Health and Fitness, March, 2014

[Cowinkie]

Okay...
I just have a few:

* I AM beautiful.. As in Look at that double chin...Nope, I AM Beautiful
* Just FOCUS on today...As in...Don't think about "whatever", just focus on today
* It's SUGAR, who's gonna win...you or it? As in.... Really, you're gonna let that "cookie,, whatever" beat you?

So far so good

Harriet...for right now I am staying away from all sugar, fruit included. After a week or two I will think about adding it back in. Long ago when I lost 45 lbs, I did it without fruit. Took me three months. Once I hit my goal, I slowly added fruits back...mostly apples and berries, with an occasional peach or plum thrown it.

Cruise mentions during his historical part of his sugar book that people only consumed what grew naturally around them, and was available at the time. He said as the world became smaller and more fruits were made available year round, people began to eat more. That made sense to me. Now I think about what fruits would naturally be growing during this time of the year. If you think about iti people didn't become obese until sugar was introduced into their culture. Even then it was only the wealthy that could afford it...Think Henry the VIII.

[Cowinkie]

BTW... Did you know there is as much sugar in a glass of OJ as there is in a can of Coke??? Think about it, sugar is sugar no matter how you get it.

Also...15 grams of sugar in a glass of skim milk. None in 1/2 and 1/2

[Harriet]

Oh, I love my little carton of half-and-half. A gem.
The reason I go ahead and allow myself small portions of fruit is, frankly, constipation. I started to be coy and post, "regularity", but lets get real. Complained to my Gen Prac (who is a big Atkins booster) about low-carb sometimes resulting in constipation for me and he said include berries, then. I don't think everybody needs to do that, but it helps me. Hard tree fruits have such a good reputation for the digestive system, that I do include them more than others might. Sometimes I ask myself why I don't have cucumber or celery in the mornings. Would it help as much? possibly.

Quotes with potential as positive thoughts

Your body hears everything your mind says. - Naomi Judd

The body is a sacred garment. - Martha Graham

The chief condition on which life, health and vigor depend is action. - Colin Powell

Losing your cool makes you tired. Getting angry a lot messes with your health. - Joyce Meyer

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Harriet: your question about cucumber for breakfast brings to mind that that is the norm in northern Europe. (and on the ship since there are a lot of northern Europeans in their clientele.) They have cukes and other root veggies, cheese, cracker like bread, regular bread or rolls, some jam, hard boiled eggs (cold), cold cuts. There's never a toaster when I'm at a breakfast buffet. Often there is fruit. In Switzerland there was Nutella as well.

I'm doing the sugar in juice for now as I move away from the soft drinks. There may be the same amount of sugar in both but I find 8 oz of juice is a lot, whereas 16 oz of Dr. Pepper is a good-sized drink. So obviously, the straight fructose is perceived by my brain differently.

[OKay]

I'm discouraged this morning because I over ate last night. Waaaay over ate. I have all kinds of good reasons why I did, but this morning they just sound like excuses to me.

Reminding myself I don't expect perfection....just to pick myself up and start again ( # 5, 8 , 9 & 24 below)

