I'm Still Here!

Friday started my "official" summer vacation.  As I mentioned, I am a teacher, and our last official day was Thursday.  Since then, I have been trying to get things back into order, but I have had some things to do.....like make a graduation cake!

One of my hobbies is making cupcakes and cakes.  I just love to make them!  Since I have been working on the habits of health, I have been rethinking my side business/hobby.  Is it really good for me to be working with all this sugar, when I know I am crazy for it??  I have been going back and forth on it, but I found that as long as I am making things for others, and I don't have any here, I can do it without having any.  But that is for another conversation....

I baked this giant 3 tiered graduation cake.  As I was decorating, I found that one of the things I wanted to do was not working out.  I had to scrape all the frosting off and do something else. It had to be finished for a party at 2:00, and it was 1:00.  Talk about stressful!  But I managed to finish, it looked good, the customers loved it, and I was done!

I did not eat any (ok, I did have to have a taste of the frosting to make sure it was ok, but that was it!)

Cake done without eating any.  Got in all 5 MF meals, and my Lean and Green.  Friday night my lean and green was lacking my green.  I did not have enough veggies to make it a full green, but I had most of it.  I could also have had some more water over the last few days.....

So, I wasn't perfect, but I was very close!  I am going to have to make sure I have my act together, because summer can be like a giant weekend, and I need to keep in control of being in control!

This afternoon, we are going to the movies.  I already have some MF snacks and a bottle of water packed!  I hope you all are having a great weekend....and staying on plan!!!!




***Are you interested in reaching Optimal Health?  I am a free Health Coach and can help you reach your goals!  Email me at evamburns@aol.com if you are interested in learning more!  You can also visit healthcoacheva.tsfl.com.

Wednesday, 6/24 and the Voices In Your Head

Good morning!

Yesterday I started to feel it.

The feeling of, yea, I'm doing great....I can eat something bad.  I know I already had my Lean and Green for lunch, but if I just get some sort of salad, I should be ok.  I found myself making excuses for myself and reasons why it would be ok to go off plan.

But I knew it wouldn't be ok.

One bite would turn into two, then three, then I'll just eat the whole thing because I already had so much of it.

Instead of giving in, I did something else.

I took my dog out for a walk.  I talked to my neighbors.  I got a huge glass of water.  I did not go off plan.  I did not eat anything I shouldn't have.  And you know what?

The world did not end.  I did not feel as though I was missing out on anything.  I survived, and it felt good!

There is a lot that happens in your head when you are trying to be healthy.  There are these "voices" that help you along the way to help with your decisions.  Depending on where you are in your journey, one voice can be much louder and more intimidating.  One voice will start in when you see/smell/want something off plan.  It will do everything in it's power to convince you that you should go off plan.  It will be good.  It's just one bite....Go for it!  You deserve it!  This is the voice that is a master at making excuses, and it can be persistent.

But there is also another voice...which can be much smaller and quieter when you first begin.  That voice tells you that you don't need it.  There will be other times to eat that, but not now!  You have been working so hard, you don't deserve to stop your progress for a bunch of sugar and carbs.  You want to be thin!  You want to lose weight!  This isn't going to help with that!

As I am typing, the two voices are arguing in my head.there is a huge chunk of cinnamon bread and a chocolate frosted cookie right behind me.  One of my co-workers gave them to me as an end of the year gift.  I really want to eat it.  I appreciate the thought, but I just can't eat it.  I know it will be delicious, but it's not like I haven't had something like it before.  Just one bite won't hurt.  I am thinking of someone who I can give it to, or how I can throw it away without my coworker seeing.  Right now, it is staying in the bag!

So, how do you get that loud, persistent, excuse making voice to be quiet?  I am still struggling with that, but I have found that when you pay more attention to that quiet, more reasonable voice, that one will become louder.  Don't get me wrong, that bad voice may start screaming it's head off, but after ignoring it a few times, it will become quieter and quieter.  You will give that quiet voice more confidence, and it will become louder and louder as well as easier and easier to make those good choices!

I am ignoring that bad voice telling me that I want those treats.  I already feel better about not eating it.  As for what I ate today, I had my MF hot cocoa with coffee, a bar, a salad from Chipolte with chicken, a bag of MF pretzels, another MF bar, and a MF strawberry shake.

Another day down!

