thrive

So this magazine had readers write in on that question and i LOVED seeing all the responses. So, what do you all do before bed? Now, keep it clean buddies (Anj, you know who you are Totally kidding! LOL)

Every night I pet my kitty, say night to my dog (maybe give him a cuddle), climb into bed with my man (maybe he gets a cuddle, too), and then i read the funnies. Yep, the funnies. Used to do the crossword and the sudoko but they get me too involved. Funnies is it for me right now!

What about you???

Night night - off to…well, now you know

Well, that cold knocked me down hard but didn’t last so that was good! While still congested today I otherwise feel great. Will take it easy as I get all the way well. Need to get a haircut, buy the little guy some rainboots, get ready for our trip to SF next week, etc. Also, it’s really cold again here so not too much outdoor time.

The great news from this cold in how i handled it. Friday night just before bed i had a big cry about being sick AGAIN. After I let that out, something shifted and I just said, who cares, so I’m sick - it’s just a cold, it will pass. I’m not stating chemo, or having surgery or whatever, it’s just a cold and I will get better soon.  Yes, I am tired of being sick but I’m even more tired of being sad about it. So, I ended that pity party before it could really start. WOOHOO!!! Pats self on back - ouch pulled muscle - just kidding

Then, Saturday, I woke up sick as a dog but in a great mood. On top of that, I didn’t overeat or eat just for comfort yesterday which is what i usually do when i’m sick. I ate for sustenance b/c of the baby. Really, i just wasn’t hungry. My hubby was wonderful and took Austin out in the morning and was on duty all day and night so i could really rest. It worked! And, I got to lay on the couch yesterday and watch 3 movies!!! Oh my - that was amazing!!!

So, all in all, it was good!

Hope all my buddies are having a good weekend! It’s almost April and time to act like Fools!!!!!

hey buddies! hope you are having a nice weekend. turns out my slow in the brain was the start of a big brutal cold - maybe the flu. i keep getting all these wimpy colds, well not this time. ugh! gotta go lay my head down, but wanted to let you know where i’ll be this weekend: in bed, on the couch, or blowing my nose. hacking my lungs out, too. my tea is ready - see y’all later take good care of yourselves this weekend!

hey buddies!

i was so excited to sit down and read blogs but as i sat there reading my buddy Jo’s blog, i realized i was so slow that 1) i thought it was Shanna’s until the end which kept confusing me. when i realized it was Jo, it all made sense but then 2) i feel so dull in the head that i couldn’t find any words to comment. That has happened on  few blogs and emails and in the forums, so leet me go rest my weary brain muscle. It doesn’t get used so much, so I must’ve taxed it earlier or something Just wanted to let you all know I’m thinking of you - even if i don’t write anything or i’m confused. aha i remember this now - pregnancy brain! right, the smarts go bye-bye…

but, don’t worry buddies, i am very happy and good, just a tad thick (in the head and the middle ;P)

this was on the yahoo homepage just now, thought i’d pass it along. I like the way she talked about the process after the “formula.” I know everyone uses different strategies, but this simplicity was nice to hear. Took some stress off. Also, I used to do the exercise thinking I could eat whatever, well 30lbs later, that equation clearly wasn’t working

Have a great weekend! We’re all good here. Keep making those choices for YOU!

Keeping is simple is the best way to not only lose weight, but keep it off, too. There are some clear-cut certainties, rules, unchanging facts and formulas regarding weight loss that really never vary. If followed, you will lose weight.

So, for just a moment let’s look only at the facts - take emotion, psychology, and personal history out of the equation, and let’s look at the simple rules of weight loss.

Just the Facts:

1. If you spend more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. Just like your bank account, if you spend more than you put in, your bank account or, in this case your body, will shrink.

2. Adding (more) exercise, and not changing your diet at all, will cause weight loss only if you are burning more calories than you are taking in (as it states in rule 1). So if you are exercising enough to push the equation over to the deficit column (where you are basically in the red with calories - spending more than you are taking in), then you will begin to lose weight.

3. Reducing your food/caloric intake and not adding exercise will result in weight loss only if you have reduced food intake enough to tip the energy balance to the negative, whereby you are taking in less than you are expending.

4. Obviously, adding exercise, and reducing your caloric intake, will make it more likely that your equation will swing over to the negative – the weight loss side. And of course, the greater the difference between intake and expenditure, the faster the weight loss (or gain, depending on which way the equation swings).

To maximize your health and weight loss benefits, add exercise and reduce food intake.

I am not belittling the difficulty of losing weight, but there is a kind of simplicity to the plain facts. Still, few of us, if any, are able to be totally objective and mathematical about weight loss.

We have managed (or our society has) to make our bodies and our weight, emotional and social and psychological subjects, making it tough to take weight off simply, and harder to keep it off. And believe me, I understand, I am no different from you.

But I do realize one thing: Whether you are agonizing over losing 2 lbs or 200 lbs, looking at weight loss as a formula can provide you with some simple, practical, and effective steps that can be taken. And just knowing that this formula is fact, and works, just looking at the black and white of it and seeing that there are absolute and realistic steps that will lead to weight loss, may help someone, maybe you, who is struggling with body issues and weight loss.

