Food list

Got my new mini-refrigerator yesterday! I really needed it, because I am now renting part of a family's house and there is just very little room in their refrigerator for me to stock healthy food. So that was a really positive step for me.

Now I will stock it with healthy food!

With my goal of losing 50 pounds in the next 19 weeks ( right before I go on the already paid-for and scheduled December cruise with my mom and sister), I will stock that refrigerator with healthy food I LOVE. Then I'm eating only this healthy food every 2-3 hours and giving myself one cheat day (Saturdays) for the first month at least. That way, when I crave crappy food I can at least tell myself, "I can have that on Saturday," and it won't seem so bad.

I'm weighing and measuring myself every Friday to measure my progress. I'm already exercising, so I just need to get the food part going.

I'm focusing on healthy food I really, really enjoy. And there is actually a lot of it! Here is what I will keep on hand as much as possible---as my budget allows.

• Almonds
• Chicken Breast
• Salmon
• Black beans
• Light Vanilla Soy Milk
• Skim Milk
• Fiber One Honey Cluster Cereal
• Bananas
• Strawberries
• Purple seedless grapes
• Pineapple---my favorite!!!
• Oranges
• Green apples
• Protein powder for protein shakes
• Mushrooms
• Green bell peppers
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Salsa
• Low-fat shredded cheese
• Deli sliced turkey
• Wasa multigrain crackers
• Whole grain bread
• Oatmeal
• Peanut Butter
• Honey
• Wraps--high fiber, whole grain
• Mixed frozen vegetables that I can steam in steamer bags
• Yoplait fat-free yogurt
• Blueberries---to put in yogurt
• Fresh spinach
• Light ranch dressing--to drizzle only
• Baby carrots
• Fiber One granola bars
• Fat-free jello pudding
• Eggs--hard boiled
• Lean Cuisine meals---for when I'm really in a crunch for time, I know it's not ideal
• Veggie sausage patties--LOVE the Morningstar Farms Veggie Sausage Patties
• Veggie burgers---LOVE the Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Patties

I won't be able to get all this every week, but this is my list to choose from. Then I can get what I can afford and what I have room for in my little mini-fridge each week.

And I really do LOVE all the food on this list! It's just a matter of making it a priority to have these foods handy, and making the time to prepare these foods.

Friday is my first weigh-in day!

19 Weeks

I'm already scheduled and paid to go on a 5-day cruise to Mexico the second week of December. That's coming up pretty soon! Wooo-hoooooo!!! I'm going to use that cruise as short-term motivation to lose weight. My goal is to lose 50 pounds before the cruise. It's definitely do-able if I get on the ball NOW.

I have all of August, September, October and November to lose that 50 pounds. From today, I have exactly 19 weeks until I go on the cruise. That's an average of 2.6 pounds a week. That's a very healthy amount to lose on average.

I'm doing great on my workouts. I'm feeling stronger, more healthy, more fit. I feel like I have more energy. I don't get tired or need to sit down nearly as often---hardly at all. And that is a HUGE difference from just a couple of months ago. 24 Hour Fitness, Zumba classes and walking around big stores is really working for me in this record Texas heat!!

However, on my food, I'm not doing well at all. So my bad-food-eating is totally cancelling out my working out, so that I've lost very little weight (if any) even though I'm feeling more energy and more stamina due to my workouts.

In my new living situation, it is more challenging to eat healthy. But that's no excuse. I need to be more pro-active and make sure I can eat healthy food I like at every meal.

My next lily pad is to buy a small refrigerator to put in my room so that I have space of my own to keep healthy food. I've got my exercise going---now I need to focus on food, which is the most important part.

Lily pads

I heard a quote the other day from Clinton Kelly on the television show "What Not To Wear" that really got my attention. I'm paraphrasing, but he said something like, "You don't try to make a huge leap when trying to get to the other side of the river. You just go one lily pad at a time. So only focus on the lily pad right in front of you."

This is so key for me in my health and fitness journey. I have a perfectionist mindset. All or nothing. And it sets me up for failure every time. Every single time. I know this. But I keep doing it anyway.

I have a LONG way to go in my health and fitness journey. The river I'm crossing is very, very wide. I need to lose about 150 pounds to get to my ideal goal weight. Yes, that is a WIDE river.

And my focus has been on the other side. That is NOT working.

