Weekly Weigh In: I Already Blew It, So It Doesn't Matter What I Eat!

I read something last week that said "If you're tired of starting over, stop giving up!" Well, isn't that just about the most applicable statement you've ever read when it comes to taking care of your health and/or losing weight?!

Change happens immediately, but sometimes progress is slower than others. It might be due to curve balls thrown at us (beyond our control) that knock us off balance. It might be due to our own wavering commitment. The important thing is that we continue to move in the direction of our goal. 

You've heard "Rome wasn't built in a day", or "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" "A child learns to walk one step at a time." These statements are applicable when we have made a change and are working towards a goal. While the "change" happens immediately, the results take a little longer to show up.

Let me clarify. You don't "ease into" making a change. It doesn't take a long time to make a change. It sometimes takes a long time "decide" to make a change, or to be ready to make the commitment. You can think about it for a long time, but the moment you make the decision to change, you've made a change. The change in our thought process and our actions happens immediately. The results, however, don't happen immediately.


Just thinking about it and telling yourself that you "should" eat healthier or exercise more isn't making a change. Even telling yourself that you "want to" or "need to" isn't making a change. Saying "I will" and "I am" and then taking the required steps is making a change. Here are some ideas for implementing Healthy Habits.


When you decide you are going to change the way you eat by adding fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains to your diet, you do it. When you decide to eliminate processed food or fried food from your diet, you do it. You make the change today and your health begins to improve immediately. But it will take a number of days to see the full affect of this change. Educating yourself on the nutritional value of the food you eat is a "step". Each good food choice you make today is a "bite" of your elephant. Each day that you follow the plan that you have committed to is another "day" towards building your Rome.


So you indulged in the fresh apple fritter your husband brought home from the bakery Saturday morning. Or you went out to eat for date night and ate a little, (okay a LOT) too much. Does that mean that the steps you've taken don't matter and aren't helping you reach your goal? Of course not!

When a child is learning to walk, they take a step and fall down. No one tells them to just stay on the floor because it's hopeless and they will never learn to walk anyway! Instead, everyone claps their hands, congratulates them for the steps they did take and makes all sorts of sounds to positively reinforce the child. We then reach down to give them a hand to hold so they can stand up and try again.

So what do you tell yourself when you splurge on something that doesn't fit into your "healthy food" plan? What do you tell yourself when you finish a big dinner and then dessert on top of it and now feel uncomfortable with a full and bloated stomach? Have you ever said, "I already blew it today, so it doesn't matter what I eat the rest of the day!"? (Come on, be honest.)

That's like saying, "I already dropped my phone, so I'll just stomp on it til it's broken!"  Seriously? Don't be ridiculous, you say? I'll just pick my phone up, dust it off and it will be fine.

If you stepped off the curb and then looked up to see that the light wasn't green for you to cross, would you just keep walking into the middle of the street and say, "Oh, well, I'm already off the curb...so what if I get hit."? 

I love analogies! The same principle applies to your goals. So you stepped off the curb of your healthy eating plan. If you stay there you may get run over, and recovery will be a lot harder. Acknowledge that you chose to do it. Then step right back up. I love My Friend Marie's Attitude about running her own race.


In my last Weekly Weigh In I had stepped off the curb and gained some weight. I didn't even weigh because I knew I was up; I didn't care how much, I just resolved to take care of it. This week I lost whatever I had gained, plus another 2 lbs.


I am committed to eating the whole "elephant". I am building a pretty cool "Rome". I am very aware that I am also dealing with some major curve balls being thrown at me right now. But I am committed to my health! I am committed to me! The change is made. My commitment is strong. Each day is a step towards my desired result! Click here for more Weekly Weigh Ins.


Have you committed to change in your health? Do you know what steps you need to take to achieve your goal? To leave a comment Click Here.

Weekly Weigh In: Not Gonna Do It!!

Yes, I know it’s Wednesday. No, I'm not gonna do  it; not gonna weigh in.

No, I'm not in denial. I know the truth...not only didn't I lose this week, but I'm up. And no, I'm not angry; a little tired but feeling positive.

If you read my weekly weigh in last week, you know that it was a rough week, but I still managed to lose a little weight. This week the rough got rougher. My hip got worse; some days I could barely walk. In an effort to preserve the joint as long as possible (because I'm so young) my surgeon asked me to try cortisone injections in my hip one more time before we replace it. I agreed. The injection was postponed from Friday to Monday. By then I was very inactive and frustrated because of the pain, so for Easter I made a dinner of some of my favorite things and enjoyed them. That really wasn't the problem; eating leftovers for the next two days was the problem!!

