Upset vs. Depression vs. Anger

Ok..so I am not an angry person to any degree lol...it's hard for some to even think that I do get angry every once in a while (it really does take a lot of energy to be mad!) But during a conversation with a friend, we brought up the topic of weight loss and motivations for doing so. She had asked what made me want to lose the weight....When I stopped to think about it...at first I thought I was depressed about the situation but then it hit me-I told her that I got ANGRY...not just upset, not depressed, but ANGRY (think the Hulk...well, I guess She-Hulk in this case : ) ) What was I angry at? Myself...the way that I had become so lazy that I had completely let my body and my health get out of shape.

Let's say that you were just upset about your weight gain. Just being upset is not going to make you want to get up and move. You will continue on your path being aware of the mistakes you are making in your health. You will be upset that you missed your time at the gym, but you always tell yourself, "I'll go tomorrow" or "I'll start my diet tomorrow". But does "tomorrow" ever come when you are upset? Nope. ...what does=Being Depressed!

So now you're depressed about your weight gain and the way your body looks. Is depression going to motivate you to do something about it? Once again...nope, you will continue to wallow in self-pity and once again will be thrown into negative eating patterns and usually when you are depressed you do not have any energy, so there goes your workout. The difference between being upset and depressed is that when you're upset you sort of have a drive to lose the weight-you have ideas maybe some goals, when you are depressed, all drive is gone and it's going to take some serious motivation to even get started changing the smallest of habits.

Now getting angry...that is when you get stuff done. I don't know about you, but when I get angry I like to clean and be active...it's sort of the same idea. You just have a feeling in your gut (and no, it's not your tummy rumbling...it's the "motor")that you just have to do something. No joke...this feeling is very difficult to explain. But it's the moment of making it or breaking it=Gut check time...do you have what it takes to change your life or not? It's when you dig in deep and decide that your life is worth it!!! Write some goals down and place them somewhere you can see them...carry them with you. When you feel tempted to slip, check out those goals and see if that slip is worth it...more than likely it won't be. I became so dedicated and disciplined in my eating patterns and workout routines that if I slipped it was not a good day lol. Now being obsessed with working out and eating right is not a good thing (there is such a thing as exercise addiction), but being firm in a healthy routine is a good thing! So dig deep...just don't let your situation bother you, get angry about it and act on it!!!

Three Smart Exchanges & A Few Get-Slim Choices!

Alrighty, lets take a time out and look at our diets shall we?

I ran across an interesting article about fat and I would like to share the recommendations with you!!


3 Smart Exchanges:

Switch From...


Regular Bacon/Sausage to Turkey Bacon/Sausage or Canadian Bacon...why? Pork bacon is loaded with Saturated Fat...the other two are leaner choices.

My opinion: If cooked the right way, turkey bacon does have a chance (however, I have yet to master the timing on this lol...my sister-in-law though has gotten it down!) Now, I love turkey sausage...yes I am going to say it again, I LOVE TURKEY SAUSAGE!! lol! It still has tons of flavor just like its super fatty foe and it has its health advantages without the grease! Canadian Bacon-excellent choice as well, easy to make...recommend!



Switch From...


Stick Margarine to Tub-or Better go to Butter...why? Stick Margarine can have three times the trans fats the tub version does. Butter has no trans fats!

My opinion: I don't like to cook with margarine or butter. I use a light oil cooking spray or olive oil. Now if a recipe just has to have butter/margarine, I stick to the no-salt butter.



Switch From...Premium Ice Cream to Low-Fat...why?

Two scoops of the premiuim kind can have 11 grams of saturated fat-that's about half the amount you should eat for the entire day! Low-fat ice cream can have less than 1 gram.

My opinion: I love ice cream and this really is not a secret to those who know me lol. If you are opting for a low-fat ice cream watch out for sugar content...remember when taking fat out of a food, processors will add "other ingredients" to make it taste better. Just because it says it's low-fat doesn't mean it is better for you...as I said before-Read your labels & be wise!! I stick to premium ice cream but have it in moderation...it is my treat!



Here are a couple get-slim choices! If you are trying to lose weight...try to add a small amount of fat (healthy fat) to your diet, such as...


