The Holidays are here…

The Holidays are here…kicking off with Halloween candy and not stopping until New Year’s leftovers.  This time of year is probably the hardest time of year (for me anyway) in terms of “healthy living”.  My favorite things about the season are the food and the gatherings with family and friends. I am not willing to give them up.  So how do I plan to maintain this pattern through the holidays?  Well…

It is likely that I will use a few excuses…I know this is a no excuses journey but I am human they will always sneak in occasionally.  And it is likely that I will not drop 10 pounds.  So why expect it?  I am going to set my goals a little more attainable.  I would like to maintain my weight at least.  I know it will fluctuate through the season but if I weigh in on January 3^rd I expect for it to be either equal or less than what I started this week.  It is still going to be a challenge but I think that is attainable.  I just have to go in with a plan and always keep it in my mind. 

The overall idea of weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in.  I know there are all kinds of shakes and pills out there promising you that you can loose weight and not change a thing about your daily life.  How many times do you have to “diet” to read that as CRAP?  Yes I have tried them too; who hasn’t?  But I have finally come to terms that the “easy button” really doesn’t exist.  I do believe the success stories for the different programs, what I want to see printed are stories from 3 years later.  So many promise great results and work for a while.  You get all excited and think wow I have finally found my ticket I am going to look great! Then you believe in yourself so much that you are convinced you have figured it out and quit doing the shakes or taking the pills, after all you don’t need them anymore.  The problem is that most people have not fixed what was broken.  You haven’t taken the time to learn what you are eating and what you need to change.  So when you replace the shake of 150 calories with a meal of 300-500 calories your body is thinking “WooHOO a sale I will take one of each color!”

Same thing will happen to me at Christmas…I have been reasonable with my calories and all of the sudden there is a surplus.  The “burn more than you eat” concept is easy I get it.  My problem is making it second nature so that I don’t have to think about it; it just happens.  I have a feeling that may never happen but I am sure it will come easier because it already does.  I can recognize how I feel and know when I have been eating like crap because I feel like crap. And I tend to recognize it before I have 30 pounds to loose vs. 10. Took me a while to get here I think I lost the same 30 pounds 3 times.

I am going to leave you with a few tips that may make the holidays a little easier and save a few calories without passing on your favorites.

1.                  Mashed Potatoes – Use plain yogurt instead of butter; or something my kids like – mix some squash with potatoes adds more flavor without the butter (we call them Halloween potatoes) Careful not to add to much squash if you are not big fans of squash by itself it can take over pretty quick.

2.                  Use a smaller plate – This sounds dumb but it really works.  If you are like me I am going back for seconds regardless.  If I have a big plate I am likely to have as much on one plate as I would have on 2 smaller ones and I am still going back for seconds….I am not filling my plate 3 times.

3.                  Use skim milk for cooking and baking.  I know several people who won’t budge on the whole or 2% milk…guess what if it is mixed in something you won’t notice. And neither will your guests.

4.                  Pumpkin is fat free and low calorie!

5.                  You can use half the amount of sugar in cookies without changing the consistency.

Happy Halloween!

Motivation…

Well I am half way through the first 12 weeks of my journey!  How are you doing with motivation?  If you are like me the motivation is fizzling out about this time and you may have noticed with my articles.  I get a little less enthusiastic…the pep is mellowing.  Maybe you haven’t noticed because you are in the same zone.  You know; you start off with good weight loss and the scales really seem to be moving, you are thinking YES! This time it is going to work and then is slows down a bit, then maybe even goes the wrong way for a couple of weeks, then even when it starts going in the right direction again it is just budging…barely.  You can’t help but get discouraged and start making excuses as to why it is what it is.  Truth is… IT IS WHAT IT IS.  This is kind of a point of either success or fail for me.  Sadly enough I have been on enough diets to recognize this point, I am sure I am not alone.  Thank god this time is a journey not a diet so fail is not an option, right?  So this time and I would assume each time that I have had success I am going to use this as a transition or a time to reevaluate my path to a healthier me.  So my original goal was a loss of 16 pounds in 12 weeks.  We are 6 or 7 weeks in and I am down 8 pounds! Yeah that means I am right on track although I had hoped to be a little ahead because from past experience it seems the less you have to loose the harder it is and I was hoping to have a little cushion.  How ironic I was hoping for cushion on my quest to loose my cushion?  Yep I will admit I just laughed at that thought too. J Anyway…(I get side tracked so easy) back to evaluation.  My weight seems to be right on track but I am loosing a bit of interest or stalling a bit so what goals can I make or steps can I take to re-light my fire?  Well for one I am going to change up my workouts.  I have a Cardio Kickboxing class coming up which I am very excited about.  This will change it up because I will be getting more cardio; lately my workouts have been pretty even with cardio and strength.  I could be a little more consistent with my food tracking, so far I really like the new calorie counter I am using (www.myfitnesspal.com) seems to be easier to use.  I have had a few more frequent “slips” lately, a few trips to my mother in laws (too bad she doesn’t burn everything or is just a bad cook she has to be really good at it).  I do get some reminders – “What’s the article about this week?” as I shove a cookie in my mouth… moments like those I wonder what I was thinking making this journey a public one. J Truth is it has probably kept me more honest with myself. 

