Me, Version Two

Quite a busy week here in my life!

We’ll start with Halloween, which was actually kind of a bummer here in southeast Michigan. It rained a LOT and it was insanely windy. We normally don’t get many trick-or-treaters, because we live out in the country, but this year: only six! Oh my, the leftover candy I have to avoid. 😛 But at least we looked good, my boys and I.

Last year I was a hockey player, this year I’m a football player. What will I be next year?? 😉 Jamie looks awfully convincing as a nun, doesn’t he?

I got up Saturday morning with the intent to run an undetermined amount of miles. It’s hard to really decide what to do these days, since I don’t have a specific training plan. I settled on 8 miles, with the intent to try to keep a good pace in the 11-ish range. I was not expecting the winds to continue to be strong from the night before, however.

Dude, running into 20 mile an hour winds is no fun. I switched up my usual route, so that I would be running into the wind at the beginning, and hopefully with a tailwind at the end if I planned it right.

Although it was a very difficult run, running straight into those 20 mile an hour winds, it was a beautiful morning.

That’s the first time I’ve ever run in that direction on that road, and I was really amazed at how beautiful that barn with the pond looked, especially with the sunrise.

My plan to run with a tailwind at the end didn’t quite work out, although I did have a pretty good tailwind for a couple miles in the middle. I worked hard, but not too hard, and I actually enjoyed the run. The last 2 miles were not directly into the wind, but it was coming at me from an angle, so it was pretty tough, but when I was done, I was really pleased with my overall pace!

Definitely a good run, and I felt like I earned a couple pieces of Halloween candy for it. 😉

I went to my Weight Watchers meeting last week, because I realized that it was the last Wednesday of the month and I hadn’t weighed in. In order to keep my Lifetime status, and therefore my free eTools subscription, I have to weigh in once a month, and of course, be within 2 pounds of my goal. It used to be that staying within 2 pounds of my goal was a no-brainer, because I was consistently running about 10 pounds below. I’ve mentioned often on my blog in the last six or so months that I’ve been really struggling with my weight, and 10 pounds managed to creep back on after my marathon. Unfortunately, this means my weigh-ins are actually rather stressful, although the reality is, all it does is cost me money if I don’t mak it. But dammit, I’ve spent enough money on my weight problems over the years, I shouldn’t have to spend anymore! 😛

The ladies at my Weight Watchers center are always very nice, and they always compliment me on how good I look, even before they weigh me. I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale this time, and found that I had actually lost 8/10 of a pound. It’s better than gaining, and it actually put me a little below my official Weight Watchers goal of 129.

I stayed for the meeting, since I had the time, and I enjoyed it very much. My new leader is really great, and she’s very enjoyable and down-to-earth. She does a great job of engaging the members, and encouraging people to talk. She even insisted that I stand up and tell everybody my story, after I had offered a comment on something she said. So I did, and then they applauded me, and it felt really good. That definitely helps soften the blow of being 10 pounds over my goal. 🙂

They have a weekly hand out at Weight Watchers, and in it, they often have exercises for you to fill out to help you in your journey. I always read them, but I rarely actually fill out the little forms in the booklets, because I’m busy, and it’s just not my thing. This week, however, what they offered really hit home for me.

The title of the article was You, Version Two!, and it was all about how to reinvent yourself on your weight-loss journey, and imagine what your life will look like when you’re done. At the end of the short article, they had a questionnaire for you to fill out, a “profile” with questions that you would answer, imagining yourself as a new, healthier person.

As I briefly glanced at the questions, which revolved around specific situations and how you would react to them, I was struck by how quickly and easily the answers came to me. In fact, I didn’t have to think about any of them; I just knew what the answers were, and therefore what I would do, right away. It amazed me how much my life has changed since I finally took control of it, and took control of my own eating and health. The reality is, it’s no longer something I even think about, it’s just what I do. They’re not habits, they’re just reality. And it occurred to me that this is what I had been missing in all my previous attempts to lose weight and get healthy: I finally had made making good choices a permanent part of my life.

Just for the heck of it, below are the questions from the profile, along with my responses. Maybe you’d like to answer them for yourself, and see how you do. 🙂

(Please note that these are reprinted completely without Weight Watchers’ permission. And I don’t really care. 🙂 )

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You, Version Two, does this first thing in the morning.

