Healthy Living

We have had our rough patches, but you know what, we can work things out. The numbers aren't always going to tell me what I want to hear, they do, however, always tell me what I need to hear. Honestly, though, where am I getting my assumptions of what I want  to hear, anyway? Why are there certain numbers that I would prefer? Am I trying to accomplish perfect macros? I say no, and yet I check the macro chart anyway, excited to see relatively limited carbs. What are perfect macros, anyway?  Is someone going to reward me for staying on MFP's directed target number of calories for my day? No! MFP has tons of challenges they run and there are prize winners, and let me tell you something: I complete most of those challenges, and accomplish their intended milestones pretty early on, and they don't even reward me. So, yeah, no one is giving me accolades for the numbers I accomplish here. Look, the thing is, the numbers help me see what I am taking in. They show me the reason...

36wks 3rd pregnancy vs 36wks 2nd pregnancy Well, let's see, where do I begin? Hubby and I found out last May that we were expecting our third baby! It was exciting and scary, also, I did not know how to navigate a healthy pregnancy. After several months of losing stamina for fear of working out and even longer of losing self control giving into pregnancy "cravings," I was able to pull the reigns back in just after Halloween and landed a position with my online weight loss community in November. Though I struggled through my pregnancy, I was so grateful to be able to go back to my community and share and work through it. I ended up gaining 30lbs. So, after my 6 week PP clearance, I was back at 203. My baby boy is now about 3mos old and I am teetering between 199-200. 3-4lbs lost is not bad in about 6-8 weeks. My energy is up, my mood is way better, and life is beginning to shift into balance. Meeting Heather Robertson, Founder of Half Size Me Last September h...

I like food. Whew, I'm glad I could get that out there. Has anyone who LOVES food (probably more than we should), and being "health conscious," ever fasted? It is very difficult. Sometimes, I confess, I have fasted for the most wrong of reasons (is that a phrase? Let's say that it is): because I over -indulged and I am "effectively" punishing myself for not staying on plan. Because depriving myself of EVERYTHING will get me back on plan, right? No. Here's the thing, last week, I fasted with my church for a very right reason. However, I knew that in the past (and was heading toward this again), I had the wrong mindset around food. So, I fasted from social media and main meals. This meant that I had breakfast (6:30am) and snacks (the fast was 24 hours 8am-8am). It meant that I would not deprive myself of anything, I was just going to limit my time frames and was aware of my intake. There was still an evening struggle at small group with the snack table, ...

I would like to take a moment to talk about plateaus. Most of us begin to feel frustrated when we hit them (and we all hit them). I have decided to take the time to enjoy the maintenance aspect. I was initially taking a maintenance break, now I have began lowering my calorie intake again in order to lose. However, I am still maintaining, and that is okay. Here is why: I am healthy, I have no physical ailments that I cannot deal with which might be impeding on the norms of my life. I am strong, I can carry both of my 25# toddlers in my arms up 3 flights of stairs and into their bedroom (or down and into the car) without pausing several times up/down the steps; I can also carry all of my groceries from several stores up and down the stairs without being too winded to put them away after I bring them up. That is a sufficient amount of strength for my current employment ;) I enjoy my workouts! Many people dread the gym or have to force themselves to get their workout in because th...

Do you ever find yourself wondering, "How is it 4:30pm already? Where has the time gone and what have I been doing for the past hour?!" Me too. It seems like I open up Instagram for a quick scroll and pop over to Facebook for a short scan, then I close them and look up and my afternoon is gone, the babies are waking up from their long nap waiting for their snack. I also found myself having short spans of time, checking my messages then - by default - tapping that Facebook icon or hitting the Instagram app. I admit, these are my two most commonly opened apps (besides My Fitness Pal), and it is amazing the amount of time that was being wasted throughout my day. So, in light of this, I decided last week to take a 48 hour social media fast. Day 1: I scrubbed the bathroom, deep cleaned the kitchen, reorganized the fridge, swept the floors and "mopped" without a mop (that is on my hands and knees with disinfectant wipes on my laminate floors). Day 2: My phone batt...