Have a great one!




***Are you interested in reaching Optimal Health?  I am a free Health Coach and can help you reach your goals!  Email me at evamburns@aol.com if you are interested in learning more!  You can also visit healthcoacheva.tsfl.com.

Tuesday 6/20/15

When I got on the scale this morning, I was down 2.5 pounds from Sunday morning!  Woohoo!  Go figure....staying on plan actually works!!!

Today was rough.....first day with no students, but so much paperwork to do before I can even think about getting my classroom ready for the summer!  Started the morning with a bang.....had a MF bar, worked on report cards, getting ready to do all the comments, then BAM!  We lost power.  Which means no access to internet (which is how we get to our report cards), and no access to my files on my school drive.  So, in the dark, I started cleaning up, throwing stuff away, and moving things that needed to be moved while I had a MF tropical punch.

Power was still off, but it was lunch time, so we all went to the cafeteria for a wonderful lunch provided for us by our PTSA!  You should have seen the spread!  Rolls, coldcuts of all kinds, macaroni salad, potato salad, veggies and dip, bags of chips, soda....it was wonderful!  For dessert, they had cupcakes, cookies, and icecream.  It all looked so good!  What did I do?  Well, I had some turkey, cheese, yellow mustard, celery, and carrots (I know those aren't on plan....but I only had a few).  I did have a diet soda.  I am really cutting down on the diet soda, but I thought the diet soda would make me feel like I was having a treat instead of suffering for not eating the rolls, chips, cupcakes and icecream!  I do have to say, I felt really good about my choices!  I made my lunch my Lean and Green Meal for the day, so I was able to participate in the lunch with everyone, but still stay on plan!

Finally the power came back on, so I hussled to get all my report cards done so I could get home.  I took my kids to our local farmers market, and got strawberries for the kids and some green zucchini for me!  The rest of my meals were MF pudding, pretzels, and another bar.  I made oreo cookie ball pops in the shape of apples for my kids teachers (my own kids last day of school is Wednesday), and I was able to not eat one bite.  Boy does that feel good!

I feel as though I am in control.  I am really being aware of what I am eating and when I feel like taking a bite or taste of something, I don't, and each time I say no, it gets easier!  All of these good choices this week will help me to be strong over the weekend....because let's face it, weekends can be hard, but I am going to stay in control!

Have a super day, and I'll see you tomorrow!!!



***Are you interested in reaching Optimal Health?  I am a free Health Coach and can help you reach your goals!  Email me at evamburns@aol.com if you are interested in learning more!  You can also visit healthcoacheva.tsfl.com.

Monday

The first thing that went through my head this morning when I woke up was "Last Day of School!  Last Day of School!"  Just like Nemo did in the movie Finding Nemo (except he was saying First Day of School!).  There is something special  about the last day of school for teachers.  On one hand, you are excited to start summer vacation!  You worked hard all year, and in a few weeks you get to start all over again with a new bunch!  On the other hand, you think about all the time you spent with these students and how much they have grown.  You think about the kids who drove you crazy, and realize those are the ones you are going to miss the most!  It is a bittersweet day, but we kept busy and made it through!

When I arrived at school, there was this......




It was a huge cake from a family saying thank you to our staff.  We really do have the best parents here....I am sure it was delicious, but I wouldn't know because I did not have any.  Not even a taste of frosting!  At one point, I was avoiding the teacher's room because I did not want to be tempted!  I had my MF chocolate chip cookie dough bar....and it was delicious!

So, the day started with an awards ceremony, then my students went to PE.  When they came back, we had a make your own sundae bar.  Here is what was left....



after dishing out 23 bowls of ice cream, I drank my water and a MF tropical punch.  All the leftovers were thrown out (to be honest, there really wasn't too much left over!)

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning out desks, lunch (I had some MF mixed berry cereal crunch), passing out last minute papers that never got handed back, then we had our Moving Up Day, where the kids get to go and meet their teacher for next year.  Then it is back to the classroom, pack up, and head out!

Our school has a tradition where the busses circle around the bus loop a million times, and all the teacher's line up and wave.  It was great!  Then I had to speed home so my husband could go to work!

MF Pretzels in the car on the way home, scrambled eggs with veggies for my L&G, a MF mint chocolate soft serve to end the day.

Even with the challenges today....another 100%  on-plan!  Yea!

