No Soda Challenge, Day 5

Woohoo!!  Made it through a very busy, stressful day at work without giving in to the soda!!  I was on my feet all day, running here and there…just gotta love retail at Christmas time (I know, I know…it’s only Halloween, but have you been in the stores latey?  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas).  I worked out before work (exercise bike, walk and strength training for upper body), then ended up walking miles at work.  I came home hungry, didn’t get fast food, didn’t eat junk…made a delicious pumpkin smoothie..I’ll definitely be making that one again…like tomorrow!!  Yum!!  Now if only I can get enough sleep tonight to do it all again tomorrow…then a glorious day off on Tuesday!!  Ahh…

No Soda 30 Day Challenge, Day 4

Well heck, caved today at work and got a diet Coke from the vending machine…we went in really early to try to get some work done, the zone vice president was flying in to our district for today and no one knew where he was going to visit…we didn’t really think he’d show up at our store just because of the travel time involved, but you never know…sure don’t want to have a visitor like that and not be prepared.  We did manage to get a lot done today, but I ended up working 12 hours and will probably work about the same tomorrow…I’ve been reading the latest Sue Grafton Kinsey Milhone book, a guy was talking about the pleasure of alcohol…he mentioned the sound the ice cubes make in the glass, the calming effect of the first sip…holy moly, that sounds like me with diet Pepsi (my soda of choice)…is it an addiction?  And, if it is, is it really so bad?  And am I just trying to give myself a free pass by thinking like this?  I know a lot of people who feel that way about their morning cup of coffee, is that an addiction?  And maybe there are some mild addictions that are alright…again, am I just rationalizing?  I suppose, if not drinking diet soda is important to me (because of the chemicals involved), but I do it anyhow, then that is probably the real issue…doing something I don’t want to be doing because it temporarily makes me feel better…and it does, it really is a temporary stress reliever.  But I know there are other ways to relieve stress…exercise, deep breathing, focusing on the positive…but I’ve relied on diet Pepsi for so  many years…guess I’ll have to practice with some of the other stress relievers…anyhow, tomorrow’s another day (just call me Scarlett…)

Weigh in

Do I or don’t I?  Step on the scale , that is.  Yes, I know I’ve gained weight, but not knowing how much means I can hope that I haven’t actually gained anything.  Hence the debate with myself.  But I finally told myself to just do it…you have to face it to deal with it…yes, I gained 4 pounds…now to deal with it.  Have my healthy lunch and snacks packed for work, dinner planned.  One day at a time…didn’t gain 4 pounds in a day, won’t take it off in a day either!  But I can make today a healthy day and take that first step in taking off that 4 pounds…I’m going to do it!! Here I go!

No Soda 30 Day Challenge, Day 3

Had the day off work today so it was relatively easy to not drink soda since I don’t have any in the house…I’ve found that’s really the way to have a healthy diet, simply don’t bring the junk into your house.  Unfortunately I didn’t take my own advice.  Yesterday I bought Halloween candy to take to work this weekend (yeah, right…to take to work…) and found myself eating quite a bit of it over the course of the day.  I’ve got to get back with not buying that stuff for any reason, like the people at work really need that candy…and they won’t get half of what I bought for them because I ate it.  So really, why do I play these games with myself?  I knew, when I was looking at it at the store, that I’d end up eating it…allowed myself to pretend I was buying it for someone else…sheesh…after all these years and I still manage to delude myself.

Tomorrow’s my weigh in day and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.  I think I’m going to go back to weighing in every day.  That seems to work better for me.  When I only weigh in once a week, I kind of allow myself a pass for a couple of days, thinking I’ll get back with it on Monday…then Monday comes and something else happens, so I’ll get back with it Tuesday…I’ve got to get serious again, deal with stress in a healthier manner.  I’m thinking a new personal challenge may be in the works…the no junk food challenge…believe it or not, I actually made it more than 100 days with no junk food earlier this year…

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No Soda 30 Day Challenge…Day 2

Well, made it through day two with no diet soda relatively easily.  Woke up with a terrible headache, thought about calling in for work, but decided to just go on in anyhow…glad I did…the headache disappeared and I had a pretty good day.  Did consider buying a diet Coke from the vending machine, but didn’t allow the thought to really take root in my brain…just picked up my bottle of water and drank that.

I did eat some of that blasted Halloween candy at work tho…what is it with candy just sitting out there for all to see?  Why does that make me want it?  There have been times when I’ve actually talked myself out of eating candy (or other not very good for me things) by reminding myself that I hadn’t even been thinking about the candy until I saw it…and  therefore only wanted it precisely because I’d seen it…And that actually worked for me…too bad I didn’t think to tell myself that today!  The good news is, I entered all that I ate in my nutrition tracker at SparkPeople.com and still managed to be within range on calories and the various nutrients I track…yea me!!  And managed to get in over 2 hours of exercise too…not too bad for a day that started with a headache!!

