Friday, November 29, 2013

My Head is Spinning Too!

Seriously, when I look back over the last few months and the very spotty blog posts I have made, my head starts spinning!  How many "DAY 1" or "New Starts" can a girl have?  Apparently, A LOT!!!

I am trying to think in terms of "wanting" to make healthy choices, not "needing" to.  There is more grace in wanting something rather than needing it.  I am struggling with completing and posting my daily cards.  I do better when I complete my card and post a picture of it.  The accountability forces me to be more intentional.  I also do better when I start the day with exercise and Bible study first thing in the morning.  The exercise gets my blood flowing and helps me feel strong and self-controlled.  Reading my Bible (which includes some type of written, thought provoking Bible study book and writing in my prayer journal) fills me with a supernatural, Jesus-given kind of PEACE that I do not experience from any other place or person in my life.

So why don't I make these activities priorities in my daily schedule?  I have never exercised or read my Bible and then wished I had spent that time doing something else.  I have, however, slept in, watched TV, or dilly dallied around the house and wished I had used that time in a more positive way.  Also, I have never regretted passing up the temptation to eat something at night (once I resist the temptation). On the "other side" of that temptation, I am ALWAYS glad I resisted.  I need to remember that truth the next time the temptation comes along to eat something when I am not at all hungry, but rather, just craving something to eat.

The old theory says it takes 21-28 days to create a new habit.  I read a study online that indicated it took anywhere from 66 up to 254 days to create a new habit.  The difference in time varied for how difficult the new habit was to accomplish and how determined the person was to make the change.  I think Stephen R. Covey has the right idea on how to change.  He says,  "You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.” "

I want to have a bigger "YES" burning inside me when I want to skip my exercise and sleep in.  That YES would say to exercise because I will feel better physically, mentally and emotionally.

I want to have a bigger "YES" burning inside me when I walk to the fridge or pantry because I am stressed, feeling overwhelmed, angry, sad, or frustrated.  That YES would say that food is source of energy for my body, no kind of food or amount of food is going to make those uncomfortable feelings go away.

I want to have a bigger "YES" burning inside me when I delay having my Bible study time because I just need to.......start a load of laundry, straighten up the house, unload the dishwashwer, run to the grocery store.... That YES would say that God wants to be my FIRST priority, not get whatever "leftover" time I have in my day.  

Philippians 4:4-8 says, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 

Beginning my day reading God's word and praying with thanksgiving in my heart definitely brings the peace of God to my heart and mind as this verse proclaims.  I want that TRUTH to be the YES burning inside me when I am tempted to delay my Bible study and prayer time.

I want to have a bigger "YES" burning inside me when I smell the fresh popped popcorn at the movie theatre.  That YES would say that going to the movie is about enjoying the movie, not the food.  That YES would also be intentional about losing weight and would have a healthy strategy for dealing with the popcorn smell by deciding NOT to eat popcorn long before arriving at the theatre.

I want to have a bigger "YES" burning inside me when I am tempted to stay up late to finish whatever it is I believe can't wait until tomorrow.  That YES would say that adequate sleep in critical to being a healthy, happy, fully-functioning person.  I would take time each evening to intentionally plan the next day and I would schedule my priorities, not prioritize my schedule.

There are other YES decisions burning inside me, these are just a few examples.  CHANGE is about CHOICE.  I say I WANT to CHANGE but sometimes my CHOICES would speak differently.  I want to have a bigger YES burning inside me, reminding me that each seemingly SMALL CHOICE can add up to BIG CHANGE.  Being CONSISTENT and INTENTIONAL with that bigger YES burning inside me.  I can do this, I know I can.


Thursday, November 21, 2013

DAY 3 - 40% Green - Need Improvement

I'm obviously having a hard time getting on track. My friend JE told me I get off track when I start focusing on how much weight I'm going to lose by a certain date and that I just need to focus on ONE DAY AT A TIME. She is right!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

DAY 2 - Too Much

I am almost two times over my goal in calories for the day. I ate out fir lunch and had chips and salsa with my salad. Then we ate at chickfila for dinner. instead of ordering my regular choice of the healthy and delicious salad, I chose a sandwich and fries instead which cost me about 600 calories MORE than the salad! Not worth it!!!.

