Steampunk Midweek Motivation

Love a lady with a big gun . . .

The Health Journey: Week 10

Week 10! Wooho! I was so excited today when I left my weigh-in!

Let me explain: Last week was a week of nutritional hell. I spent several 12-14 hour days sitting at my computer to work and struggling with a sugar addiction that's much worse than I originally thought as I talked about in this post. I ate a lot of crap and a lot of eggs and bacon.

Going in to weigh myself today, I was hoping that I'd only gained back about 2 pounds so I wouldn't be over the 300 pound mark again.

Was I in for a surprise!

The only thing I can think is that I kept a calorie deficit every day and I was eating the "right" kinds of fats. One of my favorite movies these days is a documentary called Fat Head. You can watch it on Netflix or Hulu if you're interested in learning a lot about health and the giant experiment we're all taking part in.

I'm very happy with what I did last week and I am looking forward to this week. I'll actually have time to do stuff!

Also, I went shopping yesterday and got 2 new pairs of shoes on clearance. 90% off for one pair. I'm a very happy camper these days.

This weeks numbers:
Starting Weight: 316.8 lbs
This weeks weight: 296 lbs
Weight lost this week: 2 lbs
Total weight lost: 20.8 lbs

I've averaged 2 pounds a week for a while, even with a few set backs. My goal for the next few weeks is to ramp up the weight loss and to start doing some more cardio. I'm thinking I want to join a Tae Kwan Do class or possibly kick boxing but I don't know if we can fit it in the budget. If all else fails, I'll be walking every day. I'm also going to be working on toning my legs and butt so I can wear the new shoes for longer than an hour at a time because they're gorgeous!

Constantly Growing, Constantly Learning

I finished! Woo! I just finished my first large scale, professional editing project. I've done a bunch of little stuff up to this point but this is the first time I've finished editing an entire book.

Of course, no project is without obstacles and this one seemed to be plagued with them. Between a hardware failure that basically took out my primary computer, an illness that should have been spent in the hospital and a new computer that kept showing the Blue Screen of Death, it just seemed like I couldn't catch a break. Add to that a distinct lack of focus and I learned a lot about how I worked.

I have no problem focusing in short sprints. November, for me, was full of short sprints. This last project had a couple 12-14 hour days where I was doing nothing but editing. That's not a sprint, that's a marathon.

I used to be great at writing marathons. I did them in college all the time. I couldn't figure out this time why I was having so much trouble focusing on the project at hand.

I spent a couple hours thinking about it after I'd turned in the manuscript because it was really bothering me. I came to a very startling conclusion that made me very happy I'd made some changes several years ago.

As people, we can train ourselves to do certain things. One of the reasons I write with music is to get myself into the mood of the piece. If I put on a type of music, it brings to mind a specific type of writing and I can get into it a lot faster. I found that I did this with food, too.

I kept craving sugar as I was editing. Not terribly surprising, since I'd stopped really eating most sugars as part of my health journey, I'd had sugar cravings occasionally. I could usually get past them and move on to something else . . . until I started the editing marathons. The sugar cravings would absolutely wreck my concentration and I couldn't figure out why. I didn't really eat a lot of chocolate while I was writing and I could usually get past a block by getting up and moving around.

It finally occurred to me that the last time I was doing a sustained amount of writing or editing, I had been on the verge of a drinking problem.

I'd sit down with my laptop and a cup of Bailey's on ice and I'd write. If I had a big project coming up, I'd chill the Bailey's in the freezer, pop in a straw and just suck on it for hours while I wrote. I turned in papers that I'd written more than a little drunk and gotten some of the best grades in the class. It wasn't until I was working another job and going out with some of my coworkers that I realized the amount of drinking I was doing was not terribly healthy and I stopped.

Unfortunately, by that time I'd programmed myself to write with a drink in my hand and didn't take the time to reprogram. That has turned out to be a problem that I'm going to have to work on.

Honestly, I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I've started by keeping a full glass of ice water on my desk at all times so I'll have something to drink when I get the urge. The sugar addiction, though, is going to be harder to break. Of course, the first step is recognizing that there is a problem and the second is understanding what the problem actually is. Now, I have to go and do some research.

Happy writing!

Steampunk Midweek Motivation

A little motivation for you today:

The Health Journey: Week 9

Another update? Already? Sheesh, where does the time go.

