Eating out is tricky if you are trying to be healthy

Image from Janusz Hylinski

Last night we used a certificate we had to take the kids out for dinner after football and dance practice.  It was a nice restaurant called Cafe Manna in Brookfield. We had never been there before.  It is a vegetarian restaurant.  Although I cook vegetarian from time to time, it's not a lifestyle for my family so that was a bit different for us.  It's funny how us non-vegetarians often think that vegetarian food must be really healthy.  Much of the menu seemed pretty healthy but not everything was going to be low in points.

I tried to order something that I would enjoy and would be fairly low in points at the same time.  I ordered the Savory Sandwich.  It was a marinated Portobello mushroom and grilled eggplant topped with roasted bell peppers, balsamic caramelized onions, an herbed feta & goat cheese blend and house made pesto on tasted rosemary olive bread.  It was also served with a side salad.  It was quite tasty.  I shared my bread with Sammy so I could cut the carb count.  I tracked the meal when I got home to the best of my ability by punching each ingredient into my online tracker.  I added a few teaspoons of olive oil assuming that they used oil for cooking.  The meal came out to an estimated 18 points!

I have to admit that when I got home and calculated it all I was a bit shocked by the total.  It's so tricky to find something filling, yummy and points friendly.  I know I could have just ordered a salad but I just wasn't in the salad mood and even when ordering a salad you need to be careful because it adds up in a hurry too.  I wanted something that was a bit different that would satisfy me both mentally and physically.  Wow, it sounds like I want the world out of my food, doesn't it!?  Maybe I need rethink that a little........just a little though. I think there is something to be said for leaving the table feeling like you just enjoyed your meal.  I know that I wont stick to my plans if I leave the table feeling like I wish I could eat more or differently.  If I wish that too often, that wish will turn into a plan.

The meal that I ate last night was a few too many points for my liking but at least the food was good and I felt satisfied by my experience.  It will be better in the long run because I am not on a diet for a season. I am working out my lifestyle change every day of my life.

Have a great day,
Corinna

"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.'" -Matthew 18: 1-5

Healthy Weekend Eating?

Picture this.......

It's early Sunday morning.  I wake up to get ready for the busy day that lies ahead.  I realize after I have showered and woken up a bit that I am hungry!  Why, you may ask, is this a statement that deserves an exclamation point?  Because for the last few months I have eaten anything I want on Saturdays and tracked none of it so I wake up on Sundays still feeling full.

This past Sunday I actually woke up hungry! After realizing what an accomplishment that was I started thinking about what I could have for breakfast.  It was nice to realize that I had eaten way less on Saturday than I had in many weeks and that I was better off for it.  I slept better on a satisfied stomach instead of a overfull stomach. I told you in my last blog that I was going to work on my weekend differently this week and I am proud to report that I did.  Was I perfect?  No, but I did a lot of things right.

I tracked everything I ate this weekend. I've done this before on weekends but it has been a long time.  It felt good to track it all.  I even went to a friend's house for dinner on Saturday night and ate a few too many chips and a brownie but I tracked them.  Because I knew I was going to track them I was more careful of how many I ate.  It's funny how those two actions work together.  If you are someone who does not track your food intake in some way, I highly recommend it.  It makes you more aware of what you are eating and how much.  I choose to track my food on the computer but I know people who use other ways.  Some people use their smart phones (my phone is dumb and proud of it), and some people use good old pen and paper.  Use what works for you.  It will keep you accountable.

On Sunday I ate lunch at my in-laws where, again, there were chips available.  Again, I ate too many but I tracked them.  When I finished tracking all of my food on Sunday evening I saw my balance at 0 and knew I was done eating for the day.  Later while I was working on lesson plans and watching TV I was very tempted to go to the cupboards to find something to snack on. I went online to see how many points I had left.  (I knew I had 0 but somehow I needed reminded.)  That was the answer.  It made me ask myself if I was really hungry because if I was really hungry I could always have some fruits or veggies.  I wasn't hungry. I was just getting tired and wanted to eat.  I told myself that wasn't an option and moved on with my lesson plans so I could go to bed.

It felt wonderful today to wake up and not feel like I had to now deprive myself to make up for all of the weight I gained over the weekend.  This is how I want to feel after every day and weekend.  I am turning over a new leaf (I have a whole tree of them to turn). My weekends are going to be times for me to stay healthy just as much as my weekdays are.  This will benefit me in so many ways.

I hope you all had a good weekend and are ready for a new week.

Until later,
Corinna

"It is not too good to eat much honey, or to seek honor on top of honor. Like a city breached, without walls, is one who lacks self-control." -Proverbs 25:27-28

Sticking to my healthy diet.....even on the weekends!

It's Saturday.  It's the beginning of the weekend for me.  Sometimes Friday night can be considered the beginning of the weekend but since I weigh-in on Saturday I rarely splurge on Friday night.  That doesn't mean that I don't eat on Friday nights.  In fact, last night we had pizza pockets made by my son, Jason.  He is taking a Food Dynamics class in his virtual school so he had to make a certain recipe.  I bought the ingredients. The recipe called for pita pockets. I got whole wheat ones.  It also called for ground beef.  I got 95% lean ground beef.  It called for mozzarella cheese. I got reduced-fat.  I enjoyed my pizza pockets (yes, I had 2!) and was still able to stick to my allotted points for the day.

