Dieting & Exercising - Game On!

I've mentioned it before but it's worth bringing up again - there has to be a balance between writing and staying fit.

That may be a no brainer for many, but it's tough for me. I tend to gain weight if I plant my butt in the chair to write a lot. The more I write, the more I gain.

I need to find balance as I don't want to stop writing. I have a lot of writing goals. But I also want to lose about ten sizes. Maybe twelve.

I spied a dieting mention by a commenter on one of the blogs I frequent. So I checked out the blogger and found two very interesting things: 100 Mile Fitness Challenge and the Game On! Diet.

I just signed up to join the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge. The challenge is from January 1, 2010 through March 31, 2010 to walk at least 100 miles. It can be on a treadmill inside or outside at a park or around your neighborhood. Other forms of exercise can add into the calculations, too.

I emailed my daughters and also my friends at work who say they want to get serious and diet this year about doing the Game On! Diet. I have to look into it deeper but it looks interesting.

For me, challenges and games make things fun and when something's fun, it's always easier to do.

I bought a new set of New Balance gym shoes last weekend and I got the mini trampoline with the bar. Ingredients for spaghetti squash, cabbage soup and smoothies are in the fridge. So I'm ready to go.

I'd be perfect if only I could come up with a cat shifter story. I've made three false starts.

Recent posts you might like to read:

Don't Be Quick To Quit Your Day Job

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Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

I (Don't) Love Big Butts

In order to write writers need to "sit butt in chair and write!" It's a universal axiom and it works.

The initial draft may not be publishable but it's a lot easier to edit black words on a screen than an empty screen.

Of course that's not the only writing axiom writers need to follow.

Unfortunately, although gluing your butt to a chair and writing for hours is an excellent way to get a lot of writing done, it's also a good way to get a big butt. That's what happened to me anyway.

There has to be a happy medium between working and exercising. What good is it to become multi-published even if you become as rich as Rockefeller if you die young from obesity or other health problems caused by inactivity?

I realized that several years ago when I was putting out a lot of books but couldn't walk up stairs without huffing and puffing and when I was also embarrassed to post my author photo online.

I worked hard and got fit. In the process I became thin. I was happy about how I felt and looked. I was proud of how hard I'd worked to get there. I wasn't happy, however, with my book output. I'd put all my energy into getting fit.

The writing bug bit me again. I had to get my writing career back on track. I was furious at myself. And I thought I would be able to write more and maintain my weight and my health.

But I didn't. Perhaps if I didn't have a full-time day job and children's sports activities several times a week I'd be able to juggle just writing and just exercise. Perhaps other people can successfully manage many different things much better than me.

I'm going to try again to regain my health, lose weight, spend less money on food and still write a lot. Of course I say that now when my daughter's second softball team just ended and Fall Ball softball tournaments are finished. Last week at this time I was at Fall Ball all day Saturday. This weekend, we've been cooking diet meals to freeze for the week.

Time to exercise or not, time to cook ahead or not, I can eat less and eat better: fruits, veggies, nuts, water...

I cooked all morning today and this will be my lunches for this week: Cabbage Soup.

The dinners we cooked ahead also include meat loaf, shrimp fried rice and taco soup. For dessert we made Rice Krispies Treats and chocolate dipped frozen bananas.

Recent posts you might like to read:

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Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!


You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

It's The Dog's Fault

I finally followed my doctor's advice and bought the mini trampoline. I need to lose some serious weight and get back in shape.

I've been down this path before so I should know better. I lost 95 pounds several years ago - then gained a lot of it back. Idiotic, I know.

When I lost so much weight, I let my writing career slide to focus on my health and weightloss. I looked and felt great except I barely produced any books. Once I finished exercising a couple hours a day after I got home from the day job, I was too tired to do anything else and fell into bed.

Then I got back into writing. I started blogging - not just writing my own blog posts but visiting other blogs. Those hours I used to spend walking, swimming and biking went into writing and promoting. I've written several more books since then.

