Tag Archives: How-to

Excitement

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So what makes my little bradycardic heart go pitter patter? When I find something new and

Lemon Plum, ripening

Lemon Plum, ripening

fun at the grocery store! Anything from a new product on the shelves or a new recipe I get excited! However it seems rare-er and rare-er these days that I find new fruits and veggies these days that I have never seen or heard of before.

This week I nearly lept over a few people to learn what this pictured fruit was.  More than the “Next great potato chip flavor” from Lays, or the latest new burger combo from Burger King I am googling to learn about this fruit!  I cannot wait to feel the flesh burst under my teeth and the juices flow into my mouth.  Perhaps it is more that I miss summer, and the juicy fruits and wealth of produce that it brings.  The wait to try this fruit is killing me!

I have had so much underwhelming produce lately it nearly breaks my heart.  The other night I ate some starchy bananas, that left my tongue sore. My grapes have been small and sour, my apples are mediocre and the ones I like, expensive.  I spend more money buying the better apples so that I will enjoy them, the Opal apples the Lady Alice apples even honey crisp apples, but they just aren’t up to snuff.  Strawberries and blueberries are okay, but not as good as can be, the quality is just so hit and miss with them.

I am ready for summer, farmers markets, the warm sunshine on my skin.  I am ready for the smell of fresh tomatoes, and … dirt. I am hopeful perhaps some of my friends with larger kitchen space will share their spaces this summer and let me come cook for them.  Let me amaze them with me culinary capabilities to wow everyone.  *shruggs*

Have you tried anything new lately? Is there something in season that I shouldn’t miss?  Do you have a favorite produce gem this time of year that I should be trying?  Frozen and canned seems to be the way to go in the winter… but I am Freezer Burnt here in Minnesota.

2012 the year that the world Ended… A lookback.

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So by now we all have learned that 2012 would not bring about the end of the world, contrary to what some of my coworkers deeply believed.  It would not bring about the apocalypse despite all the snow being dumped just south of my home here in Minneapolis.  What did 2012 bring about… the death of Twinkies, which were never a food  I ate but was often accused of eating too many of… I am glad to see them go.  It was also the year my gym membership was basically “life tuition” as I developed new heath problems, from my feet to my back, hips and knees problems seemed to be the order of things.  Physical therapy replaced the gym for the later part of 2012 and even that has been replaced with no activity as I sit here in a coffee shop on a Saturday morning evaluating what is to come for 2013.

I have been in my job now for almost a year.  Each day I wake at 3am and head to work, I am on from 4am until 2pm Monday through Friday.   My job is extremely high stress and extremely critical.  This week I took my 2 vacation days and I ended up having to go into work to fix a crisis at 5pm on Tuesday.  My job allows no flexibility for me to sneak in things like a quick walk around the block for exercise.  The most working out I get in at work is running into the warehouse to grab parts off the shelves for people when we are super busy, all this while I am doing other things.  It is crazy, and it sucks a lot at times because I feel like a punching bag when things go wrong.  Generally when anything goes wrong, from anyone elses shift, because I am there during primetime it becomes my fault, and my problems and I am the punching bag.  I have not taken to eating my feelings, but I have identified (again) that I know why i never thought I ate my feelings in the past.  It was simply because I wasn’t in touch with anything.  Not the feelings themselves nor the feelings of hunger.  You cannot satisfy that which you do not know.

This year after regaining a portion of my weight, due to lack of exercise I joined WeightWatchers.  Call it denial, whatever.  I don’t like to talk about the gain, but my clothes don’t fit right, I don’t feel good, and I can see it, that “bloated look” is FAT. I LOVE my meetings.  I look forward to Saturday mornings getting to go and share with people.  My leader, Judy, who I didn’t like the first time I love now.  Her passion and enthusiasm is awesome! She is also trying to groom me so to speak to be a WW leader once I hit goal.  It will be a long road from now but she thinks I will be perfect for it.  She is always asking for my imput on the topic and what I have to share, as if I were a lifetime member.  I like the earliest meeting of the day best, it is full of lifetime members, the other meetings of the day are great too, but there is something about the first meeting of the day that is so full of energy that feels like home.

