Vacation...Had to get away

Thanks everyone for your positive comments and feedback on my last post! You guys are the best bloggy friends! I'm sure I have said this before, but if it wasn't for reading your blogs and your comments, I would have quit trying to eat well and gone back to my bad eating habits. This blog isn't about dieting, it's about trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Last week, we went on a mini getaway for a few days. Hence the title of this post, which is a line from the song "Vacation" from the GO GOs. It was great and we had a great time! My eating wasn't great, in hindsight I could have prepared some healthy snacks for the road. I could have planned out the places that we would go out to eat, but in looking back I don't regret it. My husband took a few days off last week and we decided at the last minute to go away.
The only bad part of our mini vacation was....coming back! I wish it was longer!

Today was weigh in day and I gained a pound. No surprise. I'm not vacation anymore and it's back to the real world, to busy schedules, and to eating right. My husband will be taking a week off towards the end of July and this time I'll be more prepared with healthier snacks to eat.


Food for Thought: "The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today". H. Jackson Brown Jr.

I'm still here....barely!

Did ya miss me??? This by far is one of the busiest summers I've had in a very long time. Though there are times that I have felt overwhelmed, it does make the day go by fast. Unfortunately, it doesn't leave a lot of time for posting on this blog or visiting your blogs!

Since I last posted, my eating hasn't been so great. I've kept up with the workouts, but they haven't been as intense or as long as I would like it to be. My motto has always been no matter how busy you are, do some kind of movement. Whether it's a walk around the block, intense house cleaning, or 10 minute workout. It's all about getting my butt into gear. I want to get into the habit of having some kind of movement even if I can't get myself to the gym.

Most of the time there are reasons why you fall off the wagon. If I want to continue to lose weight and have a healthy lifestyle, I need to analyze why I eat the way I do when I'm stressed. It's easy to say it's because it has been a hectic summer, but there are underlying reasons. Ones that I need to address rather than escaping it by binging. I've made a few heart wrenching decisions and often I wonder if it's the right one, but I know deep down inside its the right one for my family and most importantly for me.

One thing for sure that I need to work on is that I need to stop being so hard on myself. If I go to the gym, I berate myself for not being able to work out the full two hours. When I go out with some friends, I complain that I was the biggest person in the group. I don't buy myself any new clothes because I feel like I don't deserve it. (You should check out my wardrobe closet, there's hardly anything there!) Basically, I make myself into a martyr and my husband is getting sick of it! He actually sat me down and told me that if I can't love me for where I'm at right now, how can I love myself when I'm at my goal weight? I need to love myself now and be patient in the process. Easier said than done, but it can happen.

Surprisingly though my eating hasn't been great and a few days of binging, I haven't gained a pound this week! My husband believes it's because I still made a goal to do some kind of movement every day. (I learned that tip from Oprah's personal fitness trainer Bob Greene.) I'm still on Weight Watchers and it's been great. Though there were a few days of binging, I really believe that if I wasn't on Weight Watchers I would have gained back the weight that I have lost.

I'm recommitting myself today to my food plan with Weight Watchers, speaking positively about my body, and not binge. Today I make the decision to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit. Who knows what I'll do tomorrow...I don't care. I just know that today is important and I'm going to make each moment count.



Food for Thought: “Many fine things can be done in a day, if you don't always make that day tomorrow."

Nutritional Sanity by keeping it simple!

I have to remind myself that though I'm on Weight Watchers that doesn't mean I'm on a "diet." I'm changing the way I eat, it is a lifestyle change. When I look at it that way, it makes it easier not to quit. I'm also learning not to make it difficult, to keep it simple. As someone would say when I over analyze things and get freaked out when I go over my allotted points/calories for the day, I should remember to "KISS." What does KISS stand for....
"Keep It Simple Stupid!"

