It's week three of my journey towards better health and I'm happy to report that progress is being made on the fat front...and the fat back...and, well, all those fat places.
Where's the proof? I haven't been on a scale since Jan 7. Scales usually let me down. I'm always looking for better numbers than what show up and they depress me. So I'...m going to weigh once a month. I plan to weigh again on Feb. 4 and I'll let you know the results. On Jan. 7, I weighed in at 150 (there...I said it...or typed it as it were...)
Even though I'm not weighing myself, I do know that I am losing some fat because I didn't lose consciousness when I squeezed into my jeans this week! And my bras aren't horribly tight anymore. I gotta tell 'ya...NOTHING bugs me more than a binding brassier !!!
I've been very consistent this week with staying away from the fat and the sugar through lunch. And made five workouts this week, of about 40 minutes each. I've upped the resistance on the elliptical and the crossramp setting.
Having these successes is motivating me to keep going. This week, I'm going to tweak that afternoon snack. Remember that one of my keys to my eating plan is to eat every three hours. I do well until the afternoon, when it's more like eating for three hours ! The afternoon is my tough time of day. It's not that I'm hungry. I get tired. I want the work day to be over. I get this idea in my head that I deserve to eat...whatever I want. Some days I do okay. But other days I graze through the afternoon. A little chocolate...a little fruit...a little anything that gets in my way. So this week, I'm going to try to nail that afternoon snack down to eating around three hours after lunch. Finish my lunch then stay out of the food until time for snack. I'll let you know how it goes.
So how is it going with you...my cohorts in crime? Are you making progress in stepping towards better eating? Have you made any workouts this week? Think about your successes this week and try to build on them for next week. DO NOT...DO NOT let yourself get trapped by negative thinking that says "I made no progress last week. This is hopeless..."
You CAN do this! WE CAN do this together!!!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
I expect WAAAY TOO MUCH out of my food
I expect way too much out of my food. Many many times, I’ve expected food to extinguish my hunger or ease my pain…satisfy my cravings or sooth my sorrows…tantalize my taste buds or be my punching bag…keep me company or keep me entertained. I’ve thought of food as my friend and as my reward.
It’s time for a change. For me to eat the way I should, I need to get into the habit of looking at food simply for what it is…fuel for my body. It’s the stuff that can give me energy and pump up my immune system. Or it CAN be…if I make the right choices.
I find mental pictures helpful, so I’m trying to think of my heart as this little furnace and the food I eat as fuel going into that furnace. Now if I eat something really healthy, say raw broccoli, I try to picture that broccoli as little chunks of hard coal going into that furnace. And while that broccoli won’t satisfy any of my cravings and isn’t very entertaining to eat, it is helping to stoke up that fire! Using the same analogy, if I succumb to that piece of tres leche cake from the other night (and I did succumb that night), it will satisfy my craving for sugar and feels like a wonderful reward. However, it’s like throwing fat, sloshy goop into that furnace. Not very helpful for building a fire, now is it Diana ????
So as I’m modifying my eating, step by step, I’m going to try to modify my way of thinking of food as seeing it more as fuel and less as a comfort, friend, reward, etc. I’m sure this will be a continual process and I’m not shooting for 100%. I know that I will still turn to certain foods as “comfort foods” and “rewards” once in a while. But hopefully, that way of thinking will the exception and not the rule.
It’s time for a change. For me to eat the way I should, I need to get into the habit of looking at food simply for what it is…fuel for my body. It’s the stuff that can give me energy and pump up my immune system. Or it CAN be…if I make the right choices.
I find mental pictures helpful, so I’m trying to think of my heart as this little furnace and the food I eat as fuel going into that furnace. Now if I eat something really healthy, say raw broccoli, I try to picture that broccoli as little chunks of hard coal going into that furnace. And while that broccoli won’t satisfy any of my cravings and isn’t very entertaining to eat, it is helping to stoke up that fire! Using the same analogy, if I succumb to that piece of tres leche cake from the other night (and I did succumb that night), it will satisfy my craving for sugar and feels like a wonderful reward. However, it’s like throwing fat, sloshy goop into that furnace. Not very helpful for building a fire, now is it Diana ????
