The Path to Optimal Health - It's all about HABITS!

Habits of Health by Dr. A... Yesterday, I was reading in the Habits of Health book, and something I read really made a lot of sense to me:

Most changes we try to adopt (like dieting) are based on solving a problem or trying to get rid of an unwanted situation. This type of motivation almost never leads to lasting changes. You make changes at first, but later you fall back into your old ways of behavior. So, for instance: think about your health problems... you might hate the way you look or feel, and your natural response is to feel terrible about it. In order to end that feeling, you take actions that make you feel better - you go on a diet, or you exercise. But those actions aren't motivated by what you want (just by what you don't want), so they lead you into a predictable cycle... you act, and then because you've acted, you feel better - even if the situation hasn't changed much. Feeling better takes the pressure off, lessening the bad feelings. Less emotional conflict means there's less reason to continue doing the things that reduced the conflict in the first place. Since you feel better, you no longer feel a pressing need to follow through on your actions. And the original behavior returns. That's what we call a "yo-yo pattern". Conflict-driven motivation in one of the major reasons people yo-yo. So, we need to change the way we're motivated...

We need to motivate ourselves by focusing on what we want - not what we don't want! This is the difference between a problem-oriented motivation and an outcome-oriented motivation. Changing our emphasis from what we're against to what we're for has a dramatic impact.

I found this fascinating. If I'm understanding this right - what I need to do is change my motivation from thinking that I don't want to be unhealthy, to thinking that I want optimal health. Instead of trying to lose weight, I need to focus on gaining health! I love this idea! If I focus on losing weight, then at some point, I'll lose all the weight, and then what? Most likely I'll stop doing what I'm supposed to do, because I've reached that goal. But, if I focus on gaining health - well, that never ends. It's a life-long pursuit. And that means, I'll be working constantly on that. No more yo-yoing!

On the front of the Habits of Health book, it says "The path to permanent weight control and optimal health". I'm now well on my way down that path, and I've got the goal of optimal health in mind. It makes me happy just to think about where I'll be in 2 months, in 6 months, in a year - or even 2 or 5 years.

-Kara

New Health Coach!

Well, it's been several weeks since I posted anything, and I've made great strides toward getting healthy. I've been on the diet for 13.5 weeks now, and I've lost 42 lbs, and over 40 inches!! Wow, right?? I'm so happy with how I'm feeling that I've decided to become a health coach, so that I can help others reach their optimal health. I'm so excited about this new opportunity. So, from now on, I'll be posting as a health coach, and trying to post things that will help my clients. I can't wait to get started. I've cleaned out my office, and I'm getting all of my "stuff" organized, so that I can be the best coach possible. This is just the next step on my road to optimal health, and I know I'll enjoy it!

Sixth Day - Take Shape For Life Diet

I drank ALL of my water by 8:00 pm on my sixth day! I'm getting used to the water. My menu was...

Breakfast: Strawberry Shake
Snack: Bar
Lunch: Chili - I added 2 oz. of shredded chicken, and 2 tablespoons of salsa. YUM!
Snack: Bar
Dinner: I have the same dinner as the night before - BBQ Chicken Salad
Snack: Bar

Goal for tomorrow, I need to read through everything again, and go to the website, and set everything up. Plus, I need to read through at least the first chapter of the book that came with the diet. Lots to do!

I'm On Day 5!

I'm having a hard time remembering what I ate on day 5 - yesterday. I forgot to write it all down. Hmmm... here's what I do remember...

Lunch - I decided to use 2 oz. of my "lean and green" protein during lunch. I have the Creamy Chicken Soup and added 2 oz. of shredded chicken. A little salt, and I had a meal. Yum!

For one of my snack, I tried another kind of Crunch Bar - Caramel. I liked this one as well. So far, the only Crunch bar I didn't like was the Chocolate Bar.

Oh, I remember what I ate that made me so happy - the Smores Crunch bar. Holy moly! This is my favorite thing in the diet so far. :-)

For dinner, I have some BBQ chicken, diced, on top of a salad. It was very good.

I did drink ALL of my water again. It makes me happy that I am accomplishing that goal. When I started this diet, I really didn't think I would be able to maintain the 118 oz. of water!

