Hurdle Jumping or Puddle Jumping, its all the same.

Last week my Mom was home with an injured shoulder and my Dad was out of town. I worry and know how difficult it is to get around and get things done. No car, no one to talk to, so three days last week I took off work early and headed home to visit, get Mom out of the house and just provide some company. It appears it was a great thing not just for Mom but for me as well. Because as I get older, I appreciate my parents so much more. I don't mind listening to what they have to say, and I actually enjoy laughing, talking and coming up with plans and ideas. I also like looking back at the past.

On one particular day my Mom and I were talking about what we enjoyed as kids. I was having a difficult time with that. I couldn't think of any one thing that I truly was passionate about, that I kept as a hobby, continued through my life. I wasn't a collector, I wasn't a real sports enthusiast, although I swam, played tennis, softball, basketball, etc. But I didn't really excel at any of it.

And then I blurted it out: "Food". I don't know why I said it, but I think there was a lot of truth in that comment. Not to mention that it was the third visit of the week and already my Mom and I had been to Wegman's three times as if that was all we had to do: Shop for food.

My Mom looked at me in bewilderment and said, I am surprised you said that. I was too, but then she told me that when I was in modelling school in high school one of the instructors had told me that all I ever think about is food. And I came home that day upset and shared that with my Mom. I don't recall it but it must have had an impact.

But now over the past few weeks even before this I have felt that there might be some truth to that comment. Its been lingering in the back of my head for months now. That I eat food as though its filling some void, some hole in my life. I can't seem to get enough of it, can't say no to things I don't need.

As I began to analyze this thought I realized that its true in quite a few areas. But food seems to be doing the most damage as I am struggling with a huge weight issue. So where do I go from here? Its definitely something I am much more aware of. I know I can change, I just have to find the passion and desire to do so.

So, How are you doing?

Well, I haven't posted in awhile. This habit didn't last long, but its a good one to keep, so I am getting started once again. I should not put myself down because in looking at my three things, I didn't do so bad. Failing miserably in the exercise arena, but I did hurt my knee badly and caught a terrible cold so time to kick back into gear with some alternative ideas for exercising. Here's a recap of my three things and how I did:

1) Love Dare: Still can't get past Day 1. I think I have some anger issues. Either that of I just can't keep my mouth shut.
2) Help out my brother while wife is away. I did that and for over 8 hours my brother had some free time and my husband and I had a great time with our nephews.
3) Exercise once a week. hmmmmm, does walking up the stairs to bed count?
4) Craft room. I am 3/4 of the way there. It looks so much better, and you know what? I have alot of stuff in that craft room.
5) Walk at Lunch: Haven't started that what with the knee and all.
6) Call Carmax, Dermatologist and Dr. Office. I did one out of the three. Back on the list!
7)Cancel Moisturizer. I did that. Note to self: Don't fall for those on line gimmicks every again. No you can't get a free $500 Wal-Mart card that easily.
8) Organize one room. Just finished the craft room, and am 1/2 way through my reading room. Yay!
9) Meal Menu. Yeah, right. Didn't do so good on that one. Can I blame my husband?
10) Moderate exercise. About all I have done is remote control lifts. So next time I will be better.

So, you know, this journalling works. I can't really beat myself up to bad, because I did accomplish some things. And I can see where my weak areas are. So, back to square one and my three things.

Where's my "Weight Knight "?

It dawned on me today that I fail to succeed because I am always waiting for someone else to get me there. And I am not suggesting that they need to do the work for me, but I excuse myself because I don't want to exercise alone, I don't want to cook a separate meal for me and my husband, or he serves me portions that are too big. My husband by the way is a REED, a very thin REED. If you see the weight loss commercial where she loses it in her chest, he is the guy that loses it all over. My husband has never been heavy, but when I began the weight loss journey, he lost the weight. Its depressing. But there I go again, waiting for my weight Knight to come in and take it all away, to give me the energy to get up and get moving, To plan all my meals, to even put in the sweat equity I need to get the weight off.

I can excuse myself onto the couch for eternity, and no one, absolutely no one can do it for me. They can't solve my problems, only I can. Its rather daunting but also quite exhilirating when you begin to see that you are the decision maker. You decide what you are going to eat, how you are going to shape your future. Its your choice. Its your future. Sure, my husband plays a great big role in my life. A rather wonderful one I might add. Its nice to be able to have excuses, cut myself some slack. But seriously its more than that. My marriage is wonderful and loving, and good. But it won't solve any problems. It won't pay the bills, it won't lose the weight.

