad with dressing on the side. yeah that worked. then I didn't look like a complete idiot by not ordering anything and the salad was fine. and coffee is always good.

More trouble that night, food cooking...just eat an HMR meal, I thought...it'll be okay. and it was. and it was okay again last night too with our big uke jam at the coffee shop which is fine because I never have time to eat anything there anyway. there's a day old pastry that someone gave me in my backpack which I'll put on the kitchen counter. when the nice guys from our jam asked if they could get me anything (three different guys asked!) -- I said, yeah, iced tea! it worked out good cuz someone knocked over one of my iced teas and I love their iced tea, with or without splenda. I used to ALWAYS order double mint mochas at this wonderful coffee shop -- it was my REGULAR drink of choice that they knew to start making when I walked in the foor. I remember for years nad years I drank those and they were the best. A few months ago, I ordered one just for old time's sake because I hadn't in years, probably three or four years. and guess what? It tasted sooo sweet..like almost sickening sweet. THAT is why it is so important for me to use the 70 plus shakes in my coffee at times (not all the time -- just sometimes)...because when I drink the 70 plus chocolate shake with my coffee and a splenda and a couple of peppermint altoids which melt beautifully in the hot coffee, I feel like I'm still drinking that wonderful double mint mocha which was my FAVORITE for so long. yet I'm not getting all the sugar or the calories -- AND it's much healthier and I don't have to worry about that sick feeling I get from the mild (the lactose thing) with the 70 pluses...

anyway, so I thought of all this -- like instead of doing away with stuff, you can replace it and still love it...

tonight there is a ukulele jam at Denny's in San Jose. I might or might not go. not sure. luckily it's in the back room so there isn't constant food and I can order an iced tea to drink and eat before I go. 

And last Friday, I FINALLY got back to aqua aerobics at 24-hour, YEAH! :) getting my 10,000 steps in MOST days but there were one or two when I didn't quite get there unfortunately...gotta wor on those days where it's hard to get the steps in. last night I dragged my neighbor and dog along to walk til I got the 10,000 steps. when we got back to the house after walking around the mobile home park, I said I needed 800 more steps, so we gotta walk some more and we did, hehehehe!

so that's it in a nut shell...the latest adventures ON THE BLITZ!!!!!

Blitz -- I got through the WEEKEND!

what I ate at Sweet Tomato on Saturday (only the two plates, not the third)
with samples of salad dressing that I just tried a little bit of)

So I KNEW the weekend would be my hugest challenge of all...because I'd be out and about and not at home. On Saturday morning, I was kidnapped by my good friends Diane and Margaret, thrown into their car (with my ukulele) and FORCED to ride to Santa Cruz to the beach with them to play ukuleles on the beach! Yes it is definitely a ROUGH LIFE! what a gorgeous day at the beach it was.

PERFECT day at the beach where over 100 people showed up to play ukes! me with my friends!

I brought HMR shakes (70 plus) with me and some Benefit bars -- all I had time to gather. bought a banana and a coffee at the coffee shop and mixed with 70 plus...that worked in the morning! Then lunch time rolled around and of course we were STILL at the beach. and usually I LOVE to order a fish taco from this Mexican place and eat it outside on the beach which is what my friends were doing, and I was like, ohhh nooo! I can't do that right now! so I sipped on a house iced tea and Diane mentioned something about there being a place called "Sweet Tomato" near where I live and perhaps that would be a good option. Okay, cool... and Margaret had brought some fresh strawberries too! so we hung out and played a little music on the beach before we had to reluctantly leave as it was a gorgeous perfect day! Diane drove us to the Sweet Tomato which was AMAZING, Fresh Choice on steroids I think! just rows and rows of wonderful already cut up veggies that I could just pile on my plate (or plates, whatever the case may be)...including the kidney beans and garbanzo beans! 

So we had a feast there and I avoided the main dishes -- but I didn't really see anything there that freaked me out too much... digging the iced tea and the limitless salad stuff. Thrilled that there's a place I CAN actually go to if I want -- even though I probably won't go there too often.

The evening was no picnic cuz Jen who is staying with us AGAIN baked chicken and it smelled sooo good and I knew I couldn't have any...! that was tough. but I got through it just fine and I got my 10,000 steps in -- the dog loves the fact that I take her on long walks now!

Sunday morning, I awoke to rain...it sounded good. I knew I was heading to San Francisco to Uke Rebellion, a HUGE CHALLENGE for me! I brought food stuff, a turkey chili entree, benefit bars, 70 plus shake mixes, umm...what else? so I did order a veggie sandwich at the cafe where we have uke rebellion, BUT I scraped all the veggies off the bread sort of successfully and just ate the veggies cuz I couldn't get the nice ladies who work there to understand I just wanted veggies on a plate! they are sooo sweet though...and I didn't want to cause too much hassle and it's not that hard to scrape the veggies off on to a plate. I ate another banana too cuz they had bananas and I can't eat apples right now (due to dental issues).