I gained weight this morning at my weigh-in.  I knew I would and it wasn't due to the pizza pockets.  It was due to last weekend's splurges that spilled into Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thankfully, I got my act together by Thursday and Friday and stayed active this week so I only saw a gain of .6.  It would have been much worse if I hadn't reigned it in.  Having this rough week has been making me re-evaluate my current weekend strategy.  I say "current" weekend strategy because it changes every so often.  As of late, my strategy has been to enjoy my weekends with food. I eat when I want, what I want and how much I want.  I feel as though I deserve it and I'm tired of counting so I give myself a break from counting on Saturday and Sunday.

The problem with this strategy is that I have successfully gained weight the last 2 weeks.  If you add both gains up it adds up to less than a pound but creeping up less than a pound at a time is how I can gain back 64 pounds.  I don't want to gain back 64 pounds!  I don't want to gain back even 4 pounds so it's time to take stock in my procedures and make some changes.  I've learned from my past and don't want to repeat my mistakes.  For example, this summer I gained just a little bit here and there and before I even realized it I had gained back 5 pounds.  After realizing this in July, it took me the rest of the summer to lose that 5 pounds again.  My time and efforts are too valuable to get too relaxed. I'm worth more to myself, my God and my family.

So today I will tell you that I am going back to an old strategy that worked well for me in the past.  I could go into the reasons that I stopped this strategy back when I was executing it well but I'll save that for another day.  My "new" strategy is to break up my Weekly Allowance PointsPlus values into the entire week.  I will not use all of them in one weekend or one day.  I will track everything I eat so that my weekends don't overshadow my entire week.  It's amazing to me how "in tune" Weight Watchers can be to what their members are going through at certain times of the year.  I've been thinking about how I handle weekends all week and then when this week's meeting started I realized that it was about all of the things that I have been thinking about this past week. This week's topic was "Weekend Warriors."  This just confirmed my need for a change.

I can do this.  I've done it successfully before and I'll do it successfully again.  I will track every morsel this weekend.  Will I be perfect?  I don't know, but I'll keep you posted.  If I can eat 2 pizza pockets on Friday night and still stick to my daily plan then there is no reason that I can't eat healthy on the rest of my weekend.  I just need to set my mind to it and make the right choices.

Until tomorrow,

Corinna

"From no one, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view, even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;" -2 Corinthians 5:16-18

A healthy lifestyle from the eyes of a child

Ethan at his Brewer Game Birthday Party on September 16th.  The Brewers won just for his birthday!

I told you yesterday what I struggle I have been having this week so yesterday I watched what I ate very carefully.  I ate lots of fruits and veggies.  I ate small portions, tracked and counted everything.  Most importantly, I didn't eat any cookies.

It's amazing how good I feel today.  I didn't get any more sleep last night than I do any other night (I'm still working on getting more sleep in my life), but I feel so much better than I did all week. When I eat a good, balanced diet my body functions better.  I have more energy. I sleep more soundly and fall asleep faster. I feel healthy. I feel thinner even though I may look the same. I actually want to take care of myself better too.  It's amazing how what we eat truly affects our lives.

I can see it in my children too.  Even though we eat pretty healthy in my house we do eat some junk food too.  I notice when my kids eat too much junk food that they are sluggish in their day. My 8-year-old, Ethan, is probably my healthiest eater.  If you offer him a cookie you do not have to be surprised if he says no.  He loves to eat fruits and vegetables.  When we go to a drive-thru and the other kids order chicken nuggets, he orders a salad.  He's incredible!  I want to be like him when I grow up.

Don't get me wrong.  He's a normal 8-year-old kid.  He cleans his room by shoving everything under the bed.  He hits his brothers and sister when he gets mad.  He argues with the best of the best.  But that said, he is a very healthy kid and will probably lead a very healthy lifestyle.

He loves to stay active too.  When he takes out the garbage, he goes the long way around the house so he can get more exercise.  That was his idea. He begs to play the Wii so he can play Wii Fit.  He loves to make goals with his Mii.  If you are not aware of Wii Fit, you can make goals for yourself (called your Mii.)  I had to tell him when we first got the game that his goals needed to be to gain weight, not to lose weight.  He set a goal to lose weight the first time he played and was frustrated when he didn't make his goal.  I also need to measure him when he plays so we can adjust his height.  If we forget to do that once in a while it tells him that he's in danger of being overweight because it doesn't know he grew 2 inches.  He is nowhere near in danger of being overweight!

He just turned 8 on Sunday and he makes me think about my own actions all of the time.  He makes me realize that it's okay to say no to sweets.  He makes me remember to stop eating when I am full.  He makes me remember that activity is a good thing and that I should strive to get as much as possible. When the choices are to play outside or to sit in the house and watch TV, he chooses outside.  I know that he's got plenty of energy because of his young age but I'm sure that much of his energy comes from his healthy lifestyle too.

