It's Working!

Since I started January 6th, I have lost 7 pounds.  I am very happy to say that my weight has been going down each day!  So, why is it going down?  What makes this time different?

Well, I do have to say, that the pressure of having to go and "weigh in" is gone.  Sometimes I felt that if I ate something unhealthy, I would just give up because it was going to be bad anyway.  I know it is just a number.  I know my health coach was not judging me.  I was giving myself an excuse to just give up.

I have been planning my meals, and making sure I have what I need to eat.  I ran out of extend bars, which is slight problem, but I have been doing ok.  I have been alternating lunches with ff greek yogurt, raspberries, and almonds, with a big salad.  This way, I have something that is quick to put together, and I can make sure I will stay on plan.

Another thing that is huge, is that I have been making it my own.  I am not keeping carbs out of my diet totally.  If I go out to eat and I have a roll, I am not going to say, forget it and eat a bunch of crap as well.  It is all about finding balance.  Making this work for me, so I can change my eating habits and make this a lifelong healthy lifestyle.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

First off, the ugly....

I weighed myself this past Monday.  Up 3 pounds.  Yuck!

The bad......

I went off the wagon.  Friday, I stuck to having a delicious salad, but I ate the 2 small breadsticks that came with it.  If it stopped there, it would be ok.  But did it stop there?  No.  I then went on to eat 2 small slices of pizza.  Ugh.

Then came Saturday.  The day was fine, but when we went out to dinner, I nibbled on some french fries.  Then I ate 1 1/2 buffalo chicken bite.  Then I ate a roll.

Sunday.......had a salad again, ate the crutons AND the breadsticks.  Then ate a few donut holes.  After that, I had a bowl of ice cream and a handful of crackers.

And somewhere in there, I ate my son's hollow milk chocolate Santa.

Augh is right!  And I paid the price for it when I got on the scale.  Up three pounds.

But, now for the good.....

Monday I downloaded the Couch to 5K app to my phone.  I even did the first workout on my elliptical!  Today I do the second one.  What I like about it is that it is gradual...I started off with 5 minutes warm up, then 1 minute of jogging, then 1 1/2 minutes of walking.  It ended up being a total of 30 minutes.  And it is only 3 times per week.  I can do three times a week!!  Tonight is workout #2, so we will see how it goes.

So, the last few days lots of things happened.  The important thing is that I am making good choices and not letting some bad times take over!!!

Progress, not perfection!

That Annoying Voice In Your Head

Yesterday I had an all day meeting.  There I was, sitting at a table with other coworkers, listening to someone speak, and what is in the room?  Candy.  On the table, right in front of me.  And not just any candy....chocolate!  Plain chocolate nuggets, chocolate with almonds, peppermint patties......yum!  Not only that, but right next to the door as you walk in was breakfast pizza.  The yummy pizza with scrambled eggs, cheese, ham on half, bacon on the other. Delicious!

But is it healthy??  No way!

I drank my coffee, snacked on my almonds and a cheese stick, went to lunch and had a salad, and when I went back for the afternoon.....I caved in!  I had three pieces of chocolate.

Is it the end of the world?  No.  My health coach would have said, "what was going on at that time?"  Well, I had been looking at that candy all morning, and I just wanted one piece.  It was that talk that goes on in my head that says to me, "One piece is fine.  It won't hurt!"  So I have one.  That one leads to two, then to three.

But then, I talked back to that annoying voice.  I thought, those pieces of chocolate is not helping me reach my goal of being healthy.  I know sugar and carbs are not the best for me, so I really need to stay away from it.

That annoying voice tries to convince me to make choices that are not good for me.

I need to change that voice from trying to get me to to negative things, to saying things like "You don't need that.  You deserve to do something good for your body.  You are worth making healthy choices!"

Having to change those voices, or those recordings in your head is really hard.  For years I have been putting myself down, telling myself that I do not care, I'll just start back up tomorrow.  This time, things are going to be different.  I am going to make healthy changes for me that goes beyond what I eat.  I need to change those voices to encourage myself when I feel down.

I did have an idea.  I saw a 5 year, one line a day journal in the book store yesterday.  Wouldn't that be a great way to remind myself to say something positive about myself each day?  I don't need a journal....a blank calendar would also work.  I don't have those right now, so I am going to start right now.  Here is my positive thought for the day:

"I deserve to be happy and healthy!  I am a good person and I am worth it!!"

On that note....have a super day.  And say something positive about you today!