Two more days, and I get to weigh in, and talk to Candi, my coach. Can't wait!

Day Four - Take Shape for Life

My forth day on this diet was much better, because I felt better. I had more energy. Again, my biggest challenge was that I started later in the morning than I should have, so I had a hard time getting in all of the food.

Breakfast: I had the Chocolate shake. It was pretty good, and I really like starting the day with a refreshing shake. One of the things that helps the shakes is the kind of ice I have been using. I have some ice from Sonic - the small little chunks. It's pretty easy to get those blended up.

Snack: Wow. Unbelievable - I can't remember what I had. Probably a bar of some kind.

Lunch: I tried the Chili this time. It was pretty yummy. The seasoning was great. Next time I have the Chili, I think I might try putting a tablespoon of salsa mixed in it. I think that would be really good.

Snack: Another bar - the caramel one. These are so easy - just grab one whenever I need to get something quick.

Dinner: I ate with my family. I had put a couple of turkey breasts into the crockpot in the morning, and I measured out 6 oz. The only thing I'm not too sure about, is that these turkey breast were pre-seasoned in the store. I'm not really sure what was used. Hopefully there were no oils. There was no fat on them, so I know they were really lean. We also had French-style green beans. I had about a cup of those, and then a simple side salad (about 1.5 cups) - leafy green lettuce, fresh spinach, tomatoes. I'm really glad I'm able to have tomatoes.

Snack: Because all of my meals were so much later than they should have been, this last snack was around 11:00 pm. That's why I decided on the hot chocolate. It was ok. All by itself, it might not have been great, but I added some cinnamon and some vanilla to it.

I drank all 15 cups of water. I'm really proud of myself for drinking the water each day. I didn't think I could do it. I had a Propel Zero for 24 oz. of the water during the day.

3 days more, and then I get to weigh in. I'm anxious to see if I've lost any weight. I feel like I have, so maybe I'll have good news on Thursday morning!

3rd Day of Take Shape For Life

Yesterday, day three, I didn't feel well. I was tired, sluggish, etc. I was hoping it was just the end of "the first 3 days", and that I'd feel better today. I do.

Yesterday was kind of a hard day, because I didn't eat breakfast as early as I normally do, so it threw me completely off. My menu...

Breakfast: I had the Chocolate Pancakes. They were pretty good, although they were about 1/8" thick, and maybe 2.5" in diameter. :-) There were 3 of them, though, so it was a good mini-meal. I had a small amount of sugar-free maple syrup on them.

I then threw 2 bars into my bag, and headed for my Lifting Hearts board mtg. At the library, during the meeting, I had a Lemon Meringue Bar for my first snack.

Lunch: After the meeting, on the way home, I had a Mint Chocolate Bar.

Snack: Late in the afternoon, I had a Frozen Peanutbutter treat. MMMMMMMM!!!!! I liked that alot, but I think it would be easier to get the ice to the right consistency if I have a better blender.

Dinner was pretty late - around 8:00 (after I finished making my family's dinner)...

I decided to try some Egg Beaters for an omelet tonight. I diced veggies - red and orange bell peppers, mushrooms, and celery. I added Oregano, Basil, Onion Powder, and some Cayenne pepper. I had no idea how the Egg Beaters would cook up - I've never had them before.
Here is what the omelet looked like after I added the veggies...

It was apparent, after about 5 minutes, that they weren't going to do well as an omelet, so I mixed everything together and ended up with scrambled eggs. Two cups of Egg Beaters is a LOT. There was SO much food there, I could hardly finish it. Oh, and I had a side salad as well. It was all very good - especially the peppers - they were very sweet. However... I'm thinking, after eating the Lean and Green meal for 3 days now, most of the time it's WAY too much food - 6 oz. of meat is quite a bit. So, I might cook my meat in the morning, and use some of it during lunch, with my meal replacement. Anyway, here's what the scrambled eggs looked like...

Because I was SO full from dinner, I just couldn't snarf down another meal replacement, so I ended up with only 4 for the day. I know that the problem is that I forget the time, and don't space them out, so I need to try to do better.

