In Moderation

It's July 4th, and a wet one at that.  We have been stuck in the house with the kids, and they are going stir crazy, as only little boys know how to do.  In fact, they are walking around the house wearing one of Darling Daughter's tutus, and I'm writing this in hopes that one day their future girlfriend will read this and laugh!  Yes--blackmail is a wonderful thing.

I haven't blogged in some time.  Hubby took me to New Orleans for our TEN year anniversary.  I still can't believe we made it 10 years.  It has been rough, but worth it, and I recommend a trip without kids for any married couple.  We had a wonderful time, and we really reconnected.  We ate a LOT, drank a LOT, danced A LOT, and sweated A LOT!  Excuse the qualities of the photo.  My camera is still broken, so every photo I've taken recently has come from my iPhone.  I miss my camera.

 

 

Here we are in front of the St. Louis Cathedral at Jackson Square in New Orleans.  The weather was beautiful, though HOT.  We enjoyed ourselves so much, and it was a much needed vacation without the kids. 

 

Okay: moving on.  This post is supposed to be about goals.  I have been neglectful in my goals.  I stepped off the path, and I took a long detour but I'm BACK.  It took me realizing I had gained back 20 pounds of the 50 I lost to realize I need to have goals in my every day life...again.

 

I came back from New Orleans rejuvenated and ready to make the necessary changes.  Watching your weight and exercising is a lifestyle change, as I have said many times before, and it takes constant adjusting to stay on track and not get waylaid by the taste of chocolate or alcohol!  (Those are my two biggest weaknesses!)

 

I came back and I went to three Taekwondo classes in a row.  I hopped back onto MyFitnessPal, and I started tracking my food.  I started full throttle back into my lifestyle change, and hopefully this time I will be able to stick with it for LIFE.  The thing about changing your lifestyle is it shouldn't be HARD.  You should still be able to eat what you want, but in limited quantities.  The problem comes in when you try to cut out foods you love COMPLETELY.  That will never work, because as soon as you start eating those things again you'll keep eating more and more of them, thus sabotaging your hard work.

 

I love MyFitnessPal, because you can literally eat anything as long as you try to stay at your calorie goal or below.  I can still have my chocolate occasionally and my alcohol occasionally, IN MODERATION.  Those two words I have trouble with.  I don't really like doing anything IN MODERATION.  I know this about myself, and it's a battle I fight daily.  I like to eat to excess, I like to laugh to excess, talk to excess, read to excess, drink to excess.  It is one of my many flaws, so I really have to work hard against letting it take over my life and lead me down the wrong path.  Self-worth and self-reliance, reigning in control of our natural tendencies towards self-destruction is one of the many lessons in life--at least I feel that way.

 

No one is perfect.  Nothing is handed to you.  The key to success in everything, including weight loss, is hard work.  Hark work, will power, motivation, and realizing you don't have to give up everything you love to eat and drink in order to live a healthy life will take you a long way.

 

Hopping back on the horse right now, and galloping towards my goals.  See you on the other side.

 

 

 

 

 



Thirty Minutes a Day to Achieve Your Goals

I've been working really hard to stay motivated with my weight loss.  I think I mentioned I gained 10 pounds, and now I'm trying to take it off...AGAIN.  For me, for my lifetime, it will be a never ending battle. I am just not one of those girls who can eat whatever they want, exercise when they feel like it, and stay skinny.  I'm big-boned, which is really just a nice way of saying "thick." 

But, I don't mind.  I like my curves.  I like that I have hips.  Not very much of my weight is in my stomach, so I know that plays out well for me in regards to heart disease.  I eat well, and I exercise, and I sometimes splurge, so I know I'm setting a healthy example for my family.

I have been logging into MyFitnessPal every day and logging my food every day, in part from my sister who has been texting me every day if she doesn't see my Food Diary.  I love the accountability.  I actually think what her reaction will be if I ate a Super Size Cheeseburger meal and fries.  And, we tell each other when we cheat, the struggles we have staying within our points system, and our exercise achievements.

