Sick Day

Nothing to make your motivation to exercise and diet go down the toilet like being sick. I guess on the upside, I had very little appetite. Lol. What am I saying? I have been so sick that it in no way made up for loss of appetite. Anyway, I'm on the mend again and ready to maybe stretch out my post-bronchitis lungs with a bit of light cardio tomorrow. I've hovered around the same weight as before, give or take, with ten more pounds to go until I reach my goal.

While I was sick, though, I really enjoyed my hot cups of honey-lemon to soothe my throat and acquired blues-singer bass voice. I'm a lucky girl, too, because my awesome grandpa harvests organic clover honey and keeps me in stock. Anyway, I digress... I knew that drinking honey-lemon was not only yummy and made my aching throat feel better, but I had no clue that honey could be used as an energy-booster, as an immune-builder, or as a treatment for sleeplessness, among other things.

Benefits of Honey
Katrina's Kitchen

I resolve to use more honey!

HONEY-LEMON "TEA":
For those of you who haven't tried honey-lemon tea as a cold remedy, I'd insist you do. It's natural and really helps soothe sore throats and coughs. I have no magic recipe, I just get some water singing in my teapot, then pour a mug half-full of hot water. I drip in about 1T lemon juice, give or take, and a spoonful of honey, taste, and adjust the sweetness-to-tart ratio to my personal liking.

Another One Down

My weigh-in this morning was missing something: another 1.4 pounds. 


I'm sort of amazed by this, seeing how I don't really sweat everyday. I drop and give a few rounds of calisthenics,sure, but I haven't SWEAT in about two weeks. So this is proof! Healthy, calorie-mindful eating works wonders! Now all I need to do is find the motivation to go jogging or visit the gym (which I very shamefully have an unused membership at) and those pounds will have no chance at all!

It's funny how much motivation and good attitude determine success with exercise, and I resolve to actually get a little of each by the end of the week! 

As for eating, I'm doing very well, having gone from cookie-monster cravings down to hardly any. Don't get me wrong, if I need a sweet or salty pick-me-up, I'll cave but just a tiny bit. Like this morning, I wanted Nacho Doritos - so I had two. Lol, and then 16 oz of water and stick of gum. I am less hungry with each day, and I'm starting to absolutely enjoy my diet food - which is so weird to me - but true. Here's to today, and keeping under my calorie limit!

 

FAVE DIET LUNCH:
1/2 Grilled lemon-pepper chicken breast
(I grill a family-size package of these and keep them in the fridge for easy-access)
1 C spinach/spring mix lettuce
grape tomatoes
banana peppers
almonds
2 T Newman's Own Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette  

GUILTY PLEASURE:
Few Nacho Doritos
Cayenne pepper drops
(Kind of like Tabasco. It makes them spicy and yummy, and cayenne is proven to decrease appetite)

FAVE GOOD-FOR-ME DRINK:
Home-brewed ICED green tea
(Between tea and water, I drank 12 cups!)  

Three

Three what, you ask? 
Three pounds shed. 


Three - in one hit-and-miss week. Imagine what I could do if I really applied myself! It seriously motivates me. I came in under my daily calories and carbs goal yesterday for the first time, without feeling starved and frustrated, and it feels amazing. Makes me want to try even harder today. 

FOR BUSY SCHEDULES:
Fit in ten minutes of calisthenics whenever you can! Drop and give ten honest minutes of sit-ups - push yourself and make it count! Do it as often as your schedule will allow. Yesterday I got three ten-minute segments of abs in and I feel accomplished and sore. It's the least I can do, really, but it helps me feel that at least I did something.

MY FAVE DIET BUDDIES:
Unsweetened almond milk. So good! 35 calories! ZIP sugar!
Mission corn and whole grain tortillas. Satisfying for carb cravings!  90 calories!

Today I will get some cardio!
And you know what? This is getting easier.

