Cycle Conspiracy

Just for kicks and giggles, I was reading my past posts and I see a pattern...

I read the post Miracles Do Happen and realized that I go through a cycle or pattern.

In 2010, I was at my lowest weight in December. Same thing for 2011.

Come June of 2011 and 2012, I am weighing in heavier...

I have a cycle... AHHH!

I get disgusted with myself during the summer and start changing habits so by the end of the year I am at my lowest weight. Then something happens and I start gaining weight in January or February and keep going until I get disgusted with myself again.

Now that I know... maybe that is a goal I can work on starting next year.

Now I see why it is important to record your weight and journal your habits. I am discovering things I have never even noticed!

Eating Habits

Yesterday I weighed in at 202.5lbs...

Yeah...

I figured it out and now I am trying to fix it.

I get bored and I eat. I see others eat and I eat. I say I am not full and I eat.

Most of the time, it is the third one.

Clearly it is mind over matter.

So what am I doing about it?

I have to stop, and consciously tell myself (making every part of me aware), that I am not hungry and that I don't need to eat because I am not starving and I will be okay until the next meal. This is usually during a movie or a TV show or real late at night.

I have said that to myself the last 2 nights. The first morning I woke up kind of in shock because I was fine. I wasn't hungry. I didn't wake up starving just because I did not eat a late night snack. This reaction clearly told me it is mind over matter. So last night when I wanted to snack, I had to tell myself that I was not hungry and that I would be okay.

I have made it a point to eat at certain times or for certain events when I didn't need to and my subconscious has gotten use to eating as much as I want whenever I want. I now have to retrain my subconscious to not use those things as triggers. It's probably why I lost so much weight at the end of last year... I was so stressed and busy that I ate when I was starving because I didn't have time to register it was time to eat.

So I am going to make an effort in eating every 4-5 hours watching the calories that I consume.

The Gym!

I got a gym membership...

SCARY!

LOL

Seriously though, it is too hot here in southern Nevada to not have a gym membership. I prefer being outdoors, but other than that please get me to a gym!

The gym I go to has a ton of classes! I love doing Zumba and Body Pump! My favorite thing about this gym, why I became a member, is because the pool is outside! I can still swim at 11am and be in the shade! I LOVE it!

Motivation!

I pin.

Yes, I am addicted to pinterest.

I have a lot of friends and family that are into fitness and health. Many of the pins I see fall into that area. I saw this when I first started using pinterest and loved it. I forgot all about it until I was sorting my pins.

To me, this is more motivating than those pictures with skinny people telling me to stay motivated and work hard because I will look like this. That doesn't help me. This is more inspiring to me than those photos. Those other "motivating" photos makes me feel bad about myself and I am not okay with that.

My aim and end goal is ultimately be healthy and happy. I have a life that is surrounded by work, family, and friends. I want to look and feel better, but I don't want to be unhappy doing it. I keep reflecting back to my senior year in high school during volleyball season when I worked out for 4 hours a day, 6 days a week for 2 weeks. Once school started, it was 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. I have lost weight before the healthy way. I know I can do it again, I just need to realize that I am an adult and I have to take into consideration that I work and I have a life. Being healthy allows me to have this life, but I still have a life and I can't get sad by the fact that how I work out and eat are different. This is 8 years later and though I am still young, I am older. I have been at an unhealthy weight for over 4 years. I have not been treating my body the way that I should.

So yes, this picture is more motivating to me because I CAN DO IT! I will do it my way that allows me to be happy while being healthy. I have done so much research over the years about fitness and eating healthier. I have the knowledge, it is now time for me to start using what I know and just do it.

Many times I feel like the girl on the right... timid, embarrassed.... but I look at that and think that it is not me. I do not want to be that girl who is afraid. Fear will not help me accomplish anything.

Word of advise: find something that motivates you and just go!

GOLF

Last night was date night. AWE!

We went out to eat and we sat there like we always do thinking, what should we do. My genius boyfriend decided we should go hit some golf balls. He assumed that since I am from a golfing community that I would know what I am doing. (Do NOT judge a person by where they are from!) I had family friends that golfed, but other than that I had nothing to do with golf.

So an instructor at this golf club came walking by last night and was visiting with all the patrons and he decided he would record us to help us improve our swing. (Um, yeah...)

