Healthier Living Support Thread: PART TWO!

good morning "healthy living" peeps! :) breakfast for me was two boiled eggs, one juicy orange, and a bottle of water.

bottled water is an all day staple for me since i don't really care for sugared drinks. i like an occasional ice tea, an occasional pepsi, and an occasional lemonade. as for drinking juice...i'd rather get my "fruit juice" from eating the fruit itself, but will drink orange juice, apple juice, kiwi juice, cranberry juice as long as it is 100% juice...no fake juice drinks for me. :)

i am basically a very healthy eater -- always have been. besides, i dieted so much as a young adult well into my mid-thirties that i'm so anti-diets today. been through all that...done with all that.

my problem is getting back into the business of exercising on a daily basis. i used to be sooooooo fond of working out all the time...now i have that 'don't want to anymore' attitude that stinks, so i need encouragement to lay down that negative approach to "healthy living" and get to exercising because i am a firm believer that 'exercise does the body good'.

i also used to have a scale in my home, and weigh myself faithfully. i think it's been at least ten years or more since i've owned a scale. it's sad enough when i visit the doctor and have some "skinny minnie" weigh me. :rotfl: so...still won't buy a scale, but i will moooooooove my body to music and step around the block more. dd has a treadmill in her bedroom that i'm allowed to use...now all i've got to do is use it.

my new "health motto" is: i will move my body to music! i will enjoy every minute of it! i will love myself to wellness! :)

Today was a good day. I weighed in and I gained three pounds last week, part of the problem working 4 12-hour shifts constantly eating. But no excuses, I am responsible. I took a picture of myself and was a bit grossed out with the weight I gained this year, but it's going to motivate me. Hopefully, I'll have some good before/after pictures to share in a couple of months.

I just have to committ for the long-haul with is something I haven't been able to do last year. But it's a new day, one day at a time.

Renee, wonder why when it makes us feel so good we slip into that "I don't wanna do it" attitude?

..............................renee, wonder why when it makes us feel so good we slip into that "i don't wanna do it" attitude?

for me, it has to do with my moods about myself, my body; my life...or lack thereof. it's one of the many things i have had to work hard on this year. i'm making great progress, but still have a ways to go. i needed to work on my spiritual self, my mind, and my emotional disposition first.........then the body will fall into its proper place of healing. i'm a firm believer in the theory of dealing with the innner self first because once the inner self is "at one...at peace"...i then have the strong desire to get physically healthy.

this thread is a blessing to me. i may not post a lot on it, but it's good to come here and learn from one another, and to gain inspiration and encouragement not to give up on myself.

Renee, that is so interesting because for me it's practically the opposite. If I trudge my tired old body with all my "issues" to the gym, the mind and emotions soon follow and get a workout as well.

The mind-body connection is so interwined with me. But I know for me, if I'm taking care of the body, my overactive emotions which tend towards depression are kept in check and improve. While I tend towards depression I haven't had a major episode since the 80s, which coincidentally was when I quit smoking and started jogging. I was able to go off antidepressants around that time too.

But also, it's a bit of the same, because I have to get myself in the state of mind where I do trudge myself to the gym and take responsibility for what I put into my body. But I don't have to be completely emotionally well to get to the gym, just have to get my body there somehow, which some days takes some effort.

So for me it's baffling that taking care of myself has so many benefits that I let it go. Now I have a headache from all the pyschobabble and hope that some of it makes sense.

Mental health has been my biggest issue all my life...and eating follows.

Mine too. For me they are both interconnected as I'm an emotional overeater/feeding some kind of emotion or hunger/frustration. If this diet doesn't work, maybe I need to go back to therapy myself.

I didn't realize you were still in therapy. I'm glad to hear that.

Apparently I fit right in then, because my biggest problem (at least as far as over-eating) is definitely mental health! I am a HUGE emotional eater (no pun intended), but am trying to break myself of that. I am learning to take my aggressions and frustrations out in other ways - like playing outside or being goofy with the kids rather than sitting down with a king-size candy bar.

I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted on Christmas day and was surprised to find out that I really didn't want all that much - shocked myself. I ate a plate of food - some turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and then a little piece of dessert and was perfectly happy and over-stuffed. LOL - after all those carbs, I actually was sick - apparently my body has thoroughly rejected them now - I don't think it was worth it because I was miserable all evening. Hahaha - perhaps that's just more incentive for me to stick with the diet.

Anyway, back on track yesterday and feeling oh-so-good. :) I am in a happy mood today - funny with today being the first day back at work (oh yeah, that's what I'm doing here) after the vacation. Hope everybody else faired well over the holidays. Looks like it's not been bad - so WooHoo to all!!!

Oh - as far as the weightloss - it took about 35 lbs. before anybody noticed it on me - but now I get compliments all the time. Still a lot to go, but it does make you feel good when people start noticing it. Just keep working on it, it will pay off.

Deb, I'm glad you found a therapist you like. When I did therapy it I was at the mercy of the public mental health clinic back home and they had masters-prepared therapists. I had a good one who quit to move out of town and the one after her was a bit different, but they helped quite a bit, especially with self-esteem issues. That was in the mid-80s, and like I said sometimes I feel I would benefit again. I've been to various group therapies since then though and that's empowering too.

For me, I have the tools in place in front of me, I just need to pick them up.

So I've been on my diet for two days without cheating. That's a start isn't it? Yesterday my meal plan called for cheese at every meal, in small amounts mind you, but it seemed odd to be eating so much cheese. I found I actually like the 75% fat free cheese and the 2% milk cheese. I haven't found any fat-free cheese, but experience tells me it isn't good. I think they are trying to ensure you get dairy and protein in the diet. There have been studies that calcium from dairy improves weight loss.

Today, I'm going to do 40 minutes of aerobics at the gym. I did weights Monday and Tuesday and it's time to take a break from that.

Good job Sarah! I've heard other people say that when they are on low carb and eat a lot of carbs it makes them feel bad.

Mental health has been my biggest issue all my life...and eating follows.[/Quote]

And there is the crux of my problem. I am trying to get back into therapy. The trick for me is finding a therapist. So I'm getting my list and I guess phone interviewing them before making an appointment.

Tweety, two days without cheating on a diet seems awesome to me. I have control issues as well as depression eating issues. The minute I start restricting myself, I go bingeing.

~Kat

Thanks guys - you're the best! :)

I am so glad you have found such a wonderful therapist Deb - it is hard to see yourself in the same light that others see you, but at least you are trying. Keep it up, you are truly an incredible person!

Tweety - great job so far, two days is two days - don't knock it. Just imagine - soon you'll be saying two weeks and then two months and so on. It's such a good feeling. I am like you - fat-free cheese is just blechy. Some fats are necessary for your brain anyway, so I think the 2% stuff is a good choice (and tastes soooo much better).

Kat - I know what you mean - restriction spells disaster for me too. I think that's why this is the first diet I've ever been able to stick with - because I'm not restricted to amount so long as I make healthier choices.

Everybody, have a healthy and happy day.