Sometimes you need to accept who you are and where you are at.
I’m fat. I know it. I can look in the mirror and see it. I feel my cheeks flush and my breathe quicken at easy tasks. Seeing that I’m fat is the easy part.
For so long I have ignored the consequences of being overweight. I pretend that heart disease and stroke isn’t a possibility. I pretend that I’m not shortening my life and keeping myself from truly enjoying myself. It’s hard to admit when you need help. It seems almost impossible some days.
Taking the steps to get my blood pressure under control, making sure my cholesterol is under control and ensuring that I don’t become diabetic is important to me. I’m finally willing to admit that I need help. Do I want to be taking blood pressure medication at 24 years old? Well, no, but I also don’t want to have a heart attack. Today it’s a matter of sucking up my pride, admitting that I need help and getting on a healthy path that gets me there.
Losing the weight isn’t going to be easy. To tell you the truth though, being overweight isn’t all that easy either. I’m making a commitment to fight for my body and my health. Some days are going to suck, some days are going to be awesome. I want to push my body and find out what I’m actually capable of. There isn’t any more time for the what ifs. It starts now.
I hope you all had a great weekend. Unfortunately the weather decided to do nothing but rain here. Rain is good but I will always use it as an excuse to be lazy. A nap or two was definitely enjoyed over the weekend. Sometimes low key is what is needed and I feel refreshed and ready to take on the week.
Over the weekend I found a new yoga website that allows you to stream videos. Do Yoga With Me is an all free yoga website that allows you to stream a video of the instructor and practice along. So far I have done a few of the videos and found it to be helpful. I still prefer to be in a class with the help of an instructor and the momentum of the class but in a pinch this works just fine.
These last ten days have been really hard for me to keep on track with my healthy eating and exercise. To help I am going to start making weekly goals which will hopefully help set me up on the path of success and keep my momentum going. This week my goal is to work out 5 times. I just want to keep my body moving for an hour a day at least 5 days a week. As soon as I start moving my body I find my eating habits seem to fall back into place, so with some hard work I will be back kicking ass in no time.
I am a total sheep when it comes to fads. You don’t have to pull any teeth to get me to admit it either. I like trying new things and juicing has been no different. The movie “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” is what pushed me to break down and buy a juicer. I know I am not alone in this. The movie is so inspirational. Essentially Joe Cross ( the man the documentary is focused on) decides to do a 60 day fast on nothing but juice. Seriously. Just juice. It sounds a little crazy but as you watch his body and his health transform you can’t help but deny the health benefits of the juice.
Now this juice he is drinking isn’t some pre-packaged, pasteurized product. This is fresh fruit and veggies (mostly veg) run through a juicer (he is using a Breville). What comes out of this machine is nothing short of a nutritional power house. Fresh nutrients and micro nutrients that nourish and help the body. If you get a chance to watch the movie you should jump at it. Even if you have no intention of doing a juice fast this movie still inspires you to eat healthy, natural foods and that is never a bad thing.
As soon as I found a place to buy a juicer I ran down and bought one and then headed straight to the store to buy as much organic produce as I thought I would need. Cucumber, kale, celery, tomatoes, carrots, beets and everything else I thought would taste good in a glass. I never took a photo of a the first glass of juice I made. Honestly it tasted a bit like grass clippings. I used way to much celery and it ended up overpowering everything else. I still powered it down and it wasn’t long after that I fell in love with my juicer.
This juice was one of the tastiest. I used 3 carrots, 1/2 cucumber, and apple and about an inch of ginger. It was might tasty. The ginger really adds a kick and gives the juice some interest.
This is the only juice I made that consists of only fruit. Not recommended if your diabetic just because of how much sugar it contains, but this juice tasted like a tropical island to me. This glass was 1/2 a pineapple, and apple, two oranges and a handful of strawberries. All I really needed to do was add vodka.
This juice was pure veg. Beet, kale, carrot, tomato, bell pepper and celery. I loved the rich purple of this juice. It is pretty amazing that only a quarter of a small beet turns everything into a gorgeous purple. I have never felt better than when I started including juice into my lifestyle. Not only is my body getting what I need but I just have more energy. I have also been eating really well and working out so the combination of all three has helped me get to a place where I am happy. The weight is falling off and the smile is back on my face. There really isn’t anything better in the world.
What are your thoughts on juicing? Have you ever given it a try?
This last week has been fantastic as far as healthy eating goes. I finally feel comfortable in my healthy eating skin. I feel confident I can make the right choices, fuel my body properly and improve my overall health. As a bonus I am only 5 pounds away from my first goal. Hopefully I surpass that goal this week.
A few things have really helped me in getting my shit in order. First of all I don’t even allow myself to buy food that is going to tempt me. I still allow myself to indulge and have a treat every now and then. It is just preferable if I don’t have 10 servings available at all hours of the night. My self control is not that good yet. Another thing that has really helped me is loading my meals and snacks with fresh veggies. It sounds pretty simple but I did not get to be 100+ overweight by overindulging in vegetables. My body just feels so much better when I am eating a lot of veggies and fruit. I have energy, my sleep is better and overall I just feel great. The weight loss is just a bonus.
This week I really want to focus on getting into the gym and starting a work out routine that is maintainable. I have signed up for a 10km, a 5km and two (!!!!!!!!) half marathons so I need to get my but in gear. Now that I feel comfortable with the healthy eating aspect of weight loss it is time to kick it up in the gym. I know my body wants more and I am totally ready to let it have it.
What is your Monday motivation to kick ass this week?