I’ve struggled a lot with the #WW program lately, having not been exercising because of my health I track some days I  don’t track others.  This week I posted a 7 pound loss after the last probably 6 weeks all being small, but steady gains.  Go figure the week full of cookies and treats at every turn I could ignore.  I guess I need the temptation everywhere in overload to be able to ignore it.

HolidayStrategyMeeting

Above is an example of the Holiday strategy session we had this morning on ways to cope with all of the temptations we face around the holidays.  It is great to have a weekly support group meeting.

So really I am heading into 2012, a little wiser, a little wider, and with a lot more support behind me.  Do I grieve for the me that I was in 2011, It would be a lie if I said no, I miss the freedom that I had in my old job.  The ability to just go to the gym for hours, the ability to meet up with my friends and share support and stories and laughter at all hours of the night and day.  However the fact that I now have a routine should work to my benefit, should.  Now if we could just sort out the soft tissue damage in my back, and the issues with my feet… if only if only if only.  I am taking it a day at a time.  I am doing what I can control.  I can make the decision to have the small or medium skim latte instead of the large, I can choose to buy the cut up fresh fruit salad  to save myself a little time at home if it means I will have fruit for work instead of junk.  I used to think that our choices defined us.  I am beginning to rethink that.  I think choices REFINE us.

2013 the year of choice. I choose ME.  What will you choose?

Sharing Circle

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So in going to my meetings at Weight Watchers I have been forcing myself to talk, or rather, perhaps a better way to phrase it is that I have found myself opening up to the groups I have been with.  Offering suggestions tips and tricks of what has helped me along the way so far.  In my mind I can feel the members that have been there a while rolling their eyes at me, because I am new to their program, but I have been at this a while and have seen measurable success on my own.

I have been going, on average to two meetings a week.  The leader I didn’t care for at first has grown on me, I think it was more the people at that first meeting I didn’t click with, and I think that had more to do with the weather, and the bad parking that weekend in the are around the location, and the fact that I was kind-of ignored and dismissed while I sat there.

I guess one of the things I am really enjoying about the program is actually the meetings.  I like going, and interacting with other people that are trying to do the same thing I am.  It isn’t that I feel alone, or lonely in the battle to get this weight off, I have concluded that there are very few people in the world that have never struggled with weight in one way or another, I just like hearing what others have to say.  I like that it gives me a feeling of community, it sparks my thought process for things like lunches and dinners, even if I don’t take the ideas and use them that week, I know they are planting seeds in the back of my mind for the future.  I also hope that what I have to share, in insight or past stumbling blocks for myself can help someone else there.  For example we were talking about tracking food last week, and how a “3 month tracker” which is a paper tracker shouldn’t last more than 3 months.  I use an electronic tracker now.  When I first started I used paper.  I liked paper, it was safe, I could erase things, I could reward myself on the paper with stickers if I was under my caloric goal for the day.  I had a whole system that I used, and it worked for me.  Eventually I went electronic because it was faster, and easier… and easier meant I could be lazier! Eventually I stopped tracking and I was one of those people who could have made that 3 month tracker last a year! I am bring very diligent and deliberate now with my tracking, and I know if one isn’t working I need to switch to the other.  I offered the hint/tip that I learned from a PriorFatGirl event about recording life events, special occasions, thoughts and feelings in the margins of your tracker.  It helps when you look back to identify patterns and stumbling blocks.  Everyone seemed to really like that idea, so I know that I am offering the group something not just taking.

However I can’t help but feel like I am playing teachers pet when I talk.  I am certainly not trying to be, but I want to be helpful to others where I can be.  So I hush myself, until I know that I have something that is truly helpful and applicable to everyone in the room, or a goodly majority and then I go from there.