So as I’m modifying my eating, step by step, I’m going to try to modify my way of thinking of food as seeing it more as fuel and less as a comfort, friend, reward, etc. I’m sure this will be a continual process and I’m not shooting for 100%. I know that I will still turn to certain foods as “comfort foods” and “rewards” once in a while. But hopefully, that way of thinking will the exception and not the rule.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Elephant in the Room
It’s time that I talk about the “elephant in the room”. This is not the same elephant that we were eating “one bite at a time” in my last post…although I suppose it could be.
No, this is the elephant that makes many of us cringe…cry…run and hide when we start talking about it. Exercise.
Most of us know we need to exercise. Our doctors tell us to exercise. The internet tells us to exercise. Most diet plans tell us to exercise. But let’s face it. MOST of the people telling us to exercise are exercise fiends. They've got ripped Abs and manly biceps. They’ve been running marathons since the day they were born and they actually ENJOY working out!
Not me. I was never athletic growing up. I played a lot with dolls and read when I was little. No school sports from elementary through High School except what I had to do in PE class. In college, I took ROTC to avoid PE classes. (That should tell you something). After college, I got married, started working, and then had kids. Still no regular workouts. Heck, I thought raising my three kids WAS my workout ! Once in a while during that time I would get with the program and walk, join a gym, or work out to a tape, but it was all very hit and miss…mainly miss.
Eventually ( as I’ve admitted in my story) I found myself 40 pounds overweight, with a rising blood pressure, some depression, and flaring fibromyalgia. At the same time I decided to modify my eating, I committed myself to start getting some exercise, because I had read that exercise might help with some of these issues. I started working out very slowly and built up my intensity and endurance to the point that I was doing a pretty decent 40 minute workout on a regular basis. I found the weight coming off and my muscles toning up. My blood pressure came down, and my depression and fibromyalgia issues became practically non-existent. And surprisingly, I had a whole lot more energy than I did before! I think the exercise played a big part in that.
However, in the last two years, I’ve let myself get very sloppy with my exercise. I’ve let myself get out of the habit, using excuse after excuse not to work out. As a consequence, all these issues have reared their ugly heads.
So….with my renewed commitment to eating right, I have also renewed my commitment to exercise. I re-opened my 24 Hour Fitness membership. The facility is close to my house and I have no excuse to not exercise because of the weather. They have a variety of machines, which I like ‘cause I get bored with exercise really fast. And they have TV’s so I can watch “Law and Order” reruns while I’m on the machine :)
I started out my renewed commitment with a goal of working out four days a week. Four days was definitely doable. It would give me three days of grace and still be more exercise than I had been doing. Later I would increase my goal to going five days a week. Some weeks, I may go six or seven days, but even if I miss a day or two, I’m still making my goal.
My first workout was a 30 minute slow walk on the treadmill…no incline. Through the following workouts, I increased my time and added incline. Then I started splitting my workout between the treadmill and the elliptical. Twenty on the treadmill and ten on the elliptical. Then I progressed to fifteen on the elliptical. And eventually, I went to totally on the elliptical.
Even on the elliptical, I am progressing, taking small steps forward. At first, I had the “crossramp” set at 6 and the “resistance” set at 4. I kept it at that as I increased my time on the machine. Once I settled on a 40 minute workout on the elliptical, I increased the crossramp to 7 and moved the resistance up a bit, and have picked up the pace as well. Every workout or two, I try to bump up things a little, so I’m challenging myself more in the workout. Some days I will go 40 minutes at a pretty steady clip. Other days I will include short bursts of rapid pace to really get that heart rate up.
And I’m finding the same results as before. Along with the weight coming down (slowly), I have much much more energy through the day than I did before. My joints don’t hurt as much, and my depression is held at bay.
So…where are YOU with exercise?
Maybe you’ve never worked out much in your life. I know it’s tough. I can’t say I LIKE to exercise either. And some of you might not be near a gym and weather is an issue. But even if you’re not exercising at all now, I bet you could do something. Check with your doctor first, then commit to a short walk three-four times a week, or riding an exercise bike, or working out to a dance tape. Find something that you think you could do. Increase your distance and your pace step by step. Or if you’ve got one nearby, join a Y or other gym. Do not be intimidated by the equipment. Pick one piece, the treadmill or elliptical maybe, and ask for help to see how it runs. Start out slowly and work your way up. You CAN do this!
