Lesson: Exercise & Stress

Lesson I have learned: It is not worth it to stress over exercise and fitness! The truth is that I am already a person that has nervous anxieties and too much stress. To alleviate my stress in the past I have turned to food which has cause me to gain a lot of weight. In an effort to change and start exercising I have approached my fitness routine with the same stressed and anxious mind-set which is counter productive. It produces a negative cycle. First I stress and then I eat then. Then I stress over my weight-gain, then I stress over my fitness routine which sends me flying back to my old cure, food! I have learned that there is no good that can come from stressing over my body weight and my exercise routine. I need to stop making UN-realistic fitness goals that are based on me trying to shed weight instantly. There is no such thing as instant weight-loss or instant success. Success and weight-loss both come from sustained hard work over a long period of time. Just, because I can instantly fail or instantly gain weight does not mean I can instantly take the weight off. It takes a lot of momentum to move a large mass. It takes months of consistent diet and exercise to see results. I cannot allow myself to by into the myth of instant success when it comes to weight-loss. The body naturally likes to change gradually, this is why it takes nine months to have a baby! It is OK to monitor my weight-loss over time, but it is not OK to make judgements and set standards or punish myself based on the rate of my weight-loss. Watching the body lost is just like watching hair grow, the change is very subtle. I just need to focus on living with these small changes every day! I also need to remember that my weight is determined by what and how much I eat! Walking is simply a moving mediation! Walking can alleviate my stress so that I have less triggers to over eat, it can make me feel good about myself, but it is not a direct tool to drop instant pounds! CLM

Lesson: Less is more

Lesson I have learned: Less is more when it comes to exercise! I would always get excited about my fitness in the past and then dream up this unrealistic, unattainable, goals and I had no way to really measure them. I would say things like I am going to walk 6 miles a day for the next 30 days. I would walk maybe two days and quit. I was so hard on myself and this only lead to defeat. I decided not to be so judgmental. My body is telling me that it wants to lose weight, I can hear it in my feet, my knees, my breast, my arms and my thighs. I decided to sit down and really think about what I can do instead of focusing on the negative and failure. I can walk twenty minutes a day for seven days. Simple, short and sweet. I made a goal and a plan to do that simple task and today I walked. I have so much energy that I am going to walk for the rest of these next six days! I am highly motivated to take baby steps to melt the fat away and be healthy, happy and finally and forever fit! CLM

Lesson: Super Dieter!

Lesson I have learned: How to combine smart tips and tricks to become a super dieter!

You can have your cake and eat it too! Deprivation is not the way. Who can avoid yummy foods for the long haul. After avoiding tasty treats for weeks they just set up cravings that cause you to fall back into a diet pitt-fall. It is better to acknowledge your true nature and find a sensible way to enjoy yourself while dieting. I know that I love to snack on junk food in the evenings. I have my own private little party. I had to develop a strategy to still enjoy my evening snacks without packing on the pounds. Here is what worked for me.

1. Drink a ton of water throughout the day to keep real hunger at bay.
2. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables that are low in calories and high in fiber so that I stay fuller longer and have smaller calorie meals.
3. Eat smaller portions of carbs such as cereal and bread.
4. Eat a nice filling soup early in the day so that I am not to hungry later.
5. Eat a smart dinner, think low carb at night, save those carbs for your snacks!
6. Trade out the old junk for fun healthy alternatives.
7. Lighten the blow of the not so healthy stuff by having single size smaller portions.
8. Mix healthy stuff with smaller portions of the good stuff.

My snack profile:

yoplait gogurt 70
small single size chocolate/vanilla ice cream 100
popcorn 100
orange 62
whole wheat crackers 140
laughing cow cheese 35

Total 507 calories! The popcorn and fruit keep me full while I indulge my taste buds on the cheese and ice cream.

I can get away with snacking this way because my breakfast, lunch and dinner were so low in calories that I did not go over my 1400 limit. I ate smart things like salad, tuna, whole wheat bread, hummus, grapes, oranges.

CLM

Lesson : Tracking Works!

Lesson I have learned: Tracking works.

I have learned that tracking your weight and calories daily helps you stay focused and motivated on your weight-loss journey. One great thing that I got out of tracking was not feeling guilty when I have a treat. I know that there is a budget available for daily treats. By tracking and planning my meals for the day I can look forward to my treats without feeling deprived.

April2012 Update

Things are starting to look up. Since my last post I have continued to drink tons of water. The water has helped me have smooth moves as well as curb my apetite. I no longer have out of control hunger. I have made a real effort to eat more fruits and vegetables daily. This week I renewed my committment to track religiously on livestrong and using a simple journal. I am also back to weighing myself daily. I am doing these things to keep myself accountable. I found that when I made healthy choices during the week it was hard to sustain the effort during the evenings and on the weekends, because I tended to lose my motivation and focus. By tracking I have something simple that I can do to keep me focused and motivated longer. The other thing I started was I renewed my commitment to get in my hour a day of walking with no excuses.

CLM