Day 180: Never underestimate the power one week can bring.

This past week I cut out a few items in my diet: salt, man-made carbohydrates and sugar. It always surprises me how quickly my body changes if I'm persistent, even for a short period of time.

Salt: the first day I didn't add salt to my cooking, I felt like I was sacrificing a lot and was surprised that it's easier to give up sugar than salt.  Everything I ate tasted bland, and I had to actually put some mental effort not to grab the salt shaker--at one point, I noticed I reached for the shaker without thinking.  I had no idea I had become such a salt fiend.
Surprise: After a day or two, I started to discover the flavor of foods. Things tasted differently to the point that I didn't even miss salt.  Scrambled eggs, homemade salad dressing and sweet potatoes taste fine without salt.  I'm shocked that I noticed a difference after a day and am considering putting the salt shaker back with the rest of the spices in the cupboard.

Man-made Carbs: At the beginning of the week I had a bit of a challenge wrapping my head around finding carbs that were not man made and gluten free.  Bread, we take that for granted.  It's super hard to find gluten free bread that doesn't look dry and cardboard tasting. I plan on making some with rice flour one day soon.  (Note: gluten free is only for a few months to rule out a gluten sensitivity.)
Surprise:By the end of the week, I found that I needed heavier carbs for my energy.  Not being able to grab bread or tortillas or a bun, I noticed that fruit alone wasn't enough carbohydrate load for my body's need.  Adding sweet potatoes, beans and brown rice did the trick.

Sugar:  This is a no brainer.  When is sugar ever a good thing to put in our body?  Sure, it does so much for the soul, but really, we can live healthy without it.  At the beginning of the week, I noticed I did have cravings and I actually took a bite of something the kids were eating, but that was it.  (I won't spend much time on this since I have oodles of other posts on my thoughts and struggles with sugar.)
Surprise: By the end of the week, I once again found the strength to be stronger than the cookie.  We went to a Arrow of Light Cub Scout Ceremony last night and there were some wonderful desserts I would have liked to have a plate of.  I was shocked that I didn't look twice.  (Okay, I'll be honest, I did.) I was ecstatic that I actually took a moment to visualize what I would feel like if I indulged.  I thought about the sugar coated throat I will feel after eating my weights-worth, and I found that a simple whiff of the gooey goodness of Smore brownies was enough to satisfy me.

I feel good.  I feel empowered.  A week ago I felt a bit out of control, like I couldn't say no to the things I loved and that brought comfort.  I honestly started this hormone balancing program with severe doubts since the first month is a bit strict, for obvious reasons.  In weight loss, it's not just about your brain making the decision, it's the way your body reacts to the food you feed it.  Just removing three things from my diet, I can feel my body responding, and this helps when my brain is weak. I am honestly surprised that I feel strong enough to make changes that are going to better my health, only after a week.  Never underestimate the power one week can bring.

Day 166: WTHeck is going on?

I LOVE donating blood.  I've been doing it for years and try to do it whenever I can.  I'm nearly to the two gallon mark--maybe I've passed it already? I need to remember to check so I can get my license plate holder saying, "I'm a 2 gallon donor."  Call me a weirdo, but I like having that on my car.

Needless to say, I've never had an issue when donating.  Actually, I take that back.  When I was in college, I had an incomplete donation.  Turns out, if it's hot and you are a little low on water before going in, your blood can be too thick and stop flowing...right in the middle of a donation.  Yeah, that happened once, but I've never been turned away...until today.

I sat down behind the private curtains with the lady and she checked all my vitals.  Blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, all normal, and then she pricked my finger.  Normally, the tech has to squeeze hard to get a big enough drop to fill up the glass vile.  Not this time.  I noticed she was sucking it up as the blood drop slid down my finger. That caught my attention, but I didn't think it was a big deal.

"Do you usually have a problem with this?" she asked, as the little ball of blood didn't sink in the blue liquid.

"Not usually, but it usually hovers for a sec until in falls to the bottom.  Why?"

She walked over to a machine that was out of my sight, I heard it whirl behind me as I waited.  Soon, it beeped and the tech came back and told me I couldn't donate today but that I could come back in three weeks and try again.

