The Journey of learning a new healthy lifestyle has been a beautiful one for me.  There have been many breakthroughs of mental brick walls that have been keeping me from getting on the road to health for many years.  I finally am gaining an understanding of what a healthy perspective towards food looks like.  I'd like to share one walls I'm currently knocking down:

For years I honestly didn't know how people could turn down seconds when it came to dessert. I have friends and family who are able to do so and I've watched them carefully and observed that it wasn't a painful decision, or one that was done because of social pressure, it was just because they "weren't hungry", or they
"just ate".  I am just now understanding that they were able to say no to food because they knew how to listen to their body.  What a wonderful skill to acquire!; one that children are born with but often lose somewhere along the winding road of life. 

I am working hard to relearn this skill of listening to my body, and to help my children not lose this skill!  Learning to listen to my body requires desire to change, and a love of self. 

The desire to change is necessary if the skill has been lost because you can't learn something new if you're not ready to let go of old habits.

Yagottawanna :)

The love of self is a necessary key.  Think about it:  You're full and contemplating eating more, if you love the food more than you love yourself, you are going to choose food, despite the consequences of overeating. It requires a desire to take care of your body and not cause pain and discomfort to self to turn down the food. I guess this could work the other way around too if you struggle with allowing yourself to eat food when you're hungry (anorexia), but I've personally never had a problem with that : D

The guidelines that my personal trainer is teaching me are directions needed to get back on the right road toward healthy living.  Sometimes it's hard to follow because I've been off the beaten path for too long, but the closer I get, the easier it becomes because I can finally see the road I've been trying to reach. I understand why people choose to go on this road of healthy living and know it's worth it because the journey just keeps getting better!



"Everyday is a winding road,,,I get a little bit closer"

End of the Month Report:

Well, here we are at the end of July, it seems like just yesterday I was watching the 4th of July fireworks. There were plenty of BBQ's, family get-togethers, and festivities.  I knew that this month would be tricky as I just figured out how to eat healthy on my own, and taking on the social scene would be challenging.  Here are some things I learned:

1. You don't have to overeat just because there's lots of food.  Basic concept, makes sense, but for some reason in the past if I saw a huge pot luck I have felt a duty to taste everything and come back for seconds for the meal and get a plate full of desserts.  So now I've learned to grab a protein, a carb, and a bunch of vegetables and call it good. (Maybe a sliver of dessert:) 
2. Put the emphasis of the get-together on the people not the food! If I'm more interested in catching up with friends and family, I can't be stuck behind a plate of food.  The purpose of gatherings are to build relationships with people, NOT FOOD! (it is okay to enjoy your food though:) but also enjoy stimulating conversation because you aren't too busy stuffing your face!
3. People really are OK if you don't eat 5 desserts.  For some reason in the past I felt a duty to taste everything, so that I could tell everyone how much I liked their treats.  But I didn't this month, and nobody got in my face and demanded that I eat what they made, or made me feel bad for not trying what they made. Isn't it funny how your head can get wrapped around an idea and you can go years without challenging the validity of the concept?  
4. It is wonderful to leave a get-together and not feel gorged; just refreshed because you had time to catch up with friends and family. I enjoy not feeling guilty for eating too much.  Just don't eat too much and the guilt goes away. It's not easy when you've got a habit of overeating at get-togethers, but definitely worth trying out.

So I really want to hear from YOU to see how this month went.  Like I said, it was a tricky month and many of you are just starting, so don't be hard on yourself if it didn't go perfectly.  I would like to hear what you did try, and how it went. I would also like to hear what's challenging you, putting it into words makes it recognizable so you can make a plan of attack. 
Let's set some goals for next month and work on them together!  If you prefer to keep your comments with just me then shoot me an email, otherwise post your comments below on this blog. Perhaps your observations will help others!

New Healthy Lifestyle Contest Daily Checklist

Healthy Lifestyle Contest Daily Checklist - Notepad


Here is a help to get you started as you learn new habits.  Setting a goal to achieve a healthier lifestyle is a worthy endeavor and one that can be reached by taking SMALL daily steps.  This checklist is a way to document the journey and help keep track of progress.
Print off this Checklist and keep it in a handy place, for me it would be hanging it on the fridge.  Print 2 copies per week and report back to me, if competition helps you stay on task, otherwise keep your own progress and see how daily decisions make a big differences in your life!

Learn the ropes before the tough days come!

