Jan. 7: Little Victories

It's really important to celebrate the little victories. An entire year of little victories can lead to a whole pile of pounds lost and health gained. Too often we beat ourselves up for the mistakes we make and not often enough do we congratulate ourselves on the things we do right.

I wanted to take some time today to reflect on some clean eating victories I have had over the past month and a half:

* I haven't had even a sip of Diet Coke since Nov. 30
* I didn't use the holidays as an excuse to eat with abandon
* I lost one pound the week of Christmas
* I lost one pound the week of New Year's
* My "cheat" meals are getting healthier every time
* I don't crave sugar anymore
* I have started working out again
* I no longer enjoy eating out - I prefer my homemade clean food
* I have not caved to emotional eating during a very stressful time in my personal life
* I am able to limit myself to a couple of bites of a cookie or other unhealthy treat without feeling deprived
* I carry a water bottle around with my constantly

I feel like clean eating is now my habit, where before going through the drive thru was my habit. I love the health and vibrancy I get from eating clean. All of these baby steps over the past 5 weeks have led to a weight loss of 13 pounds. I feel more motivated than ever to keep it up. I now celebrate saying "No thank you" when someone offers me a bite of something that isn't good for me. I celebrate getting through a bad day without reaching for the Oreos. A cheat has gone from a triple cheese burger, fries and a Frosty to a slice of thin crust chicken and veggie pizza.

Make sure to look at the little picture on your journey too. Celebrate every single one of those little victories that you achieve on your way to a healthier self.

I have had kind of a rotten week personally this week. I have had financial issues, arguments with my daughter, problems with my ex and trouble with my business. I feel a sense of accomplishment that I have not caved to emotional eating throughout this week. My food hasn't been perfect. In fact, strangely I have to force myself to eat, which has never happened before. So I have had less food than scheduled and the intake of fruits and veggies has been low. I also have to work on getting my water consumption up and this week's workouts have gone by the wayside.

All of that aside, I lost 2 pounds and I ate clean, so I'm claiming this week as a victory.

Today's food (don't expect a lot -I had a meeting that ran late and the microwave melted a baggie on my Brussels sprouts )

m1: whole wheat toast, natural peanut butter ( in the car on the way to meeting)
m2: chicken breast, apple
m3: trail mix
m4: tostada w/refried beans and chicken or beef, veggies, jalapeno relish
m5: popcorn or fruit

Cheers to all of our little victories!

Daisy

Dec. 25 - Reflections

I can't believe I forgot to post this earlier. My first mini goal was to weigh under 200 pounds for Christmas. My weight today? 199.8!!!!!

Victory dance!!! I am so happy to have accomplished my first goal deadline. I still have a very long way to go, but this energizes me to keep up the hard work.

My kids have gone to dad's so I've had time to do some thinking this evening. I've had an awful headache off and on all day today. I'm considering this a "food hangover". I simply can't tolerate refined foods. I probably never could, and I just got used to feeling terrible and lethargic. After less than a month of eating clean, my body is begging me to keep it up.

Weight loss is just a pleasant side effect to this lifestyle. I am high on the feeling - the energy, the cheerfulness, and the all-around health.

Last year I got new life insurance. I did all the requisite blood work and had the physical, and I am very fortunate to report that my health was so good - (cholesterol, etc.) that the company actually offered me a LOWER rate than normal. How fortunate could I be? I had abused my body with food for years. I was 60 pounds overweight. I wasn't working out much. And yet somehow, I remained healthy. I have been given a second chance to make the rest of my life different. I now have the opportunity to model a healthy lifestyle for my kids. I hope I can undo the past and help them to see that healthy is better and much more fun than the way things were before. I won't throw away the second chance I have been granted. I thank God every day for the way I am feeling right now.

This change is for LIFE. A life that is full of energy and new challenges. A life brimming with good health.

Okay, ***stepping down off soapbox***
Here is today's food, the good, the bad and the ugly. I figure if I am going to post on here, it's important to admit to the bad stuff and not just boast about the good stuff. A (*) denotes foods that are not clean. Otherwise I made a clean version of the food.

M1: Pumpkin bread, yogurt icing*, fruit salad with cantaloupe, blackberries, blueberries, and banana

M2: More fruit salad (no protein)

M3: Roast turkey, roasted potatoes, tzatziki, Greek salad w/ feta and hm dressing, 1 triangle white pita*

M4: Dark chocolate truffle* (You probably did not require the star on that one)

M5: leftover 7 layer dip from last night, multi-grain tortillas (these are hard to classify - they are all-natural with clean ingredients but they are high in fat - if I had a button for it I'd mark this with half a star)

So to analyze the day, it was high in sugar ( I had it twice) and low in protein (only present at 2 meals). Aside from that I'm very pleased. I feel like I conquered Christmas eating today!