Go to the bathroom, of course. I’ve had two babies on that bladder. 😉 But after that, four out of seven days, I run. The other three days, I think I should be running.

You, Version Two’s response to a compliment about losing weight is…

Thank you very much! And that’s it. I no longer downplay the hard work that I’ve accomplished over the years. Because I know that if I do that, it’s like throwing the compliment back in their face, and that’s not nice.

You, Vesion Two loves to do _________ for activity _____ times per week.

Ha ha, this one should be pretty obvious. Running four times a week, but also weight training two times a week!

You, Version Two’s favorite afternoon snack is…

Carrots or an apple. No, for real! That was probably one of the best mind shifts I ever made.

You, Version Two would say this to someone at their first Weight Watchers meeting.

“It is totally possible! I did it, and you can too! Track every day! I’m not kidding! Every day!”

You, Version Two responds to weight gain by…

Saying bad words to the scale. ;). And then taking a breath, regrouping, and going about my day, knowing that I’ve already got the good habits, I just need to continue them.

You, Version Two is at a party. There’s a buffet table filled with crudités, cheesy pasta, green salad, bread, and dessert: cake, fresh fruit, pudding. Here is what she chooses:

This one surprised me with how quickly the answers came to my mind. The first thing I would do is take a crudité, because they sound really good and I have no idea what they are. But…French food. 😉 Then I would take a great big helping of salad, with whatever the lightest salad dressing I could find was. I would also take lots of fresh fruit, because I really do like fresh fruit, especially berries. And of course, fruit is free on Weight Watchers. Finally, I would hope that it’s a Saturday, and I had run earlier, and I would enjoy some cake. Because I love cake!! If I had run a lot, I would have a whole piece, but if not, I’d still have a little bit and then give or throw the rest away. Because…cake!!

You, Version Two looks in the mirror and thinks…

God, my nose is so big. :p And also, I’m not perfect, but damn, I look good! Look at me, rockin’ the skinny jeans. (Yeah, I say that to myself sometimes. Don’t judge.)

You, Version Two enjoys high PointsPlus values splurges when:

I’ve run a lot. And that, by the way, is why I run a lot. 😉

You, Version Two is proud of:

Being healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle three years after I first started.

You, Version Two often reminds herself of this good advice:

Everything still tastes good in smaller quantities.

You, Version Two reacts to a challenge by:

Taking a deep breath and forging on. Sometimes I might have a good cry first, but I never let it get me down for long. (This really refers more to my work life right now, versus my healthy lifestyle. For the most part, I feel like I’ve got that one in the bag.)

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I have to admit, when I finished mentally filling out this little profile, I was feeling really good. I really DO feel like I’m a whole new version of myself these days!  And then, just add to the joy, I weighed myself on Monday and…

Dude! A 3 pound loss! And that’s with it being Halloween weekend. I was pretty geeked! It has helped reinvigorate me even more this week, and I’m doing quite well.

And finally, I can’t let this post go by without taking a moment to tell you what happened on Monday night. I like to think I’m a pretty rockin’ hockey mom, but Monday, I increased my “hockey mom street cred” exponentially: I got hit in the head with the puck. And not in a glancing, ricocheted-over-the-netting way either. No, I was the unlucky recipient of the actions of a young man who was shooting pucks where he shouldn’t have been, and I took the full force of his shot just above my right eye. As JJ corrected me later when I was telling the story to a friend, “No mom you didn’t get hit with a puck…you got nailed.”

For as much as it Hurt Like Hell, it should look far worse. :p As for the perpetrator, he couldn’t have been more than 13 or 14, and he and his friend were definitely apologetic (and scared shitless when they saw that I was both crying AND bleeding). After I’d gotten some ice and composed myself, I found them in the rink later and gave them a stern “mom lecture.” I left it at that, because I didn’t get hurt THAT bad, and I can hope the experience was enough to make them think twice next time.

Meanwhile, I will nurse this nagging headache and bemoan the fact that it precludes me from having my wine. :p (Wine exacerbates my headaches.)

But at least I can bask in the glow of knowing I am tougher than the average woman. #hardcorehockeymom 😉

Thanks for reading!