Turkey Chili Saves the Day!

I know that if I am not prepared with my food, I will fall off the wagon.

Each night, I fill up my water bottles, and pack up my lunch and snacks so all I have to do in the morning is grab it and go.  Last night, I did not do it.

And this morning, I woke up late.

And my son was supposed to be dropped off at school early.

Oops.

Thank goodness I made that turkey chili on Sunday!  Last night I had some for dinner.  I added some 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese, a few dashes of Red Hot, and I made some cauliflower "rice".  Have you ever use cauliflower to make a rice?  If you haven't, you should!  I'll get to the cauliflower at another time.  It deserves its own post!!

I still have a ton of it in the fridge.  So I quickly grabbed a container, threw in a scoop of turkey chili, added some cheese and some hot sauce......done!  Lunch was good to go!

For a snack, I added in a small package of natural almonds and a cheese stick.  I knew I still had an apple at work, so I just grabbed an Extend bar for the afternoon on the way home from work.

I wasn't prepared, but in a way I was!  I had things that were easy to grab, even if I was running late!

Tonight I am going to make sure I have everything done ahead of time.  I do not want to get in the habit of waiting until the morning to get ready for the day!

Today, I am feeling good.  I have been eating healthy, and I haven't felt like I was missing out on anything.  I am still craving some chocolate right after lunch, so I ate my apple and drank some water.  That craving was satisfied!

Not sure what dinner is going to be tonight.  I think I am going to have a big salad with some hard boiled eggs.  Yum!

Time to go.  Have a super day!

Sad Weekend

I haven't blogged in a few days.  This weekend was just awful.  Saturday we said good bye to our 18 year old kitty.

Friday, my husband called me at work.  He had come home from running errands to find our cat unable to walk.  I left right away, and got home as fast as I could.  He was right.  She could barely walk, and when she did, it was awful to watch.

She was 18 years old.  She was our baby.  Saturday, I took her to the vet, and was with her when she passed.  It was so sad, and I am still very sad.

Friday night, I ordered a pizza for dinner.  I ordered a chef salad without croutons.  I forgot it came with some garlic bread sticks.  I ate them both.  They were not that big, and I shouldn't have eaten them, but I did.  But that was the only time I ate something I shouldn't have.

The thoughts of just forgetting my healthy eating and having a few slices of pizza did cross my mind.  So did having a slice of the ice cream cake I sliced off for my daughter.  I know that I am an emotional eater, and I turn to food to help me feel better.  Instead, I had a mug of sleepy time tea.

The rest of the weekend went ok.  I ate healthy, and I even made a turkey chili for the crock pot!

This morning when I weighed myself, I was down 5.5 pounds.  Yea!!!  I am glad my eating healthy is working, and that I still lost that much when I only did detox for a couple days!

For now, I have to go.  I need my mid-morning snack!  There is an apple calling my name!  Have a great day!

About Day 2 and 3.....and on Day 4!

Day 2 was challenging.  We ended up not working because of the Polar Vortex, and I was home all day.  Not a good place to be when I have been eating everything and anything for the past few weeks!  But I made it through with veggie soup, apples and my spinach and blueberry "smoothie".  And I was very hungry all day and had a headache!

Day 3 started with fruit salad at a meeting, then some carrots and other veggies.  When it was lunch time, I just could not eat the vegetable soup I had made.  I am not sure why, but the thought of eating it was just making me sick!  I had a huge apple and snacked on some roasted edamame in the afternoon.  My head was killing me and I was starving.

I made a decision to stop detox.  Yes, I am a loser, and I couldn't do it!

I have done 7 days before, and I know I can do it, but this time, I was really struggling.  I know the benefits of detox are great, but I just want to get into eating healthy!  So, last night, my family and I went to a diner, and I ate protein.  I had a greek omlet with peppers and onions and feta cheese.  I also had a side of bacon (not the best choice).  When we got home, I did have a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and some raisins.

So, here I am on day 4 and I am not doing detox.

This morning I started with a vanilla TLS shake with a cup of blueberries.  I also added 2 scoops of complete greens to my shake so that I get in more greens!

For lunch, I have a mixed greens salad with 2 hardboiled eggs, 1 oz. 75% reduced fat cheese, some sea salt and pepper slivered almonds.  I added some lite balsamic vinegrette.  Delicious!  I also have some carrots with hummus for a snack this afternoon.

