Thanks to All our Mother's!

For me, it is easy to celebrate Mother's Day, 1) because I have a spectacular Mother and Mother-in-Law and 2) because they are both still with me to celebrate.  I am truly blessed!

Yesterday we had our annual weenie roast on the beach for Mom.  It is her favorite way to celebrate each year.  She says it is the only way to eat a hot dog, once a year, grilled at the beach!  Since it is early in the season, we usually end up wearing sweatshirts and enjoying an empty beach due to the overcast skies.  For us, it is absolute perfection!

This year, I was reflecting on how easy it is to absorb and become the best of our Mother's.  It is also easy to carry forward their not so positive aspects as well, unless we are mindful to let them go.  If you have struggled with weight loss for a long time, there is very likely an internal self-limiting belief that is still with you.  It is also very likely that the belief was an unknowing gift from Mom. 

For me, I have learned, and keep reinforcing everyday, that is it powerful to separate from "food is love".  My parents grew up during the great Depression when they literally had no food to eat.  Mom says that many nights they went to bed with no dinner and that if they had a piece of bread with mustard on it, they were happy.  During my formative years, food was very closely tied up with love and celebration and family, home and hearth.  I have worked very hard to separate family love and devotion from food and abundance.  I still face internal challenges with food. I tend to allow myself extra calories for celebrations surrounding birthdays and holidays, which are celebrated with family and love.  It is all tied up together.  The difference for me is that now I choose to be hyper aware and not have it be unconscious eating.

I am not saying that we blame our parents/Mother for our weight challenges.  OH NO!  We are the ones in control of what we feed our bodies and how we choose to exercise and nurture ourselves. 

AND there is great power in our subconscious beliefs and how our lives manifest.  If you know what deep beliefs exist within you, from Mom or any other source in your life, you can acknowledge the belief that may be holding you back and then release it from your subconscious.  It is your choice.  You hold the power to change.  You can create new, more energizing and freeing beliefs to help propel you forward.  Things like self-confidence, self-worth and believing that you are worth the investment of your time and energy to plan your nutrition and spend the time moving in a more healthful way.

This process takes time, requires patience and is about understanding yourself on a deeper level.  So, on Mother's Day 2011, please take the time to honor and celebrate all the glorious wonderful gifts you received from Mom and at the same time, begin the journey of releasing any deeper beliefs that no longer serve you on your healthy journey!

Desire to honor and celebrate Mom.  Dedication to go deeper inside to find your truth.  Discipline to explore a new path to permanent weight loss success.

Hungry Girl White Lasagna - Yum-O!

I saw a recipe on one of my emails from hungrygirl.com for white lasagna. I made it for dinner tonight and it was delicious.  I highly recommend it!  I made to small changes to the recipe.  I added some chopped fresh tomatoes and a little bit of chopped prosciutto.  The original recipe says it is 290 calories for one serving.  With my changes, it probably bumped it up to about 325 calories per serving.  The serving was a generous one.  My hubbie, Mom and Dad also enjoyed it.  Give it a try!

Also, today is my 7th day without any sugar, any fruit, any stevia or sweetner of any kind.  It has actually been OK.  I haven't misssed the sugar.  Instead I really want the flavor of sweet.  I miss stevia in my iced tea.  For the upcoming week, I am going to add back stevia, but do one more week with zero sugar, including fruit sugar.

I dropped 2 pounds this week, and I did not reduce my calories, just eliminated all sugars.  Very interesting.  I ate lean proteins, whole grains, lots of vegetables, non-fat milk, a little feta cheese, some rice crackers, and almonds.  So I did not starve myself at all.

It will be interesting to see what happens this week.  Ultimately, I would like ot add fresh whole fruit back into the mix.  I know that processed sugar of any kind is my "crack" and needs to be avoided!

Tomorrow morning my decaf tea will have some stevia in it.  YAY!
 
Desire to continue to seek a healthier self.  Dedication to monitoring changes.  Discipline to honor my commitments.

Happy Easter!

Easter is a great time for renewal! I am going to use this as a time to renew my approach to nutrition. Starting tomorrow morning, I am going to eliminate sugar from my diet and see how my body reacts. So no processed sugar or fruit sugar. I will concentrate on lean proteins, lots of vegetables and occasional whole grain. I will include natural fats like avocado and olive oil.

Now, I do not eat much sugar, except for around holiday celebrations. But I am addicted to the flavor of sweet. So I will also eliminate the use of stevia, which I use in my coffee, tea and iced tea every day. I just want to see if I can do without "sweet".

Wish me luck...I will let you know how it goes!

Desire to eliminate an addiction to sweet. Dedication to my health. Discipline to at least try the experiment.

