Pigs Are Flying

Hell freezing over, pigs flying, you get the point…  Why am I using all these crazy cliches?  Because I actually WANTED to exercise tonight!!!

If you have been following my blog you know that I walk all the time and often go hiking.  I do a 15 minute tv yoga program in the morning and occasionally some sit-ups and push-ups at night.  Since the baby I just have had no motivation to try and find an exercise routine amidst learning how to be a Mom and all of the accompanying sleep deprivation.  (It’s been nuts getting food on the table, the house cleaned, the bills paid, the shopping done and some occasional R&R when the baby sleeps, even with a very supportive hubby).

But tonight, I had the thought… hmm… I’ll exercise.

As soon as that thought went through my head I asked the hubby to get his rower out and show me how to do it.  I knew if I didn’t act on that thought ASAP I would never do it.

So, I am proud to report I did 20 minutes of rowing, followed by sit-ups and stretching.  I feel great.  And proud.  Oink, oink, flap, flap.

Tuesday Tenets: The Program: June 26, 2012

Each week I am going to add a few new tenets to my program.  The newest ones will be in bold and the oldest ones will follow.  The Tenets are separated by 3 asterisks (***).  I am doing this to develop a system to lose the additional 50+ lbs I need to lose after having lost approx 40 lbs and to keep the weight off that I lose.  Goodbye pregnancy weight!!

***

***Choose foods that have only 1-5 items in the ingredients.  

***Choose foods whose ingredients are recognizable.

***Eyeball portions sizes by doing the following: half the plate should be veggies and/or fruit; a quarter of the plate should be protein; a quarter of the plate should be a healthy carb

***Eat every 4-6 hours

***Eat organic whenever possible

***Get a Brita and begin filtering all water 

***Include in my daily wrap-up when I do my morning stretches and evening push-ups/sit-ups

***Include in my daily wrap-up whether I did journaling

***Every time I Think A Negative Thought About A Body Part I MUST Immediately Counter It With A Positive Thought

I want The Program to be one of physical AND mental health.  I know that I am a product of my culture and I know that culture has taught me that super thin is best and that if you are fat you are a lazy loser.  I can internalize this stuff like crazy even though I consider myself to be a pretty level-headed lady!  It is doing me no good, in my quest for health, to be thinking negative thoughts about my body parts.  This body spent nine months creating a HUMAN LIFE for goodness sake.  It has created a miracle and I am so grateful for my daughter  (especially since there were quite a few health scares throughout the pregnancy and delivery.)  My body deserves my gratitude and respect, not shame and hatred.  So… the newest tenet is that every time I think a negative thought about a part of me, I have to come up with a positive one immediately.  For instance if I think, “oh my stomach is so flabby and has ugly stomach rolls” then I need to immediately say to myself “Wow this stomach housed what I hold most dear in life for nine months and I don’t have many stretch marks – Thank you wonderful stomach.”  I think this Tenet may sound a little cheesy but actually be incredibly powerful and maybe even transforming.

***

***Weighing Once a Month on the First:

I remember that the weight loss program I did before when I lost 100lbs had this rule (or at least I think that is the weight loss program I got that nugget from… there have been so many they all run together…)  My intention for weighing myself monthly is prevent the emotional roller coasters I would experience (and have been) if I weighed weekly and daily.  Hopefully this too will encourage me to rely more on how I feel and look to gauge the success of  The Program rather than on a number.   I will weigh myself on the first of every month.

***

***Journaling Twice Daily:  I know this sounds extreme but it has really worked for me in the past when going through tough times.  Buy a small notebook (I don’t know the exact measurements of mine – maybe 3″x5″.)  Commit to writing one page in the morning and one in the evening.  It takes less than 2 minutes usually per sitting! The reason I am going back to the habit and intuitively know that it needs to be a Tenet of My Program is because I am an emotional eater.  I like to eat when happy, sad, confused, bored, frustrated, angry, excited, nervous, etc, etc.  I eat to comfort myself (I think that is why I gained so much weight during pregnancy – I was truly uncomfortable most of the time.)  So why journaling if I know this already?  When I eat over an emotion, whether it is positive or negative, it mutes the emotion making the emotion less intense.  I have long had the pattern of being scared of my extreme emotions because then I would have to make decisions and/or take action around those emotions and I have been really scared of change most of my life.  I like to cling to a more muted, luke-warm, steady existence where I am almost hiding behind the food and the fat to not get hurt….  Clearly this isn’t how life works and I end up missing both the highs and the lows.  I also can’t quite always determine how I feel because my emotions have been muted and all jumbled up for so long.  Journaling helps!  I find that I am more  confident and a better decision maker when I have been actively journaling.  Being more confident, making better decisions, knowing what is going on with myself internally all are key parts of healthy living and healthy weight loss!

***

*** Vitamins:  It is best to get as much of the vitamins and minerals you need from the food that you eat.  However, your diet can’t 100% everyday provide 100% of everything the body needs.  A complete vitamin is perfect for filling in the gaps.  Because I am still nursing I am supposed to remain on the prenatal vitamins.  When I am done nursing I probably will go back on taking some additional vitamins like extra vitamin D and coq10 for wrinkles but for now the prenatal suffices.

***

*** Water:  I’m sure you know the rule: 8 glasses a day.  Water keeps your body working properly, gives you energy and makes you feel satiated.  For a “treat” I’ll mix in a glass of bubbly water into the line-up.

