Today and Tomorrow

weigh in 215.8!
5 days nonsmoker!

A wonderful quote from my little sister, "Not today but maybe tomorrow."  This is how I have been pushing myself to stay on plan. These little trick phrases to trick my mind into beleiving them. Really Im not lying to myself just not looking at the whole truth.  Ok confused? Let me explain. My sister gave me some advice about staying on plan and quiting smoking at the same time. She said, "Not today but maybe tomorrow."  So when I get that crazy craving to have a cigarette. I simply tell myself, "Im not having a cigarette today but who knows maybe I will have one tomorrow."  Then tomorrow never comes. Today is always with us. Tomorrow is always ahead of us and I just keep saying it and take it one day at a time. Same thing when I see a sweet or when I am craving something that is not allotted into my plan. Ill tell myself, "I wont be eating that today but maybe tomorrow I will."  Then I wont. The craving will be gone long before then. : )  The baby steps of taking life "one day at a time" and "Easy does it." So in this case why not put off what you could do today for tomorrow? Well I dont mind if I do!



Have a wonderful weekend all!

A day for success!

weigh in 216.8

day 3 nonsmoker

        My efforts are being answered. I have gone back to the basics of sticking to my calories and staying on plan. all meat and animal byproducts will be gone starting monday. This will commence my step two of my baby steps. today is wed. started on monday at 217.6 and today at 216.8 almost a pound down in 3 days woo hoo! By the grace of God I have stuck to plan. : ) I dont mean to gloat, well not completly. I must say though my successes must be acknowledged as well. Today I am feeling great and successful because It feels good when the work pays off and I remember to keep giving it my all.  I have been following what I preech. Not only have I been talking the talk but Ive been walking the walk. : ) I just have to remember to do it and that I can do it.

        In most cases thats how many of us are. We know how to do something. We know where to go to accomplish it. We know what we must do. So why then, dont we do it? Most the time its because its simple.  I have learned from AA. Im an Al-Anon member but I love going to AA meetings. The Twelve steps are an amazing life changing program.  The core of this program is to walk the walk before you even talk the talk.  I was speaking with someone in there about how the simplest things are the hardest to accomplish. Why is that?  We were talking and laughing about it.  This person "left unnamed", felt it was because she was an addict/alcholic. Ive been thinking and plan on telling her next time I see her. Its not that at all! We all do it!  We do it in everything we do. None of us want failure. So we avoid it.  The only problem with that is by avoiding failure be become failure and avoid accomplishment.  We make it seem unattainable and keep backing away till it is. Our brains make it so difficult.  Then on the other hand we fight to get the unattainable the things that people tell us we cant have!  When we give ourselves an unbearable goal that we have to break our backs to get, we'll do it.  Only, when asked to do a simple task like, "dont over eat" or "eat more veggies".  Why dont we? 

                  Many a time the human brain makes things much hard than they are. When we receive a simple task that we cant make difficult in our minds. We decide it cant possibly be true and helpful.  So we bypass. "Oh well I cant do it."  It cant possibly be that easy?  Only, it is!  So one thing my therapist tells me to do is to literally coach myself and talk to myself. When Im craving a cigarette. Its so simple, dont have one.  Well I get anxiety thinking I cant possibly do this I need one! So I talk to myself and coax myself out of it.  "your not going to die with out it.  you will be ok. Breathe your living your fine!" I repeat phrases like this to myself outloud.  Although this may seem Psychotic, it works!  Same goes with food. When Im eating something delicous but dont want to stop. I repeat to myself like, "Are you tasting or wasting?  Are you overeating or are you still hungry? " There are many times where 30-40minutes after a meal I am suddenly starving to death! I have to talk myself down jsut like with the cigarettes. I will tell myself, "Remember we just had a full meal 30 minutes ago.  We cant be hungry we just ate? Stop whining your full and being greedy."  These things sound so weird but they truly work. They help you to work out the simple steps and allow your brain to process the positive reinforcemtn of yourself confirming that you can make it through.  Try it the next time you going into an uncomfortable situation, or tackling an obstacle in your life. Talk to yourself and coach yourself. : )

Let me know what you thought of the article. Also if anyone has any requests for what you would like for me to write.  Your requests are always welcomed! Thank you!

