Monday, December 22

Healthy Eating and the Holidays????

Okay, so I know Christmas is only a few days away, but we can still talk about healthy eating. I know that I've been bombarded with more sweets lately. And I had a great goal - to only eat the sweets on the days I worked out, but I didn't quite stick to it like I thought I would.

But I have been trying to eat healthy. So here are a few ideas that have helped me. When you don't have a Christmas party, you can implement this diet.

One thing to remember - we should eat every 3 hours or so. This keeps your body from starving and storing fat.


Here's my plan:

Breakfast - protein and some complex carbs

Snack - nuts or fruit or healthy food (protein) bar

Lunch - protein and vegetables and carbs

Snack - nuts or fruit or protein shake

Dinner - protein and vegetables

Snack - protein


Here's what I usually eat when I'm working my diet plan:

Breakfast - 2 eggs, whole grain oatmeal, 1/2 c. hot chocolate (this is my one treat - I only drink 1/2 c. to reduce the calories)

Snack - about 1/4 c. almonds or protein bar (like a Cliff bar)

Lunch - chicken or turkey sandwich, vegetables or spinach salad

Snack - an apple or some almonds

Dinner - chicken, fish, or other lean meat, vegetables, and/or salad

Snack - protein shake or some nuts


This diet has worked very well for me. I can't eat dairy, so I make sure I take vitamins and calcium supplements. I also try to really vary my food choices. For vegetables, I try to get as many colors as I can. I love making a really good salad with as many vegetables as I can find that would taste good in it. When you're really trying to lose weight, the spray dressing is the way to go. Very minimal calories. And you can add fruit to your salads, too.

When you're eating every 3 hours or so, you stay full, so you don't feel the need to munch all day long. Waiting longer than that in between meals will only make you more hungry and more likely to binge eat.

I don't worry about my fat intake, but I am very careful about using healthy fats. I use olive oil when I can. For example, if you're really craving a baked potato, instead of butter, use olive oil and some Italian seasoning. It's a really tasty treat!

Don't Forget To Track Your Intake

One thing that really helps you stick to your diet is tracking what you eat and your calorie intake. I use sparkpeople.com. You can track your food and exercise, and find all kinds of ideas and support. It also helps you know what adjustments you should make to optimize your weight control.

I'll post more about diet after Christmas. I think most of us are going to be trying to take off those few pounds we gained. Until then, try to eat as healthy as you can. If you're eating a lot of healthy food, you'll fill up on that before the junk. Not to mention, you'll feel better, too.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!!

Friday, December 19

Bonus Reason #1 to Go to the Gym

You get to see gym-boy playing air guitar as he climbs the stairs to the cardio equipment.

And then you get to see him doing Rocky Balboa air boxing while he runs on the treadmill.

Wednesday, December 17

Is it a mirage or a real obstacle???

I was recently reading a comment on another blog and it got me thinking about the things we do to psych ourselves out of working out. This particular commenter was concerned that doing certain exercises has aged her body.

Well, really - is that likely??? I don't think so. Now, she may have overdone some things. And she could have injured herself. But doing a specific exercise is NOT going to make you age drastically.

But her comments got me thinking about the times that I have held myself back because of the possibility of causing more pain in my hip, or when I didn't have a decent lunch and was afraid I wouldn't have enough energy to do my workout, or the worry that my asthma might kick in and I'll start to get a little dizzy. (Now, this does happen on occasion, but I can usually control it if I concentrate on my breathing. Seriously - I've questioned whether I need to take it a lot easier when this happens, but I know what I need to do to overcome this challenge. I just need to do it.)

I think the fear of what might happen often keeps us from doing things we would otherwise enjoy doing. If I worried about what discomfort might follow a workout, I'd never work out. Because if we're pushing ourselves, there will always be a little discomfort while our bodies recover.

That fear is just a mirage. There will undoubtedly be some real obstacles that do creep up from time to time, but I think it's important that we really look at and analyze the obstacles we find in front of us. Are they real or just in our heads. If it's just in our heads, then we need to keep on going. Most of the time the obstacles we see are just mind games we play with ourselves.

So the thought for the day is: is it a mirage or a real obstacle? What's holding you back? Is it something that you need to make concessions for and plan to overcome? Or is it something that you're just using as an excuse to get out of working your body a little? Until you know what you're fighting against, you can't fight it. We should all take the time to see things for what they really are.

And for my "MOM" thoughts: this is a lesson for all our kids, too. It's very easy for children to let their fears keep them from trying new things and getting things done. (I swear my youngest has a HUGE psychological obstacle that keeps her from cleaning her room. We're still trying to overcome this!) But that's how they learn and grow. We need to encourage them to analyze their obstacles and be examples ourselves. If we listen to the fear and hold ourselves back, then we're not helping our kids.

Monday, December 15

The Healthy Fit Mom - why the blog?

I'm starting this blog because health and fitness are important to me. When I was getting ready for my 20th reunion, I started working with a personal trainer. I found that most people who work in the health and fitness industry don't know how to work with a stay-at-home-mom. They don't understand us or why we do what we do. I felt that I had to figure out how to make health and fitness work in my life and it took a lot of adjustments. Adjustments that I had to figure out myself.

So, in hopes of helping other stay-at-home-moms get started or keep going with their health and fitness, I'm starting this blog.
 

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