So, I did get the cortisone injection on Monday. My body always seems to have very unique responses to medical treatments. For example, whenever I have cortisone injections or anesthesia for surgery I don't sleep the first night. Yeah, it's real pleasant being up two days in a row when my body needs sleep to recover. This time was no exception; I received the injection on Monday and was up all night. I did go to bed and try to sleep, so at least my body is "resting"; it's a good time to catch up on all the blogs I follow while laying there all night. 

Tuesday morning I got out of bed at 4am with Doug; I like being up with him before he leaves for work. I worked from home yesterday and was very productive. I kept thinking that at some point I would crash and need a nap...never happened. Finally went to sleep at 11:00 last night and was up again at 4:15 this morning. I'm grateful for the 5 hours of sleep!! The other weird reaction to the cortisone is that the pain in the joint where I receive the injection intensifies a LOT for the first 24 hours (while I'm not sleeping). By last night the pain had subsided and I was actually feeling relief. It will take a couple of weeks to tell the full affect of the injection, but it is definitely much improved this morning.

So, back to my weigh in...I felt lousy all week, ate holiday food for three days (instead of one), didn't sleep for two days and was very inactive. I don't need to get on the scale to know that I'm up...I can feel it! I don't want to know how much and feel bad or discouraged for even a minute. It is what it is. Today I will do something about it. Today I will juice. If you are new to juicing, check out my Juicy Gossip page for information and recipes for fresh juice and smoothies. Today I will get myself back on track. Today I will take the opportunity to make a fresh start! And tonight I will get sleep!! Look for some good weight loss at my next weekly weigh in; I now have exactly 8 weeks to lose 28 lbs (plus whatever I am up this week) to meet my goal. Success is on the horizon!

Do you have a weight loss or health improvement goal? What steps are you taking to reach it? To leave a comment Click Here.

Weekly Weigh In: Results of 7-Day Juice Diet

Did you think I could do it...drink only raw juice and smoothies for one week?
Last week I said I was going on a Seven Day Juice Diet. I juiced from Saturday night to Saturday night. Doug juiced with me. Here's the skinny:


Why Did We Juice For A Week?
If you read Sick of It, you got the details. We were sick of going to bed on a full stomach after attending events with late meals. We were sick of our clothes not fitting well. We wanted to cleanse and detox. We were ready to feel energized, light and healthy. We needed to get back in control over what and when we ate. And last, but definitely not least, we wanted a jump start on our weight loss. You can read about My Weight Loss Goal here and Why I went Public with it.


How Did We Juice For A Week?
We went cold turkey from Saturday to Saturday. We gathered our favorite juice and smoothie recipes. We prepared a variety of juices each evening for the next day. (**see note below) We put the juice in glass pint jars with tight lids. We put no limits on the amount we would drink. We drank whenever we were hungry.


**Note: It is ideal to drink the juice as soon as you make it. When that is not possible, the best way to store fresh juice is in glass container, with a tight lid. Fill it to the top so there is little air to cause oxidation. With a high quality juicer your juice will be just fine for 24 hours.


What We Experienced
The very first night, I slept very deeply and felt great when I woke up. The next morning I had lost 4.5 lbs and Doug was down 2.5 lbs. We found that seeing immediate results was a huge motivation to continue our plan. Throughout our week of juicing we weighed every single day; we both experienced weight loss every day.


Each night I slept very deeply and woke feeling energized and healthy. I actually slept less than I normally do, yet had more energy. Even when I tried to stay in bed and get another hour or so (because I thought I needed more), I couldn't sleep. I woke up when my body was rested and felt alert and energetic. I never felt sluggish or lethargic throughout the week. Each night at bedtime I still felt energetic, yet when I went to bed I fell asleep quickly and slept very well. I never felt weak, tired or nauseous. I am still blown away by how little sleep I got and how much energy I had!


Neither of us ever felt deprived nutritionally. Whenever we felt hungry, we drank a jar of juice. The intense concentration of nutrition in the juice was like pouring energy directly into our veins. We felt satisfied and energized each time. It is very interesting to note that neither of us ever craved sugar, or anything else for that matter. Which proves to me that when our body gets proper nutrition it will be satisfied and not need to crave anything. When our bodies do not have the proper nutrition to sustain them, they look for something that will generate energy. Sugar is quick energy. That's why we crave sugar.