It's all about choices, some choices are easy now but create hard consequences later in life! The other choices are hard now but create an abundant, happy life if the future.

NEW START - DAY 1 - 160.4 LBS

My husband's company offers an incentive program for employees and family members who participate in a preventative health program which includes being "coached" by professional "Life Coaches". I signed up for the program because I wanted to earn the $300 cash incentive, however, I believe the sessions have turned out to be beneficial.

I have to verbalize health related goals that I will commit to strive toward at the end of each session. After today's session, I committed to filling out my green vs. red cards again for at least one week.

I have much more to say but I'm am too tired to write anymore this evening.

Friday, October 4, 2013

DAY 26/115

I had an "Aha" moment last night when I posted to the blog without filling out my card.  Usually, I post right before I go to bed because I am completing my card and Bob is completing his card at that time of night.  Sometimes that adds to the lateness of the night.  I am trying really hard to have a cut off time at night that I begin getting ready for bed.  That time is 9:00 p.m.  That means I am going to change my blog posting time to sometime earlier in the day.  I don't have to make that the last thing I do at night. In fact it would be better in almost every way to get that task completed earlier in the day.

9:00 p.m. seems incredibly early to me.  Seriously!  For years, I was just getting going on my to-do list at that time of night.  Before starting bootcamp 18 months ago, I would often stay up until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m.  It has been a process (I think I am a REALLY slow learner), to figure out that sleep has to be a priority.  AND if it is a priority, by the nature of the word priority, I must make getting sleep more important that other things that are NOT a priority.

The problem is that as a mom, I have lots of priorities.  I am in the process now of evaluating how I spend my time during the day.  I have enough time during the day to get my TRUE priorities completed.  IF I spend my time on those things.  What are the priorities I have indentified so far?

My Faith
My Husband
Our Kids
Our home
Family
Friends
My outside commitments (volunteer activities/coaching kids' teams)

Under each of these categories there is a sublist of responsibilities.  There is a limited amount of time.  I need to have a plan each day of how I will use my time to the best of my ability.   I need to be willing to stop at a certain time of day to honor my body's need for sleep and rejuvenation.  I certainly don't have the balance in my life yet, or our family's life yet, that I would like to have, but it is getting better.

It is a process.
It is stopping to consider what my priorities are before I commit to something else.
It is breaking bad habits of overcommiting to things.
It is learning.
It is showing myself and my family grace when we are out of balance.
It is trusting the Lord to give me direction and to trust His guidance.
It is a journey.

But it is getting better.  Maybe a little slower than I would like sometimes but I believe I will get there.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

DAY 25/115

I'm making progress in the area of shutting things down and getting in bed at a decent time. I didn't fill out my card but I was within my calorie limit. I ran 3.6 miles this morning, walked .5 miles and swam laps for 25 minutes. Now, if I can just get to sleep in the next 3 minutes I'll be doing good for tomorrow!



Sent from my iPhone

Monday, September 30, 2013

DAY 22/115

Today was a better day. I tried to make my focus on The Lord and not on how badly I had eaten over the weekend. So many little issues and bad habits that can seem overwhelming.

I read a devotional this morning about Lamentation 3:22-23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." (Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV)

These verses really hit home with me today. I feel like Satan has a stronghold in my life right now. Feeling like I can't remain in control of my eating makes me feel defeated, incapable, and out of control. Basically like a failure. I know in my head that is not true. But my heart aches with the battle that is waging within my soul. I want to claim scripture like this and believe that God is bigger than any problem I face, including eating in an out of control-self destructive manner.

Then I feel bad because a part of me feels like it is ridiculous that food/eating/weight can be such an all consuming problem at times. I think other people have "real problems" like cancer, alcohol addiction, divorce etc. but the reality of each of our struggles is that they are uniquely our own. No matter how big or small the struggle, if it keeps our mind on ourselves or our problems and not on God, then Satan has won that battle.