When my first child was born I read lots of books about babies and children.  One thing that I remember reading in many of the books is how we are born with innate senses of being full.  The baby books will tell you not to stuff your babies.  When the baby says he or she is done, then he or she is done.  They know when they are full.  These rules are the same for children.  My children have always been pretty good eaters but I have friends who have children with a lot of food dislikes.  As parents my friends worry about their children.  Their doctors tell them not to worry about it.  As long as the child is healthy and growing, they don't have to eat a lot.  This seems to be hard for our culture to grasp.  We love our food here in America.  We use it to heal so many hurts.  We can't imagine that our kids don't need a lot of it.  I'm not saying that if your child wont eat any fruits and veggies that you should throw in the towel.  In that case, you would keep trying to offer it and probably force them to eat some.  What I am saying is that if you watch a child eat and stop when they are full or say no to more food, you will see how wonderfully we were made and how we as adults are are supposed to act too.  Watch a child today.  What healthy habits do they have that you can incorporate too?  At one time you had those healthy habits innate in you too. Just don't clean your room by shoving everything under the bed;)

Until next time,

Corinna

"The little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray.  The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.' And he laid his hands on them and wen ton his way." -Matthew 19: 13-15

When, oh when, will I learn?

Picture taken by Gravityx9 and used with permission.


I've been on this weight struggle for about 15 years now.  I would think that after 15 years of watching my behavior with food, I would have learned so many valuable lessons that I would no longer struggle with food.   Boy, it sounds so simple as I type that.  It's just not that simple.

One thing that I am constantly learning is that this is a journey that I will be on for the rest of my life. I will never be "cured."  I will always have to be very conscience of what I am eating and how much.  As soon as I enter the mode of "mindless eating," I am sunk.  I have found myself in this mode several times over the past week.  It's sad really.  I've had such a great run of losses over the past couple of months that it's sad to me that I throw them away by eating mindlessly for a week.  It makes so little sense to me.  I guess that's because I expect better from myself.

I am tough on myself.  I think we all are.  We expect that once we learn something, we will get it right from now on.  As lovely as that would be, it's not realistic.  Overeating is a habit.  It is a habit that I have had in my life for a very long time.  It's a habit that I have worked really hard to change and every so often it creeps back into my life.  This week was one of those "every-so-oftens."  Unfortunately, it will show up on the scale this Saturday at my weigh-in.  That's something that I will have to face.  Then I will have to forgive myself and move on.  Actually, now that I think about it I am facing it now, forgiving myself and moving on.  Saturday will just be one of the ways that I reap the consequences for my actions.

Today is not a new week for me.  That leaves me a choice.  Do I let this week continue as it has been? After all, it's already going to be a gain on Saturday.  I could just chalk this week up as lost and eat myself into a food coma for the next 2 days, or I could gain control right now and hope that the scale is kind to me on Saturday.  I could see a 4 or 5 pound gain on Saturday if I continue my current behavior.  That would be devastating to me.  What good would it do me to keep up on my current path?  None.  Sure, I wouldeate lots of food but I wouldn't enjoy it and I would feel awful.  So, today is a new day.  I have 2 days before my new week to start my new me.  I look forward to the extra energy.  I certainly need it.

I will check in with you again tomorrow.

Corinna

"For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon's seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back tot his place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord plans for your welfare and not for harm to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you." -Jeremiah 29:10-13

Fall is here. Time to wear jeans!

My oldest son is playing flag football this year. It's been such an exciting time for him.  His first game was last week Wednesday. I was getting dressed that morning I realized that I should dress for a football game.  I had listened to the weather. It was supposed to be rainy and chilly. I told the kids to dress warm.

We've been blessed with a wonderfully warm summer here in Wisconsin so I haven't worn pants in a couple of months at least.  I was faced with the decision of what to wear.  My casual, mom-of-outdoor-sports-playing-kids, wardrobe consists of yoga pants and stretchy workout pants.  I have been wearing these pants for most of the casual days that required pants over the last year.  I was automatically going to wear my favorite pair of yoga pants with a sweatshirt when I realized that it was a really nice day for jeans.

I don't know about you, but just the word jeans makes me break out in a cold sweat.  I am afraid of having to put on jeans.  As an overweight woman in my 20's and 30's I dreaded the tight, uncomfortable feeling of jeans.  I still have those thoughts in my head.  I am afraid of trying to put them on and being disappointed by the results.  I have had that feeling so many times in my adult life that I don't feel like facing the disappointment.  Therefore I just break out the workout pants that I know will fit even if I ate a few too many cookies the day before.

Last Wednesday I stared at my closet. There were two pairs of jeans hanging there.  Would I risk the uncomfortably tight feeling of jeans or would I put on my yoga pants and move on with my life.  I studied the jeans well.  I looked at them both and tried to remember which one would give me a little more room to work with. Which one would keep in the results of giving birth to 5 children?  Which one would I be able to button while still breathing?  Which one has the best chance of putting a smile on my face?  I picked a pair and removed them from my closet.  I decided which shirt I would wear under my sweatshirt.  One that would tuck into my jeans so that there was no chance of skin showing over the top of my jeans was very important.

I took a deep breath and put on my jeans.  They got over my hips and now it was time for the triumph.  Could I button them without lying on my bed?  I could! I put on my jeans and could still breathe.  In fact, I could even sit.  They didn't need to be "standing jeans."  I was thrilled. I wondered how far into the day I would be able to wear them comfortably.  That, of course, is the next test.  Will they make it through the day or will I have to change them after I eat a meal or two?  I wore them all day.  I wore them through every meal and they kept me warm at the football game.  I chased Sammy around the sidelines, was able to bend down to pick him up over and over again and still felt comfortable in my jeans.