Being in a position of needing to move, looking for homes, finding a place, running all of the errands, dealing with all of the unpleasant correspondence, still keeping up with all of the day-to-days and caring for 2 toddlers is stressful. I am grateful for my wonderfully supportive husband and for God's faithfulness through all of this, but these things do not make the reality less hard. Just more bearable. Working toward weight loss (and even maintenance) and a healthy lifestyle that is still in progress is really tough through this process. I have given into a lot of temptations and struggled against a lot of mental blocks over this last month. Tracking my workouts and food have suffered, grazing has reared its ugly head, lack of self-control has made justification after justification, and exercising has fallen by the wayside or been far less intense with the wrestle it has been to even get a decent start to our morning prior to 7:00am. Thank you all for going on this jour...

Knowledge is just information, unless it is paired with action, at which point, we may call it Wisdom. Did you know that proper rest and sleep are absolutely necessary for weight loss? We all know that under-nourishing our bodies (aka - not eating enough) will cause our bodies to go into survival mode, storing fat for nourishment, uncertain as to when it will receive more of the necessary nutrients to keep it going (if you didn't, then there you are). Anyway, when we deplete our energies and deny our body sufficient time to fuel up from rest, it does the same. Storing up nutrition for energy reserves until it is able to relax after a decent amount of sleep. Now, I am by no means a medical or nutritional professional. So, please feel free to take my thoughts with a grain of salt, I am merely forwarding my experiences and recalling information from my college nutrition class. However, let me share my week with you. After several weeks of operating on an average high of 6 hour...

It has been quite a while since Heather Robertson shared this point on the Half Size Me show, but it still rings true and continues to be a type of mantra for me:  1. Barely made it out of bed./2. Oh well, guess the day is just going to be "survive."/3. Workout done, kitchen cleaned, girls napping, ready to tackle the day!  "Motivation does not cause our actions,  motivation comes when we take action." It is quite difficult to balance life when you have such a heavy goal in weight loss (see what I did there?). Anyway... I began this journey on January 9 at 251 pounds. On June 9, when hubby and I took a short vacation, I had hit 187. It is almost August and I am maintaining between 183 and 185. My emotions have been all over the place with this:  Okay, maintenance, this is new Let's up the calories a little bit while we increase movement Let's switch up the food Maybe I'll change my exercise Okay, now I'm a little frustrated Ins...

These past few weeks have been difficult to get on a plan and to be self-controlled. I ha ve found myself over-indulging with food, slacking in my work, and losing focus on my goals. Then I realized this week that it is because I have too many of them; which actually translates, "I have no goals at all." Have you ever sat down, made a to-do list, stared at it with overwhelming stress and anxiety, promptly set the list aside and then did nothing? Well, that's what having too may goals is. My focus is scattered, I cannot see progress in anything, I am frustrated by the sinking feeling of defeat and then I simply give up. Earlier this week, I realized the foundation of my problem and hit the reset button. After sitting down and spending some cleansing time in prayer and Bible reading, I made the most cleansing decision I have practiced in weeks: I deleted everything from my Google calendar. As I clicked, "Are you sure you want to delete this calendar, this action c...

Today vs 6 Months Ago So, last week was a tough one. I found myself stuck on the same pound for about 6 weeks. Calories were increased to 1600, protein intake was increased, simple carbs were decreased, fat content is limited; workouts were in the midst of being changed up... Everything that I knew to do was being done. I must express my immense gratitude for the Half Size Me Community here, because these people have been a key part of my journey up to this point and I will continue to lean on them as long as they allow me to seek their encouragement. I posted about my frustration and they responded by reminding me of all the things that I would say to my friend who may be facing the same challenges. I had to reflect on how far I have come over the last 6 months. So, I am going to share the fact that I am grateful for what my body has done for me. It has given up 65 pounds in 6 months. It has strengthened enough to enjoy my children so I am able to crawl on the floor and be the...

