Was very excited about my appointment this week at the Healthy Diet Center in Raleigh, NC http://www.healthydietsinc.com/ . They can do the test of your personal metabolic calorie rate (how many calories your body burns in rest), body fat percentage, and analysis of your daily diet etc...
Confirmed what I thought; the older you get the less you can eat. Really, it is amazing how fast calories can add up. We discussed one of my favorite diets; "Fit For Life". Basically it's about daily exercise, how to mix foods and has a free day. I love "free" eating days. I've discovered they don't love me. Why? Because I don't think binging one day a week is A) a healthy mindset and B)I can ruin a week of good eating with 1 day of bad. Maybe when they said free they didn't mean Kettle Chips, a corn dog and a hot fudge sundae. Bottom line, I discovered through my meeting that a free day for me would be treating myself to a frozen yogurt or a glass of wine. Yes, you read correctly - "a" glass of wine. And my daily calorie intake has no room for any wine - whine!!!
I originally lost weight on Weight Watchers; love their program. Really, the best way to know what you are taking in calorie wise is to keep track. I'm a big fan of food journaling and love this site and am going to start using it today - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/. Weight watchers also kept me honest with a weekly weigh in, otherwise I would live in a fantasy world. You know the world where mysteriously your clothes are shrinking and you get really pissed at your dryer or dry cleaner for secretly sabotaging you. I make myself get on the scale once a week (of course only completely naked after a serious workout before food).
I don't take a vitamin, but my counselor did suggest adding a calcium supplement with vitamin D. I'm going to check into that at Walmart. I'll let you know what I find out.
So this is my sample day of healthy eating and within my calories to maintain my current weight (keep in mind this is with 1.5 hours of daily exercise):
Wake up - coffee and 1/2 banana
Breakfast - 1/2 cup of Oatmeal made w/1 c light vanilla soy milk w/little bit of raisins and almonds
Mid morning snack - Whey protein shake w/fruit, plain yogurt
Lunch - Zone bar if on the run or turkey sandwich
Snack - fruit or yogurt
Dinner - protein, carb and veggie (normal serving sizes)
I have been feeling a lot better having smaller meals more frequently. I definitely try to think ahead and be prepared if I'm going to be out that I have something to snack on with me. And yes, I am within my healthy weight/body fat %'s, but it is a battle. We're all going to fall off the wagon sometimes. I do frequently. But I'm determined to continue to fight - join me!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Hershey Park Happy
Amusement Parks are a very interesting slice of Americana. We went to Hershey Park this past Saturday. Lots of fun had by all. It is very clean. There is a wide array of rides which is great for a group with a ride range of ages. Small world; we actually ran into friends, another family from Cary on a roller coaster line.
I knew eating healthy was going to be a challenge. Not necessarily because there wasn't anything healthy to choice from but because I love junk food. Ahhhh, and it was so good. Started off with a chicken panini. Had good intentions at this point - 3 hours into the park; will power still in tact. Then I glanced up at the sign for Homemade Kettle Chips; are you kidding me? Well, surely it couldn't hurt if we got a small bag to share with our group of 8. That would have been valid thinking if Francine or I would have let anyone else get their hand in the bag; no chance. I could feel my body swelling with the massive sodium intake. The plan was to end the night with ice cream. My favorite is a hot fudge sundae. I mean if I'm in - I'm in. Well, we were all kind of hungry so we had corn dogs first then the sundaes. Yum and Yum.
The good news is yesterday was a new day and I stopped the bad eating and continued on with my normal daily plan of eating healthy. The trick for me is to not keep going in the downward spiral. I did it. Join me!
I knew eating healthy was going to be a challenge. Not necessarily because there wasn't anything healthy to choice from but because I love junk food. Ahhhh, and it was so good. Started off with a chicken panini. Had good intentions at this point - 3 hours into the park; will power still in tact. Then I glanced up at the sign for Homemade Kettle Chips; are you kidding me? Well, surely it couldn't hurt if we got a small bag to share with our group of 8. That would have been valid thinking if Francine or I would have let anyone else get their hand in the bag; no chance. I could feel my body swelling with the massive sodium intake. The plan was to end the night with ice cream. My favorite is a hot fudge sundae. I mean if I'm in - I'm in. Well, we were all kind of hungry so we had corn dogs first then the sundaes. Yum and Yum.