Speaking of exercise: I'm dying to go back to Taekwondo.  It hit me like a ton of bricks this morning.  I miss it so much.  I like the discipline, and I like having someone motivate me.  Plus, I miss my friends from there.  We all just have so much fun.

If I'm sitting at home, I can always find a "valid" excuse to avoid exercise.  I need to read, or clean out the closets, or play with the kids.  All of these are noble, but they shouldn't take the place of daily exercise.

Today, I jumped on the trampoline for 15 minutes with Darling Daughter.  I don't think that burns many calories, but I did hurkeys and toe-touches, and it felt great.  I also don't know whether I should be doing that with my leg, or whether it is considered "weight-bearing" exercise, but I would think not since you are not banging down on heavy pavement.  After that, I came in and did some strength training exercises with the medicine ball.  I did sit-ups and dreaded push-ups.  I don't think there will ever be a day when I LOVE push-ups.  They are just not for me. 

I felt so good to be using my body.  I can always feel a difference in my happiness level when I exercise.  I can always feel the benefits of it, no matter how little I do, and every time I exercise I think: why did it take me so long to recommit to doing this for my body?  There's nothing like looking at your body and feeling so good about coming so far and realizing the reason you achieved your goals was because you put your mind to it. 

And to top it all off: I stepped on the scale this morning, and I lost THREE pounds.  Tangible benefits.

So my goal is to do 30 minutes a day of exercise over the next week.  I have to build back up somewhere, and now that the bronchitis is exiting my body and my stress fracture is feeling better, I know I will achieve my goal.  I will just think of this guy, when I am sitting on the couch and trying to find someway to make up excuses...

The 30 minutes do not have to be in a row.  You can find exercise by looking for it: gardening, taking the stairs, CLEANING. 

Never Quit.  Achieve your goals.

Motivation Strikes Again

I've had a few weeks of ho hum.  A few weeks of, "I can't do what I really want with this stupid leg fracture, so I'm just going to sit on the couch and act like a baby." 

Then I tried on a pair of my jeans, and they were getting tight. Everyone knows that feeling, right?  You slip into your jeans, expecting them to fit the same way they did last time you put them on, but instead they are hard to button.  Your belly fat hangs lasciviously over the rim of the denim fabric, and you justify it to yourself, "That's because I just washed and dried them yesterday.  Denim tightens up, it will loosen up as I wear them through the day."  But then it doesn't loosen up, and you realize something (like Trixie!!!)..."I've gained weight!!!"

Yes.  Ten stupid pounds.  Ten pounds of, "I can't do what I want, so I'm not going to do anything and I'm going to sit here on the couch and read books, watch TV, and stuff my face." 

Enough of that.  That's stupid (the word of the week, Miranda Grace).  That doesn't get you anywhere except for maybe two or three sizes up. 

I really have my oldest sister to thank for the motivation.  She signed up for MyFitnessPal, and I added her as a friend.  She messaged me and said, "Input your food, girl!!!"  So, I did.  I started on Saturday, and then I input it again on Sunday, and already I'm feeling better.  I can tell I was eating too much.

Yesterday, I did my own strength training class at home, complete with medicine ball, sit-ups and push-ups.  Then, I picked up my bike from my parents' house, and I rode it home.  I'll tell you riding a road bike after years of not doing it is not as easy as it looks.  It took me nearly 30 minutes to go 4.59 miles!  The wind was pushing against me, and I pedaled and pedaled, but I really wasn't getting anywhere fast.

Still, I woke up today, and I could tell a difference.  Not in pants' size yet, but in my attitude.  I simply feel better when I exercise and eat right.  It makes a huge difference in my moods, and I know I have to incorporate it in my life in anyway I can. 

www.citegrade.com 

Weight Loss Tips #17: Exercise is Essential

Wow I can't believe I've done 17 of these little weight loss editions.  Crazy!  Okay: onto the good stuff.