***

*** Hierarchy of Priorities that lead to Weight Loss and  a fabulous life:

1.  Baby Daughter – she is 100% dependent on me right now and she must always come first.  If that means I skip a snack or miss a mealtime because she needs me I need to remember that she is the highest priority and to NOT beat-up myself that I can’t be a 100% perfect dieter.

2.  Sleep – it is well-documented that lack of sleep leads to the body holding onto fat and weight gain.  As the mother of a newborn sleep isn’t always easy to get.

3. Food – This means the pre-planning of meals, the purchasing of the food and finally the cooking and preparation of the food.

4. Everything Else

***

*** Planning and Recording the Day’s Food the Night Before:  This habit was part of the extreme program I did before and frankly, it really is genius.  If you know exactly what you are eating the next day it alleviates a lot of impulsive, I-am-so-hungry-I-will-eat-anything behavior.  And, it makes sure you know exactly what food you have in the house and whether or not you need to run to the store before you get overwhelmingly hungry.

***

*** Focus on the Food but get 20 Minutes of Exercise in a Day: I have run a marathon while technically being morbidly obese.  I have trained on tennis courts for eight hours a day hoping to be thin.  I have done crazy extreme exercise programs that yes, made me lose some weight, but frankly were probably very unhealthy and taxing on an obese body.  My problem is emotionally over-eating, not with being uncommitted to exercise.  20 minutes of walking a day with a seven week old baby is ambitious enough!

***

*** Never Get Too Hungry: If I am genuinely hungry, the kind of hunger where my stomach is turning and it is not the middle of the night, then I need to eat no matter what is on my food plan for the day.  I am a nursing Mom who is taking steps to live a healthy, thin, fit life – not to torture herself!

Thanks for reading this and I wish you much luck on your own healthy journey!

Tuesday Tenets: The Program: June 19, 2012

Each week I am going to add a few new tenets to my program.  The newest ones will be in bold and the oldest ones will follow.  The Tenets are separated by 3 asterisks (***).  I am doing this to develop a system to lose the additional 50+ lbs I need to lose after having lost approx 40 lbs and to keep the weight off that I lose.  Goodbye pregnancy weight!!

This week I don’t have anything new to add but here is a reminder of The Program I am creating for myself:

***

***Every time I Think A Negative Thought About A Body Part I MUST Immediately Counter It With A Positive Thought

I want The Program to be one of physical AND mental health.  I know that I am a product of my culture and I know that culture has taught me that super thin is best and that if you are fat you are a lazy loser.  I can internalize this stuff like crazy even though I consider myself to be a pretty level-headed lady!  It is doing me no good, in my quest for health, to be thinking negative thoughts about my body parts.  This body spent nine months creating a HUMAN LIFE for goodness sake.  It has created a miracle and I am so grateful for my daughter  (especially since there were quite a few health scares throughout the pregnancy and delivery.)  My body deserves my gratitude and respect, not shame and hatred.  So… the newest tenet is that every time I think a negative thought about a part of me, I have to come up with a positive one immediately.  For instance if I think, “oh my stomach is so flabby and has ugly stomach rolls” then I need to immediately say to myself “Wow this stomach housed what I hold most dear in life for nine months and I don’t have many stretch marks – Thank you wonderful stomach.”  I think this Tenet may sound a little cheesy but actually be incredibly powerful and maybe even transforming.

***

***Weighing Once a Month on the First:

I remember that the weight loss program I did before when I lost 100lbs had this rule (or at least I think that is the weight loss program I got that nugget from… there have been so many they all run together…)  My intention for weighing myself monthly is prevent the emotional roller coasters I would experience (and have been) if I weighed weekly and daily.  Hopefully this too will encourage me to rely more on how I feel and look to gauge the success of  The Program rather than on a number.   I will weigh myself on the first of every month.

***

***Weighing and Measuring my food:  I was hoping to avoid weighing and measuring my food everyday but frankly, it actually makes things simpler knowing that I am eating the right portion sizes.  This way I can tweak my menus if I am still not getting the results I hope for.  I use a Martha Stewart food scale, put the dish upon it, turn it on an wait until it zeroes itself out and then weigh my food.  Or, in some cases I use measuring cups.  Here are the portion standards I’ll use for each meal:

Breakfast:

1oz dry oatmeal or 1 cup wet oatmeal

8oz yogurt

Lunch:

60z or 1 piece fruit

1c. rice or grain

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

Teatime Oatmeal:

1 cup Oatmeal

.5cup milk

.25cup raising

Dinner:

8oz salad

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

***

***Journaling Twice Daily:  I know this sounds extreme but it has really worked for me in the past when going through tough times.  Buy a small notebook (I don’t know the exact measurements of mine – maybe 3″x5″.)  Commit to writing one page in the morning and one in the evening.  It takes less than 2 minutes usually per sitting! The reason I am going back to the habit and intuitively know that it needs to be a Tenet of My Program is because I am an emotional eater.  I like to eat when happy, sad, confused, bored, frustrated, angry, excited, nervous, etc, etc.  I eat to comfort myself (I think that is why I gained so much weight during pregnancy – I was truly uncomfortable most of the time.)  So why journaling if I know this already?  When I eat over an emotion, whether it is positive or negative, it mutes the emotion making the emotion less intense.  I have long had the pattern of being scared of my extreme emotions because then I would have to make decisions and/or take action around those emotions and I have been really scared of change most of my life.  I like to cling to a more muted, luke-warm, steady existence where I am almost hiding behind the food and the fat to not get hurt….  Clearly this isn’t how life works and I end up missing both the highs and the lows.  I also can’t quite always determine how I feel because my emotions have been muted and all jumbled up for so long.  Journaling helps!  I find that I am more  confident and a better decision maker when I have been actively journaling.  Being more confident, making better decisions, knowing what is going on with myself internally all are key parts of healthy living and healthy weight loss!