Do you go to meetings? Do you talk?  Do you feel like you talk too much? How do you strike a balance with it? I would love to know what you think!

Live Big, Dream Bigger

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So yesterday I met my friend Liz for coffee.  Despite me being sick and battling losing my voice, My outcry for help on twitter earlier this week went answered.  Liz got up before 8am, and out of the house to meet me for coffee and try to help me figure out why I am stuck.

We sat at a local coffee shop for nearly two hours talking about where I am, in lots of aspects of my life.  We talked about everything from the eating and exercise component, which I have mostly nailed at this point, but can always stand to use some tweaking, to my job and relationships and the dreaded future.

Yesterday I set two mini-goals with Liz’s help, stop enabling those around me to eat badly by purchasing cookies and doughnuts etc. (which I do for the office, and others around me).  I also intend to get off my diet soda habit again.  Last year at this time I gave up my diet coke habit and it has been finding its way back into my diet now that I am in the office.  On Friday I found that I consumed 3 or 4 cans of caffeine free diet coke.  This is not acceptable!  How much water did I have in that same amount of time that day? NONE!

Another thing we talked about was my job, and how unfulfilled I am.  It is no secret to anyone that sees me at the end of my day that this job is taking its toll on me.  It doesn’t give back, it doesn’t build me up or give my life meaning, it is a job. The tough part of the equation here is that I feel tuck, I need the money from the job, and I don’t know that I am qualified to do much else.  I lack the self-esteem and the knowledge of what else is out there.

Liz gave me some homework of researching 3 potential jobs of my choosing and how to get there, meaning what schooling is required, how much time would it take etc.  Trouble is I am unsure of what jobs I want, or would be good at.  If I suddenly won the lottery and didn’t have to work, would I walk away from my job?  Honestly, yes, but not until they had someone to replace me that was competent.  What would I do after that?  I don’t know, and that is the honest answer.  I know I would want to be somewhere that I could help people who were in the situation I was in.  Overweight, giving up hope, or struggling wanting to change their lives, wanting to get better these are the people I want to build up.  If I could do anything I would love to just be able to talk to these people, tell them not to give up, be a professional cheerleader to them.  I want to inspire people I want to keep them focused on what they want for themselves.  I want them to want success for them as much as I want it for them because in all honesty, I want success for each of my friends quite possibly more than some of them want it for themselves.  I just don’t know how to go about doing that.

I do know that I am not doing that at my job.  The closest I get to doing something that give back at my job is when we do some sort of transport of medical equipment, or transplant type stuff.  When I was young I had such clear goals I was going to be a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon… and then I started college, and realized that due to the lack of preparation I had from my highschool years and previous that I was basically going to have to start over from scratch in remedial classes, I switched majors, continued to work on my weaknesses and explored other options.  It was a slap in the face. I struggled so much at Penn State, and as my health faded, so did my grades and eventually I just stopped going to classes.

I let my failure be the bar by which I measure my worth.  I don’t have a college degree.  I have taken shit for it from people in my life who call themselves my friends.  I have taken shit for it from my family, why don’t you just go back to school.  Well, I still have to work, I still have weight to lose, there are hundreds of reasons.  I also, don’t know what I want to do.

I don’t know what I would be good at.  English isn’t my strong suit and the idea of having to write a paper terrifies me.  So what is a girl to do? Keep plugging along telling myself I can’t change my situation.  I have a resume together for a temp agency, but I feel like that i going to put me in the same situation I am in now, where it is still just going to be a job.  A job where I am unfulfilled a job where I give, and don’t feel.

