Maintenance Rocks! Changing Seasons

Ok - I'm going to take a moment and toot my own horn..... (forgive me 'o ye gods of humility)Today was *change-over* day for me. Seasonal change-over, that is, where I bin-up my Autumn & Winter clothes and shake out my stowed Spring & Summer clothes. I cranked up my "Tropical Vacation" play list and got busy folding sweaters and shaking the winter-woogies out of the shorts and tank tops. I

May is National Fitness Month

May is National Fitness Month - lead by the Presidents Council on Physical Fitness. I was doing some research on their site and found some interesting bullets that support what so many of us have come to learn --- take a look. And take some time this month to give your body the gift of a little extra movement. You deserve the benefits you will glean from it!Adults 18 and older need 30 minutes of

13 weeks after my lap band....

Well I am 13 weeks down the road into lap-bandville.

I must admit I thought it would be more restrictive than it has been.

When I had my last supper at that lovely restaurant in Brugge I really thought I would never be able to do that again.

The truth?

I can.

I could easily go back to that restaurant and order the same bottle of wine... but I would have to drink the whole bottle before my meal...

If I wasn't comatose, I could essentially order the same starter that I had.

Once that was down, I could probably manage the second course... it was another starter after all.

The 3rd course... Nah. I could probably have a few bites.

I certainly would not be able to eat the 4th or 5th courses.

So yes, I would be able to eat there again, but not in the same quantity.

I am actually a little annoyed about that. When I had that meal, I really really truly wanted food to be difficult after that. I guess I am glad its not. It would not have been nice to be vomiting or unable to eat and every day being a chore. But I wish it was a bit more restrictive.

I am watching what I eat this week. Until I have my next fill when I get back from Sri Lanka, I think I just have to go easy. keep stopping during dinner and assessing the 'fill level' and then really stopping when I am full. I am not in a famine zone for goodness sake... I don't have to eat every scrap of food. I can always get something to eat later on if I get hungry again.

I am going to up my fruit intake as well as I don't think I have been getting enough fresh raw food. I have also got back on the treadmill after an eternally quiet period. I did 35 minutes today. I would have done more but the day got ahead of me!

Today's food...
Half a slice of eggy bread for brekkie.
Lunch was Heinz tomato soup and some bread and butter
Dinner was Beef Diane (270 cals) and then semolina with dutch apple (187 cals)

So I think today has been a pretty good day diet wise.

A Healthy Heart Lifestyle

Most people don't see themselves as potential heart attack or stroke victims. But it happens to many of us after age 40 and especially after age 55.

If one of the following risk factors applies to you, then it could be very helpful to look into heart health tips sooner rather than later;

* High blood pressure
* High blood cholesterol
* Diabetes
* Smoking
* Being overweight
* Being physically inactive
* Having a family history of early heart disease
* Age (55 or older for women)


The National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute has a 122 page handbook about heart health that you can download for free, or get a copy sent to you for $3.75. It's The Healthy Heart Handbook for Women '07.

Reducing Cellulite with Exercise

MSNBC has an encouraging article about reducing cellulite with exercise. They interviewed Wayne Westcott, a fitness research director. He has found that women who are not exercising and begin a program of exercise three times a week, together with a reduced-calorie diet can lose on average about 9 pounds of fat and gain two pounds of muscle in about eight weeks. Most of these women also said they thought the cellulite on their thighs and hips showed improvement.

Cellulite is more likely to appear if you don't have good muscle tone.

Cellulite is a drag. And even celebrities get cellulite.

Getting lower....

Hi all.
Just thought I would let you know quickly that when I got up this morning I jumped on the scales and it said 16 stone 3... or 227lbs.
so that means I have lost 25 in total... Obviously that's not an official weigh in because I like to do that on Monday#s but it proves to me that it was indeed retention.
I am really pleased... especially as we went out for pizza last night!!! Hurrah!
I just booked an appointment for hair extensions! YIKES! I have long hair anyway, but I want it longer!!
This is my last Wednesday of work!! This time next Wednesday I will be IN THE SKY!!

*update*
Well today was tiring. Lessons went well though, all my pupils are quite easy on a Wednesday... 2 adults 4 kids and 1 teenager who's quite advanced.

The advanced lesson is starting to happen now. It has been really hard getting her to work at what she needs to do. People don't realise the work they are taking on when they decided to venture on to grade 7 and beyond.

A lot of mummies and daddies decide that poppet wants to do grade 7. Ok. They don't realise that you are looking at a minimum of 2 hours practice daily.... And to actually BE grade 7 when you take the exam your looking more at 4 hours. This is a serious intensive study. What actually happens is that poppet practices her pieces once through and then does her scales once - and thinks that he/she is now grade 7. You could teach a monkey to play 3 pieces given enough time... doesn't mean hes grade 7.

I feel that if you have a piece of paper that says grade 7 on it, you want it to really mean what it says... you don't want that certificate to just mean "I can play 3 tunes quite well and stumble through a piece I have never looked at before". You want that certificate to mean "I have done a years worth of intensive study and you can chuck anything at me at this level and I can do a great job of it".

My pupil, thankfully is not one of these... but I am pretty sure she didn't like bringing her practice time up to length and working at things, not just playing easy stuff. Its taken a good year to get her to change her technique to something approaching elegance and its going to take another before I will even consider her ready for grade 7. Shes doing well, I just hope she keeps the pace going. She will be an excellent pianist if she continues... but as with all teens... there are other things pressing. Her goal is to be a piano teacher, so the drive is there... lets hope it stays.

Other than that, boring day. Didn't get home until 10:30pm and was shattered. Ate my tea on the sofa and watched 2 episodes of Home and Away then went to bed.

That's all folks.

Holiday of a lifetime

Check this out. Its where we are staying in 1 weeks time!
http://www.heritancehotels.com/HA/index.php

We are staying in the Luxury Suite...

Ahhhhh