So if you can, even for a brief period of time, separate out the discomfort, frustration, personal reasoning, and self resentment from prior attempts at weight loss that have failed, you may find the objective willingness to just keep moving forward in the equation – taking out a few calories here, adding a little exercise there, and so on – until the weight starts to fall away. And it will, if you stick to the rules.

I hope this helps you stay, or get back on, your road to better fitness.

Peace and Happy Trails-
Debbie Rocker

Thanks to all who played no sweets and no junk today! Some people want to do more regular challenges, so I’ll see if I can get that going

Here’s what I ate today - i felt good about it. it was really nice to take a sugar and snack food break as int he journaling i realize now how much i have been adding those in recently. so this is me for today, i do eat alot…

bfast: bean burrito (amy’s organic)
snack: fruit, a few pumpkin seeds and goji berries
lunch: falafel/mediterranean salad - the dressing was a bit too much and already added on. 1 or 2 avocado sushi pieces.
snack: 4 slices tofurky (fake turkey, one serving), 2 org. white corn tortilla chips (freebies at Whole Foods), 1 brussel sprout
dinner: 3 blue corn tacos with fatfree refried beans, cheese, grilled rep pepper and zucchini, one small piece avocado.
snack: brussel sprouts - they must’ve been cooked in oil and horseradish (store bought from deli), yes, i’m weird and i like brussel sprouts about once a twice a winter…

water throughout day - nothing else to drink.

Okay y’all! Some of us Hot Rods have a challenge going for today and I thought I’d extend it to all of you Slimmers. For one day, TODAY, we are  choosing our health by:

1. Having no refined sugars (think about what you drink, too)

2. Having no junk food (we all know what this is, yes?)

Anyone else want to choose their health for today? It’s just one day in your life! I did this about once a week when I was trying to lose weight (pregnant now). It was great for me because I realized I could do anything for a day.

Join us and let me know how it goes!

Couldn’t quite decide what to do today as the kid dog and i finally got out of the house a little after 9 for a dog walk. He didn’t want to go to the gym with me and given the ear infection and the 3 times this week i already have to have the babysitter for appts i figured that was ok. We needed to walk the dog anyway and it was looking warmer outside, if only it won’t rain.

We did do the dishes first and start some laundry and we walked to see Suku. She’s the woman who works at the dry cleaners. My son loves her and she loves him. It’s so cute. We all come bursting in (the dog, too) and Austin gets stickers and Moses lays down. Its very nice. Oh and Sean get’s his shirts dropped off :)  After that I just didn’t know where to go - couldn’t come up with a plan. It was 45 or so out (warm here) but still kind of windy and i wasn’t sure if it would rain…Well, we wandered down the street to a park/playground and ran around there. Then I gave Austin a ride home on my shoulders. I was going to leave the dog at home and go get a snack, but he really wanted to be out, so he came, too.

We just all wanted to be out…didn’t matter what we did, just nice to be outside and out. Turned into a Fun Day. Left the to do list at home next to the grocery list and just went to a friend’s cafe for a scone. He’s so much of a sweetheart that he added this big molasses/ginger cookie plus a peach juice water drink - so i ate more than i wanted…What do you do when a sweetheart gives you extra food? hmphf! I tried to save the cookie and wound up saving it in my tummy. The juice I only drank half of…If it’s not water I drink incredibly slowly. Water or booze i should’ve said (LOL, no booze this year for me )

Anyway, after that, we had to go digging, i had promised Austin, but didn’t have time to go to the beach so we found a nice playground with an adjacent field for the dog. So the pooch got to run and say hello to dogs while we dug in the sand. Nice morning. Nice to leave the lists aside. Think I’ll incorporate that in m new plan. A Fun Day…

very quick as i’m very tired from not much sleep last night (austin has an ear infection we found out today). that’s not the happy part, but really that’s not even so bad. he’s such a trooper and now that we know we are treating.
sun shining, mood bright, feeling good, connected to community and my wonderful man, eating well for 2 days, lots of movement. feels good. like tracking my eats and exercise and ways i’m feeling. stretched this morning.  feel thankful that the 5 lbs i gained from this weekend’s bender on potatoes has decided NOT to stick around. that feels good. my body seems to be at a good metabolism right now. hanging in there! won’t catch up on blogs till tomorrow as i need to sleep on the early side tonight and wasn’t home today for nap or really at all, so hope all are well. luv ya!

Hi all! We’re back from Vermont and are slightly refreshed. We had 2 rough sleep nights so that’s tough, but otherwise a good trip.

After last week, I am rearing to go and working on developing a plan for myself that encompasses the eats and exercise but also some other components like continuing to log my food, mood, and physical feelings. I also just did a lot of research on Omega 3s, DHA, B12 and some other vitamins I am likely missing as a vegetarian and that can cause mood problems. I am focussing on my allergies in a way i never did before. I am trying to make a plan that adds in more sleep, more yoga, and some meditation. I am looking into changing my diet to explore food connections to mood specifically around wheat, corn, sugar, processed foods. I am not quite ready to jump fully as I don’t have a solid plan yet. But I feel really excited about all of this. I want to conquer more than bad eating habits, but the bad moods and the physical sicknesses that accompany the eats! I’m so close now… it feels good!
ps - ate really badly this weekend, but did at least give my easter chocolates away!