Pushing Past the Wins

The hardest part about making huge life changes is taking the first step; in other words, starting to make a big change in your life is being dissatisfied enough with one aspect to be willing to change it up and get uncomfortable. I am less than five (5!!!!) pounds away from reaching my initial healthy weight goal (I have a few vanity pounds on top of that, but the healthy weight is the important part) right now, and let me tell you, the hardest part is continuing to be diligent enough with tracking what I eat in my food diary. Laziness is part of it, I admit; I have been so happy with the progress I have made so far, that it is easy to get complacent and just be satisfied with my initial accomplishments.

To make matters worse, I am just now back on my running program after my half marathon recovery and respiratory crud. It feels great to hit the pavement again; I did a pretty fast (for me) 2-miler yesterday morning. The hubs and I have decided to run a 15K in January. Partly, it's to keep me on track through the holiday insanity that is going to ensue, and partly it's for the swag. Seriously, check this out:



























































Plus you get hot chocolate and chocolate fondue at the end. If you are in Atlanta in January and want to check it out : http://www.hotchocolate15k.com/atlanta/.

I guess the best way to keep on track is to constantly add new goals and allow yourself to completely celebrate the wins. By the way, to embrace a win, here is an image of me and the hubs showing off our completion medals from the Silver Comet Half last month:

Menu Planning: Great for Everyone

Hey Everyone!

I'm continuing on with posts about my lifestyle changes with an approach to menu planning. One of the big contributors to my success so far has been cooking the majority of  meals at home.Whether you are trying to stick to a budget or are trying to change your eating habits; planning out your meals and cooking them at home is a great way of finding success with your goals. 

The process usually starts with sitting down once every two weeks and planning out meals. I usually repeat the first weeks' meals the second week to cut down on groceries, expenses and some work. There are some meals that are repeats every week, while others are rotated in and out depending on what is seasonal. One hint though, if you are repeating one week's recipes and there is an untried recipe, make sure you plan for a back up. Otherwise, you will end up with extra ingredients for a recipe you don't like.

Also, make sure you sketch out your meals with regard to how accomplished you are cooking (ie, if you can barely toast bread you might be better off learning how to cook, say a warm grain salad, as opposed to an elaborate 12 page dish from a new cookbook). Keep it simple and delicious and you will set yourself up for success, not failure.

To help you out with all this cooking, you might want to enlist the help of a spouse, roommate, partner, or another family member to help you out with the cooking a few days a week. It helps a ton, trust me!

Anyway, without further ado, here is an example of a week's worth of menu planning ( keep in mind I am a vegetarian)...

Monday                                                                 
Vegetarian Chili Night

Tuesday
Stirfry ( Spelt Udon Noodles, Tempeh, Frozen Stir Fry Veggies)

Wednesday
Tempeh and Poblano Tacos with
Sprouted Grain Tortilla

Thursday
New Recipe Night!
Panang Curry with
Millet

Friday
Spiced Eggplant and Peppers with
Barley

Saturday
Homemade Pizza

Sunday
Roasted Carrot Soup
Grilled cheese Sandwich

Snacks
Fruit & 100 calories of Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts, Pistachios)
or
Hard Boiled Egg & Snackable Veggies (Celery/Carrot sticks, Cherry Tomatoes, etc)
or
1/8 c dried Fruit & 100 Calories of Nuts ( My usual Pre Workout)

Breakfasts
Lowfat/Fat free Cottage Cheese
Fruit
Coffee with Almond Milk
or
Cooked Grains with cinnamon, honey, almond milk
Fruit
Coffee with Almond Milk
or
Scrambled Eggs with Veggies
Coffee with Almond Milk

Lunches

Leftovers

With an apple and an orange

Or

Cheese sandwich

With an apple and an orange

Or 

Baked potato with cheese and frozen veggies

With an apple and an orange

I then base my grocery list off my menu plan and go from there. I usually, however, also grab a few quick and easy substitutions that don't require much cooking in case a day is super crazy.