This has never happened to me before and I'm a little frustrated with my body right now as it's freaking out on me.  I have noticed that I've been extra tired lately, I just thought it was the heat and my hubby's snoring.  Guess it was something more.  I've also been a bit more stiff and sore than usual too, I need to research Fibromyalgia more thoroughly.  I'm SO grateful I have the habit of working out every day or who know how I'd be feeling like right now.

Now more than ever, I really need to be stepping it up.  I need to be more balanced in my eating and adding more to my exercise regimen.  It's a reminder to never get complacent.  Health is ongoing and how we take care of our body needs to adjust as our needs do.  It's my journey and I now have an unexpected detour. No worries though, it's all a lesson on adjusting to the unexpected.

Day 160: Why is just as important as what.

Photo Credit

As I laid in bed this morning thinking about my current state of health and how frustrated I was, a thought occurred to me.  The same thing that is happening now, happened in my early twenties, nearly twenty years ago. (Yes, I just leaked my age, oh well...I tend to be an open book) Yep, at one point, I gained 40 pounds in 6 months during a time I was the most active in my life.  Noticing the similarities, I continued to analyse the timeline of my life.

I was a teen in the 90's.  I remember the HUGE craze then was a low-fat, high-carb diet.  I was in high school and I was very rigid with my eating.  I was also a size 6 who felt like I was a size 26. (If I could go back in time and kick myself, I would.) I remember eating very little fat, if any, and a whole bunch of carbs and Diet Pepsi. I remember my cycle was messed up and the Dr. gave me medication to fix it.  So during a time where my endocrine system and metabolism was developing, I was doing everything to work against it.

A body needs good fats to help build and strengthen every system needed to be alive and healthy.  I gave my body none, or at least I didn't give it the healthy kind when I had treats or a snack.  I also flooded my body with chemicals from soda and medicine.  What's sad is if I had been eating a balanced and healthy diet, I wouldn't have needed the medication to begin with. No wonder my body rebelled when I was 20, my endocrine system and metabolism were toast.  I had abused it without even knowing and it was ticked.

Now, twenty years later, I'm still dealing with the damage I incurred while I was developing in my youth.  I'm grateful that now I know better health habits so I can teach my children not just to eat better but why they would want to eat better.  I personally think the why is just as important as the what. You need to know what to put in your body so you can be healthy, but if you don't understand or know why, it's easy to make excuses.

I'm tired. * I don't feel good. *  Just this time. * It's a special day. * Tomorrow I'll do better. * Monday.

For me, when I know the why, the why will squash the excuses and reveal how lame and flimsy they really are, giving me a better chance of winning.

3/365 - Something I've come to realize.

1/365 - Happy New Year 2011

As I sit here ready for the new year to begin, there are many thoughts floating around my head.

Excitement. Trepidation. Hope. Fear.

I've had weight loss successes before. I went to Diet Center (A local weight loss clinic in town) while I was in Jr. High and lost 20 pounds. I was a size 6 afterwards. After my second baby, I lost 50 pounds with Weight Watchers. I was a size 8 when I hit goal.  I have had my moment to shine and feel triumphant.  I also know it was because of a program I lost it.  As soon as I was done with the program, it slowly came back. Every time. I have learned since, that programs, for me, don't work in the long term.

In 2009, for the first time in my life, I lost weight on my own. 40 pounds of weight was gone because of my efforts. No program. No help. Just me. Success has never been so sweet. Without making an official "weight loss" goal, I finished the year pretty close to where I need to be to have a healthy BMI. I was a size 10/12 and I was happy with my body for the first time in my life.

2010 wasn't so sweet.  I started the year out strong, but slowly lost momentum. I thought about doing a 720 days of workout challenge, but decided to take Sundays completely off. It was for good reason, Sundays are a special day for me. Unfortunately, once you miss a day in a long streak, it's easy to make it two. The cycle then begins. I thought about doing another 365 day goal starting mid-year, but that didn't work. (Refer to my recent vlog where I discuss why) For me, I need to be a bit OCD with my goals or its easy for me to sabotage my efforts. I've learned this. It's how I roll.

