A New Age

Maybe I did just turn 59, but I'm still learning technology with each passing day!  Today I am able to record my blog from my cell phone!  ...  If I get to the point where I can't learn anything new, just bury me!!!

I am forever thinking of things that I want to say about my health journey but I don't have time to stop and write them down. Since I just got this new feature, now I can't think of a single thing that I want to say!  That's life!!!

Time Marches On...

Time marches on and so do I.  Some days I do really well ... and other days I drift out of focus.  To maintain a positive attitute (which is imperative), I keep reminding myself that this is a learning process -- as is all of life.  It's a journey to grow in our spiritual faith and Biblical knowledge, it's a journey to grow in our relationships with family and friends, and it's a journey in caring for our body.  One of my favorite authors is Stephen Covey (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, etc.).  He said that we should always "sharpen our saw".  I try to sharpen mine by listening to 'self help' books about health, the Bible, motivational, social media marketing, and a wealth of other things (in addition to some good non-fiction along the way!  I love mysteries!).  I certainly hope that I never get to the point where I no longer feel the need to sharpen my saw!!

One of the many difficult things in learning to be an intuitive eater is forgiving myself.  That has never been a strong point for me.  The nutritionist said that she isn't as concerned about what I eat as much as my 'behaviors' and I have thought long and hard about that.  "Hiding food" so that it doesn't exist, maybe (?), therefore I don't have to be accountable for it -- even with myself?  Or did I hide it so that Mike wouldn't know I was eating it?  I don't know the answer to that, but I DO think that Mike can tell that I have eaten more than he witnessed!  ;-)    Who's kidding who?

Anyway, where I'm going with this is that I am doing better today than I was yesterday.  My intake of fruits and especially vegetables has sharply increased, which is great!!!  I used to buy fruits and veggies with good intentions then eventually throw them away.  That hasn't happened in a while, I'm glad to say.

I have eaten basically NO empty calories in the past two months.  (Ooops, I just thought of one -- my birthday cake at work.  But the amount I ate was nothing compared to days gone by when I kept going back to the kitchen area and snacking for the next couple of days!)  The thought of french fries, fried foods, etc., literally makes me cringe with the idea of this going into my system.  ...Sugar, however, I still want every hour!  But the 'small' meals/snacks every three hours keeps my insulin level in check and I'm doing rather well not binging.  Preparing in advance to always have a healthy veggie to pop in my mouth is the key.

Another revelation that I have had is that I can't keep things like "100 calorie snacks" around because I've learned that "100 + 100 + 100 = 300".   Yes.  Sad but true.  I do better staying away altogether.  When I want to treat myself, I need to go out and buy A cookie at the bakery or a SCOOP of ice cream at the dairy bar.  If I have it, I want to eat it; if I don't I will probably chill before I get around to going out after it.

Exercise has been surprisingly easy and I LOVE the way it makes me feel!!!  It amazes me that, knowing that, I have to MAKE myself do it as soon as I get home from work or it doesn't happen.  And weekends have no routine to adhere to so I'm apt to never get there.  'Gotta work on that!   :-)

-- PS -- I didn't mean to imply that I am not working hard when I exercise -- I am.  But I like it once I get past the first ten minutes or so!

