It's official - I am claiming a "do-over" for this Lifestyle Challenge. Praise the Lord for second chances! I had such great intentions as a embarked on this aspect of my journey, but totally discounted the demand and stress that the first weeks of school bring! This first week back with teachers was all about the eating out and catching up...and I knew it would be--I definitely should have planned better! The first week with the kids was a bit easier (no more getting away for a relaxing lunch out), but by the time I got home, I was just so exhausted. If I am to take this seriously and make an intentional choice to change my lifestyle, I must get more disciplined in all areas of my life: bedtime routine, food choices, walking and exercise. I am coming to realize that making healthy lifestyle choices is all about the self-discipline...talking the talk is SO much easier than walking the walk. I know what to do, but I make the wrong choices anyway! I understand better why there are so many overweight folks in the health care industry - they also know what to do, but when you are so tired at the end of the day, the desire to conform your will to the self-discipline that is needed to make the wise choices is just so hard!
I've always heard that once you do anything for three weeks, it becomes a habit-perhaps this works with changing a lifestyle, as well. We'll see...I'm going to start this week with a fresh focus and a bit more sleep, and do better!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Back to School!
It's Friday...finally! It's amazing how the first week of school can seem soooo long! The first week of classes should never last five days...remember when school would start on a Wednesday and you would get to slowly re-acclimated to the routine of the new school year? I always forget how exhausting the first week of school is, but I figured out in the shower this morning why I am so tired: I am getting up three hours earlier, but only going to bed 1 hour earlier! My circadian rhythms are all off...and that's about the only rhythm I have. And Dr. Oz said something the other day about circadian rhythms and diet, something about if your circadian rhythm is off this can affect your eating patterns...and I thought "That's it! It's not me! I'm not off; it's my rhythm!"
Honestly, though, I get home, get supper on the table and sit down, and then it happens: I become almost instantly zombie-like! My arms and legs feel as though they are lead weights, and my energy is completely zapped! And you may have guessed, though my eating patterns once I get home aren't bad (it's hard to be tempted when your napping in your chair!), the patterns at school with all the stress of the first week back and a new prep and taking care of my responsibilities there keep me from making wise choices! I have definitely let me determination slide, and I am not happy about this at all. But I don't want to beat myself up either--perhaps starting a new lifestyle challenge when my day-to-day was about to get crazy was not the best plan.
Time to regroup...can lifestyle challenges have do-overs? Other aspects of life do, and I really need one here. I need to get back on that gazelle and continue to track my challenge to live a healthy lifestyle and get my act together! A do-over is not admitting defeat...I am not defeated, in fact, I have not gained a pound from my starting weight on Day 1 of the challenge. Time for a deep cleansing breath and a fresh focus. Let the games begin...
Honestly, though, I get home, get supper on the table and sit down, and then it happens: I become almost instantly zombie-like! My arms and legs feel as though they are lead weights, and my energy is completely zapped! And you may have guessed, though my eating patterns once I get home aren't bad (it's hard to be tempted when your napping in your chair!), the patterns at school with all the stress of the first week back and a new prep and taking care of my responsibilities there keep me from making wise choices! I have definitely let me determination slide, and I am not happy about this at all. But I don't want to beat myself up either--perhaps starting a new lifestyle challenge when my day-to-day was about to get crazy was not the best plan.
Time to regroup...can lifestyle challenges have do-overs? Other aspects of life do, and I really need one here. I need to get back on that gazelle and continue to track my challenge to live a healthy lifestyle and get my act together! A do-over is not admitting defeat...I am not defeated, in fact, I have not gained a pound from my starting weight on Day 1 of the challenge. Time for a deep cleansing breath and a fresh focus. Let the games begin...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Day 8 - Having a Daily Schedule is a Good Thing!
So, I started this challenge just over a week ago, and did pretty well the first couple of days...and then after a flurry of meals out (with teacher friends I hadn't seen in months!), I came to a few conclusions. Lessons learned, if you will...
- Starches are NOT my friends!
