Setbacks and Successes

Love this thought. And both setback and success describe my past week. The 21 Day Fix is wonderful. I love the 30 minute workouts. They allow for do-able, consistent morning workouts. The containers are a great visual for understanding proper portions.
     This past week I managed to exercise and follow most of the container portions. There were a couple of setbacks - usually pertaining to food; however, those setbacks were not nearly what they would have been in the past. And even with those, I managed to lose 4 pounds this week!
    




The beauty of this program, for me, is that I am learning that when I eat clean for the most part, those times when I want something "not so clean" are more enjoyable and less detrimental to my health overall. And my mentality about food has changed. I no longer think that just because I "stumble on the path" I have to end the journey or allow the stumble to turn in to a full blown crash. Truth is sometimes stumbling causes a refocusing on the path itself. This journey is for life, I may stumble, but I will not be detoured from the path on my journey to better health.

Sweets, treats, and More Sweets - Just say NO

     Sweets, treats, and more sweets - all on the second day of the 21 Day Fix. And NONE of those have a colored container. First, there is a small party for one of the teachers and homemade chocolate cake - avoided, then a student tells me she has a white chocolate bar for me as a thank you for my uil help this year (but it concerned I might not want it as she has realized I am trying to avoid sweets). I took it, of course, and let her know that I would just have a few pieces at a time (but I didn't start today). Next, I realize my aide put cookie dough in my class fridge (I ordered it from her several weeks ago for her cheerleader fundraiser).
     Then, I am offered an opportunity, not once but twice, to go have lunch (never happens on a school day - only 30 minute lunch time normally). But I packed my containers this morning and stuck with them. So I consider this day a success (I exercised this morning) and hope to eventually reach a point where these occurrences and not such a temptation in the first place.
     The exercise this morning was tough - but that's ok as it gives me room to grow and see progress. One day at a time - day two down - and sweet temptations avoided.

Twenty-one Days and Beyond

My eyes have been opened. I am no longer suprised by my lack of weight loss (though I have lost a couple of pounds since so far). I recieved the 21 Day Fix today. As I read through the information and checked out the colored containers, I realized how much more I eat than is necessary to get and keep my body fueled. I have always heard that restaurant portions were much too large, but my own portions (even after I thought I was eating less) are still way too large. This new eating program is going to prove very interesting.

One of the aspects that I really like is that even though you use containers, you do not eat from the containers. The food is still put on a plate. The idea behind the 21 Day Fix is HABIT and understanding. It is not meant to have you eating out of the colored containers for the rest of your life but to give you the ability to recognize the appropriate portions of different foods necessary for fueling the body well. Eat this way and exercise for 21 days and hopefully a habit - a healthy habit will be formed. Makes a lot of sense to me, especially after realizing what a portion really should be.

So here's to creating a new habit. A healthy habit. A lifelong habit. For 21 days and beyond.

Stumbling Is Still Moving Forward

So I have managed to get this water thing down. That big bottle is wonderful and assures that I will always have at least 8 cups of water with me at a time. The best part is that I have come to crave it - can't imagine going without drinking water all day long. It is a wonderful feeling.
     Exercise - doing much better with that. Just received the 21 Day Fix and so thankful that each workout is 30 minutes (make for a perfect morning workout).
And then there's the eating - yikes - have I mentioned how much I like to eat - all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons. The 21 Day Fix incorporates the belief that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. So here I go - moving toward a new, healthy habit of EATING. I also understand that this may be the aspect of clean living that will always be a challenge, but I will not ever give up, stumbling now and then is much better for my health than just giving up and eating all of the wrong things - for all of the wrong reasons.

Dietetic Sinners

We are all dietetic sinners; only a small percent of what we eat nourishes us; the balance goes to waste and loss of energy. -William Osler

Don't know about the "all" in the quote above, but it does ring true, especially for me. So often I eat for taste and comfort (or boredom). This might not be so bad if the food I ate was fruit and vegetables. That is NOT the case. The food I head for consists of comfort food, carbs (bread and pasta). I HAVE TO CHANGE THIS. I HAVE TO CHANGE THIS FOR ME - FOR MY HEALTH.

This is more challenging because I am not a fan of most fruits and vegetables,

but I am learning and even acquiring a taste for many. 

So the goal is to make changes - how?

Changing what I eat is most important (clean eating), eating smaller portions (several small meals a day), and making sure that I realize what I am eating and when - not just grabbing food and munching whenever.

What's worked so far is water intake! The more water I drink, especially before a meal, the fuller I feel and the less I eat. 