Now maybe you’re one who made a New Year’s resolution to start a really challenging workout with something you’ve never done before and tried to take yourself from zero to sixty in a second. You got really sore from day one and it took too much time and you hated it and you gave up. I encourage you to try again…but this time to pick something less challenging and more appealing and work your way up…step by step.
We don’t all have to be marathon runners. We don’t all have to have ripped Abs and manly biceps. But I truly believe that most all of us can benefit from regular exercise.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nurse, or nutritionist. I am only posting what has worked for me and hope to encourage others on their journey. Any changes you choose to make to your eating or exercise routine should be make only after consultation with your physician.
No, this is the elephant that makes many of us cringe…cry…run and hide when we start talking about it. Exercise.
Most of us know we need to exercise. Our doctors tell us to exercise. The internet tells us to exercise. Most diet plans tell us to exercise. But let’s face it. MOST of the people telling us to exercise are exercise fiends. They've got ripped Abs and manly biceps. They’ve been running marathons since the day they were born and they actually ENJOY working out!
Not me. I was never athletic growing up. I played a lot with dolls and read when I was little. No school sports from elementary through High School except what I had to do in PE class. In college, I took ROTC to avoid PE classes. (That should tell you something). After college, I got married, started working, and then had kids. Still no regular workouts. Heck, I thought raising my three kids WAS my workout ! Once in a while during that time I would get with the program and walk, join a gym, or work out to a tape, but it was all very hit and miss…mainly miss.
Eventually ( as I’ve admitted in my story) I found myself 40 pounds overweight, with a rising blood pressure, some depression, and flaring fibromyalgia. At the same time I decided to modify my eating, I committed myself to start getting some exercise, because I had read that exercise might help with some of these issues. I started working out very slowly and built up my intensity and endurance to the point that I was doing a pretty decent 40 minute workout on a regular basis. I found the weight coming off and my muscles toning up. My blood pressure came down, and my depression and fibromyalgia issues became practically non-existent. And surprisingly, I had a whole lot more energy than I did before! I think the exercise played a big part in that.
However, in the last two years, I’ve let myself get very sloppy with my exercise. I’ve let myself get out of the habit, using excuse after excuse not to work out. As a consequence, all these issues have reared their ugly heads.
So….with my renewed commitment to eating right, I have also renewed my commitment to exercise. I re-opened my 24 Hour Fitness membership. The facility is close to my house and I have no excuse to not exercise because of the weather. They have a variety of machines, which I like ‘cause I get bored with exercise really fast. And they have TV’s so I can watch “Law and Order” reruns while I’m on the machine :)
I started out my renewed commitment with a goal of working out four days a week. Four days was definitely doable. It would give me three days of grace and still be more exercise than I had been doing. Later I would increase my goal to going five days a week. Some weeks, I may go six or seven days, but even if I miss a day or two, I’m still making my goal.
My first workout was a 30 minute slow walk on the treadmill…no incline. Through the following workouts, I increased my time and added incline. Then I started splitting my workout between the treadmill and the elliptical. Twenty on the treadmill and ten on the elliptical. Then I progressed to fifteen on the elliptical. And eventually, I went to totally on the elliptical.
Even on the elliptical, I am progressing, taking small steps forward. At first, I had the “crossramp” set at 6 and the “resistance” set at 4. I kept it at that as I increased my time on the machine. Once I settled on a 40 minute workout on the elliptical, I increased the crossramp to 7 and moved the resistance up a bit, and have picked up the pace as well. Every workout or two, I try to bump up things a little, so I’m challenging myself more in the workout. Some days I will go 40 minutes at a pretty steady clip. Other days I will include short bursts of rapid pace to really get that heart rate up.
And I’m finding the same results as before. Along with the weight coming down (slowly), I have much much more energy through the day than I did before. My joints don’t hurt as much, and my depression is held at bay.
So…where are YOU with exercise?