Oh, and just in case you were interested...the obligatory before and now shot (I know, I know)....

My Plan of Attack!

As Promised...My Plan of Attack!

This is just a general overview of what my plan for success was; I promise I'll go into detail more in future entries.

The Food End

I started out tracking what I ate. I went through a series of food diary trackers that had different advantages and disadvantages until I found one that worked best for me. (Teaser: future installment!) I did restrict my calories, but at a reasonable level (between 1300 -1500, starting out at 1500, but eventually going down to between 1300 - 1350) where I wouldn't want to eat everything in sight. I had a looong way to go, no need to go into crash diet mode.

Eric (the husband) and I started planning out our meals and snacks in advance and shopping our menus.

A big part of the changes we decided to make (for both health and financial reasons) was to cut out the processed stuff/eating out and shop at the discount farmer's market. This meant a lot more work in the kitchen, but he was willing to do half the prep and cooking (we are a partnership after all...). To circumvent my desire to binge, I planned to follow an 80/20 rule: 80% of calories of the day were to be lean protein, low fat dairy, whole grains and lots and lots of fruits and veggies, while 20% of my daily calories were whatever I wanted ( delicious bite of a yummy dessert, chocolate bar, whatever!). The biggest thing: no “diet” foods! I'll post a few of the menus and recipes at a later date.

The Fitness End

I was planning on running the Peachtree Road Race again in July and I really wanted a time that I was not ashamed to announce. That required a training program, and that required me to stick with it. If it also helped me make my health goal, that was kind of an extra bonus. On my Runkeeper app there was a free training plan to run a 10k in under 60 minutes. It was quite the ambitious goal (considering my last 10k time was 30minutes longer than that!), but it would allow me to really challenge myself and it provided needed structure to train with. I wasn't able to make most of the training pace times, but it allowed me to really key in and listen to my bodies' cues. I also included stretching and strength training to prevent injuries.

The Mental End/ Motivation

The most difficult end of making any significant life change is the will to change. How do you keep motivated to completely change your lifestyle? You have to have a great support system. You have to have a concrete goal and a strong visceral connection to your why. Finally, you have to constantly surround yourself by things that motivate you to stick with it.

 

I also decided to journal the struggles (emotional and mental) I was working through.

 

I'll do a few more posts in the future going into greater detail and try to go back and link to them here. 

My Journey Began...

My process really started back in December of last year. I went to a dress shop to try on bridesmaid dresses for my sister's wedding. I had a realization of how large I had gotten when almost all of the sample sizes were too small and I had to get clipped in with scrap fabric. It felt a little humiliating and made me extremely self conscious. Then, I actually weighed myself again to see where I was, it was like a switch clicked in my brain and I decided to take my health back, to become the athlete I had once been and wanted to be again.

First of all, to be honest, I want to say, I'm a girl who doesn't do diets. I love food, good food. I love to cook good food, eat good food, and savor good food. You tell me I can't have carbs, sweets, fat, whatever...that's exactly what I am going to turn around and sneak and binge on and want to eat all the time. I had to figure out how to circumvent myself. I decided to do everything common sense and simply. All my food had to be delicious. No complicated diet plans, no "diet" food, no weird restrictions, just permanent lifestyle changes that I could live with on a day to day basis. Forever kind of changes, not a “diet”. Clean eating, lots of movement, and trying to figure out how and why I let myself get to that point in the first place. It was going to be hard, it was going to be painful, and I was going to change my life.

Next Installment: My Plan of Attack!

I'm Back...And I've Been Changing My Life!

Hey everyone!

I've been on hiatus for a while, mostly to focus on getting myself back on a healthy track. I've posted in the past about training for a 10k. Well, several months ago I decided to take back my health and fitness in full force. I still have a ways to go, but now that I've managed to make it three fourths of the way I thought I'd share what I've learned so far and blog about the process as I go forward. I'll post about what worked for me, but keep in mind, everyone is different and what worked for me may not necessarily work for you.

They say the two hardest parts are starting and finishing any project. I'm getting to the finish pretty soon and I have a feeling that the last bit of getting there may be the hardest part.