I hope everyone had a great day today!!!



***Are you interested in reaching Optimal Health?  I am a free Health Coach and can help you reach your goals!  Email me at evamburns@aol.com if you are interested in learning more!  You can also visit healthcoacheva.tsfl.com.

Sunday

So, today I start my daily blogging adventure!

I have been messing up.  So here I am.  I am being accountable to me, for me....not for anyone else.

Today is Father's Day.  I started the day with a brownie and some coffee with half and half.  Everyone else was having donuts, so I thought I would have my own on-plan donut, by having a Medifast brownie.  Eating that and the coffee was like heaven!  I didn't feel like I was missing out on what everyone else was eating...and that is important!

We had a quiet Father's Day.  After my in-laws left, we all got ready, ate lunch (I had some water and Medifast Pretzels), then took off for some shopping.  My husband wanted to go to some video game stores and the Lego store.  Both my son and husband are HUGE video game fans.  They also like Legos and our store had some Simpson mini-figures my husband wanted.

After some shopping, we came back home...my husband went to work and I started fixing dinner for the kids.  I have not been grocery shopping, so I pulled out a frozen cauliflower pizza crust and made myself a pizza!  The kids had some leftovers from dinners out this weekend, but I stayed on plan with my pizza....and it was delicious!  Here is a pic:



Sorry it is sideways.....but you get the idea!  I used a small salad plate, so it looked HUGE!

School is almost over for us.  I am a teacher, and my last day with students is tomorrow.  My own kids have a full day tomorrow, then two half days, so this week is going to be crazy.  We are doing make your own sundaes with my students tomorrow....but I have a bar ready to go!

I prepped my meals for tomorrow.  I wanted to make sure I had some munchie type stuff so I can keep myself busy and not eating treats!

My last two meals for the night was some chocolate pudding and tropical punch (of the MF type!).  I was even able to serve my kids their evening snacks, and I did not take a bite!  At one point, I made them both "unplug" from their tablets and video games and we all took a walk with the dog.  We didn't walk very far, but it was a good walk before winding down for the night!  It was a good day, and a good night!

I went to bed a little hungry....but not starving!  One day 100%.  Now, I am going to repeat that tomorrow!

Happy Father's Day to everyone!!!




***Are you interested in reaching Optimal Health?  I am a free Health Coach and can help you reach your goals!  Email me at evamburns@aol.com if you are interested in learning more!  You can also visit healthcoacheva.tsfl.com.

What is it about the weekends???

According to Wikipedia,  the word weekend is defined as follows:

The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal working week (British English), or workweek (U.S. English), is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labour. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday; the weekend is a time period including Saturday and Sunday. A weekday is any day of the working week.

Who doesn't like the weekend?  To most people, a weekend means not having to go to work, visiting friends, going out to eat, spending time with the family, doing fun things.  But, to someone who is working hard to stay on a healthy plan.....weekends can be pure torture. 

Not going to work = less structured schedule

Visiting friends = tempted with off plan food/drinks

Going out to eat = unwelcomed fat, sodium, and can we say bread basket???

Spending time with family = see visiting friends above**

Doing fun things = again, loads of off plan foods/drinks

To top it all off, we place weekends up on a pedestal...we look forward to it all week, and treat it like a mini holiday.  So when faced with all of this "rest", we think we "deserve" something special, especially when we spend all week planning our meals, cooking healthy foods, drinking gallons of water, avoiding desserts and chips like the plague.  We have a piece of bread, we take a taste of the nachos, we have one drink.....next thing we know, we fall off plan.  Why did we fall off plan?  Well, it was the weekend (like that makes it ok).

I have been noticing a pattern with my weight loss....it seems as though I lose weight, maybe 3 or 4 pounds, then I gain those pounds, lose them again, gain them again, repeat for the past few weeks.  I remain the same weight for the whole month.

Why is that?

I think I know.  Actually, I know I know.  It's the little trolls who make me eat bad things on the weekend.  It's the weekend.

But I LOVE weekends!  It can't be that?  No, it is not the actual weekend, it's how I treat the weekend.  When you are an emotional eater, you feel that any time you do something good, you need to reward yourself with food.  When you are an emotional eater and you have a really stressful week, you need to give yourself a treat because you deserve it.  When you are an emotional eater, you will find any excuse possible to find a reason why you should eat something off plan.....one piece won't hurt, we are going out with friends so I can have it this once, she made this dish just for us and it would be rude not to eat some, my friend is eating off their plan so I can to....the excuses are endless.