Water: I only drank 14 cups, instead of 15. I tried, but I was so full at night, and I didn't drink enough in the morning, that I just couldn't finish. However, I will say that using a 24 oz. Propel Zero is working well - much better than trying to drink it all in regular water - it just gives me a little bit of a break in the middle of the day. I tried another sparkling water, but they kind of make my stomach bloat, so that won't be an everyday thing.

Onward...

Day Two of Take Shape For Life...

Day Two -

Yesterday was my second day, and I wasn't as dizzy as the first day. When I asked Candi (my health coach) about it, she suggested that I drink some Propel Zero - it has electrolytes that will help. She also said that this won't last very long - maybe the first 3 days.

Here was what I ate:

Breakfast: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. This tasted pretty good, and I normally like oatmeal, but I think the next time I try it, I'll put just a bit more water in it. The consistancy was kind a thick and sticky. I put some Truvia sweetener on it as well.

Snack: I tried another crunch bar - the lemon meringue one - and I liked this one alot.

Lunch: I had the creamy chicken soup in a mug. This was very good, however, I had to add some salt. I asked Candi if that's ok, and she said yes - most of the meal replacements would taste better with some seasoning.

Snack: For my afternoon snack, I tried the Chili Cheese Puffs. I actually thought these tasted pretty ok. Again, there is a weird underlying taste - probably the soy. But these were seasoned well, and it was fun to munch on them. However, they didn't seem to fill me up like the other food. I was hungry less than 2 hours later.

Dinner: For my Lean and Green meal, I made Italian Shredded Chicken on Lettuce Leaves...

(this looks a lot like yesterday's Balsamic Chicken, but the taste was different - more Italian tasting.)

I measured out 6 oz. of shredded, canned chicken (packed in water) - the kind from Costco. It was almost the entire can. The actual can says there is over 12 oz., but when I measurement the meat, it was around 6.5-7oz. I then diced some tomatoes, cucumbers, and celery and added that to the bowl (it was about 1 3/4 cups worth of veggies). I seasoned it with garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and basil. I added some cayenne pepper as well - that sure added a kick! I also put about a tablespoon of dill pickle relish in. Then, I drizzled 2 tablespoons of Paul Newman's Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing over the top. I mixed it all together. Then, I grabbed 3 large leaves of leafy green lettuce, and stuffed them full of the mixture. I thought it would be like eating a chicken enchilada-type thing, but the leaves didn't hold up. So, I cut them up and just ate it off of the plates. There was a ton of food! I sprinkled some red wine vinegar on it as I ate. YUM!

My last snack of the day was a Chocolate Mint Bar - I think this might be my favorite meal replacement so far. :-)

I, again, drank 118 oz of water. Actually, I mixed it up a little bit - I had 9 cups of water, 3 cups of Propel Zero, and 17 oz. of this yummy sparkling water I found called Cascade Ice. In the 17oz. bottle, there are just 4 calories. It was nice to be able to do something a little bit different than just plain water. I finished the day with another cup of water.

I think I did well yesterday, but the one thing I need to work on is eating my meals every 2.5 hours. I'm not used to eating 6 times a day, and a few times yesterday, I let 4-4.5 hours go between meals. NOT a good idea, if I want to be able to do this.

Take Shape For Life Diet - Kara

This blog has not really been used for what it was meant for. However, I just started a diet, and I'm supposed to keep a journal or blog and because this one is already made, I'm going to use it! YAY!

It's been 3.5 years since my cancer diagnosis, and I've stopped drinking soda, and cut my portion sizes, but it still hasn't help with any weight loss. Bummer. A year ago, I made some plans to take back my health. Part of the plan involved my stomach. Stomachs are difficult to get rid of. And, abdominal fat is lethal, so I had a tummy tuck! Got rid of all that yucky fat, and had my damaged stomach muscles sutured back together. What a relief. After waiting for nearly a year for swelling to go away, I had liposuction done on my stomach to finish up. That was 3 weeks ago.