I'm reading this book titled "Lose Weight with THE POWER OF ONE" by Stephen Moss. It is a simple approach to dieting and learning about nutrition. It is a VERY easy read and was recommended to me by a nutritionist. It is a fictional story about an overweight woman who just had a baby and is having problems in her marriage and she blames her weight. She meets someone who helps change her view about nutrition and health and loses weight in the process. I love that the book applies the principles of nutrition as a story which makes it more relatable.

I was already familiar with the strategies that the book listed, but I loved how the book TEACHES how to make good nutrition a part of our life, and most importantly to KEEP IT SIMPLE. Here are some of the strategies that were listed and my comments are in parentheses:

- Reduce the amount of fat in your daily life to as low as possible. (example egg whites instead of the egg yolks, reduced fat cheese, reduced fat mayo,ect)

- Eat breakfast (duh!)

- Reduce the amount of sugar in your daily life to as low as possible (I tried cutting out sugar and just ended up binging on more sugar. Cutting sugar out of my life was not the answer! The best thing to do is experiment with baking. I like sugar substitutes, my favorite is Stevia which is a herbal sweetener. I also like sugar free chocolate pudding or Smart One frozen desserts)

- Do not bring any factory made snacks, meals, or refined flour products into your home. Use foods that are as close to natural as possible. (That's very hard when you have kids in your home, but you can limit the amount that you buy and experiment with snack recipes that you can make on your own)

- Drink water

- Stop eating when you are approaching feeling full.

- Eat often (small meals through out the day)

There is also one more strategy, but I want to read more on that before I list it. Some of these strategies are taught by Weight Watchers, but it's great to read another spin to it. It was also important for me to write this, so that I can refer to it when I start making my plan of eating more difficult than it should be. It's been an extremely busy time for me and I miss reading your blogs on a regular basis, it keeps me grounded! So, I'll be catching up reading and commenting on blogs towards the end of the week. Happy Healthy Eating!



Food for Thought: "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated". ~Confucius

I just don't wanna...

I just don't wanna go to the gym to work out. I would much rather be a couch potato, watch TV all day and eat bon bons.

I just don't wanna count my calories. I would much rather throw away all the measuring cups and just eat to my heart's content.

I just don't wanna eat my vegetables. I would rather eat french fries and add lots of ketchup, that should count as my vegetable servings.

I just don't wanna drink water. I would rather sip on a Starbucks Venti peppermint hot chocolate with whole milk and lots and lots of whip cream.

I have had a lot on my mind lately and still feeling overwhelmed, but as much as I want to throw everything out, I haven't. Since Tuesday, I've been waking up every day not feeling motivated to do anything especially when it comes to diet and exercise, but I've been doing it anyway. For some reason going to the gym sounds like a Herculean effort, so I've been walking with my husband in the evenings or working out with a video. And I count my calories/points even though it's a pain in the butt! However, when I wake up in the mornings there are no regrets of what I did the night before because I've been doing all the things I need to do to lose weight, get fit, and be healthy.

That's the test, to do the things that need to be done whether you like it or not. I lost only half a pound this week, but I'm okay with that. I'm losing inches faster than I'm losing weight. I wore my denim long shorts yesterday and they were loose on the hips, they are not snug anymore and my arms are getting more toned and smaller! I look back at my previous weight losses and I always tend to lose inches quicker than losing weight, mainly because I always do a lot of strength training. I've been told by a trainer that if I continue to do what I'm doing, I'll eventually see more weight loss on and of course no more binging!



Food for Thought: "Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day." Author unknown

Weekend Recap

I worked out at the gym Saturday morning. I usually have a lot of energy after a work out, but I was tired before the workout and was still tired after the workout. I decided to take a nap before the baby shower. It was supposed to be a 30 minute nap that turned out to be a 3 hour nap! The dumb alarm clock didn't go off. At least it was one of the best naps I've taken in a looong time and I was well rested enough to go my husband's company dinner that evening.

