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?

Tweaking Tuesday – a confession February 23, 2010

DREAM.BELIEVE.ACHIEVE Inspirational Vinyl Wall Word Art (Black) by bzzybeecreative

Oh how I dread hitting the publish button on this post. I hate admitting that I haven’t been following my own program, tell you I’ve gone off track, confessing I’ve lost control over my own eating habits. I could hide behind my computer and lie and tell you how fabulous it is to be in control and losing tons of weight (would you know?), I could just make this weekly posting disappear and hope no one asks how its going, I could even lie and post pics of myself from 5 years ago and say ‘look – I’ve done it!’ and only one of my readers (a good friend of mine) would be the wiser.

Here’s the thing, I run a small home business under the ‘Boutique Karma’ name, this blog is mostly professional but this is the little glimpses I give to you of my own life struggles. It’s a little bit of a tightrope walk because often I question this feature – I wonder if it is too personal. My friend (above mentioned) told me she loves this – and it might allow you, potential buyers, suppliers, virtual friends and supporters get to know a little bit about me. Makes me more than a shop front, more than a tree avatar or a cute mug. I’m not the only out there struggling and maybe you can relate.

Let me tell you where it all fell to pieces last week. I was being super good, writing in my pretty new journal, drinking my water (kind of) and motivated again. Then I found a recipe to surprise my wonderful dessert starved husband with. I thought it was a great fun idea (just give me a second and I’ll fill you in with what it is), didn’t take a long time to make and my husband loved it. It is what is known as a 5 minute chocolate cake in a mug. Thats it, you whip it up in a mug, cook it for 3 minutes in the microwave and you are done! 5 mins! Where is the danger in that???? Instant gratification my friends. How can I make it for my husband and not eat it myself? Seriously? Do you see me cooking CHOCOLATE cake and sitting beside him with a fat-free yogurt while watching these perfect athletic Olympians? So I had the first blip, then my husband continuously asks for it every night. I haven’t been caving, but the continuous whining and pleading for chocolate cake is killing my will power.

I’m having a hard time flipping the switch and doing better. I want to say from the time I hit publish I will be a super strong, willful & healthy eater, but I can make not guarantees. All I can say is that from the time I hit publish I will stop the mental mitchy (mean & ____ combo word taught by a dear friend)  self talk. I will put my setbacks behind me and try for a better week. I can do this, I know it. It’s not the winning that matters, it is how we get there… right??

btw – I’m going out for Italian on Saturday – this will be a planned free for all. I’m ok with that, Sunday will be a new day.

Anyone having a hard time out there? Anyone have cookies talking to them from the cupboards?

DREAM.BELIEVE.ACHIEVE words to live by

Cheers,

Tara

Tweaking Tuesday – Lucky #3 January 26, 2010

Last week was a success! I’m really proud of the work I did last week and how I met most of my goals.

My physiotherapy visit last Thursday was a let down. I was hoping my new physiotherapy  (my regular therapist is currently on preventative leave) would be exciting, but it felt as though she was a little lost. I’m hoping this week she’ll be a little more with it. My whole session she was running around with other patients and I was there in the end for almost 2 hours. Usually I enjoy being out of the house and taking some time to myself, however this visit seemed endless.

Stretching is going well, I’ve been able to run through all of them at least twice a day. This sunday I have another massage lined up (last session worked miracles), so I’m hoping early next week to add some light yoga to my routine. I found a yoga dvd for people with back pain, it was even on sale at Chapters.ca – I just can’t bring myself to spend over $8 in shipping on the item. I’m looking around to see if I can find one cheaper. I know, I know, as someone who sells online I should understand the cost of shipping. It just bothers me knowing that they can send it to me at a cost lower than $3. Any suggestions of where to look?

This week’s goals are a little more lofty – after a weekend filled with yummy food, wine and desserts I want to start tackling my food intake now that I’ve change some other habits. I’m  starting to journal my food intake and follow my weight watchers plan again. For those of you who don’t know about Weight Watchers it is a weight loss/maintenance system which takes into account healthy lifestyle and eating habits, journalling and support to aid members in weight loss, there is also this point system calculated with your calories, fat and fiber and a points target based on weight, age & activity. I did the program years ago and dropped 60 lbs and kept it off for a year, becoming a lifetime member, so I know the system works for me. I began  participating on the weight watchers online boards again yesterday. I think if I don’t start this ‘tweak’ now that I’ll continue to eat my troubles away. Yesterday was my first day journalling and I did a fabulous job, I stayed with my points target and drank tons of water. Now if I could just get my husband to stop asking me to make him chocolate chip cookies at night I’ll be ok.

fact: while pregnant with my daughter I ran out in the middle of the night to buy my husband cookies for his craving, not the other way around.

so this is what I’m working on this week:

stretching, physiotherapy & massage
drink 1 pitcher of water per day
journal
stick to WW plan (keep within points target – work on other rules next week)

I’ll let you know how it goes 😀

Weight Watchers Hungry Orange Monster by Giraffecraft on Etsy

What are you doing to for yourself this week?

Tweaking Tuesday January 12, 2010

Today I’m going to give you a little insight into my life. It feels like since I was a teenager I’ve struggled with my weight/body image. When my husband and I started dating years ago I was at my highest weight ever, a year later I joined Weight Watchers and lost close to 60 lbs. It was the most success I had ever had with a weight loss program, and the only one out there I feel helps change your habits for life. Granted I’m not at my goal weight anymore, but after two kids I’m not at my highest weight.

This year’s resolution isn’t to lose weight. Nah- that’s too typical and really the number on my scale display bothers me, but it no longer keeps me up at night. I want to feel good. I want  to run with my kids. I want to not cringe when putting on a dress or at the idea of going out. Essentially I want to start taking care of myself. Over the past few months I’ve developed a lot of back pain, my sciatic nerve is pinched, and a lot of that is because of my weight and my lack of core muscles. However, I’m in a vicious cycle.. the more I do the more it hurts, the less I do.. the less chance of recovery I have.  Mix that up with picking up my two little ones and I’m struggling daily.

This brings me to Tweaking Tuesday.. this is the day of the week where I’ll let you know how I’m going to make a small change for myself this week. This week I’m starting to do some stretching, some minor core exercises and pilates. I’m not going to lie and tell you I’ll do this everyday (stretching I will because it’s part of my physiotherapy). If I get down on the ground and successfully workout 3 times this week I’ll be shouting ‘woot – woot’ from the rooftop.

To get into better shape I have to work on both exercise & food.  Realistically, I’m only going to make small changes every week and create new healthy habits. This week, week 1, I’ll do the stretching and make a minor change to my eating habits: drink more water. ICK. For every 2 glasses of water I drink I’ll reward myself with a caffeinated beverage (coffee or diet pepsi). However, I’ll start the day in a deficit because nothing enters my body before my morning coffee.

Good luck to me!

How about you? Are you making any changes for a healthier 2010? What are your reasons?

Cheers,

T