Doing a cut/paste from my positive statements/thoughts spreadsheet -

1. Grit is important! Hang on! Starting anything is hard - it will get easier!
2. Big focus on Vegetables and fruit . I am continually reminded to eat fruit/veg so I can get the Healthy Habit points.
3. Exercise gives a "high" feeling which makes it pleasant and addictive
4. Doing my best gives a "high" feeling which makes it pleasant and addictive.
5. Every day is a fresh new start. Building on yesterdays failures (lessons) and successes
6. Skim Milk & Vitamins are a good early morning combination. It gets in a serving of milk & also puts something on my stomach for the 2-3 wait for breakfast.
7. Stability - doing the right things over and over brings success.
8. Expect set backs. They are part of the progress. Just learn and start again.
9. Quitting isn't an option
10. Cup of coffee (decaf) at the end of the meal is a good way to pass the time while waiting for my stomach to feel full.
11. Hundreds of small decisions daily will lead to making poor ones. Decide beforehand - make it easy to succeed!
12. Focus on what is going right. Acknowledge the healthy actions I am doing.
13. Late night eating - uncontrolled eating - is disheartening.
14. It's working!!! Just keep on keeping on.
15. Tracking keeps me honest. Living in denial and pretending is not healthy.
16. Steady weight loss is the best way. Nothing fancy. No tricks. No special food. Just learning to eat right amount. No Gluttony!
17. I will not regret eating right
18. Variety of Breakfast - all portion controlled
19. Tracking = Weight loss. Every. Single. Time.
20. Good habit overcome bad decisions. Good habits are routinely done. Bad decisions are aut-oh moments.
21. Chew gum - 5 times daily to help with teeth staining and health. Gum also helps with need to eat something when hunger is not the reason.
22. Must track to win. Must track to know. Must track to learn.
23. Food = Fuel
24. It matters what and how much I eat and drink
25. Be a leader in good habits!
26. Tracking food is #1 recommendation of how to lose weight.
27. Tracking is key

[Lynlee]

OKay - see if you can find more easy protein in the morning. It will stick to your ribs better than milk and vitamins.

I now swear by quinoa and buckwheat as main base for breakfast. Cooks in 10 minutes. I dress it up with other seeds and ginger as anti inflamitory, add yoghurt for antidepressant. 1 dry fig is my sweetener. That will carry me for at least 5 hours without hunger.
Also tbsp chia seed in water drunk thru the day is 20%protein, and huge in Omega 3s. Stops my sore feet and knees and lets me walk. and keeps me regular along the way. It might all sound special but they are ancient in the 3rd world..
I can't eat eggs too often. Sometimes pop one into my dinner i/l meat.
None of my allowed prepared cereals works anywhere near as well for breakfast, and costs a heap more per serve.

Yoghurt and seeds would be another good mix for breakfast.

[Nancy]

Yesterday's ex. Was raking back yd.

[Harriet]

Will need to read over those thoughts, OKay! Second and third so important - love emphasis on record-keeping.

Lynlee, sounds like a great breakfast. Do you chop the dried fig up fine? I still use the stevia for sweetening.

Tried to eat cucumbers for breakfast. I looked at the cucumber. It did not say, "breakfast". At all. So I had blueberries and promised the cucumber to my salad later.

I don't think our FitBit users here happen to have the company's "Force" wristband. Anyway, they are being recalled because of skin concerns. This quote from Dr. Mercola is interesting.

If you own a Force, you can now return it for a full refund, even if you haven’t had any skin symptoms. Fitbit still offers the Flex wristband and says they are working on their “next-generation tracker.”

However, if you’re in the market for a wearable fitness device, I’d suggest waiting until April 11, the launch date for Samsung’s Gear Fit. I haven’t worn a watch for over 30 years, but I am excited about this gadget, especially for use as a heart rate monitor and step counter.

[Twins' Mom]

OKay, I love it that you give yourself an incentive to re-read positive thoughts. Also love that you pull Fitbit info into Excel. Is that complicated? I use Excel a lot but am that advanced.

Yesterday ended up at 7,400 steps. I'm having eating issues since Girl Scout cookies have arrived here....

I have body work scheduled for this afternoon. Just realizing that in spite of walking so much while away, my hips, back and feet feel good, no residual soreness.

My Fitbit clips onto my pants or shirt. I've started moving it onto pajamas when I change at night - it allows me to capture the "while in pajamas" steps in the morning, and I just move it onto pants when I change.

[Cowinkie]

I ate on target yesterday. I like eating my skinny muffin to keep things going. Ate out for lunch today and kept to the plan. Something is working as I can tell a difference in my bra and go to jeans. I'm going to wait as long as I can before I step on my scale. If I don't see the results I think should be there, I tend to loose my focus. Have seen that happen too many times.

I can kind of gauge my weight by what I can wear. In two weeks I have two social event on the same day. At both events the girls know me. If I can wear what I want, I'm sure to hear comments from my friends.

In the meantime I have colorful mardi gras coins taped to my entry way. Every morning I've been removing one if I stayed on my plan. Silly game, but loads of fun...