Being sick isn’t as fun as snow days

A sick cartoon Pig Complete with orange juice and an ice pack for his terrible fever. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seriously, being sick is a pain.  I actually feel a little better, but still have a fever and am not able to keep anything down…so, still trapped in my house.  See, if I felt good, being stuck at home would be nice, a treat.  But being sick finds me either in bed or on the couch, with just a little stumbling around the house trying to do a few of the basic housekeeping chores.  What a waste of time.

I talked with the nurse at my doctor’s office today…they’re calling in another prescription for me.  And she told me to stay at home until I go 24 hours without a fever..okey dokey…fun, fun!

You know, I kind of feel guilty for abandoning my co-workers, but I’d feel even worse if I gave them what I have…but I really am going to work on improving my immune system…simply have to eat a healthy diet.  I know it, it’s just a matter of doing it.  But I’m making plans for when I can actually start eating again.  I’m tired of getting sick…

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Naturally Slim…

Freshly Made Ice Cream (Photo credit: I like)

…I’m not…I’ve never been…and I’m seriously wondering if I ever will be naturally slim…I eat too much, I admit it.  Too much of the wrong kinds of food…you know, yummy, gooey, cheesy pizza.  Delicious smooth chocolate.  Cold, creamy ice cream.  That’s it, I know I shouldn’t eat these things like I do.  I know they’re not great for my health.  I’ve even managed to convince myself (for a little while) that I really enjoy fresh veggies…that I’d rather eat a just-picked cucumber than a handful of chips.  Mmhmm…yep, I’ve managed to brainwash myself for a limited amount of time, then my taste buds revolt and I’m right back where I started.

I totally understand that the Naturally Slim program tells me I can eat anything I want as long as I only eat when I’m hungry, eat super slowly and stop when I’m comfortable.  And I think it would work, maybe…if I would manage to really stick with it and believe in it and practice what they teach.

I guess this is one of those pick-yourself-up, brush-yourself-off, and take another step forward times.  Those times when people tell you not to quit, not to give up.  When you (I) have to do what you need to do even when you don’t want to do it.  It’s hard, sometimes it feels like it’s next to impossible, but…but…what if this is the last time I stumble over those same obstacles?  What if this is the time it finally sinks in and I manage to finally learn the lessons I need to be successful?  Do I want to quit right before I make it?  I don’t think so…I know I don’t, so…let me get myself moving forward again…I’ll get there…one of these days I know I will…not going to quit…I think I can, I think I can…

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No sugar???

English: Magnum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Okay, this Naturally Slim thing is harder than I thought it would be…not the eating only when hungry or stopping when you’re comfortable…I can pretty much handle that (most of the time).  And the eating slowly thing is okay…I’m a pretty slow eater anyhow.  But the eating only one thing at a time and having to decide when you’ve had enough of that and that it’s time to move on to the next food (knowing that you can’t go back to the previous food)…that’s hard.

But the most difficult thing for me is the no sugar rule…I mean, really…not even a bite of dark chocolate…no fruit unless it’s with a meal…no flavored creamers for my tea or coffee…Wow!!  Can anyone eat like this for an extended period of time, like forever?

Today I caved…I bought a box of Magnum ice cream bars.  I guess the only good thing I can say about that is the box only has 3 bars in it.  I ate one today and savored every single bite…those things are delish.  So, okay, I know this is all about getting healthy and losing weight, but isn’t learning to incorporate treats into your diet on occasion (and not overeat) part of learning to eat normally?  Or am I just trying to justify eating an ice cream bar when I’m not supposed to be eating any sugar?

Ah well, as Ann Romney said, “Stop it!  This is hard!”

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I’m climbing back up into the saddle…again…

SparkPeople.com Featured Motivator, December 21, 2008 (Photo credit: zorbs)

Oh yes, it’s been much too long since I’ve been watching what I eat or getting any exercise other than what I get at work.  And my poor body has paid for that neglect…big time  (ooh…bad pun not intended).  We did a biometric screening for our insurance at work and I was informed that I could apply for the Naturally Slim program.  This is a 10-week program that would normally cost right at $400, but I’m able to participate for free…free as long as I complete 8 out of the 10 weeks.  If I fail to do so, they will take the cost of the program out of my paycheck….now there’s some incentive for you, huh?

So, anyhow…that starts tomorrow.  I’ve looked through the materials they sent me.  I’m sure I’ll have more to report once I get it underway.  But I decided not to wait until tomorrow to start my healthier lifestyle.  I got back on SparkPeople.com (come on, folks…this really does work if you keep up with it…oh, I guess I’m talking to myself…why in the world did I ever drift away from something that worked for me???), cleaned up my page, left some teams, joined some other teams, started getting involved again, got back to using the trackers.  My plan is for this to be where I continue my program once the 10-week Naturally Slim program ends.  We all know this takes more than 10 weeks, right?