This is just one of those fabulous moments in my weight loss journey.  This is one of those moments that isn't measured by the scale but moments of triumph.  I've come a long way.  Someday maybe I'll even lose the memory of having to be afraid of my jeans.

It's a nice fall day today.  Do you have a pair of jeans to wear?  Do you have a goal to get into a pair?  Hang them where you can be reminded of your goal.  Try them on once in a while to see how far you have to go to get into them.  This was one of the ways I lost my weight.

Have a great day,
Corinna

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ..." -Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

It takes time to lose weight

If I were to ask everyone what 3 things they would like more of to help them lose weight I am sure that every person would name "time" as one of their 3 things.

I haven't blogged for a few days.  Why? I just don't have the time.  In fact, blogging right now is something that is not really on the schedule for my morning but I miss it and feel obligated to all of you also.  If only I had more time.

It has been a busy week in my house. We are in our first full week of school since last week was a 4-day school week.  We are feeling the pressure again to get it all done.  We also started gym class and dance classes this week.  Wow, what an adjustment!  As you know, I home school my children so you would think that we would be home often.  Many days it feels more like minivan schooling than home schooling.  Monday we left the house at 9am and didn't return until 7pm.  We had so many activities on the calendar that it was a struggle to fit anything in.  I haven't been able to catch up since.  The dishes are covering both sinks and the ironing pile is covering half of my couch.  I am participating in a Children's Resale this weekend so I have been sorting through the kids' clothes to see what they need for fall, what to pack up for next year and what I should sell because no one needs it.  Therefore, there are boxes, bins and bags of clothes in nearly every open space of my living room.

Getting all of the school work done has been a chore this week too.  With all of the extra activities we have learned that we may need to do a little school work on the weekends to keep up this year.  When my kids looked at me yesterday with stress on their little faces I told them not to worry about it.  I told them that we would get as much done as we could and then start with a clean slate tomorrow.  We are using this week as a learning point for this year's schooling.  After I spent 5 minutes explaining what it means to start with a "clean slate" we moved on with happier faces and more pep in our step.  When I took some of the pressure off of them they worked harder and faster than they had all day.  It's amazing how our attitude can lighten our load.  I can tell that even my children would like more time in their lives.

It takes time for everything in our lives, including weight loss.  It takes time to plan healthy foods, go grocery shopping, look up the points, track the points, exercise, cook, prepare snacks and meals, etc.  I know I could go on and on with this list but it will take too much time;)  I had to purposely take a little time out of my morning to write this blog but I did it because it is important to me.  The same way I had to do that, I have had to take time out of my busy life this week to be sure that I am staying on track. I could have easily thrown it all out the window on Monday and say that I didn't have time to worry about weight loss with gym classes, doctor's appointments, mowing other people's lawns (my 13-year old's first job!), football practices and dance lessons.  I could have saved time by going through the drive through for all of our meals but I took the effort to go to the grocery store where I knew we would have healthier choices.

When I look back at it all, I'm glad I've taken the time to track this week too.  I would have easily lost track of what I had eaten without my tracking.  I would have easily eaten too much.  All in all, I think that taking the few minutes here and there to take care of myself has actually given me more time.  It has given me better energy to get it all done which will give me more time because it wont take me as long to do something when I am moving at the pace of a slug.  It has also given me time to think about what is really important in my life. I have to remember to stop the madness for a moment and focus on the important stuff in my life.  My family, myself, my God and our health are important to us.  When I am surrounded by constant "busy-ness" it's important to remember what I really need to take time for.  It's given me more time with my family both now and in the end.  If I take better care of myself now I will live more years with my children and husband.

Thank you for taking the time to read this today. I hope you are glad you did.  Use your time wisely today and remember what is important to you!

Corinna

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." -Ephesians 5:15-17

The nitty gritty numbers of weight loss

For most of us weight loss is a big numbers game.  How much do we weigh?  How much do we weigh compared to someone else?  How much do we weigh compared to 5, 10, 15 years ago?  How much did we lose? And the dreaded, how much did we gain?  Is it good or bad that it's a numbers game?  Maybe it just is what it is.

I've found over the course of my journey that sometimes my weight loss has been all about the numbers and nothing else.  It didn't matter how great I felt one week, if I didn't lose 2 pounds or more I was a failure.  Other times I have found that no matter what the scale said, I knew what I did was great and I was okay taking stock in my feeling instead of the number on the scale (or at least that's what I told myself in between my secret pouting).

When I really think about it I think the number game has to come into play for me.  If I didn't have the numbers I would easily let myself creep up to an unhealthy weight without paying attention to how I got there or how to fix it.  In fact that's very similar to how I got to where I was heavy.  For years I didn't own a scale.  I didn't weigh myself and I didn't care what I weighed.  If my clothes got to tight I would buy bigger ones the next time I was clothes shopping or just wear the stretchy ones.  It wasn't a focus until I realized just how uncomfortable I was.  Since then, the numbers have been important to me.