Remember, way back in the beginning, like edition 2 of my weight loss tips.  Okay, you have the visual picture now, good.  I said that weight loss is a lifestyle change and not the D word!  This is so true.  If you're changing your lifestyle to become healthier, then exercise should be incorporated in your life.  Exercise helps you burn off any extra calories you've eaten, it helps give you energy, and most importantly (to me at least) it lifts your mood. 

One of the things I hate to hear the most is people who say, "But I have no time to exercise."  It is simply not true.  If I can fit it into my schedule with work, Number One's gymnastic schedule, three kids, and a husband, plus trying to write and publish a book on the side, then you can definitely fit it into yours.  It may mean getting up a few minutes earlier, it may be doing short, simple exercises throughout the day, but any type of exercise is better than none. 

Let's get started, shall we?

1. Exercise FIVE times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes a day:  FIVE TIMES.  Are you trying to kill me, you might be saying.  First of all, the 30 minutes is a total.  You can do 3 10 minute exercises throughout the day.  You don't have to do it all at once.  And this is your goal, so you may need to build up to this, incorporating exercise into your day one or two days at a time, and then adding in a couple more days.
2. Interval Exercises: Interval training is BEST for weight loss.  Interval training is where you go hard for a few minutes, then easy, then hard again.  I HATE interval training.  Let me say that again: I HATE it, but it works and it is great for your body. This is also good news for those people who say they don't have time, because you can do interval training in 10 minute bursts! 
3. Find an Exercise that You Love: To me this is essential.  When I found Taekwondo, I knew I would be able to stick with it. I love the atmosphere, the people, the built-in accountability, and I love the sport.  If you find an exercise you love, then you are much more prone to stick with it.   
4. Track Your Exercise:  There are 5,000 tracking tools out there, and I know I've done a list before.  Endomondo is what I'm currently using, but there is Runkeeper, Nike+, Gyminee, MapMyRun.  A lot of these have the word "run" in them, but they do track other exercises as well.  Sometimes it helps to see the visual of how much you've exercised recently.  I'll give you an example, here's a chart of my exercise over the last couple of weeks:

Unfortunately, the legend didn't populate, but the beigy pink is martial arts (what I do most).  The green is running (was taking a break because of my leg), the purple is walking and the light pink is dancing.  What a cool way to track your workouts!  I love Endomondo. 

Remember: the more you move the more calories you'll burn, the more you'll lose weight and incorporate a healthy lifestyle into your life. 

CHECK OUT LAST WEEK'S EDITION RIGHT HERE!!!

 

 

 

Weight Loss Tips #16: Motivation!

Did someone say the "M" word?  If you haven't figured it out already, these weight loss tips are just as much of a reminder for me, as they are tips for you.  And lately, I've been having trouble with motivation.  I think it's because I moved away from my routine, in which my daily habits had dug themselves in, and now it's hard to get back to a motivated spot. 

So for today, I thought I'd give you all some great tips to motivate you to exercise and to eat right.  Maybe, I'll follow a few of these myself and get moving.  Packing my bag to run at lunch RIGHT now...(or not exactly right now, because I'm blogging right now but you know what I mean!).

Tips for Motivating Yourself to Exercise: 

• Time for You:  I'm putting this as # 1 on the list, because for me this is #1.  The #1 reason I want to go for a run is time for myself: not for kids, not to listen to my boss, husband, PTA Mom, Gym Mom, etc.  It's built-in time for myself, where I can go out and listen to music and be by myself, or do a TKD class with friends. 

• The Way It Makes You Feel:  Every time I ho hum about exercising I forget about how I feel afterwards. I'll be starting a run, and these thoughts cross my mind: "Why the heck am I doing this?  This sucks.  I hate running!," but by the time I finish I always feel refreshed, amazing, and I can't wait to go for another run (OK--to be fair, I can't wait to go when my shin isn't killing me!). 

