A Smaller Waist/Hips/Thighs

"Self discipline is remembering what you really want." (Flylady)

What do you really want?

A clean home?
To be caught up on Facebook and Google Reader?
Happy, well-adjusted children?
A smaller waist?
To be debt-free -- home, car and school?
More knowledge?
To be more charitable?

What am I doing today to get what I really want?

Among other things, but related to this blog, I want a smaller waist/hips/thighs. I've decided, and now is the time to prove it. Every meal, every bite (smaller portion sizes), every day I choose to exercise or not.

I'm not buying treats, and there's not much we can make in the way of treats with what we have at home. But (and this is important for the rebel in me) I'm not off sweets. I'm just not buying them.

I will continue my goal to exercise 4 days a week, plus the 6-Minute No Excuses Workout every day. I'm not going for size 4 here, but I do want to feel more comfortable in my body.

My Two Cents

"Really? You like to exercise, but you didn't used to? Those words really give me hope!"

I've never been good at sports, I never enjoyed P.E. in school, and I never exercised in college unless it was for a class. After I had JuJu, my friend invited me to go to the gym with her. At first I had no desire and I was afraid to commit to a membership. When I did go, I felt like an outsider, like I didn't belong. I didn't have cute gym clothes or a great body, and it was hard to be there with people I didn't know. It was a dance aerobics class and the moves were fast and confusing.

It took a good month before I got the moves and felt comfortable there. Within a couple of months I actually started looking forward to going. Now, I crave it, and I miss it terribly when I can't go. When we were on our trip last month, I got really antsy a couple of times, and just needed to let off some pent-up nerves and stress by running or hiking or anything physical. We would go do something and I'd feel so much better afterwards. Exercise makes me feel good, more energy, lighter steps. It's amazing to me how much less energy I had while not exercising consistently last month.

I still have ups and downs as far as my desire to exercise goes, but I've tasted what it feels like to love it and I'm hooked.

To those of you who don't like to exercise, my thoughts:

• Buy something cute to work out in. I feel frumpy when I wear t-shirts and I look thinner in certain outfits.
  
• Try lots of different activities to find one that you like: sports, workout videos, walking, classes at the gym. I did yoga a couple days ago and that was interesting, in a good way. It was relaxing and challenging, and something different I can try on days when my energy is lower.
• Listen to music or books on an Ipod to distract you.
• Stop when you're not enjoying an activity and do something else: if I'm on the treadmill, I'll go lift weights for a couple of minutes. I also change up my speed and incline on the treadmill and set goals for myself: run for 30 seconds, walk for 2 minutes, repeat a couple times, for example.
  
• Go at your own pace. Your body can tell you if you're doing too much. In other words, don't guilt yourself into working out too hard and hating it and making your body sore and miserable. I have no problem leaving a class to go rest for a minute, if I'm working too hard.
• Start slow. This is a big one. Even though you can physically do more, you need to work up slowly. When you do too much, you feel sore and miserable and never want to exercise again, or worse, you can injure yourself. When you build slowly, you feel energized and excited to go again. Check out John's favorite beginners running program.
  

I asked my aerobics instructor what she says to people who don't like to work out. The first thing she said was that she wishes she could give people a magic pill to help them feel what it feels like after you've been working out for a month. You have so much more energy and feel better overall.

The other thing she talked about was how our bodies are made to run and work, and that the easiest way to avoid disease and problems in old age is to exercise and eat well. She's 54 and said she has as much energy as she had when she was 32. (So true! Exercise is just like eating and sleeping: our bodies require it to be healthy. And you can pay for the gym now, or medical bills later.)

Anyway, just my two cents. And an offer to my local friends: my gym offers a free class for someone coming for the first time. Let me know if you want to come with me and I'll be your gym buddy. I usually go Mondays and Tuesdays at 5 pm, and Saturday morning at 8 am, and then another day or two on Wed, Thur, or Fri at 5 or 6, depending on my schedule.

Happy Healthy Living!

Why green drinks? What's the benefit?

My response:

Green drinks me feel really healthy. They help me want to choose thin/healthy. When I don't have them, my body begs for them. Also, they can replace a meal (one of the 5 small meals you should eat every day) and have relatively few calories and are really good-tasting and good for you. Since they're sweet, I don't crave other sugar when I drink them. And flax seed is really good for you (google it).

decisions, decisions...

I've been having a debate with myself these past few days: thin or not-so-thin?

They say that "nothing tastes as good as thin feels," but how thin is thin?

This is all very irrational and emotionally-driven, but I'm not feeling tip-top emotionally, so my rationalizing skills aren't tip-top, either.