My swing was all wrong because I could feel a bad pain in my wrist... I felt stiff overall. My boyfriend helped a little, but he needed help too.

So...

The instructor taught me how to swing properly and I seriously thought he was joking when he said that it works on your muscles. It's like how people think dance isn't a form of sport. Well, I thought the same about golf. I know... for shame, for shame. Let me tell you, I am sore! It's the good kind of sore. I can feel it in my core, my inner thighs, and my hamstrings.

If you want to try something new, try golf! Get an instructor so you learn the swing properly and are sore in a good way instead of a bad way.

And as a side note, I just checked out Zumba Xhilerate from the library. I am very excited to try it out!!! I miss Zumba desperately!

Update

I got on the scale today and a scary realization was staring me in the face...


I am sadly back up to 194.1 lbs. AHHH!!!!

What in the world???

I guess not standing and walking all the time is taking a toll on my weight. :/

Time to start eating healthier and to start working out.

Use Your Muscles

Monday I was working out with my boyfriend's mom. We went to the gym and walked a mile on the track and rode a stationary bike for 30 minutes. Afterwards I was wanting to hit the weights. We didn't though because she was nervous... taking her time to build up her momentum. I see both sides to this and feel it is something I must write about. I know everyone is entitled to their opinion on this so please do your own research and do what is comfortable for you and what your doctor recommends you do.

I see her and her husband's side, taking the time and build the momentum. Right now she is doing cardio which is very healthy. It will make her heart stronger, it will build some of her commonly used muscles, it will attack the fat. They want to build on that and when she feels strong enough, then she can hit the weights.

My concern for her, and let's be real, is she is in her late 40's. Now this is not much of a concern yet, but I know of many inactive people that as they get older have difficulties changing their habits and though cardio is a great way to work out, building your muscles are just as important. I remember reading Fitness for Dummies back in 2008 that weight lifting protects your bones. As we get older, our bones naturally lose density. Other things like illnesses, diseases, and how we eat also effect our bone density. One way to protect our bones is to build the muscle around them. You can read more about weight lifting and fitness here.

When you begin to lift weights, you always start light. You work up to heavier weights. I have never gotten bulky from the weight lifting I have ever done. I always joke that there is a toned me underneath all this blubber. Where there is not as much fat, you can see definition.

I think it is important to include both cardio and weight lifting for both reasons; a more well-balanced fitness program. When you begin finding what works for you, you need to do the research. Not all programs work for all people. I also remember reading in Fitness for Dummies that not all trainers are knowledgeable, so if you get a trainer, do your research on them and on fitness. Have questions ready to ask them during a consultation. If you do it alone, be aware of the muscles you are using and how you feel while doing it.

Hydration

So I have joined the Pinterest band-wagon... that is how bored I am, but it is a pretty amazing website. I saw this and immediately fell in love. The realist in me says, "How am I going to wash my bottles with ribbons and jewels on them?" It's a good idea that I am passing along to you.

This photo was found on http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/.
This website has a lot of good information on healthy eating and working out so check it out!

SuMmEr!

Summer is almost here! I am very excited.

I will be able to read and pass along some great information!

I will be able to work out on a daily basis!

Not only that, but I will have a work out partner at least 2 days a week. :)

Not only is my motivation to get myself healthier, but there is a possibility of something spectacular happening in future and I want to look and feel better than I do now.

My boo want me to join him in cycling. I am a little intimidated, but it could turn out to be a great adventure!

This summer has a lot to hold!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So school has been crazy! I am have been so stressed. Like wake up in the middle of the night multiple times, stressed. Like panic-attack, stress... Not so good.

I love my job and I can not imagine doing anything else with my life! I have most everything done and I am ready (and sad) for the last day of school. I am sad because I will most likely be layed off. I am hoping a solution can be found. If not, I have two and a half months (or less depending) to look elsewhere.

Whew!

Hello all!

It has been far too long!

Life has been good. Life has been crazy. My life is just crazy good!

The school year is coming to a close. Since December, I have been slowly putting the weight back on because I have been eating properly (more than what I did), and have not been exercising.

Spring Break was awesome because I went hiking for 10 hours straight (with a little break here and there). I literally killed myself. Every muscle in my body was sore for days!

