The Value of Health

One of the reasons it can be so hard to get healthy, is that it can seem so expensive. Especially when you compare healthy to healthiest- like comparing veggies to organic veggies, walking outside to a gym membership. Sometimes it is hard to spend the extra money on the things that I call "motivating factors".

For me, it is hard to spend money to walk on a treadmill at a gym, when I can walk outside for free. But there is something about knowing I have spent that money that makes me want to go, to get my money's worth. Same thing with organic veggies, once you spend that bit extra, you are more motivated to eat them, because if they go bad, it is SUCH a waste of money.

For me the motivation to splurge on the gym in the first place came from something my younger sister said to me once that really resonated with me. She said "If there was a pill that was $200 per month, and you could take it and be healthy and fit, you would right? So when you pay extra for gyms and healthy food, it is the same thing, the same money" 

For some reason thinking of it like that, made the splurge all worth it, and going to the gym is what motivated me in the first place.

Little victory- Little Post

Since my new city, Calgary is a LOT more conservative with clothing than my old one Eugene* I did a bit of shopping this summer so I could fit in with the people who don't have "dress Birkenstocks"**. One of the things I bought is a hounds-tooth pencil skirt. This morning when I went to put it on, it was too big, and I had to hold it up with a belt. It isn't the white dress, but I am on my way!

* similar to saying the ocean is larger than a puddle. Seriously.

** If you think I am kidding you should see their "fancy tie dye"

Surviving the holidays.

Eating well is going to get more and more difficult. I LOVE holiday baking. It might be my favorite part of the holidays. And nothing says merry christmas less than sugar free flax cookies, or whatever healthy people eat at this time of the year. But this year my gift to myself and my husband is making good choices about our health, which means saying "No" to the snowballs and fudge, and Buche De Noel and pink peppermint cookies.

I'm just not sure if I can do that. I mean the only way to sustain this is if I don't hate every second of it. SO I need to find a way to have one cookie, not 10. And a slice of cake, not a cake.

Anyone with tips to share, feel free to do so! Any way to decline the treats, skip the eggnog and not feel like you are missing the season? I will post any advice I get as I get it. 

Healthy Holidays everyone.

Pizza Friday

It isn't easy being "on a diet". What I usually do is eat really well, nothing but veggies, beans, and whole grains, for about 2 weeks. Then I go bonkers and David comes home to find me passed out in a pan of rice krispie crumbs, shedding tears over my dear departed willpower.

There are a lot of reasons that people over eat. Some of them are psychological, or emotional. Some of them are because they don't like healthy food, or that they mistakenly believe they can't afford it.

My reasons are much more basic. I really like high calorie foods, and I am excellent at making them. When I want a dessert I almost always have the ingredients on hand for making them due to those same ingredients being used in healthy foods. I am great at baking and not great at will power, so if I am craving cake, that usually means I eat a whole cake. It is all kinds of bad news bears.

So the premise of our new plan, is moderation.  The idea is that we can eat pizza, but only as it fits in to our caloric parameters. So today I had an apple and un-dressed veggies for lunch. And I can't wait to have a slice or 2 of pizza with my dinner.

15 down

I am 15 pounds lighter than I was a month ago, when we decided to start working out.

I have never seen progress like this before. The last time I pushed hard and tried to lose weight was before my wedding. I had 2 goals;
1) look good in the most expensive piece of clothing I would ever wear, and
2) Have the endurance to dance all night and enjoy the amazing party that was my wedding.

I definitely got into better shape. I went for a run one day on my lunch break and realized it was a nice break from work. For at least 6 months before the wedding I ran at least 30 minutes 3 days per week.

I think the reason I didn't lose the weight was the eating. I made an effort to eat healthy foods and make healthy choices, but so often "healthy foods" are full of unhealthy calories. For example- Salad- Healthy- 4 tablespoons of full fat blue cheese? Not so much.

So I met part of my goal. I got into better shape. The morning of my wedding I went for a run and it actually felt good. And I danced all night. It felt great. But that morning of the wedding was the last time I ran. Somehow I just never got back into shape to get back out there, and without the motivation of the wedding there was nothing stopping me from putting it off until tomorrow.

So What is different now?

Calories.

Counting calories lets me do things like eat a spoon of Nutella if I am craving it. And still wake up in the morning and look down at a smaller number on the scale.

In order to be full and not stabby due to crankiness I need to eat a lot of nutrient rich low calorie foods, like veggies. (Veggies sans dressing) which I really like.

I like working out a little less, but I always feel so proud of myself after the fact.

And 15 pounds down feels good.