I now end 2010 feeling like I never had a success at all. I had a very rough year, probably the toughest in my life and I took it out on myself.  Writing was a wonderful, creative escape but I stopped working out when I started to write. Sometimes it was because I didn't want to take a break from writing, but mostly it's because I forgot to workout until it was midnight and too late to do it.  (My husband needs to be up early and the elliptical is in our bedroom)  Over time, poor eating habits returned and a few pounds were found before the holiday season began.  By the time December came, I was in full blown binge mode. Right now I feel like I never made a change to begin with.

Weight loss efforts has such an ugly side. When making positive choices we are moving forward, learning, becoming better, it feels great. But once you have a weight problem caused by bad habits, those habits can so easily be found no matter how long time has elapsed. Especially when life gets challenging.  I chose to put "Journey" in the name of this blog because that is exactly what it is.  There really is no end. Constant vigilance needs to be there or we'll find ourselves in a place we don't want to be.  That dark ugly place that is so familiar.

As I sit here, my pants feel tight and my body feels flabby. I can literally feel the newly formed fat on my legs.The thought of eating any sweets right now makes my stomach turn because the over-sugared, over-fill feeling is nauseating. I'm so sick of eating right now--the idea of a week long fast sounds inviting. Actually, my body would probably benefit from a good fast too.

I'm excited for 2011. It holds promise. I also start it somewhat ticked off at myself and determined to do better. I know I can do it, I've done it before. But there is always a fear in the back of my head. What if? I'm happy to say that I have pushed my what ifs to the back of my brain and ignoring them. I plan on getting up tomorrow and ending the day on the elliptical, doing my workout. I'm not going to focus on all the things I should do better like getting up earlier, eating better, planning better, spending less time on the computer, being outside more, etc. I'm only going to focus on one thing, my work outs. I know me. If I try to do too many changes at once, I will fail. Guaranteed. But if I focus on one thing, I know I can do it.  Keep things simple and it's easier to make changes. That's my plan.

2011 Workout Goal

Take Two

 

I just finished doing my 2011 goal vlog and I look like this (minus the cleavage).

You think I'm kidding? I'm tempted to put a screen shot, but I won't. I've always had a wrinkly forehead, it's in the genes, but the lighting was just perfect for a Klingon effect. I'll just spare you, okay?

So I will attempt to do it again tomorrow with better lighting. It's ALWAYS about lighting, isn't it?

Are you ready for 2011? Do you have some goals? In the past, I got to a point in my life where I stopped making goals for the New Year. Why? Because I thought it was a joke. After years, and years of making goals only to sabotage them before the week's end, I was done.

It wasn't until 2009 something clicked.  I was pretty ticked with how I felt and I made a crazy goal I honestly didn't think I could do. I guess I was mocking myself and the whole New Years Resolution idea. But the joke was on me.

During the year, I learned there is power in January 1st when you make a goal for 365 days. At any point during the year, I was able to find out what day I was on because it was the same as the day of the year! For instance, the 214th day of 2009 I did my 214th workout. Simple math. The numbers worked well with my OCD. I couldn't miss a day because the numbers would be off, and that would have driven me nuts. There was just enough incentive not to miss a day because I knew if I did, the whole goal would have been over, and I was kind of enjoying watching the numbers add up. I'm compulsive like that.

I've learned that I need to workout daily to keep in shape and to stay healthy because I'm full of excuses. One missed day turns into two turns into a week....  There is ALWAYS a reason not to workout. Always. Making such a goal kills the lame excuses I come up with and really, isn't it always an excuse that keeps us from our goals?

Stress

I've had a stressful summer.  Too much to do and not enough time to do it in.  Sound familiar? We all have stress in our lives and for me, there are times I can handle it and other times when I can't.

When I can't handle it, I take my stress out with eating.  For me, I ate more this summer than I usually do.  Come to think of it, I didn't eat that much worse than I have all year as I maintained my weight loss.  But I am currently a good 10 pounds heavier now.  Why?  I haven't been exercising!  When I say exercising is key, I mean it!!  I can have a little allowance with my eating if I am working out, if I'm not, my weight just creeps back on, every time.

Right now I sit here and I can feel my waist line cut into my tummy.  I HATE this feeling and yet it's back.  The first thing I need to do is make time for the elliptical.  Even if I don't change my snacking or stress relieving methods, the workouts will help with maintaining so I can stay in my snug pants (for now) instead of having to buy the next size.