I seem to make those excuses easier on the weekends than during the workweek, but the possibilities are still there.  This weekend.....well, I did great...to start.  My in-laws were visiting for the weekend to see my daughters dance recital Saturday afternoon, but I stayed on plan all of Friday night.  For Saturday, we were planning on going out to eat after the recital.  I planned my meal ahead....grilled chicken salad, dressing on the side, no croutons or bread.  But then, my husband ordered nachos.  I had a few...telling myself that a few are ok.  No big deal.  I then found myself nibbling on the crust I cut off of my daughters grilled cheese sandwich.  OK...not so good, I need to stop.  We get home, I grab a blueberry muffin my mother had made us (they came up for the day).  I ate one, then asked myself, why did I do that?  I know that was not a good choice.  My daughter and I ended up going to a dance recital that evening to see the older girls....I forgot to bring a bar or something on plan (different purse).  Very soon, I was making one bad choice after the other....and it started with just a few nachos.

So, how am I going to change this behavior?  I am sick of losing, then gaining, losing, then gaining, and it seems as if I blow it over the weekend.  Well, I have a few ideas....

First, identify the problem.  I know I am making some bad choices over the weekend.  I used to think that I had been totally on plan, and had no idea why I was not losing weight.  I wouldn't recognize the fact that even one nacho will make a difference.  Admitting that you have a problem is the first step!!!!  It's not easy to admit that you keep slipping, but once you see where you are having problems, you can get some solutions!

Second, forgive yourself.  Yes.  I have not been totally honest with myself.  I have not stuck to my program.  Are there consequences?  Heck yea!  I have not been losing the weight I want to.  I have spent lots of money investing in myself with the Medifast food, and I have been blowing it by not sticking to it.  It's not that the plan doesn't work....its that I am not working the plan.

OK.  I know my problem is not sticking to my plan.  I am not losing weight.  Now what am I going to do about it?

Sounds like I need a kick in the pants to be more accountable.  I need to be more accountable to myself....not my health coach, not my friends, not my husband, not my family.....MYSELF.

I am doing this for me, and by not working the program, I am cheating myself.

For the next few weeks, I am going to keep myself accountable each day by blogging each day.  Tomorrow, I will blog about today.  Tuesday, I will blog about what I did Monday, etc.  I am going to share my challenges, successes, meals, stresses, and my water count!   I have some crazy things going on this week....last day of school with my students (and we are doing make your own sundaes), retirement party for a bunch of special teachers I work with, night out with the girls, and my first day of summer vacation (kind of like a great big, giant weekend....with a few work days thrown in), a wine tasting Friday night......and the day to day living with a husband and two kids!

Let's do this!!!!

CONTROL

There are so many things that are out of my control.

I try to keep things together....I try to do all that I can.  But there are just some things that I do not have control over.

When I get stressed and feel things slipping through my fingers, I reach for something that I can control.  Most of my life, I reached for food.  It wasn't the food itself I wanted....it was the feeling it would give me.  Yes, I would be out of control and eat an entire pint of ice cream, but I was the one who decided to do it.  I had control over being out of control.

When I would eat, it gave me a feeling of happiness.  A feeling of relief.  Joining in with the neighbors for a drink or a smore by the fire, gave me a sense of belonging....a feeling of being a part of something.

Control is a tricky thing.

My Health Coach posted a vlog the other day that really spoke to me.  It actually took me a few days to view it because I was avoiding it because I knew it was going to be about me.  No, she did not do the video about me....but I knew it was something that I could really relate to.  You can check it out here.

The vlog is called Food Addiction, Eating Disorder or Just a Lack of Focus.  I can honestly say that I can relate to all three of those.  I am an emotional eater.  I eat things to help me to feel better.  I am also an addict.  I crave the feeling the food gives me more than the food itself.  And lack of focus?  You bet.  Giving in and eating bad (yummy) foods, takes me away from the real issues that I need to or should deal with.  One of those things is feeling out of control.

So, what do you do when you are trying to gain control of what you eat, and you realize that you have a problem?  You still have to eat to survive.  You still have to make food for your children.  You still will be in situations where people are going to give you food.  So what do you do?