I want my focus to be on God and how His mercies never end and how He is EVERYTHING I need EVERY day. It's no surprise to me that I used the word "control" more than once up above. I need to accept that I am not in control and willingly surrender my will to God's will. He really is EVERYTHING I need.

I was in bed at 9:30 and now I'm ready for sleep. Yay for going to bed at a decent time. Bob hadn't finished his card but I believe he did well today.


Sent from my iPhone

DAY 21/115

No cards to post tonight. Lots of thoughts running through my mind. I'm having a hard time sticking to my plan. I'm doing a lot of stress eating, not sure why. I think today had to do with choosing to visit a new church. Big decision, lots of emotions running high, lots of mindless eating. Trying to escape the uncomfortable feelings I guess.

Strategies to implement to help me navigate stress more successfully:
Clear tempting/unhealthy food out of house
Measure everything BEFORE I eat it.
If I find myself reaching for, or even craving unhealthy food, write down or meditate on empowering scripture.
Plans my whole days food ahead of time.
Get enough sleep.


Sent from my iPhone

Saturday, September 28, 2013

DAY 20/115

Bob and I didn't log food yesterday. It was a bad day for both of us plus it was late and we had to be up early.

We got back on track today with diet. It is hard to make changes and be consistent.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

DAY 18/115

Bob's card looks pretty good and his weight loss is great!

As for me, I don't really want to talk about it. At least I journaled. It's ugly, but it's in black and white, or should I say RED?

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

DAY 17/115

We both had decent days today. In bed now, trying for that magic 6 hours.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

DAY 16/115

I had a great day. I got a little "snacky" this afternoon and I wasn't measuring but I believe I stayed within my calories. My sugar grams are high because I ate fruit and a Kind bar. I love the Kind bars but they have a decent amount of sugar grams, 10 grams in the one I ate today.

Bob was mostly red today. He either does really well or really poorly. It balances out but doesn't do much for his losing the weight.

The GREEN vs RED system is a good way to see if what you say matches up to your actions/choices. For instance, Bob and I have both said for years that we want to lose weight. However, the reality of consistently RED cards illustrates that we really don't want to lose weight. When I am 80% - 100% GREEN, my weight drops. The only person in control of my GREEN percentage is me. I have been messing around with this all summer. I'm going to really focus on being at least 80% GREEN every day and get the rest of my weight off. I want what I say to match what I do. It's a much more harmonious way to live.

Monday, September 23, 2013

DAY 15/115

My weight was up and although I was way over on calories yesterday, I didn't eat 2 LBS worth of extra food. I think the Chex mix (high sodium) late last night and no sleep caught up to me.

Bob's weight is stable but he is having a hard time being consistently more GREEN than RED. It takes a while to recognize bad habits and even longer to truly break the habits. He is getting there and I have full faith in him that he can change his habits and get his weight off.

DAY 14/115

Busy weekend. Hoping to be home tomorrow and have time to get the house straightened up and some lingering tasks accomplished.

I sat down tonight to go through the girls school paperwork, permission forms, picture order forms etc. I don't know why I felt stressed but I sat there and mindlessly ate chex mix. In small doses it is fine to eat, but in large quantities that I didn't bother to measure, it is just junk calories that hold zero nutritional value. Lots of crunch that comes at the cost of lots of calories and sodium. So not worth it!

Saturday, September 21, 2013

DAY 13/115

I feel like we have experienced a positive swift in momentum. It really only takes one really good (100% GREEN) day to get me moving in the right direction.

DAY 12/115

Amazing how the weight drops after just one day if 100% GREEN!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

DAY 11/115

Woohoo!! We were both 100% GREEN! It feels great to finally meet that goal but also to just sleep, eat right and exercise. So simple yet we make it so complicated by our poor choices. It really is just one healthy choice at a time, one day at a time.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

DAY 10/115

Bob did great today! Much better on calories.
Ok
I struggled all day with cravings for carbs. I haven't felt well all day and no matter what I ate, it didn't satisfy my craving. I think that's. sign that I'm not really hungry for food. I'm needing something else, in this case, sleep. I'm out for the night.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

DAY 8/115

Me: Going to bed earlier but still not early enough. Must get sleep.