When I started working with Georgia the timing was just right for me, I didn't have anything major going on, no major crisis sapping my time and energy, and my health was fair.  It was the perfect time for me to put some effort into learning how to pair carbs and proteins, how to find the correct balance for my calorie needs, how to eye portions,  and discover new foods that provide the nutrients I need. I took advantage of that time and put the effort into learning the system and I'm so glad I did, because you never know what life is going to throw you, and when. 
For example today: I came down with the flu yesterday.  You know, the please somebody shoot me cause I know death would feel so much better than this flu. The chills, the sweats, and the insane headache and body aches. (okay,,, enough complaining,,,you get the picture:oP )
Well, I've been able to stay on target with my nutrition, even though exercise is out of the question.  I know there is no way I could have done that 10 weeks ago when I was just learning the ropes. 
But this is my point to all my friends who have joined me in this journey:  IT GETS EASIER! It becomes natural and just part of your life, and it's worth the effort.  Don't give up!  And don't be afraid to ask questions.  Many times I texted Georgia for random questions as I was figuring things out, and you are more than welcome to do the same for me,,,not that I'm an expert, but I've got a few on my team:o)
If you're are in the thick of life you can still do this, just focus on learning like 1 thing a week, and take it easy on yourself it's better to go slow than not to change at all!
If this post doesn't seem to flow as well as the others please take it with a grain of salt....like I said...I've got the flu ;o)

Why a day off keeps me on track....

The system of healthy lifestyle I'm using advocates taking a 24 hour break from my health routine every week.  I usually do this from Saturday evening to Sunday evening.  Since I started following this system I've had about 10 days off, and I live it up every time!  It seems that by Saturday I begin to get a little tired of the routine and really start to count down the hours till my time off.  I love the fact that I don't have to say goodbye forever to brownies and ice cream, white rolls, butter, donuts, fries, ect. I just say "see you next weekend". I love that this really works, I'm able to continue to improve my health, burn fat, create muscle, and still have my cake and eat it too,,,on the weekend.
This weekend I went to the Burger Bar and got a cheeseburger, homemade fries, cherry lime rickey and a cookies and cream shake.  I shared it all with my kids, but I got to cure my craving.  I've actually not allowed myself to go to the Burger Bar in over 6 years, because in the past I was trying to lose weight and you don't go to the Burger Bar when you're doing that! But now that I know how to find balance I was able to go and enjoy myself.  It made me very happy!
A funny thing about the day off is that by the end of the 24 hours I find myself looking forward to returning to my healthy routine.  I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome and on this healthy lifestyle system my digestion thrives, but throw in the unhealthy food and all the old symptoms come back.  It really helps me remember how well this healthy lifestyle is working for me and motivates me to stick with it for another week.
So for you that using this same system I'm on, what do YOU think about the day off?  Is it a help or hindrance?

I made cookies last night....

....does this sound like a confessional?  This IS a healthy lifestyle blog....Well you might be thinking I made healthy cookies, but no I didn't, they were regular chocolate chip cookies.
For my husband they are a mainstay of his diet.
(he's one of those guys who can eat 12 cookies a day and still look great in a pair of Wranglers...don't be jealous, just be happy for him....)
More importantly, cookies are significant demonstration of love.
(if all kids had a mom as great as my hubby's the world would be a better place :o)
Making cookies
(or buying cookies...let's keep it real friends...:o)
has and will be a constant part of my life as I travel around the sun with my incredible eternal companion...
AKA...husband.  
Referring back to yesterday's post I'm working on retraining my hands while making cookies.  Before I started the cookies I prepared by making myself a chocolate blueberry Attain shake . It was delicious, filled me up and it was perfectly balanced between protein and carbs. 
I did pop a piece of walnut in my mouth and one chocolate chip, but I did not eat a hot cookie right out of the oven. I really wasn't even tempted to, because I was so full from the shake.  But I noticed my hands wanted to reach out and grab a cookie and I had to tell my hand: NO!
My message with this story is that there will be temptations in our daily life that we can't remove, a challenge we have to face head on.  It takes contemplation, preparation, and execution, not just once but many times to give our hands and mind opportunity to relearn actions.  Every time we go through the new motions we rewire the circuitry in our brains so that it gets easier and easier.  (This is science according to Charity, but it makes sense, right?)
So I guess I should thank my dear husband for this opportunity go grow stronger...I know I'm getting somewhere because that sentence never ran through my mind a few months ago...
So what are your challenges you can not remove from daily life and how are you facing them head on, let's share and help each other!