No Excuses. Just a Lot of Bitching and Moaning

Okaaay....I have completely abandoned any semblance of a healthy existence in favor of crappy junk food, naps on the couch and copious amounts of Bailey's in my coffee. I would lie and say that I have no idea whatsoever as to why I am behaving this way but; I think we can all agree that it boils down to my being extremely lazy.

In my defense, my kids' schedules are kicking my ass all over the place. In the past month I have thrown a birthday party, gone on a mad hunt for matching pink sweatbands for The Teenager's entire volleyball team, gone dress shopping with The Teenager (which, resulted in complete dismay at the whorish nature of Homecoming dresses being produced for the general public), attended approximately eight billion football and volleyball games, practices, parent meetings, planning sessions, etc., engaged in a search for shoes to match The Teenager's Homecoming dress (a search that left me exhausted and weeping into my Irish Coffee but, ultimately, proved successful), somehow managed to keep mostly caught up with my work at the store, all while keeping a fairly clean house, clean laundry for each member of my household and my sanity basically intact.

The fact that exercising and eating healthy meals sort of got squeezed out in in the process fails to shock me.

I am going to try to do better once things calm down a bit around here which, will be happening by the end of the month, when the regular seasons for volleyball and football end. Granted, I still have to get through the Homecoming dance, Hugh's annual neighborhood haunted house, Parent/Teacher's conferences, the winterization of my garden and flower beds, the stress involved in some of my volunteer work and about a million unforeseen chores, responsibilities, etc., but; I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Oh, wait; that's just the Holiday Train coming to squash what's left of my will to live.

Goddamnit. 

Why Did the Wagon Back Up and Run Me Over, AGAIN?

I suck at the diet and fitness thing right now. Despite my best intentions, I cannot seem to get control over my eating. Sugar and salt have once again taken the reigns and this, cannot be allowed to continue yet, I am powerless to escape the cycle.

Ok, not powerless. I can do whatever I put my mind to doing. I just have to focus. Focus, focus, focus. I need to get off my lazy ass and start exercising again and, I know it's only been a couple of days and that a body needs time to recover, blah, blah, blah but, in my case, allowing for rest and recovery sends me into a downward spiral of diet doom. I need to do something less strenuous on my "off" days, just to stay motivated and in the groove.

Also, I need to stop looking at websites and cookbooks that feature delicious-looking low calorie/low fat meals and start cooking them already. Gah.

I did mention the laziness thing, right?

Why Am I Face-Down In the Dirt Watching the Wagon Race Away?

Because I fell off it, that's why. I have no real excuse for it, yes, I had a busy weekend. Yes, I had company. Yes, I purchased my daughter's first Homecoming dress and, seeing her in satin and tulle looking like a grown-up may have triggered the immediate need for a chocolate binge but, yeah; I have no real excuse.

While it is Monday, I didn't weigh myself for several reasons not the very least of which is the fact that I was too chicken to find out if the one pound I have lost thus far managed to find it's way back to my ass with friends. Instead, I am going to focus on healthy eating and vigorous exercise this week and see where I end up next week.

So, It's back on the wagon for me; that is, if I can catch the damn thing. Huh. Time to run.

I Am So Not Flexible

Rather than doing my usual workout this morning, I did one that focused on ab work followed by a full stretching routine and I am so stiff and non-flexible, I make Frankenstein's monster look positively Gumby-like.

This is not good. I used to be quite flexible, which probably explains why my legs used to appear to be so much longer and why I could bend over to pick up objects from the floor without feeling like I might snap in two. Huh.

So, as part of this program, I am going to be adding quite a bit more flexibility training, starting with the stretching sessions and working my way up to more advanced yoga practice. I'm assuming the yoga will also be good for my mental health and will be a nice break on days that I cannot fathom the thought of doing one more front lunge with a bicep curl.

In nutrition news, I am on day 11 of no sugar, no crap, no regrets and; I feel fine. I have had some moments of temptation, mellow-creme Halloween candy featuring often in the equation but, despite having actually purchased said mellow-cremes, I have yet to bust open the bag. I keep telling myself that the impulse to eat them has more to do with fond memories of childhood Halloweens than of actually wanting to eat the candy and that seems to be helping.

My garden is just about done for the year so, Sunday, I will pull the last of the carrots, beets, spaghetti squash and peppers. I recently purchased a Food Saver and plan to freeze the beets and carrots. The squash will go into dry storage for as long as it lasts or until it has all been eaten. I am leaving the butternut squash in the garden for a few more days, allowing them to finish ripening and to cure. The sweet potatoes are still in the ground and will be until their vines begin to die off which hasn't happened yet.

Once I have harvested, frozen and stored everything, I will focus on cooking nutritious foods, also for freezing, which will make dinner prep a breeze during the winter months when I am often too tired to cook, thanks to the lack of sunlight throughout the day. Also, having a variety of healthy items at my disposal will allow me some flexibility in menu planning.

And we all know I could use some flexibility.