Liz told me I need to learn to dream bigger for myself, and figure out what I want from my life.  I don’t know what I want from life… how does anyone go about figuring out what they want.  I mean I am 30, and clearly after this long I should have an idea right?  Knowing I was struggling with this we decided that perhaps the better place to start is knowing what I don’t want.  So that is where I am starting from right now.  What do I know I don’t want… Heck, most nights I can’t decide what I do and don’t want for dinner, how am I supposed to decide what I want for the rest of my life?!

One Breath, For My Roots

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The second person to speak at #OBOS was Philly D, who I had never met before, mostly because my schedule has never allowed me Friday nights to go hang out with all the cool kids at hot yoga.  Happily that is changing and I will soon head off to my first Hot Yoga class in the near future!  Anyway, Phil had me in tears for most of his discussion.  He shared some very personal stories about his sister and some volunteer work that he does at a Children’s hospital with cancer patients.  A boy who communicates only by RAWR-ing because he thinks he is actually a dinosaur… because they are strong… I can relate. #rawr.

Do you know what the difference between being and doing is?  So many of us say I want to be BE healthy.  The dictionary defines being as something that exists.  That is something that I did for SO MANY YEARS in my life… I existed.  If you look back on this blog you see me talk about feeling like I was watching life pass me by because it was.  However doing is defined as action, performance, and execution.  I don’t know about you all but I sure want to be doing not being.

Remember the human doing project at Mall of America last year… they had him DOING… so think about that… to be healthy you have to DO.  There is a local health insurance company here that has a DO campaign and they truly have hit the nail on the head.  To be healthy you have to DO.

I am sure you are sitting there going so what Kris… we all know we have to workout, so Phil said go do Yoga right?  He owns a studio this is what he wants you to do right?  No.  It is hard to explain exactly what he was talking about in general or specific terms if you have never had that moment that wakes you up from that dark place, so forgive the bulleted nature of this.  I am going to try to not weep as I think about how much impact his words had on my heart.

Phil’s wish for each of us is that we can learn to be more awake in our lives, that we can me more aware of what is in front and around us.  In order to Rise Up and meet life, you must first wake up to your surroundings.  You must tune into yourself, make deliberate choices about your breathing, and movements, feel your body, feel your breath.

As you move through this life and become more aware of things you will know when something feels wrong, and when something feels wrong you will learn that you need to step up and stand up for others.  As you rise up you will see things that are unfair and unjust and you cannot ignore them.  They will not change unless someone speaks up.

As you rise up you must reach out and down to others, this is part of why Jen (@PriorFatGirl) shares her story, and a very big part of why I am so open and honest on my blog about my struggles.  When you reach out to others you let them know that there is hope, help and strength.

Be what you love in life, and use what you love to make a difference because it isn’t actually the length of your life that makes the biggest impact it is the width.  The more people you reach, and they in turn reach creates waves and ripples that will effect more people than you ever intended.

He also spoke about how important it is to be aware of your word choices, which was also something Mary spoke about.  The words you choose to define yourself, your life your goals and the things in your mind can really set yourself up for success or for failure.  Do you remember my Can’ts Won’ts and Don’ts post? Go back and read it… I felt like they both took a page right from my blog and were telling me to go back and read my words… Kris make sure you are picking your words correctly.

After hearing both Mary and Phil speak about how can’t and and won’t and don’t are so often confused I really felt like I had a grasp on something strong.  I know when I first had that moment of clarity about those three words back in August it really was something amazing.  It really becomes a more about DOING what you have to do and less about what you want.  I can’t cook healthy meals for my family is actually I don’t because my family won’t eat them.  Well guess what you CAN because you make those decisions.  I can’t workout because I don’t have time is really I don’t workout because I would rather watch tv, and I won’t give up that addiction to finding out what happens on that next episode of Lost (okay, I am out of touch but so what!) You get it right?

Who has control of your life?  Do you have control?  Who did you give the control to?  Are you ready to take it back?  Only you can!

One Breath, Because It’s Hard!