And now, I've found a medical diet that will help me lose the rest of the weight/inches that I need to. This plan is a little bit drastic, but I'm ready. I'm fed up, I'm tired, and I feel just too much despair that I'll never be able to be healthy again. So... Take Shape For Life - here I come!

So, I started the eating plan (diet is a stupid word - so I'm tricking my body/mind into thinking this isn't one - hah!) yesterday. This plan is LOW carb, HIGH protein, soy-based, LOW glycemic. I have to stay completely away from fruit (too sugary right now), pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, and dairy products. Oh, and right now, I can't have high carb veggies either (like carrots, peas, corn, etc.) Phew! This might be a little bit tough...

I weighed myself (in the morning, before breakfast, naked), and took my measurements. I'm not putting that info here, though. I might reveal it someday, but only when I'm not that size anymore. :-)

Take Shape For Life is a meal replacement - you eat 5 of their meal replacements, and 1 Lean & Green meal that you prepare yourself.

Pros: the meal replacements are easy to prepare, most of them can go into your purse to take with you anywhere (no being caught hungery with nothing but fast food to eat!)

Cons: the meal replacements aren't that great tasting, most have a weird consistency

Yesterday, I ate:
Breakfast - Strawberry Creme Shake (mixed in my Bullet with crushed ice)
Snack - Caramel Nut Bar (this was pretty good - just a hit of cardboard taste, but I'll get used to it)
Lunch - Beef Vegetable Stew (Mmmmmm.... yummy. I was surprised by how good this was. I mean, there was still a weird underlying taste, but it still tasted good. I think the weird taste in everything is soy.)
Snack - Chocolate Crunch Bar (yuck. Nuff' said.)
Dinner - Lean and Green - I marinated 8 oz. of chicken breast in balsamic vinegar with some garlic powder, cracked pepper, and a tiny sprinkle of salt. I then grilled it on my George Forman. It shrunk up - I'm hoping it went to 6 oz., which is what I'm allowed to have, but I forgot to weigh it after it cooked. Geez. I could have 3 servings of veggies, so I chopped up some leafy green lettuce - 1 cup. Put it in a big bowl, along with 1/2 cup of chopped tomato, and 1/2 cup of chopped cucumber. I can use salad dressing, if it's low carb, so I used 2 tablespoons of Paul Newman Light Balsamic dressing (only 2 carbs). Oops. I just realized with the chicken breast, I should have only have 1 healthy fat, not 2. Hmmmm. Oh well - I'll remember next time. I chopped up the chicken breast, and then tossed it all together with the dressing. This is what it looked like...

It was SO good (maybe that's because it was the first "real" food I'd had all day, but still... yummy!)

My late night snack was banana pudding. I like the taste ok, but I really didn't like the consistency. I have to figure out a way to get the lumps out before it sets up (it gets thick REALLY fast). Maybe I'll go and get one of those small hand held blenders - that might work.

So, I stuck to the food plan almost exactly, but my biggest accomplishment for the day is that I drank ALL of the water that I was supposed to. This might not sound like a big deal, but I had to drink 118 oz! That's 15 cups! I was water-logged by the end of the day. I love the water bottles my parents gave me for Christmas - they are 24 oz. and they have a built-in straw, which makes drinking the water so much easier.

By half way through the day, I felt weak and dizzy (I guess this is to be expected for the first 3 days). It felt like I had taken a Percocet, but without the pain relief! Hopefully, after 3 days, I'll start to feel better. It's probably just my body saying "HEY! Where are my carbs and my milk???!!!!"

A Step in the Right Direction

Today I start exercising again. The biggest problem that chemo caused is that it ate up most of my muscle mass. That, in addition to gaining fat from the steroids, has made my body unrecognizable. I need to start building muscle again. It's a good thing that I love lifting weights.

At first, I was worried that because of the mastectomy, and reconstructive surgeries, my chest would be too weak. It was a little bit weak, but that's ok. I did 2 sets of 12 reps on each of the following exercises:

Butterfly
Arm extensions (presses)
Leg Press
Leg extensions

I also did some ankle strengthening reps on the Leg Press, and some other arm exercises (curls and rowing). I could tell that I was VERY weak, but I'm so happy to be lifting again!