I went online to survey the menu and already picked out what I was going to eat before we went to the restaurant. There were some items that I ate that were not planned. There was a seafood cold platter that was ordered for appetizers. The platter contained huge shrimp, oysters, & crab meat. I had one of each and it was DELICIOUS! There was bread that came straight from the oven, that I could not refuse. I had a few small slices and didn't regret a single bite. I had steak, steamed asparagus, and shared a dessert with my husband. My only regret is that I should have ordered the lobster tail. It was the most expensive item and I didn't feel comfortable ordering it, until I saw the waiters bring in the lobster tails to some of my husband's coworkers! My mouth was salivating over their orders even though my steak was still delicious. I ate a small portion and took the rest home.

I ate more than I planned, but I did not feel bad about it. I knew that if I refused to eat the bread, the cold platter and all the other yummy stuff that people were offering me that I would regret not trying it. The regret of not tasting these food items that I usually don't eat would have been far greater than the satisfaction of keeping within my points that evening. How often am I going to eat out like that on company's dime? I didn't stuff myself and that's what counts.

Sunday was a different matter. My sister and I talked on the phone about the graduation party on Friday. There were some uncomfortable feelings and some family dynamics that aren't so great. I don't want to go into too much detail, but I felt there were some unspoken accusations and bad feelings that still linger from certain extended family relatives. My sister felt it too. Sometimes I wonder if that's why I was so exhausted because those feelings made my chest tight, my head hurt, and made me wonder question choices I have made in the past. There was nothing planned on Sunday except for church, so I couldn't run away from those feelings that I tried to keep stuffing inside.

And I ate over them. I have always categorized binges into two categories; "Major binges" and "Minor binges". What I did yesterday was a "Minor binge." There's nothing to celebrate about that. A binge is a binge and I failed that day. Last night I had a series of nightmares about the same relatives. I woke up this morning with a start and immediately felt a wave of relief that they were only nightmares, but they were so realistic.

I know now what is a major trigger point for me, it's my extended family outside of my own siblings. They bring things up that I want to forget. They live in the past and I want to move on. I think this time before I go to a family event, I'll ask to see the guest list or just not bother to go at all.



Food for Thought: "Families are like food. Some are good and sweet. Some are flavorful and nutty. Some causes bad indigestion and are downright toxic." original quote from H.K.

I survived Friday's grad party!

On Friday we went to a graduation party and I was nervous. I've been doing fairly well with Weight Watchers and worried that I may not be able to prevent myself from eating all the great food that I knew would be at the party....until I read some of your blogs! I felt so inspired! "Always the Big Girl" wrote a heartfelt post titled My Body and Kasey wrote another awesome post about treating your body with respect and LOVE. I encourage you to read both posts, it gave me the motivation that I needed to not ruin all the hard work that I put into my body the past few weeks.

I had another one of the busy mornings, so I had only 30 minutes to exercise. There wasn't time to go to the gym and I exercised at home. (My goal is to exercise 5-6 days a week & I didn't want to ruin that momentum, no matter how busy I am) We arrived at the party famished. (I only had time to eat a bowl of cereal & fiber bar, not very filling) And there were 3 picnic tables full of food! One table had a variety of desserts and the other two tables had trays of Hawaiian food which is my favorite! My eyes were as huge a saucers, my mouth was watering and I think my body started to tremble as my mind started to calculate how much food I could cram into my mouth!

I grabbed my plate, took a deep breath, and surveyed the trays of food in front of me. There were several dishes that are my favorite and I took only a small serving of each, grabbed a diet coke and ate slowly. Between talking and eating, it took me over an hour to finish what I ate on my plate and I didn't get seconds...I was too full! Yahooo!!!!! I did eat a large piece of cake & 3 small chocolate chip cookies. I'm a sucker for homemade baked goods, but I didn't feel bad about eating the cake & cookies because I wasn't binging on them.

I usually am not conscious of what I'm eating when I'm talking to a group of people. I tend to eat & talk and just eat whatever is near me. Not this time! My only regret is that I was offered a very high calorie homemade fruity tropical drink. I could tell the person was hurt that I didn't take one because it's her specialty drink. There are relatives who show their love by their cooking and even though you tell them that you're on a diet they don't understand and take it as a form of rejection. So, next time I'll accept the food, don't eat it and just throw it away without them looking or give it away. Everyone walks away happy!