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Let’s be honest, my head is still swimming, or moreover my heart is still in overwhelm from Saturday.  The #OBOS events always hit me right in the chest.  I think it is because I let myself be vulnerable, because it is a necessary part of getting to the root of why I became 400+ pounds.  I think it is also crucial to helping others along the way.  So that being said, once again the topics covered hit right a bit too close to home, which of course were just what I needed.

Jen started out the morning having us close our eyes and raise our hands if we had felt recently that our journey was overwhelming or hard etc.  With my eyes closed, (but wanting to peek to know for sure) she assure us that we all had our hands raised.  I always secretly don’t want to raise my hand just to be “That Asshole”.  The point of the exercise isn’t about raising your hand anyway, it is about knowing that we are all there together, and I get that.  We all struggle, whether it is with motivation, or finding time to *whatever*.

Mary took over the conference just after that, and the topic she first brought up was, “Is being healthy hard?” Well, yeah! Duh! If it was easy there wouldn’t be the multi billion dollar pharmaceutical industry that exists, and the search for the magic-cure-all pill wouldn’t be happening.

This made me think about how we define healthy though.  Is healthy, the right weight, is it being fit, is it being off medications, is it fitting nicely in a box, or a certain definition?  It isn’t the same for everyone.  So it becomes very important for you to define your health your own way, and plan your goals and strategies the right way.

Mary started speaking about how sometimes our ideas and situations change, and that sometime the changes we make that are intended to be lasting changes aren’t always lasting changes.  For example, I joined the YWCA, it was awesome when I started out.  Since my new job started however it is not as convenient for me to work out there.  The hours are less convenient and I started using that as an excuse.  So my change to working out several days a week was no longer a part of my life.  This change didn’t last. Do I view this as a failure?  No Way!  This is a setback.

See, life is fluid, this is why all those checklists in magazines and 10-step’s to the perfect life type things don’t work out for any kind of long-term success.  You have to be prepared to be flexible and change your plans as life throws you a curveball.

Mary touched on a lot of things that I have come to on my own, but I have this problem… see I, like many of you I imagine, have these amazing moments of clarity and then they just pass, and I forget, or think perhaps they aren’t as great as I think they are.

Some examples of this are, Keeping an eye on “Your Bottom” line.  This is mostly about maintaining weight, but also pertains to when you are stuck in a plateau.  If you get comfortable in a place you become complacent.  Think oh it’s okay I am staying within these 2-lbs so it isn’t a big deal.  My lifestyle is changing and I am not.

I JUST went through this, I started my new job, and I wasn’t going to the gym because I was just plain exhausted, but I was eating the same.  The scale creeps around, and before you know it things are headed in a bad direction FAST.  You always need to be pushing the envelope, not necessarily to lose weight, but keep your eyes on the prize at all times.

Remember setbacks are going to happen, this is a part of life! They happen to everyone! Everyone falls, get back up, keep moving forward. You need to be prepared for this.  Remember everything takes practice which means that everything that you are doing is practice! So be prepared with a backup plan, know what tools you like, and what tools in your arsenal work best for you and use them.  Also be on the lookout for new things to try.

Did you read that…

Everyone falls, get back up. Keep moving forward. Falling is not failure. Failure is giving up, not getting up.

These words are a gift to you.  Let them sink in.  You need to remember them.

Another important thing to remember is that it is important when trying to do anything, whether it is lose weight or run a marathon, that you have to be doing it for the right reasons.  The right reason for me isn’t the right reason for you, and if you aren’t doing it for the right reasons you aren’t going to find lasting success.  That class reunion that you want to look awesome for, what happens when you go, and no one cares that you lost all that weight from when you were 15?  What happens after you break up with that girlfriend that had been making you go to the gym or train for that 5k?  Was the reason that you wanted whatever it was yours or theirs?  You can’t do it for someone else, you can only do it for yourself.  Looking back on my life, I WISH someone could have stopped me before I got to the point in my life where I knew I was going to die.