I am glad I stopped detox.  I was not happy, and I want to be happy and healthy.  I also want my kids to see me eating real food.  I want us all to be eating the same things.  I want them to know that eating healthy is a lifestyle.....not a diet!

Day 1 of Detox

So far, things have been ok.  I started the morning with some hot lemon water.  What I did was take 5 lemons (they were on sale) and juiced them.  Once they were all juices, I put the juice through a strainer to get out the seeds, then put the juice in an ice cube tray.  So, each morning I just pop out a lemon juice ice cube, put it in a mug, and add hot water!  The ice cools the water down enough so it is not too hot, and I spend less time in the morning getting it ready!

Once I was ready to head out, I make a blender full of baby spinach with 1 1/2 cup of blueberries.  I then poured it into two bottles.  This way I had one in the car, and one during my first break at work.  It really was pretty good!  I was concerned that the second one would get gross (or grosser depending on how you look at it....I am convincing myself that it is delicious!), but it didn't.

Yesterday, I made that HUGE batch of veggie soup, and I brought a large container of it for lunch.  Again, it is pretty good, but I think I will add some hot sauce to it next time.  I brought a lot, because I do not want to be starving!  I want to make sure that I feel full, and I am doing ok so far!

I also have an apple for later this afternoon.  It looks so good, and I can't wait to have it!

So, I am not starving, I am drinking lots of water, and eating lots of veggies.  I can do this!!!

Goodbye, Diet Coke and Hello Detox!

Today is the last day before I make the transition.  One of the steps to being healthier is it not drink Diet Coke anymore.  I just don't mean Diet Coke only.  I mean all soda in general.  I have been reading how bad diet soda is for you.  Not only does it have lots of chemicals in it, but it can sabotage your weight loss efforts.  It can "trick" your body into feeling hungry and craving sweets.  I need all the help I can get, and if that means to give up diet soda....I will do it!!  So today, I opened my last diet coke.  I have been drinking it all day.  I say good bye to you Diet Coke!  

Tomorrow I start detox.  Detox is for 7 days, and I will eat lots of vegetables, some fruit, and LOTS of water!  Today I make a HUGE pot of vegetable soup.  Here is a pic of the veggies I used:

Included in the pile is celery, carrots, onion, sweet potato, red, yellow, green and orange peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, green cabbage, diced tomatoes and vegetable broth.  I also added some black pepper, lots of garlic, bay leaf, oregano and basil.  I am letting it cool now so that I can put it into individual servings to make it easier for the week. I know that if I am not prepared, I tend to not be successful, so I want to make sure I am planned for each week! 

I am not going to lie....detox can be hard.  But I know it is going to be well worth it.  I was listening to a TLS person explain what detox is like.  Think about changing the oil in your car.  If you put in the good oil, that's great, but if all the bad stuff is still in your car, it's not going to work right.  Detox is like cleaning out the oil, yucky oil in your car, so that the new, good oil can help your car run better!  But instead of your car, it's your body....and it's not oil, but healthy foods.

So, this week, I am planning on starting the day with some warm lemon water.  I will then take my supplements, and prepare a blueberry/spinach "smoothie".  That "smothie" is not really a smoothie.  It will be a cup of frozen blueberries, lots of baby spinach, and some water in the blender.  I will take one to eat on the way to work, and another for a snack during the day.  I am also bringing an apple, a bag of veggies (carrots, sliced peppers, grape tomatoes) and a small container of balsamic vinegar to dip them in.  I will also be bringing a container of the veggie soup I made as well as a HUGE container of water.

Water is going to be a problem.  It usually is for me.  I know I don't drink enough.  Part of the reason is that when I drink a lot of water, I have to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes.  Really, I am not exaggerating.  15 minutes.  When you are a teacher and responsible for 25 students, it is hard to run to the bathroom every 15 minutes!  I am still going to try to get my entire large container of water done throughout the day, so that I will be done before I go home.  I know I am going to have to use the bathroom a lot, so I am going to talk to my neighbors near my classroom, to see if we can work something out.

Anyway, tomorrow is the start of my transition to a healthy lifestyle.  Every Sunday, I am going to list my plans so that I am prepared for the week.  This week is easy:

Monday - Sunday:  Vegetables, 3 servings of fruit, tons of water each day.

Next Sunday, I should have some more interesting meal plans!  This week, it is just going to be to be sure that I have all the food and water I need and to be prepared!!

Now I have to go and get my vegetable soup into containers for lunch this week!