Right now, I'm thin-ish. Size 12 for someone 6 feet tall is thin-ish. Problem is, I KNOW I can tone my body more and I really want to do it. But that takes a lot. of. work. And I'm working pretty hard, but I'm eating a lot of treats, too.

And lately, when I'm confronted with treats, I've been telling myself "I don't really want to be any thinner. I'll just maintain where I'm at, and enjoy this treat."

And then I go to the gym and I'm consumed with the desire to be at a higher fitness level and I get really excited to exercise 6 days a week and flatten my belly.

And then I go home and eat 2 more brownies.

Goal: more green drinks

Feeling Soft

I didn't do very well at exercising every day. I feel soft. The Body Pump class I go to helps me feel ... tight? strong. I missed it a lot. I only gained 2 pounds, but that's 7000 calories I get to work off. again. argh.

Not only that, but I'm not as in shape as I was when I left a month ago. I can't work as hard, for as long, and I can't use as heavy of weights. It's really amazing how much more energy I have when I'm exercising regularly. My thighs had also started feeling tighter before I left, and they feel soft now, too. argh.

Goals:
Exercise 4 times a week
Have a green drink every day
Not buy anymore chocolate chips... this week. or next.

To offset this utterly whine-fest post, I need to name a few positives.
I had a fun time on our vacation.
My body works.
I like to exercise. I didn't use to, so I consider that a great blessing.
I'm not so soft that my clothes don't fit.
There's always repentance.

Mid-Trip Goals

A few goals for the remainder of my trip:

1. Some form of exercise every day: 10 pushups, 10 situps, 10 leg lifts on each side, 10 squats, etc. Anything is better than nothing.
2. Look at packages for calories of what I eat. This helps curb some mindless eating for me.

That's all I can handle for now. Good night and good eating.

ER&E Report

Exercise: I haven't been good at getting exercise in every day. I have been doing daily exercises to strengthen my lower abs (diastasis recti) as well as my pelvic floor (information for a future post). That ought to count for something. ☺

Food: I've done okay. I need to go get some spinach to get back on green drinks. They really make me feel good.

Treats: Not so good. I noticed an interesting trend: I ate more treats on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays than I ate the other days of the week. Rebel? I think so.

I'm too tired to make any goals for this one.

Me, Myself, and Thigh

As I mentioned before, I've been stuck in a bit of a rut for the past 7 months, as far as my weight goes. I've made a little progress in my inches since that time, but I'm stuck. And I realized that it's because I don't have a quantifiable goal. My goal had been to get to 170-175, which was where I was pre-JuJu, and I've done that (a couple times-argh!). So last night I decided to focus on one number and work every day on that.

I selected my thighs. I've never paid much attention to my thighs, and I don't even know what number to aim for, but I can see that they have some room for improvement (to put it nicely). ☺

Every day, I will do these exercises morning and night:

MUSCLE GROUP: OUTER THIGH

Lying Abduction:

Lie on your side with your hips stacked one on top of the other, head resting on your arm or propped up on your hand. Take legs about 45 degrees in front of you for balance. Lift the top leg off the bottom leg about an inch. Hold it parallel and flex the foot (toes pointed forward, not up.) Slowly raise and lower the top leg without touching the other leg between repetitions. Do 10-15 repetitions, being careful not to rock forward or back off your stacked hip position. Alternate legs and repeat.

MUSCLE GROUP: INNER THIGH

Lying Adduction:

Lie on your side and bring your top leg in front of the bottom leg. Bring the front foot up towards your thigh and rest your foot on the floor just above your knee -- toes pointing forward. Raise your bottom foot about 1 inch off the floor. Slowly raise your bottom foot up as much as comfortable, keeping a slight bend in your leg. Hold for 2-4 counts and slowly lower back to starting position. Complete 10-15 repetitions.

source: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52449&page=2

All of the other information I found about toning thighs I do at my Body Pump class: squats, lunges, and deadlifts.

I've been doing the Body Pump class usually twice a week, and step aerobics once or twice a week. My goal is to get two days of aerobics every week, and increase the weight I'm using for squats in Body Pump.

One site I was looking at stressed the importance of burning fat (aerobic exercise and eating well) + toning legs (strength training). Otherwise, your nicely sculpted muscles are hidden under a layer of fat. Seriously. Just ask my waist.

As for a thigh number, that's a hard one. I'll measure once a week, which gives me more incentive to keep up with my goals. I'll aim for half an inch loss (measured at the widest part of my thigh) for now.