There were two days when we felt really hungry and wanted to eat. I found it interesting that for both  of us it was day 4 and day 6. We just felt really hungry on those days. As soon as we drank more juice we were satisfied and energized. On those days we drank 6-7 pint jars (jucie or smoothie). On those days we also made smoothies which add a little more bulk. Most days we drank 5 pint jars. A big part of wanting to eat is just putting something in your mouth and chewing it. As we talked about it we realized that after drinking juice we were satisfied, but the habit of eating made us want to chew something. But we didn't, and we're so glad we stuck to it because it went away.


Another interesting observation is in our choice of juice. I found that I needed variety in my juice. I wanted six jars of different types of juice in the fridge so when I was hungry I had a choice. I never wanted the same juice twice in the same day. Doug, on the other hand, preferred several jars of Carrot/Apple/Ginger Juice and then just one or two of another type.


How Much Weight We Lost
At the end of the seven days I had lost 12 lbs and Doug was down 10.5 lbs.
Here we are on Sunday with TEAM JULES at the Brain Tumor Walk with our friend Julie who is battling her second round with a brain tumor. I love her beautiful smile! She made it through the entire walk being pushed in her wheelchair. (I pulled a muscle in my calf that day and could have used a wheelchair!)

What We've Done Since Then
We had a couple of events to attend over the weekend where we did eat. We were cautious about eating too much too fast after a week of juicing. And going forward we wanted to eat much less and continue the weight loss. Even after eating light and healthy, we both felt a difference Monday morning in the quality of sleep we got and the level of energy we felt. We both wanted to continue juicing because of that. Doug's comment was "I think I'm addicted to feeling great!" So we decided that we would continue to juice and when we got that feeling that we really want to eat we would eat something healthy. We won't feel "stuck" juicing because we can eat any time. And we will continue to lose weight and feel great.


Today's Weekly Weigh in
Today is Wednesday...my weekly weigh in always goes from Wednesday to Wednesday. After eating over the weekend I juiced Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday I had a big raw salad for dinner. This weeks weigh in shows me down 4.5 lbs.

Here are some of our favorite juice and smoothie recipes from the week:

Carrot/Beet Cucumber Juice

Carrot/Apple/Ginger Juice

Arizona Red Juice

V38 Juice

2COP Juice

Mickey Mouse Juice

Orange Juice Plus (I did NOT use the vanilla this week)

Sweet Green Smoothie

Have you ever done a juice fast or a juice diet? Would you consider doing it for improved energy, sleep and nutrition?

Weekly Weigh In: Sick Of It!

Have you ever found yourself so sick and tired of the status quo that something flips in your brain and you know you are ready to push past your comfort zone and make a change? This happened a couple  of nights ago when Hubby and I laid in bed, moaning and groaning, complaining about how gross we felt.


Typically we eat dinner between 4-5 PM (bring on the 'old  people' jokes). That's because we hit the sack between 8-9pm. Hubby gets up at 4am to leave the house at 5am for work. I require a little more beauty sleep than he does (especially while body is still recovering from total hip replacement) so I sleep another hour or two.


But lately, we have found ourselves not getting to eat dinner until a little later on a fairly frequent basis. Chalk it up to aging parents faced with major health issues, out of town relatives, hubby's school schedule (he's working on his Masters Degree at night).


We had gone to bed with a full stomach after eating a late dinner. I really HATE that! With a PASSION!! When you go to bed with a full stomach your body cannot relax and regenerate like it needs to during the night. It is forced to keep working for hours digesting and processing food. If you pay attention, you will probably notice that you don't sleep as deeply or restfully and in the morning you don't feel as rested or energized as you should.


As we laid there bemoaning our situation and how we felt, be both knew there was no one to blame but ourselves. "I'm sick of it!", I said. "I'm sick of it too", Hubby said.


Have you seen the commercial for socks where the dad is dangling his son in the air after dipping his feet into plaster? He's hanging there with plaster dripping from his feet when the mom walk in and asks what they are doing. Dad says that they are making their own socks because they can't find socks that fit right and they are "SICK OF IT!". Kid says, "YEAH, SICK OF IT!".


