Cars, Compliments, and a little gym-pool-OCD

Hello, hello. Things are good here- I got a brand new car and I LOVE it! It was quite a whirlwind week of test driving cars, making decisions (difficult for me), haggling with the car salesman over price (I did good!), cleaning out my old car, and getting insurance, registration, et al., in order.

It was all worth it because...

I LOVE my new car!

It's fancy!

Isn't it beautiful? And the inside is so fancy, too!

In other news, I am doing great with my new, healthy lifestyle. I worked out for about 45 minutes today on the Elliptical and then ventured into the weights/machines/resistance training and did a little muscle work. And then, because I am turning into a gym nut, I swam for an hour.

I made a new pool friend. His name is Eddie and he is quite a swimmer (and quite good-looking!). Anyways, we chatted a little bit at the end of the lane. Turns out that I'm not the only one who thinks the pool is kind of dirty. Eddie and I banded together to *encourage* the gym to clean the pool. I'm hoping it happens soon because I love to swim but I'd prefer a sparkling clean pool!

My blood sugar is good. Averaging 105 in the mornings and 80 in the evenings. I've had a couple of hypoglycemic incidents with my blood sugar dropping too low but I'm getting more aware of the symptoms and trying hard to keep everything regulated. I saw my doctor this week. He was happy with everything but says that I have to lose weight before I can come off of any of the blood sugar medications. He said that if I don't lose more weight, my blood sugar will just shoot back up without the medicine.

It's frustrating because I am working so hard with exercise and eating healthy, counting carbs/calories/protein. I can feel the difference and I have lost some weight (well, 47 pounds to be exact. I guess that qualifies as *some* weight) but only 7 pounds since the diagnosis and total lifestyle change.

A big part of the problem is my thyroid. I was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder in April 2011 and I've been on medication and seeing an Endocrinologist ever since. The thing about having a thyroid problem is that it is directly linked to my metabolism and weight.  You know how some people have *gland* problems that mess with their weight? Lucky me, I'm one of those people. The Endo thinks my thyroid has been wonky for years but it wasn't diagnosed until my hair started falling out and my thyroid grew so large that you can touch my neck and feel it. The thyroid disorder caused me to gain weight to begin with which means that my thyroid disorder, via causing me to gain weight, caused the diabetes. That stinks. And it's making it difficult for me to lose weight. 

But I'm hanging in there- totally motivated and feeling really good, even if the number on the scale is moving so slooooowly.

In other news, I have a thing for movie star sunglasses (i.e., huge sunglasses). My addiction started in college when a roommate gave me an awesome pair of movie star sunglasses. On Friday, I was waiting for a friend to go get lunch down at City Hall in Phoenix. I was sitting outside and, of course, wearing my current movie star sunglasses (black with sparklies on the sides). A woman walked by me, did a double take, turned around, and stared at me. 

She then walked over to me, apologized for staring, and told me she has very similar sunglasses. She then said, "When I saw you and realized we had the same glasses, I wondered if they looked that good on me? I wonder if I look like a movie star, too?"

Movie star sunglasses. Whether you really look like a movie star or not, they are good for the ego (and 

for blocking the sun).

Creepers won't stop me!

I continue on my road to good health. My road involves faithfully counting carbs, calories, protein, etc. (Thank you to Lose It! The best iphone app that helps me keep track of everything).  My road also involves lots of time at the gym and appears to be paved with sweat and chlorine.

I'm doing 60 minutes of cardio 5 days a week and swimming for 60 minutes on the other two days. Eventually, I'm going to go to a 5 day a week total work out schedule but right now I'm excited to exercise and feeling especially motivated so I'm going with it, going with it all the way to the gym every day.

My blood sugar has been a bit higher this week. Not sure what that's about. It's been about 130 which is spectacular compared to where it was 3 weeks ago but not at my goal of consistently under 100. Consistently under 100 means weaning off the medications and that's what I want. If I have to be diabetic (still feels weird to say it), I want to be a diabetic who is controlling her disease with diet and exercise, not medication.

I probably just need to chill out about it- 130 is really good and it's only been 1 month since diagnosis and lifestyle change. I do have a tendency to get a little obsessive about things :)

In good news, my weight is steadily dropping. I've noticed that the day after I've gone swimming, my weight is always 1 pound lower. I like that. That's what's keeping me in the pool because there are things that make me want to avoid the pool.

1. The pool looks kind of dirty to me. Is it because I haven't swam wearing goggles in years and now I can see every fuzz in the water and every speck of brown stuff on the pool bottom? Or am I just being obsessive (see two paragraphs above)? I have a touch of OCD, I'm not afraid to admit it, and yes, if I could clean the bottom of that pool, I would. Happily.

2. Pool Creepers. Mostly, the pool scene at the gym has been fine. A little weird and as I'd mentioned in a previous post, a bit of a good old boys club when it comes to getting a lane. Today was my first experience with an out-and-out creeper. Some dude that was shouting at me while I was swimming, asking me my name and then telling me how cute I am. Ew. Ewwwww. I think that's creepy, not flattering at all. It's along the same lines (but WORSE) of someone I don't know calling me "Sweetheart" or "Honey". You've got to know me pretty well to use those terms of endearment and most likely, if you do know me well, you won't call me "Sweetheart" or "Honey". I may look very young and sweet but I'm really not.

3. Despite my issues described in number 1 above, I leave the pool smelling so strongly of chlorine that I almost smell like bleach. This would not bother me if I smelled like bleach because I was cleaning the bottom of the pool with bleach but that dream is out of my reach. Even after I shower, I can still smell the chlorine on me. I don't like it.

Although I have some valid gym-pool issues, I do like to swim, it feels good on my body, and has pretty much guaranteed another pound lost. So I'm going to keep swimming, creeper or not.

P.S. I had my blog settings wrong and the comment section didn't work. I have fixed that and now expect massive amounts of comments from the millions of people (or 1 or 2 people) who are reading my blog. I'm sure that's why I've never had a comment before :)