***

*** Vitamins:  It is best to get as much of the vitamins and minerals you need from the food that you eat.  However, your diet can’t 100% everyday provide 100% of everything the body needs.  A complete vitamin is perfect for filling in the gaps.  Because I am still nursing I am supposed to remain on the prenatal vitamins.  When I am done nursing I probably will go back on taking some additional vitamins like extra vitamin D and coq10 for wrinkles but for now the prenatal suffices.

***

*** Water:  I’m sure you know the rule: 8 glasses a day.  Water keeps your body working properly, gives you energy and makes you feel satiated.  For a “treat” I’ll mix in a glass of bubbly water into the line-up.

***

*** Hierarchy of Priorities that lead to Weight Loss and  a fabulous life:

1.  Baby Daughter – she is 100% dependent on me right now and she must always come first.  If that means I skip a snack or miss a mealtime because she needs me I need to remember that she is the highest priority and to NOT beat-up myself that I can’t be a 100% perfect dieter.

2.  Sleep – it is well-documented that lack of sleep leads to the body holding onto fat and weight gain.  As the mother of a newborn sleep isn’t always easy to get.

3. Food – This means the pre-planning of meals, the purchasing of the food and finally the cooking and preparation of the food.

4. Everything Else

***

*** Planning and Recording the Day’s Food the Night Before:  This habit was part of the extreme program I did before and frankly, it really is genius.  If you know exactly what you are eating the next day it alleviates a lot of impulsive, I-am-so-hungry-I-will-eat-anything behavior.  And, it makes sure you know exactly what food you have in the house and whether or not you need to run to the store before you get overwhelmingly hungry.

***

*** Focus on the Food but get 20 Minutes of Exercise in a Day: I have run a marathon while technically being morbidly obese.  I have trained on tennis courts for eight hours a day hoping to be thin.  I have done crazy extreme exercise programs that yes, made me lose some weight, but frankly were probably very unhealthy and taxing on an obese body.  My problem is emotionally over-eating, not with being uncommitted to exercise.  20 minutes of walking a day with a seven week old baby is ambitious enough!

***

*** Never Get Too Hungry: If I am genuinely hungry, the kind of hunger where my stomach is turning and it is not the middle of the night, then I need to eat no matter what is on my food plan for the day.  I am a nursing Mom who is taking steps to live a healthy, thin, fit life – not to torture herself!

Thanks for reading this and I wish you much luck on your own healthy journey!

Tuesday Tenets: The Program: June 5, 2012

Each week I am going to add a few new tenets to my program.  The newest ones will be in bold and the oldest ones will follow.  The Tenets are separated by 3 asterisks (***).  I am doing this to develop a system to lose the additional 50+ lbs I need to lose after having lost approx 40 lbs and to keep the weight off that I lose.  Goodbye pregnancy weight!!

This week I don’t have anything new to add but here is a reminder of The Program I am creating for myself:

***

***Every time I Think A Negative Thought About A Body Part I MUST Immediately Counter It With A Positive Thought

I want The Program to be one of physical AND mental health.  I know that I am a product of my culture and I know that culture has taught me that super thin is best and that if you are fat you are a lazy loser.  I can internalize this stuff like crazy even though I consider myself to be a pretty level-headed lady!  It is doing me no good, in my quest for health, to be thinking negative thoughts about my body parts.  This body spent nine months creating a HUMAN LIFE for goodness sake.  It has created a miracle and I am so grateful for my daughter  (especially since there were quite a few health scares throughout the pregnancy and delivery.)  My body deserves my gratitude and respect, not shame and hatred.  So… the newest tenet is that every time I think a negative thought about a part of me, I have to come up with a positive one immediately.  For instance if I think, “oh my stomach is so flabby and has ugly stomach rolls” then I need to immediately say to myself “Wow this stomach housed what I hold most dear in life for nine months and I don’t have many stretch marks – Thank you wonderful stomach.”  I think this Tenet may sound a little cheesy but actually be incredibly powerful and maybe even transforming.

***

***Weighing Once a Month on the First:

I remember that the weight loss program I did before when I lost 100lbs had this rule (or at least I think that is the weight loss program I got that nugget from… there have been so many they all run together…)  My intention for weighing myself monthly is prevent the emotional roller coasters I would experience (and have been) if I weighed weekly and daily.  Hopefully this too will encourage me to rely more on how I feel and look to gauge the success of  The Program rather than on a number.   I will weigh myself on the first of every month.