I have to focus solely on the next lily pad. The next step. One more small step each time. That's all I need to focus on for right now---not the whole journey. That's too overwhelming.

I'm also going to stop talking about what I'm "going to do" on this blog. When I make promises, then don't keep them, I feel even more like a failure and I hide out. That doesn't help me at all.

So I'm going to switch and talk about what I ALREADY DID. What I AM DOING. Not what I'm "going to do". My focus needs to be on communicating what action I AM TAKING. Not what action I'm "going to take". That's not working either.

I'm a planner and a thinker. I will analyze and plan things to death. But that's not what matters. It's the ACTION that matters.

So here is what I HAVE DONE in the last few weeks, since I lasted posted on this blog:

1. Regular Zumba classes at 24 Hour Fitness. I have gone to every Zumba class, which is a one-hour dance cardio class. I LOVE it!! I wish all exercise was this much fun! I actually look forward to it! I just wish they offered it more than twice a week. I am looking into other Zumba classes in the area, though. So hopefully I can go more often since this is exercise that is really working for me, as far as actually DOING it.

2. Started regular "window shopping". I try to "window shop" in at least 2 stores once a day. I'm so excited to be in an area that has big stores again!! I can spend a couple of hours browsing through stores like Ross and TJ Maxx and I don't have to spend a thing. But it keeps me on my feet and it is building my stamina.

3. Regular gym workouts. In addition to Zumba, I also go to the gym at least 3-4 times a week for regular workouts. Now these workouts have been far from stellar. But each time I do some kind of cardio and some kind of strength exercises. They are not what they should be yet, but it's another lily pad. Right now, I'm getting myself there and I'm going through the motions. The intensity will come.

4. Taking a multivitamin. I'm finally getting this habit going again. I've taken one every day for the last two weeks. So I'm doing really well, here.

That is progress!!! It really does feel so much better to post victories, rather than plans!

One lily pad at a time. That's my new mantra.

Progress...finally!

I am finally making REAL progress in my health and fitness journey!

I have officially moved to my new location where I have many more opportunities presented to me. It feels soooo amazing. I feel like I can breathe. I feel like I have energy again.

There was nothing wrong with the town I lived in before---it was my hometown. A very small East Texas town. For small towns, it's very nice.

I'm just not a small town kind of girl. I felt like I was suffocating there and it definitely had an impact on gaining all this weight back. I gained it all back when I moved BACK to that small town. It's my fault. I let it happen. But I wasn't happy in that environment and I used food and slothlike behavior to cope.

Now I'm back in a real city. I've only been here for a few days, but, WOW, what a difference!!! I feel like I'm coming alive again!!! Woooo-hooooooooo!!! You think that will help me in my health and fitness journey???? Heck, yeah!!

So I've made some major progress just in the few days I've been here:

1. I now have a one-year membership to 24-Hour Fitness for myself and my fitness-obsessed 16-year-old son. I worked out for the first time there today and did a Zumba class!!! Loved it! Also did a "Amp'd Abs" class, which was also beneficial. The year membership is completely paid for both of us, so finances can never get in the way of me being at the gym, like it did earlier this year.

2. I joined Weight Watchers today!! It was the first time I had weighed in about 2 months and I was not so shocked to see that I had gained 11 pounds in the last 2 months. I have felt myself gaining. I have felt my energy level dropping more and more. But you know what? It's okay. Because now I'm DOING something about it. I'm not just talking about it. I'm DOING something about it.

Today is a new day. It is a wonderful day. I'm excited for the future.

The short term goal is to lose 50 pounds by December 1st.

I KNOW I can do this.

I've also committed to three 5K races in the next several months. I'll write about that later this week and list them.

I'm truly so excited!!!!

Moving

Just a quick update---I am right in the middle of my move.

Next week I'll start blogging again regularly and really take it up a notch.

Time to make some real progress on my health and fitness journey!

Six month check-in

Well, folks, here it is---the month of June.

My blog is entitled "From Fat to Fit in 2009". However, since my progress has not been what I had hoped, maybe it should have been titled, "From Fat to Slightly More Fit in 2009". Or "From Fat to Less Fat in 2009". Or even "From Fat to Fit---My five year plan".

The good thing is---I haven't given up!! I've definitely had some major, very unexpected curveballs thrown at me so far this year, since I started this blog in January. But I've never given up. And that's what counts.