Goal for the week - start using my food app to note what I am eating each day. Nothing enters my mouth without thought - am I hungry, do I need it, what will it do for (or to) my body.

With the right recipes and the avoidance of sugar, I can learn to enjoy eating the foods that are good for me as much as I have enjoyed the foods that weren't - and with a much better response from the body I need to live well.

Mastering Motivation

Motivation - where does it come from? How do we hold on to it? I want to be healthy; I want to lose weight; yet I continue to make the same poor choices time after time. this past week, I did not exercise as often as planned nor did I eat as well as I should have. But I did exercise and eat better than I normally would have and a new week offers new opportunities. Finding motivation may not always be easy but is is possible. And my motivation continues to be renewed health and energy. I have to keep that in the forefront of my mind.

So to meet those goals, I plan on altering my idea of exercise. I do plan to exercise each morning and some afternoons with a work out tape; however, I am also going to keep reminding myself that exercise needs to occur continually throughout the day - MOVEMENT, any and all movement, makes a difference to our bodies - squats during breaks, moving and walking, especially when a job requires a lot of sitting, using the stairs instead of the elevator - ultimately, finding ways to incorporate movement into my days - this is the goal for next week.

   

Managing Mornings

To meet my healthy challenge, I have to learn to get the process right - not perfect - but right for me. Because we are all different, unique, it is important to discern what is best for each of us. So this time around, I have committed to trial and error and if necessary, trial and error again, until my journey toward better health is truly mine. And presently my trial is morning exercise and the error is not getting it done the last two days. I am NOT a morning person (not really even a mid-morning person - more of a zombie until 10 to be exact); however, I have discovered from my continual attempts to exercise IN THE MORNING that I am a better person throughout the day - calmer, less anxious or worried, able to handle stressful situations with more kindness and grace. My day and well being are just better overall.

    So instead of just giving up and considering it a lost cause, never to succeed (it is MORNING after all), I consider what I know to be true - when the exercise session is shorter, I am successful. Thirty minutes more of sleep seems to be the key to my actually "getting up" in time to complete the task. To this end, I have ordered the 21 Day Fix (the serving containers will definitely be a bonus as well). I am not, however, giving up on my longer exercise sessions. These I will work in on most afternoons. This way, instead of ruling out mornings completely, I may actually add work outs
throughout the week. Win-win. Monitoring and adjusting - my new motto toward better health - both mentally and physically - one morning (and afternoon) at a time.

    

Not Next Monday - Now

Today is one of those days when I would be tempted to get frustrated with myself and wonder if I was really going to be able to complete my task - not any more! I can do this - and I will do this - it's about not giving up and making changes to avoid the same mistakes again. 

They day began much later than intended - hence, no workout. Ok, decided to make this my rest day and get back on top of the exercise tomorrow. Then I managed to make it through the entire day without eating ANY of the candy or chips the principals had for us in the lounge. Not too bad so far. Unfortunately, I let the last part of the day get the better of me and ate part of a chocolate bar and a brownie - justification - made with lots of protein. 

So tomorrow is a new day - I will approach it differently in some respects while appreciating the positive steps I took today. 

Missteps - chocolate and brownie, not up in the morning to exercise

     Will be up tomorrow - will keep foods not best for me out of the house.

Positives - 100 ounces of water

                  Lots of walking and steps at work

                  Previously, I would have eating the brownie AND the chips, candy at work. I would have perceived the inablity to get up and get moving this morning as a failure - no more! It's a stumble. And i have made so many more positive steps. 

Remembering it is about the journey - if it was going to be easy, I would have mastered it a long time ago. 

No more "next Monday" - it's all about the challenges and changes today and on into the future.

Finding Joy in the Moment

As much as I want to make changes in my health, I don't want to waste "now" wishing for the day when I will be healthier, stronger, skinnier.... Those are good goals, healthy goals - but they are not going to happen tomorrow or even the next day. They will take time and it will be worth the struggle; however, in the meantime, I need to remember to enjoy the small changes now, the new habits that will become the old habits. I don't want to arrive in the future regretting not having appreciated the past. Reminds me of something I once wrote  -

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Journeying in the Now

    Often I will ask my students to write about "one moment in time that made a difference in your life."  Only to realize that I don't really take the time to live for the moment in mine.  Would I have difficulty writing this memoir?  So keeping in mind that patience is still a virtue and waiting is often best for the "moment,"  I have decided to slow down, breathe (deeply), appreciate the right now.  Sometimes I am so busy dealing with the "just happened" or contemplating the "what's to come" that I miss the "happening now." 