Somehow I need to find a happy medium. I need to get healthy again, lose weight and not let my writing career go down the drain, either. It sounds a lot easier than I'm finding it. Of course, I relied a lot on exercise and not enough on diet before. A full lifestyle change is called for.

I give myself excuses - stress from my new position at work, stress from the kids, my writing, my daughter's constant softball, my legs hurt... Sure, those things make it harder but I did it before. I didn't give myself excuses before.

I'm tired of excuses. I'm tired of how I look in photos.

I should be in that picture with the trampoline, but I'm embarrassed to show myself. It's one of my goals to post pictures of myself on a successful fitness journey and not be embarrassed.



Recent posts you might like to read:

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Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook,
Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch,
Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape
are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Dieting Again - for real!

Easter, my father-in-law went camera happy and snapped pictures of everybody. When I saw mine, I wanted to crawl into bed and hide. Or walk across America as many times as it takes to lose 50 pounds fast. I knew I'd gained too much weight and I wasn't happy with myself, but I didn't think it was too bad until I saw that pic. Ouch! I vowed for the gazillionth time to lose weight. THIS TIME I've been good for the past week starting Monday, the day after Easter. I've already lost about 6 pounds although I only expected to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week. I'm sure the rate will slow down. I think I shocked my poor body with fruits again after a much too long hiatus. And water. This morning my older daughter and I had a bowl of oatmeal and then I offered her some of my apples and peanut butter. It's amazing I only discovered a year ago that I LOVE peanut butter on apples. Anyway, she told me she HATES peanut butter, that she can't stand how sticky it is in her mouth, that it makes her feel like one of those poor dogs on the You Tube videos trying to eat peanut butter. Well, I'd never seen one of those videos, so I had to go and find one. So, here's one so you know how my daughter feels. Me? I only put a very thin smear of PB on my apple as I don't want too many calories and it's not enough to make my mouth get gluey. You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Overwhelmed - again!

It would be nice if I actually wrote an article before I posted the blog. If you checked this out early you'll know what I mean. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I posted the final paragraph about "You'll also want to see what other authors are doing" and nothing else. I've been feeling overwhelmed again. I'm sure there are a lot of factors. I hadn't had my Lexapro in 2 or 3 weeks. I'm under the gun of 2 big edts and having another whole story to write due. I've been down with asthma and bronchitis. The kids, in particular DD2, want me to run them places right and left. The Softball Team's Booster Club is on our back about helping out more and most of it's during my work hours when I can't take off from the day job. I feel bad for not volunteering more with the softball team but I'm way behind in my writing job as it is. I finally finished one big edit yesterday (first round anyway) which is a relief. However, that still leaves another big edit and a story to finish writing. And have I exercised? Even once this week? Even once in the past month? Have I even used the bathing suit I bought two or three months ago? All big NOs. I want to but then I feel guilty that I'm ignoring the writing. Yeah, I have a problem about feeling guilty too much. A few years back I decided to get healthy and I exercised and dieted all the time and ignored the writing/promoting. Then I hardly put out any books. My career took a nosedive. But I got thin and my cholesterol came down. But I can't seem to manage to hold the day job and do enough exercise and writing all at the same time. Not with kids still at home anyway. Not when half my time off the day job is at softball games or taxiing kids to their activities. Yikes! I don't mean to whine. I'm just annoyed with myself for not working this out better. For perhaps taking breaks to watch American Idol instead of breaks to walk. AI is pretty much my one guilty pleasure. That and too much KFC. Hubby just pointed out it's time to pick up the daughter from her friend's house where she stayed overnight so we can take her to guess where -- yep, softball practice again. Today it's batting practice. Tomorrow night is a game. I'm going to be good and WALK during her practice. And afterwards I'm going to camp out at Borders again to write. I wish the library was open late because I'd go there instead. The library has privacy cubicles with power hookups in every one and there's no tempting food to make me spend money and calories. You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)