Almonds- 1oz(23 nuts)
163 Calories
14g Fat

Walnuts- 1/4 Cup
193 Calories
18g Fat

Avocado- 1/4
57 Calories
5g Fat

Olive Oil- 1 Tablespoon
119 Calories
14g Fat

Peanut Butter-1 Tablespoon
94 Calories
8g Fat

Olives- 8 Jumbo
54 Calories
5g Fat

Sunflower Seeds- 1/4 Cup
186 Calories
16g Fat


Just as a small tip-Add some protein to your breakfast to start the day off right! I am in the habit of cooking scrambled eggs mixed with fresh wilted spinach...as a side I pass on the toast and grab 1/8 C Almonds mixed with 3 Dried Apricots and a small amount of dried cranberries....YUM!! That's right, I eat eggs!! Eggs have been frowned upon lately, but allow me to reassure you that eggs are not your enemies! If prepared correctly(No butter, milk, or salt added) there are many health advantages to consuming eggs! If you live an active lifestyle (lifting, light toning, cardio, etc) then your muscles will truely love you for the extra protein! : )

PIP Girls!

Some of my Deerfield ladies and myself after workin' it at our Party In Pink!!!!

"Yea, we used to sit there and make fun of your thighs."

(Note: Sorry for the long delay...don't you love it when "life" happens : ) )

That is an interesting title isn't it? But it is true, someone did say that to me before. I can sit back and laugh about it now, but at the time my spirit was crushed! I have always had self esteem issues, so little phrases like the title really made my confidence take a nose dive. It was hard enough when beginning my weight loss journey still looking into the mirror and seeing a 190lb woman. The power of the mind really does play tricks on you.



When this "friend" said this to me, I was at the peak of being in shape and healthy. I had gone from wearing a size 14 dress to a size 3/5...my jeans went from a size 16 to a size 2. I had made drastic improvements on my body and the way I was taking care of myself. But that comment hurt my feelings and my confidence went away. When I went places I was afraid of what people thought about me...were my thighs still huge, is there anyone snickering at me? At that time my occupation was being a Youth Pastor so I was constantly in front of people-speaking, preaching, and presenting. I tried not to wear form fitting clothes because I still felt like I was still 190lbs. My childhood memories came back of being teased and put down, making me feel like nothing.




Finally the day came when my husband put his foot down. One day for church I busted out this XL sweater that I apparently just swam in...after the service he said "It's gotta go!". He made me get rid of all of my baggy XL clothes. When we were going through the clothes, I would look at him and ask "But what if I get big again, what if my weight comes back, I won't have any clothes to wear!?" He just looked at me and asked, "Are you planning on putting the weight back on? Do you really want to wear these again?" And that sealed it for me. I had made my decision to never be out of control with my weight again. I did not want to put the weight back on...so with that, bye bye big clothes! Well I did somehow manage to keep a favorite pair of Mount Union sweatpants : ) Thanks Sweetie!



Through time I have learned to look into the mirror and see my real image and have gained confidence. So, do I still talk with the woman who made the comment? Uh, no lol. I believe a key in maintaining happiness is to surround yourself with positive, uplifting people who will encourage you during times of trials and celebrate with you during times of success.



Do not let anyone stop you from reaching your goals! And when you begin or are continuing your weight loss journey never second guess yourself...get rid of that old you...get rid of those clothes and make it a personal goal to never ever let that weight come back! You need to ask yourself that same question my husband asked me "Are you planning on putting the weight back on?" And make that answer: "Nope...I don't ever want to see it again!" Do this for you...you deserve it : )

PARTY IN PINK INFO

Ok it is official!!!

PARTY IN PINK

When? October 10th, 2010

Location? G-Plex -Garresttville,Ohio
10340 INDUSTRIAL DR. GARRETTSVILLE, OH 44231

Time? 2-4pm
(2 hours of Zumba...what a better way to spend your Sunday afternoon!! Plus prizes and give-a-ways!)

Cost? $10: PreRegister
$15: At Door

Come and join three of the hottest Zumba instructors in the area help in the fight against Breast Cancer! Proceeds will go towards the Susan G. Komen Fund. Toss me an email if you are interested!!

