So, I know we are only about a week past the holidays and routine getting back to normal, but I am noticing a trend in my weight loss efforts... I find that I do quite well early in the day (breakfast and lunch). It may be that the routine during that part of the day is so predictable that it is easy to practice both self control and careful planning. I get up early, get the kids off to school, have about an hour before my nursery school starts, so plenty of time for a healthy breakfast. Nursery school ends at 11, and most days I am home and do writing for the afternoon, so have time to cook a healthy lunch.
As the day gets more chaotic, kids get home from school, and after homework time it gets a little more active in the house. Then my fiance gets home and dinner is going and there is less time to think, so I am more divided in my attention. While most of my dinners I have been planning ahead of time, it does not always work out the way I plan. And I have less will power at night after the kids go to bed. I am working on trying to figure out the best way to make good choices in the evening when it comes to my eating. So far, I think the best strategy is ensuring that I have good snacks available, like lowfat yogurt, fresh fruit, tea (which seems to help more than anything--if I drink a cup of tea when I want a snack, it reduces a lot of cravings and I eat a more sensible snack).
Emotional eating is the big one that I work on, and i am getting better at that, but it takes time and efforts in areas other than food. Some of the things that have helped are:
1) getting a good night sleep every night (I will do an article on sleep apnea and weight control soon)
2) talking out feelings when I have them rather than pretending everything is okay and letting the emotions fester so that I later use emotional eating as a way to deal with them, while this has been a bit hard on my relationship, it has actually been beneficial in some ways as well.
3) planning out meals and snack BEFORE I go shopping so that I know I have the foods in the house that I need to make good choices...it is a little hard when the kids and my fiance eat some things that I should not eat, but that is part of training my self control and emotional strength abilities.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Food Tracking Jan 9, 2014
Copied from www.sparkpeople.com a great way to track you food intake and get all the nutritional info just by inputting what you eat. It is free and a very cool website.
Here is the breakdown of my food tracking from Jan 9, 2014
Breakfast | Calories Carbs Fat Protien |
| kale, raw, 1 cup ⊗ | 33 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Cucumber (with peel), 0.5 cucumber (8-1/4") ⊗ | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Apples, fresh with skin, 1 small (2-1/2" dia) (approx 4 per lb) ⊗ | 55 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Strawberries, frozen, unsweetened, 1 cup, unthawed ⊗ | 52 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| Yogurt, plain, low fat, 1 cup (8 fl oz) ⊗ | 154 | 17 | 4 | 13 |
| Regular Coffee, brewed from grounds, 10 fl oz ⊗ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Half and Half Cream, 1 tbsp ⊗ | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| BREAKFAST TOTALS: | 336 | 57 | 7 | 18 |
| BREAKFAST GOALS: | 350 - 438 | 44 - 55 | 12 - 15 | 18 - 22 |
Lunch |
| Collards, 2.5 cup, chopped ⊗ | 27 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Brown Rice, medium grain, 0.5 cup ⊗ | 109 | 23 | 1 | 2 |
| Chicken Breast (cooked), no skin, roasted, 4 ounces ⊗ | 137 | 0 | 3 | 26 |
| Kellogg's Special K Red Berries cereal (1 cup), 1 cup ⊗ | 110 | 27 | 0 | 2 |
| Milk, 3.25%, 0.5 cup ⊗ | 73 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| LUNCH TOTALS: | 457 | 61 | 8 | 36 |
| LUNCH GOALS: | 350 - 438 | 44 - 55 | 12 - 15 | 18 - 22 |
Dinner |
