so i have this goal. i can't really call it a "new year resolution" because it's a goal i've had for about six months now. i just haven't been very good about it. it's a goal based on a theory and my theory is based on this: i'm tired of the roller-coaster ride that comes with dieting, then failing and giving up, then getting depressed & hitting rock-bottom, only to start all over again. i thought to myself, "why can't i just be happy with who i am? yes, i can do better. but once i do better, why can't i be happy with those results? why does there always have to be higher, better results that i need to try for...why must i always be out of reach of what i want to be?"
so i decided to redefine what i wanted. and this is what i came up with: i want to be healthy. i want to be better to my body by giving it regular exercise and eating the kinds of food that will assist it in performing the way it was meant to. but i also want to have the occasional hamburger, or the rare 10-tablespoon indulgence of ice cream (or 14 donut holes, if you want to look at it that way). i want to live my life without constantly denying myself and feeling bitter.
can i be happy with the results, whatever they may be...a size 14, a size 10, a size 12 (i'm estimating (hoping) it is one of those three)...can i accept myself for who i am, knowing that i'm putting forth realistic effort in taking care of myself?i'm not saying people can't have high goals and push themselves to achieve them...who knows? maybe if i accomplish this goal, i'll finally have the push i need to
even want more. but i'm at a point in my life where i'm just ready to "be"... i don't intend to sound casual or apathetic... i just want to do what i need to so i don't feel guilty anymore about how i look or feel... i can say, "hey...i exercise, i try to eat right, and if this is who i am, so be it"
there a bunch of key "friends" or helpers that are going to help me reach my goal. in other words, tricks that are going to keep me going. here are a few of them:
lunchtime is a lot tastier when i use thinly sliced lunchmeat. my current fave is the
mesquite smoked turkey. it's great in a pita or on a bagel with lettuce and cucumbers, a little deli mustard or laughing cow cheese. i also read that if you add citrus to your water it helps burn more calories. since i actually prefer lemon in my water, that was a no-brainer!
i'm trying to get better at this, but i'm just not one to open a bag of carrots and start munching on
veggies to help my hunger woes (as i said, i'm a work in progress). so i've started incorporating one can of
V8 into my day to help my body get those vital veggie benefits. my dad says drinking V8 is like drinking celery juice. and while i have to agree that the celery flavor is strong, i like celery. so i enjoy V8, especially with ice. By the way, yesterday I had a whole BUNCH of delicious steamed broccoli with my bagel sandwich. Soooo proud of myself for that!
sunlight.
i can't tell you what sunlight does for my energy and happiness level.
i know i'm not alone here.
(and yes, my windows really are that filthy.)
i have a hard time eating
soup in the summer, but you just can't beat it on a cold winter day. i love progresso's line of light soups (italian-style vegetable and the tomato basil are my faves), however i'm a little disturbed by the enlightening campbell's commercials that informed me progresso uses MSG (it's true, i checked). so i'm giving the
campbell's light line a try...wish me luck.
i recently discovered these at costco. heaven! each yoplait bag comes with 5 pouches. inside each pouch you find frozen berries and yogurt chunks. blend it on high with 1 1/2 cups skim milk and you have a tasty and delicious
smoothy. it's so easy to make and it makes 2 LARGE cups full--i can put one cup in the freezer and have it the next day. if you're familiar with weight watchers terms, one LARGE cup is only 2 points! that means i can have something else with it for breakfast and still not be eating too much!
i mention below the "
need-for-cheese" that i have, so reduced-fat versions are a must. i love this with a greek omelette made with egg whites and green peppers. mmm.... it's a breakfast that stays with you.
a handful of
almonds each day helps with the munchies and is good for the bod.
i'm not a milk-lover. but i have a desire to drink it because i know how good it is for me. fortunately, i do love yogurt and cheese, which are calcium alternatives, but sometimes i do crave a nice tall glass of chocolate milk.
moo magic is cheap and yummy--little single packets of sugar-free chocolate flavoring i can stir into my cow juice. by the way, lately i've had a hard time finding it, so if you know what store and what aisle i can find it at, let me know!
one of the hardest, but most fattening things, i need to eat less of (notice i didn't say "give up") is cheese.
laughing cow light makes that absence a little easier to bear. i love it with fruit, on bagels, on sandwiches, etc.
gum.
sometimes i'm not really hungry but my mouth needs to be doing something.
i can thank heaven for sugar-free trident tropical orange. i buy it in bulk at costco.
