I was going to weigh myself before starting the diet, but I didn't have a scale at home (too depressing!) so I logged my starting weight as what I weighed last September when I was visiting my daughter. Based on how my clothes fit then and now, I'm comfortable starting with that number. I also thought I might just check my measurements and use those numbers but found that in my house I only have rulers and a 26 inch tape measure. Nothing on me has been 26 inches since high school!

I'm about 3 weeks into the diet and exercise routine (I started in a mid week, so it's more like 2 1/2 weeks).

After checking out a lot of options for dieting, and seeing what methods of losing weight others were embarking on - New Year's resolutions in full swing around here - I decided to watch calories, use a touch of food combining whenever possible, and to increase my activity slowly.

My entire department at work has begun similar regimes, with each of us trying different diets. The only thing in common is that we all have added about 3 hours of slow walking to our day (the fact that all of a sudden our jobs are requiring this extra activity was the fortunate catalyst for that!).  We are helping each other to be accountable and we have one "diet nazi" who shrieks whenever she sees one of us partaking in an unhealthy foodstuff. It provides comic relief and allows us to restate our diet goals, how we are justifying the intake and, sometimes, we re-evaluate the snake or meal.

One of our techie co-workers found a great free app called Lose It! that is available on Android and iPhone. A few of us (including me) are using this app and others have bought small calorie pocket calculators, pedometers, and calorie count books.  It is interesting seeing who is using what tools and why.

I'm loving the Lose It! app. It is handy and keeps me accountable. It set a reasonable goal of 1 1/2 pounds per week (I tried to set it for a two pound per week weight loss but it gave me a lecture). Of course, since I'm trying to lose more than 1 1/2 pounds per week, all I have to do is watch the goals and cut the intake a little further. I'm not watching carbs as part of the diet but I have noticed that in my decision making to keep my calorie count low, I'm naturally giving up carbs in favor of being able to eat more and still stay under my calorie goal. 

A really nice feature of the app is that it allows me to look at the week as well as daily goals and reports my weekly calorie over/under stats.  It will also track nutrition, although I don't really use it for that, I have also noticed that as I decrease my carbs (again only so I can consume more calories with additional food) I am also decreasing my sodium intake and fats.  Wow.

I haven't done a weigh in yet but plan to this weekend. My slacks feel a little looser, but besides that, I have no real noticeable changes yet. I am having fun though which a change from the old days of dieting when I just felt hungry all of the time.

I'm working on a piece for a friend's newborn. A portrait of some of the toys that were on hand to greet her when she was born, and a couple of her older sisters' toys, a sort of welcoming committee, old and new friends.  I started off with about 30 photos of the toys under different lighting with two different cameras and in different configurations.  Then I spent some time tweaking the shots to get the most "information" from the shots. Even bad shots can reveal shadows, textures, and unusual angles. After I had the photos were I needed them for reference, I did a few sketches to get to know the toys a little better. Four of the toys are plush, one is plush and chenille, two are knitted, and one is a glossy ceramic, giving me a variety of textures to work with.

One of the final sketches:

We are all, mostly, creatures of good intentions. Which is why we declare a New Year's resolution at all. We wish - intend - to do better, be better. However, if we actually followed through on our resolutions would so many of us repeat the same ones each year? Of course not.

This year, I've committed to following through on my resolutions publicly via this journal. To be honest (and I am a realist), I was curious if I would abandon the journal first or the weight loss/art goals first. The order of abandonment, the degree of engagement, these things I contemplated.

So immediately after posting I felt a great need to sleep. For hours and hours and hours. Even now, the desire to procrastinate by pleading lethargy is pulling at me. 

And I haven't even started on the goal to create a work of art each week. So tomorrow I work on putting together a "schedule" laying out the time allotments for tasks. I don't expect that I will be able to rigidly adhere to the schedule but it is once again an attempt to put into existence evidence of my commitment. 

