I feel like I'm on a treadmill without actually having touched one in years!
Life's treadmill keeps my butt firmly plastered to the seat of my van, my desk chair, and the folding chair I use for face painting and sewing. Standing and walking feels good, but I have to admit, those little breaks in my day happen less often than baseball seventh inning stretches.
And I desperately need those stretches. And walks. I'm definitely on the wrong treadmill here!
This week I maintained. I cooked my fanny off this weekend (unfortunately my fanny found me when I was sleeping and reattached itself), so I have at least two kinds of soup to eat during the week. I made homemade green/berry tea (very low calorie and very tasty!) and I'm ready to start losing once more.
Spring is coming,
the grass is green,
if I start walking
I'll soon get lean!
Lessons learned:
Cooking over the weekend really helps at night during the week when I'm too tired to cook- and hunger can make me make bad choices.
I started asking friends who live close to me if they want to walk with me when I get the chance.
I need to make time to walk. Or purchase an exercise bike or home elliptical for easier access to exercise.
Sometimes I long for an unhurried schedule where I can keep track without the chaos. But until that happens, I have to persevere and get my weight down to a more manageable level. I'm still mad at myself for having almost met my 50 pound goal and slipping so far back. But I'm not going to let that stop me from getting back to that point!
Monday, February 29, 2016
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
One Year, Six Weeks: Healthy Eating on the Go!
This was a week of mixed blessings.
I did a lot of hours this week, and often didn't have time to make dinner. My husband was a great help, and cooked a few meals during the week. The good thing was we had a lot to eat- the bad thing was there was a lot of pasta and not too many veggies.
Breakfast and lunches consisted of the same foods for the most part. This week it was chicken salad with a side of sliced green peppers and apples slices or a banana for a snack...except for that one day where I bought a hoagie. A turkey hoagie with ranch dressing and bacon on a whole wheat roll. That sucker was consumed for both lunch and dinner- and worth every calorie.
I also finished off the gourmet candies my sweet husband gave me for Valentines Day. Not all at once, mind you- just a nibble here and there during the entire week.
The funny thing is the scale still showed that I lost another pound!
Now that the candy and hoagie are finished off, I can try to behave myself this week.
Lessons learned:
It's okay to indulge once in a while, as long as 'once in a while' doesn't mean ' every day'.
Rest is just as important as eating healthy. I tend to indulge more when I'm tired.
Anytime you can snatch a chance to exercise, do it!
This past weekend I took an impromptu walk with a friend. It felt great! I had to sit once or twice, (which showed me I'm in desperate need of regular exercise), but it was a great walk with a good friend. I really need to start a walking club!
On the whole not a bad week, though I admit to indulging too much. Now there's nothing in the house to tempt me, so this week should be even better!
I did a lot of hours this week, and often didn't have time to make dinner. My husband was a great help, and cooked a few meals during the week. The good thing was we had a lot to eat- the bad thing was there was a lot of pasta and not too many veggies.
Breakfast and lunches consisted of the same foods for the most part. This week it was chicken salad with a side of sliced green peppers and apples slices or a banana for a snack...except for that one day where I bought a hoagie. A turkey hoagie with ranch dressing and bacon on a whole wheat roll. That sucker was consumed for both lunch and dinner- and worth every calorie.
I also finished off the gourmet candies my sweet husband gave me for Valentines Day. Not all at once, mind you- just a nibble here and there during the entire week.
The funny thing is the scale still showed that I lost another pound!
Now that the candy and hoagie are finished off, I can try to behave myself this week.
Lessons learned:
It's okay to indulge once in a while, as long as 'once in a while' doesn't mean ' every day'.
Rest is just as important as eating healthy. I tend to indulge more when I'm tired.
Anytime you can snatch a chance to exercise, do it!
This past weekend I took an impromptu walk with a friend. It felt great! I had to sit once or twice, (which showed me I'm in desperate need of regular exercise), but it was a great walk with a good friend. I really need to start a walking club!
On the whole not a bad week, though I admit to indulging too much. Now there's nothing in the house to tempt me, so this week should be even better!
Monday, February 15, 2016
One Year, Five Weeks: Eating Lifestyle On The Upswing!
It's amazing what you can do when you stop being lazy!
I shopped. I prepped. I planned. And I lost three pounds!
310 never felt so good.