***

***Weighing and Measuring my food:  I was hoping to avoid weighing and measuring my food everyday but frankly, it actually makes things simpler knowing that I am eating the right portion sizes.  This way I can tweak my menus if I am still not getting the results I hope for.  I use a Martha Stewart food scale, put the dish upon it, turn it on an wait until it zeroes itself out and then weigh my food.  Or, in some cases I use measuring cups.  Here are the portion standards I’ll use for each meal:

Breakfast:

1oz dry oatmeal or 1 cup wet oatmeal

8oz yogurt

Lunch:

60z or 1 piece fruit

1c. rice or grain

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

Teatime Oatmeal:

1 cup Oatmeal

.5cup milk

.25cup raising

Dinner:

8oz salad

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

***

***Journaling Twice Daily:  I know this sounds extreme but it has really worked for me in the past when going through tough times.  Buy a small notebook (I don’t know the exact measurements of mine – maybe 3″x5″.)  Commit to writing one page in the morning and one in the evening.  It takes less than 2 minutes usually per sitting! The reason I am going back to the habit and intuitively know that it needs to be a Tenet of My Program is because I am an emotional eater.  I like to eat when happy, sad, confused, bored, frustrated, angry, excited, nervous, etc, etc.  I eat to comfort myself (I think that is why I gained so much weight during pregnancy – I was truly uncomfortable most of the time.)  So why journaling if I know this already?  When I eat over an emotion, whether it is positive or negative, it mutes the emotion making the emotion less intense.  I have long had the pattern of being scared of my extreme emotions because then I would have to make decisions and/or take action around those emotions and I have been really scared of change most of my life.  I like to cling to a more muted, luke-warm, steady existence where I am almost hiding behind the food and the fat to not get hurt….  Clearly this isn’t how life works and I end up missing both the highs and the lows.  I also can’t quite always determine how I feel because my emotions have been muted and all jumbled up for so long.  Journaling helps!  I find that I am more  confident and a better decision maker when I have been actively journaling.  Being more confident, making better decisions, knowing what is going on with myself internally all are key parts of healthy living and healthy weight loss!

***

*** Vitamins:  It is best to get as much of the vitamins and minerals you need from the food that you eat.  However, your diet can’t 100% everyday provide 100% of everything the body needs.  A complete vitamin is perfect for filling in the gaps.  Because I am still nursing I am supposed to remain on the prenatal vitamins.  When I am done nursing I probably will go back on taking some additional vitamins like extra vitamin D and coq10 for wrinkles but for now the prenatal suffices.

***

*** Water:  I’m sure you know the rule: 8 glasses a day.  Water keeps your body working properly, gives you energy and makes you feel satiated.  For a “treat” I’ll mix in a glass of bubbly water into the line-up.

***

*** Hierarchy of Priorities that lead to Weight Loss and  a fabulous life:

1.  Baby Daughter – she is 100% dependent on me right now and she must always come first.  If that means I skip a snack or miss a mealtime because she needs me I need to remember that she is the highest priority and to NOT beat-up myself that I can’t be a 100% perfect dieter.

2.  Sleep – it is well-documented that lack of sleep leads to the body holding onto fat and weight gain.  As the mother of a newborn sleep isn’t always easy to get.

3. Food – This means the pre-planning of meals, the purchasing of the food and finally the cooking and preparation of the food.

4. Everything Else

*** Wednesdays are Weekly Weigh-Ins: If I weigh myself on a daily basis I will drive myself nuts!  Wednesdays are not the traditional “I’ll start by diet on ____day” so I think that works for my Program (since it isn’t a diet!)  Plus, I’ve already been weighing on Wednesdays since the baby was born.  Note, it is important to record the amount lost for the week as well as the amount lost overall.

***

*** Planning and Recording the Day’s Food the Night Before:  This habit was part of the extreme program I did before and frankly, it really is genius.  If you know exactly what you are eating the next day it alleviates a lot of impulsive, I-am-so-hungry-I-will-eat-anything behavior.  And, it makes sure you know exactly what food you have in the house and whether or not you need to run to the store before you get overwhelmingly hungry.

***

*** Focus on the Food but get 20 Minutes of Exercise in a Day: I have run a marathon while technically being morbidly obese.  I have trained on tennis courts for eight hours a day hoping to be thin.  I have done crazy extreme exercise programs that yes, made me lose some weight, but frankly were probably very unhealthy and taxing on an obese body.  My problem is emotionally over-eating, not with being uncommitted to exercise.  20 minutes of walking a day with a seven week old baby is ambitious enough!

***

*** Never Get Too Hungry: If I am genuinely hungry, the kind of hunger where my stomach is turning and it is not the middle of the night, then I need to eat no matter what is on my food plan for the day.  I am a nursing Mom who is taking steps to live a healthy, thin, fit life – not to torture herself!

Thanks for reading this and I wish you much luck on your own healthy journey!

Tuesday Tenets: The Program: May 2, 2012

Each week I am going to add a few new tenets to my program.  The newest ones will be in bold and the oldest ones will follow.  The Tenets are separated by 3 asterisks (***).  I am doing this to develop a system to lose the additional 50+ lbs I need to lose after having lost approx 40 lbs and to keep the weight off that I lose.  Goodbye pregnancy weight!!