Back to the Grind!

So we've covered alot about food! But what about exercise??

Remember: Exercise is just as important as eating right! Sure eating healthy foods will give the proper nutrients your body needs, but we also need to be active-whether it is walking, swimming, taking fitness classes, Tai Chi, Yoga, Pilates...ANYTHING that gets your body up and working your cardiovascular system is a good thing : )


When I made the choice to lose my weight, I jumped online and started researching gyms in my area. I came across a community center nearby that offered so many options, I couldn't turn it down. So the membership was established! I began looking at the classes they offered, and one in particular instantly peaked my interest: ZUMBA! I have always loved to dance, and there is nothing more contagious than a Latin beat!


When the following Monday rolled around, instead of sleeping in with the kitty when my husband went off to work, I got out of bed. Monday of all days to begin a workout program...yikes! But I was energized and ready to go...I took the 15 min commute to the community center and signed up for the 8am class. The class was not very big, I think about 3 students and 1 instructor, so if I looked goofy doing Zumba, there would only be 3 witnesses!

The music played and I instantly fell in love! The moves were simple and basic. The instructor explained to me later that she took out a lot of the actual "Zumba moves" because it drew too much attention from onlookers...lol. The moves she chose were a little hokey, not gonna lie, but it did get me up and moving and I did return to that class every week! The class stayed small while it was in existence at this location. So my Mondays were filled with 60 mins of Zumba and then I would go out to the lifting area and re-familiarized myself with weight training equiptment. Lifting brought back memories of training for high school and especially college athletics, and I quickly found my groove again. On the other days I didn't have Zumba, I would do 30 mins on the elliptical (low resistance, high speed) and weight trained (low weight, high reps).

I was really into this Zumba thing and absolutely loved the instructor who taught it, she was fun and filled with high energy! I remember one time she was absent and someone attempted to sub for her, she had a cute Zumba shirt on, but yet brought in a dvd and tv to instruct the class. The dvd wasn't even Zumba, the class was a flop! I was deeply offended that this woman tried to pass that class off as Zumba lol. It turns out, sure this woman's specialty was not Zumba, but man she could kick your butt in other ways!


One day I decided that I wanted to add something else into my routine, so I checked out the community center's class list again and found Yoga. I thought maybe some of my weight gain was due to the current stresses of my life and I have heard that Yoga could relax and reenergize you. Hrmm...let's just say Yoga is not my thing lol. Sure I could hold the positions, but relaxing? ARE YOU SERIOUS??? Being contorted into different lovely pretzel shapes is not my idea of relaxing. I know there are some people that Yoga really works wonders for (and kudos to you!), but it was and still is soooo not my thing! Taking the one Yoga class did reenergize and motivate me....to find something else to try! : )


When taking the tour of the facility, we were shown "the spinning room". Inside were these interesting little bikes you had to put together and adjust to your body. Spinning...it sounded like I could get into it, just never had the guts or confidence to try it out. I looked at the class schedule because they offered numerous types of Spinning Classes. I decided to take it light the first time 30 mins Spin 30 mins Abs. Guess who the instructor was?? Yup the pseudo Zumba lady lol. Oh man, I was in trouble! She was a drill instructor in that Spinning Class, pushing me to limits I had stored away in the "I was severly abused during my high school basketball season by running for two hours straight" memory bank. As we like to say, "It hurt so good". In Spinning there is interval training where you go from Heavy Resistance, Slow Speed (Hills), Light Resistance, High Speed (Downhill), to things called Jumps. Her encouraging phrase was always, "You can do anything for 30 seconds"...and she was absolutely right. I survived the Spinning portion of the morning...and then it was time for abs. Ok...while walking to the ab portion a woman asked me if I had ever done abs with this particular instructor yet...I said "Nope"...the woman looked at me, smiled, and said "Let me just say this, she used to be a health specialist for the Army" HA!!!! What did I get myself into? This instructor worked us!! I had never done abs like that before, but I never gave up and put everything I had into it! I mean we didn't get a break until the class was over...our resting state was doing Regular Crunch Postions abs for 1 min.

