Endless Journey

I did it!

You know at times the road to reaching our goals may appear endless...yes, like an Endless Journey. But that journey can be one filled with adventure and triumphs, rather than one that often finds you sitting by the curb waiting for that well meaning driver to come along and assist with that flat tire or two.

Well, this morning I chose to leave the curb (aka my bed) and step on the treadmill. I wasn't running at an amazing pace; most of the time I wasn't even jogging, but merely doing a brisk walk or a slow jog. But I did it, and in doing so I managed to cover 1.5 miles and get 30 mins. of exercise in when I would have been sleeping.
While I was on the treadmill I realised that I have a tendency to set myself up for failure, as I often feel that I have to hit the pavement (or treadmill) hard and fast AND workout for hours on end to get results. Well, I don't, and I have realised - yet again - that as long as I am doing something everyday then I am getting closer to reaching my goals. It is only by conquering the little goals that we set, that we are able to conquer the much larger, and seemingly overwhelming ones. It is all about baby steps and baby steps can come in many different forms. It could be walking another 15 minutes, or leaving that 'one more bite' on your plate, or even waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual, as I did this morning, but just do something.

You can do it!

The Endless Journey continues...

Well, I don't need to tell you how much I am loving the new love of my life, SparkPeople - you already know all that. But I must tell you that I recently started a SparkPage at this same fabulous site. Yeh, I know I am crazy trying to commit to too many things, but I am loving it at the moment and when I get too busy I will just figure something out.

In only 3 weeks it seems like my relationship with food has changed. The focus used to be on the comfort I received from eating calorie filled foods with little else, but now I am so focused on consuming foods that are good for me - foods that my body needs to be healthy and thin - that I just don't have the time to commit to thinking about anything else.

Of course, in the beginning of my relationship with SparkPeople, I must admit that it was all about the spark points I would receive by logging calories, water consumption, activities, reading articles, etc. But now it is about so much more. It is about me finally making the appropriate steps to get my weight down AND to start feeling good about myself again. Being overweight is both physically and emotionally draining and I have had enough of being sapped of energy. It's time to change!

Reach for the Super Foods!

Vegetables Red, yellow, and orange peppers Mushrooms Romaine Lettuce Carrots, baby and regular Kale and other greens Garlic Onions Broccoli Cauliflower Sweet potatoes Spinach Green onions Winter squash Cabbage Beets Tomatoes Fruits Apples Red grapefruit Melons, any kind Dried apricots Red grapes Prunes Oranges Berries, any kind Dairy Skim or 1% milk Low fat yogurt with active cultures Low fat cottage cheese

Meats and Seafood Fresh fish, unbreaded Salmon, canned or fresh Tuna, canned or fresh Lean, fresh beef, poultry or pork Eggs Soup beans, caned or dried Veggie burgers Nuts and seeds Grains 100% whole wheat bread, bagels, pitas Whole wheat pasta Cornmeal Millet Bulgur Brown rice Whole wheat pancake mix Oatmeal Shredded Wheat Dry cereal with >3 grams fiber Low fat Triscuit crackers Wasa fiber rye crackers Miscellaneous Extra virgin olive oil Black olives Dark (not milk) chocolate Green tea Salsa Calcium-fortified juice

I found this list while reading another great article at SparkPeople.com. You can read the full article here, but it basically talks about eating good foods that will not only enable you to get that great body you have been striving for, but you will gain many great health benefits while doing so. These foods will help to power your brain, give you the fuel to fight infection, protect against disease, and just make you feel like a million dollars. You have the list now make it happen!

Thank you Spark People

I joined up with SparkPeople.com on July 23 and for some bizarre reason this site has helped to change my whole life with regard to my own health and fitness goals. Since beginning with this fitness site I have given up coke cola, cut out all chocolate treats, increased my consumption of fruit and vegetables and managed to incorporate regular exercise into my routine. And you know what? I feel great!!