I'm starting to feel fired up again now. I feel like the worst is about over. I am determined to make significant progress in my health and fitness journey in 2009.

I'm moving to the Dallas area in the next 2 weeks and my life hopefully will fall back into a routine again soon. I'm so excited I'll be moving to an area with many more fitness options. It's also going to be a much more positive environment for me overall, which will help me in my fitness journey, as well.

So here is what I'm going to do in the next couple of weeks:

1. Sign back up for Weight Watchers to help me with the food part---I was very successful on WW last year, but quit after losing 30 pounds in 3 months. Why did I quit??? Who knows. Self-sabotage, again, I guess. So I'm signing back up. I'm committed to going to all the meetings and weighing in every single week. That helped me so much before--just weighing in every week. I just need to keep going no matter what. So I commit to signing up in my new city by June 15th.

2. Sign up for a 5K race and begin walking at least 20 minutes 4 times a week. I'm picking the race today and I've already had some wonderful, very supportive people offer to help me stay accountable on this. That will help me soooo much. Accountability is key for me. I've got to unleash that athlete inside of me!! She's begging to come out. I feel it everyday. Also become a member of the Dallas Running Club. I'll start walking and sign up for the race and club this week.

3. Join 24-Hour Fitness and start going 4 times a week---outside of my outdoors walking. I actually really enjoy going to the gym, once I get in the groove of going. I love to swim. I love to lift weights. I love to do the classes---dance/cardio and yoga especially. I just need to get going. I'll sign up for 24 Hour Fitness sometime next week---my first week in the Dallas area.

I also want to incorporate hiking into my life regularly. I love hiking. I love the outdoors. But maybe I should do the top 3 first and not try to do everything at once. I know there are a couple of hiking type clubs in Dallas, too, I can check out at some point.

I'll also start posting my weight loss every week here---meetings will be on Mondays. That will help with accountability, too! And I'll post my exercise times.

Enough talking already. Time for action.

I have already paid to go on a cruise December 12th of this year. My goal is to lose at least 50 pounds by then. Very do-able.

I just need to get to work.

Rewards

I reward myself with food. Not with good food----with bad food.

So say, I'm proud of myself for a job well done. What do I think I deserve? Well, a hot fudge sundae full of fat and chemicals for my body, of course!!

That stuff is like POISON for me!! How can I consider that a REWARD?

But I do.

I'm becoming more and more aware of it. And it is just so ridiculous. I remember last year when I would weigh in at my Weight Watchers meetings. If I lost a few pounds----guess what I did? Yes, I rewarded myself with bad food. After all, I didn't have to weigh in for another week, right?

Crazy!!! I somehow HAVE to shift my thinking.

First of all, food should not be used as a reward. Secondly, I really wish I could see CRAP food just as that--CRAP food. I don't though. I look at something like a piece of chocolate cake as something glowing with a halo on top and angels singing all around it.

It's actually POISION for me. It's terrible for my body in so many ways. But it will just take time for me to reverse that thinking.

In the meantime, I have to find a new reward system. When I want to reach for food as a reward, I have to be able to do something HEALTHY that feels like a reward instead.

And, no, jogging doesn't feel like a reward.

So what can I use for a reward? What is something that is easily accessible to me and feels like a reward? It has to be something inexpensive or free. Something I really enjoy. And it has to be something that has immediate positive effects.

Hmmmm....nothing perfect is coming to mind. I'll just brainstorm here.

• Go to the movies (sans popcorn)
• Call a supportive friend who can pretend to lavish hefty praise on me :-)
• Go to the lake and read
• Go to the park and meditate (notice I didn't say walk)
• A bubble bath???? I haven't had one of those in years---just going by what I see in the movies. Looks like a reward for them!
• Paint--I don't always feel like doing this, though
• Listen to music
• Dance while listening to music! Maybe make a special CD of my favorite songs that I love to dance to and only use it when I want to reach for food! (Oh, that actually feels like a great one!!)
  

Everything else I can think of wouldn't have immediate gratification---it would take planning of some sort, like going out with friends or going to the theater. I need things I can do right away and get the positive feelings immediately---just like I get from food.

I'll keep thinking.

But I'm becoming more aware. And that is progress.

I think I need a reward for that...