ER&E Report

My friend Amy used to do a weekly ER&E (Eat Right and Exercise) Report. Here goes:

Exercise: I missed Friday (the day after I posted my new goal) I need more strategies to get some form of exercise on days that I don't make it to the gym. For example: a few minutes of pushups and situps or running up and down the stairs in our garage.

Food: I've been using whole wheat flour in place of white flour in many recipes lately. Most of the time you can't tell a difference, or if you can, the difference is delicious! I like pancakes made with whole wheat. White flour? Not so much.

I make green beans from the frozen ones. I add a teaspoon of butter and a teaspoon of olive oil and saute the green beans (you need a good non-stick pan -- mine is hard anodized) in that with seasoned salt and no-salt seasoning (e.g. Mrs. Dash). Put the lid on and steam them until the green beans are tender. yum! I did that same trick tonight with zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper and green beans. So good. Some days I almost think I could be vegetarian. ha!

Treats: I had yummy chocolate cake Friday night, but only one piece, and nothing else treat-y. I didn't have any other treats the rest of the weekend.

Treat replacement ideas: bite-size frozen bananas, frozen blueberries, cold cereal, green drink.

Goals

As I was updating my "number," I remembered that I entered my numbers from a year ago, after Evy was born. I weighed 214 a year ago today. 39 pounds. I've worked hard, but I've slipped a lot, too (remember the "Smore's in a pan"?) I've been basically stagnant for six months now. And I'm happy where I am, but I can still see areas that could use a little ... help.

My goal (that I'm sharing in order to give me some accountability) is to exercise 6 days a week. I can walk to pick JuJu up from school (for the next two weeks), I have a great ab workout that I can do, even with kids around. (not to say it's easy with "helpers", but it's possible) Walking on the blackberry trail is one of my favorite things to do. And of course the gym. Six days a week. Got that?

AND I need to do something about sugar. Saying "no sugar" feels like a death sentence. But this free-for-all thing I've been doing has got to stop. Hmm... I used to do no treats on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and that worked pretty well. And luckily, it's Thursday, and I had treats the last three days, so that's an easy one to say right now. ☺

Happy healthy living!

Baby Steps

I skim the Modern Molly Mormon blog and read a good one today with some really great tips in it. I thought I'd pass it along.

One thing she alludes to, but doesn't say it straight out, is that if you "goof" (like eat half a pan of "Smore's in a pan," for example), you can start over right away! You don't have to wait until tomorrow or next Monday to get back on track. Do it now!

☺

Zumba!

I tried a new class at the gym tonight. My body was not made to move that way. Hip swaying, shoulder shaking, I felt very uncoordinated, but it was a good workout, and I had enough fun that I will give it another chance.

As for my weight fluctuations. argh. It wasn't my fault! My mom and sisters were in town and they practically held a gun to me and forced me to drive them to the Almond Roca factory where I purchased illegal quantities of chocolate-y goodness and consumed much to my heart's content and my behind's detriment. argh. But I'm on my down yet again, and hopefully that will continue, at least until our 3 week drive across America this summer where I will be away from my gym and my green drinks and lentils and rice. Seriously, you have to try this recipe. Make sure you add enough honey and salt and cheese and sour cream. I've been making it every week lately and eating it for lunch several days in a row. Mmmm... And my kids and husband love it, too. darn! ☺

A Conversation With Myself at the Gym

Ugh, look at that tummy roll.
I wish I hadn't eaten those animal crackers today.
Why do I do that to myself?
I feel so full and fat.
I ate too much dinner. But it was soooo good. I shouldn't have had that second serving. Why can't I just say no to myself??
Man, my butt looks so big tonight. Did it look this big last week? I think I'm getting fatter, not skinnier.
Why did I eat all that chocolate over the weekend? All the hard work I've done over the past year and I still have that ugly tummy roll and ick, look at that butt again. It looks so wide when I do my squats. If I hadn't eaten second helpings at dinner and chocolate over the weekend I probably wouldn't have that awful tummy roll. Why do I always do that to myself?
Ugh. Yuck. Ick.

This is a sampling of the dialogue I had while I worked out tonight. Lovely, huh? The weird thing is I didn't even realize I was doing it until I got home, exploded at my family and then sat and racked my brain for what went wrong. I had a great day today, got a lot accomplished, got to have lots of alone time, went to the gym, and then kaboom! Mommy St. Helens.

Negative self-talk. Never motivates. Never inspires.

Technique 1: Catch yourself doing it, and then turn those thoughts into positives.

For example:

Ugh, look at that tummy roll.
Can you believe I have three kids and it's that small?? I've worked really hard to get it as good as it is!