No Soda 30 Day Challenge

Alright, this is one vice I thought I’d beaten…but somehow it’s managed to latch on to me again.  So…going to give it up…again.  No more diet Pepsi (drank the stuff for years), no soft drinks of any kind but I particularly want to avoid the artificial sweeteners…when I don’t ingest them, I don’t have headaches…when I drink even one diet soft drink I do get headaches…hmm…has to be some correlation there, wouldn’t you think?  I stopped drinking any kind of soda early this year and made it 6 months without one…long enough that I would have thought the addiction (or whatever you want to call it) would be broken.  Enter the most stressful time of year with my job, longer hours, 6 days a week, more work to try to get done…stress, stress and more stress.  Suddenly I’m seeing diet Pepsi everywhere…but I manage to talk myself out of it each time…except the one time I don’t.  One of those nifty little coolers at a register end cap at PetSmart and the diet Pepsi is calling my name.  I decide to buy one just as an experiment…thinking it won’t taste good to me now after so long without one…isn’t that what everyone says?  Well, they were all wrong…from the fizzy pop of the cap opening, to the bubbles tickling my nose, to the crisp feel on my tongue, to the fresh taste…it was all just as I remembered it.  I still liked it, what am I saying?  I still loved it…wish I could say I didn’t, but I don’t want to lie to myself.  Now I want one every day…BUT…the headaches are back and I most certainly don’t want that.  I work so hard to eat clean and then I drink a diet Pepsi…a bottle full of chemicals?  What am I thinking? 

So…my challenge for myself for the next 30 days…no soft drinks of any kind…stick to my water (which I really do like, btw) and tea.  I’ve managed to give it up before without any real problem, I absolutely know I can do it again…of course, then the challenge will be not allowing myself to fool myself into thinking I can have just one…wow…who knew?  Diet soft drinks can be as difficult to give up as any other addiction…

Morning musings…

Ah…the pleasure of a day off work…slept in a little…okay…for me, that means I was up at 5:10 am rather than my normal 4:30 am, but still…fed the cats, hopped on the exercise bike for 30 minutes (read an issue of Fitness magazine to pass the time a little faster), then did some mild stretching.  I’ve been working so much that my back and legs are aching and the stretching really does help me feel better.  Yoga?  Should I do yoga more than once a month?  Probably…

Cleaned out the fridge…man, do I hate to throw out food, but sometimes you’ve just gotta do it for the greater good.  Then headed out, with trash in hand, for a brisk, short walk…just a little windy out there this morning…hard to believe we had tornado warnings yesterday…isn’t this almost November?!  Still need to do my strength training for the day and will get in a little more cardio, either dancing or running.  I end up working out for just about 2hours a day almost every day…but one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t out train a bad diet…if I don’t watch what I eat, I gain weight…plain and simple…to that end, I’m going to plan my meals and snacks for the rest of the week, do some cooking so I have healthy food on hand to take to work (fast food just doesn’t cut it when I’m trying to lose weight, plus it’s expensive and not really that good).  I’m thinking vegetarian taco salad for lunch at work the rest of the week and pumpkin muffins for a snack…smoothies for dinner.  Seems I end up eating the same thing for several days in a row, with some things (the smoothies) that’s okay, but other things I get sick of and end up not eating what I’ve brought to work (and that means going out for lunch…kind of defeats the purpose of planning and preparing, doesn’t it?).  The taco salad is one thing that I don’t get tired of (yes, it’s that good) so that’s one of my go to meals…plus it’s quick and easy…oh, and did I mention that it’s healthy too?

A little me time on plan for today…hair cut, well…trim really…same style just touched up a bit…but doesn’t it feel so good to have someone else fool around with your hair…one of life’s simple pleasures.  So… a healthy, active, pampering day in the works…

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Happiness through fitness?

I never really understood those people who claimed to achieve a “runner’s high“.  I have friends and family members who are serious runners (can you say “Boston”?), but I was never one of them.  Instead I was overweight, out of shape and felt that was my destiny.  Oh, I had periods of time when I would jump head first into a fitness and diet program, but it never lasted…I was never able to make permanent changes…never made fitness a priority…and goodness knows, I never made healthy eating a lasting part of my life.

Over the past two years I’ve been working diligently to change my outlook on life…working to become happier, healthier, more accepting of the person I am.  It’s a struggle, but one I believe I’m winning (most days).  I’ve lost a lot of weight, gained a little back, lost it again…but through all of that, I’ve continued to workout every day.  A few months ago, I decided to give running another try…some people may have thought it was crazy for a 50 year old, still overweight woman to attempt to run.  But I wanted to do it for me…and I did!  I started slowly, using the Couch to 5K program, bought a treadmill for the miserable days (okay, so I’m a wimp…don’t like running when it’s pouring down rain or when it’s 100 degrees…haven’t had to deal with the zero degree temps yet, so we’ll see how that goes), and just continued to run a little more each time.  I signed up for my first 5K and ran/walked it…what a wonderful feeling that was to cross that finish line.  Yes, I’m slow…not sure if I’ll ever be a fast runner…but I don’t care…just getting out there and running brings me such a sense of accomplishment…hey, maybe I’m beginning to understand what that whole runner’s high thing is all about!!