I am going to change up my workouts, what are you going to do to be sure you keep on the right path?  It is always good to examine the processes you are using to get to your goals no matter what your goals.  Also a good tip is to make a series of smaller goals to accomplish on the way to the big one.  This gives you a since of accomplishment along the way.  I am close to the 10# mark I should reach it in 1-2 weeks.  And actually reevaluating made me realize that I am half way there.  I had not really tallied my weekly losses; that helps with the motivation.  Another thing that helps is to encourage a friend on the journey.  Sometimes just knowing you are not alone makes the world of difference and in the process of encouraging them you encourage yourself too.  Ok friends that’s it for this week if you are looking for some encouragement or suggestions feel free to stop in and visit I would be happy to help you out.  Have a great week!

Don’t forget to REST…

This week I have been a bit under the weather which is unfortunate because it has been great weather!  One of the key points in health and wellness that could quite possibly be one of the hardest is REST.  When you see someone who is obviously not at the best of their health the first thing that crosses your mind is they must be lazy.  That is right I know we all say we don’t judge and we try not to but we do and often times we are actually judging how we see ourselves in someone else.  But that is a whole other topic.  Being lazy is part of the problem but it is so often not the case.  These days we pressure ourselves trying to multi-task with so many projects and activities that we often forget to rest and take care of ourselves.  Think about it one of the biggest problems is choosing healthy foods, we often hit fast food places or convenience foods at the supermarket because we don’t have time, the most common excuse I hear to not exercise is “I don’t have time”.  Why don’t we have time?  Because we take on so much and we don’t make time for “the little things”.  Ironically if we would take time to take care of ourselves properly or even half as good as we do now we would be less tired and more efficient at the things expect ourselves to do.

I have had a chest cold that is really kicking my butt for almost a week.  Do you know how much I have accomplished this week?  Very little.  How much do you suppose this could have changed if I would just give myself a break?  How about you? Do you go non-stop all day often skipping meals or grabbing a bite on the run? Skipping your exercise because you have too much to do?  Telling yourself you get enough exercise all day? Back in the day when the majority of the jobs and tasks at hand involved manual labor that was a little closer to the truth, now day’s technology (which I think is wonderful) allows us to do more with less effort, which typically means you are not moving as much as you think.  Maybe you are one of those who do get a lot of movement at your job…Are you at the top of your game? Is your health report perfect?  If not then I would say it is still not enough.  So how do you manage when you don’t rest now and I am telling you that you have to add something else?  Prioritize! Our health and our families should be the first priority.  Unfortunately Bill is always pushing its way to the top.  Oh yes I am just as guilty at this as most and probably more than some.  And guess what we are teaching our children the same lifestyle. 

Ok so enough preaching I hope it sank in for you and me both.  This week I have been trying to rest to try to kick this cold.  I have not made it top priority as I should have been home sleeping for two days straight however I did get to go home one afternoon thanks to my great employees.  I also broke through a plateau in my weight loss with a loss of 2.4.  Rest can do magnificent things.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead…

Yeah the scales finally slipped in the right direction! And the most exciting part of this journey and writing about it is seeing and hearing from all of you reading this that are taking a journey of your own.  I am a little unsure how this next week will go as I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast from Michaels Foods.  The muffin I added to my plate at the end of the line (as I was reminded of my readers) was excellent!  Thank you!  Had this breakfast been followed by mindful eating I would not be worried; but I followed it up with lunch at The Golden Corral and supper at Grannies.  I did skip my normal second plate of “real” food and went for dessert.  Its funny or maybe a bit embarrassing that I have a ritual at a buffet….2 plates of a variety of meats and veggies and one trip to the dessert section.  What is your routine? Or am I really that abnormal?

Well buffet really isn’t what I sat down to write about today.  I want to write about some exciting things coming up.  First of all thanks to all who participated in the “Healthy Habits Hustle” on Saturday.  Your next chance to get involved with healthy changes is this Friday!  I am sure that you have heard on TV or seen some fliers around about The Healthiest State Initiative.  This is the Governor’s promotion to make Iowa the Healthiest State, we are currently 19^th.  This whole promotion kicks off with a “Start Somewhere Walk” on October 7^th, which is Friday.  At Noon we are gathering for a 1k walk (0.68 miles) Your Life Fitness is hosting a walk for Lenox and I really hope all of you will join me on your lunch hour.  AND if you are thinking you won’t be in town, as luck would have it you can do this anywhere!  After all the point is for you to kick off some Healthy changes and MOVE! (and maybe pass on my routine at a buffet)  So come join me on Friday at Noon we will start at Your Life Fitness.  This could be the start of your journey or a little boost if you have already started.

The next exciting thing is I am hosting a Total Life Wellness Fair on November 5^th.  You will start seeing fliers soon.  There will be several vendors with displays and active presentations for you to participate.  There is a small fee for the presentations but it is free to visit the vendor tables.  Lenox Care Center will be providing free blood pressure and blood sugar checks at their table.  I am very excited about the presentations also.  Ronnie Brit, Midwest Cage Championship fighter and a Diagonal native, will be here to teach self-defense. Janet Ventiecher will be talking about debt management.  Dr. Anna Leonard will be discussing what to look for when shopping for shoes. And I will be talking about healthy lifestyles.  It will be a great day with lots of great information.

I know I talked more about what is coming up than my experiences and challenges this week but I have been working on these events a lot and I am very excited to share them with you.  Keep tracking and stay on your path to healthy living.