After the two weeks of eating healthy foods, my skin broke out and I suffered with headaches for about 4 days but I believe this was all associated with the toxins leaving my body from all the junk (mainly coke) that I had been consuming before I made the change. I guess the increase in vegetables and fruits in my diet has also helped to rid my body of junk. Well, in spite of the headaches I feel awesome and totally in control of my life, for a change. I feel like I am finally ready to quit making excuses for my weight gain and finally DOING something about it.

It has also helped that I have been logging everything that goes into my mouth, everything, down to the teaspoon of butter I used on my toast. This has been enlightening as I often believed that I consumed less calories and fat than I actually did. Now I have learned that with proper management I can consume the required daily calorie intake (at this stage between 1200-1550 calories per day) and being healthy and losing weight does not have to mean sacrificing good food. To prove this, Joel and I recently celebrated our 12yr wedding anniversary at a lovely restaurant, Marjorie in Belltown and I have to admit to not holding back on enjoying a scrumptious night out. I highly recommend this restaurant if you want a wonderful eclectic meal, with wonderful service and even the owner, Donna, pops by to say hello. My dinner consisted of eating a small meal of Chicken Tikka Masala with a side of rice, a cocktail, a few glasses of wine, a glass of port, and a small serve of pecan butterscotch ice-cream AND I still managed to remain within my calorie limit for the day AND not go over my allocated amount of fats for the day. Now I definitely wouldn't recommend consuming this amount of alcohol every day if you really want to reach your goals, or function normally the next day, but on a special occasion it is fine.

So get fit, be healthy and love life!

Small steps that lead us to achievement

"There are natural consequences that accompany every choice we make in life. Some opportunities inevitably pass us by, but we can take advantage of others. Many people feel powerless but this is rarely the case--some opportunities just require a little thinking outside the box. Today, reflect on the doors you are opening in your world and which ones are closing. You have the power to create the life you want if you are willing to set goals and take steps toward them. Rarely does fulfilling our hopes and dreams happen overnight, but daily you can take one tiny move towards them".  (SparkPeople)

Is obesity contagious?

"...the ubiquity of social networks, and the natural inclination of people to be influenced by the appearance and behaviors of those around them, suggest that weight gain in one person might encourage weight gain in others. Having social contacts of a certain bodily size may also cause you to adopt certain behaviors, or other people's behaviors may even stimulate certain parts of the brain, such as those related to eating food......Social networks were more important than geographic location, the study found. In other words, who you tend to hang out with is more influential, weight-wise, than who your next door neighbor is." read the full article here

I just read this interesting, though seemingly obvious, bit of information while perusing the articles on SparkPeople.com. So it really is true that by mingling with larger than life people a person can get larger and the reverse being, that by socializing with thinner -more healthy conscious - people, a person can adopt a thinner physique. Actually, I should re-phrase that last sentence as I really shouldn't make the assumption that thinner people are necessarily more healthy than fatter people as many factors come into play here. Of course, if I am making a comparison between a thin anorexic and a chubby person then one could assume, upon learning of the facts, that the anorexia is not healthier than the chubby person. But hey, I am getting way of track here.

This article is basically stating that there is scientific evidence that proves who you socialize with greatly impacts your physical presence, so to speak, and by presence I mean how much or how little space you inhabit. In looking back over my life, according to my weight fluctuations, I have to agree that  I was more motivated to look hot when I lived in Sydney, Australia and worked in the Advertising Industry, as compared to working in an older Architect firm here in Seattle, WA that relished the good life AND the good food that comes along with it. Of course, Joel (my man) also lives here in Seattle and has never looked better AND just to prove the theory in this article, he mingles with personal trainers and other gym junkies and I guess they really do inspire each other to look as good as humanly possible.

Now I am sure this article isn't expecting us to avoid certain people, but I guess it is good to be aware of the influences our friends and surroundings have on our dietary success. Be fit and get healthy!