Breakfast

I am a breakfast kind of girl.  Traditional breakfast foods have always been some of my favorites.  Not the sweet stuff like pastries or waffles, but eggs, bacon, sausage, & hash browns.

Needless to say, when I began to get serious about fitness, breakfast had to change.  The key is to create breakfast that will still make me happy without breaking the calorie and fat banks first thing in the morning.

I tried the turkey bacon and sausage, but it wasn't tasty enough to justify the expense.  I tried shunning breakfast foods in favor of healthy foods that are normally considered lunch or dinner foods (chicken breast, salad), but I just missed my breakfast friends too much.

Finally I hit upon a compromise that is working for me right now.  The doctor said I could safely have an egg yolk a day, and as many egg whites as I wanted.  So I'm currently scrambling my egg with 3 or 4 egg whites and a couple slices low fat cheese, and mounding it up on 2 slices whole wheat toast.  Instead of buttering the toast, I'm spreading it with a thin layer of spicy stone ground mustard.  That really ups the flavor factor for virtually no calories.  It is so tasty!

For now I'm pretending that I don't like bacon or sausage, but I know that is not a permanent solution.  I'm still working on that piece of the puzzle.  So I just add a small dish of berries and call it breakfast.

I am learning that in order to make fitness a lifestyle, I have to take flavor and culinary satisfaction into consideration.  Making wise nutritional choices means satisfying my palette as well as my health.  I am worth the effort!

Sincerely,
Tina
The Fitness-Gonna-Be

Lunch

Here is a look at a standard lunch for me these days.  My "formula" is to fill my plate with vegetables first, then add a little fruit, some protein, a little fat, and maybe some grains.

Today my vegetables were 1 red bell pepper, 1 box of cherry tomatoes, some lettuce (hiding under the sandwich) and a pickle. Then I added an orange and a sandwich.  The sandwich is lean deli turkey and lean deli ham, low fat pepper jack cheese, & stone ground mustard on whole wheat bread.

This is a formula that I can change up according to which vegetables look good at the store, or what I happen to have a taste for.  Many times I will just skip the bread.  I always have to have either a pickle or a few olives because they are some of my favorite foods.  I try not to have cheese and olives at the same time due to the fat content; I also don't have pickles and olives at the same time due to the salt content.  Those olives just don't play well with others!

Most of the time a lunch like this will hit the spot and I'll be a happy camper until dinner.

Sincerely,
Tina
The Fitness-Gonna-Be

Starting Over

Starting over. 

I read a great blog post tonight from a mentor of mine, Brenda Turnbaugh, of http://bodybybrendat.com/.  It is good enough that I'm going to recommend you go read it for yourself.  Here it is, http://bodybybrendat.com/2012/09/20/why-did-i-change-it-up/, I'll wait.

In the post, she talks about how she had a good thing going; something was working for her, and then she switched it up and lost her momentum.

I can really relate to that, except for the part about having a good thing going.  I haven't had that for a long time.  I may have never had that.

But I need it.  Bad.  So, I'm starting over.  Throwing out several plans and diets and workouts and expectations and disappointments and just starting over.

I'm not ditching FIT class.  I love FIT class and I will not give that up.  I have had to shelve it for a while to let my foot heal up, so I'm modifying, modifying, modifying at home.  I'll be very happy when I can get back to FIT.

I'm mostly starting over feeding myself.  Feeding yourself shouldn't be hard.  But it has turned into a big huge deal for me and I need to just get over it and feed myself properly.  So I will, starting now.  That means no bedtime snack tonight.

I hung a photo on my dining room wall; I can see it from where I sit to eat my meals.  It is a group of women running, and the caption is:

"Discipline is doing what you know needs to be done, even when you don't want to do it.  JUST DO IT!"

That is good advice, and I'm going to be living it from now on.

I'm more determined than ever to make this a life.  Not a diet.  Not a plan.  A life.  A good, healthy, productive FIT life.

Sincerely,
Tina
The Fitness-Gonna-Be

Swimming

Well, I thought my foot was healed, but it isn't yet.  Or if it was, I've made it mad again, as it is swollen and sore.  Maybe I got too familiar with the elliptical machine over the weekend.

Anyway, my exercise choice of the week is swimming laps.  I can do that for as long as I want each session (as long as a lane is open) without even being on the foot.

Swimming is a good cardio workout if you keep your pace up, and it strengthens core and arm muscles as well.  It is one of my favorite activities.

Sincerely,
Tina
The Fitness-Gonna-Be

Weekend Workouts

I think my foot is mostly healed up now, but I've still been taking it easy.  My workouts lately haven't even been worth mentioning, but I want to mention them anyway, so I can look back and see that I have been as active as I can be, even during times of injury.

Sometimes it seems that times of injury are unavoidable.  I try to be careful, but sometimes I just really crave the feeling of pushing myself to the limit, or past it.  I get in the moment, and end up forgetting the pains and just charge ahead full speed.  It isn't until later, when I cool down, that I realize that something hurts that shouldn't hurt.

So this weekend I've been at the Kroc Center, hanging out on the elliptical, or maybe spending a few minutes on the stair climber.  Nothing fancy, but it is movement, and right now, that is what counts for me.

Sincerely,
Tina
The Fitness-Gonna-Be

Practicing Things I Dislike

I've said before that there are about 10 million ways a person can move their body in exercise.  Some of those ways I really enjoy, and some I intensely dislike!

I've found that if I dislike a particular exercise, it is most likely because it is hard for me to do, or I don't do it very well.  Usually it is also a move that is good for me, one that will benefit my body and help me reach my goals.

