Friday, January 29, 2010
Satisfaction.
I am so proud of myself. For four consecutive weeks, I have had a loss on the scale. FOUR POUNDS this week, and a total of more than 17 since I started tracking before the holidays (that's mostly since the beginning of the year, since I definitely didn't progress through the period of funerals and holidays). It has been a LONG time since I've seen such consistent results. I'm serious when I say THIS IS THE TIME. No more yo-yos for me... or super-size anything, either. :) That "life change" they always talk about? I'm making it! :)
Monday, January 25, 2010
Addiction...
I heard this on the radio this morning, and it was helpful to me... so I thought I'd put it out there. :)
True "cravings" in the brain last only 10 seconds. The rest of what we deal with is just your brain going through the thought process of "do I want that? I want that!" A girl on the radio (one of the chicks on Q100) is quitting smoking and went to HypnoTherapy. She is using that and telling herself "That might suck for a second, but I don't smoke anymore."
I can do that! "Yeah, that biscuit smells good... But I already had a healthy breakfast, and I don't eat for no reason anymore."
I can do this. I CAN DO THIS!
True "cravings" in the brain last only 10 seconds. The rest of what we deal with is just your brain going through the thought process of "do I want that? I want that!" A girl on the radio (one of the chicks on Q100) is quitting smoking and went to HypnoTherapy. She is using that and telling herself "That might suck for a second, but I don't smoke anymore."
I can do that! "Yeah, that biscuit smells good... But I already had a healthy breakfast, and I don't eat for no reason anymore."
I can do this. I CAN DO THIS!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Feeling Good. Really. :)
Lately, I've been putting a lot of thought into leading a more healthy lifestyle.
I'd say about a third of my "mental energy" goes towards thoughts of wanting to be healthy for ME. The future- I don't want to experience all the health issues my mom and grandma have. I want to live to be a funny old lady. For now, I want to be able to walk up the stairs or chase my kids without getting winded. I want to be able to plan things without wondering if I CAN - building something... hiking somewhere... fit in the seat on planes or roller coasters... etc. I want to LIVE life, not just watch it pass me by.
Another third goes to wanting this for Chas, too. I want him to be healthy, to live for a long time, to be able to DO without worrying, to LIVE LIFE.
And the last third... or maybe more than a third- this part may take from the other two at times- goes to my kids. I want them to have healthy role models. I did not see healthy living as a kid. Seems like it was either feast or famine at my house. Celebrations centered around food, then diets would be all too common and obvious. There was no activity for the sake of moving, having fun, and feeling good- there was only exercise as a means for weight loss. I know that these things impacted my outlook - I became them! I do not want this for my children. I want them to know how to live a healthy life- to know because they see a positive example: their parents doing so. I do not want my son to be "the big boy", but even more I don't want my daughter to have worse-than-average body issues because of what I've done or how *I* look. More than anything, I want her to grow up and remain the HEALTHY, HAPPY girl she is now, know what I mean?
Through this reflection, and some life experience, I have come to the realization that I have a food addiction. I came across a list of questions online that tell if you might be a "Food Addict"... Yeah, 16 out of 20 for me. Scary and sad to think of what I've done. I think it also bears noting because this is how I am. It's not just "Geez, Tina, then don't buy oreos"... It's much deeper than that. I don't think that Overeater's Annonymous or Food Addicts Annonymous are for me- they both have a religious base, and it would take much MORE work for me to get to "that place", I think. So, for the time being, I'm working through it on my own.
I'm using SparkPeople.com to track my calories in and out. It helps me track my progress and even tells me where I "should" be. Makes that part much easier. I love it. My name on there is "TinaMarieWelch"- I'd love more people to help keep me accountable. :) I've even gone in and started entering the SPECIFIC nutrition content for items I eat often- food from the school cafeteria, soups I make from recipes, etc. Before I would choose something "close" and I realized today that my entry of "Pizza Hut Veggie Lovers Pizza, 1 slice" was ONE HUNDRED calories less than the actual pizza I ate! OOPS! No more! I'm going to be as specific as I can. In this vain, I also got out my new "kitchen scale" last night. It was an eye opening experience to see how small that 3 oz portion of chicken was. Wow. Portion size is my downfall- even when eating healthy foods, I just eat TOO MUCH of them! No more guestimating or eyeballing portions- real measurement from here on out.
To top it off, I started the year with two exercise games for the Wii- Wii Fit Plus and Wii Active. I like them both, but made excuses every night after work. Truly, by the end of the day, I'm exhausted. The only minutes I've had without the kids are the time I'm physically AT work and the 3 minutes it takes to drive from Abby's school to mine in the morning. It's draining! Exercise isn't the first thing on my mind when they fall asleep at night, to be honest. SO- I started a group at work! A group of ladies is staying after school three days a week to exercise together! Mondays and Thursdays, we meet in my classroom and do an aerobics DVD with the projector and the big screen (it's cool, really! LOL). Wednesdays we are going to walk on the track. I did three days of REAL workouts this week (not the lazy kind I can get away with when I'm alone at home!) and it feels GREAT!
