A New Change of Mind; Journey for Health

So, back in October I gave myself a Holiday Health Challenge.  The goal was to not gain weight during the Holiday's and develop positive habits.  Walk 3-6 miles a day, strength train 2-3 times a week, go to bed before 11:00 pm, drink lots of water, increase fiber/magnesium, and have one treat day a week.  How successful was I?  Well, it's been an interesting journey.

I didn't accomplish per say what I wanted.  Towards the beginning I gained weight, more than I have in quite awhile, freaked out, got depressed, and then was able to lose that weight.  As of a couple weeks ago I weighed where I did last October.  Then I did something I should have done a long time ago.  I put the scale in the cabinet and haven't weighed myself since.  Around Christmas and these last few days I have had sweets, and I haven't a clue how it affected me.

Maybe this sounds reckless, but honestly it was needed, because I realized how much I was dependent on a number for self worth.  It goes up, I binge on sweets out of frustration.  I lose weight, and I eat sweets out of celebration.  Stupid, I know!  So stupid.  But, dang, it's my addiction, and one I will conquer.  How long will it take?  I don't know, honestly.  I've got ideas.  Plans.  But for now I'll keep those to myself.

Even though I didn't have the results these last few months I wanted, it was still good.  I learned a lot.  Verified that when I don't have sweets my heartburn and sugar swings stabilize.  I don't feel nauseous between meals.  And I've noticed that it's affecting my throat as well, which in turn is affecting my singing.   If I can't give up sugar for my weight, somehow giving it up for my singing is proving crazy motivating.  Sugar is just bad, period.  It's such a vicious cycle.

What it comes down to is this: I want to feel good.  Sugar, though nice in the moment, doesn't make me feel good in the long run.   Around Thanksgiving I gave up sugar for a few weeks, and comparing how that felt verses what I've felt these last few days, focusing on that and not a number on a scale, has been really positive.

What are my goals this year?  They will be ever developing.  I love the symbolism of the whole New Year, New Decade and all that, but in the end the only way to be successful is to start new goals and reevaluate as time goes along.  I complicate.  I try to do way too much right out of the gate.  So I'm letting that go.  I'm changing the way I think about things.  I'm changing the way I feel about myself, which is most important.

"Finish each day and be done with it.  You have done what you could.  Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can.  Tomorrow is a new day.  You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

My Holiday Health Challenge

I keep gaining and losing the same 5 pounds.  This has been happening for the last several years.  It's frustrating.  Aggravating.  And after life stresses, this last trip to Disneyland, and my car needing four tire rims and tires, I'm on the upper end again, just in time for the Holiday's!  Yay!! :P

Enough's enough.

I'm tired of it.

I research, get good ideas, and when my plans start working a fall is close behind. Self sabotage? Perhaps.  I've mused over the possibilities.

Regardless of the reasons it all comes down to this: It's the Holiday's now, with Halloween around the corner, pumpkin goodness everywhere, Thanksgiving and Christmas close behind, and I don't want to face New Year's Day with goals I can start now.

Why not start the New Years on a positive note?  Better yet, what if I can actually lose those first 10 pounds that would lead me to positive growth in 2020.  Hindsight's 2020, what about a little foresight, pre-hence?  (How many times are we going to hear that hindsight is 2020?  Especially going from 2020 to 2021?)

So this is what I'm going to focus on, these main six things.  It's going to be a roll out.  A process.  Somethings will take immediate precedence over others as these new habits form:

1. Walk 3-6 miles a day, 15-30 miles a week.  Cardio is important.  This isn't too crazy.  Getting those steps in and it's also easy on the joints.  Walking on the treadmill really is a good workout, especially when you start throwing in inclines and intervals, and I'll finally catch up on some shows and listen to all those audible books I've downloaded.  Win/win.  Cardio isn't just good for building endurance and helping the heart, but it's also a powerful tool for mental health and the mind.
2. Strength train 2-3 times a week, allowing one to two rest days in between.  Two times a week building up to three, mixing it up.  I have resistant bands and basic free weights, plus a ton of DVD's focusing on different styles.  Maybe I'll try a new one each time, or keep to one for a few weeks before moving on.  Keep it interesting. (I'm working the treadmill, so I'll need it.)  Strength training and toning helps with metabolism, burning calories at rest, also builds endurance, and is just positive all around.
3. Get to bed before 11:00 pm!  Some people are night owls, I'm not.  My mind works better when I get to bed before midnight and wake up before eight.  And since I don't drink coffee I have to get my hours.  Plus good sleep = greater control over cravings and keeping cortisol levels down, which is important to weight loss.
4. Drink lots of Water.  Self explanatory. 
5. Increase fiber/magnesium through natural foods, not supplements.  Not going to get too much into this, but the majority of Americans aren't getting enough of both.  They're found in the same foods, a lot of foods that get demonized by modern fad diets.  Fiber is good for bowel health, sustaining a feeling of fullness, and combating sugar spikes.  Magnesium is brain food, good for mental health, good for muscles, and also helps the body with calcium.  
6.  Have one treat day a week.  ONE!!  I have a sweet tooth.  I love sugar.  I probably just like the serotonin/dopamine/whatever spike.  But this is my Achilles heel in weight loss.  And I'm not allowing artificial sweeteners of any kind.  Done the research, haven't found one I'm okay with, but really it's the principle of the matter.  Creating self control.  Man, if I can just conquer this one thing alone I'd see major improvement in the next 2 1/2 months.

