Healthy Living

The first week I began intermittent fasting I had a somewhat lax attitude toward my nutrition. I set goals and basically did intuitive eating practices. I lost over 2 pounds the first week.  Starting week 2, I decided to pick up my physical activity and get back into the swing of exercise. It wasn't terrible, but my hormones were also all over the place. I attained an injury and decided to take a break for a couple of days; then gave into a couple of temptations of overeating and ended up gaining back a pound. No big deal, initial losses are generally water weight anyway, so I'm really not worried about it at all.  As I came into week 3, I realized how much I really like breakfast, so I am going to keep doing 16/8 IF, but start earlier in the morning and just drink something with my family during dinner time. I made this decision last night when I realized I was still super hungry and that I would need to set timers to remind myself to have snacks throughout the day and I just...

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...

When I say, "breaking up," what I really mean is, "taking a break from..." I don't like numbers. They confuse and sometimes discourage me. The scale is a major number, though I am not taking a complete break from that. The real numbers that have been bothering me lately have been on My Fitness Pal. The calories. The minutes exercised. The number of steps. The burned calories. The macros... O, the macros. All this to say that I know I need them to lose, but I have been maintaining for a solid month by simply writing down what I am eating. This month, I'm going back to the weights and measures, but still holding off on the calories. Probably until January. Without judgy red or over-achiever green numbers staring me in the face, it has been easier to work on other habits and not be distracted. For example, I have been more consistent with sitting and eating my food off of a plate, as opposed to grazing while cooking or impulsively bingeing on whatever passes ...

Sometimes we have to accept that life happens, family trips are fun and filled with a lot of treat foods, and we will have high calorie days - sometimes several in a row. I am learning, again, that plans are held with open hands and in every aspect of life, the Lord is sovereign - even in my striving toward a healthy lifestyle. On Saturday, we went to the zoo. It was so much fun! It started out a little bit stressful though. We left later than we planned. I forgot my snacks and dinner in the fridge. We did not prepare well for how we were going to navigate the maze that was the zoo! We got there 10 minutes before opening and found a pretty great parking spot. I allowed myself to enjoy the day and ate what everyone else ate and did not allow it to derail my minimum healthy habit: tracking and drinking 100oz of water. I did not get my veggies and protein in for the day, but life. Yesterday, I recognized that I truly struggle with dinner at parties. I still stuck to my minimums and ev...