Day 9/365 - Feeling lame but doing it anyway

This is where a goal really helps a lot on one's journey.  I think there may be a bug in the house and I haven't been feeling 100%.  My stomach is off and I feel a little weak.  You know how you feel when you aren't eating or drinking enough?  I know I made a goal, but when you aren't feeling well, you should rest. It's a great excuse (I mean reason) to take a break and then get back to it, right?

NOPE.

Listen to your body in times such as these.  I did't feel good, but I wasn't bed ridden.  I didn't feel strong enough to go all gusto, but I got on my elliptical anyway.  I didn't really have a plan on how long I would go, just thought I would play it by ear.  So I grabbed a book, and got to it.  I got into the book, checked the timer, and it said 15 minutes, so I ended it there. No. More. Excuses.

This is what I did today:
Elliptical: 15 min @ level 10 

Sunday - THIS.IS.IT.

This is the day.  The day I am laying it all out.  The day that I am making the commitment to:

WORKOUT 365 DAYS IN A ROW & BLOG ABOUT IT!!

• I am going to be open and share what I am doing/eating/learning.  
• I am also going to get the "after" picture that I have been promising.
• I am feeling strong, positive and pretty much ticked that I haven't done this already.  
• No amount of stress or illness is going to get in my way.  
• This.is.going.to.happen!!

For those who have been following me, you know that I did this goal last year and that I succeeded in working out for 365 days in a row.  I lost 40 pounds in the process by exercising daily and eating real food in smaller portions. Last year though, I only started to blog about it mid-way through, after most the big challenges of getting started had passed.

After my goal was met, I found that I slowly slipped back into the behavior that I had prior to the goal. (Didn't help that it was the holidays) Excuses aside, I am human, with human tendencies, habits and behaviors. 

Even this time around, I wasn't quite sure I could make the commitment and that is why I am making this commitment on day 7 and not day 1, I had to prove it to myself first.

I originally wanted to take Sundays off, but that just doesn't work with my perfectionist personality right now.  I will try to do something different on Sundays, but I may have to work up to that.

I welcome you to follow me on this journey of mine.

This is what I did today:

Elliptical: 15 min @ level 10 

Monday - Me, repeating myself.

"I pray that this isn't the same, old, stupid cycle so many find themselves in where you end up blogging the same feelings in a few weeks."  There it is, I am quoting myself from last Sunday, April 4th, because that is exactly what happened.  I am a bit reluctant to say that I am going to make today "Day1" because I honestly, don't want to quote myself again!


So I am going to act like today is day 1, and that tomorrow is day 2, but I am not going to proclaim that I am back on it until I know I am back on it!! Maybe on "Day 10" I'll say something, better yet, maybe on "Day 21". (Don't they say it takes 3 weeks to create a habit?)  Because I don't want to have to type, "I pray that this isn't the same, old, stupid cycle so many find themselves in where you end up blogging the same feelings in a few weeks."  No one wants to read that any more than a person wants to live through it. I am not bitter, just a little frustrated and a wee bit hopeful!  :o)


This is what I did today:
Elliptical: 30 min @ level 10 
Hundred Push-up Challenge: Level 1 Day 1 (45 push-ups)

In a FUNK!

I had plans, BIG plans on March 1st...and a week later, I get a stupid cold.  I can work through colds, the minor ones, but this one, it was sneaky.  It came on mild, then after a few days, it hit HARD, then everything seemed fine.  Fine except for feeling like I got hit by a truck.  I seriously felt like I did when I had mono in my teens.  During this ordeal, I decided that a little break from exercise would be good to muster my energy back up.  So here I am, back to about 95% of health, planning to get back on the wagon.  I WILL hit my goal this year, just need to get back on the path that will get me there.

Day 6 - Quote

WORKOUT

Elliptical Trainer: 30 minutes @ level 10

100 Push-up workout: Week 1 Day 3 ( push-ups)

"Perfection is impossible.  However, striving for perfection is not.  Do the best you can under the conditions that exist.  That is what counts."  
--John Wooden

I am a perfectionist, and my perfectionism has always messed me up in my past weight loss efforts.  "I messed up today/week/month, so I may as well splurge until the end of the day and start over tomorrow/next week/month."  


The journey is successful when we show understanding and forgiveness to ourselves along the way. 