What a beautiful day today. I woke up with a screaming headache and then promptly went right back to bed. Fortunately on wake up #2 I felt refreshed. Want to know something else that is even better then a headache free morning..
I am down 8 LBS!!
There is honestly nothing better than seeing a smaller number on the scale. It just reinforces that everything I have been doing is right. Choice by choice I will lose this weight and get healthy. I can not wait to see more weight fall off. My good mood is only encouraged by all of this spring weather. Last night I bough two pairs of flip flops in anticipation of tossing my flats and summer being here. All I need now is a pedicure so my feet look presentable.
{I am loving the Grande Carmel Macchiato – 140 calories of awesome}
Hopefully the rest of this week goes by quickly and the weekend can be here. Honestly I am looking forward to Monday at 9am. I will be done my midterms and have some time to myself again. Even better that Eric gets back from vacay next weekend. I can’t wait!
So eating healthy this week has been fairly well. I had a major psychology test which threw my eating habits for a little bit of a loop. Stress is no excuse to eat crappy but stress eating is something I need to work on and I am just happy to acknowledge it. Struggling with food is something I am used to so any progress is good progress. Having a routine right now is really helping me keep things in line. Even if I only have a semi plan for what I want to eat for my meals it helps me to avoid all of the bad choices that I could make. It is all use one step at a time!
I have gone for 2 walks this week (since Sunday) and it feels so good to get out there and be moving. Even if it is only 30 minutes it makes a world of difference to my day. With Eric being on vacation for a month (lucky guy!) I am being a little bit more creative with my time. This weekend coming up is going to stay dedicated to fitness and keeping my diet in line. Hopefully I will also have a chance to go see a movie. Right now its a toss up between Gone and Wanderlust. Has anyone seen either?
What better way to start a weekend then with a smoothie packed with fruit and a big ol’ bowl of oatmeal. I have been in super study mode for all of reading week which is probably why I have also been emotionally all over the place. Nothing plays with my mind more than stress. A big part of my shitty mood has been due to the fact that I have been beating myself up over less then stellar food choices.
I don’t know if I will ever know why I choose to eat crappy food when I know it makes feel horrible but at least I can start to slowly make changes.I started out this morning with a smoothie full of fruit and hemp hearts. Nothing makes me feel better then a smoothie packed with nutrients. Today’s smoothie included:
frozen cranberries
frozen wild blueberries
half of a banana
5 frozen orange segments
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1/3 cup milk
3 tbsp hemp hearts
I just throw everything into a blender and hope for the best. Adding the hemp hearts was a new addition for me. Normally I mix them in with salads or into oatmeal but they worked pretty well in my smoothie. The added texture was a pleasant change.
If you have never tried hemp hearts out before I recommend giving them a shot. There are multiple health benefits that naturopaths claim these little seeds provide but honestly they are just chocked full of protein. Certainly an added benefit to anyone who likes to mix up what they eat.
Fitness goals get a little boring after a while so I am switching it up for a bit. We are already a week into the month so I am behind the game a little bit but I thought I would share my mini goals for February.
Get over my fear of lipstick – I own 10+ lipsticks and yet I never seem to wear them. I am pretty sure they make me look like a dork and I really want to start using them a little bit more. It is my goal to wear 4 colours this month. It may seem small but leaving the house with a bold lip colour will help me face my fears. I want to stand out in a crowd, and beautiful lips will help get me started.
Positive self talk – Everyday I want to find something I love about my body. Whether my ass looks good, my eyes sparkle or I am just having a good hair day. Speaking positive will help me start to think positive about my body. I am not be perfect, but who really is.
Go on long meaningless walks – Life seems to catch up with me and I want to take a step back and enjoy my surroundings. My goal is to take a long walk once or twice a week. There is no intention for exercise but just a walk to clear my mind and wash off a stressful week. It is better than eating a bag of dill pickle chips.
Go out for dinner and have whatever I want – Since cutting back on eating out I feel guilty if I indulge in a big meal. Weight loss isn’t easy and I while I know I shouldn’t reward myself with food I want to go out to dinner and just have what I want without the side of guilt trip.
Having some unconventional mini goals will hopefully keep things fresh. I am still working on weight loss ( the process seems never-ending) and I need to start working out a more but for this month I want to focus on a few different things. I want to feel refreshed heading into March.
Tests are finally done, and as of right now the only thing I really have to worry about is a couple of shifts at work. Christmas is only a few short days away and I can’t even believe the end of the year is so close. I have very mixed feelings about 2011 ( mostly that it sucked) but if I take an honest look back, there were some pretty good moments ( which I will recap in a later post)
Eating healthy has been kicking my ass over the last two weeks. I am still trying to follow my new set of rules, yet chocolate and chips are still sneaking there way in there. Everyone can make a thousand different excuses, and I am no different. Over the last few days I have used test stress, lack of time and the old “we have nothing to eat in this house” excuse. The only person I am trying to fool is myself, my waistline knows the truth. I am trying to reserve the indulgence for holiday treats. Chips and candy are available year round, but a big turkey meal and freshly baked pie is not. Christmas will not be the start of a bad eating year for me. Breaking everything down to just one choice at a time really helps me with healthier choices and eventually I will get to be where I want to be.
I have been trying to include a big smoothie in my meals everyday. They are filled with fruit, spinach and dairy and usually replace either my breakfast or my dinner. Nothing makes me feel better than a straight shot of vitamins.
This time of year tends to be really stressful. From trying to find the right gifts for people to trying to find time for everyone in your life it can get a little bit hectic. There are only 11 days left of this year and I am going to make those days count.