I'd say about a third of my "mental energy" goes towards thoughts of wanting to be healthy for ME. The future- I don't want to experience all the health issues my mom and grandma have. I want to live to be a funny old lady. For now, I want to be able to walk up the stairs or chase my kids without getting winded. I want to be able to plan things without wondering if I CAN - building something... hiking somewhere... fit in the seat on planes or roller coasters... etc. I want to LIVE life, not just watch it pass me by.
Another third goes to wanting this for Chas, too. I want him to be healthy, to live for a long time, to be able to DO without worrying, to LIVE LIFE.
And the last third... or maybe more than a third- this part may take from the other two at times- goes to my kids. I want them to have healthy role models. I did not see healthy living as a kid. Seems like it was either feast or famine at my house. Celebrations centered around food, then diets would be all too common and obvious. There was no activity for the sake of moving, having fun, and feeling good- there was only exercise as a means for weight loss. I know that these things impacted my outlook - I became them! I do not want this for my children. I want them to know how to live a healthy life- to know because they see a positive example: their parents doing so. I do not want my son to be "the big boy", but even more I don't want my daughter to have worse-than-average body issues because of what I've done or how *I* look. More than anything, I want her to grow up and remain the HEALTHY, HAPPY girl she is now, know what I mean?
Through this reflection, and some life experience, I have come to the realization that I have a food addiction. I came across a list of questions online that tell if you might be a "Food Addict"... Yeah, 16 out of 20 for me. Scary and sad to think of what I've done. I think it also bears noting because this is how I am. It's not just "Geez, Tina, then don't buy oreos"... It's much deeper than that. I don't think that Overeater's Annonymous or Food Addicts Annonymous are for me- they both have a religious base, and it would take much MORE work for me to get to "that place", I think. So, for the time being, I'm working through it on my own.
I'm using SparkPeople.com to track my calories in and out. It helps me track my progress and even tells me where I "should" be. Makes that part much easier. I love it. My name on there is "TinaMarieWelch"- I'd love more people to help keep me accountable. :) I've even gone in and started entering the SPECIFIC nutrition content for items I eat often- food from the school cafeteria, soups I make from recipes, etc. Before I would choose something "close" and I realized today that my entry of "Pizza Hut Veggie Lovers Pizza, 1 slice" was ONE HUNDRED calories less than the actual pizza I ate! OOPS! No more! I'm going to be as specific as I can. In this vain, I also got out my new "kitchen scale" last night. It was an eye opening experience to see how small that 3 oz portion of chicken was. Wow. Portion size is my downfall- even when eating healthy foods, I just eat TOO MUCH of them! No more guestimating or eyeballing portions- real measurement from here on out.
To top it off, I started the year with two exercise games for the Wii- Wii Fit Plus and Wii Active. I like them both, but made excuses every night after work. Truly, by the end of the day, I'm exhausted. The only minutes I've had without the kids are the time I'm physically AT work and the 3 minutes it takes to drive from Abby's school to mine in the morning. It's draining! Exercise isn't the first thing on my mind when they fall asleep at night, to be honest. SO- I started a group at work! A group of ladies is staying after school three days a week to exercise together! Mondays and Thursdays, we meet in my classroom and do an aerobics DVD with the projector and the big screen (it's cool, really! LOL). Wednesdays we are going to walk on the track. I did three days of REAL workouts this week (not the lazy kind I can get away with when I'm alone at home!) and it feels GREAT!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
January Two Thousand TEN?!
A new year begins.
I'm trying to pick up where I left off when I last tried to kick my life into "Healthy-drive". I'll be honest- the loss my family has experienced, followed by the holidays was just too much for my willpower to take on. I know that leading a healthy life includes stressful times and holidays, but STARTING then just wasn't going to happen for me.
I've been planning out all our meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all three of us. It's saving us money, time, and calories! :) Just this week I've started getting back into exercising. MaryLu (my mother in law) got me the Wii EA Active for Christmas (I'd told her I wanted it!) and it is kick-butt! After my first workout on Monday, I was so sore that I was hanging onto furniture all the time! LOL Today I tried again, doing "day two" of the 30 day challenge- but I skipped the lunges- I just couldn't do it! Next week, I promise. :)
I'm doing well, but still having trouble with stress eating. I swear, it's like something takes over my hands and mouth and I don't even realize it until I've consumed twice as much as I meant to. It only seems to happen when I'm stressed or worried- so dealing with that is step one, but I think I may need more help than my mommy group can provide. ;) I use SparkPeople.com- but the resources there regarding emotional eating just seem silly. NOT what I need. I read up on Overeater's Annonymous- because in theory it sounds perfect- except that the strong religious tenents just aren't for me. SO, I'm still on the lookout. I think I'll end up contacting a counselor of some sort- just not sure yet.