En-courage-d

So my weekend was a laughable diet-fail, but you know what? It's OKAY. It's okay because I have a wonderfully positive outlook on the next five days ahead of me. And yes, next weekend might be a colossal failure again, but you know what? I'll have given 5 days of my dieting best and HOPEFULLY before too long I'll want less sugar/carbfest - which, really, is one of my biggest goals. I'm feeling very encouraged today, which is new for me. Bring on that celery, bring on that popcorn! I can do this. I have the courage to try and change my habits for the BETTER. This is something I want to prove to myself and yeah - today is a good day. (:

 

FAVE DIET BREAKFAST:

1 c   cooked oatmeal

1  t   honey

        cinnamon

1/2 c unsweetened almond milk

Sweet without the sugar, double the calcium and protein of regular milk, lots of fiber to keep me feeling full longer. Also, I started with a glass of water and ended with a glass of water. VERY SATISFYING! 

Fail

What is it about 4pm? 


4pm takes all my motivation and throws it out the window. And also, what is it about grocery stores? Really. Before you know it you've bought two dozen donut holes and a bag of deep-fried jalepeno poppers, then you're home shortly after and have justified eating all of it. I wish that was just an example, but that's what actually happened yesterday. In fairness, I ate about a dozen and my boy ate the rest. 


...See what a good example I am to him?


SNACKY. Why do I have to feel so snacky all day? And why are the afternoons so brutal? I can hold off and do fairly well all day - and then late afternoon hits and I turn into the human equivalent to a wood-chipper, just shredding through the food and the fat and the calories.

I went over my calories yesterday and so, in regular fashion, I didn't track any foods from 4pm on - and that helped me justify my poor eating habits. "I already ruined my diet today, so I might as well eat what I want." Why do I do this? Do I not realize in the food-frenzy of the moment how absolutely stupid that line of thought is?

And so, I resolve to TRACK. When I track I'm more mindful. So yes, even if I go over by a dozen donut holes - I will freaking TRACK it, then feel gross and be determined not to EVER have a dozen donut holes in one sitting again. Everything in moderation - that's my new motto.

So here comes day 2 of the new me - and let's hope that I can keep things under control. 

The D Word

I've never been a particularly good diet-er. In fact I've never followed a fitness regime either. I've been petite with a high metabolism, who could fork away all the food I could dream of with little consequence. Don't get me wrong, I've never been even close to model-esque, and I've had a pudgy belly since always.

It's just that I'm slipping into my thirties now, with a slower metabolism, and that pudge has been building up and making me feel just...like a slug. I've started journaling my health and habit changes on the precipice of getting older (and maybe a bit wiser, eh?) and realizing that I have not, in so many ways, been healthy. I've been lucky - and that's about it. 

So, enter: diet. And I hate, and I mean hate, dieting. Of course, I've never given it an honest shot, either. So here's my plan: nothing funky, no crazy deadlines or requirements, but just honest, healthy, low-calorie and fat and (cries) sugar diet. I will track my calories on www.everydayhealth.com because that keeps me mindful and accountable and I will give my very best effort to stay beneath my calorie limit. 

For week one, I will stay (as best I can) at around 1000 calories. At the end of that week, I will allow myself the daily recommended calories for my size, which is around 1300. My goal is to be open to habit change, and determined to do my best. Around week two I will up my exercise as well.

In short, this is going to stink. Lol.

So I better make the payoff amazing, right?

Right.

Diving In

I guess this first post requires an explanation, no? I'm an all-around food lover and eater-of-much. I'm a thirty-something spunky mother of one. Yes, I'm private about my personal life, so there will be no details about my home life, no pictures of my kiddo with a macaroni-orange-face, no bragging about how my hubby and little fella are the most amazingest ever (though they are, which maybe ought to be stated just this once, lol), and no mushy-gushy emotional goop. If you're looking for that, then I'm sorry, too-personal how-my-day-went blogs are a dime a dozen and I'm sure you'll find one that suits you just wonderfully.

As for my blog, though, I intend to stack it with helpful, motivating and fun ways to not only get fit, but get healthy overall. This blog will also track my progress because, shoot, it motivates me to write my feelings, accomplishments and even failures all down. To keep myself accountable, you will be hearing if I ate an entire cheesecake (which, oh my gosh, I hope never happens). I resolve to be a healthier version of myself, to lose a little weight through diet and exercise, to get tone, and to take pride in my reflection - and not just because I look smokin' (which I intend to, for sure), but because I know I have made good changes in habit and attitude!

Here's to a better me, and a better you! Here's to a healthier lifestyle!
Ready? Set? Go!