My chest (fake boobs) looks really weird when I do the arm exercises - because my muscles tense up, and it just looks funny. Oh well.

Also, I hopped (well, not exactly) onto the treadmill. I walked for 1/2 mile - 10 minutes. I know this isn't a big deal, but at least I did something. My foot isn't hurting as much as I thought it would. Maybe if I really stretch it out - and do the ankle exercises first, the walking won't be too bad.

Now, I just have to wait until tomorrow to see how sore I'm going to be. I'll be lifting every other day. I'll try to walk every day.

This is a step in the right direction - I'm feeling better just with the small amount I did today. :-)

Vacation Exercising

It's been a good week. I've exercised almost every day. I went with Cindy to Idaho and I used the exercise room both mornings. It was SO nice to have a place to exercise. I really need to finish the room downstairs so that it's a nice place to exercise. I think I'll decorate it in the colors of the hotel - they were very soothing: turquoise, lime green, and orange! I tried the elliptical machine - um... I could only stay on it for about 5 minutes! How stupid is that?! I told Cindy that I should probably replace my broken down treadmill with another treadmill, because I can actually use a treadmill. She said maybe I should get an elliptical - because apparently it's working muscles better. She's probably right.

We swam in the pool too. I really like doing laps. It solidified my thoughts/wishes about someday getting a lap pool in my backyard. That, and a hot tub. Wow. The hot tub was SO nice after working out.

Let's see.... my goals for this week are to continue eating smaller portions, and to stay away from too much sugar.

The Belly Fat Cure

Last month, in Costo's magazine, there was an article about the Belly Fat Cure by Jorge Cruise. It looked interesting, so I went a few weeks ago, and bought it. I read it last week, and I decided to try it. Basically, you don't really watch calories or fat grams, you just watch sugar grams and carbs.

The magic number is 15/6 - 15 grams of sugar per day, and 6 carb servings (one carb serving is 0-21 carbs).

I started it about 5 days ago, and I've lost 4 pounds. I'm never hungry. It's pretty simple. However, I am having withdrawals from things like milk (10 grams of sugar per cup!), and fruit (one medium banana has 14 grams of sugar!). Of course, I have to still make sure that my serving sizes aren't big - even though I'm not counting calories, I still have to be smart about it. Plus, I'm walking each morning, and drinking water.

The reason I'm not having too much of a problem, is because I can eat proteins like lean meats, cheese, and nuts.

Anyway, I'm wondering if the reason I'm losing is because of the food plan, or because I'm exercising, or because I'm drinking water. I'll stick to this for a few weeks, and see what happens. This food plan focuses just on your waistline. You're supposed to be able to lose 4-9 pounds per week, and several inches from your waistline. Hope it works.

Build a Healthful Salad

I have a favorite book I've been reading through lately - Complete Food and Nutrition Guide (click here to go to Amazon.com and buy it for around $16)- and last night I found this cool list of how to build a healthy salad at a salad bar.

A few "stats" first: Did you know - a do-it-yourself salad, chosen from the salad bar, often has more calories than a deluxe burger, fries, and a shake, or a steak-and-potato dinner?! An average salad bar plate can top out at more than 1,000 calories, depending on your choices and portions. And one more - salads have been reported to be a main source of dietary FAT for many women. (!)

So, here is the table they have in the book. Now, if you'd like to get a better, printable, copy of this, just email me at nafari01(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Greens
Bean Sprouts (1/4 cup), 8 calories, trace fat
Lettuce (1 cup), 8 calories, trace fat
Spinach (1 cup), 7 calories, trace fat

Other Veggies
Artichoke hearts (1/4 cup), 20 calories, trace fat
Beets (1/4 cup), 20 calories, 0 fat
Bell peppers (2 tbsp.), 5 calories, trace fat
Broccoli (1/4 cup), 8 calories, trace fat
Carrots, shredded (1/4 cup), 10 calories, trace fat
Cauliflowers (1/4 cup), 6 calories, trace fat
Cucumbers (1/4 cup), 4 calories, trace fat
Green peas (2 tbsp.), 15 calories, trace fat
Mushrooms (1/4 cup), 4 calories, trace fat
Onions (1 tbsp.), 4 calories, 0 fat
Radishes (2 tbsp.), 2 calories, trace fat
Tomatoes (1/4 cup), 8 calories, trace fat