The good news is yesterday was a new day and I stopped the bad eating and continued on with my normal daily plan of eating healthy. The trick for me is to not keep going in the downward spiral. I did it. Join me!
Monday, June 13, 2011
For My Mom and Friends
Wow, what an amazing experience Saturday's Susan B Komen Race For the Cure in the Triangle was for me, the people I shared the experience with and I'm sure the other 25,000 participants. I was especially proud to be a Prestonwood Member and part of the Pretty in Pink Team. Thank you to Ginny Weant and everyone that made that happen. It was hard to stay together with so many people for any period of time, but it was comforting knowing we were participating in a good cause together.
I'm so lucky to have such strong women in my life. My mom battled and survived breast cancer back in the early 80's. I feel like she did it alone. I'm sure she had help from her friends, but they would have all been swamped with their own families at the time. I was the oldest and at the time a self absorbed college student I'm sure. Her mother had already passed away. You would never know to this day if she struggled at all. She always had a brave face. She was always worried more about us. I pray I can be that strong when I need to be. My two tennis friends at Prestonwood are equally as honorable. Liz Fenton ran her first road race on Saturday and I saw nothing but shear joy on her face all morning to just be healthy and among such amazing people. Jen Newnan, I don't know as well; but she ran it and from what I understand she hasn't let breast cancer slow her down. What great role models.
I did the competitive run at 7am. Came in 17th out of 201 women ages 45-49. Not bad for an "old broad", I can hear my dad say. My daughter joined me for the walk at 8:45 (thanks to Kristy, busy mom of 4 for giving her a ride). I think I accomplished two things with Francine Saturday morning; #1 - we got to exercise together (always good) and #2 - she got to see an amazing show of grace and gratitude, she got to see the world is a bigger place than the Preston pool in her bikini with her friends, and she got to see it's good to give.
Time to sign up for a run I say for continued motivation for "Summer Training". Think about the http://www.annas-angels.org/events-upc.html. It's the Anna's Angels run and it's going to be super fun with a Halloween theme because it's on Sunday, October 30. Join me!
I'm so lucky to have such strong women in my life. My mom battled and survived breast cancer back in the early 80's. I feel like she did it alone. I'm sure she had help from her friends, but they would have all been swamped with their own families at the time. I was the oldest and at the time a self absorbed college student I'm sure. Her mother had already passed away. You would never know to this day if she struggled at all. She always had a brave face. She was always worried more about us. I pray I can be that strong when I need to be. My two tennis friends at Prestonwood are equally as honorable. Liz Fenton ran her first road race on Saturday and I saw nothing but shear joy on her face all morning to just be healthy and among such amazing people. Jen Newnan, I don't know as well; but she ran it and from what I understand she hasn't let breast cancer slow her down. What great role models.
I did the competitive run at 7am. Came in 17th out of 201 women ages 45-49. Not bad for an "old broad", I can hear my dad say. My daughter joined me for the walk at 8:45 (thanks to Kristy, busy mom of 4 for giving her a ride). I think I accomplished two things with Francine Saturday morning; #1 - we got to exercise together (always good) and #2 - she got to see an amazing show of grace and gratitude, she got to see the world is a bigger place than the Preston pool in her bikini with her friends, and she got to see it's good to give.
Time to sign up for a run I say for continued motivation for "Summer Training". Think about the http://www.annas-angels.org/events-upc.html. It's the Anna's Angels run and it's going to be super fun with a Halloween theme because it's on Sunday, October 30. Join me!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Get Out of the Rut
You're not going to believe this, but I kind of like my dog, yes - Daisy. Although, she just let out a loud bark at 6:20 am and that may land her quickly back on my bad list. I get into bad parenting ruts with her. I was letting her dictate how things were going to be. I have taken back the reins and things are going so much better. Total side bar: someone hid her shock collar (Patrick?). I've realized how easy it is to get into a bad rut, but how easy it is to also get out! It's all about recognizing the rut for what it is....
Daisy is a 56 lb black Standard Poodle. She adores me and pretty much me only. My twin teenage boys have tortured her in little annoying ways for years. Of course, they have personally tried Daisy's shock collar on each other to see how that feels (brilliant!). They used to put the electric fence collar on and push each other through to see how that felt. And you wonder why I like a little glass of chardonnay on a regular basis? Daisy retaliates with peeing in the boy's rooms or the third floor (which is pretty much their domain). It was really grossing me out. She also has a very weak stomach and I think we have previously established she acts like a goat with regards to eating many things dog shouldn't (example: tampons). So she's a puker which can also lead to loose stool as you might imagine. Sorry to be so graphic, but I just need you to feel a little of my pain of what I have had to clean up.