Bob: Must get diet under control and get some sort of regular exercise.

Both: BE INTENTIONAL

DAY 8/115 SICK AND TIRED

Our weight was up and the only culprit was homemade hamburgers. Bob seasoned with lots of salt and other seasonings. They were delicious but in no way could account for true weight gain.

On another note, as I look back on today, I was SO hungry for carbs all day long. Lack of sleep is the cause of those cravings, I am guessing. Either way, as I sit here and type this post, at 1:45 a.m. I am disgusted with my inability to CHOOSE to get a decent amount of sleep every night. I'm also tired of sounding like a broken record in that I know what I need to do to be healthy, but I'm not doing those things. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

A very wise man once told me that in order to change, you have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired. Well, I am sick and tired, literally as well as figuratively. It is time to truly change.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

DAY 7/115

Today was better for both of us. Very intentional to meet my 5 goals. Bob was close as well, he just didn't get enough water.

We had a very busy weekend and I stayed up too late getting organized and ready for the week ahead. Bootcamp begins again tomorrow. I want to go so I know I will be RED tomorrow for sleep. I need to manage my time better so I can get enough sleep!

Saturday, September 14, 2013

DAY 6/115 We Need Momentum in the Right Direction

Today was better for Bob and I then yesterday, but was far from where we need to be. We are both having a hard time getting into the swing of things.

I am going to be very intentional about being 100% GREEN tomorrow. It only takes one day to get momentum going in the right direction. Today we stopped the train as it was barreling down the tracks in the wrong direction. Tomorrow, we will turn the train in the right direction and get it moving full steam ahead. A simplistic analogy, but it is pretty accurate. I'm beginning to turn the train by actually being in bed at a decent time. That will be 1 GREEN. Only 4 more to go!

DAY 5/115

Today was not a good day for either of us. My problem was lack of sleep, not exercising (I always eat better when I exercise), not drinking my water, not reading my Bible,
my schedule being out of whack due to the piano tuning man coming almost 4 hours late, and not having a plan for dinner at the football game. There was a lot that wasn't good today but lack of sleep is probably the biggest culprit of all.

As for Bob, he has developed very poor habits concerning eating (not a lot of healthy food) and rarely exercising. That is a difficult cycle to break. He says he is working his way into being mostly Green and I believe him. It is hard to change these types of unhealthy patterns. If it was easy, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) wouldn't have reported that 35% of Americans are obese. Obesity is classified as having equal or greater than a 30 BMI (body mass index). 35% are obese, that doesn't even include the run of the mill overweight person. Of course it is difficult to change bad habits, but it is possible!

I think one if the first steps is to acknowledge what you are really doing to your body, and the card system is a great way to see the correlation between your habits and your weight. I know when I overeat, I used to go into denial mode and think, "Ou well, I'll start over tomorrow". Even now, I don't like to record the days I eat way over my calorie allotment. It is very uncomfortable to accept that I CHOOSE to put that much food and/or that kind of junky food into my body. Of course if I record the food as I eat it, I'm less likely to go over on calories because I can't deny the numbers when they're right in front of me.

Friday, September 13, 2013

DAY 4/115

I was up late tonight helping a friend on some things at her house. Ridiculously late bedtime. I have another friend who made an interesting discovery concerning "hidden" sugar in her diet. Will write more about that tomorrow. As you can tell from the cards, I need more sleep and Hubby needs to exercise. Since I'm an optimist, I'll look at those issues as areas where there is room for improvement!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

DAY 3/115

We are both having excellent weight loss right now due to water loss and just not pigging out everyday. I imagine my weight is going to stabilize soon and I will be faced with the true amount of weight gain from the summer.