| Freihofer Hearty Double Fiber 100% Whole Wheat Bread, 2 slice ⊗ | 200 | 42 | 3 | 8 |
| Bar S Premium Deli Turkey Breast Lunch Meat, 2 serving ⊗ | 70 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| American Cheese, 2 slice (3/4 oz) ⊗ | 158 | 1 | 13 | 9 |
| Iceberg Lettuce (salad), 1 leaf, large ⊗ | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average, 2 slice, thin/small ⊗ | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Onions, raw, 1 slice, thin ⊗ | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mayonnaise, regular (mayo), 0.5 tbsp ⊗ | 45 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DINNER TOTALS: | 484 | 49 | 22 | 28 |
| DINNER GOALS: | 350 - 438 | 44 - 55 | 12 - 15 | 18 - 22 |
Snack |
| Ashdon Farms (Girl Scouts) Cranberry Nut Mix (1 serving = 1/4 cup = 33g), 0.25 cup ⊗ | 150 | 17 | 9 | 4 |
| SNACK TOTALS: | 150 | 17 | 9 | 4 |
| SNACK GOALS: | 175 - 219 | 22 - 27 | 6 - 7 | 9 - 11 |
Snack 2 |
| Pork Rinds(Pork Skins)(1/2 oz), 1 serving ⊗ | 80 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Coca-Cola Classic, 8 oz ⊗ | 100 | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| SNACK 2 TOTALS: | 180 | 27 | 5 | 9 |
| SNACK 2 GOALS: | 175 - 219 | 22 - 27 | 6 - 7 | 9 - 11 |
| CALORIES | CARBS | FAT | PROTEIN | |
| Totals: | 1,607 | 211 | 51 | 95 |
| Your Daily Goal: | 1,400 - 1,750 | 175 - 219 | 47 - 58 | 70 - 88 |
| Remaining Today: | 0 - 143 | 0 - 8 | 0 - 7 | 0 |
Food Tracking Jan 10 2014
Copied from www.sparkpeople.com a great way to track you food intake and get all the nutritional info just by inputting what you eat. It is free and a very cool website.
Here is the breakdown of my food tracking from Jan 10, 2014
Breakfast | Calories Carbs Fat Protien |
| Milk, 3.25%, 0.5 cup ⊗ | 73 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Regular Coffee, brewed from grounds, 10 fl oz ⊗ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Half and Half Cream, 1 tbsp ⊗ | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Special K Cereal Bar (23g), Red Berries, 1 serving ⊗ | 90 | 18 | 2 | 1 |
| BREAKFAST TOTALS: | 185 | 24 | 7 | 6 |
| BREAKFAST GOALS: | 350 - 438 | 44 - 55 | 12 - 15 | 18 - 22 |
Lunch |
| Chicken Breast (cooked), no skin, roasted, 4 ounces ⊗ | 137 | 0 | 3 | 26 |
| Collards, 2.5 cup, chopped ⊗ | 27 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Brown Rice, medium grain, 1 cup ⊗ | 218 | 46 | 2 | 5 |
| Butter, salted, 1 tbsp ⊗ | 102 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| LUNCH TOTALS: | 485 | 51 | 17 | 33 |
| LUNCH GOALS: | 350 - 438 | 44 - 55 | 12 - 15 | 18 - 22 |
Dinner |
| Tuna Casserole (1/6 of casserole), 1.5 serving ⊗ | 362 | 43 | 13 | 28 |
| Cabbage, fresh, 1.5 cup, shredded ⊗ | 26 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Olive Oil, 1 tbsp ⊗ | 119 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Delmont Fresh Cut Sweet Peas, 1 serving ⊗ | 60 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| DINNER TOTALS: | 567 | 62 | 27 | 33 |
| DINNER GOALS: | 350 - 438 | 44 - 55 | 12 - 15 | 18 - 22 |
Snack |
| Chips - Doritos - Nacho Cheesier, 1 oz ⊗ | 140 | 16 | 8 | 2 |
| SNACK TOTALS: | 140 | 16 | 8 | 2 |
| SNACK GOALS: | 175 - 219 | 22 - 27 | 6 - 7 | 9 - 11 |
Snack 2 |
| Tea, brewed, 12 fl oz ⊗ | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cottage Cheese, 2% Milkfat, 0.5 cup (not packed) ⊗ | 97 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| Peaches, canned, extra light syrup, 0.5 cup, halves or slices ⊗ | 52 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| SNACK 2 TOTALS: | 152 | 19 | 3 | 14 |
| SNACK 2 GOALS: | 175 - 219 | 22 - 27 | 6 - 7 | 9 - 11 |
| CALORIES | CARBS | FAT | PROTEIN | |
| Totals: | 1,529 | 172 | 61 | 87 |
| Your Daily Goal: | 1,400 - 1,750 | 175 - 219 | 47 - 58 | 70 - 88 |
| Remaining Today: | 0 - 221 | 3 - 47 | 0 | 0 - 1 |
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Change, slow but sure...