This week I don’t have anything new to add but here is a reminder of The Program I am creating for myself:

***

***Every time I Think A Negative Thought About A Body Part I MUST Immediately Counter It With A Positive Thought

I want The Program to be one of physical AND mental health.  I know that I am a product of my culture and I know that culture has taught me that super thin is best and that if you are fat you are a lazy loser.  I can internalize this stuff like crazy even though I consider myself to be a pretty level-headed lady!  It is doing me no good, in my quest for health, to be thinking negative thoughts about my body parts.  This body spent nine months creating a HUMAN LIFE for goodness sake.  It has created a miracle and I am so grateful for my daughter  (especially since there were quite a few health scares throughout the pregnancy and delivery.)  My body deserves my gratitude and respect, not shame and hatred.  So… the newest tenet is that every time I think a negative thought about a part of me, I have to come up with a positive one immediately.  For instance if I think, “oh my stomach is so flabby and has ugly stomach rolls” then I need to immediately say to myself “Wow this stomach housed what I hold most dear in life for nine months and I don’t have many stretch marks – Thank you wonderful stomach.”  I think this Tenet may sound a little cheesy but actually be incredibly powerful and maybe even transforming.

***

***Weighing Once a Month on the First:

I remember that the weight loss program I did before when I lost 100lbs had this rule (or at least I think that is the weight loss program I got that nugget from… there have been so many they all run together…)  My intention for weighing myself monthly is prevent the emotional roller coasters I would experience (and have been) if I weighed weekly and daily.  Hopefully this too will encourage me to rely more on how I feel and look to gauge the success of  The Program rather than on a number.   I will weigh myself on the first of every month.

***

***Weighing and Measuring my food:  I was hoping to avoid weighing and measuring my food everyday but frankly, it actually makes things simpler knowing that I am eating the right portion sizes.  This way I can tweak my menus if I am still not getting the results I hope for.  I use a Martha Stewart food scale, put the dish upon it, turn it on an wait until it zeroes itself out and then weigh my food.  Or, in some cases I use measuring cups.  Here are the portion standards I’ll use for each meal:

Breakfast:

1oz dry oatmeal or 1 cup wet oatmeal

8oz yogurt

Lunch:

60z or 1 piece fruit

1c. rice or grain

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

Teatime Oatmeal:

1 cup Oatmeal

.5cup milk

.25cup raising

Dinner:

8oz salad

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

***

***Journaling Twice Daily:  I know this sounds extreme but it has really worked for me in the past when going through tough times.  Buy a small notebook (I don’t know the exact measurements of mine – maybe 3″x5″.)  Commit to writing one page in the morning and one in the evening.  It takes less than 2 minutes usually per sitting! The reason I am going back to the habit and intuitively know that it needs to be a Tenet of My Program is because I am an emotional eater.  I like to eat when happy, sad, confused, bored, frustrated, angry, excited, nervous, etc, etc.  I eat to comfort myself (I think that is why I gained so much weight during pregnancy – I was truly uncomfortable most of the time.)  So why journaling if I know this already?  When I eat over an emotion, whether it is positive or negative, it mutes the emotion making the emotion less intense.  I have long had the pattern of being scared of my extreme emotions because then I would have to make decisions and/or take action around those emotions and I have been really scared of change most of my life.  I like to cling to a more muted, luke-warm, steady existence where I am almost hiding behind the food and the fat to not get hurt….  Clearly this isn’t how life works and I end up missing both the highs and the lows.  I also can’t quite always determine how I feel because my emotions have been muted and all jumbled up for so long.  Journaling helps!  I find that I am more  confident and a better decision maker when I have been actively journaling.  Being more confident, making better decisions, knowing what is going on with myself internally all are key parts of healthy living and healthy weight loss!

***

*** Vitamins:  It is best to get as much of the vitamins and minerals you need from the food that you eat.  However, your diet can’t 100% everyday provide 100% of everything the body needs.  A complete vitamin is perfect for filling in the gaps.  Because I am still nursing I am supposed to remain on the prenatal vitamins.  When I am done nursing I probably will go back on taking some additional vitamins like extra vitamin D and coq10 for wrinkles but for now the prenatal suffices.

***

*** Water:  I’m sure you know the rule: 8 glasses a day.  Water keeps your body working properly, gives you energy and makes you feel satiated.  For a “treat” I’ll mix in a glass of bubbly water into the line-up.

***

*** Hierarchy of Priorities that lead to Weight Loss and  a fabulous life:

1.  Baby Daughter – she is 100% dependent on me right now and she must always come first.  If that means I skip a snack or miss a mealtime because she needs me I need to remember that she is the highest priority and to NOT beat-up myself that I can’t be a 100% perfect dieter.

2.  Sleep – it is well-documented that lack of sleep leads to the body holding onto fat and weight gain.  As the mother of a newborn sleep isn’t always easy to get.

3. Food – This means the pre-planning of meals, the purchasing of the food and finally the cooking and preparation of the food.

4. Everything Else

*** Wednesdays are Weekly Weigh-Ins: If I weigh myself on a daily basis I will drive myself nuts!  Wednesdays are not the traditional “I’ll start by diet on ____day” so I think that works for my Program (since it isn’t a diet!)  Plus, I’ve already been weighing on Wednesdays since the baby was born.  Note, it is important to record the amount lost for the week as well as the amount lost overall.

***

*** Planning and Recording the Day’s Food the Night Before:  This habit was part of the extreme program I did before and frankly, it really is genius.  If you know exactly what you are eating the next day it alleviates a lot of impulsive, I-am-so-hungry-I-will-eat-anything behavior.  And, it makes sure you know exactly what food you have in the house and whether or not you need to run to the store before you get overwhelmingly hungry.