One tricky part about the numbers game is that our number needs to be our number.  Don't get me wrong, if you are comfortable sharing your weight with others that's fine, but your ideal weight may not and most often will not be someone else's ideal weight.  That is why you will not see me share my weight with you or most anyone.  While working for WW we were told by the company that we were not to share our size or weight with our members.  Our total weight loss and the year we made lifetime were plastered on our nametags but our clothing size and our weight were not for public ears.  Why?  Because WW didn't want our members who looked up to us and saw us a success stories decide that they needed to be our weight or our size.  The truth is, your height, age and build are probably different from my height, age and build.  Therefore, we will probably be comfortable and most of all healthy at different weights or sizes.  This was a very smart policy.  I still hold that policy in my heart. I don't want to share on this blog my weight or size and make someone else think that my goal should be their goal.  I don't ever want someone else to set a goal that is completely unhealthy or possibly dangerous to them because they think they should weigh what someone else weighs.  That is one of the ways that eating disorders can start.

One example of this in my life is a story from years ago.  Early on in my marriage I was telling my husband that I was uncomfortable with myself and needed to lose some weight. This was during my years of not knowing how much I weighed and letting it get out of control.  I joined the gym and found out how much I weighed.  I was trying to make that number smaller.  Bryan told me that I was just fine the way I was and how I couldn't possibly weigh that much.  Then, he said, "What, you can't possibly weigh more than ***!"  I was appalled!  Not only did I weigh more than ***, but I hadn't weighed *** since I was probably 12 and wouldn't ever weigh *** again.  I hadn't even thought of *** as a possible goal. I would be an unhealthy, shriveled up stick at that weight. Did he know how tall I was?  Did he know what a healthy weight was for someone my height?  Poor guy!  He had no idea what trouble he had just gotten himself into.  He meant absolutely no harm.  His one and only sister was rather petite and surely weighed *** most of her teenage and early adult life but I could not.  He got an earful and being the smart man that he is has never challenged my weight again.  He doesn't know what I weigh today and wouldn't ask if his life depended on it.

My point is, don't let the numbers get the best of you.  Whatever your magic number is, that needs to be the right number for you.  Do some experimenting.  Think about a time when you felt great.  Have you ever weighed the number that you are trying to achieve?  If not, then maybe that number is not realistic.  Take it one small goal at a time and some day that final goal number will come to you and you will know what it is.  Be realistic about it because it is a number that you want to keep for a lifetime.  This is a lifetime journey.  We want to be healthy for a lifetime, not just for today.

That said, I have some numbers to share with you;) I lost 1.4 pounds today.  That was thrilling to me.  As I look at my weight record I see a 1.4 loss this week, .4 loss last week, 1.4 loss on Aug. 25th, (I missed my meeting on Aug. 18th), 2.2 loss on Aug. 11th and a .6 loss on Aug. 4th.  This is the most consistent my weight record has been in quite some time.  I am enjoying the losing streak and want to keep it up. I still  have some more weight to lose.  I'm not quite to my pre-Sammy weight but I'm close.  The weight that I have lost these past couple of months is weight that I needed to re-lose since April of this year since I had more gains than losses during May and June.  I still have one more pound to go until I reach what I was in April 2012.  Do you want to know how much more I have to lose to get to my final, personal goal?  I'm pretty close.....but ah.....who wants to play the numbers game?........Not me;)

Until next time,
Corinna

Don't worry, I'll let you know when I get there;)  Have a great weekend.

"And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food." -Genesis 1:29

The all-you-can-eat-buffet and eating healthy

Does that title seem like an oxymoron to you?

When I started with Weight Watchers years ago going to a buffet scared the daylights out of me.  I automatically decided that I could only go to a buffet if I was willing to throw my "diet" out the window for the day.  Isn't that a great way to look at it?!  When a buffet was suggested on a day that I wasn't willing to throw out my healthy eating I looked like a deer in the headlights.  I was scared and didn't know how to possibly eat healthy at a buffet.  I would suggest as many other restaurants as I could.  If the buffet became inevitable I just quit my "diet."

I gave up so easily.  Why?  Well, first of all, if I ate all of the wonderful things that were being offered to me I certainly couldn't keep track of everything I ate, right?  Don't answer that;)  And if I could keep track of everything I ate, how could I possibly figure out the points to this large variety?  That would be way too time consuming to look everything up and I was sure I wouldn't find everything anyway.  Then of course is the best excuse of all.  There is no way I would have enough PointsPlus Values in a day to eat all of the stuff I want to eat.  So I would be better off just pretending that it didn't matter what I ate for that meal.  Isn't that a fabulous plan?  It sure sounds sad while I am putting it down into words but that truly was my mindset.

Then, after being a WW member for a while I realized that I could eat at a buffet without eating everything in sight.  The operative word there is could.  It was up to me as to whether I would.  A few years ago I was leading a meeting where we talked about the topic of "the dreaded buffet" and the point came up that a buffet is actually a great place to eat when you are trying to eat healthy.  Most buffets have an abundance of healthy choices.  They, of course, have an abundance of unhealthy choices too but they are choices so it's up to me to make the proper choice. That's the scary part.  It should never be up to me to make the proper eating choice.  Especially when I have to do it over and over again, plate after plate.

