Two Steps Forward ...

.2 steps back. Yep, I gained .2 pounds this week. I think it was the Chinese food on Thursday night that did me in. Good thing I took off my socks for the weigh in or it might have been more :) I did make a better choice with the Chinese food. Normally we order a ton and then have leftovers for the next day (or more) but this time we were conservative and only had enough leftovers for one lunch the next day. Miguel took it and I had a healthy lunch.

The other thing is that the gym was sort of sporadic, I went on Sunday and Monday and then not again until yesterday (Friday (post-meeting)). I'm going later today so will meet my goal of four times a week. I also got in a nice (though leisurely) mile walk one day during lunch. Oh, work, that's right!

So I went back to work last week (Mon-Wed for now). Everything went about as well as I think it could. Marek had a fine time in daycare, always greeting me with a huge smile when I pick him up. I called throughout the day to check on him and everything was always good. I only shed a few tears the first and second day. I missed my baby but it was also good to get back to it.

Work is really good for my eating. It keeps me set to breakfast - snack - lunch - snack - dinner - desert. Oh! Except for the new thing that has been implemented while I was gone which my colleagues were so excited to tell me about. Cupcake Wednesday. Cupcake Wednesday?! Oh no! That can't be good. Turns out a woman in the neighborhood has a cupcake business and caters to events, weddings, etc. Once a week she opens up her shop and sells to the public for $1 a cupcake (that's a picture from her website). Uh-oh. The good news is they were on the smaller side and I only ate 1.75 cupcakes. The other good news is they didn't knock my socks off. Whew! I think a future weekly crisis might have been averted.

I even managed to get to the gym on Tuesday evening. Going to the gym on a weekday is a tricky maneuver but we've agreed that each of us (Miguel & I) can go once after work during the Mon-Thur week while the other tends to the home. So I'm envisioning some sort of Sun, Tue, Thur (during the day), Fri (or Sat) routine. This past Thursday I had a headache (probably from the blasted Chinese food now that I think about it) and couldn't go. Sometimes I go with a headache and either work through it or it goes away but this time I just wasn't in the mood.

So despite my .2 pound gain I'm still feeling very optimistic about my overall health and fitness. Yesterday I was able to jog 10 minutes straight at 5.0mph. I had to use a little mantra mojo (I think it went something like "Use the mind and the body will follow" with each syllable to a step) to get me through the last minute-and-a-half but I did it. And it was legs & shoulders day to boot so my legs got a real workout. I also did the plank for the third time (2 sets - 1st @ 1 minute, 2nd @ 30 seconds), which felt good. It wasn't a fluke. After weigh-in I gently reminded myself that if I keep doing what I know works the weight issue will solve itself. It's not about the number on the scale, it's not about losing at a certain pace, I don't exercise to lose weight - I exercise to feel good, to make fitness gains, to fuel my weekend activities, to insure I live a long, healthy life.

I don't exercise to lose weight. Really? Did I just say that? I did, and the most profound part is not that I wrote it, but that I believe it. Wow, what a shift. I don't exercise to lose weight. Wow. Can you tell I'm a little flabbergasted by that? I think this means I'm really in a good place psychologically with all this. Let's hope I figure out how to stay here.

Baby pic time!!

First day of daycare. My hair is still wet, Marek is still in his jammies and I haven't started to cry (yet). I love my baby :) The look on his face says to me, "I see we're smiling but are we sure about this mommy?" Awww, my little love.

My current fave. This was taken at Yogun Fruz. Did I not mention that I went for frozen yogurt after the WW meeting on Friday? oops :) Isn't he getting big??