    
    So, as I began my 9.5 hour drive the other day, I decided to put myself to the test.  Gotta start somewhere.  This drive goes on forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.  I have always dreaded the going and the coming.  So instead of thinking about how far I'd gone or how far I had to go, I contemplated the present.  Right now I am here.  This is what is around me.  I will never be in this exact place again at this exact moment.  I am here (wherever here might be).  And I must admit it was quite eye-opening.  The anxiety slipped away and the moment slid into view. Amazingly,  I discover I am not dreading the long trip back.  That I do not feel so irritable or uptight. Liberating!

   And it begins - right now, in this moment - my journey on the road becomes a metaphor for my journey through life. God will navigate and I will drive, striving along the road to appreicate the moment, wherever it may find me.

Eat All the Food - But Make it the Right Food

Morning workouts completed, over 100 ounces of water drunk. Seem to be moving along but then along comes FOOD. I love to eat. Unfortunately, what I love to eat is not what is best for me, especially when it comes to good nutrition and weight loss. And my biggest enemy - unhealthy carbs. I love carbs - any carbs, all carbs, especially BREAD. Shakeology saves me in the mornings - it is my daily breakfast, and I love it. It is the rest of the day that I have to do a better job of focusing. So the spaghetti I had for lunch and the pulled pork (with homemade wheat bread) was probably not the best clean eating I could do today.

It's all in the planning, my coach explains often. And she is right! I have to do a better job of planning my day and MY PORTIONS. I can do this - I will do this. I know it is not going to be easy, but in the same way that I have come to crave water, I hope to begin craving clean foods. I may falter, but I will pick myself and continue on away from those refined carbs and onto a better way of living and eating!

Full Hydration

Water - as an English teacher reminds me of Coleridge's RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER: "Water, water, everywhere and all the boards did shrink/water, water, everywhere nor any a drop to drink."

Drinking enough water daily has been a challenge I have struggled with for quite awhile. The goal - to drink 100 ounces of water daily. Often I would come close but never quite reach it. But as of late I have managed to drink over my 100 ounce goal! I bought a jug that holds 64 ounces of water - I fill it up twice and am successful with my water intake. Who would have thought that such a simple change would allow for such an accomplishment.



Unfortunately all of my challenges are not quite so easily overcome. The next has to do with morning exercise. I am not a morning person - and that is putting it mildly. However, when I wait until the afternoon to exercise, more often than not something "comes up", or I decide that I am too tired. So for consistency, mornings are a must. Last week I managed to get up and work out. Next week is a new challenge, but one I choose to accept. One day at a time. Hoping, like the 100 ounces of water, to make this a habit that eventually I cannot imagine doing without.

Wallowing in Weight

I have spent far too long fousing on the scale. As I begin my new, and lifelong, journey with weight, changing my focus is priority number one. Not that weight doesn't matter - it does - but not in the way I had be viewing it. The only aspect weight should have in and on my life is the aspect of health - not beauty, not "who I am", not what my day will be like, not on others' perceptions (including advertising and Hollywood). Who I am is determined by me, the real me, the internal me, not the physical me.  Once I let that idea go, I can relax and make the most of the journey I am about to begin. 

The journey is about me  - about becoming healthier, about feeling better, about being able to do more with my life, now and in the future. 

In the past, I have tried many of the fad diets as well as other remedies to lose the weight, but it always come back to the basics: exercise, clean eating, and proper nutrition - and for me - accountability.

So here goes. And luckily for me, I have a great friend and Beachbody coach as well as a husband who both know a great deal about nutrition. 

Beachbody is a company, but it is a company that offers lifelong changes and informed coaches who continue to check in with you as well as motivate you long after you may or may not still be using their products.

It helps that I love the daily nutritional drink Shakeology. And it is amazing what it offers in the way of ingredients (natural and wholesome) - ingredients we do not get enough of daily, yet are necessary for our nutrition. 

My coach, Cori Abraham, is an incredible fitness, nutrition role model. I am thankful that her philosophy is one that continually motivates despite and because of continual misteps on my part. I have come to focus on the positive changes while not beating myself up for the slips - it's all about the journey and NOT giving up on it at any time.

I begin as part of a Beachbody accountability group - a group that shares both successes and struggles. And thanks to my coach, I have a hybrid workout routine using two of the Beachbody workout tapes. 

My successes so far does not have to do with the scales at all. I now carry around a 64 ounce jug of water daily (drinking two a day), and I have managed to start dragging myself out of bed (definitely NOT a morning person) every morning to complete my exercise so that nothing later that day can become an excuse for not completing that task.

The scale no longer defines me - my actions, my attitude, and my beliefs - they define me. Renewed health allows me the opportunity to live well and be that person.