Emotional eating is a definite struggle of mine. That feels kind of obvious to me, as if it is clearly a problem or else we would not be here, right? Anyway, recognizing it has been an imperative part of my journey. Stress bingeing has not been as much of an issue since I started, but when I dwell on the desire to binge, I have begun to recognize that something stressful is causing anxiety or frustration. It would be so easy for me to close my tracking app and head for the kitchen. Then I consider the journey that I have been on over the last six months. It has been so encouraging to see my progress. I know that there is no perfection to be attained and that I will (have) slipped up from time to time, but I also know that my choices will affect my mindset. Today, I chose not to thaw a box of chocolate chip cookies after pre-tracking my entire day. I chose to eat my evening snack before dinner after a cup of green grapes and will be content to have my tea on its own this evening. ...

Last week we were visiting my sister-in-law in Ohio. I was determined to maintain while on vacation and enjoying some tasty treats along the way, so, I went to her apartment gym and did a couple of quick morning workouts to set myself up for successful enjoyment of our meal times. I was shocked by my own strength! This may sound a little weird, but it's true. Many of us who choose to do home workouts think that we are not working as hard as those who venture out to the gym. False! If you are working, you are working and that is all that matters! "The best workout is one that you will do!" Thanks, Pastor Rick, for the reminder. When I started on the Elliptical machine, I was not sure that I would last long, but I was on for 18 minutes in the Fat Burner setting with adjusting incline and everything! I couldn't believe it. Then I went to the weight machines (legs and lap pulls). On my legs I was lifting and pressing 70-80 pounds for 3 sets of 10 reps. Same sets and...

Over the last couple of weeks, I have seen an maintenance trend on the scale. At first, I was mildly frustrated, but then I decided to trust my body and the process. Plateaus happen, and I was not gaining, so it still felt great! On top of that, I reflected on my planned indulgences, considered my treats, etc., I also considered the progress I have made over the last six months or so: I was not bingeing and that was huge for me; I was also choosing healthier options and smaller portions. AND I tracked everything.  Or so I thought. After the weekend, I was a little more curious about why there wasn't more progress in the numbers, so yesterday, I took some coaching advice referred to in the Half Size Me show podcast: Whenever in the kitchen wanting to take a bite or grab a small thing from the fridge while constructing a meal or otherwise, stop and put every item on a plate and see what would have been consumed prior to sitting down for the full meal. Mind you, I only took this...

It has been about a week and I have been back on My Fitness Pal now. Great timing, right? Just before a baby shower on Saturday, an impromptu pre-Memorial Day dinner party at a friend's place and then Memorial Day, complete with picnic! Needless to say, I have been over my calorie budget each day since Friday. I do not regret it, I am not punishing myself for my choices, I am not feeling gross or completely out of line in my numbers or my decisions. I have maintained (as a matter of fact, I stepped on the scale this morning and was down 1 pound) and I am still waking up with relatively high energy levels - likely because I have been getting more sleep with the evening routine hubby and I have agreed to. How do I plan to move forward? I am working on adjusting our evening order of events, so that hubby and I are prioritizing our evening workout instead of skipping it once we sit down. I am taking a baby step in pre-tracking my food, without putting too much pressure on the eve...

Babies at the park, whom I am capable of keeping up with For the past 6 months, I have been eating at a caloric deficit and tracking my calories on My Fitness Pal. It is a handy little app in which I can keep a recipe box, my meals are tracked and it remembers my frequently used items. I am also able to keep a close eye on my macros, and this has kept my simple carbohydrate intake in check, as I have drastically limited these and the majority of my carbs have been fruits, vegetables, and multigrain/whole grain light breads. Keeping an eye on these things has helped me to increase my protein intake and keep me better filled throughout the day. By default, this is limiting binges, grazing, and general overeating because the satiation from the protein combined with the satisfaction of my exercise have kept my success rate high! Cue last Thursday. A refreshing morning ritual that keeps me sane throughout the day Early in the week, I had decided that Friday I would not be trac...