So stick around for the next installments and maybe (just maybe!) I just may post a cheesy picture with my old pants.

Words from a Former Bride

Women in everyday life face an immense amount of pressure from society to conform to a certain standard; including how to look, how to dress, and how to act. Although the ideals have changed throughout history, there has always been a certain focus on how women are "supposed" to look. Corsets, bustles, girdles, panniers, and crinolines once changed how women's body shapes appeared and allowed them to reach for that elusive "ideal". Now women attempt to change their shape through dieting, exercise, and Spanx. Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel your best and to be strong and healthy, but when a quest to fit a societal ideal becomes extreme and possibly dangerous, we are dealing with bigger issues.


Never is societal pressure more intense for a woman than when her nuptials are in the not-too-distant future. As a semi-recent bride myself, I know how intense these pressures can often be. If you don't plan on adhering to a drastic weight loss plan (whether you need to or not), people often look shocked. Reality shows abound with women desperate to be made over before their weddings. From intense weight loss to competitions for plastic surgery, the message is constantly: if you don't fit the ideal, you aren't a real bride.


One of latest extremes that brides are taking on to change thier shape involve dieting with feeding tubes. This forces them to withstand extremely low calorie ingestion (around 800 calories usually). Instead of enjoying their engagement period they are fatigued, dedicated to carrying a feeding tube around like victim of a severe illness, and focused on that one goal: losing those last few pounds.


Your future spouse fell in love with who YOU are. If they truly love and care about you; the number on that scale doesn't matter. If it does, then there are some bigger issues that are at stake. I have, honestly, never seen an ugly bride. It's not because of their weight loss, exercise regime, face of makeup, lovely accessories, or pretty dresses. The ladies who get married in a casual outfit with no makeup are just as stunning brides as those with professional makeup artists and elaborately beaded dresses worth thousands. What is it that makes them so beautiful? It is the happiness and joy radiating out of them as they join their chosen partner on the pathway to the next phase of their relationship. And that, my friend, is true bridal beauty.

The Blouse

You know what's better than buying a new shirt? Putting on one that you haven't worn in quite a while because it was too tight...and realizing that it fits.

I had reached into my coat closet intending to grab a dress of the same color to put into the summer storage box, when I found my hand grasping a light fuschia blouse. Said blouse had been my once favorite shirt until stress weight gained during art school relegated it to a more distant part of the closet. At first I didn't want to try it on, for fear of disappointing myself. Sure enough, however it fit!

I must make a small confession to you....I don't diet. I hate the word, connotations, everything. "Diet" means to me, another way that we are forced to conform to some ideal. It means "Just lettuce and dressing on the side" or "No I can't eat your handmade birthday cake, and if I do I'll feel guilty for a week". What I do believe in is healthy life choices. I've been running, watching my portions, cutting out junk food, eating lots of fruits and veggies, drinking more water, and tracking online at a free tracking site. Needless to say, that is how my fuschia blouse will now be in regular rotation.

Laziness of My Life

It takes a vacation to make you realize that apathy and lack of movement is the main contributor to the present state of my body. Constant walking, floating and general tent set-up movement have revealed to me how desperately out of shape I am.

Yet, I sit here late on a Saturday afternoon with the broken promises of gym time over an hour ago haunting me. My gym clothes beckon me from the neat corner of my room with the lure of the runner's high that I always enjoy every time I go. My sweet commuter bike tempts me with a ride around in the sunshine of a pleasant day. Yet still I sit, in my lazy sleep clothes, willing myself to get out of my apartment and do SOMETHING, yet I cannot seem to tear my rear off the cushioned seat.

It has come to my attention that this very laziness is a sign that I am still a child. Which probably also explains the messiness that characterizes my apartment. Mid- twenties have hit, yet my living space oftentimes resembles the disaster of a teen aged boy's.

If ever I am to truly be a responsible adult I need to take myself up and conquer my lazy tendencies or I am never going to even come close to approaching the adult woman I wish to become.