• Reward Yourself: Especially when you're first getting started with any exercise regime.  If  you have kids, then you know ALL about the reward system: Sit on the potty and I'll give you a sticker, clean up your room for a week and you'll get an allowance, eat all your vegetables and I'll give you dessert.  Heck, if you have a job you know about rewards: sit in a cubicle for 40 hours a week and you'll get a paycheck!  Often times, when I exercise in the morning I reward myself with my cup of coffee when I get back, or a nap in the afternoon.  Do something to thank yourself for getting up and moving. 

• Reaching a Goal:  You all know I'm goal oriented, and there is NOTHING better than setting a goal and reaching it.  I'm going to run a 5K.  When I accomplish that goal I know I will feel great.  Goals are motivating.  Set some and motivate yourself!

Now that we have some good ideas for motivating yourself to exercise, what about eating healthy?

• Partner Up: I've said this about a 100 times, but having an accountability partner helps greatly.  I have one in my good friend, Miranda Grace, and also now in my husband who I've dragged over to the dark side of healthy eating and fitness over the last few years!  Having someone to brag to when you lose weight and to turn to when you have a rotten day helps motivate you.  They can offer encouragement, and in turn you can offer it back to them.  I think having an accountability partner is the single most important motivation factor when you're trying to eat healthy and eat less.

• Remember What Eating Healthy Feels Like:  If you have taken a binge of unhealthy eating for a day or two years, then try to remember what eating healthy feels like.  Overall, when you cut out the fried food, the overeating, etc. your body will feel so much better.  Try to remember that feeling and strive to feel that way again. 

• Health Benefits:  Think of the health benefits of eating better.  Living longer, lower cholesterol, healthier teeth and bones.  Use these thoughts to motivate you. 

• Enjoy a Splurge: In moderation!  Like I've said before, splurging in moderation is okay.  You can have a bowl of ice cream occasionally!  Just don't make it an every night treat. 

 

Check Out the Last Weight Loss Tips-->Right Here!

Whine or Wine or Wino Whining

I'm still downloading data.  I swear, this is taking forever.  I wish I had backed up every single thing on my computer WAY before it needed to be backed up.  I'm having trouble with the videos, and I don't want to lose the precious moments of Darling Daughter learning how to walk or cramming cake into her face, or Number One's school presentation, or Number Two talking to me about nothing at all in particular.  I need to find some disks and burn them, so they don't get lost.

I'm having a hard time with motivation this week.  I'm not sure why.  I had intentions of waking up early yesterday and going for a run.  I wanted to see how my leg felt, but I talked myself out of it.  Then, I thought, "Well, I'll just go at lunch," but Number Two was sick, so I didn't go.  I didn't go after sunset either.  I'll Taekwondo today, so that will be my exercise, and I guess I'll see how running goes on Sunday when I have more time to talk myself back into doing it. Lately, I've hated getting started and I think it's because I'm afraid of the pain. 

I did do something though. I got back on MyFitnessPal.  My weight crept up, slowly, while I traveled almost the whole month of February.  I knew it would: eating out is not good for weight loss and neither is drinking.  So, I logged back onto MyFitnessPal to try to take off the tenish pounds I've put on in the last month.  It's always easier to keep it off than to try to lose it again.  Logging back on made me realize: a) how much I really was overeating because the first day on there I was SO hungry and b) alcohol REALLY needs to be limited if you're trying to lose weight, unless you just want a liquid lunch, which sometimes, really, I'm not so opposed to!

So my goals for the upcoming week are:

• Attempt a run to see how it feels
• Log into MFP every day to track food
• Write and Revise (once the computer is fixed--this weekend hopefully)
• Finish reading Underworld, which shouldn't be a problem as I only have about 100 pages left.

