Category Archives: portion control

I CHEATED ( this is what happened)

Leave a reply

It is now common knowledge that the average American gains 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

Marilu Henner

The dreaded scale after the holidays, how many of you faced it today? I did, and I gained five pounds. I knew I put on a few pounds so I felt there was no reason to avoid the scale. Better to know now, as I begin anew in 2017 with my weight loss and fitness goals.  One of the reasons I feel this happened because I went so extreme on my diet for five months.  than I ate whatever I felt like eating off and on in between Thanksgiving and New Years. I did not plan to eat with abandon, it just happened. I am human.

My plan for my next 10 lb charity is to deliver the blankets I am collecting for the homeless to the Midnight Mission when I lose 10 lbs and finally make it into the 150’s. 159 I am coming for you.

15841776_10154786151543617_2143646322_n-1

 

I am here to tell you one or two cheat meals are ok, but every day cheating for a few weeks left me feeling as crappy as the food I ate. I thought maybe I would feel the joy of the holidays if I indulged, I worked every holiday and I was trying to find my joy elsewhere. This year the holidays lacked sparkle for me. I am here to remind you and remind myself that food is not the answer to happiness. A little moderation is better than an all out binge. It left me feeling empty and not healthy. I felt bloated, ill and my stomach and joints felt off kilter. It did not bring me the joy I was seeking, it did the opposite.

Marilu Henner got it right on the nose, but I was lucky I only gained five pounds since Thanksgiving. Now I have to back track a little, but no complaining. I got this. Lesson learned for the future. Back to the 80/20 rule. Eat healthy almost all the time, but leave room for occasional treats, of course within portion control. 

Life is not linear; you have ups and downs. It’s how you deal with the troughs that defines you.

Michael Lee-Chin

Back to the drawing board, as I sketch the 2017 I envision. I need to do some grocery shopping and I am reading health magazines for ideas. I am on day three of Melissa Bender Fitness 30 day Challenge. ( I am behind so I am doing one round of day two and one round of day three so I can be in sync with Melissa.I am also going to join her and work on my flexibility.  Here is the link. I got 2017 by the collar and I am showing this year whose the boss. Who is with me? Let’s do this. 15870575_10154786151473617_1135422458_n

http://www.benderfitness.com/2017/01/muffin-top-meltdown-body-weight-exercises-to-burn-fat-strengthen-your-core.html

 

FINDING BALANCE

Leave a reply

Happy Monday to all. If you have been following my progress you know I challenged myself to go from the summer solstice to the winter solstice without a cheat on my diet. I was eating clean, and I was going strong. Five months I pulled this off, five months of looking away at every thing that tempted my resolve. Five months of ups and downs in my life, and never once did I drown my problems with food. I am proud of this fact.

To blame my break in my challenge on someone else is weak, but it is the truth that my husband James really wanted to enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner with him. So on Thanksgiving I cheated on my diet. I didn’t overeat, but I ate foods I had deemed unhealthy, and I realized. There was no balance in my approach to losing weight anymore. I was again in a position of all or nothing. This taught me a lesson. It is ok to have the occasional cheat day, the occasional cookie, the occasional french fry. It is not ok to fill your body all the time with junk, but to occasionally eat off program is ok. There is no good and bad food, there is just food and the choices you make. 

Where did five months of eating completely strict get me? Honestly I am at my lowest weight since I started this blog but I have not lost a pound in weeks. Yes, I kept my weight off with diet and exercise but I could have done just as great following portion control and the 80/20 rule. Eat healthy 80 percent of the time and allow for those occasional treats. Going to the extreme leads to eating disorders and creates imbalance in your life. It creates a mind body struggle that is not positive. So I am moving forward with balance all while still maintaining my healthy lifestyle. I still believe in eating clean and whole foods, and I will move forward doing so. With that said I will be watching my portions and using the loseit app to count my calories. And yes, there will be occasional splurges within this new program of mine. I plan to get to my goal weight in 2017 and all of my fitness goals, without driving myself insane. After all a mere half of a muffin never hurt anyone. 

I am proud of all of my accomplishments, and as I approach my milestone birthday in less than two weeks I am motivated for all that is to come in the brand new year. I am going to stop having a love/hate relationship with food and learn to accept it into my life with gratitude as I continue with my healthy food and fitness lifestyle.

As I type this I realized I did not eat today, sometimes that happens to me but not often. I am human and with that comes flaws. As I type I “eye spy” a muffin and I am thinking of buying it and eating half or maybe a quarter. This new balance lifestyle is so weird but I feel confident I can continue by counting it in with my loseit app. and keep the majority of my food plan clean and healthy. I will soar with the 80/20 rule. I am 164 lbs and dropping. 

As I eat this beautiful sweet treat, I will savor it slowly and have gratitude for all the abundant blessings in my life. Life is sweeter when you find balance. 15357064_10154683100663617_1585865817_n