Day 2 - A NEW CHALLENGE

WORKOUT
Elliptical Trainer: 30 minutes @ level 10
100 Push-up workout: Week 1 Day 1 (45 push-ups)

In efforts to get that "after" photo, I need to set up some goals to get me there.  Last year I was loosing weight (40 pounds total) and I took my photo in July.  I haven't taken any more photos because nothing has really changed since then, I have been maintaining for the most part.  I did gain a couple of pounds at Christmas that are still lingering (dang stress).  But they won't be lingering for long.

I started the day today doing my push-ups.  I decided to go back and start with Week 1 Day 1 doing MANLY push-ups.  What a difference form makes when doing push ups!  Don't get me wrong, girly push-ups are great and your arms and back do get a workout!!  If it's the only way to do a push-up, then do it girly style!!  But if you can, go all out and do regular push-ups, it makes a big difference.

I never really thought there was a big difference between the two styles in regards to the benefit your arms are getting.  With this thought, I figured if I could do more with girl style push ups, my arms would benefit greater.  For the most part, they do.  But if you want to really get your tummy and for the most part, involve your entire body, use the standard push-up method.  I am converted!  The only way I can compare the two is that girly push-ups are like riding a bike with training wheels, standard push-ups are like riding without.  Both get you on the bike so you can ride it around and enjoy the ride, but only one is using your entire body to keep the bike from falling.

So yesterday marked a new challenge although it's not a new idea for me.  Last year I did the 365 days of working out and accomplishing such a goal taught me so much about goal setting.  It's really the only goal I was able to finish entirely on my own merit that I can remember.  This year I decided I would still work out every day, but I would skip Sunday's since they are my Sabbath Day and it just seems weird to me to workout after going to church.

I started off this year doing exactly as I planned, but as soon as a virus snuck up on me, I decided to amend the challenge to include taking days off for illness, which is a good reason.  Although I have regularly been working out, I have had a few days where I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO WORKOUT!!  This is NOT a good sign because that is the beginning of the end! How often have I set a workout goal, got sick for a week and then forgot the goal.  Then one day gets forgotten, then another, and then before you know it, you aren't working out regularly any more!

So today is the second day of working 365 days in a row. Although I still want to keep Sunday's special, I'll probably just do something different and lighter than what I do the rest of the week.  I also plan on getting a little more creative in the kitchen, to keep things exciting!

**Update-I started this new 365 day goal on March 1, but began the push-ups on day 2 thus throwing myself off and having this post originally stated as being day 1.)

Push Up Update

So I was chuggin' along doing my push-up routine when week 4 hit.  (Week 4 is grueling!)  Between joint pain from doing 120 or so push-ups over 5 sets and a funky virus setting in, I was having a hard time.  Maybe the joint pain was from the virus??

Anyway, after a little beef about doing them "girly style" I have decided to do the challenge from the beginning with MANLY push-ups!   I did the repeat "Initial test" and ended up doing half as many as I did when I did the test girly style.  Honestly, I was surprised-I thought I would have done less!!  What a difference it makes when you take your knees off the floor.  I liked how I could REALLY feel it in my stomach.  I could feel it in my stomach before, but not quite this much.

So I am adjusting my older adventure and creating a new one in the process. We'll see what happens after a 3 week break and during week 4 of the program this time around.

The One Hundred Push Up site has a really great break down on training  and the iPhone app for it is AMAZING!  If you have an iPhone/iPod and you want to take this challenge, invest the $1.99 to get the app.  It's worth it!

Week 4 Day 1

Wow! This push-up challenge is getting....challenging! Last night I barely did it. My arms hurt. My joints ached. It's a great feeling to finish what you started.

I took a few extra days of rest knowing that it was going to get harder. I thought it would help, but I am not sure it did. I will find out tomorrow, with a 1 day rest which is better for my body right now.

I don't want to injure or over work any part of my body where I wouldn't be able to carry on with the challenge. This morning, my shoulder joints were a little crampy. I hope I am not too old for such a challenge. (I know I'm not, plenty of decade older individuals can do pretty much whatever they want with their bodies when it comes to exercise) but I am certainly starting to feel older.

Your body always has a way of reminding you that you aren't 17. Luckily, if we listen to our bodies, and take things slow, we can strengthen them and stretch them how we need to. Aging doesn't mean a thing if you are willing to take care of yourself though diet and exercise on a regular basis. You really are only as old as you allow yourself to be.