fresh herbs. sometimes when you take fat or sugar out of something, it is left feeling as though it's painfully lacking. fresh herbs help fill that gap. but they can also be expensive. so i wait until they're on sale, buy a bunch, and
save them by freezing them in ice cube trays. at the end of summer last year, the local nursery was knocking down the prices of their plants and i bought this basil plant for $1. i already had some soil at home to plant it in, so once i got a pot at shopko for $2 i was homefree. it's been a flavor-saver, plus it looks pretty in my kitchen.
ok...yes,
denise austin can be totally cheesy. but this dvd was only $9 at wal-mart and i have to say, i don't think she's that bad in it. and if she ever does get on my nerves, the dvd has the option to work out with music only and no "denise instruction". the kids love to do it with me, which only makes it more fun! the best part about this dvd? it's a different work-out for each day of the week, so it gives me variation (some kick-boxing aerobics, some cardio, some weights, some abs, some yoga, etc), and each work-out is only 12 minutes long. while i wonder sometimes if that's long enough to really make a difference, my logic is that right now, that's all i can commit to on most days, so it's better than nothing. if it can produce even a little bit of result, it will have done it's purpose in helping me become motivated to incorporate exercise into my daily routine. maybe in the future i can do more, but once again...my theory is all about not feeling guilty about doing what i can and not beating myself up over what i can't.
i love these flavored beverages and they are all sugar-free.
they are a lifesaver at 9 p.m. when those
night-time cravings hit.
i'm a real
bread and carbs girl. this helps me get through it. if i can whip up this yummy cornbread and have it with my dinner, i don't feel so deprived.
my eliptical.it's collected a lot of dust since our weight watchers days, but i made a formal apology and we're friends again. especially if i can hop on it at 2:00 in the afternoon during the bonnie hunt show. then time flies.
getting more fiber is a big deal to me. in addition to switching my regular splenda to the "splenda with fiber", i love this fiber one cereal. the fiber one flake cereal isn't bad, but i can't recommend the nugget-style kind. HOWEVER...this fiber one
Caramel Delight is deeee-vine! it tastes like cinnamon toast crunch. it can be expensive, but if you keep an eye out for the general mills cereals to go on sale, stock up! it's so good, i don't even share it with the kids...i'm pretty stingy with it. it makes the kids mad, but they know it's off-limits!
and lastly,
the girls in my ward. thanks to mindy and marni who do the aerobics and pilates classes twice a week at the church. i don't go both times each week, and sometimes i don't even make it once a week. sometimes my schedule just doesn't allow for it, but when i do go, it's nice to know that's one less day i have to motivate myself at home. plus, i push myself harder and i definitely feel it the next day. thanks, ladies!
So today was my first day Gold's. I met with a trainer to consult my goals and develop a plan to meet them. It was pretty insightful and actually almost emotional to share the desires and goals I have for my physical body (I know...I'm a dork...I almost started crying. Twice.). But you know, learning to take care of our bodies as well as learning to accept them and find joy in them, despite what we feel might be flaws IS an emotional, and often difficult, journey. So yeah, I feel like I'm not too wrong feel all emo about it. Anyway, after talking we did a little workout. All I can say is that I did the right thing joining a gym... I had such a difficult time doing what the trainer asked me to do, and they were really quite simple things, that I'm more convinced than ever that my body is crying out desperately for me to help myself. I'm excited to see where the next year or two years is going to take me. The trainer asked me what I thought the hardest part would be? What would be the biggest roadblock for me to reach my goals? Hands down I said, "TIME." I don't have a hard time getting motivated, I just have a hard time finding time to exercise. The biggest change I have to make is how I look at the time-factor. In the past, I tried to FIND time. This time around, I have to MAKE time. I think I'd consider myself a pretty busy person. I'm a mother of 3 young children. I'm a wife. I take care of a home and yard (I'm not saying alone, of course...I'm in a partnership here. But nonetheless, even when you're doing it with somebody, these things are major components of what "takes up your time"). I have a church calling that is pretty demanding. It's definitely the highest-maintenance calling I have EVER accepted in the church. I teach piano. I visit teach. I write a missionary. I have family members and friends I like to take care of when I see a need. Blah, blah, blah, I could go on and on, and I know that every single woman out there is in the same boat I am. Maybe our list of "to-do's" varies, but I know the fact that I have many things pulling for my time is not unique to me. If I don't MAKE working out a priority--something I'm unwilling to sacrifice; something I'll schedule AROUND instead of cancelling or changing; something I'm willing to tell people, "I'm sorry, but I'm unavailable" if they ask for my help during the time I've set aside for my body. That's the biggest adjustment I'll feel in my life--I need to constantly remind myself that it's worth it. That * I * am worth it. And that I don't need to feel guilty about it. So yeah...changes in my schedule are in my future. But so are changes in how I feel about myself and how healthy I am. It's penciled onto my calendar and I'm ready to do it!