Weight Loss Tips #14: Get Back on the Horse

I have bad luck with horses.  When I was about four or five years old, my family went to my Dad's nurses' house.  She had a lot of horses.  I wanted to ride one! Judy's husband Doug put me on a big horse, bare back, and the horse took off: bucking across the little ring they had put us in. 
 
I held onto the mane for dear life, and when Doug was able to stop the horse and pull me off I said, "Can I ride again?"   I did ride again, but the next time I was safely in a saddle with Doug sitting behind me.  My Dad used to tell this story to everyone, "Let me tell you about the time Lauren rode the bucking bronco and wanted to go again..." 

Then at 15, my Dad decided we all needed to take horseback riding lessons, because he was going to a Dude Ranch with some friends.  He signed us up, and we began taking lessons at some horse farm off of the Northern Bypass.  Things went swell at first, until one fateful day.  Dad and I were riding near each other, and I took my horse up towards Dad, sidling up too close. His horse apparently had a grudge against my horse, and the horse kicked me HARD.  My horse took off with me clinging tight, at a full gallop.  I held on, and I was eventually able to corral him back to the barn. 

Tears were streaming down my face as Mom and Dad helped me off the horse.  I couldn't place any weight on my right leg.  They took the boot off and my sock was completely drenched in blood.  I had a puncture wound on my right leg from where the horse kicked me.  Dad and Mom took me to the hospital, and Dad sewed me up.  Luckily the leg was not broken!  The scar is still there today.
 
And I even decided to go horseback riding after that happened!  I just waited awhile to face my fears again.
 
So what's the point of this blog, you may be asking yourself?  Persistence, facing your fears, and getting back up when you've fallen down.  These are all traits that can help you succeed in weight loss and any other endeavor you might wish to undertake in life. 
 


Bucking Bronco, Frederic Remington, 1908

If you are struggling to lose weight and you've had a bad week eating everything under the sun (kind of like my weekend in Panama City Beach), then just start over.  Throw that week away in your head, and get back on the horse, even if you're afraid, just do it.  You'll be happy you did, and you'll be healthier in the end. 
 
Most of the time the only person holding you back is yourself.  As a child, I could have been scared to death of horses, but I wasn't.  I faced my fears, I was persistent, and I always got back on.  This is what it takes to lose weight.  It takes looking one bad day or one bad week in the eyes and saying, "I'm going to start over.  I'm not going to let that destroy me. I'm not going to let my fear of change drive my health or my eating habits."  Positive self talk, and the ability to know that if you've failed once you can always try again. 
 
Many people eat out of fear, out of emotion, out of a desire to fill some void inside them.  Simply because eating is emotional, these people are afraid to face their demons and change their habits.  Change your habits, face your fears, get back on the horse.  You'll be happy you did it!

 See Last Week's Edition-->Right Here!

 

Weight Loss Tips #13: Scheduling and Consistency

I woke up today with the strangest memory.  I had this memory of going down to the Alabama River with my parents when I was a kid, sitting on the big steps and eating a huge Wendy's cheeseburger. (This is probably because my husband left Wendy's coupons in the kitchen for some unknown reason!)  My parents used to take the four of us down to the river on Sundays a lot.  It was one of the only times we would be allowed to have fast food and SODA!  We would picnic, watch the boats on the river, and then play on the long-since gone wooden playground near the Silos.  Some of my best memories are from those Sundays spent with my family. 

Of course the portion sizes back then, even at Wendy's, were smaller than they are today.  So my huge Wendy's cheeseburger was (maybe) an appropriate size for a seven or eight year old girl wearing turquoise overalls covered in butterflies.  Oh the 80's! 

Anyway--I'll get to the point of this blog, because apparently I just love to change subjects.  One of my co-workers yesterday said this to me, "I don't know how you do everything, Lauren."  That little statement got me thinking, because you know, I just love to spin the wheels in my brain. 