Fruits
Avocados (1/4 cup), 60 calories, 6 grams fat
Canned peaches, in juice (1/4 cup), 25 calories, trace fat
Fresh melons (1/4 cup), 15 calories, trace fat
Fresh strawberries (1/4 cup), 10 calories, trace fat
Mandarin oranges, in juice (1/4 cup), 20 calories, trace fat
Olives, ripe (2 tbsp.), 20 calories, 2 grams fat
Raisins (2 tbsp.), 60 calories, trace fat

Beans, Nuts, and Seeds
Almonds, slices (1 tbsp.), 55 calories, 5 grams fat
Chickpeas (1/4 cup), 65 calories, 1 gram fat
Kidney beans (1/4 cup), 55 calories, trace fat
Sunflower seeds (1 tbsp.), 45 calories, 4 grams fat
Tofu (raw, firm) (1/4 cup), 90 calories, 6 grams fat

Meat, Poultry, Fish, and Eggs
Eggs, chopped (2 tbsp.), 25 calories, 2 grams fat
Lean ham, chopped (1 oz.), 40 calories, 2 grams fat
Popcorn shrimp (1 oz.), 30 calories, <1 gram fat
Surimi (1 oz.), 30 calories, <1 gram fat
Tuna in spring water (1 oz.), 35 calories, <1 gram fat
Turkey in strips (1 oz.), 40 calories, <1 gram fat

Cheese
Cheddar cheese, grated (2 tbsp.), 55 calories, 5 grams fat
Cottage cheese, creamed (1/4 cup), 60 calories, 2 grams fat
Cottage cheese, 1% low-fat (1/4 cup), 40 calories, <1 gram fat
Feta cheese (2 tbsp.), 50 calories, 4 grams fat
Mozzarella cheese, grated (part skim) (2 tbsp.), 45 calories, 3 grams fat
Parmesan cheese (2 tbsp.), 45 calories, 3 grams fat

Others
Bacon bits (1 tbsp.), 25 calories, 2 grams fat
Chow mein noodles (1 tbsp.), 15 calories, <1 gram fat
Croutons, seasoned (2 tbsp.), 25 calories, 1 gram fat

Mixed Salads
Potato (w/mayo) (1/4 cup), 90 calories, 5 grams fat
Three-bean (in vinaigrette) (1/4 cup), 60 calories, 0 fat
Tuna salad (w/mayo) (1/4 cup), 95 calories, 5 grams fat

Dressings
Blue cheese, regular (2 tbsp.), 150 calories, 16 grams fat
French, regular (2 tbsp.), 145 calories, 14 grams fat
Italian, fat-free (2 tbsp.), 15 calories, <1 gram fat
Italian, regular (2 tbsp.), 85 calories, 8 grams fat
Lemon juice (2 tbsp.), 6 calories, 0 fat
Oil and vinegar (2 tbsp.), 145 calories, 16 grams fat
Thousand Island, regular (2 tbsp.), 120 calories, 11 grams fat
Vinegar (2 tbsp.), 6 calories, 0 fat

Imagine a salad bar with bowls and bowls of ingredients. Your plate is empty. How would you build your salad? When your plate is full, add up the calories and fat - you might be surprised.

I find this very helpful. Notice that they don't even list Ranch Dressing! A few suggestions:
1. Pace yourself. Check out the salad bar from end to end before you even begin filling up your plate.
2. Use a small salad plate, not a dinner plate.
3. Start with greens. Dark-green leafy veggies such as spinach and romaine supply more nutrients and phytonutrients than iceberg lettuce does.
4. Spoon on plenty of brightly colored veggies, legumes, and fruits for their nutrient, fiber, and phytonutrient benefits. They are low in fats, too.
5. Make it a hearty salad with protein-rich ingredients: legumes, lean meat, turkey, crabmeat or surimi, tuna, eggs, and cheese. Cottage cheese, other cheese, and yogurt on the salad bar also add calcium.
6. Lighten up on higher-fat toppings and mayonnaise-based side salads.
7. Dress your salad for success! A 2-tablespoon ladle of French, Italian, Blue cheese, or Thousand Island dressing adds about 150 calories to an otherwise low-calorie salad. Too often, people spoon on double or triple that amount and overpower the delicate flavor of the salad ingredients. Go easy, try a low-fat or fat-free dressing - or sprinkle on just a splash of flavored vinegar or lemon juice.