There were so many dark days in my life where I was so miserable, depressed, in so much pain, and I thought I was at rock bottom, and I just kept going down.  There are also so many people in my life who I see, and I want to push to rock bottom so that I can help build them back up, and make them want to save their own lives.  Sadly all I can do is offer a hand up when the time is right and hope that I can inspire them by doing what I need to and want to for my own reasons.  I got a taste of what I like to call the good life and I know what I want now.

Nike says “there is no finish line.” Which I totally agree with.  When it comes to things like living a healthy active life there will ALWAYS be something to do, try or achieve, however this brings up a great point… when there is no finish something is not a race which means it is perfectly acceptable to go at your own pace!  While at times I feel as thought I am sprinting towards my own goals, there are other times where I feel as thought I am sitting still on the track and lately I feel as thought I have turned around and am headed in the wrong direction altogether I need to be reminded that this isn’t a race.  The path I am on may have a loop or two but if I keep moving forward I will make progress.  Baby steps are still steps, I just need to keep making them.

One super alarming statistic that I heard during the event was that if you do not act on a new idea or concept within 48 hours there is a 50% chance that you will NEVER act on it.  This wasn’t surprising, as much as alarming… and I suppose it is very true.  This is why it was SO IMPORTANT that I act on switching my gym before I just decide to keep sitting around of going and using the hours as an excuse to not go!  When I first joined the gym in 2009 it was also an ACT NOW moment.  I drove past, and thought… I should probably check that out sometime… pulled a U-turn and headed back.  Enough waiting… if life has tought me nothing more it is that time is precious and it shouldn’t be wasted.  If you want something you MUST go after it… and don’t wait!

There was a bit of talk about setting goals, and knowing what goals actually are.  I personally really like the idea of setting up “S.M.A.R.T.” Goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely)  and I think that is what Mary was trying to get at in her discussion about pushing for deeper goals that allow you to form strategies with them. For example, I want to be healthy is an extremely vague goal.  However I want to get off of my blood pressure medicine by losing 15 pounds is a much more specific measurable goal.  With those things you can then formulate a plan of attack with diet and exercise.  Make lists of a few things to try, keep trying, and you will make progress on these goals and before you know it your goals become a reality!

Sometimes you have to learn to accept that your lifestyle isn’t going to match what your goals are, and something has to change.  Each situation you are in presents an opportunity for you to learn something.  You always have the opportunity to take something away from a situation, and it is your job to figure out what you are going to take away from it.  Sometimes it is very easy to spot what you are taking away from an interaction or situation.  Every interaction with a person or people can teardown or create a new level to your relationship, so be sure that you are doing all you can be, be present in that moment to foster what you want from that relationship, and this includes the relationship you have with yourself.  Don’t treat yourself poorly!

You need to acknowledge your feeling, learn to see them, feel them and lost of all how important it is to accept them.  It is perfectly okay and acceptable to feel sadness, or frustration, even regret is an acceptable emotion, everything you feel is okay as long as you let yourself feel it!  You know what is not okay?  Letting yourself eat these feelings,

5 Year Plan

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Where are you going to be in five years?

I personally don’t know where I am going to be five minutes from now.  The idea of knowing where I will be in five years isn’t something that I think about a whole lot.  I mean, yes I have long-term goals.  Move into a slightly larger place, where my dining area consists of more than a tray on the bed.  Where I can have people over for game nights and laughter can fill my home until the wee hours of the morning.  I would love to see myself continue to he happy, and healthy and making smart choices in regards to what I eat and the activities that I engage in.

So how do I go about starting to plan for my future?  Well readers… I was at the local bookstore searching out a book to read and help me start my New Year right, with a challenge to myself and I found something unexpected.

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I didn’t go looking for this book. In fact I didn’t even know it existed!  I grabbed it off the recently reduced shelf and started flipping through the pages.  The book is broken up into 5 parts.  Emotional and Physical Health, Family and Relationships, Home and Community, Work and School, and Here I am Again, Building on my Own Experience Up Until Now.