That's the biggest danger of the buffet.  I go up for the first plate to the salad bar.  I build myself a wonderfully healthy salad.  I may sprinkle a little cheese or a few bacon bits but I it's very healthy.  It has lots of great vegetables, a little lean protein, a little dairy and a little light dressing. It is low in PointsPlus Value and I feel great about my choices.  Then the second plate is where I usually eat some healthy, hot food.  It depends on the restaurant of course, but this may consist of some lean protein, vegetables and small portions of the good lookin' carbs.  Again I am feeling pretty good about my meal.  The third plate is the dangerous one.  By now, I am probably not very hungry anymore but there is all of that food that I haven't tried yet and everyone else at the table is still eating.  I'll just go up and get some more of the good stuff I haven't tried yet. It's all down hill from here.  I finish the plate knowing full well that I am not even close to hungry anymore.  I know the high carb load I just put on my plate put me over my points for the day and I might as well just give in and to for the good stuff now.......chocolate, ice cream, brownies, fried foods, cheesy potatoes, bring it on.  I'm ready for the food coma at this point.  It's a dangerous place to be.

This is an all too familiar story to me but I'm glad to say that it's not how I operate all of the time.  This was how I operated constantly years ago.  Then I started listening to my body's hunger signals and realizing that it is okay to say no to foods once in a while.  It's also okay to pick your absolute favorite foods on the buffet and decide to have a little of those foods and say no to the rest of the "good stuff."  It's perfectly acceptable to go to a buffet and leave still feeling comfortable in your pants.  It's also okay to leave without having tried everything that looked remotely good.  It's fabulous to leave knowing that you enjoyed your meal and took good care of yourself in the meantime.

I told you about my experience at a buffet just a couple of weeks ago where I decided on the way in that all bets were off.  That was a rough day for me. I'm glad to say that I have since been to all-you-can-eat buffets twice since and maintained control both times.  Last week I took my 2 nieces out for their birthday present.  Instead of giving them more "stuff" to play with we took them out for a day with my kids to have some fun.  I had a great time at Old World Wisconsin with 7 children. I was exhausted when the day was done but had a great time.  After OWW we went out for a late lunch/early dinner.  The kids wanted to go to Golden Coral.  I hadn't been there in years.  The kids were looking forward to their chocolate fountain and cotton candy.  I told myself that I was looking forward to all of the healthy choices that I would have.  I made lots of healthy choices.  My salad was wonderful.   I loaded up on fruit.  I knew that I would be tempted to eat more if the kids were eating and I was done so I took the baby to the bathroom to change him while the kids started eating. They were all on a second plate before I was even starting my first.  This worked to my advantage.

I wrote down everything I ate.  I ate lots of fruits, veggies and lean meats.  I also ate 2 chocolate covered strawberries and small piece of fudge. I made those choices very carefully.  I didn't eat anything that didn't look really good to me.  It wasn't worth is unless it was going to be good.  I got creative.  I mixed things from the mexican bar with the potato bar to come up with the healthiest but yummiest choices I could make. I left the restaurant with no points left but didn't need anything else to eat for the rest of the day.  It was a little earlier than I normally stop eating for the day but I filled up on lots of 0 PointsPlus Values fruits and vegetables so I wasn't hungry.  I was happy to be successful at a buffet.  I even texted my mom to tell her of my success;)

I hope you can all relate to both my "overdid it" story and my "in control" story.  I hope I am not the only one that has given in to the call of the buffet.  It's Friday and I'm sure many of you have plans for the weekend that include parties, restaurants or buffets.  What are you going to do about it? Which scenario are you going to play out.  Plan it now.  Going in with a plan is half of the battle.  The other half is the call of the buffet.

Have a great weekend.  I'll try to check in with you tomorrow on weigh in day.
Corinna

"Here, my child, and be wise, and direct your mind in the way. Do not be among winebibbers, or among gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness with clothe them with rags." -Proverbs 23:19-21

How much weight should I be lifting?

Exercise is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle.  It's tricky though.  When should I exercise?  How should I exercise?  How often should I exercise?  Should I lift?  Should I concentrate on cardio?  What is the right way?  What will benefit me the most? These are questions that I have had and I'm sure many of have had as well.

You can scour the magazine racks for many answers to these questions too.  Unfortunately, you can find many answers that contradict each other.  One thing that I find over and over again is to start out small.  I don't think that I have ever read that you should begin exercising with every ounce of energy you have, take all of the time you have, lift all of the weight you can possibly lift or make your heart go as fast as it can possibly go.  We are always told to start out slow and work our way up to good exercise.  If we start out too fast we risk serious injury and burnout.

I take this advice to heart.  Have I ignored it from time to time?  Of course.  I've had those moments in my life when I decide that today is the day that I get back to exercise and I take things too far.  Most of the time, though, I have resisted the urge to exercise too much.  When I am starting back to my routine again I start small.  I start with 10-20 minutes.  I start with a light exercise that doesn't cause me to faint.  I start with light weights.

I have 3 sets of hand weights.  I purchased them when I started working out to a DVD that included weights in the exercises.  At first I did the DVD without weights at all so I could start small.  Then I went out and purchased a set of small, one-pound hand weights from Walmart.  I used them for a few months before I decided that I was ready to graduate to heavier weights.  The main reason I wanted heavier weights is because the heavier they are, the bigger they are.  One of the exercises on the DVD required me to do push-ups with the weights in my hands.  It was rather difficult to do with one-pound weights because my knuckles dug into the floor.  I purchased 3-pound weights next.  They were heavier (obviously) and a little bigger for my push-ups.  They weren't quite big enough to keep my knuckles off of the ground but it was a little better.

