Treading Lightly- My path to healthy living!

4lbs GONE! Not bad for a challenging week!

2009-08-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

So I weighed myself today, and I'm down 4lbs! So even though "Shredding" has been a major challenge, I guess it's working!

Yesterday was a not-so-good diet day. I'm learning my "triggers" when it comes to eating too much. My biggest trigger is allowing myself to get too hungry before I eat. Basically, I ate lunch yesterday, and then Matt and I were volunteering for an event last night. Well, I ended up spending my dinner time getting ready to leave, and then didn't eat. We got home around 10:30pm and I was starving. So I ate a quesadilla. I was still hungry, so I ate another. Then I realized I blew it, so I had a bowl of ice cream...lol! Not my finest diet moment!

My other trigger is telling myself I'll "just eat one" of whatever it is I really like. The problem is, I can't stop at just one. So if I make a batch of macaroons (which are my favorite thing ever) and then I freeze them, I will eat them. If I say "I'll just have one as a treat" I won't just have one, I'll justify my eating all of them, and then feel guilty. So it's better for me to not leave temptation lying around! Plus, I really enjoy healthy foods. The other night I was hungry, but was almost out of calories for the day. I happened to have a bag of spinach, and a container of mushrooms. So I made myself a plate of them, and ate that for a snack-- for about 20 calories. No guilt, plus it's good for you! I just need to remember that when ~~macaroons~~ temptations are staring me in the face! I LIKE HEALTHY FOODS!! I'm going to keep saying that to myself!

Here's hoping that next week is as good diet-wise as this week has been!

Dude, my abs HURT! Wait, I have abs? (Shred day 2)

2009-08-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, Jillian Michaels is both my best friend and my worst enemy right now! My whole body hurts! Typing this is painful! Never mind that when she's lecturing me about "pushing through the pain" and telling me "if you want a 20 minute workout that works you don't get to rest" I have to tell myself not to through my hand-weight through the TV!

I woke up sore. Not just "oh, I'm a little from my work-out yesterday" sore. More like "How in the heck am I going to get out of bed?" sore! I have to say it's a good feeling! It's been a long time since a workout has kicked my butt as much as this one has. Doing "The Shred today was both more challenging, and easier then yesterday. Yesterday, I was learning the moves. Heck, I didn't even know how to do a crunch properly. I've done crunches before, but never felt sore-- which means I must not have been doing it right. Today, I feel like someone socked me in the gut. Now that I know the moves, it's a challenge to stick with them!

I thought that I would start posting what I've been eating. I'm trying to stick to between 1200-1300 calories a day.

Breakfast
Bananas A 136 121
Egg, White - Raw, Fresh A 33 48
Spinach - Raw A 100 23
Lunch
Penne - Barilla Plus B 56 200
Light Ricotta Cheese A- 62 60
Light String Cheese Snacks C 21 50
Dinner
Low-Cal Vegetarian "Mushroom" Stroganoff B 373 263
Low-Cal Vegetarian "Mushroom" Stroganoff B 373 263
Snacks
Fudgsicle Bars - Multipacks - Fudgsicle C 75 100
Total Calories Consumed 1,127

	Breakfast
	Bananas	A	136	121
	Egg, White - Raw, Fresh	A	33	48
	Spinach - Raw	A	100	23
	Lunch
	Penne - Barilla Plus	B	56	200
	Light Ricotta Cheese	A-	62	60
	Light String Cheese Snacks	C	21	50
	Dinner
	Low-Cal Vegetarian "Mushroom" Stroganoff	B	373	263
	Low-Cal Vegetarian "Mushroom" Stroganoff	B	373	263
	Snacks
	Fudgsicle Bars - Multipacks - Fudgsicle	C	75	100
Total Calories Consumed	1,127

That's 1,127 Calories total! Oh yeah, plus the Oatmeal raisin cookie I had... so 1,227! ;-)

I'm not trying to push vegetarianism here, but getting my protein from sources other then meat has made eating low cal a lot easier. If you're at all familiar with the volumetric diet, you know what I mean. I eat a lot of low-cal foods, so I never feel hungry. I eat a lot of black-beans which are relatively low in calories considering the amount of protein they contain. Of course, I've been trying to cut down the dairy in my diet for many reasons (too many hormones, saturated fat, and deplorable mistreatment of dairy cows to name a few) but it has been the single most challenging thing for me (as you can tell by my food log). Way harder then giving up meat ever was. I try to stick to organic dairy, but there are a ton of vegan options that I could do, I just have to make up my mind to do it.

I'll post my Mushroom Stroganoff recipe later! It's really yummy for being so low in calories!

The Shred (aka: one way to kill a fat girl)

2009-08-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

WOW! I now know how people on The Biggest Loser lose weight so quickly. I decided to get a copy of Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I heard some great things about it, and had been wanting to try it out. Now, I watch Biggest Loser, and I know that Jillian can be pretty tough. What I didn't expect, was for the "beginners" level of The Shred to kill me. Boy did it ever!

