I need your fave recipies!

Help! I'm in desperate need of new l0-fat recipies!

I keep making the same boring things, over and over...it's no wonder I fall off the wagon!

So if you could post a recipie in the comments that would be fantastic! Pick your favourite dish and send it my way!

So far so good with the Couch to 5k and the walking every day. I know it hasn't been that long, but I swear my legs feel stronger. I've decided to do a repeat on week 3, running for 3 minutes at a time is a pretty big leap for me. But I know if I keep at it, before too long I'll be running that 5k!

I'll be heading out of town tomorrow, going up to visit my parents this weekend. My sister and family will be coming down for the day and we'll be celebrating an early Mother's Day and my sister's birthday. I will absolutely make sure I do my walks both days, and then when I come back on Sunday I will be hitting my treadmill for my run. What's cool is, I don't find that I have to make myself fit it in to my schedule, it's just something that is part of my day now. It's really becoming habit! Yeah! :-)

So again, if you have a favourite lo-fat recipie you would like to share, I'd really appreciate it!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sandy

Oh my hips!

Note to self:

Months of not working out + Couch to 5k 3 times a week and walking every day for 30 minutes on the days inbetween = good start.

Add a 7k power walk into that, especially on a day when i had done my walking/jogging = not so smart!

My hips, back and ankles are so sore! What was I thinking? I need to start slow...work my way up! Now i'm paying for it. I was supposed to do my walk/jogging today but i just can't. But instead of beating myself up, i'm going to do my 30 minute walk on the treadmill while i'm watching Biggest Loser tonight, and do my walk/jog tomorrow. This is progress for me...accepting that there will be hurdles along the way, but making adjustments and allowing myself a bit of breathing room. I don't HAVE to work out on specific days, as long as I do the training 3 days a week, it doesn't matter when i do them.

AND...for some more progress...

I've been eating fairly healthy lately, still have my moments of weakness, but i'm trying to not focus so much on food right now and get my walking/jogging into a habit. But, today i really ate like crap...i indulged in my favourite thing, chips and bean dip...and i ate the whole dip! I am sitting here feeling pretty nauseous and at first i took my usual guilt trip and felt really bad. But then after reading some posts from the blogs i follow, it gave me a renewed sense of purpse, it made me remember that even if i slip up, it doesn't have to be the start of a downward spiral. I need to remember that although i made a poor choice of food for my meal:

- Its done, there's nothing I can do about it now
- Acknowledge that I did it, be accountable
- And move on...make a better choice the next meal

Step by step...i will get through this. And i know i've said this before but it's worth repeating...for the first time i don't feel alone on this weight loss journey. I find inspiration in this amazing group of people, who don't even know me, but are helping me just the same. I thank each and every one of you!

Almost time for Biggest Loser, gotta set my treadmill up.

Keep it up everyone!

Sandy

Couch to 5k...week 3

I started week 3 of the Couch to 5k today, it was definitely harder...but not as bad as I thought. The 3 minutes of jogging is quite a leap from 90 seconds, but as long as I didn't look at the time, I was fine. Just had my music cranked and focused on everything else but the time! It's amazing what you can accomplish with the right music! :-)

Then after doing a few chores, i met up with a friend and we went for a walk. We decided to walk a section of the Galloping Goose Trail here in Victoria. It's a 60 km hiking/biking trail that used to be an old railway line. It's got some beautiful scenery, and i love the smell of trees and grass, beats the exhaust from walking on the road! We're going to try and walk it once a week, and slowly increase our distance. I wasn't quite planning on walking that far, but once you get chatting it's easy to lose track. I have a sneaking suspicion that i'm going to be hobbling around work tomorrow, might have overdid it a wee bit. Oh well, I'd rather be stiff from over-use than be in pain from under-use!

So this weekend of mine ended up being pretty good after all! And to top it off, i'll be chatting with my boyfriend tonight on web-cam which is something that I always look forward too :-)

Keep up the good work everyone! And remember that you are not alone!

Cheers,
Sandy

You always have choices

Hey all!

I believe i see a strange glowing object up in the sky...not sure what it is...but every once in a while those nasty clouds seem to be parting and i catch a glimpse...could it be...no...not possible...oh my god, i think it is...the sun!! Hallelujah!! I've been hoping for this all weekend! It was pouring off and on all day yesterday, and i have to admit i'm a fair weather walker. And i'm really feeling an urge to get outside, need the ocean air!

