Tweaking Tuesday – the ‘wagon’ April 6, 2010

How does one get back on the so-called ‘wagon’ when they have fallen off? In this case I’m talking about the diet/food wagon and not the usually referred to ‘sober’ wagon, although for some the difficulty may be very comparable. Food addiction is a hard thing to overcome – you can’t remove food from your life the major difference is it only destroys your own life, confidence and health usually without huge affect to others.

I looked over my past posting for this tweaking Tuesday feature and it has been a long, long time since I had any control over my eating, it has been a long time since I’ve felt pumped and motivated. I think there is almost no in-between for myself, I’m either under tight control or I have none at all. I watch what I eat (as it goes in my mouth) and I see myself going for that second portion or snacking on nonsense throughout the day and I question myself as it goes in my mouth, I tell myself not to but I can’t seem to stop.

I was speaking to my friend yesterday, she’s having a similar problem with control recently, she’s on maternity leave right now so on a similar schedule. When we were working it was much easier to get back on the wagon. Days were more planned, there was a predictable flow, and you had to bring your lunch, snack, etc to work or you went without (or had to go to the dreaded vending machine).  This made a good 8-10 hours of your day inaccessible to bad food should you have weak moments.  Now being home with the children all day I have no plan and complete access to food at all hours of the day should weakness hit (and it does). Also, there is no accountability, there is no one here who would doubt or comment if they see me eating something ‘bad’ or even something good in a huge quantity (like nutella off the spoon).

I suggested to my friend who is very organized and a planner by nature (almost my direct opposite) to journal the night prior what her breakfast, lunch & snacks will be and try to stick to it. This would be something that would work for her. I know for myself, it wouldn’t work because I would intentionally avoid that list should I want to veer off it. Here’s my thing, years ago it was about being thin and fitting into a label/size, today it’s about feeling good, but able to live without weighing, measuring and constantly worrying about how many calories certain things contain, I still want to live.

Any suggestions to get on the Wagon?

Tweakin’ Tuesday February 16, 2010

This past week has been rough, full of excuses and thankfully done. Last week my son and I had the flu, I didn’t journal, didn’t drink much water, yada yada yada

Thankfully this is a long process and minor setbacks are just that as long as you catch yourself and turn a new leaf.  This weekend, after we had gotten better, after valentine’s day dinner I went out and bought myself a beautiful journal (please read expensive) and got myself motivated. Then Monday morning I weighed myself – I try to do this only once per week – and was so relieved to see that I had not gained any weight over the course of the week, I had actually lost a little bit. What a motivator to do better this week!

As for yoga – I know I said that I would try to do it at least twice last week. Well, this in my week of excuses did not happen. I did it once on Sunday morning and it felt great! I loved how relaxing it was, I almost felt as if I was walking taller after doing it. During the actual workout though I felt quite inadequate, I never realized how inflexible I was. This instructor was like gumby folding himself in half. I wasn’t able to do some of the stretches fully, but I know that I will get better with time and persistance. The thing I love about yoga (or pilates) is that I can do it at night – most aerobic or cardio will keep me up all night, but this actually will relax me and help me sleep.

So what do I plan for the next week?

write in my pretty & expensive journal

drink lots of water

yoga at least twice

Want a yummy recipe to try out this week? Try this recipe for Tuscan Pot Pie from Chatelaine Magazine. It is one of their tested until perfect recipes. I do have some recommendations to go along with it:

– poach your chicken in advance
– remember to take out your puff pastry to thaw the night before

This recipe makes a delicious dish and can be used as the blue print for many different variations (I’m thinking chicken curry one day). It will take you longer than the recipe boasts, and you will use many different dishes and cutting boards. It makes a super large dish of yumminess.   Enjoy!

Have a great week everyone!

Tweaking Tuesday – part deux January 19, 2010

Hey all! hahaha.. I always wanted to say that!

Here we are at week two of my tweak. Lets just say that old habits are hard to break, and pain is even harder to shake.

Exercise: BAH! I did it only once last week. I couldn’t get into doing it.. my sciatic pain was too harsh last week. I have a feeling my physiotherapy caused a massive flare-up that brought me back to where I began. (I even have bruising on my back?!). I think the pilates might wait until next week realistically. We’ll check on my condition from week to week.

What I was really good at doing this past week was stretching. After my flare-up I continued doing my stretches and core flexes and ice. If this gets me moving again comfortably I’ll be a happy cookie.

Water – well I wasn’t drinking 8 glasses a day by far, but I was drinking more and conscious of my caffeine intake. We entertained a few times over the weekend and a glass of wine (or two)  clouded my judgement and allowed me to neglect my H2O intake! I’m going to work on drinking a pitcher per day this week. (Wish me luck)

I bought a note-book today.. the idea is to journal my food/exercise intake. I think this week I’ll keep tabs of my water & exercises (stretches).

Wish me luck in ‘tweaking’ this week! Good luck to you also!!