Posts by itsanewlifeforme

I am back to being among the living.  This last month has been extremely stressful for me.  I finally had an epithany that allowed me to see what I have to do.  I forgot how much strength I have inside of me.  It really helps when your children point out that they wouldn't be as good as they are if it hadn't been for you.  I needed that!

I love most veggies!  I like to start out the day with a green smoothie that includes green peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and spinach.  I add blueberries and protein powder and blend it all up with some water and ice cubes.  Unfortunately it isn't the greatest color but I know it is good for me.  Interestingly I am not fond of salad.  I think that is because I had tooth sensitivity for a while.  But I love veggies in soup and I love to roast or grill them.  I discovered that grilled corn on the cob is amazingly sweet with nothing on it.

I have never really made New Year's resolutions.  My successful resolutions happened when they happened:  when I decided to quit smoking and when I decided to quit drinking.

I have only had temporary success with losing weight over the years.  I guess that is because you can eliminate tobacco and alcohol from your life but food is another matter.  Right now I am working on getting remotivated by reading and starting to plan what I need to do with a realistic schedule to accomplish it.  Wish me luck!

The most difficult thing for me to keep on:  staying focused.     I need to reapply myself to doing something for myself.  I think I am getting there and then I take 2 steps backward. 

What are the two things I can do:

1) Plan out my day's worth of meals at breakfast

2) Work on getting my paperwork tasks up to date.  When this weighs on my mind I tend not to care what I eat or if I exercise.

This week has been rough for me.  I just found out that my younger brother's tumor has returned.  It is so hard thinking that this time next year he might not be with us.  He has been battling several major health issues over the last few years and we all thought that he was on the road to recovery.  I feel helpless in being able to do anything to help him other than to be here. 

What motivates me to get back on the wagon?

This is a particularly relevant topic for me this week.  After doing really well for 3 months, this last month I hit a brick wall.  First I hit a plateau and then the season turned which always sends me into a funk.  Finally I decided that I would eat what I wanted, not log, and not feel guilty afout it but once it was November 1st I would start to log what I ate and then over the next week start incorporating exercise back in.  I guess I needed a break to reassess what was important to me.  I had set too rigid a timeline to achieve for myself before and now I realize that I need to allow myself to take time instead.  My main motivators are that I want to be healthy, not have pain in my hips and knees, and to enjoy being active.

How do I envision my life will be different when I reach my goal?

I see myself being active.  I want to enjoy my retirement and being active is a big part of that.  I don't want my joints to ache and to hold me back from doing things.  Losing weight has helped with the aches but I need to focus on rebuilding strength.  I know having done this before that once I have been active for awhile I actually looked forward to the physical activity.  I need to get back there so that is what I am looking forward to.

I need to challenge myself so my goal for the next 12 weeks will be to walk at least 4 times a week and to do some other form of exercise at least 2 times a week.

I am getting excited about going out to NY to see my younger daughter play this next weekend.  It is her senior year and this upcoming weekend is Parents Weekend.  Her team has lost their first two series but she believes that they will do well when I am there.  I was watching her game on-line on saturday.  She got blindsided and went down.  But bless her heart, as she was laying on the ice she wiggled her feet for me to see and know that she was OK.  (I had been adamant with both of my daughters when they were young was that if they were downed in a game they needed to wiggle their hands and feet for me to see).  She missed a couple of shifts but then played the rest of the game.  As she said "there is a reason why you are suppose to use a mouthguard".

My topic is:  Are you a skinny or fat person?  What I mean is you are whatever on the outside that others see but how do you feel on the inside.  The second part to this is:  Depending on how you see yourself how has that affected you in gaining, losing, and/or maintaining.

For the first 34 years of my marriage my husband did 99.9% of the cooking.  I have only been doing the majority of the cooking this last year so I tend to like making easy recipes.

I know that some may think that I am a little odd but I absolutely love brussel sprouts!  I love to make roasted brussel sprouts whenever I can.  I trim them and then steam them until tender.  Then I mix them with a little olive oil and lots of minced garlic. I finish them off by roasting them.  Sometimes I add a little crumbled bacon.

I like to eat alot of roasted veggies.  Think I will have some tonight!

The one thing I will do this week to help me achieve my goal(s) is:  Make sure that I am eating enough calories each day.  I know that this sounds a little odd when this is about losing weight.  I have noticed lately that my appetite has been disappearing and my attitude towards food has been changing.  I am going to try planning my day's menu out in the morning.  By doing this I should be able to make my daily targets.

I grew up with a father who was a real foodie.  When I would call home the first thing he would tell me about is what new restaurants he and mom had gone to and what they had eaten.  He was an excellent cook (as is my mother).  I miss those calls.....