Today I started the coursework for "How to Lose Weight the Maintainer's Way" on the Half Size Me Community portal. I cannot express how grateful I am for Heather and her hard work to help others understand what maintenance truly is and how to break free from the cycle of yo-yo dieting. As she began the section, I was considering how when one reaches maintenance, there is no party or big celebration for the number on the scale or a new milestone in going down a clothing size. Everyday is just a day. It made me think about how the journey to get the scale down may closely be paralleled to raising children. Bear with me, I'm a toddler mom with 2 under 2, so this is where my focus is all day. Every time the scale goes down a little, I've dropped another 10lbs, I go down in a shirt size, my pants are too big, etc, I have a mini dance party. I get tons of compliments on how well I'm doing, how my hard work is paying off (which has not felt like hard work for the...

As of this morning, I weigh 191.2lbs. This has been a great week of workouts, tracking and enjoying my food. I even elevated my calorie limit yesterday and it really made more sense, anyway, because I was going over if I didn't count my "exercise" calories. I am likely still eating more than this current limit, but it is still a deficit. Hubby and I are still trekking through Country Heat, I will be doing round 2 on my own, including the 2 bonus workouts and Dirty 30 from 21 Day Fix. I am also back at it with my yoga over this last week or so. I need to find some yoga videos that I can do on more of a schedule, currently it has been Useful Yoga for Stress, Weight Loss and Detox from Tonic on YouTube. I will also be looking into some strength training videos to do from home. I need to start building muscle and bone density, but one thing at a time (one habit at a time). It has been so freeing to remember that I am building a lifestyle that I will continue even after ...

Alright, if you are one of those people who have gone from fat to fit or are working on it, you know what onederland is and what it means to you and your journey. It means that there is no longer a "2" in the front of that 3 digit number and there is hope, I mean, it is possible to get to your goals! About a week and a half ago, before TOM came to visit and I had a "splurge" week where I tracked everything even though I was NOT on point with my food goals, I was down to 201. There was excitement and joy then a week of self-sabotage and some thoughtful self-reflection. I have not been on the scale since, mainly because I was honoring the boundaries I set up, which were that I do not step on the scale when TOM visits and during the weekends. It is a protection from obsessing about the number and a reminder that the scale is a tool not the complete indicator of my success. Some evaluation of my goals and desires have helped me consider a vlog alongside these blog...

It has been 3 months and 3 weeks since I began my weight loss journey from 251 pounds. I stepped on the scale this morning and saw the number: 208.6. This is the lowest weight I have been since hubby and I were married. This is the lightest I have been as a mom. This is the most progress I have made in any effort toward losing weight because I have never approached it from the standpoint of sustainability. There has never before been a mindset of maintenance, as our diet culture emphasizes the "quick fix," which will consistently bring short term success. I have begun maintaining habits that I know I will continue for the rest of my life. Here are some of my small changes: - This week I did not binge on brownies even though they are in my kitchen sitting on the counter where I work everyday. - I am more confident in myself and the way that I look than I ever have been. I.E. I have left the house several times after only looking in the mirror once and only grabbing the ou...

Sunday was a little rough. It was the first one that hubby has had to work in a while, which I am grateful for, but it turns into a long day quick. We decided that I would go to both church hours since they were announcing some changes in eldership positions and duties, but neither of the girls have had to go 2 hours in the nursery in a while. I was nervous, but it went really well and I didn't need to be as anxious as I was. Baby 1 had her lunch in the stroller while we worked the greeting table and baby 2 finished her bottle. It was a smooth transition from stroller to carseat where they both napped for an hour and half!  We went to my parents' house about an hour or so away and had a long afternoon until we went home to wait for daddy. Family time at my parents' house has always been an opportunity for me to graze and binge. I was determined not to binge, but I had failed in planning to say, "NO." As a result, there was some minor grazing. However, I did say...