Recently, I decided that I would practice moves that I dislike.  No, I'm not into torturing myself; I believe there are several advantages to doing this.  First, if it is a move that will help me become more fit, I want to receive the benefit of that exercise.  Second, there is a particular satisfaction that comes from facing something unpleasant and conquering it, sort of an "in your face" confidence boost.

To a lesser degree, it is also a matter of personal pride; an exercise in self-preservation.  Because I know  we will be doing  some of these things in FIT class, the more moves I can perform well now means less embarrassment for me later.  I may not always show it, but I am an extremely competitive person, I always want to exceed my best effort.  I am constantly looking for ways to use my competitiveness to focus  my attention on weight loss and increased fitness.  I believe practicing things I dislike is one way of accomplishing that goal.

Sincerely,
Tina
The Fitness-Gonna-Be

Red Light, Green Light

Did you ever play the game "Red Light, Green Light" when you were a kid?  Basically, a bunch of kids line up, and one person is the referee.  When the referee shouts out "Green Light", you run as fast as you can toward the finish line, and when they shout out "Red Light", you have to stop immediately.  They keep calling out either red or green, with you either running or stopping, until someone crosses the finish line.  I feel like I have been playing that game lately, and I really don't like it!

One of the most frustrating things about having diabetes is the way it messes with my feet.  The disease causes poor circulation to your extremities, and reduced blood flow causes all kinds of problems. One big problem is that cuts and blisters can take forever to heal, and if they get infected, you could end up losing your foot.  Serious stuff!

One of my goals on the way to Fitness-Gonna-Be is to be more active every day.  Green light!  One of the problems with being active every day is that it is very hard on my feet.  Red Light!

I spent a lot of time walking and running around over the long weekend (Green Light!), and ended up with a bruised sore place on the bottom on my left foot (Red Light!).   Now I have to take it easy and stay off my feet as much as possible for as long as it takes for the foot to heal.  It could be a day or two, a week, or more.

This extended Red Light has left me frustrated, but determined to find a way to stay active even with this limitation.  Granted, FIT class is out until the foot is healed, as is running, walking, etc, but I will search out ways to move that don't involve being on my feet so much.  I will develop a set of circuits that I can do in my basement.  I will alternate pushups and situps until I beg myself for mercy.  I will stand in one place and punch/kick my heavy bag until my arms and legs are like jello.  I will find a way to be active. 

Basically, I will stick my tongue out at that Red Light, and go on to create my own Green Light!

Sincerely,
Tina
The Fitness-Wanna-Be

Hey - How Did These Get in my Fridge?!

The enemy appeared in my fridge over the weekend.  As a favor to a friend who had a busy weekend, I offered to make the sweets for our after-church fellowship this weekend.  That is how these came to appear in my fridge.

One of the hardest things for me to deal with in my quest to get healthy is unhealthy but tasty and tempting foods.  My family's lifestyle seems to revolve around food.  Family functions, church BBQ's, dinner with friends, snacks watching sports; it all adds up to FOOD.  Good food.  Fattening food.  Food that is dang hard to resist.  Constant food.

I am learning that I can't put the whole world on a diet.  I can't control the food intake of the general population or of all my family and friends.  That means that I have to control my own food intake, most often in the presence of enemy foods.  I understand that no food in itself is inherently evil and I've heard the mantra "everything in moderation" until I'm ready to hurl.

My problem is, apparently my "moderator" is broken.  Whatever it is inside a person that tells them to steer clear of a food, or that they have had enough does not seem to be working in me.  It never has.  I won't say it never will, because I believe it will. 

I'm digging around inside myself until I find it; then I will dust it off, repair it, put it back where it belongs and turn it on!  It has something to do with a bible verse that I heard Sunday, which says if you walk in the Spirit, you won't gratify the lust of the flesh.  That, in a nutshell, is the answer.  I'm mulling it over every day and it is beginning to grow and take root in me.  It will grow and produce the fruit of the Spirit in my life, one of which is self control.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, and you want to know, get your hands on a bible and read Romans chapter 8 and Galatians chapter 6.  That's what I'll be reading for a while, among other scriptures.  I'm excited to see where this leads.  I'm sure it will be somewhere away from those beautiful cupcakes!

Sincerely,
Tina
The Fitness-Gonna-Be

Just a Walk in the Park

Clatt Adams Park, Quincy, IL

The weather was perfect and the skies were a beautiful stormy gray this afternoon, and all I could think about was getting out with my camera and taking some pictures.  This is my favorite one from today's outing.  I'm a novice with my camera, but I always have so much fun goofing around with it.

After about an hour I took the camera home, swapped it for the dog, and off we went for a walk in the park.  I'm counting it as interval training, because the dog alternates between sprinting and stopping to sniff under every tree and bush.  We both enjoyed it immensely. 

Exercise doesn't have to be at a gym or fitness class to count.  Anything that gets you moving is fair game.  If it makes your soul happy as well, then that is even better.  Today's outing fed my soul and made me happy to be alive and well enough to run around with my dog.  

I'm learning that movement makes me happy.  In my workbook today I had to answer a question about what activities I would be doing if my size and fitness level were not an issue.  My answer included kayaking, rock climbing, tae kwon do, competing in a triathalon, & surfing.  I want to do everything!  Making a list helped me visualize what I want to accomplish with my body, so when I want to overeat or skip exercise, I can picture myself being busy with all these activities, and I will be motivated to stay on course and continue to work toward these goals.

Sometimes, the path to a new you is as simple as a walk in the park.

Sincerely,

Tina

The Fitness-Gonna-Be