Calorie Counting

Morning all!
weigh in 217.2
day 2 nonsmoker

Goodmorning. I start my day off with a pumpkin spice latte and breakfast sandwich. I ate meat this morning because i forgot about  not eating meat. I know right? What kind of excuse is that? Really it just makes it worse ya know? Saying I must not care that much about my plan. Well I do and Im not eating meat again for a while. Next week I will still be cutting out animal byproducts other than dairy. Then the week after dairy will be last. Lastly that will start my 30days of Raw Foods. All done in Baby Steps. : )

        This morning I noticed alot of questions about calories. How do you know it works? How do you know how many you should have?  What is to high? What is to low and why?  Why should I chose calorie counting.  So many questions we could all think of. Well lets start answering them.

        How do you know it works? Well personally I have lost 38lbs so far through calorie counting and moderate excercize and I havent excercized in two months and im still losing.  cant trust me? Do your research. Check out some trusted sites. Like, mayoclinic.com, WebMD.com, or JillianMichaels.com. It couldnt hurt to do some research?

           Now how do we know how many calories we should be eating?  It goes by your height, age, and weight.  There is a huge mathematical problem that you could look up but that would just be annoying to me. lol So lets go check out a calorie calculator- http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/calculators/calories-required/- after you have calculated your calories. Notice that under 1200 cals for a female and under 1400 cals for a male is unhealthy. It is not good for you and should not be that low. If the calorie  calculator show you should eat only the lowest amount healthy for your body.  Then I suggest that you up it by 200cals and erase those extra cals through excercize. 

          Why does it matter if your to low or high in your calories? Well it is suggested that you shouldnt be under 1000 cal deficit. Your body will hold weight longer and eat muscle not only your fat. When you are portraying higher than normal rapid weightloss it is unhealthy and  a shock to your body and you could hurt yourself more than to help it. A deficit is the negative amount of calories in your diet. for example I eat 1600 cals a day and my deficit is 900 cals. If i was maintaing today at my weight i would be eating at 2600cals.  So right now im under by 1000 to lose weight.  By keeping my deficit at under 1000 then I am healthil burning more fat.  I can burn more calories through excercize but Im insuring I receive my nutrients.

         Why should you chose calorie counting? I think everyones reasoning is different yet close to the same reason I chose it. I love food. Thats how I got here. : ) Its no secret food is delicous. I dont do very good when I am told I cant have something all together. When i get cut off from something it makes me almost ravenous. So I know that as long as its in my budget i can have it. If i chose to have pizza one day then i know thats the bulk of my food for the day. Its all about budgeting and im good at that. Figure out your reasoning and you will go far. : )

Good Luck!
        

weightloss baby steps...

weigh in 217.6
day 1 nonsmoker (again)

          So this weekend I stayed within my calorie amount. Although I fell of the wagon of raw foods.  I feel so good when only eating raw foods. Unfortunately though i crave meats and dairy like crazy! I had fish, pepperoni, and lots of cheese this weekend. So I realize I really do want to go 30 days on a raw diet cleanse but I think I need to take some of my own past advice. Im gonna put my money where my mouth is and take some of my preaching and words.  Baby Steps, lol I wrote a huge article on Baby Steps.  It was all about how taking one small step at a time can make a huge difference in the end. So today I am letting go of meat and next monday i will let go of something else and soon i will be on a raw diet.  This will be tough but absolutely simple. I need to remember to remember all of the tools I have learned and use to use them.  Here is my article for Baby Steps in my previous article.

The point is BABY STEPS! Take baby steps. For me it is the easiest way to succeed.  My whole life I have struggled with my weight. Why should I try to be the best version of me overnight? well I know I cant.  I started with limiting. I limited my calories to what is healthy for me to lose 2lbs. a week.  then slowly i realised well shoot 1974 cals can be one meal at MC D's!!  So i began to take baby steps towards fruits and veggies.  Seeing as they are very high in nutrients and very low in calories. I thought, this is great. I could have 1 bigmac and fries or i could stuff myself with fruits and veggies and then when i get hungry again i can do it again and maybe one more time. Then i realized that as i lost weight my calories decreased. UH OH! so you mean i cant keep eating 1974 cals? My next baby step was portion control and the blah of only fruits and veggies. I looked for variety. I made good memories and associations to these foods. So far in the four months of my journey I have taken so many tiny little steps in my life i cant even truly count!  Everytime i try to take a leap. I fall back a bit more.  Then I retrace and pick up where I left off. Only to take one more tiny Baby Step.