To start, I pretty much expected this last week to kind of suck. I was bloated and gross for at least a portion of it and I'm kicking major ass on a deadline that's basically kept me chained to my computer. When said computer decides it wants to Blue Screen of Death for NO FRAKKING REASON!!!! *pant pant pant* and I end up spending the last week before the deadline trying to get to the file that I'm editing and bring the brand new freaking computer back to life, I can honestly say that I didn't pay much attention to what I was eating.

That's the bad news. I'll add to it that one of the habits I'm finding it very difficult to break is having something in my mouth as I work. In the past, that was a cigarette or a handful of M&M's. There was leftover Easter candy around this weekend. The last few days, it's been my headphone cord, to the point where I might be wearing through at certain parts. I may be taking a trip to the grocery store to pick up some gum soon if I can't stop it.

I'm gonna have to break a habit I didn't even really know I had and I'm gonna have to do it a week late for a deadline. If I was any less dedicated to this health journey, I'd call it off for a few days and just eat the freaking chocolate. As it was, I got much less exercise than I had planned, though I did get some, and I ate a lot more sugar than I should have. I've got until Thursday to get the book I'm working on back to the publisher, let's see if I can make it and stick to my food plan.

This weeks numbers:

Starting weight: 316.8 lbs
This weeks weight: 298 lbs
Weight lost this week: 0 lbs

That's right. I didn't lose anything. I also didn't gain anything. Since I've lost about 18 lbs so far, I'm pretty happy with the results. I've got a lot more to go so a couple of slip ups aren't going to put me all the way back at the beginning. I'm in it for the long haul and I'm working very hard to take the long view of things.

Steampunk Sunday: Clocks

Steampunk always seems to be very concerned with time. Therefore, this week, we bring you clocks.

The first two are actually computer wallpapers from WallpaperVortex.com. They have many lovely steampunk wallpapers and are definitely worth a look.

This next one is a mixed media art piece from Rafa Maya

This next is a watch/cuff bracelet from Deviator Aranwen

Of course, I have to include something from Dracula Clothing. They have multiple pocket watches, this one just happens to be my current favorite.

And another art piece, this one featured on the Super Punch blog.

Steampunk Midweek Motivation

Hmm, there definitely is some danger in using wood . . .

The Health Journey: Week 8

There are good weeks and there are bad weeks. This last week was an awful one. After last Monday's results, I was devastated. I broke down during this last week, wondering why I was bothering, convinced I was going to be a fat ass forever. It didn't help that I was dreaming about donuts and cake every time I went to sleep. This resulted in several bad nights of sleep and the belief that I was a bad person for craving food that I used to eat regularly.

This is when a support system becomes invaluable. They held me while I cried, reminded me that I'm beautiful and that I deserved to look the way that I feel. They reminded me that back sliding happens and to go back to the basics

Get Up
Eat Breakfast
Be Fabulous
Do Yoga/Pilates
Shower
Go to Bed

It was a one foot in front of the other, if you can get through the next hour you'll be fine, kind of support and I needed it. By Friday, I was back on my own bandwagon and feeling much more optimistic.

Saturday was my birthday and I spent it mostly in seclusion. I couldn't handle temptation as fragile as I still felt so I avoided it. Honestly, it made for the most relaxed birthday I've ever had. Easter brunch was good, I watched my portions and stuck mostly to meat-type proteins. Going in to my weigh-in today, I was cautiously optimistic that I had regained the ground I'd lost.

I had.
And then some!

I broke through a barrier I'd been flirting with for weeks and it feels so great!

This weeks numbers:

Starting weight: 316.8 lbs
Today's weight: 298 lbs
total weight lost: 18.8 lbs

current pant size: 24

I've set milestones for myself for all this weight loss. I'm doing it by percentages. 10% at a time, to be precise. Losing 10% of my original weight will put me at 285.12 lbs. That number startled me when I first looked at it because it's one I've known well. It was the heaviest I'd ever been until this last year. I wasn't there long and I plan on waving as I breeze on past it.

Steampunk Sunday: Eggs!

Happy Easter! 

I hope everybody has a great day and enjoys the following Steampunk eggs. 

Polymer Clay Steampunk Egg

Clockwork bird on an egg

Paper egg with a compass inside

Steampunk Egg and Bird - egg detail

Paper mache egg w/ metal foil

Steampunk Egg

The Health Journey: Week 7

I've started and changed this post at least 5 times and, honestly, I don't want to get into how I feel about this weeks weigh-in or about anything that's going to be happening this weekend.

This weeks numbers"

Starting weight: 316.8
This weeks weight: 302