I'm really feeling good right now despite whatever weight gain has occurred. The accountability and success the Green vs Red system provides is amazing. I just have to worry about those 5 little things each day and my weight drops. I am very committed to getting down to at least 140 lbs by the end of this 115 day challenge. I haven't been that low of a weight in so long, I don't even remember what it feels like. I can only imagine that it will feel amazing!

I think my husband will see significant weight loss for a couple of weeks before his weight begins to drop at a more normal rate. He had another rough day with food choices. They celebrated a coworker's birthday today and I suspect that was a challenge with all the yummy food. The GREAT news is that he stayed within his calorie goal, logged his food, and completed his Green vs Red card. These kind of days are hard because you don't really get a lot of bang for your buck when you eat junk food. A couple of doughnuts can equal half a days allotment of calories! So not worth it.

I am so proud of my husband logging his food these last couple of days. I really think acknowledging what you eat and also your eating habits (eating due to stress, when you're tired etc) helps to identify habits that are not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. If you just mindlessly eat OR have the attitude of "I'm not going to worry about it today, I will just start tomorrow," you will never get your weight under control. The first step to creating HEALTHY habits is to recognize and be willing to change your UNHEALTHY ones! Keeping track of these 5 daily goals is the primary tool we have in our effort to change. Now, just 112 more days!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

DAY 2/115

Bootcamp is not in session this week and I'm trying to take advantage of the break and rest my back (I've been having sciatic nerve issues). However, I did plan to walk or swim every day to get my exercise in and I haven't done that yet. So, my calories were on the high side today considering I didn't exercise. Sugar grams were high but that is from grapes, carrots and plums that I ate today. I'm not going to worry about it too much.

Bob was over on calories because be ate a bunch of junk food at work today. He did a good job this evening though because he chose to limit the damage done earlier in the day and he didn't eat dinner. He could have made a bad decision worse by adding more calories tonight but be didn't. He made a great choice to log what he had eaten and then take responsibility for his predicament and stop eating for the day. I think that is great progress for him. If he hadn't committed to the 115 days of tracking his progress and he hadn't given me permission to blog his progress, I suspect tonight would have turned out differently. There is something to be said for accountability!

Monday, September 9, 2013

115 DAY CHALLENGE--HUBBY ON BOARD

It's 115 days until 2014. The last 30 days for me have not been great on a healthy living scale. Exercise has been great, eating has been bad, very bad. I need to RE-ESTABLISH my healthy habits.

My husband, who has been tremendously supportive of my lifestyle change, is in desperate need of his own lifestyle makeover. His diet is poor, he doesn't exercise, he doesn't sleep well, he averages 20 oz of water a day, and his spiritual life could be better. He needs to establish healthy habits so he is a PRIME candidate for the Green vs Red system.

So we have agreed to work on meeting daily goals together every day for the next 115 days. I will post both of our cards every day. The idea is that instead of falling into the trap of "starting" our healthy lifestyle after Halloween (and all that candy) or Thanksgiving (and all that turkey and mashed potatoes) or Christmas (and all the yummy treats and favorite holiday dishes), we would begin today. You see, we will have a PLAN for healthy eating to navigate our way through those trigger points listed above.

Then when 2014 rolls around, we won't be sitting at an all time high weight like years past, depressed yet determined to "Start Over". We will be experiencing the satisfaction of first having accomplished a goal (staying on track for 115 days and changing habits) and we will also be thinner, have more energy and in my hubby's case, hopefully be getting more sleep.

Sounds like quite the plan. But one thing I know for sure, we can do it. I know we can.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

NOT GOOD, NOT GOOD AT ALL

9/3/13--169 LBS
9/4/13--165.8 LBS

My weight is up a lot in two short weeks. I think my weight is inflated because I have been eating really unhealthy for two weeks. I think it will come down quite a bit in the next 2-3 days and then I will know the true damage I have done to my weight loss progress.

I have had little structure over this time period which makes my diet difficult for me to manage. It also proves to me that even though I have felt free of the emotional eating for the most part over the last several months, I can fall right back into old habits/mindsets very easily.