Last week we got new carpets. Last week we made some big Daisy changes. We gated off the third floor so she couldn't get up there. Previously, we had a gate blocking the 2nd floor, but she would nip at the kids leaping that gate because it seemed like a game and they didn't try to deter her. The gate was always falling down, tearing up the wall, etc. Anyway, we also started seriously crating her. The crate was in the garage basically being unused. After 2 days last week she got a little sick and I realized it was too hot for her, so I brought the crate into the dining room. Not my first choice for aesthetic reasons, but I can live with it rather than her having free roam of my newly carpeted house. So the rule is the last person in the house before leaving takes her out and then puts her in the crate. The first person in takes her out of crate and takes her outside. This I know must seem very simple. It is. And it's working beautifully.
We used to have her water bowl in the kitchen. She is a very messy drinker and would somehow splash water every time she would drink it, sometimes she almost seemed to be trying to swim in her water bowl. We had hard wood floors. They didn't do well with the constant splash of water. We never moved it. I have no idea why. So, as many of you know last summer my new refrigerator leaked and caused extensive kitchen damage. We had our hardwoods redone. We moved her water dish into the tiled laundry room. What an epiphany!
The thing is - I think we do things in daily life and we know they aren't right but once the damage is done we just continue. Or we just keep doing the same action not thinking about why or what would be better. We don't stop the action - bad reaction behaviour. Maybe it requires a new purchase to see how to make the change. That's why I think we have to always be trying new things to motivate us exercise wise. You never know what you might really like unless you try it. And maybe it requires a new outfit to really get you motivated. I'm going to try to be more conscious of my behaviour that could be more positive for myself and others. I'm going to really be in the moment and not afraid to stop a negative action. Join me!
Daisy is a 56 lb black Standard Poodle. She adores me and pretty much me only. My twin teenage boys have tortured her in little annoying ways for years. Of course, they have personally tried Daisy's shock collar on each other to see how that feels (brilliant!). They used to put the electric fence collar on and push each other through to see how that felt. And you wonder why I like a little glass of chardonnay on a regular basis? Daisy retaliates with peeing in the boy's rooms or the third floor (which is pretty much their domain). It was really grossing me out. She also has a very weak stomach and I think we have previously established she acts like a goat with regards to eating many things dog shouldn't (example: tampons). So she's a puker which can also lead to loose stool as you might imagine. Sorry to be so graphic, but I just need you to feel a little of my pain of what I have had to clean up.
Last week we got new carpets. Last week we made some big Daisy changes. We gated off the third floor so she couldn't get up there. Previously, we had a gate blocking the 2nd floor, but she would nip at the kids leaping that gate because it seemed like a game and they didn't try to deter her. The gate was always falling down, tearing up the wall, etc. Anyway, we also started seriously crating her. The crate was in the garage basically being unused. After 2 days last week she got a little sick and I realized it was too hot for her, so I brought the crate into the dining room. Not my first choice for aesthetic reasons, but I can live with it rather than her having free roam of my newly carpeted house. So the rule is the last person in the house before leaving takes her out and then puts her in the crate. The first person in takes her out of crate and takes her outside. This I know must seem very simple. It is. And it's working beautifully.
We used to have her water bowl in the kitchen. She is a very messy drinker and would somehow splash water every time she would drink it, sometimes she almost seemed to be trying to swim in her water bowl. We had hard wood floors. They didn't do well with the constant splash of water. We never moved it. I have no idea why. So, as many of you know last summer my new refrigerator leaked and caused extensive kitchen damage. We had our hardwoods redone. We moved her water dish into the tiled laundry room. What an epiphany!
The thing is - I think we do things in daily life and we know they aren't right but once the damage is done we just continue. Or we just keep doing the same action not thinking about why or what would be better. We don't stop the action - bad reaction behaviour. Maybe it requires a new purchase to see how to make the change. That's why I think we have to always be trying new things to motivate us exercise wise. You never know what you might really like unless you try it. And maybe it requires a new outfit to really get you motivated. I'm going to try to be more conscious of my behaviour that could be more positive for myself and others. I'm going to really be in the moment and not afraid to stop a negative action. Join me!
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