I went to WalMart this morning to buy another stability ball because Scout punctured the other one…silly kitten.  While there, I figured I’d save myself some time and just pick up my groceries there.  Uh yeah, there’s a reason I don’t buy produce at WalMart…yuck…I bought a few things, enough to get me through the first part of the week…then I’ll either hit the little farmers market on Tuesday or stop in at Kroger later.

I came home and got some vegetable beef soup going in the crock pot…don’t you love eating soup when the temps cool down?  There will be enough for several dinners for this week.  So I won’t have to worry about what to prepare for dinner.

I also started back with some exercise yesterday…on a two-day streak…woohoo!!  Stop laughing!  Everyone’s 100 day streak starts with making it through that first day, then through the second day…I’ll get there, in 98 more days!  I’m almost ashamed to admit how much I’ve let myself go.  A couple of years ago I was getting ready to complete my first 5K.  Today I wouldn’t even be able to walk that distance.  But what I’ve done before, I know I can do again…just got to work my way back…and I’ve already started that journey.

I’ll let you know how it goes…ups and downs, leaps and stumbles…

Life’s ups and downs

English: Jump! Deutsch: Spring! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oh my…how in the world do you manage to face the ups and downs in your life and still maintain a positive outlook and cheerful attitude?  I know it can be done, I know people who do it.  And what?  Do they face less stress than the rest of us?  Do they not have problems?  Of course that’s not it.  We all know that’s not how it is.  Everyone has stress, everyone has problems.  Some folks simply handle those things better than others.

I’ve allowed the stress at work to affect my attitude even when I get home.  I don’t want to live like that.  One of the girls I work with (I was told, by a co-worker, that I should refer to the women I work with as “girls”, otherwise they feel as old as their mothers…hmm…) asked me if I was still walking and exercising daily.  When I told her I wasn’t, she asked me why.  When I told her I wasn’t doing anything like that because I’m depressed…well…that kind of hit me.

Do I not realize by now that daily exercise is the cure for depression?  That eating a healthy diet makes me feel better about everything else in my life?  That following my passion allows me to shake off the stress from work when I leave the building?  Uh…yeah…I do realize all of those things.  So why haven’t I been doing them?  I mean, I can only blame depression for so long…then there comes a time when I have to take responsibility for myself and do what I need to do to feel better.

I’m pretty much thinking that time is now.  Time to get back to exercising.  I’ve been eating better, more fruit and veggies, less vending machine food, less fast food, taking my lunch to work.  So I feel like I’ve taken a few steps in the right direction as far as food is concerned.  Now to add a few minutes of exercise to my daily routine.  And to spend at least some time every day doing something that I enjoy…whether that be writing, dancing, music, going for a walk in the park, hitting the farmers market…whatever…there are so many choices, I just need to convince myself to do something that makes me smile.

I want to wake up looking forward to the day ahead rather than dreading it.  And there’s no time like now to start this new way of dealing with life.  I’m going for it!

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This was a veggieful day…

lots and lots of veggies...and some fruit too

Okay, you have to know that I’m working at eating healthier…at one point in my live (well, several times in my life, actually) I ate a very healthy diet…lots of fruits and veggies, hardly any processed food…then…well, I reverted back to those old junk food eating ways…

 

Now I’m setting little weekly goals to get myself back to a more nutritious diet, a healthier lifestyle.  This week’s goal is to eat at least 5 fruits/veggies each day.

 

And guess what!!  I managed to do it today…lunch was a vegetarian taco salad…tasty and good for me!! I ended the  day with 2 fruits and 4 veggies…goal met!!

 

Oh…and a little teaser here…yesterday I ordered something that I’ve been wanting for a long, long time…hmm…what could that be???

I’m a winner….and a loser!

Just came across this in an email and thought it was pretty funny…

We’re happy to let you know that you’re a winner in The Moisture Surge Intense Sweepstakes! You’ve won a Clinique Moisture Surge 7 ml sample, which has an approximate retail value of $0.90. Congratulations!

There’s nothing you need to do except look for your prize within 8-10 weeks after promotion conclusion. If we happen to need additional information from you, we will contact you at this email address.

Can you believe that?  I’ve won a prize worth 90 whole cents…well approximately…It doesn’t get any better than that!

