A Huge, Huge VICTORY!

Yesterday was a day that I just kept trying to be a good mom and have a better attitude, but it was one of those days where something unpleasant happens, you decide to let it go and have a good attitude, then something else happens, you try to rise above it only to get knocked down again and again and again. And finally, in the midst of a really horrible mess the boys made they started jumping off the couch onto Mauricio and that was just it. I got out my bag of chocolate chips and decided I'd make cookies first chance I got. (After rescuing Mauri, of course...) And after I got the kids into bed, I worked on some church stuff and then went to the end of the YW activity and choir practice, came home and unloaded the dishwasher, loaded the dinner dishes, read my scriptures and went to bed. And this morning I put the chocolate chips away. I did not eat any junk, in spite of a pretty frustrating day.

The day after my 'moving on' post I ate what was left of my M&Ms and a few marshmallows. But I've been good since then. I still have my chocolate lava cakes that I've been saving, and Monday night I heated one up and enjoyed it. With some popcorn. But I haven't been binge eating when I'm stressed out, and that is big, big progress.

My Tip of the Whatever (I can't commit to a specific interval)

LL made a great point: Don't buy it or bring it home if you shouldn't eat it. Especially since no one else should be learning to eat it, either.

Today I would like to offer the first of several tips learned from reliable sources (doctors, trainers, dietitians, independent research reviewers).

Don't Drink Calories

Soda, punch, lemonade, sunny delight, sport drinks and even real fruit juices are very calorie dense. With the exception of fruit juice, there is very little real nutrition in them. When I decided to cut out just the soft drinks a few years ago, I lost several pounds even though I hadn't made any other changes in my diet yet. An added benefit of eliminating these beverages from your diet is the reduction of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in your diet. Regardless of what the HFCS producers' ads say, it isn't just the same as sugar. We should reduce the amount of sugar in our diets, too.

There are a couple of exceptions to this rule:

1. milk- skim is best (look for brands without added milk solids-aka powdered milk) and if you just can't do skim, stick with 1% milk.
2. vegetable juices such as V8 or tomato. Keep it to no more than 11 oz. per day because of the sodium.
3. one (yes- only one!) 4-6 oz serving of 100% fruit juice, if you just can't give it up. If you are trying to lose weight instead of just eating better, then you should give up juice for a while.

And on a sad note: new research suggests that regular use of artificial sweeteners can actually contribute to weight gain. The theory as to why this occurs- the sweet taste keeps your "sweet tooth" active and stimulates cravings.

So in a nutshell, think about your liquid calories; make them minimally processed or refined and nutrient dense. If there is one healthy habit you can give your kids, this is it!

Moving On

After reading Elder Scott's talk in the November Ensign, I really started to think about how worthy I really am to have a temple recommend.  I'm not doing anything bad, I haven't ever broken any "rules" but I certainly haven't been living the way I ought to.  For example, I'm not really following the intent of the Word of Wisdom.  I pretty much treat my body like a waste dump, I eat whatever occurs to me, mostly just leftovers of the kids' plates and junk food, I never exercise and I don't get nearly enough sleep.

So enough already - it is time to move on.  No more buying junk food.  I bought chocolate chips to make cookies for a friend, but knowing that I would eat cookies like a maniac last night, I just didn't make them.  And I haven't had a single M&M all day.  Despite some pretty serious tantrums and whining.  From the kids.  :-)

Travel trauma

We are trapped in the airport where the only foods available are things we shouldn't eat. Things like chips, cookies, drinks, etc. Fortunately for me, I have nuts and cheese sticks in my carry-on. Also fortunately for me, my new bag of Dove chocolates in my checked luggage.

Pat me on the back- I brought tangerines, carrots and apples. Unfortunately, we had to eat them all on the last flight because you can't bring any of that stuff in to Hawaii. At least we filled up on healthy stuff before we entered the junkfood or starve zone.

Why I Will Always Be Fat

Because I can't drink. But I can eat a bag of potato chips sprinkled with M&M's while I sit in front of the computer and cry and feel frustrated with certain individuals that won't freaking shut up and sleep already.

Mmmm...chips....

Defeat

Today has not been a healthy day. Any time that I am feeling stressed or upset, I'm pretty inclined to eat poorly. After a day of total inactivity, I went to the grocery store to pick up some milk and index cards. While there, I saw some other stuff on sale that I thought would be good to stock up on. Those parts of the shopping trip were okay, but I also had an ice cream cone while shopping. I also bought some donuts. I ate one, started to eat another, decided it wasn't so good, at part of the third, and then felt sick and put it in the garbage. I think it was just a sugar overload, but right now, I feel pretty yucky.

Tomorrow will be a new day, and I'll try to be better then...I still feel sick, though. I just can't eat that much sugar anymore without feeling totally gross.

Not my finest day...

The bargain

I made a treat for Christmas dinner that used crushed Oreos. I only needed three or four Oreos, but couldn't find a little snack pack in the store so I ended up buying the smallest regular package (translation: there were left over Oreos). Usually I just throw out stuff like that so that no one will be tempted. I don't find them to be too tempting and I thought I might put some in Kimo's lunches, so I didn't throw them out.

So yesterday,I did have a little craving for an Oreo. First I rationalized, "It's just one and it won't be a big deal." Then I bargained. I decided that if I would have a V8 first to fill me up, I could have my Oreo.

I had the V8.
I had the Oreo.
I only had one.

Today's Tips from Liz

One way that I keep myself eating healthy foods is to not keep any junk food at home. I'm very disinclined to go out of my house, usually to the point where it overpowers my desire to eat junk. 

This, however, relies on being very careful when I go grocery shopping. Today, I had to go to the store to get a few essentials, but I was hungry when I went. This is never the recipe for success. I had a little treat at the store, but then bought my veggies and such to take home.

My current strategy is to not beat myself up about the little things. With all the current stresses in my life, I'm definitely not eating or exercising like I know that I should. Focusing on my shortcomings, however, just makes me feel worse, and that only leads to more bad habits...

Anyway, I suppose that the summary of this tip is:

• Keep healthy snacks at home, and just don't purchase those things you know you'll want in a weak moment!
• Don't go shopping hungry--eat a nice meal first, and maybe chew some gum while you're there.
• Keep it positive--even if it's two steps forward, one step back, it's still a net gain.

Here We Go

Not too long ago, some of us were sitting around together talking about ideas for getting healthy together and encouraging each other to lose some weight and make some life changes.

I decided that we could have this blog where we can post ideas, share successes and failures, and help each other become a healthier version of ourselves.

They say that a group of people together have much more success getting healthy, and while we can't all be together, we can do this.

So here we go. Talk to me.