I have to believe in myself enough to get the job done. Its time to get up and gain control of the things in our lives that have gotten so out of control. But here's my tip. Don't try to do it all at once. We set lofty goals that set us up to fail. Pick three things, three specific things and see how you do on those. And if you fail, keep it as one of your three until you succeed. I guarantee you, this life is a good one, let's make it great together.

My three things:
1) Organize and Clean One Room
2) Plan my meal menu for next week
3) Moderate exercie (I have pulled out my knee and its painful) What can it do to get some exercise since I can't hardly walk?

Journalling for a Healthy Life.

Well, I decided that this is the year for better health, and what better way to begin then to start exercising more and watching my weight. I had heard that it helps to journal what you eat but since I honestly believe that I eat like a Rabbit (very little)and I have my husband believing it too, I didn't think it would do much good. Well, let me tell you...I wrote down my caloric intake religiously the first day. Anything I popped into my mouth, I wrote down. At the end of the day I told my husband what I had eaten and asked if he thought it was much food. The truth was "IT WASN'T MUCH FOOD", but it was "ALOT OF CALORIES", 4200 calories to be exact. (You know, if you want to lose weight that number has to be below 3500). I was in shock, I still am. And I am journalling regularily now and becoming much more aware of what is going into my mouth, when it goes in, and why. A handful of peanuts here, 2 dove chocolates there, skipping dinner, popping a roll in my mouth. Doesn't sound like much does it? Well, the math speaks volumes. An ounce of cheddar cheese, can easily become 4 ounces in my day (I Love Cheese), a handful of peanuts can easily become two. I don't think I will journal for the rest of my life, but I will until I have a better understanding of the food that I am eating and its affect on my health.

I am not a meal planner, I skip meals often, I nibble alot, I don't exercise much even though when I do I feel wonderful! In this crazy little head of mine, I actually believed that for as little as I was eating, I should be bone thin! Right! Think again. It won't happen if you don't know the calories you are putting into your body. Its true, you can eat more and weigh less if you eat smart.

Three goals for this week:
1) Keep a food journal every day this week.
2) Continue to exercise one day a week.
3) If I clean up my crafting room, I am buying the cricut machine.

How is that for motivation?? :)

The Good Life Revolution

We are on our way. Don't look back. Take assessment. Where are you now? what's working, what's not. Its a Good Life Revolution and I would love to have you join me. Today, its the power of three. Pick three habits or changes you wish to make in your life. Don't pick three that are overwhelming or unattainable. Just three simple things that you can tackle or complete in one day or one week. That is it. Post your three, and at the end of the week, let's check our success. I find that as we move through life, we set ourselves up for disappointment. We set these grandiose dreams like "Losing weight"...How much? How fast? Is that a reasonable goal? Not really. A reasonable goal has to be specific, the more specific the better. It might be something so simple as taking a healthy meal to work every day next week. Or it might be starting to walk around the block each night. That is it. Small attainable goals. You may not believe this to be true, but I know it works. Because once you can feel good about that small goal, you can increase, add on another, make it a little more difficult. But its a positive step and that is all it is about.

A while ago, I found my self in a deep rut, I mean deep. The pit was so deep that one of my favorite writers: Beth Moore, who wrote "Get out of that Pit" said you become so comfortable in the pit that pretty soon you are putting up curtains, laying down a carpet, finding a big sofa chair to keep you in the pit. What a visual! And how true. I needed to get out of the pit, but the walls were too high. So my first goal? To get out of bed 15 minutes earilier than I had been. This sounded so small at the time, but that 15 minutes got me up and moving and I was no longer arriving late for work. Then I moved it to 30 minutes. This allowed me time to make lunch and add in about 10 minutes of prayer. When I realized how much I liked that silent morning time, I began making my lunch at night and that gave me 30 minutes with God. You get the idea. Small attainable goals. Pick three that you can celebrate at weeks end. You can share them here, or record them in a journal. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you begin the Good Life Revolution.

Here are my three for this week:
1) To record my calorie intake for the next 7 days to see where my weaknesses and where I can improve.
2) To go to the gym one time a week.
3) To get back to bible study on Wednesday nights, at least one night a month.

Get the picture? Now its your turn.