One of the most dangerous thoughts/behaviors I fall back on is to think, "I've blown it today, so I might as well eat anything and EVERYTHING I want to eat. I'll get back on track tomorrow (or when vacation ends, or company leaves, or after the holidays etc). That thinking is a big part of why I ended up so heavy to begin with. It's a little discouraging to see how easily I fell back into that thought pattern.

The good news is that I have clearly identified those thoughts as a weak area. I need to come up with some strategies to strengthen my ability to eat healthy regardless of the circumstances.

Here are some thoughts on that:

1. Have a plan of what I'm going to eat. If a big (or special) meal is on the agenda, make the healthiest choices I can. Also, cut back in other areas during the day or exercise a little more to accommodate for the extra calories.

2. Drink my water.

3. Ditch the ALL or NOTHING attitude. One cookie (or bowl of ice cream, or piece of brownie etc) does NOT "blow my weight loss efforts." That is called life.

4. MODERATION is the key to successful weight loss management. I do not HAVE to overindulge when I eat something sweet. I have just trained my mind and body to go completely overboard when I do eat a sweet treat. I RARELY, if ever, eat a normal portion of sweets. I'm not a victim in that situation. Half a pan of brownies has never walked out of the pan and into my mouth. Seriously, I need to grow up and face reality. I'm doing that to myself. Good news is, if I can choose to eat like that, I can choose NOT TO!!

I'm sure there are more ideas of things that would help but I think #4 is where I'm going to leave it for now. #4 is also where I'm going to start tomorrow.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

100% Green Today

Finally decided I was going to log my food and track my 5 areas today. This decision forced me to plan ahead for dinner tonight which I have not been doing lately.

I just love eating healthy, being within my calorie allotment, and meeting my daily goals. I just feel so much better, both physically, emotionally and spiritually.

I have decided to track my sugar grams but not count them as part of my GREEN vs RED system. The bootcamp trainer does not think I need to worry too much about sugar intake as long as I'm making healthy food choices. I want to do more research on it but until then, I will do my best to stay within the recommended allotment from My Fitness Pal but I'm not going to stress too much if I'm over some.

I have so many more things I would like to write about but until I get my kiddos in school, it is unlikely the thoughts swirling around in my head are going anywhere outside of my brain any time soon!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Sugar Count Is Great-Sleep Time Not So Much 152.6- Down .4

Sugar grams were very low. Lack of sleep is a CHRONIC issue. Going to bed now to get as much as possible tonight.

Monday, August 12, 2013

100% Green Today

I finally did it! Woohoo! 100% Green! One day at a time, one goal at a time. I had my best calorie burn ever for bootcamp this morning. 607 calories, including about 10 minutes of running before camp began and waiting 20 minutes after camp to stop my heart monitor and get final burn.

Unfortunately, I'm going to be in Red tomorrow on sleep. Going to bed now.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Back on Track

I'm not sure what accounts for an almost 2 lb drop in one day, but I'll take it!

As for today, my sugar count was FINALLY within the recommended range and that included eating out at lunch. I think that is quite an accomplishment! I really want to get to 100% Green. My (chronic) inadequate sleep was yet again the cause of being in the Red today. I'm headed to bed now so I can at least give myself a chance at being all Green tomorrow. One day at a time.

Much Better. 154.6

83% Green today. However, those sugar grams are killing me. Today's culprits: mango, peach and Kind bar.

I was weighed and measured for the 3 month Bootcamp contest (May - July). I lost 16 LBS and some inches as well. I will post the actual numbers when I get them. Some contestants couldn't weigh today so we won't know the results until Wednesday, August 14th. The trainers said I'm in the running for the top spot. It would be great to win. However, I'm glad the pressure of thinking about the contest is over. Glad to get back to my Green vs Red system with no secondary focus.

The trainers helped me set a goal weight today. I have intentionally not done so before now. I didn't want this journey to be about getting to a specific number on the scale. However, I'm okay with having a number in mind at this point.