I drank a glass of ice water, and turned it on. I was tired after the 1 minute warm-up...lol! I stuck with it, but noticed something interesting. Even her "backup girls" were breaking a sweat. These are girls that are obviously seasoned in their exercise profession. Not to mention, I think they weighed 105lbs all together! ;-) I am a big girl! Anything they do is going to be about 50 times more intense for me. About 10 minutes into it, I was so close to turning it off. I didn't though, I stuck with it. It didn't get any easier, and I had to modify the already modified versions of the exercises. I couldn't even get up after the "cool down"! I feel it, and it feels good. But it's going to be a LONG 30 days!!

-15

2009-08-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it's taken some time, but I am down 15lbs!! I have been for a month. I gained about 5lbs while we were moving, and eating junk, and I slowly started losing it again. I'd be lying if I said that dieting is fun--it's not. It's a challenge! It was a challenge for me in high school, in college, and now as a married adult. Being married to someone that is naturally thin makes it worse. I love my husband, but that man can eat! He knows how hard I try, and is constantly saying that he eats more healthfully because of me. That makes me feel better because at least he knows I really do try to be healthy.

One day Matt and I were talking about calories. I've been tracking my calories daily, and have been sticking to a diet between 1400 and 1600 calories a day. Hardly starving! So he decided he wanted to track his calories too. So the next day we both ate normally and tracked how many calories we eat without trying to watch it. I came in at about 1400-1500. Now I realize that no matter what, my eating wouldn't have been totally normal because I know how many calories are in what. But Matt's total-4250! HOLY COW!! For a 150lb man, that is a lot. Does he gain weight? NEVER! Needless to say, I didn't speak to him for the rest of the day...lol! I'm kidding!

It just shows me the importance of "movement". Sure, I have some metabolism issues, but the fact that my husband can eat over 4,000 calories in a day, but not gain weight says something. He rides his bike a lot, he's constantly walking at work, he likes to workout. In him lies the secret of skinnyhood! MOVEMENT! I work from home, so the majority of my day is at the computer, with household chores in-between. So I have to be intentional about movement. If I want to lose weight, I have to move! More on that later!

Treading Lightly--Take two!

2009-06-10T10:08:00.001-07:00

Well, if you follow my blog, you know that I've made several attempts to get healthy, only to be derailed time and time again by random happenings in my life, and my own negative self-talk. I lost around 12lbs a few months ago, and have managed to keep it off, which is good. I'm finally getting back on track now, and though it has proven to be even more difficult then last time, I'm doing ok. Slow and steady wins the race, right? ;-)
So I started again about a week and a half ago. I'm down 4 more pounds--which I'm amazed by, really. Matt and I have been going to the pool, and I really think that swimming is boosting my weight-loss. The reason a lot of people don't lose weight swimming, is because when you're done swimming, you're usually really hungry. So then you end up over-eating, and undoing all the work you did at the pool. So I've eating a small protein-rich snack before (string cheese, or sometimes a plain veggie burger) and then heading to the pool. Then I come home, make dinner, and eat again. I must be doing something right, because I'm not dying of hunger after an hour-long swim. Also, as long as I'm staying within my calories, I can eat what I want. Because I don't eat meat, I end up eating fewer overall calories, which leaves me extra calories for dressings, and things that I normally wouldn't have enough calories left to add in. So the food I eat still tastes good because i can add those extra things.
I'm still doing my daily calorie counting on http://www.calorie-count.com/ It's such an invaluable tool for keeping track of exactly what I'm eating, and how many calories. The fact the it's free to use is a definite plus! It also has an activity tracker, so I type in "swimming" it gives me a few options, and then adds up the total calories burned too. Love it! Since the last time, I increased the total number of calories I allow myself daily. I realized that by not eating enough, I was slowing down my metabolism. I looked up my BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) and realized that I needed to allow myself to eat more.
I'm really committed to sticking with what I have going right now. Things have been really stressful the last few months, as we're having major family issues, and things have been over-the-top dramatic, but I'm really hoping that I won't allow myself to fall back into the patterns I was in before!

2009-01-15T19:36:00.001-08:00

Emotional starving...

2008-07-24T00:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (well, it's after Midnight, so I guess the day before yesterday) was an awful day. Awful! It started out great, got up early, had a long conversation with a friend, ate a nice, healthy breakfast. Then it happened. I went to the In-laws and there was a huge blow up fight. I got yelled at like crazy for something that I had nothing to do with. Matt wasn't there (of course) and I left in hysterics. I got in my car, stopped by Matt's work to let him know what had happened (and am so blessed to have a husband that will defend me), then I got home and cried on the phone to a friend. Right as I hung up, I headed for the fridge. I stopped myself because I knew if I started eating, I wouldn't stop without feeling like I ruined everything I've been working for.

So I took a shower and cried it all out. I still felt the emotional void that I normally fill with food, and Matt wasn't going to be home for a few more hours. So I grabbed a Dr. Pepper and watched TV. Yeah, healthy right? Actually, it's a vast improvement from normal. Not only that, but I made it a point to sip it slowly. I don't even usually drink soda, but I notice that it's sweet enough to curb my sweet craving, but I don't enjoy the fizziness, so I'm not tempted to drink any more. I also don't drink diet things, but the 100 calories aren't too bad.