What does it take to lose weight?  It takes a REALISTIC schedule and CONSISTENCY!  I have a little bit of an obsessive compulsive personality, and when I started out I wanted to workout every single night.  I wanted to go to Taekwondo no matter what else was going on in my life.  This was not REALISTIC!!!  For one thing, I was missing out on my children's lives.  Another, I was not giving my body the time it needed to rest.

So, when you're starting a workout routine you need to ask yourself: How many days can I feasibly workout?  What times can I go?  When can I fit this into my schedule?  You need to do this and still make sure you have time for yourself, time for your spouse, time for your kids, and time to rest.  So, if the only times you have to work out are at 5 AM, then I suggest finding a morning Boot Camp, or finding a really good video that you know you'll stick to.  I, for one, really like a class because of the accountability factor, but classes are not for everyone and will not fit into everyone's lives as easy as they have into mine. 

And now for the big one: BE CONSISTENT!!!  Once you start eating well and exercising right make it a part of your life.  You know how they always say the key to disciplining a child is consistency.  Well the key to disciplining yourself is exactly the SAME.  Once you've committed to going to the gym three days a week: GO!  Stop making EXCUSES!!!  It will take weeks and weeks before you actually want to do it, so just drag yourself out of the house with the negative talk going in your head, until one day you just get in your car and drive there and realize this is now a part of your life. 

The same goes for eating well.  Yes, eating a big Wendy's burger every once in a while, will not derail you, but once you've changed the way you eat you need to try to stick with it.  Go to the grocery store and make the right food choices.  Read labels, and see if you're eating actual food or just STUFF with salt added.  Gravitate towards natural foods and try to eat whole foods more often.  Soon, you'll notice that instead of that candy bar for snack you'll want some carrots, a banana, or some nuts. 

 

If you missed last week's edition: HERE IT IS!

 

*Artwork found on Google

 

 



Weight Loss Tips #12: Stop Comparing

So I was sitting on my couch this morning thinking about what to type to you folks, who are wildly anticipating my new weight loss tips edition.  At some point, I'll probably run out of weight loss tips because most of these are common sense, and because you'll have everything you need to know in order to change your lifestyle.

I've been a little down on myself lately, because I still want to lose fifteen pounds and I haven't been able to do so.  Last night, I was wondering if giving up my coffee with creamer would be worth the 15 pound weight loss, and my answer to myself was NO!!!  My body is healthy, I exercise 6 days a week, and I eat well most days.  I know I'm leading a healthy life, so maybe I don't really need to lose another 15 pounds.  Maybe my body just needs to stay where it is.  So without further ado, my big weight loss tip for today is this:

Don't Compare Yourself To Others:  Human nature, you might say?  Comparing ourselves to others is natural, but it is a huge no-no in weight loss or for body image.  Every body is different.  Everyone loses weight in different ways.  If you're looking at your best friend and wondering how she can still wear a Size 4 jean, even though she's popped out six babies then you're not doing it right.  Confidence in YOURSELF is what it takes to lose weight.  Stop comparing yourself to everyone else, including that skinny actress who exercises 80 hours a week and lives off soy milk, and start thinking about where YOU want to be and how YOU'RE going to get there.  Live with a positive self image, inside and out and it will be easier to lose the weight.  And praise yourself for the progress you make every day, and for your ability to create a healthy lifestyle.  It's cliche, but don't compare apples to oranges.  Nothing good comes from it!

Going along with this, women don't compare yourself to men.  Men, in general, have a easier time losing weight.  It seems like they can cut out a candy bar a week and lose 50 pounds, and we whine and complain it's not fair.  There's a reason we have an extra layer of fat or two: to haves babies and to protect our young.  So if your husband, boyfriend, lover is losing weight quickly and you're not, STOP comparing yourself to him.  You'll lose it eventually, if you make the right changes to your lifestyle.

And my motto for the year: NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Click here for Last Week's Edition