The weekend of food is still ahead of me. I have a baby shower to go to this afternoon and the invite said to bring an empty stomach because there will be "food galore" and tonight we're going to my husband's company dinner at a Seafood Steakhouse! I know I'll be okay, yesterday was a big test and I passed! It's been a long time since my body has felt good, I'm not going to ruin that good feeling by overeating. I worked too dang hard to get to this point!


Food for Thought: “Perseverence is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other" Walter Elliot

Losing Energy

I just got back from the gym today and really struggled. I felt like I was losing steam. I did an hour of focusing on my lower body with weights and I felt myself losing steam within fifteen minutes of my workout. I thought maybe it was stress and realized I didn't eat much last night. I stopped eating at about 6pm and even though I was still extremely hungry I didn't want to use my activity points and so I went to bed hungry. And I had a bowl of cereal and a fiber bar for breakfast this morning. That's all I ate before I worked out.

I work out in the mornings and in the evenings with my husband and son, so that averages about 4 hours a day of working out. I need to eat more! I'm starting to get into that stinking thinking that I need to lose weight quickly. I weighed in yesterday and gained one pound. That shouldn't have devastated me because I have lost inches and I should have expected that since I started to incorporate weights into my workout, but I still felt a little bummed out. How many times have I read other people's blogs about not letting the scale have power over our attitudes?

I can't get into that mind set. It's still important to weigh myself every week, but the loss at the weight scale shouldn't be the only measurement of success. It's being able to run farther than the previous week, it's being able to lift more than the previous day, it's feeling stronger and better after a grueling workout and most importantly it's being able to wear clothes that aren't so snug anymore. I'm on my fourth week of Weight Watchers and I feel better than I did the first week of starting.

What I need to remember is that losing weight is not a sprint and to celebrate every success, big or small. So, what will I celebrate today? Last week I last only half an hour training my lower body, I did not have the strength, stamina, or energy to go on. This week I trained for a solid hour, that's big progress!


Food for Thought: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”
Confucius

Survived another busy week!

I survived another busy week! It seems that every time I had a moment to sit down and get on the computer so I can post, read, & comment on every one's blog, then I would remember something I NEEDED to do and then another week passes before I realize I haven't been able to get back on the computer. So, I have exactly 15 minutes to post before I need to run out pick up my son from football practice and then we have another commitment at 7pm. I'm getting tired just typing that!

I have done really well in keeping with my Weight Watchers Program. Last week was my third week and I did better than the previous weeks. What was better? I planned ahead! I planned out my meals for the day which helped me stay on track. It's too overwhelming for me to plan my meals for the week, so I just plan a day ahead of time before I go to bed. Another thing I have accepted is that because my son is an EXTREMELY picky eater and my husband thinks that low cal meals aren't tasty, I cook them separate meals. You learn to pick your battles and I don't feel like fighting with them that they should eat what I cook. I only cook 3 days a week & make sure there's plenty of leftovers and I have my own meals. I freeze what I cook for myself and just pop it in the microwave when it's time for us to eat dinner, that way I don't feel like a short order cook.

I exercised 5 days last week! I notice my endurance level increasing and even though I've only lost 4 pounds in 3 weeks, I can tell my hips are shrinking. I wore a skirt that usually hugs the hips and it was loose. If I keep it up, I may have to buy a new wardrobe!

Was my 3rd week on the program perfect? NO! I had one day where I went over my points. What I learned is that it's okay to go out to eat, but I need to plan ahead where I'm going to eat. Just as I plan out my meals, I need to plan out where we eat and if possible look up the menu online. Lesson learned! Tomorrow is weigh in day, so I'm crossing my fingers I get another weight loss and if not, I'm not going to beat myself up because I lost inches on my hips and that's a huge victory!


Food for Thought: "Accept the challenges, so you may feel the exhilaration of victory".
George S. Patton