I wish I hadn't eaten those animal crackers today.
I'm not going to eat any animal crackers tomorrow. Instead I'll eat celery and peanut butter.

I ate too much dinner. But it was soooo good. I shouldn't have had that second serving. Why can't I just say no to myself??
I don't know why I eat second helpings!

Help! I never used to have daily second helpings (pre-Evy). Is it hormones? Stress? Fatigue? (I know I eat more when I'm tired.) I need a plan for dinner. Dish the plates in the kitchen, leave the food in there. Something. Dinner is my biggest struggle. Any suggestions?

Technique 2: Rewind your thoughts.

Once you catch yourself being negative (and catching yourself is the hardest part), stop yourself, mentally back up your train of thoughts and then force yourself to take another mental direction. "I really like this instructor. She makes the workouts so fun. She's getting over a cough, and yet she came tonight. That's because she's an athlete. I'm an athlete, too!" (that's a heckuva lot better than where my thoughts were before!)

I did the thought rewinding technique with a different situation that I was obsessing over several years ago and it worked wonderfully. It took several months of "rewinding" and then forcing myself to think about something benign or positive, but I truly mastered it. I stopped thinking about it and the situation became better just for that.

John and I are off sweets. Here are two great posts he's written about it:
Gettin' Sweaty
Q&A

I love that we're doing this together. It makes me less likely to give in, because he'll harass me if I do. ☺ I'm still hanging out at 175-176, but I'm working really hard, and not discouraged like I was a few weeks ago.

Up again. and back again.

176.

Thanks, stupid food. Extra-sugary and excessive food.

I have several "problems":

1. I love food. Especially sugar. I have a hard time limiting my sugar intake. Very hard time. But I am not touching another piece of birthday cake. Hear me?
   
2. I think I'm invincible. "I won't gain weight if I eat this." And I don't, until I eat too much junk for several days or weeks.
3. I don't really believe that I can (i.e. want to bad enough) maintain a weight/size smaller than I am right now.

I was a size smaller (10/12) than I am right now post-Jenna/pre-Alisa, but other than that, most of my adult life I've been about the same size that I am right now (12/14). However, I'm not doing this just for my waist line (though my waist still needs some work, even if I can fit into my old pants -- ever heard of muffin top?), this is my overall health I'm focusing on. But then I can't shake the thought that I know I can be a size smaller. But then I go right back to not believing I could maintain it if I achieved it (although I maintained a 10/12 for a year before I got prego with Alisa). Or maybe it's that I think "why bother? I'm happy where I'm at."

I've also been overwhelmed for the past two weeks with surgery, Enrichment, teaching preschool, and birthday party, so I've been tired. I eat when I'm tired. I feel discouraged/depressed/apathetic when I'm tired.

I'm back. And hopefully back down again.

Slipping

Thanks to my high-sugar and treats consumption over the last two months, my weight loss has completely stagnated. But thanks to my Body Pump classes, the inches have still been ever-so-slowly coming off.

This last week or two I've found myself in a serious get-in-shape slump. I'm not choosing thin, and I don't care. I know I'm just tired. Mentally and emotionally. But eating ice cream, pop-tarts, M&M's, kisses, brownies, Ghiradelli Pecan Pie chocolate squares around the clock and second helpings at meals? Not very thin-smart. Pretty fluffy-stupid, if you ask me.

But like I said, I don't care! I know I want to turn this thing around, because I am slipping down a slippery hill that I've been working so hard to climb, and I know I'll regret it later, so why can't I choose the little things all day long to keep going uphill? Because I'm tired of climbing and I just want to take a short nap. Or maybe a long nap.

Okay, plan of action:

• green drinks! Go buy spinach.
• throw out the rest of the kisses and ice cream?? I'm not as strong as you, Lara! and I think my family would kill me!
  
• more water.
• clean my house! right after my nap.
  

That's all I can do for today. Any advice, chastising encouragement etc. are most definitely welcome.

Oh, and I'm feeling thrush again. Is that helping me eliminate sugar? Nope, because it's not affecting my baby. If she'd get fussy about it, it might make it easier for me...

Corn Chowder

This has become one of my very favorite soups. Especially in cold winter months.

1/2 cup chopped onion (I use dried onion and add a little water while it's cooking)
1/2 cup green bell pepper
1 Tb cooking oil

Cook onion and bell pepper in hot oil until onion is tender but not brown.

1 can chicken broth (I use chicken bouillon and water)
1 cup cubed, peeled potato

Stir in chicken broth and potato. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

3 cups frozen corn (I've also used drained canned corn)

Stir in corn. Cook, uncovered, about 10 minutes more or till potato and corn are tender. Stir occasionally.