- Eating out can sabotage a diet in NO TIME! Always plan ahead and check out the nutrition facts online and choose your meal BEFORE you get there and see what everyone else is choosing!
- 30 minutes of Gazelling will NOT make up for fried onion strings and jalapenos at Chili's!
- Italian (my all-time favorite!) like Carino's and Joe's should be avoided at all costs-reserved for special occasions only! (Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that my family does not like Italian very much...I just thought they were crazy!)
- Fitting in the required fruits, veggies, dairy and fiber doesn't leave room for much else!
- Having a routine (and being back in school) makes forming a habit much, MUCH easier!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
TLC-Day 2
Today was a bit tougher-though I didn't realize it until I sat down with my food journal and calculator just a few minutes ago! Making a lifestyle change really does require vigilance and commitment...I hope this gets easier after day 21! I've always heard that once you do something for 3 weeks it becomes a habit...and habits you don't really have to think about so much! That will be a very good thing! But I must say that keeping the food diary is really making me think about what I am putting in my mouth! Right now, though I'm not even hungry one bit, I am really wanting to crunch something. I figured out long ago that I am an auditory eater...I like to hear my food crunch...just eating yogurt without adding grapenuts seems just like sipping a few spoonfuls of cold soup! I need the crunch to satisfy that part of the experience! Crazy, huh? Probably why I love chips and popcorn so much too-that crunch AND the salt!
On the Special K box, it says that if you follow the Special K diet for two weeks (Special K or a Special K product for two meals a day, and a sensible meal for the other meal), you will lose an inch in your waist! I measured yesterday, just to see what would happen-even though I'm not really taking the Special K Challenge. I did once before though, and exceeded expectations! This was a couple of years ago--then the box said that if you followed the Special K diet, you would lose up to 6 pounds in two weeks. I followed the diet plan...and two weeks later, I had lost 9.5 pounds! I did sometimes substitute Fiber 1 bars for the lunch bowl of cereal, but mostly for practical purposes. It's not easy to eat a bowl of cereal from home for lunch when at school!
Today's results: 1477 calories, 30 minutes power walking
11 fibers, 1 dairy, 0 fruits, 3 veggies
Conclusion: I really need to figure out a way to up my fruits and veggies, fit in one more dairy, and still not go over 1500 calories! Probably eating at home and not out for two meals would be a start!
On the Special K box, it says that if you follow the Special K diet for two weeks (Special K or a Special K product for two meals a day, and a sensible meal for the other meal), you will lose an inch in your waist! I measured yesterday, just to see what would happen-even though I'm not really taking the Special K Challenge. I did once before though, and exceeded expectations! This was a couple of years ago--then the box said that if you followed the Special K diet, you would lose up to 6 pounds in two weeks. I followed the diet plan...and two weeks later, I had lost 9.5 pounds! I did sometimes substitute Fiber 1 bars for the lunch bowl of cereal, but mostly for practical purposes. It's not easy to eat a bowl of cereal from home for lunch when at school!
Today's results: 1477 calories, 30 minutes power walking
11 fibers, 1 dairy, 0 fruits, 3 veggies
Conclusion: I really need to figure out a way to up my fruits and veggies, fit in one more dairy, and still not go over 1500 calories! Probably eating at home and not out for two meals would be a start!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Lifestyle Challenge-Day 1
Day 1: Here we go! Smooth start to this challenge! Stayed busy helping husband with the yard most of the day (planting two trees and a pallet of sod) and that helped a lot! I will say that keeping the food diary will be the hardest...and I know this from experience! In the past, I often began each day well, but after 4pm nothing ever seems to get written down-but NOT this time! I also know that this is not condusive to success, hence the challenge! I heard on Dave Ramsey the other night: "If you keep on doing the same thing, but expecting different results, you define insanity!" That is my problem-I've just been stabbing at the food diary off and on since January, and not doing it well, but still a bit surprised that the pounds were not just falling off!
"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3
This time around, I'm committing this to the Lord, and I pray for success and thank him for his faithfulness.
Results for today: took in only 1373 calories! Yea!
Exercised (gazelling) only 20 minutes (need to work on this!)