Thanks for reading, and I hope your year is off to a positive and productive start, too! :)
I'm trying to pick up where I left off when I last tried to kick my life into "Healthy-drive". I'll be honest- the loss my family has experienced, followed by the holidays was just too much for my willpower to take on. I know that leading a healthy life includes stressful times and holidays, but STARTING then just wasn't going to happen for me.
I've been planning out all our meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all three of us. It's saving us money, time, and calories! :) Just this week I've started getting back into exercising. MaryLu (my mother in law) got me the Wii EA Active for Christmas (I'd told her I wanted it!) and it is kick-butt! After my first workout on Monday, I was so sore that I was hanging onto furniture all the time! LOL Today I tried again, doing "day two" of the 30 day challenge- but I skipped the lunges- I just couldn't do it! Next week, I promise. :)
I'm doing well, but still having trouble with stress eating. I swear, it's like something takes over my hands and mouth and I don't even realize it until I've consumed twice as much as I meant to. It only seems to happen when I'm stressed or worried- so dealing with that is step one, but I think I may need more help than my mommy group can provide. ;) I use SparkPeople.com- but the resources there regarding emotional eating just seem silly. NOT what I need. I read up on Overeater's Annonymous- because in theory it sounds perfect- except that the strong religious tenents just aren't for me. SO, I'm still on the lookout. I think I'll end up contacting a counselor of some sort- just not sure yet.
Thanks for reading, and I hope your year is off to a positive and productive start, too! :)
Christmas & Vacation
So... Time to play catch up! :)
Christmas was wonderful. We spent the days leading up to it enjoying each others' company, resting, shopping, and gift wrapping. Christmas eve, Abby and I made cookies to leave out for Santa and we ordered Chinese food for dinner. It was wonderful. Chas and I were up WAY too late making sure everything was perfect. Abby woke up at TWO AM Christmas morning, ran into our room saying "Santa came! He came! And he brought lots of toys- everything I wanted, and even what I wanted Alex to get!" LOL She kept asking if we could open presents then, and we kept saying no- finally she fell asleep between us and woke up again around seven. :) We got up, went downstairs and proceeded to spend the entire day enjoying our new things. Abby's favorites were her Leapfrog Didj, her scooter, and Barbies. Alex enjoyed his Exersaucer. We all enjoyed Chas's Guitar Hero, and I took tons of pictures on my awesome new camera. :)
The next week, the kids and I headed down to FLorida. We stopped and got to visit with Missy, Patrick, Jackson, and Jennifer in Gainesville. We stayed in Orlando for several days- enjoying the Citrus Bowl parade, New Year's at the Somers's, and time with Great Grandma. Then off to JAcksonville for time with my in-laws. By time we got home, it was time to go back to school!
It was a wonderful holiday (well, minus a little car trouble and a sick baby, but let's not dwell on the negative!) and I'm excited to begin the new year!
To see pics from our holiday, visit the photo album here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045463&id=1356706852&l=3f35eb9899
Christmas was wonderful. We spent the days leading up to it enjoying each others' company, resting, shopping, and gift wrapping. Christmas eve, Abby and I made cookies to leave out for Santa and we ordered Chinese food for dinner. It was wonderful. Chas and I were up WAY too late making sure everything was perfect. Abby woke up at TWO AM Christmas morning, ran into our room saying "Santa came! He came! And he brought lots of toys- everything I wanted, and even what I wanted Alex to get!" LOL She kept asking if we could open presents then, and we kept saying no- finally she fell asleep between us and woke up again around seven. :) We got up, went downstairs and proceeded to spend the entire day enjoying our new things. Abby's favorites were her Leapfrog Didj, her scooter, and Barbies. Alex enjoyed his Exersaucer. We all enjoyed Chas's Guitar Hero, and I took tons of pictures on my awesome new camera. :)
The next week, the kids and I headed down to FLorida. We stopped and got to visit with Missy, Patrick, Jackson, and Jennifer in Gainesville. We stayed in Orlando for several days- enjoying the Citrus Bowl parade, New Year's at the Somers's, and time with Great Grandma. Then off to JAcksonville for time with my in-laws. By time we got home, it was time to go back to school!
It was a wonderful holiday (well, minus a little car trouble and a sick baby, but let's not dwell on the negative!) and I'm excited to begin the new year!
To see pics from our holiday, visit the photo album here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045463&id=1356706852&l=3f35eb9899
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