Life is ALL about choices!

It certainly is, isn't it?  Should I workout today or wait until tomorrow?  Should I eat this apple or dive into that cookie?  Should I make good choices or bad choices?  Am I going to start today and do what I need to do to feel good or should I wait until tomorrow or Monday?  Life is about choices, always has been, always will be.

I have always been a black and white person, all or nothing.  Mediocracy and the grey area have never been in my nature.  Although in some areas this might be good, I am finding that it doesn't apply to everything.

In efforts to loose the last bit of weight and to create a lifestyle the invites health, I have learned that it can't be taken with an all or nothing attitude.  While an "all" attitude gets your workouts in and has you eating healthy and doing healthy behaviors, a person can burn out and can find themselves in the "nothing" attitude.  This attitude will undo all the good you did when you were doing the "all."  It creates a yo-yo of your life.  I spent well over a decade with this type of outlook.  I gained a lot more then I ever lost with this outlook as well.  All or nothing hasn't worked at all for me in my weight loss journey.

What I have found that has caused success isn't mediocracy either.  I never thought that I was living in the "gray area" either, I have realized that I HAVE been.  I have been doing well with the exercise and for the most part I have been eating well, but I need to do better.  Being in the grey area of things leaves you wanting to do better.  So in pondering recently, the thought of choices has become apparent.  You can be having a challenging day and you just want to do nothing at the end of it.  But here lies a choice.  Do you continue doing nothing being engulfed by the challenge of the day, or do you make a choice to do something else, something that gets you closer to your life's goals?  For instance, at the end of a day where the kids have been challenging, the house is a mess and I just want to do nothing, I have a choice.  Do I just sit on the couch and watch TV or get lost in a book and "relax" or do I do something that has me going to bed one step closer to my desired lifestyle?  I have the choice to workout and know I did something to get me closer to the goal of the lifestyle I want to create.  Nevermind that I didn't eat as well as I would have liked, or that I didn't fold the laundry or get some computer work done, I made the choice and worked out.  In that moment of decision, I decided to make a choice that brought me closer, not farther from my goals.

In life so often we are a victim of circumstance.  We just go through life and blame the things around us for not being or doing the things we want.  "I am too busy to focus on myself."  "If only I had more time." "If I had more money, time, health, space, happiness..." You fill in the blank.  This is easy to do and to get caught up in.  In life, I have learned, that you need to make the decision and then to make the choices that follow that decision.  It's our human nature to also sabotage ourselves.  We get used to a certain thing a certain schedule and we sabotage ourselves out of fear of what we could have. If you want something for yourself, you need to fight for it.  If you don't, you'll probably never achieve it.  In my life, if I want to have the lifestyle in which I dream of, it's not going to be handed to me and it's certainly not going to be easy or I would be living it right now.  I am going to have to fight for it.  I will have to make choices that bring me closer and avoid the ones that bring be farther.  We aren't stagnant in our lives.  We are either moving towards our goal or away from it, and it's always by choice.  If we are in a place we don't want to be, it's because we have chosen to be there through the choices we have made.

With this in mind, I find myself making better chioces.  By knowing that in every choice I am either getting closer or farther from my goal I must remember the decision I have made.  The decision to make choices that will bring me closer to my lifestyle goal.  Since I have made this decision to get closer to my goal, the choices will eventually get easier simply by the practice of doing so.  If I find a choice that is challenging, I will have to fight to achieve my goal.  The achievement of goals in life is not given, or stumbled across by accident, they are fought for.

First Push-Up "Test"

So with the push up challenge that we are doing, they periodically have you test to see how many you can do before falling to the ground, tonight is the first one.  I started the whole challenge being able to do 30, I hope there is some sort of improvement when I do it tonight....

I just did 50 in a row!  

I am half way there with 4 weeks left of the program!  :o)

On another pleasant note, I am down 2 pounds since the beginning of the year!  (I finally lost what I found around the holidays!) Things are looking good!  I have learned that I personally HAVE to work out everyday to keep in control of my weight!  This month has been quite busy and I am a little embarrassed to say that all my workouts haven't been 30 minutes.  I have committed to 1 chapter of HP a night, which means that my workouts are between 15-30 minutes.  Small payoff to be at peace at the dinner table.