***

*** Focus on the Food but get 20 Minutes of Exercise in a Day: I have run a marathon while technically being morbidly obese.  I have trained on tennis courts for eight hours a day hoping to be thin.  I have done crazy extreme exercise programs that yes, made me lose some weight, but frankly were probably very unhealthy and taxing on an obese body.  My problem is emotionally over-eating, not with being uncommitted to exercise.  20 minutes of walking a day with a seven week old baby is ambitious enough!

***

*** Never Get Too Hungry: If I am genuinely hungry, the kind of hunger where my stomach is turning and it is not the middle of the night, then I need to eat no matter what is on my food plan for the day.  I am a nursing Mom who is taking steps to live a healthy, thin, fit life – not to torture herself!

Thanks for reading this and I wish you much luck on your own healthy journey!

Sunday Inspirations: May 6, 2012

One of the worst things about being overweight was flying.  Even at 246 lbs (my highest weight) I still fit in the seat and the seatbelt fit, but I always felt HUGE and frankly, it was a tight fit!  The look of the person sitting next to me, trying to hide their disappointment that I was a larger row companion, was humiliating.  Now, I am an over-sensitive person by nature, but it was truly mortifying.  What should be an exciting time – traveling via flying, one of my favorite things to do in the whole world (I work for an airline) – was seriously marred.

I am headed on a trip in the next few weeks.  I know that at 197 lbs some people will be wishing they weren’t sitting next to me because of my weight, but I do know for sure they’ll be wishing they weren’t sitting next to me because I’ll be traveling with the baby hahaha!!!

In all seriousness though, those airplane seats are a good reminder, a good inspiration to keep on The Program.

What inspires you to live a healthy lifestyle?  What inspires you on your weight loss journey?

Tuesday Tenets: The Program: May 2, 2012

Each week I am going to add a few new tenets to my program.  The newest ones will be in bold and the oldest ones will follow.  I am doing this to develop a system to lose the additional 50+ lbs I need to lose after having lost approx 40 lbs.  Goodbye pregnancy weight!!

***Every time I Think A Negative Thought About A Body Part I MUST Immediately Counter It With A Positive Thought

I want The Program to be one of physical AND mental health.  I know that I am a product of my culture and I know that culture has taught me that super thin is best and that if you are fat you are a lazy loser.  I can internalize this stuff like crazy even though I consider myself to be a pretty level-headed lady!  It is doing me no good, in my quest for health, to be thinking negative thoughts about my body parts.  This body spent nine months creating a HUMAN LIFE for goodness sake.  It has created a miracle and I am so grateful for my daughter  (especially since there were quite a few health scares throughout the pregnancy and delivery.)  My body deserves my gratitude and respect, not shame and hatred.  So… the newest tenet is that every time I think a negative thought about a part of me, I have to come up with a positive one immediately.  For instance if I think, “oh my stomach is so flabby and has ugly stomach rolls” then I need to immediately say to myself “Wow this stomach housed what I hold most dear in life for nine months and I don’t have many stretch marks – Thank you wonderful stomach.”  I think this Tenet may sound a little cheesy but actually be incredibly powerful and maybe even transforming.

***Weighing Once a Month on the First:

I remember that the weight loss program I did before when I lost 100lbs had this rule (or at least I think that is the weight loss program I got that nugget from… there have been so many they all run together…)  My intention for weighing myself monthly is prevent the emotional roller coasters I would experience (and have been) if I weighed weekly and daily.  Hopefully this too will encourage me to rely more on how I feel and look to gauge the success of  The Program rather than on a number.   I will weigh myself on the first of every month.

***Weighing and Measuring my food:  I was hoping to avoid weighing and measuring my food everyday but frankly, it actually makes things simpler knowing that I am eating the right portion sizes.  This way I can tweak my menus if I am still not getting the results I hope for.  I use a Martha Stewart food scale, put the dish upon it, turn it on an wait until it zeroes itself out and then weigh my food.  Or, in some cases I use measuring cups.  Here are the portion standards I’ll use for each meal:

Breakfast:

1oz dry oatmeal or 1 cup wet oatmeal

8oz yogurt

Lunch:

60z or 1 piece fruit

1c. rice or grain

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

Teatime Oatmeal:

1 cup Oatmeal

.5cup milk

.25cup raising

Dinner:

8oz salad

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

***Journaling Twice Daily:  I know this sounds extreme but it has really worked for me in the past when going through tough times.  Buy a small notebook (I don’t know the exact measurements of mine – maybe 3″x5″.)  Commit to writing one page in the morning and one in the evening.  It takes less than 2 minutes usually per sitting! The reason I am going back to the habit and intuitively know that it needs to be a Tenet of My Program is because I am an emotional eater.  I like to eat when happy, sad, confused, bored, frustrated, angry, excited, nervous, etc, etc.  I eat to comfort myself (I think that is why I gained so much weight during pregnancy – I was truly uncomfortable most of the time.)  So why journaling if I know this already?  When I eat over an emotion, whether it is positive or negative, it mutes the emotion making the emotion less intense.  I have long had the pattern of being scared of my extreme emotions because then I would have to make decisions and/or take action around those emotions and I have been really scared of change most of my life.  I like to cling to a more muted, luke-warm, steady existence where I am almost hiding behind the food and the fat to not get hurt….  Clearly this isn’t how life works and I end up missing both the highs and the lows.  I also can’t quite always determine how I feel because my emotions have been muted and all jumbled up for so long.  Journaling helps!  I find that I am more  confident and a better decision maker when I have been actively journaling.  Being more confident, making better decisions, knowing what is going on with myself internally all are key parts of healthy living and healthy weight loss!

