Something New

Salmon, asparagus, potatoes

Ultimate Reset Phase 1, Day 6 

Hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of week 1-phase 1. Tonight's meal was one I would never have considered eating before. I am not a fish fan. The smell alone makes me nauseous. But I know it is a strong nutritional resource, and it is one of the meals on the Reset. Therefore, I decided to try. Thankfully, my "home chef" cooked it in such a way that was light and tasty. No fish smell or taste at all!

Turbo Jam 

The week has actually progressed very well, Some participants indicate that they experience hunger during this time. I have not. Thankful for that. And instead of dreaming about sugar and carbs, I actually dreamed about jogging last night. Never thought I would say this, but I am looking forward to getting back to exercising. Have decided to start with Turbo Jam and the new CIZE coming out in a few days. (I love to dance - have never been able to stand still when music is playing!) May start some Tai Chen tomorrow. 

Still feeling a bit tired. So hard to explain the sensation: low energy - yet bursts of energy. The nutrition guide indicated that this Reset will affect both psyche and body. It's true. On the first few days, I was pretty emotional; today I feel a calm, a peace. I no longer get heartburn. Before, sleeping on my side, I would wake up with numbness in my shoulder and arm - NO MORE! I guess with less weight (and I have lost quite a bit at this point), there is less pressure on the limb. At least that is the only explanation I can think of. 

I can honestly say my eating habits are changing and will continue to change from this point forward. I can truly say that I am utilizing a clean eating diet! No worries, cheat meals will happen, but they definitely won't be the norm. 

A Shared Struggle Strengthens Motivation

Daily accountability. For me, I have found this to be a necessity - a motivational tool. I do and will always continue to struggle with food, but with my accountability group through Beachbody, I am able to connect with others on the same journey, working on the same goals, struggling with many of the same temptations. This has become such a vital part of my process that I am about to embark on a new journey - that of Beachbody coach. I can't think of any better way to continue my own accountability than helping and motivating others in the same position I find myself daily.

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.

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.