Had a rough day yesterday. Was cooped up inside most of the day, and although i did my 30 minutes of walking, i ate like crap. I know that i made a conscious decision to not stress about my food right now, one thing at a time, but that doesn't mean i am not trying to eat fairly healthy. It's not my main focus right now, i'm not keeping track of what i eat, i will get to that eventually...but i let my emotions decide for me yesterday. And i was lonely yesterday. And what do us food addicts do when sad or lonely or angry? Eat. And a salad wasn't going to cut it. So, there I was, feeling lonely, bored, and instead of calling a friend to do something, i made excuses...i convinced myself that all my friends were spending time with their families and wouldn't have time for me. Hmmmm...have i turned into a pshycic? Doubt it. I probably should have just picked up the phone and actually talked with them...but it was just as easy to sit there feeling sorry for myself. Well, it's done. Nothing i can do to turn back the clocks. So, i have two choices...i can keep feeling sorry for myself and let the guilt take control of my life...or i can get off the pity-party train and make the right choice. I've decided i like the sounds of choice number 2 :-) Week 3 of Couch to 5k starts for me today. Kind of freaked out, going from jogging for 90 second intervals to 3 minutes is a bit daunting...but i'm going to do my best...that's all i can ask from myself. Then i think i'll call a friend and see if they would like to get outside and enjoy a walk down by the ocean. That sounds like a good day!

Catch up with you later!

Yeah! No shin splints!

Well, I just finished week 2 of Couch to 5k, and for the first time I didn't have shin splints! I've been doing a lot of stretching the last few days, and it seems to have worked. Now I just have to focus on getting through each stretch of running. And it hasn't been too bad so far, though I have a feeling that within the next week or two I might be singing a different tune!

And as far as my inner-struggle for "all or nothing", I'm still fighting the urge to start tracking my food and to start doing some other exercises, but it was a little easier today than yesterday. Just focusing on my 30 minutes a day on my treadmill, nothing more. I think we're onto something here :-)

I am so inspired by the posts I've been reading. I'm still new to this, and I haven't had a lot of time to spend checking out different blogs, but I'm definitely going to when I have some down time. I feel like I'm a part of something here. I'm getting really great advice and tips from the posts and more importantly, I don't feel like I am going through this on my own. Like I said before, my family and friends's are very supportive of whatever I do, but it's nice to have people to talk to that understand what I'm going through. My family doesn't live here in Victoria, but they're only a couple of hours away, and my boyfriend (does that sound silly calling him my boyfriend at this age?), he lives completely across the country in Halifax. So when I can't get those much needed hugs from them, it's nice to have some support at my fingertips!

Nothing too exciting planned for the weekend...just hoping the weather is nice so I can head down to the water and do my walking outside! Nothing beats the smell of the ocean!

Keep up with the good work everyone! Remember, one day at a time! :-)

Sticking to my "one thing"

Wow! When I decided to start doing just the "one" thing, my walking/running every day for 30 minutes, I thought it would be a piece of cake. And I was right, at least physically...but that "all or nothing" mental part of me is struggling big time! I'm on day 3, and the anxiety I'm feeling is crazy!

Every time I tried to start a new weight loss/exercise program in the past, I always did it with an obsessive single-mindedness. I would throw myself into it...I had to work out AND I had to eat healthy, or I felt like I was wasting my time. There was no doing one without the other. And if I slipped up on one, then I would purposely stop doing the other. If I had a bad day of eating, then I rationalized that there was no point in working out...or if I missed a workout, then I would give myself permission to eat crap and start again tomorrow. Is that messed up or what? The sad thing is, even if I had a day or two or three of making bad choices where food is concerned, wouldn't it make more sense to keep working out so if nothing else I could burn off some of those nasty calories and perhaps not gain weight?