*** Vitamins:  It is best to get as much of the vitamins and minerals you need from the food that you eat.  However, your diet can’t 100% everyday provide 100% of everything the body needs.  A complete vitamin is perfect for filling in the gaps.  Because I am still nursing I am supposed to remain on the prenatal vitamins.  When I am done nursing I probably will go back on taking some additional vitamins like extra vitamin D and coq10 for wrinkles but for now the prenatal suffices.

*** Water:  I’m sure you know the rule: 8 glasses a day.  Water keeps your body working properly, gives you energy and makes you feel satiated.  For a “treat” I’ll mix in a glass of bubbly water into the line-up.

** Hierarchy of Priorities that lead to Weight Loss and  a fabulous life:

1.  Baby Daughter – she is 100% dependent on me right now and she must always come first.  If that means I skip a snack or miss a mealtime because she needs me I need to remember that she is the highest priority and to NOT beat-up myself that I can’t be a 100% perfect dieter.

2.  Sleep – it is well-documented that lack of sleep leads to the body holding onto fat and weight gain.  As the mother of a newborn sleep isn’t always easy to get.

3. Food – This means the pre-planning of meals, the purchasing of the food and finally the cooking and preparation of the food.

4. Everything Else

*** Wednesdays are Weekly Weigh-Ins: If I weigh myself on a daily basis I will drive myself nuts!  Wednesdays are not the traditional “I’ll start by diet on ____day” so I think that works for my Program (since it isn’t a diet!)  Plus, I’ve already been weighing on Wednesdays since the baby was born.  Note, it is important to record the amount lost for the week as well as the amount lost overall.

*** Planning and Recording the Day’s Food the Night Before:  This habit was part of the extreme program I did before and frankly, it really is genius.  If you know exactly what you are eating the next day it alleviates a lot of impulsive, I-am-so-hungry-I-will-eat-anything behavior.  And, it makes sure you know exactly what food you have in the house and whether or not you need to run to the store before you get overwhelmingly hungry.

*** Focus on the Food but get 20 Minutes of Exercise in a Day: I have run a marathon while technically being morbidly obese.  I have trained on tennis courts for eight hours a day hoping to be thin.  I have done crazy extreme exercise programs that yes, made me lose some weight, but frankly were probably very unhealthy and taxing on an obese body.  My problem is emotionally over-eating, not with being uncommitted to exercise.  20 minutes of walking a day with a seven week old baby is ambitious enough!

*** Never Get Too Hungry: If I am genuinely hungry, the kind of hunger where my stomach is turning and it is not the middle of the night, then I need to eat no matter what is on my food plan for the day.  I am a nursing Mom who is taking steps to live a healthy, thin, fit life – not to torture herself!

Thanks for reading this and I wish you much luck on your own healthy journey!

Sunday Inspirations: April 29, 2012

I have averaged four hours of sleep for the past three night due to the baby and frankly, I am not feeling too inspired.  About the only thing that can inspire me right now is that (finally) sleeping little baby.  Looking down on her right now I know that she doesn’t have issues with food.  She asks for food when she is hungry.  She stops eating when she is full.  I lost that natural on and off switch long ago but I am inspired to work towards finding it again for her – I know kids learn most not by what you say but what you do.  I don’t want her to grow up watching her Momma constantly being defeated by a battle with her weight and self-esteem.

What inspires you to live a healthy lifestyle?  What inspires you on your weight loss journey?

Sunday Inspirations: April 14, 2012

This week my inspiration to keep on The Program was discovered just a few hours ago.  While the baby napped I started going through some boxes that haven’t been unpacked from our move right before the baby was born.  And I found this:

 

I also found this:

 

So the camera on my phone is not the best.  These are pictures of beautiful, intricate, well-made belly dancing outfits that I bought while visiting Petra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra) in Jordan in October 2010.  My svelte size 4 body fit right into these and I was going to take belly dancing classes and wear one of them for Halloween 2011.  Halloween 2011 I was pregnant and wore an adorable bun-in-the-oven costume (I “wore” a stove I made out of a cardboard box and aluminum foil around my pregnant belly).

So, Halloween 2012… IT’S ON!!  Now that is some inspiration!  Since I am eating treats and not being 100% strict on this new lifestyle program I am creating I am not sure if I will be able to lose 60ishlbs in six months (probably not) but hopefully I can get close… stay tuned! 🙂

What inspires you to live a healthy lifestyle?  What inspires you on your weight loss journey?

Tuesday Tenets: The Program: April 17, 2012

Each week I am going to add a few new tenets to my program.  The newest ones will be in bold and the oldest ones will follow.  I am doing this to develop a system to lose the additional 50+ lbs I need to lose after having lost approx 40 lbs.  Goodbye pregnancy weight!!