I hope this helps to make your salads better! Again, if you want a printable copy, email me. Have a successful day (I think I'll go make a salad for lunch!).

Wake Up Call...

This morning, I weighed and took my measurements. I'm in shock. My last measurements were taken in July - exactly 6 months ago. I've gained 20 pounds, and 14.25 inches since then. I can't really figure out why - I haven't eaten tons more than normal, but I also haven't moved very much. And I've had 2 surgeries, so I've been down more than normal, I guess. I am at my top weight of my whole life right now. It's very depressing. Even more depressing - I weigh 115 pounds more than when I got married 24 years ago. I'm over 40 inches bigger (in just 3 areas) than when I got married.

Well. I bet that just made all of you feel SO MUCH better! I've got some work to do, right?! I've reviewed my goals, and I feel good about them still. The two things I've found to be the hardest so far, are 1) drinking enough water, and 2) making sure every portion size is smaller. Those are the two things I'll focus the most of this week. The best thing I've done? I haven't had even one sip of soda since the 31st of December. I'm quite proud of myself for that - soda is one of the things I love the most. (she says, bovinely).

I've got to close this - I need to go walking before dark. I really don't want to be walking in the cemetery after dark.

I've got a very cool post on salad bars that I'll do later.

New Diet Tip

New Diet Tip:

DO NOT go to Golden Corral is you want to lose weight! Why would anyone want "all you can eat"??!!

An Inspirational Blog

I just found a great blog - very inspirational. This girl lost 116 this last year - not by weird diets, pills, surgery, or anything like that. Just by... drumroll please... eating smaller portions and exercising. Can you believe it? What a novel idea. Here's the URL:

http://enduranceisntonlyphysical.blogspot.com/

I'm going to check this blog out each day - she's a great writer, and I think the inspiration will help me.

Lift to Lose

Hey girls, I noticed that both Cindy and Kris posted their goals on the sidebar! Way to go!!!! As I read through the goals, I noticed that each of you plan on lifting weights daily. Let me just caution you about the weights (I do know what I'm talking about - I use to lift a lot earlier in my life and was taught the correct way at the spa). Make sure if you are lifting each day, that you switch between upper and lower body parts. You should give your body a full day's rest between weight-lifting days. So, if you are lifting each day, do upper body one day, and then lower body the next day, and then back to upper body, etc. I'll find my weight lifting chart and post some of the most important exercises to do, and how to do them. Are you guys working with free weights, or do you have machines?

I'm really pleased that we are all going to be focusing on lifting - a lot of people think you shouldn't lift weights, mostly because it's sometimes hard to lose weight if you are lifting (because, even though you are losing fat, you are gaining muscle, which is heavier than fat). I've known for years that the only way to lose fat is to gain muscle!

Some Things I didn't Do...

I did not walk today.
I did not follow a good food routine today.
I did not feel good today. :-(

My stomach has been sick since last night. I missed Church this morning because I felt like crap. I wasn't sure why I didn't feel good, until Rick came home and threw up all over everything. Then, I thought perhaps I have the flu (like him). It's pretty hard to get excited about walking when you don't feel good, but I do wish I would have tried. I would have gone this morning, but since I was skipping Church, I thought I would get struck by lightening! It's hard, too, to eat well when you're sick. I had a bowl of cereal. Then I felt awful. I had a few roasted peanuts. Yuck. I had a banana - ew. I had 3 pieces of licorice. Oops. I ate 1 peanut M&M. Double oops. I tried to eat the chicken I cooked in the crock pot for the fam tonight - it was cooked in Spiced Caribbean Jerk marinade. It was a little too spicy for my sick stomach. I got through about 1 cup of it. I really want some Coke - I think it will help settle my stomach. It helped Rick's stomach. BUT, I promised myself NO MORE soda. *sigh*

I should just go to bed, and close the chapter on this crappy day. I hope I don't get more sick over night. I guess I'm sleeping on the couch. :-(

Good luck tomorrow, everyone.