Before, I would have just given up.  I would say I didn't care anymore, and I was just going to be happy and eat.

But here's the thing.....I did care.  I wasn't happy.

Dr. A teaches us a strategy called Stop. Challenge. Choose.  He has a free 100 page book you can download (email me to find out how you can get it).  The strategy is simple.  When you are faced with a decision....maybe someone offers you a huge chunk of your favorite cake.....or you order a pizza for your kids and it smells wonderful.....or you find a bag of chips calling your name in the breakroom....you need to STOP what you are doing.  Before you dig into the cake or grab a slice, just stop.  Once you stop, Challenge yourself.  Ask yourself if that food is going to help you to accomplish your goals.  Do you want the food or the feeling??  Then, Choose.  If that food is not going to help you reach your goals or you want the feeling, not the food....then choose what to do.  You could go ahead and eat it, or you can choose to do something else. If it is something I feel I absolutely need to have, even if it is a bad choice, I choose to wait.  I say to myself that I will wait for an hour or two...or even the next day.  If I still want it, I say I can have it.  While I am waiting, I drink a big glass of water and move to do something else.  I go into another room.  I go outside.  I bring my dog outside for a walk.  Most likely, I will "forget" that I wanted something, and not eat it.  Also, it gives my body time to stop the craving and make a choice with my head, not my stomach or emotions!

Is this successful for me all the time?  Do I always make the best choice?

That answer would be no.  However, I am changing the way that I think.  I am not making a choice for just the feeling the food gives me for a few minutes.  Changing your habits into healthy habits is not an easy thing.  When I do make a good choice, I feel like a superhero!  I feel as though I accomplished something great (which I did!).  I try to remember that feeling so the next time, I can feel that success again.  Over time, I will crave the good feelings of success of making good healthy choices instead of the few minute pleasure of the food.

What are some of the ways you help yourself be in control and make good choices??


***Are you interested in reaching Optimal Health?  I am a free Health Coach and can help you reach your goals!  Message me if you are interested in learning more!  You can also visit healthcoacheva.tsfl.com.

Great Deals....But At What Cost??

We just had a new supermarket open near me.  Now, this is a big deal.  It takes less than 5 minutes to drive to this store.  I live in a place where everything is at least 20 minutes away....so this is HUGE!  To be able to "run out" to pick up something forgotten is awesome!

For the past three weeks, I have been doing my weekly grocery shopping there,,,,something about being able to just go and be back home before the ice cream starts to melt is just fabulous!  Since this grocery store is new, they have a lot of great coupons and deals, but everything else tends to be more expensive.  But since this is still a novelty, I went grocery shopping there.

Yesterday, I had my list, I grabbed their flier, and I went shopping.  I got some really great deals!  3 jars of lower carb spaghetti sauce.....3 for $5.  Buy 2 half gallons of ice cream, get 3 free (my kids and husband love ice cream!).  Buy 2 cases of soda, get 4 six packs free! So as I emptied my cart and placed my items on the belt for the cashier, I realized that almost everything I bought and got a great deal on, were things that were not so healthy.  Most of the "great deals" were for things with added sugar, lots of empty carbs, and junk.  I mean, buying 2 bags of chips and getting 3 for free is a great deal.  I know that with cook-outs over the summer, we will use them.  But they are now in my house.  They are there, so now my husband and children want them for snack.  Even if I wanted to keep them for when friends come over, if they are available, my family will eat them.  Not to mention tempt me!

Looking at my "deals", I realized that most of the items I bought were not on my list, and the amount of unhealthy food in my cart was overwhelming.  Most of the things were not good choices.  Most of the things in my cart would not help me reach my goals. The items would not help me or my family be healthier.

Having a grocery store so close to home is awesome.....buying unhealthy food at great deals is not.  I now realize that if I want the great deals, I will have to research and make my list before I go to that store, and only buy the things that will help me to reach my goals and will help me teach my family better choices. It is too easy to go in there are put things in the cart, just because I am saving money.  I do not have to buy things just because they are on sale!

 I guess it is back to my other grocery store for now!  20 minutes isn't that far when you think about it...some deals are not deals at all!




***Are you interested in reaching Optimal Health?  I am a free Health Coach and can help you reach your goals!  Message me if you are interested in learning more!