I have been going on a few dates for the last month, so when I go out I am trying to be conscientious of what I eat. I know there is a tendency when people date and fall in love, couples tend to surround themselves with food. Since I fell into this 4 years ago and put on 40 lbs in 4 months, I am being much more cautious and much more aware this time around.

With school ending, I will be getting a gym membership. :) I am actually joining a friend with their plan.

I hope you are all doing well!!!

T :)

FAIL!

This week has been a total fail!

I have not logged any of my food....

I have not been keeping track of what I have had to eat at all.

TOTAL FAIL!

This week was another busy week at school. My mind was so preoccupied that logging my food was the very last thing on my mind. Sad, but true.

I figured since the Super Bowl is this weekend... I am not going to start logging until Monday so I can be bad! Being bad is so not good, but I think it is okay to be bad every once in a while.

Have a great weekend!
Hope it is a good and healthy one!

Energy!

Being a first year teacher is tough... being a first year teacher at a high stakes school is more tough! I was so stressed out this past week. I had all the usual things plus extra grading, sub plans, and filling out tons of paperwork.

Tuesday came and I was beat. I felt so exhausted and all I wanted to do was bawl! My mom suggested I take my vitamins again. I do not eat until 11 am and by that time, some of my vitamins (which need to be taken with food) would keep me up all night. Wednesday I woke up early and ate breakfast. I took my vitamins and I must of not had enough food in my stomach because I got sick. That night, rather early, I work out for 30 minutes. I stretched afterwards and fell asleep on the floor for 1 hr. I woke up and went straight to bed. I slept for 10 hours.

Anyway, since I got 10 hours of sleep and I have been taking my B-12 vitamin... I have more energy.

B12

Earlier this week, I caught the first 20 minutes of Dr. Oz. (Some of you may be wondering why I am watching TV when I claim to not have enough to live a healthy lifestyle... but it is my stress release... sadly.)

The episode I caught had information about B12 deficiency. Towards the end of last year when I was shopping the book, "Could It Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses" caught my eye. I read the back of the book, but did not buy it.

Both, what I heard and what I read, state that if you have low amounts of b12 in your body, you could experience many symptoms like fatigue, exhaustion, or forgetfulness. These symptoms could possibly be misdiagnosed. Dr. Oz said that nearly 40% of the population (US, world?) may have a b12 deficiency. If it goes untreated can cause serious nerve damage. There was also a demonstration about gastric acid and b12. A lot of how we get our b12 is from protein sources. When we eat protein, the acid separates the b12 from the protein and then allows our body to absorb it. As we get older, the acidity in our stomachs are not as powerful and in turn causes b12 to continue to stick to the protein. This causes our body not to absorb it. The other concern that Dr. Oz had is that proteins are different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago. We should not assume all protein has a good source of b12.

I want to get myself tested because things do not normally catch my eye like that. I do not take vitamins and I do not eat a lot of protein. I have some of the symptoms so it may be a good idea. When (and if... I am too much like my dad) I get tested, I will let you all know what is going on.

You can watch Dr. Oz's video here for more information.

STRESS!

Stress is my current saboteur.

I am a first year school teacher and much of my time is spent planning, preparing, and teaching. This week I was lucky to get 4 hours of sleep per night. I never ate breakfast, my lunch was always small, and then when I got home I would snack instead of actually eating dinner or my dinner would be fast food and since I would not be full I would snack later. Of course, there was not much time to work out either. The one day I did, I was exhausted after 30 minutes.

This week, I have not taken enough time for me. That will be the goal... to set aside enough time to eat proper meals and work out for at least 30 minutes. I will let you know how it goes next Saturday. :)

Eating Out!

Oh my...
Even though I have been a member of "Lose It!" for close to a year and a half, I have only been tracking my calories consistently for about 3 weeks. My roommates and I went out to eat at a family-friendly national restaurant.

I looked up the nutrition menu before going and decided what I was going to get. By the time we got there, I decided to splurge even though I knew the calorie count on all the items was not good.

I went way over my calorie budget for the day!

If I could have, I would have not chosen that restaurant because everything had such high calories! What do you do when you have a gift card and so do your friends? Use the gift card and ask the person who gave it to you to get you a gift card to a healthier restaurant.

Looking at the nutrition information before you go will always be helpful so you will know what you should get and what you should AVOID. If you can not avoid it, then try not to go to that place. I should really take my advise which I got nearly two years ago from Flat Belly Diet.