Maybe you’ve never worked out much in your life. I know it’s tough. I can’t say I LIKE to exercise either. And some of you might not be near a gym and weather is an issue. But even if you’re not exercising at all now, I bet you could do something. Check with your doctor first, then commit to a short walk three-four times a week, or riding an exercise bike, or working out to a dance tape. Find something that you think you could do. Increase your distance and your pace step by step. Or if you’ve got one nearby, join a Y or other gym. Do not be intimidated by the equipment. Pick one piece, the treadmill or elliptical maybe, and ask for help to see how it runs. Start out slowly and work your way up. You CAN do this!
Now maybe you’re one who made a New Year’s resolution to start a really challenging workout with something you’ve never done before and tried to take yourself from zero to sixty in a second. You got really sore from day one and it took too much time and you hated it and you gave up. I encourage you to try again…but this time to pick something less challenging and more appealing and work your way up…step by step.
We don’t all have to be marathon runners. We don’t all have to have ripped Abs and manly biceps. But I truly believe that most all of us can benefit from regular exercise.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nurse, or nutritionist. I am only posting what has worked for me and hope to encourage others on their journey. Any changes you choose to make to your eating or exercise routine should be make only after consultation with your physician.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
How Do You Eat An Elephant ?
Here I am at week two of my journey. I am at the place in my “Step by step” plan where I am holding myself accountable for breakfast, midmorning snack, and lunch. I am consistently making low-fat, low-sugar choices and running around 800 cals or so for all the morning eats.
That said, I know the tough work is ahead of me. I am a morning person. I find it much easier to accomplish things in the morning and have the fortitude to make good choices. My energy wanes in the afternoon, as does my willpower. As I progress through the rest of the day in modifying my eating plan, I know it will get more challenging as I hold myself accountable for those meals as well.
However, I feel what I have accomplished in modifying my morning eating is already having an impact on what I eat the second part of the day. Through these last two weeks, I feel my appetite has begun to shrink as has my craving for sugar. When I do have something sweet in the afternoon, I don’t find it as appealing as I did before I started my plan. The same for fatty foods.
I am thinking that I will stay where I am with my steps for another few days. I want to try to incorporate a few more choices into my lunch routine before I move on. And THEN I will tackle midafternoon snack, or as I call it “How to keep Diana out of the chocolate…”
So how are you doing in your eating? Have you made some steps towards eating more healthy choices for your morning eating? I bet you have. Think about what little victories you have achieved, the progress you have made, and celebrate! Cheer yourself on! Pat yourself on the back. And then press forward to take another tiny step.
I encourage you to think step by step. Meal by meal. Choice by choice.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
That said, I know the tough work is ahead of me. I am a morning person. I find it much easier to accomplish things in the morning and have the fortitude to make good choices. My energy wanes in the afternoon, as does my willpower. As I progress through the rest of the day in modifying my eating plan, I know it will get more challenging as I hold myself accountable for those meals as well.
However, I feel what I have accomplished in modifying my morning eating is already having an impact on what I eat the second part of the day. Through these last two weeks, I feel my appetite has begun to shrink as has my craving for sugar. When I do have something sweet in the afternoon, I don’t find it as appealing as I did before I started my plan. The same for fatty foods.
I am thinking that I will stay where I am with my steps for another few days. I want to try to incorporate a few more choices into my lunch routine before I move on. And THEN I will tackle midafternoon snack, or as I call it “How to keep Diana out of the chocolate…”
So how are you doing in your eating? Have you made some steps towards eating more healthy choices for your morning eating? I bet you have. Think about what little victories you have achieved, the progress you have made, and celebrate! Cheer yourself on! Pat yourself on the back. And then press forward to take another tiny step.
I encourage you to think step by step. Meal by meal. Choice by choice.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Celebrate the little stuff !!!
¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆ ★ ☆¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆
Yea for me !!!!! ♥￥☆★☆★☆￥♥ ★
Yesterday, the hospital provided "James Coney Island" for lunch...for everybody. Now, I don't even particularly crave James Coney Island hot dogs. But I did yesterday. For some reason, eating a big ole hot dog on a big ole bun slathered in cheese and chili sounded really good.