Rotisserie chicken was the main food for breakfast, with a packed salad of romaine lettuce and grape tomatoes, sans dressing. I don't need dressing, so this wasn't so much a weight loss choice but a personal one. I also took a nice crunchy apple, cored and sliced or diced melon for easy snacking.
That lasted me all morning.
For lunch there was Green Soup and an orange. For dinner? Well, I tried to keep away from the typical starchy stuff, but my husband made four trays of mac and cheese, so that's what was for dinner most of the week. I had one helping and supplemented with fruit later.
When I ran out of chicken, I did have breakfast sandwiches, but only two days that week. On the weekend I made myself special eggs (scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach and cherry tomatoes with a slice of American cheese in them) and a side of bacon. Yum!
Some days I forgot to eat lunch or didn't have time to eat, and ate what was left of my apple slices instead. I was amazed at how little I really needed to eat without feeling deprived. Sometimes I came home with leftovers!
This week I'll buy two chickens so I can also make chicken salad, and slice up some green peppers to go with it. Together they make a really good meal!
Lessons learned:
When you don't focus on food a lot, you realize you're not as hungry as you thought.
Eat when you're hungry and only when you're hungry.
Eat until satisfied- not full.
A few bites every hour or so is better than eating all at once- especially when your job is driving!
It wasn't easy doing all of this. Maintaining the fridge and keeping it full of grab-and-go good food is hard when time is limited. Sometimes I don't have time on the weekends and have to do it on my short breaks during the week- but it can be done. I just have to stop being lazy about it!
I have to remind myself that this isn't a fad diet- or any kind of 'diet' at all- this is a lifestyle I have to maintain if I want to continue losing weight- the proof is on the scale. Smart shopping works. Prepping works. Planning works. But it's up to me to keep things going!
I shopped. I prepped. I planned. And I lost three pounds!
310 never felt so good.
Rotisserie chicken was the main food for breakfast, with a packed salad of romaine lettuce and grape tomatoes, sans dressing. I don't need dressing, so this wasn't so much a weight loss choice but a personal one. I also took a nice crunchy apple, cored and sliced or diced melon for easy snacking.
That lasted me all morning.
For lunch there was Green Soup and an orange. For dinner? Well, I tried to keep away from the typical starchy stuff, but my husband made four trays of mac and cheese, so that's what was for dinner most of the week. I had one helping and supplemented with fruit later.
When I ran out of chicken, I did have breakfast sandwiches, but only two days that week. On the weekend I made myself special eggs (scrambled eggs with sauteed spinach and cherry tomatoes with a slice of American cheese in them) and a side of bacon. Yum!
Some days I forgot to eat lunch or didn't have time to eat, and ate what was left of my apple slices instead. I was amazed at how little I really needed to eat without feeling deprived. Sometimes I came home with leftovers!
This week I'll buy two chickens so I can also make chicken salad, and slice up some green peppers to go with it. Together they make a really good meal!
Lessons learned:
When you don't focus on food a lot, you realize you're not as hungry as you thought.
Eat when you're hungry and only when you're hungry.
Eat until satisfied- not full.
A few bites every hour or so is better than eating all at once- especially when your job is driving!
It wasn't easy doing all of this. Maintaining the fridge and keeping it full of grab-and-go good food is hard when time is limited. Sometimes I don't have time on the weekends and have to do it on my short breaks during the week- but it can be done. I just have to stop being lazy about it!
I have to remind myself that this isn't a fad diet- or any kind of 'diet' at all- this is a lifestyle I have to maintain if I want to continue losing weight- the proof is on the scale. Smart shopping works. Prepping works. Planning works. But it's up to me to keep things going!
Monday, February 8, 2016
One Year, Four Weeks: First I Trip, Then I Fall..Not-so-New Eating Lifestyle
You'd think after a year, I'd get the hang of this eating thing.
Of course I wasn't working outside of my home this time last year, so maybe I need to rethink my rethinking.
Got on the scale. The scale was having a bad day. It read 313.
I got off. I got on again. I rubbed the sand from my bleary eyes. But it was the same number. 313.
To be honest, I have no idea what I did to gain that much weight! Well...maybe an inkling....
Breakfast sandwiches, whether they be homemade or from the local convenience store just have too many calories- and I think the bread makes me hungrier. And tireder. Yes, I know that's not a real word- but it counts!
I'm in the proverbial rock and hard place. I need to reduce the stress, which in my case means quit at least one job. But if I stop one job, then I don't have the funds to pay off debt. I don't pay off debt, it gets bigger. The next thing you know I'll be living in a box somewhere behind the supermarket with my husband, kids and three cats.