After several more months I purchased 5-pound weights.  Again, my main reason was not the weight but the size.  These were perfect for my push-ups (even though I can't stand push-ups). That DVD I am talking about is just one of the exercise DVD's that I use.  Over the last few years I go between several different DVD's that I own and sometimes just make up my own exercise routines when I am tired of doing what the DVD tells me what to do.  I am currently in one of those phases where I am tired of all of my DVD's.  It's hard to follow them when my kids are awake and interrupting.  Ideally, I would like to wake up before my kids and do my exercises in peace and quiet but Samuel is still not a great sleeper and he wakes up quite early so I get every wink I can.  So it's easier for me right now to just watch the news on TV while doing my arm exercise, sit-ups, leg lifts, marching, etc.  When the kids interrupt me I just keep marching while talking to them or dance around the house with Samuel when he needs my attention.  I set a timer for 30 minutes for my marching/dancing so no matter how many times I am interrupted as long as I keep moving I am exercising for 30 minutes.

I've been using my 3-pound weights for my arm exercising for the last several months.  Even though I had the 5-pound weights and at one time I had used them I knew that my body probably wasn't ready to use them now.  I hadn't used them since before Sammy was born.  I do 4 arm exercises about 4 mornings per week.  After doing them for about 4 weeks I noticed that it wasn't hurting much anymore. It was becoming quite easy to do 3 sets of 15 reps each exercise.  This was a great sign.  It meant that I was getting stronger.  It meant that the exercises were actually working and maybe I could avoid the "bat wings" that seemed to be developing under my arms.  I kept up my arm exercises for another week with my 3-pound weights to be sure that I was ready. Then I increased the weight to 5 pounds.  The exercises were now hurting again.  I have been using those 5 pound weights for about 4 weeks now.  It still hurts me to do my arm exercises.  I can usually do the first set with little problem but when I get towards the end of the second set I really have to try hard to continue.  It doesn't hurt in a way that is crazy, painful.  It hurts in a way that I know I am working my muscles and building them up.  By  the time I get to my third set for each exercise I can't wait to be done.

I am proud of myself for getting to this level.  I don't know if I will eventually have to go out an purchase heavier weights.  I'm perfectly happy with 5 pounds for now.  Who knew that I would be happy to add weight in my life?  I thought I was only trying to lose it?

Have a great day.

Corinna

"The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are His delight." -Proverbs11:1

Part 2: What can you do to make weight loss easier?

What else can make my and your weight loss easier?  One very simple idea......more movement.

It is a fact that if we burn more calories than we take in, we will lose weight.  When I was working for WW I burned more calories.  I was busy running from meeting to meeting, setting up rooms, moving around rather large meeting rooms, etc.  I don't have that anymore.  Now, I am in my little 3-bedroom ranch with 6 other people.  There is not a whole lot of room to move.  Soooooooooooooooooooo, what am I going to do about it?  Move more!  It's a simple concept, I know but not as easy to put into practice.  Here are some practical ways that I am concentrating on to get more movement and burn more calories:

1. Run my own errands.  I have 4 kids that are old enough to run errands for me around the house and yard. Every time I send one of my kids downstairs to get something for me, I am missing out on more steps in my day.  Sometimes I need to have my kids help because it's impossible for me to home school 4 kids, take care of a toddler and keep everything else in my life together by myself.  I need help.  The kids must help.  This said, I know that I send them to get things way too often.  I am going to make a concerted effort get off my duff and do it myself.

2. Exercise at least 4 days per week.  I have been averaging 3-4 days per week of exercise for the past several weeks now.  It's time to be sure that I get at least 4 days per week.  There will be no more 3 days of exercise weeks in my calendar.  Speaking of the calendar.  I'm going to highlight the days of the week that I exercise so I am sure to get in my 4 days.  It's amazing how easily the week slips by if I don't keep track of my days.  This exercise I am talking about it extra exercise that I don't get in normal daily activity.  I realize that as a mother of 5 I get lots of normal movement each day but I obviously need more so I need to exercise 4 mornings per week.

3. When I do my arm exercises in the morning I need to stand up.  I have gotten in the great habit over the past few months of lifting weights on my exercise mornings.  The only problem is that I do these exercises sitting down.  I have recently learned in my WW meetings that standing alone burns more calories than sitting.  That makes perfect sense.  This morning I did my arm exercises standing instead.  It also sped up the process.  I was less tempted to sit an do nothing in between sets.

4. Make time with my family an activity. Sometimes this is easy for us.  We love to hike. We like to find new and old parks and trails to go hiking.  It's great family time and great exercise.  It's a much better activity than sitting in front of the TV together.  Finding good family activities is easy for us on the weekends.  If we have time we will go on one hike per weekend.  During the week it's more of a challenge.  After a long day, it's hard for us to get up and be active.  We would much rather sit in the living room and watch TV before bed. I am going to make more family time outside by going on more hikes, walking around the neighborhood, going the park or playing with the kids in the yard.