Back to our bedroom....the "SICK OF IT!" "YEAH, SICK OF IT!" jokes started flying. In the end we both truly felt like we are sick of it. Sick of going to bed with a full stomach, sick of feeling fat and gross, sick of not feeling comfortable in our clothes and not being able to fit into certain clothes. Sick of not being as energetic as we were 20 pounds ago. We looked at each other and said, "We just need to remember how sick of it we really are!!" If we remember this feeling, we will make better choices. (Truth is, I'd be better off not eating dinner at all than eating so late that I go to bed with a full stomach.)

Hubby's always so great at helping me with my goals. When I got up the next morning I found this LARGE sign on the bathroom mirror. (I added "ME TOO!" to the bottom)

I went out to the fridge to get my morning bottle of water and found this...(of course I added "Ya, Sick Of It!!" from the commercial)

Then over the next couple of days our reminders of our commitment to ourselves and each other started showing up everywhere...
                                   On my computer....(ooh, screen needs to be dusted)

                                                                       On the door....

                                                            On the microwave….

                                                             On my whiteboard….

                                                           Even.........on the bananas!!

I am motivated! And I'm not going to forget that I am sick of not feeling my best. Today I will begin a new phase of life! I commit to my health and the changes I need to make!


Have you ever gotten so sick of it that you were truly ready to commit to change?

Weekly Weigh In: If You Hit Your Thumb

If you hit your thumb with a hammer would you say, "It already hurts, so I'll just keep hitting it because it can't hurt any worse"? Of course you wouldn't.

Have you ever said "It's only lunch time and I've already eaten too many calories for today so it doesn't matter what I eat the rest of the day"? That's like saying I already dropped my phone so I'll just stomp on it til it's crushed.

No one is overweight from having one bad day of eating. It happens when you start thinking that it doesn't matter because you've already blown it...day after day after day.

I splurged on Super Bowl Sunday with Incredible Mac-N-Cheese, Crock Pot Lasagna and Butterfinger Pie. I allowed myself the splurge I had been looking forward to, then went right back to counting my calories and eating clean; fresh fruits, veggies, lean protein and whole grains. I also exercised five times during the week, which helped keep my metabolism up.

I didn't chastise myself for eating the extra calories (and oh, so much cheese), it was a planned splurge. This week I lost 2 lbs. I'm okay with that; I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and moved one step closer to my goal. 

People tell me all the time that they don't really know how to go about changing their diet. The goal is to move towards a cleaner diet. Diet is not a verb; something you do or don't do, something you go on or off. Diet is a noun; the kind of food and amount of food that you habitually take in. Incorporating a clean diet will help you sleep better, lose weight and maybe best of all, have a recognizable difference in energy. Creating one new habit in your diet can have a huge effect on all of those things.

I am going to post a series of tips and ideas to help incorporate a cleaner diet into your day, whether you cook for only yourself or a large family. Tomorrow we'll look at ideas on how to start your day.

Question: Would you be willing to make one habit change in your daily diet in order have increased energy?

Weekly Weigh In: The Moment of Truth

Half way through the week I weighed, and was down 2 lbs. So how is it that at the end of the week I weighed and was UP 2 lbs?

I can pretend that I don’t know how it happened, but the truth is, I do. The first half of the week I recorded everything I ate on http://www.loseit.com. I have an APP on my phone and my computer so I can use it anywhere. It is super easy to use, even has calories for restaurant food.

Then I had a cheat day. Which turned into two cheat days...and then three. Hmmmmm.....

So, NO EXCUSES, it's my own fault. (Did you watch Biggest Loser 13 last night?) It wasn't the fault of someone else for invading my space, or getting in my face, or saying something I didn't like or putting the food in front of me, or any other number of excuses. It's my own fault...I own my actions! (Man, that was an irritating episode, wasn't it?!)

So, I'm back on it today. I just need to shake the negative feeling I was left with after watching BL13 last night........give me a minute........okay, GONE! Not going to waste a minute more on toxic, whiny people!


This week I will log every calorie I eat, because it works! I will do a couple days of Juicing and Smoothies. (If you haven't tried juicing yet, you really need to. Such a great way to get intense nutrition and lose weight at the same time.) I will definitely take a cheat day for Super Bowl Sunday! I only make my favorite Mac-N-Cheese and Almost Better Than Sex Cake (coming tomorrow) a couple of times a year...and I will enjoy it! But I will only have ONE cheat day this week. And I WILL lose weight. Check in next Wednesday for results.


Question: When I am serious about losing weight, logging every calorie works for me. When you are serious about losing weight, what action works for you?