Egad.
No time to relax, no time to quit. But there is a solution. Work a little harder during the small breaks I do have to start an at-home biz. Once I get the ball rolling there, one job can be cut- the one that uses up the most hours. Fortunately it's also the one that I don't have to work if I don't want to (and yes, right now I have to).
Oh goody...more stress. But stress with a goal.
Okay, enough about time. Let's talk food.
Most of the foods I had this past week involved bread, pasta or rice. Rice isn't so bad in small quantities (like in my clear broth soups), but the former two are causing issues. This weekend, we made four different casserole dishes of mac and cheese with ham, each one a different recipe.
Mac and cheese with ham is good hot or cold, but I'm avoiding it like the plague because of the big weight gain- I just don't want to risk being hungrier and craving more!
I also stopped the breakfast sandwiches and had two boiled eggs, some rotisserie chicken, and some lettuce this morning. Okay, I packed all of this for my breakfast, and only ate the eggs so far. The chicken and lettuce will be a snack later this afternoon. I came home and had Green Soup for lunch. This is a very low-cal soup, containing julienne pork or chicken (right now it's pork), carrots, rice, and spinach in a chicken broth. Goood eatin'!
I'm still writing the recipe book and when it's done, this recipe will be in it.
I'm also taking an apple with me, all sliced and ready to eat neatly in the van between jobs. The goal is to limit the bread and pasta and see what happens. All I know is i don't want to gain any more weight.
Sometimes it's the hard falls that rattle you enough to make changes. This is one of those times.
Lessons Learned:
Whether you trip or fall, keep getting up- before you can't get up.
Sometimes you just have to pull up your sleeves and work a little harder before you can relax a little.
Sometimes you also have to make yourself a meal if the current choices are not the best for you.
Just because there's plenty of it, doesn't mean you eat plenty of it!
I'm starting to feel the weight in my clothing, my knees, and in my walk. It's not pleasant, trust me. I've just been too busy to notice-or care. But I have to care if I want to make any kind of progress. No more skating by, hoping I'll get away with it. I'll own the losses or the gains. I'll fix what I can, change what I can, and cry when I can't handle things. Then I'll pray, get up, and start all over again!
Of course I wasn't working outside of my home this time last year, so maybe I need to rethink my rethinking.
Got on the scale. The scale was having a bad day. It read 313.
I got off. I got on again. I rubbed the sand from my bleary eyes. But it was the same number. 313.
To be honest, I have no idea what I did to gain that much weight! Well...maybe an inkling....
Breakfast sandwiches, whether they be homemade or from the local convenience store just have too many calories- and I think the bread makes me hungrier. And tireder. Yes, I know that's not a real word- but it counts!
I'm in the proverbial rock and hard place. I need to reduce the stress, which in my case means quit at least one job. But if I stop one job, then I don't have the funds to pay off debt. I don't pay off debt, it gets bigger. The next thing you know I'll be living in a box somewhere behind the supermarket with my husband, kids and three cats.
Egad.
No time to relax, no time to quit. But there is a solution. Work a little harder during the small breaks I do have to start an at-home biz. Once I get the ball rolling there, one job can be cut- the one that uses up the most hours. Fortunately it's also the one that I don't have to work if I don't want to (and yes, right now I have to).
Oh goody...more stress. But stress with a goal.
Okay, enough about time. Let's talk food.
Most of the foods I had this past week involved bread, pasta or rice. Rice isn't so bad in small quantities (like in my clear broth soups), but the former two are causing issues. This weekend, we made four different casserole dishes of mac and cheese with ham, each one a different recipe.
Mac and cheese with ham is good hot or cold, but I'm avoiding it like the plague because of the big weight gain- I just don't want to risk being hungrier and craving more!
I also stopped the breakfast sandwiches and had two boiled eggs, some rotisserie chicken, and some lettuce this morning. Okay, I packed all of this for my breakfast, and only ate the eggs so far. The chicken and lettuce will be a snack later this afternoon. I came home and had Green Soup for lunch. This is a very low-cal soup, containing julienne pork or chicken (right now it's pork), carrots, rice, and spinach in a chicken broth. Goood eatin'!
I'm still writing the recipe book and when it's done, this recipe will be in it.