End of Day One...

Today, I've made some good food choices, and just thought I'd blog about them. I decided to not go on a "diet", because that just plays with my head. I need to do a lifestyle change instead. So, I'm trying to just cut my serving sizes way down. I figure that I won't necessarily have to change everything I eat, I'll just eat much smaller portions. That way, I can still enjoy food, and lose weight at the same time.

Today, for lunch I had 3-4 bites of the last Wingers Sticky Finger chicken tender from our New Year's dinner last night. It wasn't that great. I gave the rest to Cocoa. I also had carrots, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes. I had 8 Wheat Thins, as well. Yesterday, I made some Ranch dip for veggies, and today I had 2 tablespoons of that with the veggies and crackers.

Tonight, I made Potato-Cheese soup and homemade biscuits. I ate 3/4 cup of soup (where, before I would have probably eaten at least one full bowl), and 1 biscuit - no butter - with 1 teaspoon of honey drizzled over it (before I would have most likely eaten at least 3 biscuits).

So, I feel pretty good about my food choices today. I ate a few (maybe 6) peanuts as I was making dinner, too. There - I've listed everything. I didn't drink as much water as I should have, but I did drink perhaps 4 glasses. I don't see how I can't lose weight by cutting food way down like this. One of the greatest things about keeping a food diary is that it shows you how truly out of control you were before you started it!

All-in-all, I think for my first day, I did well. I walked, I drank water, and I watched the amount of food I ate.

I hope everyone else had a successful day!

(I'll probably post more often than everyone else - I just need the accountability!)

The First Day of Healthy

Today is the first day of 2010! WOO-HOO!!! I can't tell you how excited I am to be done with 2009. I am done with being sick and feeling unhealthy. I told myself that no matter what the weather looked like this morning when I woke up, I'd go out walking. I felt pretty crappy when I woke up - like most mornings - so keeping my promise to myself wasn't easy. But, I rolled out of bed, put some clothes on, stuck my "Survivor" hat on my head, grabbed my iPod, gloves, and scarf, and headed out the door. I drove to my all-time favorite place to walk - the cemetery here in town. I put Hootie and the Blowfish on my iPod, bundled up, and walked. It was tougher than I thought - walking in the snow. I found that it's kind of like walking in sand. But, that's a good thing, right? I walked about 25 minutes - 6-7 Hootie songs.

Walking seems to give me the time I need to think. I thought about all of the good things I wanted to do for myself this year. I thought about what I would look like and feel like next New Year's Day. It was good motivation.

Came home feeling pretty good about myself. I made a good choice for breakfast, too. I had a bowl of frosted mini-wheats (1/2 as much as I normally eat), and an orange. I'm sitting here staring at my bottle of water - it's 33.8 fl oz. I think if I drink about 3 of these each day, that'll be enough. But, I definitely need some flavor - I'm going to go search through my pantry for a Chrystal Light packet to add to the water.

I've also read the scriptures this morning - the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow is from Moses, chapter 1 - were Moses finds out that he is made in the image of God. That made me think that perhaps I should take care of this wonderful body I've been given. Ya think?

I already love this - focusing on something with family and friends. I say, the more, the merrier (and healthier). Make it a great day today everyone.

A Crispy Visitor

Today I found the best diet help...

I was actually going to have a bowl of Cocoa Crispies (I know - my first bad decision), and right as I went to pour the cereal into my bowl, I saw a flash of gray - I stopped and looked into the bag, and there was a mouse. A MOUSE!!!!! I almost ate a mouse. I quickly zipped up the bag and had Alex take it ouside to the garbage can (after he showed everyone). Then, I started thinking about the mouse - what if I hadn't seen it right then?! What if he had finished his meal and skidaddled?! Oh my. Gross. I don't think I'll ever try Cocoa Crispies again!