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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Monday, August 31, 2009 by Becca.

I fell off the wagon this week in a big way.  It all started with a sore throat.  About a week ago I started to get a sore throat so I made sure I got a little more rest and made myself some tea.  I stuck to making healthy eating choices and continued to keep up with my exercise routine.

I maintained that for a few days but by mid week I was exhausted.  I was sleeping a solid eight hours at night but still yawning at my desk by 3pm.  It was a struggle to force myself out of bed and out the door to work in the morning.  My boss told me to stay home but I have been know to be stubborn and had work that needed to be done this week.

So I forced myself into the office all week, which took a lot of will power.  By the time I got home from work, I had no energy to cook or do dishes and no will power left to resist ordering takeout or swinging through the drive thru.  As far as exercise goes, let’s just say the walk from my front door to my car door was looking pretty long.

I’m embarrassed to admit that this week I probably consumed as many calories and grams of fat as I did the previous two weeks combined and moved about as much as a sloth.  So it’s been about a week and I still don’t feel that well which probably has something to do with how I’ve been treating my body for the past week.

Today is a new day and every new day is an opportunity to live my life in a healthy way.  Time to dust myself off and climb back up on that wagon!

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Friday, August 14, 2009 by Becca.

Office culture can be hard on a gal who’s trying to live a healthy life!  For one thing, being stuck at a desk most of your day limits the activity you get.  You can counter this by walking to a coworkers office instead of emailing them or hand delivering paperwork instead of using interoffice mail.  One trick I use is to run something to the copier or fax as soon as it’s ready instead of “saving up” a few items to copy or fax.

Another hurdle to overcome at my office is resisting the “goodies”.  Almost every week, there is some type of baked good in our kitchen, which doubles as our copy and fax area, making it impossible for me to keep it out of sight.

I have a few strategies for dealing with this.  I have become the unofficial party planner in our office.  I’m the one who organizes the potlucks and ice cream socials. This works for me because it keeps me busy while everyone is eating at gatherings.  It also gives me the power to insist that people take leftovers home.

I also try to prepare myself if I know there will be a yummy treat nearby.  I try to  have some guilt-free treats of my own on hand.  Sometimes I even prefer these treats to their more fattening counterparts.  One of my favorite treats is berries mixed with fat free sugar free pudding.  Another is fat free cool whip on top of almost anything.  If I really want a piece of that danish on the kitchen counter, though, I just have a piece.  I enjoy it, I don’t beat myself up about my “slip”, and I move on to my next meal.

Posted in Tips and Tricks, Encouragement, Stress, Healthy Eating | Print | No Comments »

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 by Dea.

Hi, I’m Dea, and I am an emotional eater.  It’s one of those things that a lot of people do.  Bad day at work?  Stop and get a cheeseburger and a chocolate bar.  Fight with the spouse?  Raid the pantry.

I have come up with a few things I do to trick myself when I get the urge to eat out of emotional upset.  I’ll share a few, and I’d love to hear everyone else’s ideas!

One thing I do is clean the bathroom or the kitchen.  Bleach is an amazing appetite suppressant.  So is cleaning a toilet, really.  This is one I use more when angry than sad.  I turn the energy that anger brings into a positive force.

Another thing I do is yoga or strength training.  This is one that helps more when I’m sad.  Yoga is calming and it helps you refocus your mind and visualize positive things.  The endorphins released during exercise are an added bonus here.

I like to use spin class and taking a walk, as well.  All three of these things are more mundane.  I do have sillier things I do to try to break the emotional eating cycle.

I like to paint my fingernails when I have a really bad urge to eat.  Nail polish smells so bad, and takes so long to dry, that it can help head off a binge.  Another strange thing I do sometimes is put on music really loud and scream along with the song.  Music is an amazing therapist. There’s a song for every emotion.

Anyone else have tricks to use when the emotional eating urge hits?

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Monday, August 10, 2009 by Dea.

Can you sense my sarcasm?  In case you didn’t hear about it, Kelly Clarkson’s picture was photoshopped on the new September 2009 cover of Self Magazine.  There has been controversy and argument over the fact.

And yet, the only thing that surprises me is that people are surprised by it!  Is it that women across our country don’t realize that cover pictures on magazines are fake?  That there are entire departments at magazine offices devoted to photoshopping and airbrushing?  They do everything from smudging out blemishes to shaving off an entire butt!  Those figures you see and think are impossible to achieve?  THEY ARE.  No one, not a single woman in this country, actually looks like those pictures.