So the cycle began...Zumba, Elliptical, Spinning, Weight Training, and Eating Right...I was determined to lose my weight!

I had taken the Zumba class into December, but when January came around, it was a very sad month....the community center decided to cancel their Zumba program due to lack of interest! I was devastated...this program is what got my booty up and moving again and now it was going to be taken away! At the time I was not aware of the Zumba Network and how I could have researched for more classes in our area, so I had to move on. From October-January I went from 190lbs down to about 140lbs. I had reached the weight I was in high school and was back into a size 8 jean size! However, I was not confident whatsoever in my "new" body. Whenever I looked in the mirror I still saw the size 16 woman : / I still didn't feel comfortable being around a bunch of people, because I still saw those over weight pictures in my mind, and thought people looked down upon me or made fun of me. So I did not let my weight loss stop there...my goal was 125lbs before my birthday in April of that year.

Up Next: "Yea, we used to sit there and make fun of your thighs."

Keep Track of EVERYTHING!

As I said before, one must make sure their output is more than their input, as far as losing weight based on calories. However does this mean to starve yourself? Absolutely not!!! You see, if you don't put enough food into your system, sure you might lose weight, but it's not the correct weight loss you are looking for!
When your body is in starvation mode the body will actually start to burn your muscle! Once the calories and nutrients you placed into your body are used up, your body is still looking to burn and it will turn to your muscle supply! You do not want this to happen! So please keep a good eye on what you are eating!

When I heard about food journaling, I thought "Ok, I tried to keep a journal several times throughout my younger years...never really worked. I just wanted to doodle. Is this for me?" To my surprise, it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was sort of a challenge to myself, another motivational tool to assist in my weight loss.

Here's what I did: I took one day and just ate my regular diet, making sure I wrote EVERYTHING down. My human side made me think "It's okay if I don't log that piece of cake...or those few pretzels...or that glass of milk" But in the end everything counts, so log it! And I did! Jeepers!, after one regular day of eating I consumed way more calories than what my body needed!!

Here is an interesting tool online...

http://nutrition.about.com/od/changeyourdiet/a/calguide.htm
Copy and paste into your search bar! This site is awesome to figure out how many calories you need to maintain or loose weight. It also breaks it down by specific nutrient needs your body has! Use this as a base of intake! Make that daily number your goal! So now plan those meals accordingly...take the time out of your day to plan, YOU DESERVE TO DO THIS FOR YOURSELF!

How do you know how many calories are in the foods you eat? Several ways!

1. Look at the package : ) It says it in the Nutritional Info!

2. If you are going out to eat...check out the restraunts website for their nutritional values before going there!...but be warned: CONTENTS WILL SHOCK YOU!!!!!!!

3. http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/ or http://www.calorieking.com/
Check these sites out to look up calories that may not be listed on foods!

4. A good friend just informed me that her cell phone has a calorie counter on it...how awesome!! If you got it...use it!

I know it may seem like a pain in the booty to do this...but trust me, if you are dedicated to that Calorie goal...go for it! Carry that little journal with you! Some advice: As soon as you eat it, log it! If you log as you go, you are able to see how many calories you have left for the day and can adjust accordingly!

So I said to log EVERYTHING...and this is so true. We covered logging our food...but have you ever considered logging your activities/calorie loss as well? Yup Yup! This is the next step!
This by far was the coolest thing I found online! At the time of my weight loss adventure, I was working from home. This meant I had time to do house work too! You better believe I was logging every little activity I did from showering to dishes to sweeping to playing with the cat; from driving to the gym to activities I did at the gym to sleeping. EVERYTHING! I wanted to know how many calories I was actually burning throughout the day.

Here are a couple I found useful:

http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/calculat.htm
This site is kind of confusing-you put your weight and duration of activity, it will then pop up a HUGE list of activities done for that duration and how many calories it burns.

http://www.soft4everyone.com/tools_activity_calorie_counter.php
This site is good to use because it calculates all of your activities together...saves you from doing the math : )

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/
Another option! I like this because it supports LIVESTRONG.COM!

There are so many ones out there! Don't like any of these...there are plenty more out there to choose from!!! : )

So your ultimate goal: More Out Than In...but get those nutrients your body needs!!!