Well, except when it does…when I stepped on the scale this morning, I discovered that I’ve now lost 4 pounds this year!!!  I’ve got a long way to go, but 4 pounds is a good start!  I’ve been exercising every day, sometimes for only 10 or 15 minutes, but still, that’s enough to get me back in the habit.  I woke up a few minutes early this morning and hopped on the exercise bike first thing…that was a great way to start my day.

And it’s getting easier to stick with my eating plan.  I haven’t completely cut out anything, just making sure I get at least 5 fruits and veggies every day, eating meals that I’ve prepared, avoiding the vending machine and fast food.  And those few things are making a difference! 

I really intended to spend January simply working to re-establish my healthy habits and I think I’m making pretty good progress!!  Each month I’m going to focus on something else, in addition to the habit I’ve established in previous months.  I’d really  like to get to a point where it just becomes my lifestyle.

The long and winding road to fitness, day 202

Wow!  There are times I regret not giving this weight loss journey my all for the past 202 days…how much weight would I have lost had I done that?

But…I can’t change the past…what I can do is use this to motivate me to work harder to stick with my food plan and exercise program.  I’ve done really well for the past few days.  I guess going back to work does have its advantages.

I’ve been preparing my food the night before and keying everything into my nutrition tracker at SparkPeople.com.  Not sure what the psychology behind this is, but it helps me stick with it…hmm…could be plain laziness, I may be too lazy to want to go back in and change things.

I’ve also been exercising every day.  Not crazy, not over doing it, but doing some cardio and strength training every day.  My body will get used to it…sometime, I hope.

And I did lose 1 pound last week even with not so great eating the first part of the week…vacation, you know…I do much better when I’m on a routine.  But a pound is a pound and I’ll take it.  I’ll take it and work to lose at least that much this week.

Now to get some sleep tonight.  For some wild reason, we’re going in at 5 am tomorrow.  I thought those days would be over since the holidays are behind us.  Shows just how much I know, doesn’t it?

Planning to succeed in 2012

Oh I know, we’ve all made resolutions and broken most of them within a couple of weeks.  I think most of us have the best of intentions, but we don’t plan to succeed.  I think you have to really give it some thought.  Not just throw out the same old lose weight, get organized, save money resolutions that you’ve tossed out there practically every year.  It’s not about what you wish you could change, rather it’s about what you’re so tired of in your life that changing it is less painful than staying the same.

Over the past several weeks I’ve been giving this a lot of thought.  For me, I’m just so terribly tired of not feeling good, of having no energy, of being exhausted at the end of every work day, of climbing out of bed in the morning and stumbling around because I’m in so much pain, of not wanting to go anywhere because I’m tired and because I look like I do right now. 

I remember, not so long ago, feeling happy and excited about life.  I was running and enjoying it.  I was dancing with a smile on my face.  I was eating a healthy diet and getting a good amount of exercise and my body showed its appreciation with an excess of energy, strength to get through the day, and adequate sleep.

I want to feel like that again.  In order to do that, I’ll have to make some major changes in my life.  I’ll have to do a better job of planning my diet and my exercise routine.  I’ll have to get involved in a support system that will help me over the rough spots.  I’ll have to get back to eating a healthy diet because that’s what’s best for me.  I’ll have to deal with stress through exercise rather than through food.   And I’ll have to relearn to forgo the instant gratification of fast food in order to experience the return to health in the long-term.

As I said, I’ve been mulling this over for several weeks now.  I’ve come to the realization that I’m so tired of feeling like this.  So tired that it is more difficult to continue living like this than it is to make the necessary changes to return to fitness.

I’m planning to succeed.  I’m planning to regain my healthy lifestyle and become that fit person I was not so long ago.  Can I do it?  Oh yeah!!  Watch me succeed!

 

A home cooked meal…finally

Image via Wikipedia

When thinking about what to have for lunch today, I said to myself, “oh I’ll just walk over to Subway“…and even though Subway is a decent choice for lunch, I’ve found myself doing that a little too often lately.  I know I can cook healthier (and less expensive) meals myself with food I have on hand. 

 So off I go to look in the pantry and freezer…hmm…so many choices.  There’s quite a bit of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer.  How about I pull out my little counter top grill and grill a few of those to last for the next few days?  What to have with the chicken?  Quinoa?  Couscous? How about plain baked potatoes?  I haven’t had those in quite some time…so yeah, I’ll go with those.  Veggies?  Wow…I have a lot of veggies in the freezer.  Should probably use some of those.  Oh, there’s a package of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots with a lite cheese sauce..that sounds pretty tasty.

All cooked up and packaged for a healthier lunch option, not only for today, but for the next several days.  Yea Patti!!  One more step back to that healthier lifestyle!

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