140 LBS is my goal weight. 15 LBS left to lose. 16 weeks of bootcamp before the end of the year. About 1 LB of weight loss per week. ONE DAY AT A TIME. I can do this. I KNOW I can.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Today Was Better 157.6 LBS

Today was better than yesterday. Tomorrow marks the end of a three month weight/fat loss competition at bootcamp. The winner receives a day at the spa and other gifts. I'm afraid I have sabotaged my efforts to win the competition over he past few weeks. Regardless, I am focusing on getting the rest of my weight off. I have to work at it one day at a time. I know that is cliche, but it works for me. When I look ahead for days, weeks or months in advance, I get very stressed out. Then I eat because I'm stressed. Then the entire unhealthy pattern starts all over again with weight gain, no exercise, etc.

So today, I was 66% Green and 33% Red. Exact opposite of yesterday. I am striving for tomorrow to be 100% Green!

No Wonder I'm Struggling

I didn't log my food yesterday. I was super busy all day and had company for dinner. By the time I got to the end of the night, I was exhausted and had eaten way too much and had not measured anything. That's the kiss of death to my success.

No matter how busy I get, I need to make my health a priority. That means planning out my food/meals for the day. I do great when I know what I'm going to eat and exactly how much I'm going to eat.

The bottom line is my card speaks for itself. 6 "categories", 4 Red, 2 Green. 33% Green and 66% Red. It will be better tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Trying, but Struggling, to Get Back on Track

My awesome friend, Pat, created this nifty little form on the computer. I love it! Thank you Pat!

It has been a rough summer as far as weight loss goes. I am still exercising almost every day but my diet has not been good. I'm thankful that so far, my weight is staying in the 150's. That's a praise. However, I still have a significant amount of weight to lose. I have to get back to following the GREEN vs RED system as soon as possible. I keep thinking, "Today is the day I can start back on the program," but there are a couple of problems with that mindset.

First of all, this system was intended to be a HABIT CHANGING system that would BECOME A WAY OF LIFE. For that to happen, I first have to recognize the bad habits that led to me being 60 LBS over weight and then choose new healthier habits on a regular basis, over a long period of time, to truly become a changed person.

I'm on my way to being that truly changed person. Although I would have preferred to continue losing weight this summer, I have learned some important lessons that will ultimately help me reach my goal of being an overall healthy person, at a healthy maintainable weight.

Lessons Learned:
1. I eat when I am stressed. I need to consciously choose to reduce stress in the areas where I am able to. That way, when the unexpected stressors happen (and they will) I have the time and energy to deal with them in a healthy manner.

2. I often create stress in my life by my poor boundaries and mismanagement of my (and my children's) time. As my wonderful husband puts it, I consistently try to shove 10 LBS of stuff in a 5 lb bucket. I can change that. Free time (or white space on my calendar) is a GOOD thing!

3. I'm very addicted to sugar. I've suspected it for years but as I've watched my daily sugar gram count be over the recommended amount almost every day, I believe there truly is an issue there. Even on days when I am well within my calorie allotment, and I've not eaten any processed sugar, I will still be over on sugar grams by a significant margin (double, triple, quadruple or even more!) There really aren't any good things that come from too much sugar in your system so I need to diligently address this issue.

4. Exercise is a natural, anti- depressant. I need to do something physical every day. Plus, I LOVE to exercise, so why wouldn't I?

5. Sleep is CRITICAL. I RARELY get enough. Answer to this issue is found in #2- Poor boundaries and poor use of time. Very much within my control to change.

6. Reading my Bible (or a scriptural based devotional) and praying daily are CRITICAL to having a peaceful, calm spirit. Nothing else fills that gap. When I am calm and peaceful, I deal with stress better and that peacefulness transfers to my children. Everyone benefits from a calm mom. No one (including me) likes a busy, frantic, often yelling mom.

7. Water fills me up. I eat less, have a much happier digestive system and don't drink diet soda. It's a win- win all the way around.