Calming....

I'm a type A personality, and I'm an Aries. Both of those are typically very high-energy, and when you look at what types of illnesses each of these are prone to, both list headaches and neck problems. Well, I get very tense in my shoulders and neck, which has a tendency to result in a pinched nerve running up my neck. This combines with migraines to cause some very painful days every month for me. Now, in the past I have gotten these a couple of times a month; however, lately I've started getting these much more frequently. And they seem to be clustering. A couple of weeks ago, I got 7 in one week. I do have medication that I take for the migraines, but I don't like taking it so frequently. Plus, my insurance will only approve 4 pills every 15 days. I've decided to start stockpiling the pills to make sure I don't run out like I did during my string of 7 migraines. I can't quite pinpoint what brings them on- other than the stress definitely contributes. I've started keeping a journal of everything I eat, medication I take, how I feel, and what times I wake up and go to sleep. The only thing I have come up with is to try and somehow calm myself down- relieve a little stress.

This is why I'm trying Yoga. I've been recording episodes of Namaste Yoga on FitTV. Of course I only record the episodes that are for beginners at the moment- even the ones that say they are for beginner/intermediate are a little too challenging currently. Now, I haven't thought much of Yoga in the past. The little bit of experience I had with it wasn't all that great. When I did the Adventure Bootcamp last summer we usually did a couple of poses which were nice for stretching, but I didn't feel very relaxed after it. On Sunday night I decided to try out the Namaste Yoga and when I started out I was still not feeling very relaxed. I had the all the lights on in my living room to see what I was doing, but I finally decided to try something. I lit a few candles and turned off the lights. Suddenly, I was able to focus on the movement and relax. I felt like I was in a studio, not just my messy apartment. It's been a very nice was to end the last couple of days. I'm not sure if this is going to minimize the number of migraines that I get, but it at least seems to be lowering my stress level- at least for a half hour. Anyway, I would highly recommend trying a little Yoga if you need some stress relief. 

Popcorn

So, quick post. Just a small observation. I love popcorn, but while eating it, I always have a bit of a problem. No, not the kernels in the teeth- although that is annoying. Particularly during summer, I tend to wear a lot of tank tops and other shirts that have lower necklines than your standard t-shirt. So, the issue I run into is that I have a tendency to drop some of the popcorn which inevitably winds up going straight down the front of my shirt. This is fine when I'm in the middle of a dark movie and I can discretely remove the popcorn. However, the other day, I was really hungry around mid-afternoon. So, I went to the vending machine at work and got a package of microwave popcorn. As I was enjoying my afternoon popcorn at my desk, of course, I dropped a few kernels down my shirt. Now, I'm stuck, you can't just fish popcorn out of your cleavage at your desk. I wound up heading to the bathroom to clean up. I am guessing that I just need to come to terms with this happening, as even when I'm aware that I have a tendency to drop the popcorn, I still do it. Oh well- just another thing to entertain my coworkers- my klutziness has broken the ice on many a tense morning at work. 

2.5 lbs.

Whoo-hoo! I've actually managed to lose some weight! Seeing as this blog started out with my weight-loss attempts, I have to share my breakthrough. Just over a month ago I was reading something online and they mentioned Bob Greene's Best Life Diet. They talked about how it eased you into dieting instead of forcing you to count calories from day one and follow really strict plans where they told you exactly what to eat day-to-day. I've decided that diets like that don't work for me for two reasons. 1: I get really gung-ho about the new diet initially but after only a week, the time-consuming meal planning and preparation takes its toll and I find myself no longer interested in keeping up with the plan. 2: I lead a very busy life, even more so now that fall has arrived meaning the beginning of choir rehearsals again. I just don't have time to be cooking dinners every night and then prepping for lunches the next day. Even on Sunday afternoons, I can spend some time cooking for the week, but not enough to make separate meals each night.

I decided to give the Best Life Diet a go. You get the first month, or more if you need it, to ease yourself into the thing. You are supposed to just exercise more than you were when you started the diet, so if you were maybe working out once or twice a week for a half hour- kick it up to 3 times a week. That's not too difficult and I have managed to to that in the month I've been on the diet. The next point is to stick to 3 meals a day with one or two snacks and to not eat within 2 hours of going to bed. I have done really well with the not eating close to bed. It's been difficult, but it made me realize just how many calories I was taking in during those hours while I sat watching tv at night. Finally, you need to cut out 6 food groups: alcohol, soda, trans fats, fried foods, full-fat yogurt and milk, and white bread. A few of these I have already mastered- I rarely drink soda, always buy skim milk and light yogurt and wheat bread. However, when I go out to eat, often I will have something with a plain white bun and fries. I did ok with cutting that out. I was opting for the fruit salad or veggies instead of fries and finding items that were served on something other than a white roll. So, that leads me to the one group that I had major difficulty in eliminating- alcohol. Now, I don't drink daily. I live alone and don't drink by myself, but august was full of events where I was with people and everyone was drinking. I currently do not have the willpower to completely eliminate the alcohol. However, I did try and opt for the new lower-calorie beers if I had the option. I'm guessing that's why when I weighed myself after one month on the program, the loss was only 2.5 lbs (Bob Greene estimates that you will lose about a pound a week during stage 1). I figure I will continue on stage 1 for one more week and see if I can manage to lose any more weight. If I do, I'll stick with this stage until I plateau and then move to stage 2. I'm hopeful that this sticks and I am really determined to lose the weight this time. I have set a realistic goal for myself. I want to lose just over 20 pounds by June 1, 2010. That's about 2 pounds a month, which is definitely within reason. So, wish me luck, I'm starting up with a big push here. And I'll try to post more often about what's working and what's not.