It seems like a pretty awesome way to guide myself into looking at my future in a more concrete light.  It asks you for specifics, measurable and attainable goals. Plus, it is a hardcover book that you write in… that always makes me feel like a rebel!  ~dun dun breakin the law breakin the law dun dun~

So after only a few moments of deliberation I knew I needed to have this book and that it was meant for me.  Afterall part of this years #DoD was that I am writing in my 5-year journal.  One entry in my paper journal everyday, even if it isn’t anything particularly meaningful. Observations, quotes, thoughts, it all counts.  I looked at the shelf space where I had taken the book from and saw there was one copy remaining and decided that I wanted to share this book with someone else.

That is where you come in!  Do you have a 5 year plan?  Is it written down?  Are you interested in setting yourself up for success in the next 5 years?  I can’t guarantee that it will work for you, but we could do it together!  So I am giving you the chance to win my second copy of this book.

Here is the deal, Winner will be selected by random.org on 1/13 because I like the number 13! Several ways to enter, but you have to do the mandatory one to be entered at all. Winner will be contacted and have until 1/16 to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Mandatory Entry… I am taking a question directly from the book… Please answer in a comment below (and include contact information incase you win)

“If I were describing myself in the third person as a character in a novel, this is what I would say:”

Other ways to enter…

  • Tweet about my giveaway
  • Blog about my giveaway

Be sure to leave a separate comment on this post for each entry and make sure I can contact you!

Leftovers

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So after the turkey is roasted and you have eaten the same roast turkey dinner for the third meal it is time to start your mind churning to come up with some ideas for those leftovers right?

Now some options are buy a smaller turkey, (not in my house!) or don’t take home leftovers!  Other options are to make lunches and dinners and freeze them off for future meals.  Let’s be honest though I can only eat so much turkey as plain turkey.

So what do you do with your leftovers?  I am a big fan of making things that pull double duty, meaning I can cook them for a meal and make enough of them to freeze half off!  There is the ever popular Turkey Noodle soup, or here in Minnesota Turkey wild rice soup.  Something with lots of mushrooms and veggies to stretch it out.  There is turkey pot pie, where you can substitute out some filo dough instead of that pie crust to cut down on some of those calories.  I generally make just the filling and freeze that off so it is ready to thaw and top with dough!  You can also make a turkey chili either traditional red chili or white, and that freezes great!

Tonight on my menu is Turkey nachos!  Yep that’s right lots of veggies (and beans) and some spices and seasoning and I will be in heaven! I will very likely make a turkey hot dish (called a casserole where I come from) for dinner tomorrow night.  There really is an endless stream of possibilities for leftover turkey that even extends to things as easy as sandwiches both hot and cold.  Also don’t forget to freeze off some turkey by itself to add to your salads over the next few months.

Now you know why we never buy a smaller turkey around the holidays, and actually we buy a bigger one than we need!

Do you have a favorite thing to do with your turkey leftovers?  Care to share a recipe or a tip?  I would love to hear it!

Welcome to Hell Week!

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~Sirens Wailing~ Red Alert Red Alert! ~Sirens Continue~

Another major food holiday is about to land upon us!  Halloween is squarely in the rearview mirror, and the candy dishes are starting to run low.  Everyone has gotten back on track right?  Regular workouts of whatever variety they like, be it swimming or running, bike rides or roller skating have been resumed, or continued by most everyone I have been in contact with.  Everyone is getting set up for success right? RIGHT!!!

So are you worried about Thursday?  This week tends to be where diets are often thrown out the window.  I have every intention of not letting that happen to me!  As I have mentioned before I will be taking my own food with me to dinner on Thursday.  I have some things planned and I may have a few last-minute substitution plays in place as well.  I will also be roasting off my own turkey to have to make soups and such with for the subsequent week.