But I passed up James Coney Island hot dogs and ate my Healthy Choice spinach ravioli and Dole canned citrus salad instead. And was anyone there to say "Way to go Diana!! Good job on that healthy eating!!" No. I did get several "You know, there's hot dogs in the dining room" comments though.
I think that successful weight loss is less about setting huge goals and making sweeping decisions and more about day to day, meal to meal , and minute to minute victories. It's about choosing a protein bar over cold chili for breakfast. It's about staying out of the donuts and dealing with hunger just one more hour until it's time for my healthy midmorning snack. It's about passing up James Coney Island hot dogs for lunch and eating a good lunch instead.
Success breeds success. So when we have our little victories, I say let's congratulate ourselves. Let's say "Way to go, girl!" Do a little happy dance. Contact me to join our FB group "Steps to Better Health" and we'll celebrate with you !
Yea for me !!!!! ♥￥☆★☆★☆￥♥ ★
Yesterday, the hospital provided "James Coney Island" for lunch...for everybody. Now, I don't even particularly crave James Coney Island hot dogs. But I did yesterday. For some reason, eating a big ole hot dog on a big ole bun slathered in cheese and chili sounded really good.
But I passed up James Coney Island hot dogs and ate my Healthy Choice spinach ravioli and Dole canned citrus salad instead. And was anyone there to say "Way to go Diana!! Good job on that healthy eating!!" No. I did get several "You know, there's hot dogs in the dining room" comments though.
I think that successful weight loss is less about setting huge goals and making sweeping decisions and more about day to day, meal to meal , and minute to minute victories. It's about choosing a protein bar over cold chili for breakfast. It's about staying out of the donuts and dealing with hunger just one more hour until it's time for my healthy midmorning snack. It's about passing up James Coney Island hot dogs for lunch and eating a good lunch instead.
Success breeds success. So when we have our little victories, I say let's congratulate ourselves. Let's say "Way to go, girl!" Do a little happy dance. Contact me to join our FB group "Steps to Better Health" and we'll celebrate with you !
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Let's Do Lunch !
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nurse, or nutritionist. I am just posting tips that I believe work for me. Any changes you choose to make to your diet and/or exercise routine should be made in consultation with your physician.
Breakfast and midmorning snack have gone well for me. I’ve settled on about seven choices I pick from for the first part of the day that are easy, inexpensive, low fat and low sugar.
Yogurt and nuts
Rice cakes and peanut butter
Kelloggs whole grain waffles and peanut butter
Kashi bars
Apple and cheese cubes
Cooked egg whites
Protein shakes
Eating something healthy every three hours has staved off that hunger and kept me out of the donuts, kolaches, and even the yummy looking egg casserole brought in for church this week.
I hope your morning eating plan is working out for you as well and you feel ready to take a look at lunch. But maybe you’re not. Maybe you had a long way to go from the every day bacon-egg-cheese biscuit to a healthy breakfast and you’re still working on it. Or maybe you’re still trying to get a grip on that “eating every three hours” thing. As long as you are making progressive steps towards healthy eating in the morning, I would encourage you to keep working on THAT part of the day another few days, another week if that’s what it takes for healthy eating in the morning to become comfortable before moving on. What I tell myself is the point is to not get overwhelmed and defeated. I am not in a foot race to see who gets to their weight goal first. I am in a marathon, trying to develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
For me, I’m ready to talk lunch.
I think lunch is hard. Lunch is harder than breakfast. There are PEOPLE around at lunch. People who order out. People who bring in phenomenal looking leftovers from home. People who are looking to see what leftovers I brought from home.
And there’s the morning that I’ve had to deal with. The pressure, the panic, and more PEOPLE bringing me more problems…
By the time I get to lunch some days, I feel I DESERVE TO EAT ANYTHING I WANT !!!!!
But in my heart, I know what I really deserve is to give myself a healthy body.
To get that, I need to plan ahead for lunch. Because if I head into lunch with no plan…all bets are off on what I’m gonna eat.
Now if I’ve followed my plan for breakfast and midmorning snack and eaten healthy things every three hours or so, by lunch I’m only faintly hungry. And a huge, fat-laden cheeseburger doesn’t even remotely sound good…well, maybe remotely, but it’s not so tempting I can’t get past it.