16 fibers, 3 fruits, 2 veggies, 1 dairy (need to work on this, too!)
"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3
This time around, I'm committing this to the Lord, and I pray for success and thank him for his faithfulness.
Results for today: took in only 1373 calories! Yea!
Exercised (gazelling) only 20 minutes (need to work on this!)
16 fibers, 3 fruits, 2 veggies, 1 dairy (need to work on this, too!)
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Lifestyle Challenge
OK, so I've been thinking it's time to get serious about getting healthy-then I can be fit and fabulous at 50, right? Now to be honest, I've been on many, MANY diets, but the diets I've had the most success with (able to get to a healthy weight and maintain for several years each time) have been those that had me counting calories, keeping a food diary, and moving. But I want to make this change for life, not just for a few years, so I need more than a diet, I need a lifestyle that I will want to live with for the rest of my healthy and fabulous life, right?
So I started looking at an eating lifestyle that I can live with, meal plans that will satisfy me AND my family...and fit into our crazy schedule when school is in session and no one gets home before 6, but we still try to eat before 7. I've been perusing books, reading articles, catching up with Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen, and checking out the newspaper where I found two ads that really intrigued me: At NutriSystem, there was an offer to lose 20 pounds in 8 weeks, and another ad from Metabolic Research that suggested one could lose 25 pounds in 5 weeks. I got to thinking, if I considered all of the things I had learned and combined the differnet premises, I could probably do just as well on my own AND save hundreds of dollars on the journey!
+I need to keep my calories between 1200 and 1500 per day.
+I need to exercise at least 40 minutes a day--powerwalking plus some core/weights work.
+I need to plan a menu my family could live with.
Doctors Oz and Roizen suggested that reducing choices is a great way to keep track of calories and to keep on track. So, I came up with three different meal plans for breakfast and for lunch:
Breakfast #1: whole grain toast, jam and 1 cup of 1% milk (170calories/4fibers/13proteins)
Breakfast #2: cereal and 1 cup 1% milk-->Special K, 1 cup (230/1/11)
-->MiniWheats, 24 biscuits (300/5/12)
Breakfast #3: SF Carnation Instant Breakfast w/ 1% milk (170/4/13)
Lunch #1: Fiber 1 Bar (150/9/3) and fruit
Lunch #2: Oatmeal Bar (220/5/4) and fruit
Lunch #3: Subway 6inch (320
So...breakfasts under 300, lunches between 250 and 350. That leaves about 600-800 for the rest of the day--snacks and a sensible supper! Not too bad. My plan is this--to follow this new lifestyle plan for 8 weeks and see if I can lose 20 pounds without paying all the cash required by these other programs! The challenge begins Monday...and it will be a challenge! We have two (semi-structured) weeks before school starts--those will be the hardest! Once school starts, and we get back to a routine, things will get a bit easier. We'll see...
So I started looking at an eating lifestyle that I can live with, meal plans that will satisfy me AND my family...and fit into our crazy schedule when school is in session and no one gets home before 6, but we still try to eat before 7. I've been perusing books, reading articles, catching up with Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen, and checking out the newspaper where I found two ads that really intrigued me: At NutriSystem, there was an offer to lose 20 pounds in 8 weeks, and another ad from Metabolic Research that suggested one could lose 25 pounds in 5 weeks. I got to thinking, if I considered all of the things I had learned and combined the differnet premises, I could probably do just as well on my own AND save hundreds of dollars on the journey!
+I need to keep my calories between 1200 and 1500 per day.
+I need to exercise at least 40 minutes a day--powerwalking plus some core/weights work.
+I need to plan a menu my family could live with.