***Weighing Once a Month on the First: 

I remember that the weight loss program I did before when I lost 100lbs had this rule (or at least I think that is the weight loss program I got that nugget from… there have been so many they all run together…)  My intention for weighing myself monthly is prevent the emotional roller coasters I would experience (and have been) if I weighed weekly and daily.  Hopefully this too will encourage me to rely more on how I feel and look to gauge the success of  The Program rather than on a number.   I will weigh myself on the first of every month.

***Weighing and Measuring my food:  I was hoping to avoid weighing and measuring my food everyday but frankly, it actually makes things simpler knowing that I am eating the right portion sizes.  This way I can tweak my menus if I am still not getting the results I hope for.  I use a Martha Stewart food scale, put the dish upon it, turn it on an wait until it zeroes itself out and then weigh my food.  Or, in some cases I use measuring cups.  Here are the portion standards I’ll use for each meal:

Breakfast:

1oz dry oatmeal or 1 cup wet oatmeal

8oz yogurt

Lunch:

60z or 1 piece fruit

1c. rice or grain

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

Teatime Oatmeal:

1 cup Oatmeal

.5cup milk

.25cup raising

Dinner:

8oz salad

4oz protein (if cheese 2oz if cottage cheese or tofu 6oz)

6oz cooked veggies

***Journaling Twice Daily:  I know this sounds extreme but it has really worked for me in the past when going through tough times.  Buy a small notebook (I don’t know the exact measurements of mine – maybe 3″x5″.)  Commit to writing one page in the morning and one in the evening.  It takes less than 2 minutes usually per sitting! The reason I am going back to the habit and intuitively know that it needs to be a Tenet of My Program is because I am an emotional eater.  I like to eat when happy, sad, confused, bored, frustrated, angry, excited, nervous, etc, etc.  I eat to comfort myself (I think that is why I gained so much weight during pregnancy – I was truly uncomfortable most of the time.)  So why journaling if I know this already?  When I eat over an emotion, whether it is positive or negative, it mutes the emotion making the emotion less intense.  I have long had the pattern of being scared of my extreme emotions because then I would have to make decisions and/or take action around those emotions and I have been really scared of change most of my life.  I like to cling to a more muted, luke-warm, steady existence where I am almost hiding behind the food and the fat to not get hurt….  Clearly this isn’t how life works and I end up missing both the highs and the lows.  I also can’t quite always determine how I feel because my emotions have been muted and all jumbled up for so long.  Journaling helps!  I find that I am more  confident and a better decision maker when I have been actively journaling.  Being more confident, making better decisions, knowing what is going on with myself internally all are key parts of healthy living and healthy weight loss!

*** Vitamins:  It is best to get as much of the vitamins and minerals you need from the food that you eat.  However, your diet can’t 100% everyday provide 100% of everything the body needs.  A complete vitamin is perfect for filling in the gaps.  Because I am still nursing I am supposed to remain on the prenatal vitamins.  When I am done nursing I probably will go back on taking some additional vitamins like extra vitamin D and coq10 for wrinkles but for now the prenatal suffices.

*** Water:  I’m sure you know the rule: 8 glasses a day.  Water keeps your body working properly, gives you energy and makes you feel satiated.  For a “treat” I’ll mix in a glass of bubbly water into the line-up.

** Hierarchy of Priorities that lead to Weight Loss and  a fabulous life:

1.  Baby Daughter – she is 100% dependent on me right now and she must always come first.  If that means I skip a snack or miss a mealtime because she needs me I need to remember that she is the highest priority and to NOT beat-up myself that I can’t be a 100% perfect dieter.

2.  Sleep – it is well-documented that lack of sleep leads to the body holding onto fat and weight gain.  As the mother of a newborn sleep isn’t always easy to get.

3. Food – This means the pre-planning of meals, the purchasing of the food and finally the cooking and preparation of the food.

4. Everything Else

*** Wednesdays are Weekly Weigh-Ins: If I weigh myself on a daily basis I will drive myself nuts!  Wednesdays are not the traditional “I’ll start by diet on ____day” so I think that works for my Program (since it isn’t a diet!)  Plus, I’ve already been weighing on Wednesdays since the baby was born.  Note, it is important to record the amount lost for the week as well as the amount lost overall.

*** Planning and Recording the Day’s Food the Night Before:  This habit was part of the extreme program I did before and frankly, it really is genius.  If you know exactly what you are eating the next day it alleviates a lot of impulsive, I-am-so-hungry-I-will-eat-anything behavior.  And, it makes sure you know exactly what food you have in the house and whether or not you need to run to the store before you get overwhelmingly hungry.

*** Focus on the Food but get 20 Minutes of Exercise in a Day: I have run a marathon while technically being morbidly obese.  I have trained on tennis courts for eight hours a day hoping to be thin.  I have done crazy extreme exercise programs that yes, made me lose some weight, but frankly were probably very unhealthy and taxing on an obese body.  My problem is emotionally over-eating, not with being uncommitted to exercise.  20 minutes of walking a day with a seven week old baby is ambitious enough!

*** Never Get Too Hungry: If I am genuinely hungry, the kind of hunger where my stomach is turning and it is not the middle of the night, then I need to eat no matter what is on my food plan for the day.  I am a nursing Mom who is taking steps to live a healthy, thin, fit life – not to torture herself!

Thanks for reading this and I wish you much luck on your own healthy journey!