Fighting to Get Healthy

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by Dea.

Some days, I feel like I’m at war.  I’m fighting against advertising, societal pressure, and my own errant brain to try to live the healthiest life possible and lose weight.  I get anxious when I have to drive a certain route because I know the myriad restaurants I’ll see, and smell, as I go along.  And I know that the temptation can be overwhelming.

I’m a person who, once the idea of a food gets in my head, obsesses.  I think many times an hour about that food.  It’s frustrating, because there’s only so much of that obsessing I can ignore.  If I could get my brain to just shaddup, I might be strong enough to ignore the commercials and the smells.

It’s a big commitment to get on a healthy track.  It’s a lot of work to change the way you look at food.  I often get frustrated that I can’t see results right away.  It’s not a war fought through battles with obvious wins, and you don’t get medals.  Each small victory isn’t noticeable to other people.   Or even noticeable on the scale, in the mirror, or in your jeans.

Every small victory, though, is beneficial.  Frustration is something we all face, but we can’t let it get the best of us.  Whenever we’re upset because our hard work isn’t showing yet, we need to remind ourselves of where we started, what we’ve accomplished, and how each of our good choices and healthy changes adds up to move us along our march toward better health.

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Fabulous Finds - Hostess 100 Calorie Packs

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by Dea.

These tiny little cakes taste just like the regular ones!!  I tried the Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cakes (these were always my favorites as a kid) and they tasted as good as I remembered.

Hostess has basically scaled down their cakes (these were about 2 bites each, and you get 3 per 100 cals) and given people watching their weight some portion control.  They’ve added fiber, as well!

If you follow WW Points, the Cinnamon Streusel 100 Calorie Packs are only 1 point per pack.  That’s right - 1 point!  It’s a very nice little treat for just 1 point, and you can get a sweet fix for a craving with a controlled portion.

They reminded me of Jenny Craig desserts, only better tasting!!

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Fun Theory

Saturday, October 17, 2009 by Dea.

Would you take the stairs over the escalator if it were fun and silly to do so?  Volkswagen tested what they call the Fun Theory in this viral video.

This video got me thinking about every day work outs and ways to be healthier. Would we all develop better habits because we’d made those habits fun? It’s an interesting concept.I like to mix up my work outs by using different equipment, different music. But I know I really enjoy my work out when I bellydance or play the Wii Fit games. I’m sure that we all have ideas that could test the Fun Theory. And I would bet we’d all do these healthy little habits more often because they’re fun.

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Fabulous Finds - Fiber One Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 by Becca.

There’s something about this time of year that makes baked goods taste even better than usual.  This is especially true if the baked goods are still warm from the oven. One of my favorite things to bake is a banana bread recipe handed down from my great grandmother.  I have her recipe card, in her handwriting, covered in spots and stains from it’s many years in many kitchens.

Unfortunately, my great grandmothers recipe is not exactly healthy.  Which is why I was so happy to discover Fiber One’s new Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.  I found these yummy little muffins in the freezer section at my grocery store.  I stuck one in the microwave for 15 seconds tonight and was not disappointed.

I will admit that I miss my whole house smelling like my favorite banana bread, but if it did I probably could not stop at one serving.  For 190 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 7 grams of fiber per muffin, these muffins will be my new answer to my banana bread cravings.

I will, of course, still make my great grandmothers banana bread but I will make it for friends and for parties this winter and I will sure to leave the leftovers behind for others to enjoy.

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Fabulous Finds: Cheers to Panera!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 by admin.

In a society where some restaurants conceal their nutrition information, or outright lie about it, Panera is a stand-out where you can be sure that the information you read is accurate and complete.  Well, they’ve improved upon perfection!

Panera’s new nutrition calculator is fantastic.   You can choose different food items from a drop down menu, and add them to your meal.  You can also go into a sandwich and choose toppings, changing the caloric and fat content results.  This is a wonderful tool for all people wishing to eat healthier, or lose weight.

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Emotional Eating

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 by Becca.

Confession: yesterday I ate most of a box of chocolate frosted mini wheats.  Straight from the box, shoveling them in with my bare hands.  Wait, there’s more.  That’s not the only emotional eating I’ve done this week.  I’m not looking forward to weighing in tomorrow morning!

I had been doing well avoiding emotional eating until a few weeks ago and it’s amazing how slippery and steep that slope is.  I try to stay away from that “well, if I’ve already eaten something terrible today then I mine as well eat what I want for the rest of the day” thinking, but we all fall victim to that train of thought sometimes.