So here I am, happy with myself for doing my 30 minutes a day, but freaking out cuz I should be doing more! I should be fitting some weights in there, I should be writing down what I eat and be focusing on everything I put in my mouth...it's insane is what it is! I didn't realize until today how much pressure I have been putting on myself! I didn't realize how much this "all or nothing" attitude was hurting me and setting me up for failure. I have to stop. I'm going to keep doing my one thing a day and I'm going to be proud of myself for doing it every day. I am going to make a conscious effort to drown out that self-defeating, negative internal recording, and crank up the volume on my new and improved positive one! And if I have to play it over and over an over...then that's what I'll do, whatever it takes.

And I AM proud of myself! I had a late night last night, playing pool in a local 8-ball league. It was our play-offs, which we lost, bummer...and I didn't get home until almost midnight. It usually takes me a while to fall asleep, and then I'm usually woken up once or twice in the night by my cat, Buster. He has this lovely little habit of laying on my stomach while I'm sleeping. And if I happen to be laying on my side, then he walks up and paws at my head until I roll over onto my back, where he can then comfortably curl up on his favourite bed, my stomach. And of course I do this cuz I'm such a sucker! Anyways, I get up anywhere between 5-5:30 in the morning to go to work. So needless to say, I got very little sleep last night, I was running on fumes, and I was tired after work! But what did I do? I came home and jumped on my treadmill...and I felt the tiredness and stress just roll off my shoulders while I was walking.

So today was a good day :-)

Baby steps...taking one day at at time!

Well, here I am, at 41, trying again, trying to find my Inner-Skinny, the me that is buried somewhere deep inside. And this time i'm trying something new...I'm trying to find the positive in my life, not focus on the negative. So, the first positive thing that comes to mind is "I haven't given up". It's been a rocky road, I've tried so many different diets and exercise programs, tried to eat healthy and work out...and it wasn't all bad. I've had my share of short-term successes. But for some reason, I just couldn't stick to them. I've tried to view them as lifestyle changes, tried to make them habit, but to no avail. So many of us have been there, have had our ups and downs, our successes and failures. I guess what I'm trying to figure out, what we are all trying to figure out, is to find what works for us. We're all individuals, what works for one doesn't neccessarily work for others. But I'm going to give it my all and try try again!

I've read some pretty amazing blogs on weight loss, have read some things that made me think to myself "oh my god, that's totally me! It's what I think, what I feel!". And let me tell you, it made me feel so good to know that I'm not alone. For the most part, I've always tried to lose weight and get healthy on my own. I knew what I had to do to make this happen, and I convinced myself over an over that if I just had enough willpower, if I was just a stronger person, I could do this. Well, guess what? I DO have willpower! I know this. If I didn't have willpower, I wouldn't have been able to quit smoking almost 4 years ago! It made me realize there was alot more to losing weight than just willpower. It's about choices that you make every day of your life. It's about what you put in your mouth, how much you put in your mouth and how often you get up and move. It's about making conscious decisions every minute of every day. My hope is that I will get to the point that making these choices is second nature, and not something that I have to force myself to do. And I think that a good start with that will be to do something different...and that would be to ask for help. I have family and friends who are supportive, and don't get me wrong, I appreciate every last one of them, but some days I need more than just an encouraging word. I need some people who will give me a big ole kick in the behind to keep me focused! I need to get out there and start doing!

I've read some great words of advice from alot of people, and the first piece of advice I'm going to take is to do one thing, and do it every day, and see if I can't make that into a habit, a good one for a change! So my "one thing" will be walking/running for 30 minutes a day. I was reading one of the blogs I follow, Fat Girl Dives In, and she talked about starting the Couch to 5k program. I googled it, thought it sounded like something I could do, and last week I began the program. It involves running/walking 3 days a week. Each week they increase the ratio of running, and the end result is that after 9 weeks you will be able to run for 5k or 30 minutes, depending on your pace. I'm in week 2, and i'm having a bit of a problem with shin-splints, but i'm pushing through the pain, and just trying to ensure I do alot of stretching before and after the run. Since you're only supposed to do the run/walk 3 times a week, I figure I will walk the other days of the week. I'm fortunate enough to have a treadmill at home, so that is absolutely something I can do every day.

So for now, one step at a time. I'm going to focus on moving my body. Not to say that i'm not trying to make healthy choices where my eating is concerned, but i'm not going to put too much focus on that just yet. If I make some poor choices in the next little while, for once in my life I'm going to do my best to not beat myself up! I need to pick myself up, dust myself off, and say "it's okay...tomorrow's another day!".