I also have my battle plan in place for Thursdays exercise.  My gym is closed on Thanksgiving.  This is one of the things that I really dislike about my gym.  It isn’t open 24/7, the hours can become a terribly difficult issue at times with my schedule.  So I will be participating in a 5k on Thanksgiving morning.  Currently there is a nice thick layer of icy gunk on the sidewalks and roads here in Minneapolis.  It makes me worried about my race.  I have had several slip and falls resulting in some serious injuries, but I will be playing the wait and see game about how I will handle race day.

I am hoping to find a way to make the food not the focus of Thanksgiving dinner, perhaps taking a game along might help.  I may stop at a place like Half Price Books or even Target and see if I can pick up Apples to Apples or something like that which we could use to break up the food-food-food feeling.

With all this being said I do want to remind everyone that Thanksgiving is just another day of the week.  It is just another meal and there is no reason to treat it as anything more than that.  It is very easy to blow things out of proportion when you have family or friends getting together and you want to put out a huge spread.  Remember to take things one decision at a time.  Start today with a big glass of water before your coffee or tea.  Remember that this is not an all or nothing pass fail system for life.

It feels like it is going to be an oatmeal kind of week, as the first snow has fallen in the Twin Cities.  Warm my insides and keep me full and moving as I hit the gym and stay on track.

Remember you have the power to forgive yourself and continue on even if you make a bad decision! Happy Monday everyone!

Unlocking The Code

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So Thursday I had a very busy day.  It was truly for the best, I got to sit down with my dear friend Jenn and talk about a lot of things that have been plaguing the two of us lately.  Mainly we have both been stuck.  Wanting to, and at times have been throwing in the towel.  Pieces of our puzzles have been out of alignment, components have gone missing and it has just been not good!

So today we sat down at the `bou, I with my tea, as opposed to a latte (I know right?!) and we started to hash out a plan of action.  While I don’t think it is proper to share the exact contents of our entire evening long discussion that led us to walk around several stores I do want to share with you an analogy that I think helped a bit today, and it was spawned by something I use almost every day!

Unlocking Your Code To Success!

Unlocking Your Code To Success!

 You see that lock there… each of us has one.  Do you know how to open one?  Left, right, left. simple right? You have to have the right code though. Think of each number or letter as a component of your life and you have to make them work together in order to get that lock open.  So if you need 3 components to get that lock open they need to work in the right combination.  So for example you need to eat right, (whole, unprocessed, quality, calorie controlled food), you need to exercise, and you need to get enough sleep.  You have three pieces of this puzzle.  You have to get them in just the right combination to make that lock work.  It is a puzzle and you have to work to get that lock to click for you!

So if I give you the 3 keys of the 20 options on the lock you are ahead of the game.  You just need to work on finding the right order to balance them out!  We each struggle with one part of this more than another.  Break it down knowing you will eventually have to get all the pieces to line up to unlock the secret.  If food is what comes more easily to you, perhaps that is the first letter to open your lock.  Get that part down, and become comfortable with where that location is so to speak, then worry about what comes next!  Pick your next battle, the next thing to tackle, and work through the combination tackling it left and right next.  Before you know it you will be adding in that third part to pop open the lock and your keys to success will be there.  Sometimes you will have to jiggle the lock a bit, and we all know what happens when someone sees your combination, or in my case as your lock gets old, its time to reset that locks combination and shake it up!

Go into it with a plan and start with one thing to focus on at a time.  Trying to restart and refocus on every little thing at a time will likely cause a feeling of sheer overwhelm and cause you to want to quit, like I had and we just can’t have that.

So think about the components of your journey, think about where you can fine tune what you are doing.  Look into your journey and see what you can break down and focus on to find your successes too.  It is important to remember to celebrate those victories… I had gotten away from that.

I am still working my rebound… but I am on track.  Feeling strong, knowing I cn ask for help.  Ready to take on the world!