I’ve heard “nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels” more times than I can count, but have a hard time agreeing with that sentiment when I feel a need to binge.

See, it’s not really about how something tastes, at least not entirely.  Sometimes it’s about what that particular food means to you or how the act of over eating makes you feel.

For me sometimes is even about the need to rebel, to resist the control, to be “bad”.  Which is all very silly, of course, since I’m the once enforcing the control in the first place.  Then again, if eating healthy and being fit was easy, we might all look and feel a little differently.

I think what made me snap out of my emotional eating downward spiral was realizing that I really deserve to be treated better.  I may not be able to do much about how other people treat me, so I better treat myself as nicely as I can!

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Outrage! Insanity! Airbrushing Gone Bad.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 by Dea.

I cannot believe that we women allow these sorts of things.  I wrote about the Self cover a while back, and it seems that Self isn’t the only outlet that thinks that covers shouldn’t reflect reality, but “inspire women to want to be their best.”  Are they serious??

It seems Ralph Lauren is now on the surrealistic advertising bandwagon.  Who do they think they are fooling with this picture??

How in the world do they expect us to believe that this woman’s waist is this small?  Smaller than her head, which is also bigger than her pelvis??  Why even bother having a model in the first place?  Why not just start from computer aided animation and go with it?

We have airbrushed Twiggy,  lightened Beyonce, tried to fix perfection, and removed a pregnancy bulge!  What is so warped about these companies that they shun the true female form?  What is so wrong with women in our society that we allow this?  The shapely, beautiful female form should be revered, not distorted.  It’s disgusting that we’ve allowed ourselves to cow to these expectations that are not only unrealistic, but complete lunacy!

So, thanks but no thanks, Self - I am not striving for what you feel is an ideal.  I’m not going to look at these fake photos and feel anything but disgust.  I used to like Ralph Lauren products, but I don’t think I’ll buy even a towel now.

Posted in Shame on Them, Body Image | Print | 1 Comment »

Walking Workouts

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 by Dea.

One of the simplest ways to get more exercise into the daily routine is to simply walk.  There are smaller ways to get more walking into your day, and there are more complex workouts you can do to rev up your fitness.

The easy ways to add walking into life are silly, at times, but they help.  Every little bit helps.  Things like parking further away from a building, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and taking the long way around a block instead of cutting diagonally across can all add steps to your day.

However, there are some wonderful ways to ramp up the simple act of walking, something we’ve all done since we were about 1 year of age, into a great work out.  This site lists  different kinds of workouts, like walking for health, fat burning, cardio challenge, and economy walks.  All of these types are good for anyone interested in becoming healthier.  In fact, I intend to fit more of these into my day.  With this fabulous, crisp fall weather, I want to be outside whenever it isn’t raining.

There are a lot more sites with great walking workout information, and if any of them inspire you to lace up your sneakers and hit the trail, please let me know.  The most important thing is that this is a great fitness boost for FREE.  I love no-cost movement!  It’s good for your heart, and your wallet!

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Rat Race

Monday, October 5, 2009 by admin.

I feel like I’ve landed on a treadmill that won’t stop.  Catching up after vacation and trying to get back into a routine just isn’t working right now.  This coming Saturday, my husband and 8 year old son will be testing for their black belts in karate.  This is just not helping!

I thought creating new habits was difficult.  Apparently, reviving my previous habits is even harder.  One detour, and I’m floundering.  In all honesty, I’m not even really that busy yet.

I need to write down what my routine was before our trip.  Lists have a way of getting accomplished.  I think if I write down the things I did, and when, I’ll be able to at least get back to where I was.  Then I can add new routines and habits to that.

It sure would be nice if the imaginary life treadmill burned as many calories as  a traditional treadmill at the gym, though, wouldn’t it?

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Yikes!!!

Thursday, October 1, 2009 by Dea.

I haven’t updated here in a while - sorry!!!

I was on a second honeymoon with the hubs, so I do apologize - but I’m not exactly feeling horrible about it, if you get my drift.

We were in the USVI, on St. Croix.  Gorgeous, by the way - I totally recommend it!  Food prices are high, but rum prices are low - so, you know, plan on drinking more than you eat.

On that note, I am proud to say that my hubby and I split most of the meals we ate while we were away.  Restaurant portions on island are no smaller than those here on the mainland.  So we split pretty much everything.  Apparently, that coupled with swimming over a mile one of the days we were out there made for a no weight gain trip.  Very nice to come home to, if I do say so myself.

And now, back to the routine, and trying to get the whole family eating a lot better!

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