And yet, people buy these magazines, and take the advice, and starve, suck, shave, and staple their way toward an unachievable dream.  For what??  To give more money to an entire industry devoted to image?  Seems ridiculous.

Kelly Clarkson is lovely.  Yes, she has a butt.  Oh, the horror.  Why is it that magazine art directors assume we’re not able to see her butt in its normal size and think, wow, she’s beautiful?

The only way to fight back against this practice is to refuse to buy these magazines.  I think, for the sake of our own sanity, and the health and sanity of our daughters, we should all just stop buying into the hype.  Refuse to try to be some ridiculous, unattainable ideal.  I haven’t bought a magazine in five years.  I refuse.  I, for one, will not try to be something unhealthy and sickly looking.  I want to celebrate my body.

This doesn’t mean I don’t want to reach a healthy weight.  I just don’t agree that a healthy weight for a woman who is six feet tall is 155 pounds.  None of us should exchange health for a societal standard that is this warped.  Remember the hot, beautiful, sexy women of the 1950’s?  Marilyn Monroe was a normal sized woman.  She was not anorexic, nor was she a size 0.  And yet, she was perfect.

And so I say, let’s hear it for the normal, healthy female form.  Kudos to Kelly for staying herself - and shame on Self for airbrushing and photoshopping the cover woman for an issue that was supposed to be devoted to total body confidence.

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

Thursday, August 6, 2009 by Dea.

There are days I feel bound to the scale.  A compulsion to step on and off repeatedly, and throughout the day, controls me.  Every blip, every fluctuation, is a reason to think, to do math, and to obsess.  I seem to do calculus to figure out what every item I’ve ingested weighs.  Water is a favorite, since 1 oz. of water in volume weighs 1 oz.  There I stand, thinking, “Well, I drank that big glass of water, so I can subtract three-quarters of a pound, since the glass is bigger than 8 oz.”

Why the urge to know what I weigh at any given moment in the day?  I can’t figure it out.  Does anyone else find themselves doing this?  All I know is that it is causing me to stress about the end result and stop focusing on the journey.

For the next week, I’m going to stay off the scale.  I once read that weight fluctuates every day as a result of daily diet and salt intake, how much exercise you got, and even the pull of the moon.  Maybe that last one is reaching, but it could be a valid point.  I’m going to put the scale away for a week.  I’m only going to weigh in at the same time of the day on the same day of the week.

I think the less I obsess, the less I’ll focus on the weight and the more I’ll focus on the way I feel.  After all, this isn’t just about the numbers.  It’s about how healthy I can become.

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Tuesday, August 4, 2009 by Dea.

It is so frustrating being a female trying to stick to a healthy eating plan.  If you’re also trying to lose weight, it can be downright torture.  Every month we get a nice glitch in the works.  The period.  I think we need a new name, because “period” doesn’t sound evil enough.

First, you get the lovely water retention.  I don’t know about everyone else, but I can gain up to 9 pounds of water weight in the course of a day.  Then you get the drive to eat.  And eat.  And eat.  For the first day, I’m completely ravenous.  I can’t figure that part out, because, really, what is the benefit of eating incessantly?  Finally, there’s all of the physical aspects of this time of the month.

It’s hard to drum up the energy to get on exercise equipment, or even to leave the house for fear of embarrassment!   I’m not trying to be gross, but I’m sure a lot of women can relate to that day or two where you don’t want to be further than 20 steps away from a bathroom.

It’s unfair.

I’m trying not to let myself give in to the urge to lay and eat, though.  I have weights, a swiss ball, and a spin bike at home.  I  am going to work out here, where even if the embarrassing does occur, I’m home and no one will be around to witness.  I am also trying to ignore all those nasty cravings.  It helps that I don’t really have much junk in the house right now.  I didn’t plan on that, but I’m glad it happened this way.  I think I will try to remember to set the house up this way for next month.

I guess my advice, then, is to prepare your house for days like these.  Have some hand weights and bands in the house.  Get a video or piece of aerobic equipment.  Be prepared and have some things on hand so that you have no excuses for not getting in even the quickest work out.  You don’t have to go to the gym to burn some calories.  And you’ll feel better after moving, both mentally and physically.  Working out releases endorphins, which help with cramps and headaches.  Getting your blood moving will help with blood flow and make the whole ordeal move along faster and easier.  Burning calories will help offset any cravings that win, and working out helps curb appetite.  So it is a win-win situation.

So with that advice, I should get off the computer and get on my bike.  What are your tips and tricks for dealing with that time of the month?

Posted in Stress, Weight Loss, Exercise | Print | 3 Comments »