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

It has been a good week!   :-)   To recap, I want to list list the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Good:  * I have almost stopped eating mindlessly!  I am very aware each time that I eat.  It isn't a big deal, and when I start to feel hungry I have a little something to eat.  While I am eating, I stop doing other things. That part is hard, but it works.
Good:  * Paying attention to my level of satisfaction when I eat, I am learning to be aware of those feelings, too.  It is amazing how little it takes to satisfy my hunger!  Who knew?!
Bad:  * I don't always stop when I am satisfied.  I am aware of it, but I often keep going a little longer.
Good:  * But sometimes I stop right then!  I haven't 'stuffed' myself since reading Intuitive Eating!
Bad:  * I really, really, really want to 'clean my plate' still.  I really do.  I always have.  It just feels wasteful to leave food.  (Instead, I am turning it into 'waistful' food!)
Good:  * I'll keep working on the 'clean my plate' thing and following my signals.
Good:  * I know to start serving myself smaller portions now.  No eating out of the container either!!!!!
Bad:  * I definitely have not been serving up the veggies and fruit the way I had planned!!!  What's the deal with that?!  I've been eating too many 'good carbs' instead.
Good: * I'd really like to focus on "G-BOMBS" -- greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, seeds & nuts for my health.  (Remember to ask Ashley if she agrees with that.)
Bad:  * Broccoli is so expensive!
Good:  * I think I have been avoiding the grocery store to keep from being tempted from certain habits.  I need to start going regularly so that I don't run out of fruits and veggies to snack on.  That should be a priority for me!
Good: * I have been doing aerobic exercise most days for at least thirty minutes, with some weights, bands, stretching, etc., added at the end.  So far my foot (dropped metatarsals) hasn't bothered me much (only with the side steps during a video session.  I'm thinking about trying different shoes on video workouts).
Bad: * I still find it very difficult to start exercising each day.
Good: * I'm follow Ashley's instructions to ensure that my workout is done prior to other more pleasurable things.  I LOVE the way that my body feels after a good workout!
Good: * When I am stressed, sleepy, or bored at work, I'm learning to get up from my desk and walk to another area for a change of scenery or a chat with a co-worker instead of eating.  Hooray!
Good: * For the first time since August 2012 (foot problem began) I am going up the stairs again!  (Going down tends to make my foot more sensitive, but up only makes me feel 'winded'!)  Good for me!
Good: * I'm encouraged to be more confident about my food choices, as well as my consistency in exercise.  I weighed yesterday and I'm down a few pounds, too.  I can hardly wait to get into the other two books.
Good: * Other than the 'egg-white delight' in the mornings, I don't think I have had ANY fast food for the past couple of weeks!  Remarkable!
Good: * Fewer Diet Cokes and more water lately!  If the price of Diet Coke keeps going up it will be a sure thing!
Ugly: * I was kidding about that part.  The only thing that's ugly is the smell after my dog has been out in the rain.  But, hey, he's worth it!   ...Oh!  And we are going to the UNC football game tomorrow night -- that may be ugly.   ;-)

Another Week Flew By...

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1389

I have been rather good regarding 'consistancy' this week as I make they trek to better health.  I just checked into Spark People again and found the article above.  Yes, common sense tips, but sometimes I just need a reminder.

Exercise has gone well this week -- feeling great!  My food choices have been rather impressive, I must say!  The only binge was eating too many mixed nuts from a can in my car (healthy, but calorie dense)!  And I had a great breakthrough this morning!!!!!!  On the way to work I wanted to pick up something sweet for my co-worker whose birthday is today.  (...What to do?  What to do?)  I decided McDonald's so that I could get my usual 'EggWhite Delight', so I got her the chocolate chip cookies.  Apparently they stuck some in the oven, and when I got to the window they said, "Just a couple of minutes on the cookies; they are baking."  Perfect (NOT!!!).  Now they were going to hand me a bag with steaming hot, wonderful smelling chocolate chip cookies!!  (Cookies are probably my greatest weakness.)  As I sat and waited I talked with myself, reminding me what Intuitive Eating says -- so I told myself that it was fine, that if they smell too wonderful I would have one and take the other to Nancy.  Knowing that I had that option, once the cookies came I was fine.  I wanted her to have both, so I happily ate my 'EggWhite Delight' instead.   :-)  ...When I was trying to 'diet' I would have eaten both cookies and then stopped at Bojangles to get her something else.  Seriously.  I like not restricting myself; it feels good to be able to choose.

Happy Friday!

 

Music Increases Dopamine !!!

Music increases dopamine !!!  Well, of course it does!  Music makes the world go 'round!  All kinds of music!  It can changes your mood in just a few beats!  It can wake you up when your are bored and drowsy, or relax you when you are feeling stressed!  It's magical! 

In reading Intuitive Eating last night while on the elliptical, I nearly fell off when I heard this!  In addition to the thousand other reasons I am trying to exercise regularly, I want to boost my dopamine.  Otherwise, I will be reaching for cookies to do the job!  Now that I am aware of this, when I 'bottom-out' in my office in the afternoon I will crank up Pandora!  Hurray!!!  I love this book!  I love learning new things!  I love taking better care of my body (& brain)!

I am a child of God and worthy to be awed -- and so are you!   :-)

It Just Makes Sense!