1 cup milk
1 Tb salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Combine in a small bowl, then stir into the corn mixture.

2 slices bacon

Crisp-cook, drain and crumble bacon. Add to soup, and stir.

1 cup of soup has: 180 calories, 6 grams fat, and 4 grams of fiber

Options:

• before adding the corn, blenderize half of it to make a thicker soup.
  
• add 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese with the bacon.
• add several slices of cut-up ham instead of, or in addition to, the bacon. It makes it a heartier, and more filling meal.
  

Question from a reader:

Do you have any suggestions for when you just can't get full? I have the hardest time feeling satisfied at lunch, and I wind up eating way too much junk.

Well, I am certainly not an expert, but I always love a soap box. ☺

The afternoons are probably my hardest time of the day, too. I think it's because it's my "down" time. JuJu's at school, Lucille's in quiet time, Evy's napping, and I'm kind of tired, which makes me prone to snacking.

A couple of thoughts:

• If you feel hungry, you should eat a real meal. Because if you don't, you will end up snacking all afternoon. Many "experts" suggest eating five small meals a day instead of three large ones. Doing so helps keep your blood sugar up, and keeps you from getting over-hungry, so you feel less inclined to overeat, or snack on unwanted calories between meals.
• Hide the snacks. I have a certain spot on my counter where all my baked goods/treats tend to end up. If I keep them there, I will see them and then eat them all day long, without even thinking about it. Just by putting them elsewhere: in the fridge, on a different counter, etc. helps me not snack on them.
  
• Find a healthy comfort food. Soup, for me, is comfort food. It warms and fills my belly with relatively few calories. I make different soups a couple times a week, and there are always leftovers for lunch the next day.
  
• Have a plan. When you're hungry, what will you eat? For me, that has been my green drinks lately, or leftover soup. If I don't have a plan, I eat anything and everything. A couple of suggestions for what to plan on: high-fiber cereal, celery and peanut butter, almonds and applesauce... any suggestions?
  
• Water, water, water!
• When I was off sugar for thrush reasons, I found that if I was craving sweets, it was typically because I was either hungry or thirsty. Yes, sweets still taste good and make me "happy," but good food and water are what I need.
• Remember that eating sugar makes you want to eat more sugar. Once you start, it's hard to stop.
  
• Brush your teeth. Doesn't really work for me, but it might for you! ☺

Now it's your turn. How would you answer my friend's question?

Green Drinks

My friend Lara recently introduced me to green drinks/smoothies. They are my favorite meal of the day right now. Here is my latest favorite combination:

1 or 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/3 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 pear
1/2 cup carrots
1/2-1 cup water
1-3 Tb. flax seed

Blend well. According to My Fitness Pal, with 2 Tb. flax seed, this recipe has about 200 calories and 7 grams of fat. (The flax seed supplies 45 calories and 2 grams of fat per tablespoon. Flax seed is really good for you.)

I've used strawberries, but they aren't as sweet, so I have to add pineapple juice concentrate to sweeten it. I've even added frozen peas to this drink. Hippie enough for you? I usually drink one around 11 am, when I'm starting to get hungry. It's a perfect snack for while I'm fixing lunch and getting my daughter to kindergarten. Then I can eat my lunch in peace later.

The thing I like best about this drink is that I'm eating a couple servings of fruits and veggies without even thinking about it. And one less thing to think about is always a good thing around here.

(When I first started drinking these, I had to add a couple teaspoons of sugar to it, but I've gradually gotten used to the taste and depending on what fruit I use, I don't add any sugar any more, and only seldom add pineapple juice concentrate.)

At the risk of looking foolish in your mental images ...

I try to incorporate exercise into my whole day. While I cook, clean, and even brush my teeth, I keep my tummy tight, with a healthy posture through my back and shoulders. When I'm standing still, I do mini leg lifts, or rise up and down on my toes. Is that too dorky? Here's one of my favorite ab strengthening exercises: I stand straight, with my belly tight. Then I lean to the side (like you would if you were playing "I'm a Little Teapot"), but lean from the waist, so your hips stay in the same place, and your upper body bends over. As I lean over, I inhale through my nose, and then, exhaling with exertion, I rise back up straight, using only my ab muscles to lift my body. Does that make sense? Don't make me post a video of myself doing it! :)

I don't know how much of a difference this actually makes in my overall health, but it feels good, and when I feel like my body is "tight," I'm less likely to eat poorly. Just a thought.