Bring on 2010

A whole new year, full of possibilities! I think I have the regular working out habit solidly formed, but I need to amp things up this year! This Christmas I learned that although I might have overcome the working out regularly obstacle, I still have to work on my eating habits. For the most part, they are good, but that 190 pound lady can still be found inside from time to time. I was really surprised to find myself "feeling" heavy again. It really is a mental thing and if one isn't careful, they can sabotage themselves simply by giving into their feelings.

I keep saying this and I am using this as motivation. My weight is good, but I would like it to be better. For instance, in the morning, my BMI is "healthy" but by the time the evening comes my BMI is "Over weight." Talk about messing with the brain! I want my BMI to be "Healthy" no matter what time of day it is.

So for 2010, I am going to work at getting my brain in a healthy mode. To have my brain match my weight. There are days that my brain feels 190 and starts acting like it. I know this all sounds like crazy talk but it's true. When a person looses physical weight, they need to make sure they are loosing the mental weight too. Now I am not talking about emotional hang-ups and issues that can also act as "weight." I am talking about the perceptions we have of ourselves.

If you have gone decades being a certain body type, you get used to eating, exercising, shopping and living in that body type. I see this happen to others - it happened to me! You get on a program or you do something that works and the weight drops. You are surprised because you can't believe it actually worked. Then you find yourself in unfamiliar territory. Clothes fit. Your body feels good. Things are just different, different for the good of course! But if you are still seeing the world through an overweight perception, you will find yourself back at the familiar weight when you get off the program or start changing the habits that gave you success. It happens all the time!!

So this year, I am going to keep with the daily workouts (minus Sundays) and going to amp them up a bit. For that last part of the year, being so busy, I just didn't have my 30 minutes to exercise in the evening so I started to bump up the level and cut back on the time-level 15 for 15 minutes. (This works great in building muscles) but after the holidays I need to focus on the cardio. I just "feel" so heavy! So I am going to keep the level up and now also bump up the time. My goal is to start February doing 30 minutes at level 15. I love a good book and when I don't have time to read I try to do two things at once, workout and read. A good book keeps me on the elliptical longer by passing the time and I can get some good reading in too. It's a win-win!

I am also going to try to purge my body of sugar by reducing it dramatically. The holidays can be so indulgent with the sugar. I need to get rid of these cravings!!

So my big goal of 2010 is to have an OFFICIAL "AFTER" picture to share on this blog. One that I am proud of where my body and brain match in weight with a healthy BMI 24/7!!

Day 365 - I DID IT!!

WOW!! A whole year has passed since I started this crazy goal! I honestly can't believe how quickly time passes in a year. When I was a child, a year seemed like a decade, now a year seems like what a month used to be.

Anyway, it's a bittersweet day! I was a little bummed because I have pretty much maintained my weight the last 6 months. Am I complaining, NO WAY! But I don't have an "after" photo to share today. I think I may have lost focus. The goal at the beginning of the year was to workout 365 days in a row. That was it. I made no mention to weight because weight wasn't the focus. Had I hoped it would effect my weight in a positive manner, sure. But it wasn't the focus and I knew it couldn't be because when you focus on something that naturally fluctuates, you can loose sight of the goal.

Tonight, after I finished my workout I walked out to a bunch of cheering when I walked into the living room. My hubby reminded me of the success that I achieved, success which I may have missed if it weren't for my family to remind me. Dang! I worked out 365 days in a row, rain or shine, traveling or home bound, sick or healthy!! That IS an accomplishment even if I am not feeling it right now.

2010 is the beginning of a new decade and this is going to be the year that I continue with what I started. I plan on continuing my daily workouts, minus Sundays. So I really can't make another 365 days in a row goal or a 730 day goal either. But I can say that I learned a lot this year. The biggest thing is that if I can workout daily and watch my portions, I can have a weight that I am happy with. Simple.

I am going to continue to blog my progress. I have more things to learn and share because as the title of this blog states, it's my weight loss journey, and I am not to my goal weight yet. Being at the upper end of a healthy BMI is like playing with fire. I want to be in a healthy range that is strong.

Happy New Year!! May 2010 bring many blessings to all!