I'm still reading Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch, and I can hardly believe how much sense it makes!  The whole book is describing me!   It talks about mindless eating & emotional eating, and my go-to answer for stress, boredom, sleepy, sad, happy, etc. is always eating (and it usually isn't something nutritional!).  But mostly it clicked when I read about the 'last supper' before starting yet another diet, and this 'last supper' can last for days!  When doing this final stop every day after work and get a cheeseburger & milkshake (i.e.) because it is my "last chance" before I start the final diet - the last one ever!!!  I do this over and over and over again, binging with the best of them!!!

It has only been 'days' and I am already feeling a different attitude about my health.  :-)
So exciting!

Spark People

If you have never visited "SparkPeople.com" you should give it a try.  It is a community of people led by professional nutritionists and (exercise) trainers, coming together to encourage and support each other.  It is the easiest way that I have found to keep a food journal (which also supplies the nutritional info for you, as well as the calories, carbs, & fats).  They also make it fun by earning 'points' for reading health articles, tracking, posting, etc.  I have not been there for a year or so, but today I went back for my first return visit.  I did a search for "intuitive eating" and found several nice posts.  Below is the first one that I read, and it is pretty comprehensive...

1. Reject the Diet Mentality Throw out the diet books and magazine articles that offer you false hope of losing weight quickly, easily, and permanently. Get angry at the lies that have led you to feel as if you were a failure every time a new diet stopped working and you gained back all of the weight. If you allow even one small hope to linger that a new and better diet might be lurking around the corner, it will prevent you from being free to rediscover Intuitive Eating.

2. Honor Your Hunger Keep your body biologically fed with adequate energy and carbohydrates. Otherwise you can trigger a primal drive to overeat. Once you reach the moment of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating are fleeting and irrelevant. Learning to honor this first biological signal sets the stage for re-building trust with yourself and food.

3. Make Peace with Food Call a truce, stop the food fight! Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. If you tell yourself that you can’t or shouldn’t have a particular food, it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and, often, bingeing When you finally “give-in” to your forbidden food, eating will be experienced with such intensity, it usually results in Last Supper overeating, and overwhelming guilt.

4. Challenge the Food Police .Scream a loud “NO” to thoughts in your head that declare you’re “good” for eating under 1000 calories or “bad” because you ate a piece of chocolate cake. The Food Police monitor the unreasonable rules that dieting has created . The police station is housed deep in your psyche, and its loud speaker shouts negative barbs, hopeless phrases, and guilt-provoking indictments. Chasing the Food Police away is a critical step in returning to Intuitive Eating.

5. Respect Your Fullness Listen for the body signals that tell you that you are no longer hungry. Observe the signs that show that you’re comfortably full. Pause in the middle of a meal or food and ask yourself how the food tastes, and what is your current fullness level?

6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor The Japanese have the wisdom to promote pleasure as one of their goals of healthy living In our fury to be thin and healthy, we often overlook one of the most basic gifts of existence–the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting and conducive, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food to decide you’ve had “enough”.

7. Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food Find ways to comfort , nurture, distract, and resolve your issues without using food. Anxiety, loneliness, boredom, anger are emotions we all experience throughout life. Each has its own trigger, and each has its own appeasement. Food won’t fix any of these feelings. It may comfort for the short term, distract from the pain, or even numb you into a food hangover. But food won’t solve the problem. If anything, eating for an emotional hunger will only make you feel worse in the long run. You’ll ultimately have to deal with the source of the emotion, as well as the discomfort of overeating.

8. Respect Your Body Accept your genetic blueprint. Just as a person with a shoe size of eight would not expect to realistically squeeze into a size six, it is equally as futile (and uncomfortable) to have the same expectation with body size. But mostly, respect your body, so you can feel better about who you are. It’s hard to reject the diet mentality if you are unrealistic and overly critical about your body shape.

9. Exercise–Feel the Difference Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie burning effect of exercise. If you focus on how you feel from working out, such as energized, it can make the difference between rolling out of bed for a brisk morning walk or hitting the snooze alarm. If when you wake up, your only goal is to lose weight, it’s usually not a motivating factor in that moment of time.

10 Honor Your Health–Gentle Nutrition Make food choices that honor your health and tastebuds while making you feel well. Remember that you don’t have to eat a perfect diet to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters, progress not perfection is what counts." IntuitiveEating.org

Believe that change is possible. Change the way you think. Join me on this journey to fiercely love God and yourself more then food.