So I think I handled it well. Kept right under 1200 calories. Even enjoyed some time at Starbucks, sipping a skinny latte with the hub. I didn't end up working out, and I can't swim until next week because I have an ear infection. I did workout to wii for 30 minutes today though,a do feel great! Overall, I'm feeling awesome!

July 21st

2008-07-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

I feel so great! Really! I'm still not sleeping well, but I feel energized. it's 9pm and I still have 451 calories left and I'm not even very hungry. Of course, I will eat to my calorie fill before bed because under 1,200 calories would not be good.

I got out of bed at about 8:30am. Of course, I couldn't fall asleep last night, not sure what time I actually ended up falling asleep, it was after 1:30am. I worked out to a trashy Carmen Electra workout video, but it was actually really fun!

Then, I went to wal mart and got the new Wii Fit! It is awesome! I've already done about 45 minutes on it, and Matt did push-ups and yoga (His back is messed up, so stretching is good!) If you want to try it out before you buy one, let me know! I love my wii and I see wii fit as an investment! I love video games, so something like this is right up my alley.

So that was my day. I'm a happy girl and i feel really good! yay!

Today...

2008-07-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

Not bad, not bad!

I'm seriously full (which is another huge plus to not eating meat, I get to eat more because the thing I eat tend to be lower in calories).

Plus I took Scout to the dog park and walked for an hour and did 30 minutes of Cardio Salsa.

I still need to drink 12 more ounces of water then I've met my goals for today! Yay!

Some of my goals

2008-07-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

So, these are the things I've been working on as of lately.

1. No meat. I stopped eating meat about 6 months ago. My skin cleared up, I lost weight, I generally feel better. It's also forced me to read the labels of food, and I've been really surprised at some of the things I've seen. I'm planning on making that a permenent lifestyle change.

2. Intentional daily excercize. I'm pretty active, but I'm not intentional about it. A friend and I are going to start going walking when we would normally go out to coffee. I also have a gym membership, and I'm going to start going back to water arobics 3 days a week. I was faithful for months, but I got sick and then fell off the bandwagon.

3. Lots of water. I drink a lot, but again, I'm not intentional about it, and would drink more if I was. My goal is 32 ounces a day, if not more.

4.Paying attention to portion size. Jasmine was telling me that Vitamin Water is good for you, and I told her to look at how much sugar they contain. She said 13 grams. What she didn't realize is that the bottle she drank was 4 servings! It's easy to overlook, so I'm trying to make it a point to pay more attention

4. Completing a daily food log. When I do this, I eat far less in calories (ususally right around 1200-1300 calories a day)then when I don't.

My goals are not losing weight, or being thin or not eating any fat. If I lose weight because I'm being healthy, then awesome, but when I focus on that, the first time I step on the scale and don't see results, I give up. I don;t lose quickly, which is discourging. So I will focus on the health side.

So there it is! I'm off to enjoy my lunch of a veggie burger, salad and a nice glass of water. Then I'm going to walk the dog. Yay!

Goal Setting

2008-07-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, I suck at setting goals. Ok, I take that back, I'm fine at setting them, but I give up pretty easily. It's something I've struggled with forever. I've met very few actual goals. I don't think it's a will power issue, I think it's a confidence issue.

You see, I've never been "Skinny" or even "Thin". Never. I've been thin-er and skinny-er, but never what the world would view as thin. Even when I played sports, I was never as thin as anyone else on the team. I've got a larger frame. I'm tall and have bigger hips, which are things I've always been ok with. I like having curves. However, my whole life I've been pressured to look like someone I'm not. I've been given the bad advice that if I lost weight, or whatever, that I would be more confidant. Except news flash-Confidence doesn't come from losing weight, it comes from setting and attaining goals!! Being the giver-upper that I am, I've never had confidence that I can attain a goal I set, at least not physical goals, because the goals I've set are not realistic. So I fail every single time. Sound familiar?

People that have never struggled with their weight don't understand that. That's why it's so easy for them to point fingers and blame it on laziness. I will never be a size 4. There, I said it. I WILL NEVER BE A SIZE 4...EVER! That is okay with me, and thin people that spend their time looking down on the chunky dunkers like me should just accept that. That would be like me saying every thin person has and eating disorder, which I would never ever say. People are built differently. I know thin people that can out eat me every single time and never ever work out. I know fat people that work out a lot and eat small meals and don't lose weight.

So today is a new day. I'm going to watch what I eat, and I'm going to commit to working out, but I'm not going to kill myself over it. I'm not going to let myself fail because I'm going to make healthy, realistic goals, which I will post later, or tomorrow. I'm going to enjoy life, and eat out occasionally. Being healthy shouldn't be torture. So if you want, hop on the get healthy bandwagon. No pressure here! Let me know what your goals are! Even if it's not a physical health goal. The point is self-improvement, and we all need some!