lunchtime is a lot tastier when i use thinly sliced lunchmeat. my current fave is the mesquite smoked turkey. it's great in a pita or on a bagel with lettuce and cucumbers, a little deli mustard or laughing cow cheese. i also read that if you add citrus to your water it helps burn more calories. since i actually prefer lemon in my water, that was a no-brainer!
i'm trying to get better at this, but i'm just not one to open a bag of carrots and start munching on veggies to help my hunger woes (as i said, i'm a work in progress). so i've started incorporating one can of V8 into my day to help my body get those vital veggie benefits. my dad says drinking V8 is like drinking celery juice. and while i have to agree that the celery flavor is strong, i like celery. so i enjoy V8, especially with ice. By the way, yesterday I had a whole BUNCH of delicious steamed broccoli with my bagel sandwich. Soooo proud of myself for that!
sunlight.
i have a hard time eating soup in the summer, but you just can't beat it on a cold winter day. i love progresso's line of light soups (italian-style vegetable and the tomato basil are my faves), however i'm a little disturbed by the enlightening campbell's commercials that informed me progresso uses MSG (it's true, i checked). so i'm giving the campbell's light line a try...wish me luck.
i recently discovered these at costco. heaven! each yoplait bag comes with 5 pouches. inside each pouch you find frozen berries and yogurt chunks. blend it on high with 1 1/2 cups skim milk and you have a tasty and delicious smoothy. it's so easy to make and it makes 2 LARGE cups full--i can put one cup in the freezer and have it the next day. if you're familiar with weight watchers terms, one LARGE cup is only 2 points! that means i can have something else with it for breakfast and still not be eating too much!
i mention below the "need-for-cheese" that i have, so reduced-fat versions are a must. i love this with a greek omelette made with egg whites and green peppers. mmm.... it's a breakfast that stays with you.
a handful of almonds each day helps with the munchies and is good for the bod.
i'm not a milk-lover. but i have a desire to drink it because i know how good it is for me. fortunately, i do love yogurt and cheese, which are calcium alternatives, but sometimes i do crave a nice tall glass of chocolate milk. moo magic is cheap and yummy--little single packets of sugar-free chocolate flavoring i can stir into my cow juice. by the way, lately i've had a hard time finding it, so if you know what store and what aisle i can find it at, let me know!
one of the hardest, but most fattening things, i need to eat less of (notice i didn't say "give up") is cheese. laughing cow light makes that absence a little easier to bear. i love it with fruit, on bagels, on sandwiches, etc.
gum.
fresh herbs. 
ok...yes, denise austin can be totally cheesy. but this dvd was only $9 at wal-mart and i have to say, i don't think she's that bad in it. and if she ever does get on my nerves, the dvd has the option to work out with music only and no "denise instruction". the kids love to do it with me, which only makes it more fun! the best part about this dvd? it's a different work-out for each day of the week, so it gives me variation (some kick-boxing aerobics, some cardio, some weights, some abs, some yoga, etc), and each work-out is only 12 minutes long. while i wonder sometimes if that's long enough to really make a difference, my logic is that right now, that's all i can commit to on most days, so it's better than nothing. if it can produce even a little bit of result, it will have done it's purpose in helping me become motivated to incorporate exercise into my daily routine. maybe in the future i can do more, but once again...my theory is all about not feeling guilty about doing what i can and not beating myself up over what i can't.
i love these flavored beverages and they are all sugar-free.
i'm a real bread and carbs girl. this helps me get through it. if i can whip up this yummy cornbread and have it with my dinner, i don't feel so deprived.
my eliptical.
getting more fiber is a big deal to me. in addition to switching my regular splenda to the "splenda with fiber", i love this fiber one cereal. the fiber one flake cereal isn't bad, but i can't recommend the nugget-style kind. HOWEVER...this fiber one Caramel Delight is deeee-vine! it tastes like cinnamon toast crunch. it can be expensive, but if you keep an eye out for the general mills cereals to go on sale, stock up! it's so good, i don't even share it with the kids...i'm pretty stingy with it. it makes the kids mad, but they know it's off-limits!