Not really a New Years Resolution, just a good time to get myself refocused as the holidays are over and no major events are coming up soon, so a good time to work on new habits. Making changes can be done at anytime of the year. So I am again focusing on a few things.
The first being my nemesis--weight loss. Focusing on 10 pounds a month for a year (120 lbs total) as my goal. definitely different from my original goal a few years back of 80 pounds in 80 days. I have learned it takes time to develop new habits, and being healthy/working towards greater health is not a race to the finish line, it is gradual lasting changes, and being okay with the cha-cha of two steps forward one step back, repeating over and over again, as long as the overall progress is forward.
The second is setting healthy boundaries in my relationships--my fiance and the issues involved in that relationship, the challenges my children present me with, the conflicts within my extended family, and increasing time given to friends far and wide as I have neglected them quite a bit these past few years.
The third is to really ramp up my income, which has been less than making ends meet since the kids arrived in my life 8 and 7 years ago, and even harder after becoming a single mom to two kids with special needs nearly 4 years ago. The kids needs are now better defined, they have fewer doctor appointments, their school program are working for them (as in the programs are handling their issues appropriately and successfully, not that there are no issues) so almost no mid-day calls with issues from their school programs. So I am ramping up my income earning potential. I am looking at either increasing the nursery school (which only has one student at this point--poor rural area, especially in the winter) or discontinuing it, picking up more freelance writing articles, actually getting back to writing my book and articles of interest, doing the blog on a regular basis, updating my website more often, and exploring services and products to promote that I really believe in.
For blogging, one of my goals is to again post my daily food intake, both to see where I am doing well and where I need to improve...hopefully that will keep me on track better both with my weight/health goals, and with my blogging goals. The other is to really explore helpful hints for those who are, like me, seeking to transform their lives. Some people are able to transform quickly, and others of us make a long process out of it...luckily it is not a race, and each of us transforms and repeats cycles at our own pace, preparing for change and then changing. Slowly but surely, life does transform.
The first being my nemesis--weight loss. Focusing on 10 pounds a month for a year (120 lbs total) as my goal. definitely different from my original goal a few years back of 80 pounds in 80 days. I have learned it takes time to develop new habits, and being healthy/working towards greater health is not a race to the finish line, it is gradual lasting changes, and being okay with the cha-cha of two steps forward one step back, repeating over and over again, as long as the overall progress is forward.
The second is setting healthy boundaries in my relationships--my fiance and the issues involved in that relationship, the challenges my children present me with, the conflicts within my extended family, and increasing time given to friends far and wide as I have neglected them quite a bit these past few years.
The third is to really ramp up my income, which has been less than making ends meet since the kids arrived in my life 8 and 7 years ago, and even harder after becoming a single mom to two kids with special needs nearly 4 years ago. The kids needs are now better defined, they have fewer doctor appointments, their school program are working for them (as in the programs are handling their issues appropriately and successfully, not that there are no issues) so almost no mid-day calls with issues from their school programs. So I am ramping up my income earning potential. I am looking at either increasing the nursery school (which only has one student at this point--poor rural area, especially in the winter) or discontinuing it, picking up more freelance writing articles, actually getting back to writing my book and articles of interest, doing the blog on a regular basis, updating my website more often, and exploring services and products to promote that I really believe in.