Doctors Oz and Roizen suggested that reducing choices is a great way to keep track of calories and to keep on track. So, I came up with three different meal plans for breakfast and for lunch:
Breakfast #1: whole grain toast, jam and 1 cup of 1% milk (170calories/4fibers/13proteins)
Breakfast #2: cereal and 1 cup 1% milk-->Special K, 1 cup (230/1/11)
-->MiniWheats, 24 biscuits (300/5/12)
Breakfast #3: SF Carnation Instant Breakfast w/ 1% milk (170/4/13)
Lunch #1: Fiber 1 Bar (150/9/3) and fruit
Lunch #2: Oatmeal Bar (220/5/4) and fruit
Lunch #3: Subway 6inch (320
So...breakfasts under 300, lunches between 250 and 350. That leaves about 600-800 for the rest of the day--snacks and a sensible supper! Not too bad. My plan is this--to follow this new lifestyle plan for 8 weeks and see if I can lose 20 pounds without paying all the cash required by these other programs! The challenge begins Monday...and it will be a challenge! We have two (semi-structured) weeks before school starts--those will be the hardest! Once school starts, and we get back to a routine, things will get a bit easier. We'll see...
Sunday, August 2, 2009
My Face is Betraying Me!
Which is better...to be a person who has a "transparent" face (meaning that he/she reveals what they are thinking by the look on the face, whether it is disapproval or joy or concern) or to be a person who has a poker face (meaning that the look on the face reveals nothing about what they are thinking)? I have been asking my friends this question all weekend because it hit me sometime in the last few days that I have a very transparent face! According to my family and several friends, you can gage my approval or disapproval just by the look on my face...and I'm appalled! I want a poker face! I don't want my face to betray my thoughts, my feelings or my reactions, especially when my reaction is going to offend the very person I am talking to!
One friend suggests that I should "go for transparency. It's honest and efficient, though riskier (be ready to deal with the consequences of an honest look). I have found that most people appreciate others who don't hide their reactions." I had not considered this aspect before--perhaps people appreciate my (blatant) honesty! But another trusted friend, on the other hand, allows that sometimes you need that poker face, as well: "Most of the time I go for transparent but if you are trying to minister to people sometimes you have to have a poker face. You have to hate the sin but not show shock at what they are wearing or doing to reach them." Good point! And that is my greatest concern--that my face is somehow communicating my judgment ...and we're not supposed to be judging others! I don't intend to hurt feelings or convey my disappointment, but apparently I do, and how can this be a good thing?
How do I learn to have a poker face?
One friend suggests that I should "go for transparency. It's honest and efficient, though riskier (be ready to deal with the consequences of an honest look). I have found that most people appreciate others who don't hide their reactions." I had not considered this aspect before--perhaps people appreciate my (blatant) honesty! But another trusted friend, on the other hand, allows that sometimes you need that poker face, as well: "Most of the time I go for transparent but if you are trying to minister to people sometimes you have to have a poker face. You have to hate the sin but not show shock at what they are wearing or doing to reach them." Good point! And that is my greatest concern--that my face is somehow communicating my judgment ...and we're not supposed to be judging others! I don't intend to hurt feelings or convey my disappointment, but apparently I do, and how can this be a good thing?
How do I learn to have a poker face?
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Life is a Journey
Life is a journey, and I LOVE to travel. Here in this place, I want to share my thoughts and observations as I continue on this journey, this adventure called life. I am fascinated and amazed by so much that surrounds me, but sometimes I let the worries of life interfere with that sense of wonder that is in my heart. In Philippians, we are told to let our "gentleness be evident to all" and here lately I have been thinking that my gentleness has gotten away from me. In this place, through this medium, I hope to find my way back to the person I was intended to be, and along the way, strive to be a bit of a blessing to others in the process.
Life truly is a bit of a road to travel, and it always looks like some are driving this road in big, fancy cars and speeding right past us. Some folks just seem to have more fun, while others are facing the potholes of disappointment. We each have our own path to walk, and whether you join me on my journey for a day or for a season or for a lifetime, I hope you enjoy the view as we journey toward the gentleness that is intended for us all.
Life truly is a bit of a road to travel, and it always looks like some are driving this road in big, fancy cars and speeding right past us. Some folks just seem to have more fun, while others are facing the potholes of disappointment. We each have our own path to walk, and whether you join me on my journey for a day or for a season or for a lifetime, I hope you enjoy the view as we journey toward the gentleness that is intended for us all.
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