Daily Nutritional Commitments

I love Jill Coleman.  Yesterday she posted this awesome piece about daily nutritional commitments. According to Jill, DNCs are supposed to be easy to do every day and leave very little wiggle room for getting into too much nutritional trouble.  

When I thought about it, I only have one DNC and that is to eat breakfast every day.  It has taken me a long time to get used to getting a daily breakfast and, to be honest, there I some days I really wish I could skip breakfast.

At any rate, I decided I am going to implement three DNCs as Jill recommends.  Mine are to:

• Eat breakfast each day.
• Have protein with each meal.

Truthfully, at this time I am having trouble coming up with a third commitment.  So, for now, I will continue working on these two.  I’d give myself an “A” with number 1.  I still have some work to do with number 2.  I'll give it some thought and see what my third commitment will be.

What I like about I am learning is that when it comes to good nutrition one size does not fit all.  I like to keep my food plan as simple as possible.  One other tip I learned from Jill Coleman’s site is to keep my food plan sustainable.  As I make changes or try new recipes, this is the question I ask myself:  Is this sustainable?  Can I see myself eating like this in a few months? If I can’t see myself doing something long term, I don’t try to force myself into it.  I try it and let it go.

February Update

I am ending this month on a very shaking note. I had a doctor's appointment this morning. My thyroid is still not stabilized. My doctor wants to give me yet another increase on my Synthroid dosage. I think it is about time I get serious and look into alternative therapies.

Everything else is fine. I forgot to ask for a copy of my labs. My blood pressure was 102/64 -- fantastic! She also said my cholesterol is still on the low side. She wants me to have some cholesterol. My vitamin D level is great. My A1c is 6.1.

The awful news is that I have gained seven more pounds! Between being sick, bingeing here and there, and skipping workouts, the pounds are piling back on. Not good at all!

I have a little over 100 days to give my butt in shape to cross that Peachtree Road Race finish line. I need to stay healthy and focused on achieving my goal.

This is going to take some discipline. My Dad is starting chemotherapy and radiation treatments in a couple of weeks. This means I will be going to Michigan. I am still going to have to stay on top of my training. In fact, the training will be a great stress reliever.

I know I can do the training. Right now nutrition and sticking to my food plan is my biggest hurdle.

I haven't registered for the Run the River 5k because I am not sure I will be in town for it. Come to think of it, with my Dad being ill, there is no guarantee I will be in town for the Peachtree Road Race. Come what may. I'm still training for both events!

Weigh-In Wednesday

It’s the first weigh-in of 2014 and I’m down three pounds! I have to be honest with myself. I heard that negative, scolding voice reminding me that although I lost three pounds it is weight I gained the last four months of 2013. I acknowledge what happened in the past but I am focusing on the present. I am planning for the future but taking it one day at a time.

While I am happy about the loss, I have to prepare myself mentally for the times the scale does not move. This is how the weight started creeping back in the first place. I was working my butt off and the scale wasn’t moving. So what do I do? I get discouraged and stop tracking my food. I will not make this mistake again.

My goal is to track my food intake every day this year. In fact, I have logged my food on My Fitness Pal for at least 30 days. I think the longest I’ve consistently tracked was 40 days. At this point in my journey, everything is mental. I know I can work out. I’ve completed the Couch to 5K program – twice. I know I can run. I’ve taken swimming lessons. I know I can swim.

My area of opportunity is my food. I haven’t completely given up on OA but I am not working my program the way I used to. I no longer have a sponsor, although I am in contact with her at least three or four days out of the week. I do embrace the spirit of OA that my eating/food issues are not about food and I do not need a diet.

I will continue working on my mind, spirit and body and this will help with the weight loss. It’s my state of mind that needs healing. I have to keep that number on the scale in perspective. I also did my measurements and check my body fat. As long as I am doing what I need, what I want to do to take care of myself, I will be fine.

Sunday Lazy Sunday

I have been so lazy today. I slept in. I did not go to church. I haven’t finished my laundry. I have not started my meal prep. I did not go for a walk as scheduled. I am not going to worry about it. I did use my foam roller and I will do some stretching as soon as I finish writing. Fortunately, I am off tomorrow so I will finish my laundry and food prep. I also plan to go for a 30-minute run.

Second Chance Sunday

Thinking about my workouts and food plan last week; what went well; what needs improvement.

I did a great job with meal prep. I am in the process of meal prep right now. I am having oven-baked fajitas again, sautéed kale, and baked salmon patties. On Friday I did treat myself to take out...a falafel plate -- Greek salad, hummus, and falafel. It was yummy. I ate all the salad and saved half of the hummus, pita, and falafel for lunch on Sunday.

My opportunities are with consistent working out. I only ran two days last week. My goal is to run three days. I am on vacation this week so there is no excuse for me not to meet my goal. I am planning to run a 5K on my birthday, Thursday.

I also planned to do strength/weight training twice a week. I only lifted weights one day. So my plan this week is:

Sunday - walk my new route. I want to calibrate my new route.

Monday - run my new route. Weights at the gym.

Tuesday - Elliptical

Wednesday - Walk. Weights at gym.

Thursday - Birthday 5K

Friday - Rest day -- I have an adjustment and massage scheduled.

Saturday - Run my new route.

Sunday - Walk

Week Six Weigh In

Down three pounds this week! This makes my total weight loss so far this year at five pounds. I pray these pounds are gone for good! More than my exercise plan, I really need to stick to my food plan. I've been tweaking it and I truly believe this is the reason the scale is beginning to move. Woohoo!