For blogging, one of my goals is to again post my daily food intake, both to see where I am doing well and where I need to improve...hopefully that will keep me on track better both with my weight/health goals, and with my blogging goals. The other is to really explore helpful hints for those who are, like me, seeking to transform their lives. Some people are able to transform quickly, and others of us make a long process out of it...luckily it is not a race, and each of us transforms and repeats cycles at our own pace, preparing for change and then changing. Slowly but surely, life does transform.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Wait, WHAT...three months since my last post!?!?!?
Crazy, crazy life....and I sometimes can't find (or rather make) the time to post, especially when I feel like life is spinning its wheels and transformation is just tot he right of a loop that I am stuck in...but it is not really, transformation happens all the time. Every change, no matter how small, is a piece of the transformation of life. So a post to sum up the many experiences of the past 3+ months...
- Fiance moved back in here at the beginning of September.
- Learned it is impossible to support four people on what barely kept three people afloat.
- Money struggles and other people's addiction struggles make life very stressful.
- Trying to find the balance between compassion and boundaries, doing what is right when "what is right" is different for different people.
- Standing firm and being loving can be a hard balance to strike.
- Explaining to my kids why their other parent (my ex) is in a homeless shelter
- Taking the kids to visit their other parent every other weekend for a few hours needs creativity and pre-planning to go places when there is no home to take them to...
- Explaining to fiance why I think it is important that the kids see their other parent even when their other parent is struggling and in difficult situations (rehab, homeless shelter, half-way house, etc...).
- Being honest and open with the kids, and helping them understand how bad choices have consequences but that a person is still a good person even if their situation is not good.
- Being grateful that there are nice homeless shelter with private rooms and shared kitchen facilities and a house style feel...a safe place for those who are struggling to lay there heads until they can get into a residential help situation or can get on their feet.
- Finding that i can love someone who deals with some of the same issues that I have grown to hate, and that same issues do not mean same person or even same outcome
- Knowing that I know what my boundaries are, that I can express them, and that I can be compassionate and give things time to shift
- Had a great job interview for a science focused job, going back to my original career in research, but did not get the job
- Had a lot of things going on with relationships--fiance, ex, siblings, etc.... that are both good and bad
- hosted Thanksgiving at my house this year--had some of my family, some of the to-be in-laws, and my ex--an interesting mix
- My nephew graduated from basic training the day before thanksgiving, so proud of him!!
- Had an interview to break into the career of working with families with special needs kids, which I have wanted to break into for a while but lack the formal training to do so...but did not get that job either
- Have been running a small nursery school weekday morning in my home, but only 2 kids...trying to figure out if I should push to expand or if I should concentrate back on writing and see if I can make a go of that
- Glad my fiance started working at the local ski resort, the extra income is very good, and working creates a much better mood for my love
- Grateful that rules have changed to allow me to borrow against my old retirement account so that I could catch up on my bills and expenses,
- kinda wish I had taken a bit more to have more for Christmas, but am glad that my kids can focus on the JOY and FUN of the season and not be so focused on the gifts, as they have only a few gifts under the tree, but we have lots of fun that brings joy and connection without costing money..so actually, glad that I only took out what I needed to catch up my bills.
- looking forward to my sister and her kids coming up for a visit after their move to Florida in July
- Glad that Josiah's MRI went well WITHOUT sedation....looking forward to hearing the results on January 3rd, just to know if his hydrocephalus is still stable or if it is getting worse as previous scans indicated a possible problem, but nothing definite, so hopefully this scan compared to the previous one will give us a better idea of what is going on in his skull
- Looking forward to reflecting on the past year
- Looking forward to deciding what path I want to take and being able to focus on that for the new year, and transform this life even better... it is an ongoing journey!!
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