5. Stay up and active while waiting for the kids.  My kids are very active.  Now that fall is coming our calendar is full of activities.  While Jason is at football practice I need to get out of my car and play on the playground with the kids.  While Gabriella and Josiah are at dance I need to go shopping or go walk the mall (just a mile away) instead of sitting in the waiting room.  There is even a basketball hoop in the parking lot.  I need to keep a basketball in the car so when we have 10 minutes to sit before class ends we can shoot some hoops.

6. Stay off of the computer.  I love checking my email and goofing around on the computer. The problem is that computer time is sitting time.  I need to check my email twice a day, check my blog once a day and do my other computer things only once a day.  For the rest of the day, I need to stay off of the computer.  It sucks time away from my life as well as adds a few fat cells.  I will keep my email up on my computer so I can check it standing up when I need to.  It's a lot less tempting to stay on the computer when I am standing by it instead of sitting.

I would love to hear more tips from all of you about how you move more each day.  I could certainly use some more ideas.  I know there is more I can do if I just think a little harder or have some of you recommending things.  Feel free to comment and add suggestions for all to read.

Have a great day.  More ways to make weight loss easier next blog.

Corinna

"Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." -Proverbs 30:5

What can you do to make weight loss easier?

I promised you that my next blog would not be complaining about the weight loss process.  I did plenty of that in the last two posts.  This time I'm going to tackle my problems with my weight loss.  It's time to hear about some solutions instead of complaining about the problems.

My first complaint in my last blogs was that I am no longer a Weight Watchers Leader.  I was very successful keeping the weight off while being a Weight Watchers Leader.  You can imagine that talking about Weight Loss as a job several times per week would certainly motivate you to keep the weight off. I even lost a little more weight while working for Weight Watchers.  I had to weigh in for my Territory Manager once per month.  That kept me on track.  I didn't want her to see a gain on my paperwork and I certainly didn't want her to see that I was over my goal so while being an employee for Weight Watchers I never weighed in over my goal.

What can I do now to make my weight loss compare to that time?  Well, I could go back to work for Weight Watchers.  It's been a thought but I don't think it's feasible in my life right now.  My husband works two jobs and there is no was he could do that with me working too. I would have to get day care and that is something I don't want to do.  So it looks like I need some other accountability.  Where can I get that?  I have accountability at several places in my life. I've built it purposely.  My first place of accountability is with my husband, Bryan.  He will question me if he sees me eating ridiculously.  He will question me if I tell him that I am gaining weight.  He will help keep me in check if I am struggling and specifically ask him to help me.

Another place for accountability is right here on this blog.  I am accountable to you.  There is something humbling about posting your weight loss struggles and successes on the internet for all to see.  I want to give you good tips.  I certainly don't want to tell you how I have fallen off the wagon. I surely don't want to tell you how I ate a whole pint of ice cream myself or ate my way through the last party I attended.  That keeps me in line.  Knowing that I am going to report to you how things are going keeps me going in the right direction.  I'm faaaaaaar from perfect. I have had to tell you about many of my imperfections but I believe that I would have more flubs if I didn't have you all to be accountable to.  I want you to be proud of me.  Recently, I found out that someone who reads this blog actually recommended my blog on his own website.  I was the perfect Weight Watcher for the next two days thinking about all of the people out there who depend on my blog to help them.  That is a great amount of accountability.

A third place I have built accountability in my life is my Weight Watchers meetings.  I believe in the meetings.  I go nearly every week.  It is rare for me to miss a meeting.  And when I go, I don't just weigh in and leave. It's important for me to stay to hear the great ideas presented in the meetings.  It's important to me that I participate in the meeting too.  I may not speak up in every meeting but I make eye contact with the leader and members. I nod my head and speak up whenever I feel what I have to say could be valuable as long as I am not speaking so much that I am taking over the meeting.  It is great accountability to have someone besides myself weighing me in at my meeting.

I have several friends who are Weight Watchers members.  One of them is one of my best friends.  She is a lifetime member and her husband joined recently too.  It sounds like he will be a Lifetime member soon too.  Occasionally we go to the same meeting but even if we don't it's nice to be able to talk WW when we see each other and cheer each other on.  I also made a ton of WW friends while being a Leader.  I keep in contact with many of those friends via email.  Some of them share their struggles with me.  Some of them share their triumphs with me.  Some of them ask me for help and I jump at the chance because I love helping people lose weight.  Some of them email me tips and suggestions after reading my blogs.  I met hundreds of WW members while being a leader and they all became very important to me.  Each email I receive is very important to me and becomes a great place of accountability. One of them has even become a meeting buddy.  Sometimes our schedules don't jive but when they do, we go to meetings together and keep each other accountable.

Wow!  Who knew that one could get so much accountability for weight loss support?  I can actually think of more people and places I could tell you about but school starts tomorrow so I should probably do some lesson plans.

Find yourself some accountability. Whether you are a WW member or just someone doing your own weight loss plan, accountability is important.  The accountability I had as a WW Leader was something that helped me with my journey but it's not something to complain about because I don't have it anymore.  It's something that I can duplicate in my own life by being creative with my resources.

Have a great day.  I will talk more about more solutions I have found to my complaints in my next blog.

Corinna

"Then Moses said to the Israelites: See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; he has filled him with divine spirit, with skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of craft." -Exodus 35:30-33