Living Life
The journey to a healthier me.
For some time now I have been bloggin elsewhere. Come see if you want:
I hate taking the bus.
There is really no positive spin you can put on it.
In the summer everyone is hot, clammy and shoved on like sardines.
In the rain everyone is wet, hot, sticky and cranky on the bus.
In the winter everyone dies of heat because the bus drivers crank up the heat.
Today it is raining…
I just picked up these two books today, can’t wait to start reading!
Small steps are always good, this week’s focus is on bringing lunches to work and EATING them. As odd as that sounds I have a nasty habit of skipping the lunch I brought and grabbing something from one of the fast food places downstairs. The other focus is more of a goal and that is to visit the gym three times this week - so far I am 1 out 3.
Right now I am trying to build good habits and then switch to healthier choices and increasing my physical activity. Clearly trying to do things all at once has not been working so here is to baby steps.
Great workout at the gym tonight! And ate the lunch I brought from home. Two small victories to make the day that much better.
My weekend proved to be pretty good after all. Friday was a write off as I grumbled the whole way home and poked the bear at home into a fight before going out for dinner at his sister’s place. Dinner was not bad though and gave us both a chance to cool off. Saturday involved a sleep in, a few errands, a nap (oh I loved thee), dinner with friends and then watching the hubby play hockey. Sunday was a beautifully sunny day that start with a walk to the grocery store for dinner supplies, some cleaning (which always makes me feel good – hate doing but love the clean house) and then snuggling up to watch NASCAR and take another nap.
All this to say I think I needed the sleep after not having slept well last week, because today I am feeling much better. And despite the snow (yes snow) we are getting I feel positive and in good spirits.
So here is to a decent Monday.
Off to the sister-in-laws for dinner.
Also hoping for a great weekend because as much as this week started off great it is officially sucky as of today. as an example - this morning the first words I heard were “you are fat”.
So like I said let’s hope for a kick ass weekend.
I read this article (http://www.self.com/health/2011/03/cheating-with-food) a few weeks ago at the gym and it made me stop and think. I feel like it could have been me writing the article…
Here is an excerpt:
I have committed infidelity. This thought occurred to me as I fished through the plastic bag for the telltale receipt. I needed to get rid of it. I didn’t want my husband, Chris, to see that I had bought a bag of caramels at the drugstore.
The caramels were already gone. I had eaten them on my walk home, tucking every last crinkly wrapper into the original bag, which I then tossed into a garbage bin in the park.
I love my husband, but it did feel as if I were having an affair. Crumbs on my sweaters were the proverbial lipstick on the collar. I’d brush them off, praying that Chris wouldn’t check our bank account and notice my string of purchases at fast food joints and bakeries. Mostly, I paid in cash.
The only time I exerted some self-control—or pretended to—was when Chris was with me, as I did on one crisp fall morning when he said, “I could really go for a pumpkin doughnut.”
It happened to be a morning when pumpkin doughnuts would have felt right, along with a glass of cider. I didn’t tell him that I’d already inhaled two iced pumpkin scones earlier that week, at nearly 500 calories each. Instead, on this day at the Dunkin’ Donuts where we had stopped, I dutifully ordered an egg-white sandwich, as if I were actually on a diet. I’d have enjoyed those scones far more if I’d eaten them with my husband across the table, rather than shoveling them into my mouth as I waited for the barista to hand me my coffee, which, by the way, had a little whipped cream on top.
I have been seeing a naturopath for many years now, I love her, and I love her advice and think she is wonderful. If I could do my schooling all over again I would become a Naturopath. I find so much of what she says makes sense and when I follow her advice and guidance I feel great – 100% better. However I find following this way of eating a challenge. Together she and I are working on making lifestyle changes – although I am pretty sure some times she would love to shake some sense into me.
So how should I be eating (in a nutshell)?
* these are foods that I specifically need to avoid due to intolerance or because they give me acne
Now this may sound easy at first glance, eat healthy and you are good to go – but not so fast. If you have never read the ingredient list on things you may not realize how many things have sugar in them – glucose, fructose, corn syrup, pretty much anything ending in an “ose” is generally a form of sugar. Not to mention all the sucralose, aspartame and the like. So that bars out pretty much all processed foods and many low-fat or diet food choices.
No refined flour is difficult too as much whole wheat bread is still made using some degree of refined flour. And really flour is something else that finds its way into many of the convenience foods you find at a grocery store.
It is doable though. Over three years, I have learned which whole wheat pasta to buy, what breads, soups, crackers, stock, etc to buy. Many of these things have become common items in our home and I don’t even look at buying anything else. I have a hard timing avoiding dairy (read cheese) – milk was relatively easy as it made me feel horribly ill. Chocolate is a tricky one too that I just love – Cadbury Cream Eggs always call my name around this time of year. I often do have refined sugars and flours but not nearly as much as I did three years ago and I am much better informed when making choices now.
My naturopath likes to keep telling me that if I start eating things sweetened with honey, maple syrup and fruit my taste buds will change and I won’t like all the things I crave now. I get the concept and I long for the day – but I am not there yet, not by a long shot!
Anyway this can give you a little insight into why sometimes a meal that appears relatively healthy to one person can still seem like a failure to me.
Decent lunch, decent dinner and a 5k walk this evening. Not to mention a little house cleaning too. Like I said a pretty good Monday. :-)
