Day 107: Live Your Life

"Live your life with passion, live your life with some drive, decide that you are going to push yourself. The last chapter to your life has not been written yet, and it doesn’t matter about what happened yesterday. It doesn’t matter about what happened to you, what matters is, ‘what are you going to do about it?"’
~Les Brown~

I used to feel like I was writing the last chapter of my life, because so many years were wasted. Today I’m committed to making sure these are the best days of my life and I’ve realized the last chapter hasn’t been written. I look back at so many things in my life and wish I had done things differently or perhaps taken more chances. It’s not something I dwell on, it’s more a thought that comes and goes, because I know that yesterday is gone and no longer matters. So I spend most of my time focusing on today and the future. Today I am living my life instead of worrying about the past.

Before I stepped on the scale this morning I said “I feel fat today” out loud. That’s not my typical prelude to a weigh in, so I don’t know where that came from. I usually feel pretty positive when I step on the scale. I needn’t have worried ... I lost 2.9 pounds this week ! That’s 48.6 pounds gone forever and I’m only 1.6 pounds away from my first mini goal of losing 50 pounds ! It’s a happy day ! I don’t know if the next 50 will be quite as easy but I have no doubt it will happen. I do not intend to give up ! I’ve noticed some subtle changes in my body that make me happy. My thighs don’t rub together quite so much. My arms don’t bounce off my hips. I can bend over in the shower to wash my feet. I can comfortably cross my legs when I’m lying in bed. I can sit closer to my desk at work. I also noticed my jeans were practically falling off me at Walmart today, so I really have no choice but to order a few new pairs pronto.

Breakfast was a 2.1 ounce 160 calorie cherry cheese roll with hazelnut coffee. I could eat these pastries for breakfast for the rest of my life and be happy ! I didn’t have my breakfast Power Fuel but I did have my morning snack, which was a 155 calorie chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 230 calorie steak and cheese melt. I also made a little salad using some english cucumber and matchstick carrots with some Simply 60 red wine vinegar salad dressing. If you read these notes you know I’m not fond of cucumbers but I decided to try them, in order to expand my veggie choices. I hate buying lettuce because it spoils so fast and I’m always throwing it away, so a salad with cucumber and carrots was perfect. I can’t say I loved the cucumber but I ate it ! I think the crunch of the carrots helped. I’m thinking a few slivers of red onion would be good in this too. My afternoon snack was 2 wedges of Laughing Cow cheese (60) calories and some Good Thins crackers (80 calories). I usually have 3 wedges of cheese but I saved one to have with dinner, then didn’t end up using it. Dinner was a 9.5 ounce 260 calorie roasted turkey medallions with mashed potatoes and riced cauliflower. My evening snack is going to be a 190 calorie chocolate brownie sundae, which brings my calories to 1167 for the day.

I woke up around 8:30 this morning but luxuriated in bed until about 9:30. I love waking up knowing I don’t have to get up. Once I fed the cats, had my breakfast and looked online to see what was going on in the world I decided to head out to get the mail and make a Walmart run. Walmart was crowded but I always park far away from the door (and other cars!) so I had no problem finding a spot. Didn’t have to wait in line either as they had a lot more cashiers on hand. I found a new water option in the checkout line ! Canada Dry makes a sparkling seltzer water that has nothing in it but carbonated water and natural flavor ! So there is no sodium, no sugar and no calories ! I am going to look for these on my next shopping trip as I think they’ll be a pretty refreshing treat this summer. I already drink San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water for something different but the flavored water will add some variety. I also bit the bullet and picked up some spiralized zucchini and spiralized carrots. I’m not a zucchini fan but I guess if I can stomach cucumbers I can give zucchini another shot. They finally had my roasted garlic riced cauliflower back in stock so I bought 4 bags of it, along with 2 bags of riced broccoli. It still surprises me to go grocery shopping and come home with mostly vegetables. After I got back from Walmart I had my morning shake and then hit the treadmill for the first workout of the day. After lunch I threw in some laundry and gave my feet a long overdue spa treatment. Is there anything better than sliding your feet into that bucket of hot water and then slathering them with lotion after a good long soak ? My feet feel better than they have in a long time so I need to do this more often. I got a 2nd workout in after dinner since I may not have time for one tomorrow. I have to peel eggs and make my deviled eggs for tomorrow and then I’m done for the day. I am a good kind of tired so once I take care of the eggs and have my evening snack I will be heading upstairs for a shower and my warm cozy bed.