So, listed below are some of the choices I’m heading towards with lunch. Again, low fat, low sugar. And trying to work in lean protein and some fruits and veggies.
Lean deli ham rolled up with low fat cheese slices
Select Harvest Light Soups – there’s a lot of different varieties (these do have sodium)
Lean Cuisines, Healthy Choice, or other frozen entrees
Chicken of the Sea tuna or salmon packs with a little light mayo
Baby carrot sticks
Canned grapefruit or citrus salad
Fresh fruit
Frozen veggies that I’ve steamed the night before
A lot of this stuff is “grab and go”. None of it requires much prep.
Fortunately, a lot of take out and eat in places are also offering some healthy choices for lunch.
So, where are you with lunch? Are you ready to start moving towards healthier choices? You CAN do it. Google “healthy lunches” and pick out a few that sound good and would work easily for you. Maybe try working in a healthy lunch three times a week at first. Then progress to four or five. Keep eating that healthy breakfast and midmorning snack and soon you’ll find you have half the day whipped!
Breakfast and midmorning snack have gone well for me. I’ve settled on about seven choices I pick from for the first part of the day that are easy, inexpensive, low fat and low sugar.
Yogurt and nuts
Rice cakes and peanut butter
Kelloggs whole grain waffles and peanut butter
Kashi bars
Apple and cheese cubes
Cooked egg whites
Protein shakes
Eating something healthy every three hours has staved off that hunger and kept me out of the donuts, kolaches, and even the yummy looking egg casserole brought in for church this week.
I hope your morning eating plan is working out for you as well and you feel ready to take a look at lunch. But maybe you’re not. Maybe you had a long way to go from the every day bacon-egg-cheese biscuit to a healthy breakfast and you’re still working on it. Or maybe you’re still trying to get a grip on that “eating every three hours” thing. As long as you are making progressive steps towards healthy eating in the morning, I would encourage you to keep working on THAT part of the day another few days, another week if that’s what it takes for healthy eating in the morning to become comfortable before moving on. What I tell myself is the point is to not get overwhelmed and defeated. I am not in a foot race to see who gets to their weight goal first. I am in a marathon, trying to develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
For me, I’m ready to talk lunch.
I think lunch is hard. Lunch is harder than breakfast. There are PEOPLE around at lunch. People who order out. People who bring in phenomenal looking leftovers from home. People who are looking to see what leftovers I brought from home.
And there’s the morning that I’ve had to deal with. The pressure, the panic, and more PEOPLE bringing me more problems…
By the time I get to lunch some days, I feel I DESERVE TO EAT ANYTHING I WANT !!!!!
But in my heart, I know what I really deserve is to give myself a healthy body.
To get that, I need to plan ahead for lunch. Because if I head into lunch with no plan…all bets are off on what I’m gonna eat.
Now if I’ve followed my plan for breakfast and midmorning snack and eaten healthy things every three hours or so, by lunch I’m only faintly hungry. And a huge, fat-laden cheeseburger doesn’t even remotely sound good…well, maybe remotely, but it’s not so tempting I can’t get past it.
So, listed below are some of the choices I’m heading towards with lunch. Again, low fat, low sugar. And trying to work in lean protein and some fruits and veggies.
Lean deli ham rolled up with low fat cheese slices
Select Harvest Light Soups – there’s a lot of different varieties (these do have sodium)
Lean Cuisines, Healthy Choice, or other frozen entrees
Chicken of the Sea tuna or salmon packs with a little light mayo
Baby carrot sticks
Canned grapefruit or citrus salad
Fresh fruit
Frozen veggies that I’ve steamed the night before
A lot of this stuff is “grab and go”. None of it requires much prep.
Fortunately, a lot of take out and eat in places are also offering some healthy choices for lunch.
So, where are you with lunch? Are you ready to start moving towards healthier choices? You CAN do it. Google “healthy lunches” and pick out a few that sound good and would work easily for you. Maybe try working in a healthy lunch three times a week at first. Then progress to four or five. Keep eating that healthy breakfast and midmorning snack and soon you’ll find you have half the day whipped!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
My progress for week one
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nurse, or nutritionist. I am just posting things that have worked for me in my quest towards a healthier lifestyle. Any changes you choose to make to diet and/or exercise should be made only after consulting your physician.