         My weightloss buddy is this way as well. So my final thought. BABY STEPS really do work. : )

So if your not quite ready for excercize or the next step its ok do it when your ready. That doesnt mean never start either. That was my problem for a while. What i mean is easy does it. If you dont feel like your ready but you want to start somewhere. Then make 1 small change everyday.  Ill give some examples of a few steps that i have had  to practice with. (i wish this was the order they came in as it looks so easy. lol its challenging but worth it and the new step that you know you need doesnt come over night either) Defintel do not do not move onto another step till you have it under control either.    

A few example steps:

1. Whats my calorie alottment?

2.  Learn to stick to my calorie alottment.

3.  Find delicous low calorie snacks and meals I love. (this one never ends)

4. Eat for a benefit. Not for only taste. (still need a yummy taste though)

5. Learn how to stick to plan even while on vacation.

6. Learn how to stick to plan even when life gets a bit down.

7. realise why i over eat! what are my triggers?

8. No more candy till goal except gum.

There are a plethora of steps and different triggers I have delt with.  One of the hardest triggers for me is vacations, and holidays. i.e. : friends bday nom nom nom. lots of food.  but the foods not for me. : ( well no not exactly. if i stay strong i can have a bit and then bring a veggie platter and eat mostly that. : ) different things like this give tools to success. Control what your able to and all you can control is yourself. This is a proccess and we are all learning and growing from it.

In closing thank you all for your comments! Your kind word and your critiques. They are a source of joy for me. As always thank you and I appreciate you all!

Whats that? Breakfast... but im not hungry yet...

Wake up Wake up Wake up!!! Eggs and Bakie! OOps no Oatmeal and Coffee!

Weighed in at 218

1 day non smoker (screwed up again)

Morning all. I am feeling a bit better today. Im not at 100% but getting there. Im enjoying my delicious non animal product breakfast. and am enjoy my tad bit of creamer coffee. I actualy got my favoritist latte they have at Starbucks. THE EGGNOG LATTE!!!!  I absolutely love it! muahahahahah. Oh and my oatmeal was cooked with hot water at about 105-110F. There for still raw. : ) Ive been doing pretty good with this raw stuff. forgotten a couple times and eaten a tad of cheese. This is definetly a learning process though so all in all doing well. I hope to hear how everyone else is doing as well. : )

For today I wanted to talk about Healthy breakfast's that promote mind and body health. There are a few questions we have to ask ourselves first. What even constitutes a healthy breakfast? Why do I need a healthy breakfast? 

               Well you need a healthy start to get your mind and body going of course.  We wake up on the go and expect our minds and our bodies to be ready to go as well. Most of the time when I wake I know I feel sluggish. So I take my time getting ready and when I get to work is when I really wake up. I get my oh so "important" coffee and my breakfast.   Our healthy breakfast will help us to be on our "A game" as they say. It will allow our brains to function properly. 

Now what exactly constitutes a healthy breakfast?  All over the place you see so many different descriptions of what a healthy brekafast is.  What it all boils down to is: Protein and Fiber.   The secret of a healthy breakfast is no secret at all get your fiber and your protein. Then your set. Whatever your healthy weight may be that is the same amount in grams that you need of protein a day.  My healthy weight for example is 130-145lbs. So I need at least 130-145grams of protein a day. For your fiber it is suggested that the average person gets 20-35grams of fiber a day.  So now how much do you need in your breakfast? Well that all depends on what your healthy weight is?

My breakfast breakdown goes as follows-

130-145grams protein needed

So if i have four meals and eat 37grams of protein and 9grams of fiber with each one im good.

My morning breakfast Nutrition:

As you can see with my breakfast of Oatmeal, coffee, and a protein shake. I have eaten the needed fiber and protein for this portion of my day. : )

Need some breakfast ideas?

(raw foods only for now)

1. 2cups oatmeal, and a prtoein shake
2. 14cup of nuts and 2cups oatmeal
3. 2 apples and protein shake

and many more like this. : )

Need more ideas? Google it!

Winter=Sick

weigh in 219
day 2 nonsmoker

Im going a little crazy. Im sick. I have a runny nose and my head and body aches like crazy. I also have so much homework right now. I have 7 math lessons to finish by thursday evening and i have a chemistry hw quiz to do for today. quiz comes first. Uh and every time I sneeze my head feels like somone taking a spoon and mixing up the contents.  One good thing, well two. One, Im on plan. : ) Two, I havent smoked. Well lets make it three, Eggnog latte came out today!!! Woohoo starbucks has made my day once again. : )

Im also wondering since were doing thing all natural for 30 days. What are some all natural medicinal remedies? I have taken Dayquil for today. but if I could find something natural Id start that one immediatly after work.