Trying New Things!

I heard from Sarah who asked me if I had heard of Mark Bitten and his book, Food Matters.   Yes, I have!  He advocates that we can change the planet if we are more mindful of what we eat.  He is a vegetarian until dinner time.  That cracks me up! 
A label I have heard used is "flexitarian", someone who has a "Meatless Monday" or eliminates animal products part of the time. 

Of course, Jamie Oliver and his Food Revolution is making a big impact in the U.S.  I enjoy watching his approach to trying to get people to try a new way of approaching food and nutrition.

I just had my lunch and had falafel chips with my lunch today They are like a crispy flat falafel.  I found them at Jimbo's and they are delicious!  Give 'em a try!

So, this morning I had my ass handed to me during my workout with my trainer.  One legged burpees alternating with trunk rotations.  Walking lunges with side ball bounce.  Pull ups (ok-mine were assisted, I still can't do a full body pull up alone yet!) Jumping jack burpees.  Bosu push-ups and move.  Triple load on the triceps. Need I go on????  Talk about trying something new!  My trainer and I decided to add a bigger calorie burn to our sessions to impact how I am burning calories.  I will let you know how it goes!

Desire to lead with an open mind.  Dedication to make yourself do the final set of one legged burpees.  Discipline to know when to flex!

A Fun Get-a-way

Allen and I went away for a weekend at the Laguna Cliffs Resort in Dana Point.  We had a blast!  I took Friday off and did my 2 hour workout on Friday morning.  Then on Saturday we took a nice relaxing walk around the harbor.  Then Sunday morning, after sleeping in, we hiked up the back side of the harbor, then out onto the headlands, then up another very steep set of stairs, then around the harbor, then did 3 more sets of stairs just for fun!  It was a great workout!  It was a nice balance to the treats we had at the bar last night!

I have been listening to a lot of women who have been talking about the diets they have been on.  One friend is doing Weight Watchers.  One friend is on Slim Fast shakes.  One friend is on Medifast.  One friend described something called HCG plus 500 calories a day.....wasn't sure I even understood that one.  One friend had to give up gluten and dairy for the health of her gut and is giving up animal protein too.  I asked her - does that make you a vegan?  She declined the label, but had to agree.

One thing I am sure of is that we are all working on finding a healthier version of ourselves.  Feel free to let me know what is working for you.  I am always interested in learning new and better ways to find a healthier version of me.

Desire to break free from the routine and have fun!  Dedication to staying true to workouts while having fun!  Discipline to keep learning by seeking wisdom with fresh eyes!   

Celebrating 100 Today!

I think I look amazing for 100......100 posts, that is! :-) This is my 100th post and I want to thank you for being part of my journey! THANK YOU!

I am so grateful for so many things in my life. My healthy journey blog began as a way to help me navigate weight loss and a return to a healthier me. This journey has turned out to be so much richer and filled with so much more meaning. THANK YOU!

I am blessed beyond anything I could have imagined, including having the energy and positive will to succeed on my healthy journey. Every day I encounter opportunities to reflect on the blessings of my journey. Every day I am humbled by other people and what their journey includes. Every day I thank God for the chance to continue striving to make good choices, to include healthy activities and to practice learning the lessons that are placed in my path.

A co-worker of mine competed in his first half Ironman competition yesterday. He finished in a VERY respectable 5 1/2 hours! Go Ryan! On Friday, he shared with me his motivation. He has started a foundation to raise money to find a cure for multiple myeloma. He races to raise money for his foundation. Then he shared with me that his beloved Mom is battling the disease, was diagnosed 4 years ago when she turned 50. I could not have been more humbled.

When God opens a window to a lesson like that, it causes me to pause, reflect, be grateful for my blessings and also to think....what more can I be doing to help others.

I hope anyone reading this will do the same. Find a reason to give. Find a vehicle to share. Find a way to pay it forward. All of this matters.

So, happy 100th! THANK YOU for sharing and caring and being a part of my healthy journey!

Desire to contribute. Dedication to gratitude. Discipline to pay it forward to others.

Yep - It's Saturday!

8am: cardio - check
9am:get butt kicked by trainer - check
10:15am: hair appointment - check
12:15 - 90 minutes of yin yoga - check
2:30pm: mani/pedi - check

It's 4:30 and I'm back at home relaxing after a packed Saturday. I am struck by how structured my Saturday's are and how much I treasure my unscheduled Sundays, when I get them. I have read many articles about how important it is to have down time in order for your body to repair and process everything it needs to do. So no matter how busy and scheduled you are, please be sure to find time for yourself to relax.

So I am off to enjoy a quiet evening leading into a a relaxed unstructured Sunday.

Yay for the weekend!!!