I'm also taking an apple with me, all sliced and ready to eat neatly in the van between jobs. The goal is to limit the bread and pasta and see what happens. All I know is i don't want to gain any more weight.
Sometimes it's the hard falls that rattle you enough to make changes. This is one of those times.
Lessons Learned:
Whether you trip or fall, keep getting up- before you can't get up.
Sometimes you just have to pull up your sleeves and work a little harder before you can relax a little.
Sometimes you also have to make yourself a meal if the current choices are not the best for you.
Just because there's plenty of it, doesn't mean you eat plenty of it!
I'm starting to feel the weight in my clothing, my knees, and in my walk. It's not pleasant, trust me. I've just been too busy to notice-or care. But I have to care if I want to make any kind of progress. No more skating by, hoping I'll get away with it. I'll own the losses or the gains. I'll fix what I can, change what I can, and cry when I can't handle things. Then I'll pray, get up, and start all over again!
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
One Year, Three Weeks: Emotional Eating- The Lifestyle Eaters' Wrecking Ball
The past two weeks have been rough.
We were hit with a huge snowstorm.
Because of the snow, I couldn't do my regular jobs.
Two family members had severe health issues.
The van needed some repairs.
Experiencing one of these can put an emotional eater off track. But all four? Let's just say I haven't been on my best behavior.
I ate good food (for the most part), but I ate too much of it. Yet my weight has maintained for the past two weeks- I can't tell you how relieved I am! I thought for sure I'd gained.
But I'm tired. Being tired makes me lazy and when I'm lazy I don't usually prepare my veggie and fruit snacks. It also makes me want to eat chips and other comfort foods. Bad, bad, bad.
I had a breakthrough today! I was food shopping, and chips were on sale. On. Sale. Seriously? My favorite 'no-no' food that I so desperately craved was not only right there in my face in bulk, but at a bargain price! I took two bags and tossed them in my cart.
Two steps later, I yanked them out of my cart and put them back. Then I finished shopping, sans chips. A small breakthrough, but a breakthrough nonetheless.
Instead I bought cantaloupe, honeydew and apples and prepped them as soon as I got home. I'm going to win this war!
Lessons learned:
Anything that goes in the cart can come back out any time before checkout.
Keep your hands busy when you're stressed.
Walk when you're stressed.
Do anything else but eat when you're stressed!
Stuff happens. How you react to it is entirely up to you, not the chips or the sale signs.
It's been a rotten two weeks. But I celebrate every breakthrough and blessing, no matter how small. God loves that. He's the only reason I keep going every time I stumble. And if you read this blog regularly, you know I stumble a lot. God just picks me up, dusts me off, and helps me try again. And if He can do that with me, He'll do it for you too!
Remember what Dory said..."Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." Imma get mah bathin' suit...how about you?
We were hit with a huge snowstorm.
Because of the snow, I couldn't do my regular jobs.
Two family members had severe health issues.
The van needed some repairs.
Experiencing one of these can put an emotional eater off track. But all four? Let's just say I haven't been on my best behavior.
I ate good food (for the most part), but I ate too much of it. Yet my weight has maintained for the past two weeks- I can't tell you how relieved I am! I thought for sure I'd gained.
But I'm tired. Being tired makes me lazy and when I'm lazy I don't usually prepare my veggie and fruit snacks. It also makes me want to eat chips and other comfort foods. Bad, bad, bad.
I had a breakthrough today! I was food shopping, and chips were on sale. On. Sale. Seriously? My favorite 'no-no' food that I so desperately craved was not only right there in my face in bulk, but at a bargain price! I took two bags and tossed them in my cart.
Two steps later, I yanked them out of my cart and put them back. Then I finished shopping, sans chips. A small breakthrough, but a breakthrough nonetheless.
Instead I bought cantaloupe, honeydew and apples and prepped them as soon as I got home. I'm going to win this war!
Lessons learned:
Anything that goes in the cart can come back out any time before checkout.
Keep your hands busy when you're stressed.
Walk when you're stressed.
Do anything else but eat when you're stressed!
Stuff happens. How you react to it is entirely up to you, not the chips or the sale signs.
It's been a rotten two weeks. But I celebrate every breakthrough and blessing, no matter how small. God loves that. He's the only reason I keep going every time I stumble. And if you read this blog regularly, you know I stumble a lot. God just picks me up, dusts me off, and helps me try again. And if He can do that with me, He'll do it for you too!
Remember what Dory said..."Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." Imma get mah bathin' suit...how about you?
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