Fitgirl Chronicles

Glad I am back

Life keeps tripping me up and happening at one million miles an hour and I keep thinking when things slow down I will blog.  When I get a moment I will really work on myself and losing this weight.  Guess what "THIS IS IT!" "The time is NOW!" and no I am not yelling at myself or anyone else just emphasizing this fact.  

Me - (I am not driving)!

So moving forward.  I am committing to focus on my weight loss journey and my "get healthy" journey.  I need to.  I feel really crappy about my weight gain (see weight stats).  I don't want to keep using food to tune out and fill my anxiety.

Oh, ya forward!  I am using the "Spark People" website to track my food.  I am sticking to 1500-1600 calories per day.  I am journalling to stop my emotional eating. I also have my friend Diane on speed dial.  And basically I am putting in effort to prepare and cook healthy food.

 I will blog most nights before bed.  I used to be an early morning blogger and it worked great for me but ever since I have started working full time I have never found the "right" time to get everything down.  So I will try before bed.  

I am reading Marianne Williamson's book "A Course in Weight Loss" and going to be going through the lessons in each chapter.

I always look to the sky for solace and inspiration. It always moves me.

I am committing to walking 40-60min each day - building up to running.  I am doing strengthtraining 3 times a week.

This is a botanical park where I walk sometimes and this is my official before (spring time) photo. I thought it would be neat to take some progressive photos.  It is a good hike to get there so it is some inspiration for walking.

I am most importantly stopping the denial that somehow this weight will come off without me working at it. Ya, no that is not how it works.  I know that.

I will not give up.  Through set backs and obstacles and changes and challenges I will get back up and keep going.  

 I am very blessed with an amazing family that will walk with me and support me.

Some points that I need to remember:  

• be prepared with proper healthy food. Grocery buying, prepping, cooking. It doesn't happen by itself!
• focus on Eating Right and Exercises as the two most important things in my life right now. ie: if the laundry doesn't get done on time...oh well.
•  do not lose sight of my goals.
• remember I am not alone, God is here to help me and I have amazing friends and family
• stay the course - do not not give up
• do not use food as a comfort, do not eat my emotions
• every little small effort in the right direction to my goal is a success.  ie:  lose the all or nothing thinking.
• if I fail or make a mistake - get right back up immediately and know it is OK.  We all make mistakes.  We are on this earth to learn.
• know that this journey is a learning experience and it is joyful not a struggle or a downer. It is an exciting adventure full of promise.

So that is the plan.  I will blog about all the fun details.  And I will enjoy this process!

 I will learn some lessons from my dog "Tessa".  "Have fun, don't stress, don't worry." "Life is great!"

Note to self - Please RE-READ again this post if having a bad day!  And then RE-READ again!!

Making progress.....

In the running department that is!!! WHooohoooo! It's only a start, but it is a beginning.

Monday July 13 Workout :

Run 1 min, Walk 1 min, for a total of 40 min.

This is huge for me because of my knee issues.  So I will take it for now! 

Also my weigh in for Friday last week, Friday July 10th was "SAME". My second week remaining the exact same.  You can see my progress here.

Now the only downside is I am still struggling with fitting stuff in on a regular basis.  I miss my awesome walks with Jess :(  So far I haven't been able to get a regular workout routine going with  starting my new job yet...... I am not giving up - just frustrated at this moment.  I need to workout regularly - Everyday if I am going to get serious and get healthy and lose this weight.

Also I am frustrated not finding a set time/routine to blog more regularly....

And finally I am slipping into this summer "what the hell" attitude of free eating/drinking.  The old "more is better" routine.  The "I'm on vacation, so I can pig out" routine.  And my personal favorite the old "it's a special occasion, I deserve it" routine.  The last one kills me the most I would say.  It is funny how one can make everything a "special occasion".  My weight is staying the same because I am A. not working out as much and B. eating like a whale on the weekend and then trying to be good during the week before my weigh day on Friday.  I HATE this routine.  So I am blogging about it to be aware of it and so I can CHANGE this before it takes over my summer.

I don't want to have the kind of life where "excess eating" is a part of it.  I want to have summer get togethers where it is about the company not the "massive" amounts of food.  I will always enjoy food.  I have accepted that, because I realize I am a food lover (foodie), but I do think I can change the amounts of excess to a small reasonable taste of things rather than a "stuff oneself session".  

Special occasions are basically EVERYDAY of one's life if one appreciates life so this being said, everyday should be treated as a gift.  If life is a gift one should value one's health and therefore have PROPER, REASONABLE PORTIONS to be healthy, which will in turn allow one to appreciate life all the more.

Well that is my rant for the day. I am feeling frustrated with myself as I can see things slipping in my choices and I am not going to let that happen.  I WILL REACH MY GOAL.

I have been preparing some healthy food as of late I would just say I have gone astray with portion sizes being too big and eating some things that I just shouldn't be eating at all.

Some of my food choices as of late:

Broccoli Salad

I added prosciutto ham instead of bacon.  I used yogurt and light mayo for the dressing so it was considerably less fat than a regular broccoli salad.  

I tried one of the new Aisan markets that just opened and I got a package of fresh Kaffir lime leaves, so I made this beef stir fry with kaffir lime leaves.  It was an ingredient I recognized from Thai cooking so I was excited to find a recipe to try them.  Unfortunately I had doubled the recipe and the proportions of lime leaves in the sauce did not work out.  The dish was overpowered with lime leaf flavor.  Better luck next time on the recipe....

This one one of those "treats" I was talking about because the biscotti was from a "special" bakery. If I would have had 1/2 of the biscotti it would have been reasonable but I ate 2. One in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Brakes please....

I bought this cookbook today because snacking for me is so important that I get it right so I don't take in too many calories and so I am not "starving" at the end of the day and ready to eat just anything when I come home after work.  I will give some of these recipes in the book a try for my snacks at work and then review some of the recipes.

Overall I had a great day and need to remember that this is a journey (sappy alert) so I must press on and pull up the boot straps and find some determination to stick to my goals.

Spent the day shuffling the kids from various sports camps which was nice to watch them getting out there and getting fit and having fun.  Then went to a park for a picnic.

Met this stray guy although I don't think he is a stray just a wanderer.

Had a dinner party with some great friends! Yes, I ate/drank too much all in the name of "a special occasion". But I have covered that and that is going to stop.  The company was AWESOME!

Chili, green salad with Mandarin oranges and a basic vinaigrette, yes, more broccoli salad (been craving this one).

A very simple great salad, perfect for summer.

Lessons learned today.  Enjoy people not the EXCESS of food. Reasonable, small amounts of food are OK to savor.
 

(Sappy Alert again) EVERYDAY is really a gift and "special occasion". Treat your gift of life importantly by respecting your body to get you through to another day.  More simply: Everyday is a special occasion you can't pig out everyday or you won't be healthy!!!!

On that note I will bid you goodnight and Have a great day everyone!!!