Tomorrow I also commit to laying out the basics of the "diet" I intend to implement and timelines for goals. 

On a positive note, I did get up from my marathon of sleep to dance to some music for about two songs the first night. That's a small improvement. It was about 5 minutes of exercise.Today at work I also put intention into a little holiday office cleaning and put in a good solid 5 minutes of walking as I completed tasks. I'm not liking how tired I was after each of the exertions but it does remind me why I'm doing this in the first place. Those activities should not have tired me out physically (muscle fatigue set in immediately after the tasks) as much as they did.

So, the following need to be established:

1). Schedule showing time commitments to work on goals
2). Basic set of "rules" for caloric intake (eating)
3). Definitive plan for physical exercise

How are you doing with your resolutions?

After some retrospection and a look in the mirror (literally, not metaphorically), I determined that I need to commit to, and follow through on a couple of resolutions for 2012.

1). Diet and exercise: after a health scare this year I got some amazing news about my overall health. Other than being fat, I'm in really good shape. I have asthma to deal with again and I'm basically lazy about sticking to diets and an exercise regimen but I have the appropriate foundation to work with.  I'm not looking to get back down to the 103 I was when I was 26 (yikes how unhealthy was that!), 40 pounds would make me ecstatic and is definitely attainable if my old anorexic self recalls correctly.

2). Art: I'm tired of talking about artists, posting about artists, promoting artists, selling artwork, exhibiting artwork. This year I'm creating artwork and, maybe, selling artwork. Gonna live up to the Tucson Artist label. Or die trying (no dying, honestly, just trying).

So here's my commitment, or rather ARE my commitmentS:

A. Research and find an appropriate diet and exercise routine for a 52 year old woman whose primary exercise routine is currently walking from the house to the truck, from the truck to work, from work to the truck and then from the truck to the house.  I'll share my research, my decisions, and the whole nasty diet including the progress and results.

B. Commit to a "painting" a week. You thought I was going to say a painting a day? Ya, that's not going to happen lol... And by painting I mean a work of art I create and decide if and when it's finished (so I can cheat a little if I want).  I will work my way up to a legitimate finished work of art within a few months if you can put up with my feeble beginning attempts.

For now, I'm going to watch the rest of Modern Family's Christmas show while I contemplate what I've committed to.

While we have enjoyed the community at livejournal in our time here, a decision has been made to combine forces with Art of the Deal, a wordpress blog.  Art of the Deal will focus on Tucson Artists while maintaining their international postings and including articles such as those seen here on becoming a better artist through use of techology and networking. 

We have already had some crossover with articles so it made sense to merge our efforts and boost the staff.  Of course this means more postings and more information for the average consumer on what to see and to purchase in the Tucson art world.  We ask that you continue to submit your listings/articles/press releases through your current contact or update to include artofthedealblog@gmail.com.

Come visit us at http://artofthedeal.wordpress.com and click on the rss symbol at the top right hand of the new blog and subscribe to feeds in your google or yahoo reader or have them sent to your email address.

Tucson Artist Editor

ArtFare Summer Arts Program in the Heart of Downtown Tucson

May 1, 2009

FEED AND SPEED

In today's recessionary times, what could be more stylish than a cute scooter? The wee little cycles get great gas mileage and look sharp.

And if you're really lucky, you can get one for just $5 (or 10 cans of food), thanks to our friends at Scoot Over Fun in Motion.

Yes, just $5 (or 10 cans of food) gets you a raffle ticket to win a special scooter commemorating the Tucson Weekly's 25th anniversary! Best of all, the $5 will go to the Community Food Bank, which is facing unprecedented demand thanks to our crashing economy.

Drop off your contributions at Weekly World Central, 3280 E. Hemisphere Loop, or at Scoot Over, 4534 E. Broadway Blvd.

Cheers & ciao,

Therese Perreault

Community Storytelling Arts

A multicultural arts studio

 

(520) 882-3988