Acdcording to WEBMD, there is no way to "cure" a cold.  Although there may be ways to shorten it. Eureka! that works for me!

WebMD's top 4:

1. Zinc.
• There havent been many recorded studies on zinc and wether or not it helps treating colds. There was one study done about the nasal gel zinc medicines. ( like the zicaam type) It did show to improve the time spent with a cold but it has not been replicated. Science goes with concrete evidence that is shown over and over again. So as far as a scientist or health proffessional is concerned Zinc doesnt make the cut. But there are still many people who swear by it.
2. Vitamin C
• This is the one that I actually swear by! I didnt have any vitamin C this time  around and procrastinated in buying some. Look at me now lol im sick. Haha. I personally havent been sick in a few years. (actual sick not cramps or migraines) For me when ever I first feel the tickle of anything in my throat or begin to feel "off" I take an overload dose of Vitamin C. I take about 3000 grams a day for 3-4 days. : ) it works for me. Although WebMD says it also shows no actual results except when used as a preventitive measure and still only decreases a cold time by 8%. I still swear by it though!
3. Echinacea.
• My mom swears by this one! She takes it everyday as a preventitive measure and swears thats why she hasnt gotten sick in years. In a study done by the University of Connecticut it showed that when used as a preventitive measure Echinacea could cut your cold down by 58%!! thats pretty good right?
4. Chicken Soup
• There are no real findings on the true health benefits on chicken soup. Many doctors find the idea of even testing it as a "waste of time" But it is said that chicken soup can help with imflamation and the steam and heat can soothe a soar throat.

Take what you may. Im gonna stick with my Vitamin C and Dayquil/Nyquil.


What are some other rememdies that you have heard of?

Raw foods

Weigh in 219---1.4 up from yesterday! arrrgh! Halloween!
Day 1 non smoker

I had a great time for Halloween. I spent $0 on my costume and did it myself. It was fun. A little to fun as you can see from my weigh in. lol Today starts my Raw Foods cleanse for 30 days.  I can not eat any dairy, or animal products for 30 days. Ive given myself two exceptions. First my morning coffee can have a tad of creamer. Second my morning and evening shakes are allowed. Why choose to go on a raw foods cleanse?

     There is so much research out in the world that suggests that raw food is the way our body was mostly intended. That yes we were meant to eat meat but not as often as we do. i.e-1 a month at most!  When eating only Raw foods your body is receiving only unprocessed fruits and veggies.  The food that my body will receive in a raw diet is all immediately recognisable to my digestive system. With processed foods our bodies have to question and guess what the food is and basically solve the mystery. In that it takes longer to breakdown and absorbs incorrectly in many ways.  Alot of times the processed "unknowns" just get stored.  Wonderful right? More weight to be added on.   

      A raw food diet is quite strict. It consists of only ground grown foods. Absolutely and completly all natural. If its didnt come from a seed then its not allowed. We also dont cook foods in a raw food diet.  In a raw food diet you do not heat your food over 105 degrees F. At temperatures over 105 degrees F our food starts to molecularly mutate. The heat changes what the veggie actually is and in that our veggie loses many of its benefits.

   A large problem thats known well about a raw foods diet is that it can be difficult for you to get all of your calories.  In a raw food diet Fruits and nuts are your main source of calories. Nuts have plenty of protein but also plenty of fat! If you eat to many nuts your diet will consist of mainly fat. So for me I am going to bulk up on fruits mostly wich personally seems like a reward! Lots of Watermelon,plums, and mangoes! : ) Seems like its not to bad so far. I will be eating nuts at least once a day for one serving.  I will also be eating as many veggies as I want. The nice thing about this type of food menu is great for those who like to snack and have an oral fixation.  With the low amount of calories in our natural foods a person can snack snack snack all they want. : ) Once a week I will also be awarding myself with a meal at a vegan restauraunt. Either Loving Hut or Native Foods. : ) These will be my rewards for sticking to plan.

The basics of a Raw diet.

1. Fruits
2. veggies
3. grains/nuts
4. NO animal products or byproducts

My basic daily outline will be as follows-

Breakfast

- coffee

-shake

-fruit

Snack

-veggie

-nuts (protein)

Lunch

-fruits

-veggie

Snack

-fruit

Dinner

-fruit

- high cal veggies

- high cal veggies

Snack

-protein shake

Want more info?

Here are some great places to get more:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2008/02/raw-food-diet/

Ill be using this one for many of my recipes this is an amazing site!

http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/