And bonus!!

• Keep a gratitude journal
• meditate/visualization 

It's a long list.  That's why I'm building on it and not going full out immediately, but if I can conquer these six points plus two bonuses I would be in an amazing place by New Years Day.

I'm not going to keep blogging about this challenge, but on New Years day I'll let you know how I'm doing, positives and/or negatives.  But I'm aiming at positives!!!

1-Up Health Points, Mario and Luigi Style: A New Health Plan

What does Mario have to do with my new healthy checklist plan I just created and am trying out?  Absolutely nothing, except whenever I accomplish a health goal I feel like jumping up and claiming a 1-Up, Mario mushroom style.

I've tried many health plans that work and then fail, so this time I created a plan that's all about competing with myself and adding healthy goals.  My hypothesis is that if I add positive goals and positive motivation, I'll find success.

This plan isn't about eliminating food groups.  And it's not about failure, either, because if I mess up one day the World won't end. Life's not over.  The next day is fully open and ready for more positive accomplishments, whether big or small.

My Plan is a point system.  1 point for every item, with a max of twelve points a day.  At the end of the week I have an opportunity to earn 30 bonus points, but earning them will not be easy.  Earning bonus points will be an accomplishment!

Each day I can earn:
1 point for eating 3 veggies
1 point for eating 2 fruits
1 point for exercising a minimum of 30 minutes
1 point for 8 hours of sleep
1 point for drinking 8 glasses of water
1 point for being in bed by 11:00 PM
1 point for walking 10,000 steps
1 point for not eating at a restaurant/fast food
1 point for not eating a sweet treat
1 point for keeping a food journal
1 point for staying within my allotted calories
1 point for taking time to meditate

End of week Bonus Points:
10 points for not eating sweets at all that week
10 points for exercising 6 days that week a minimum of 45 minutes each day
10 points for not eating at a restaurant or fast food during those 7 days

Every time I earn 10 points I give myself a dollar to spend on something fun, non-food related, like buying an accessory at Charming Charlie or Icing.  Buying a book on Amazon/Amazon Marketplace/downloading an eBook to my Kindle.  Downloading a song or album.  Going to the supermarket and buying myself flowers for my desk, just because.  Fun stuff like that.

Essentially the money is already mine, only this is fun money I allow myself to spend without feeling guilty, because I earned it while forming positive, healthy habits.

For once I'm excited to try a health program!  This will be fun :0) 

Exercises for the Snowed In

It snowed last night, and I've found that when it comes to sticking to an exercise routine and going to the gym, snow is one of the first things that stop me, especially at 6 a.m.  Some people don't mind driving in snow and ice, but I'll avoid it if I can.  So I workout at home on days I can't make it to the gym.  Here are some great, free online resources I've found:

For the Family:

Sparks People, at sparkspeople.com, is overall an amazing website for all things health and motivation.  There's a great, friendly community, but also recipes and articles on a variety of subjects.  And of course there is a video section with cardio, pilates, yoga, and ab workouts.  The site itself is a little overwhelming at first, but once you figure out where everything is, the website really is amazing.  It's worth checking out.   

For Guys (though there's good stuff for everyone)

Nerd Fitness: Level up your Life is a blog, but Steve shares some great health information, and he has a Free Resource section where he's put together workouts that have links to YouTube.  A really fun blog, and I love the Lego pics.  Here's a link to the videos.

For the Gals

A lot of Women Health magazines have workouts with videos and articles avaliable for free on their websites. 

Fitness Magazine has a nice variety of videos, and this is one of my favorite places to go.  They even have a short workout video called Cold Play: Your Winter Workout Plan.

Self is probably one of the more well known health magazines.  Here's a link to their workout section.  BTW, they have a lot of prizes and drawings, and it's never a bad idea to enter.  A couple months ago I randomly got a package through FedEx, and inside was a free workout DVD for a contest I forgot I entered.  That was pretty awesome.      

Shape Magazine has some great workouts.  I need to try the Fat-Blasting Rebounding Routine.  I love my mini trampoline, and Rebounding workouts are really good for you.  I know it looks silly, but it really is a great workout.

Youtube

I discovered the Mahalo channel when I was searching for Tap dance videos, where they have a great series.  Honestly, they have series for just about anything you want to learn.  They have a couple Fitness playlists, and here is one of their videos: 

And if you want to dance here's a Tap video (link to all):

There's Hip-Hop as well, if you want to check that out.

Have fun!

Sarah