Okay, so it’s been a week since I started with earnest to modify my eating, or as I call it, “cranking it down”. I find visual pictures helpful as I attempt changes in my life, and I equate the small, progressive steps I’m taking in my quest to eat healthy to putting a block of wood into one of those big clamps, where you slowly turn it tighter and tighter. Maybe not the greatest mental picture for you…but it works for me.
How am I doing with breakfast and mid- morning snack? Well, I’m happy to report “pretty darn good.” I’ve consistently eaten both a low-fat, low-sugar breakfast and a mid-morning snack every day this week, hitting in the ball park of around 400 –500 calories for the two together each day. I’ve been eating Kashi bars, cooked egg whites, fruit and peanut butter, and yogurt and nuts, mixing them up as needed to accommodate my schedule.
Not that it has been that easy. TWO days this week, sales reps brought food to the hospital. One morning, Shipley’s Donuts were in the break room for hours. And there were several of my favorites in the box just calling out to me. Another day, there were so many kolaches in the break room I got intoxicated just by the smell (for those of you not from Texas, just google “kolache” to see why I love them soooo much!)
Many people were eating the donuts and kolaches. And I was tempted to join in. However, I had my healthy snack to eat. And I thought about my ten reasons for wanting to get healthy. And I resisted the temptation.
Another big challenge for me it is that it is hard for me time-wise in the morning to pack food when I have to be at work at 5:30 am. I know I should get my food together the night before, but that doesn’t seem to happen much. I'm just not a night-time kind of gal. So, the temptation in the morning is to think “I don’t have time to pull together anything healthy for the morning. Where’s that left over banana pudding???” So far I’ve resisted, but I know I’ve got to get some more healthy “grab and go” options for the morning.
So have I lost a ton of pounds this week? I doubt it. But I don’t know because I rarely get on the scales. Just looking at my body and the way things fit, I might be making a tad bit of progress. A tad. Not much. But that’s okay, because I am not in a foot race. I am running a long marathon that is going to take time. It took me a while to put this weight on, so it is going to take a while to get my eating where it should be and time to take the weight off.
And how am I doing with lunch and dinner? No fair asking that now, because I am taking one step at a time and this week I was focused on breakfast and mid-morning snack.. Next week I will move on to lunch.
There are some modifications I am still wanting to make in my morning eating routine. As I have to be at work at 5:30 pretty consistently in the coming weeks, I want to make things even simpler…more “grab and go”.
1) Instead of buying one big container of yogurt that I divvy out of, I’m going to buy the small, individual portions. No need to find some container to put the yogurt in (since I can usually find all sorts of containers in my cabinet but no lids to match). No excuse…just grab the little thing and go. The individual containers have another advantage in that they hold ½ cup rather than the 1 cup I have been eating, so I’m cutting out ½ the portion and ½ the calories as well, which I think I can do with minimal pain.
2) At my shopping trip today, I’m going to buy some frozen whole wheat waffles. Again, something very “grab and go”. Slap some peanut butter on it or sugar free jelly and I’m good to go for one of my morning meals. I’ll let you know what brand I decide on. I can do the same with rice cakes. Also going to pick up some cheese cubes that I can partner with fruit some days. And replace the mixed nuts that I had been using on my yogurt with walnuts only (which are healthier than the peanuts in the mixed nuts).
3) Lastly, I found some protein shakes in my cabinet from an abandoned weight loss attempt a while ago. (and no, the shakes haven’t expired). So I am going to start adding them to my morning options. How much more “grab and go” can you get than that?
How are you doing with breakfast and mid-morning snack? Have you started bringing in healthier options and weaning out the less healthy stuff? What have been your successes and your challenges this week?
Maybe you have yet to get started towards better health. I hope you’ll give it a try. Maybe you jumped great guns into a radical diet or exercise program at the New Year that required too many changes too fast and you've already given up trying to get healthier. Don’t give up! I encourage you to begin again, taking small, progressive steps towards eating healthy.
We have a great FB group, “Steps To Better Health”, where we share, encourage, and support each other on our journey. I encourage you to join us!
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