Things went super well until I walked around with my friends and we stopped at another cafe -- but then I realized it's easy. they ordered beer. I don't drink beer ANYWAY>..never have. I rarely drink, so I just ordered hot tea and ate a Benefit bar and I was FINE. but most cafes only carry bananas, or maybe apples if you're lucky... that's pretty much your choice unless you want a muffin or a pastry or something! 

So the weekend was a MAJOR SUCCESS!!! I DID IT! I stayed in the box successfully and I'm sooo thrilled cuz now I know I can do it. if I can get through a weekend, I GOT THIS! and I've gotten 10,000 steps every single day since Thursday (Wednesday I only got about 6,500) but I figure Thursday was the strong start day...the only issue I have is I don't eat all my entrees. I tend to go more for the shakes and the oatmeal as meal replacements...must get two entrees in every day which is what I"m "supposed" to do...but I've been successful so far.

next weekend more challenges arise -- as I spend several hours at Bronco Billy's Pizza Palace for a ukulele jam...stick to the salad bar. they have a pretty good one there with some of my "faves" which include the scallions, those little green onions -- fresh mushrooms, garbanzo beans and of course the leaf spinach, lettuce, tomato and all the normal stuff in a salad bar. and all the iced tea and/or diet soda I can get...a nice go to. good thing I'm not a beer drinker! 

Just gotta figure out a way to incorporate the entrees better -- having one for lunch right now -- the turkey chili. I have enough of them, but I don't think I got enough variety. sometimes at night I much prefer the HMR oatmeal with the blueberries! I am not sure why. I think cuz it's delicious, warm and easy on the stomach if I have to eat later in the evening when i get home from all my activities. I always warm up a pile of blueberries and just eat that...and I feel like it's a real meal just like I've had an HMR entree..and I still LOVE the fruit. yeah, it's that horrible sweet tooth of mine... but I've been really working on upping the veggies...and sticking with my faves. 

and the walking has been really cool... I know I should do more, but this is a great start.

THE BLITZ and MAJOR CONFESSION TIME!

I love cherry blossoms!

Okay, I don't usually do this...but I've decided to take the plunge. this year will be MY year -- fixed teeth AND I'm gonna finally get the rest of my weight off. Not just so I can look cool when I go to Kaui in what is it? around 195 days and counting? But also because I want to FEEL better. I'm sick of these health issues and huffing and puffing while following my friends walk up and down hills in San Francisco. I officially declare war on weight! I worked too damned hard to get the weight off... Sorry but I'm just not one of those people who gets to eat and drink whatever I want and slack off. 

So I'm on this BLITZ. and as Erika, my Dietitian at HMR says, "Don't diet on the diet!" I asked her what that meant because, to be honest, I didn't know. She said to NOT limit myself of the healthy foods I can eat...so don't count calories. (it's easy to fall into that trap). More is better right now..

Now for the major confession. I got down to the 170's in my weight loss journey. I stayed there for quite a while...but these past couple of years have not been easy. Above you see me in front of the cherry blossoms, which I love and look forward to every year -- weighing in at 195 pounds. I hate to even admit it, but hey at least I did not gain all my weight back right? (I was up to 240 when I started that program).

So now I have decided I am REALLY going to do it. The Blitz is easy yet difficult at the same time. I have to "stay in the box." Eating out is almost impossible -- but it can be done... and the food pushers will always say, "Why can't you eat or drink this?" and then I have to explain -- or not explain. Not everyone is supportive of this. But my life kind of depends on it... everyone has their own journey. I have mine and you have yours. 

Here's my lunch today: HMR Turkey Chili, Spinach and a baked potato (and crystal light to drink!):

Not too shabby! :)

So the journey continues...because in less than 198 days, WE'RE GOING TO KAUAI!!! and I want to at least not be embarrassed because you'd better believe I'll be wearing a bathing suit and shorts most of the time I'm there and I'm going to swim constantly when I'm not playing ukulele! Yaaayy!

oh yeah! can't keep me off the beach or out of the water!

and I'll be swimming here!

and here!

we will be playin' ukuleles on this beach!!!

I'm ready for the journey... come heck or high water, I'll get there. All I want or could ask for is support -- just say, okay it's cool. I understand when I have to turn down sweets and calorie-ridden drinks. If only people could understand that when I finally got under 200 pounds while doing the HMR weight management program, I cried because it was a major milestone for me and I thought I'd never be able to do it. I can't go there again, I just can't.

Life is filled with fun and adventure, and I intend to have loads of fun on the journey and not worry about, "Oh when I lose all that weight, I can do this." Just doesn't work that way. So this will be the adventure.

THE HMR BLITZ - DAY 1!!!!

Okay it sounds easy but it really isn't. I'm going back on the blitz. who cares that I was late for the first Blitz meeting cuz sometimes it's hard for me to get out of my workplace? or that I have a million different things going on right now -- or that there are family issues...and I am always out and about. and already I was challenged by the fried shrimp at the Wednesday Wind Down at work. but I STAYED STRONG! just got me some fruit and a diet soda.

life may be spiraling out of control...but here I am doing THE BLITZ!!! I can do this thing...really I can.

I did it before. and I lost a lot of weight. why can't I do it again?