Week Three: Weekly Weigh-In

No weight loss this week. I’m not surprise because I did not go to the gym at all this week. I was so busy with work I couldn’t get it together. I am grateful that I didn’t gain. My food plan has been very good. I usually do really well when I take the time to do my food prep. Yesterday I made broccoli salad and turkey chili. Right now I have salmon patties in the oven and I’m going to sauté some green beans in olive oil and garlic.

I’m supposed to be running in the MLK Day 5K tomorrow. I did not train at all! All I have done is complain that it’s too cold to run. I hate running on the treadmill. I also have to cancel my plans to participate in the Color Run because it’s the same weekend I plan to surprise my best friend for her 50th birthday.
I need to find another 5K soon and get my butt in gear!

21-Day Challenge Wrap Up

Yesterday was the last day of the challenge. I exercised 18 out of 21 days. Not bad. One of the three days it was a conscious choice. The other two days I was just plain lazy. My area of opportunity continues to be lack of sleep. I really need to work on my sleep schedule. I’m even thinking about doing this again and challenging myself to go to bed at a certain time. I may sign up again on December 1. We’ll see. What did I learn? I learned that 45 minutes isn’t as long as I thought. In fact, most of my workouts were at least an hour long. Yesterday I also noticed that I am beginning to feel changes in my body. I'm usually wiped out. I felt more energetic after my workout yesterday. I do think this has more to do with my food plan rather than the exercise. I have to keep in mind how much these two work in conjunction. This is good because now my focus is on tweaking my food plan. I still need to have a conversation with my OA sponsor but I need to have a clear plan in mind. I’ve been reading and researching. My plan is to have it in place by December 1.

21-Day Challenge – Workout #12

21-Day Challenge – Workout #11 

Yesterday was my best workout ever.  It was a lower body workout.  My goal was to burn 500 calories.  I burned 447.  I joined this weightlifting for women’s forum on MyFitnessPal.com and a few of the ladies were talking about NewRules of Lifting for Women.  I looked at a few reviews.  I don’t think I’m ready for that.  Others recommended a few weightlifting sites.  I checked out a few.  One of the things I learned last night while reading through some of these sites is that I could make more use of my cardio sessions.  I also think I’m going to find a specific program to follow during the month of December.  I may try a different eating plan too.  However, I would have to discuss that with my OA sponsor. 

Right now I’ve been doing 30-minute sessions on the treadmill, Elliptical, or bike and recently started doing a 15-minute cooldown.  Last night I came across the following Interval Cardio Training plan for lifters.  Unfortunately, I do not remember the site to give proper credit (I tried to find it but couldn’t).  Anyhow, I’m going to try this for the remaining week:

Interval Elliptical or Bike

Mins 1 – 2 – Level 1 (Easy effort)

Mins 3 – 5 – Level 2 (Moderate effort)

Mins 6 – 9 – Level 3 (Difficult effort)

Mins 10 – 11 – Level 2

Mins 12 – 15 – Level 3

Mins 16 – 17 – Level 2

Mins 18 – 21 – Level 3

Mins 22 – 24 – Level 2

Mins 25 – 26 – Level  1 

I’ll probably go to 30 mins on Level 1.  We’ll see how I feel.

Hotter than July

Funny! Today I was supposed to start my C25K training and I’m a week ahead of schedule thanks to Bianca.

Really nervous right now.  Today I’m going to inquire about swimming lessons at Swim Atlanta.  I can’t express the amount of fear I’m experiencing right now.  I’ve been thinking about this off and on since I started the blog.  Now is the time!  Hopefully, I won’t chicken out.  If I do, I’ll try again tomorrow.  The next session starts July 14^th.

My legs are feeling a little sore and my knees are tight.  Today my plan of action is stretch, stretch, stretch, ice, ice, ice.  It’s going to be over 100 degrees today so a long walk is out of the question.  I’ll probably go to the gym for a bike ride.  Water aerobics is a maybe for me today. 

Cooking for the week today – Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf and No-Mayo Avocado Chicken Salad.

January Check In

Things are going well.  I'm down five pound so far this month.  I can hardly believe it. I am very grateful for the courage to make some changes to my food plan.  I am having fun trying different quinoa recipes.
I had to slow down on my physical activity.  My poor knees are acting up again.  So, I've been doing a lot of stretching and yoga.  This coming week I am trying something I never thought I'd try -- Zumba. 

I've put hiking on hold until it gets warmer.  I have to be honest.  I do not get much pleasure out of hiking in the cold or the rain. 

I'm so glad to start this year on a positive note.  I've had some emotional challenges this month but my OA program and meditation group are helping with that.  Life, being healthy and whole, is all about balance. 



October Update

I haven't been exercising on a regular basis. Actually, I haven't been exercising like I would like to. I've been nursing my knee and back. I can walk about a mile every other day. I do spend some time stretching and working on yoga poses. However, I would love to work up a sweat.

I've been doing great with my food. As I mentioned a month or so ago, I'd been thinking about Overeater's Anonymous. Well, I joined. I've been attending meetings and have a sponsor. It's just the extra support I need. It's really helping deal with the emotional aspects behind my food choices. I love the spiritual aspect of the program. At first I thought it was a bit cultist but I've been keeping an open mind and doing as they say 'taking what I need and leaving the rest.'

Right now my food plan is as follows:

No sweets
No potato chips
Portion control
No second helpings
No eating after 9 pm

My goal is to follow this for 90 days. I'm currently on day 18. After I have followed this plan for 90 consecutive days, I will "tighten up" my plan with the support of my sponsor.