Beautiful Behaviors - July 2017

Good morning everyone. I had a rough start to my week. I couldn't sleep Sunday night and was up till almost 2 AM; therefore, I didn't swim Monday morning. Not a good start.

I am trying to get back on track as I have a 5K this Saturday. That would be a swimming 5K, I couldn't run a 5K right now to save my life. My first lake swim in 14 years.

I have been spending as much time as I can with my oldest son as he leaves for college in less than a month. It seems like I have been butting heads with my 16 year old as he likes to argue with just about everything I say to him. sigh...

I am trying very hard to forgive myself for not having more money saved for my kids for college. Long story short - I trusted my ex manage to manage the finances in my marriage and he put us into serious debt. I know I can't do anything about it now, but if I had only opened my eyes, my kids would have their college paid for.

My beautiful behavior is to forgive myself and help out the best I can now by co-signing loans for my oldest and continue to save for my youngest. (my ex has no credit and is close to filing for bankruptcy)

Happy hump day everyone!
Nicki

Good morning ladies. I have been reading through all your posts, even though I've been a bit absent as far as posting myself. Monday-Wednesday are my busiest days of the week, so here's to getting today over with!

One of my beautiful behaviors I'm really enjoying this month is keeping off the scale. It's been so counterproductive for me to weigh every day in the past; it's like my mood changes with the tide of the scale (which is already so fickle). So I'm kind of competing against myself to stay off of it except for about once a week. Kind of how I try to see how long I can go without logging into social media to save my sanity, but the trying-to-lose-weight version.

One thing that has been bothersome this week is my knee. It popped pretty good last Thursday night, and was really painful throughout the night that night. It has gotten slowly better, then yesterday starting hurting more again. I've stayed out of the gym for a week in an effort to let it calm itself down. It's frustrating when trying to adhere to a nice, new routine. Especially because I'm very "all or nothing" usually when it comes to healthy behaviors. I've decided to let myself just fall nicely exactly where I am right now - counting calories very steadily, every day, and staying away from the gym for a while longer. Why risk a true, potentially long-term injury?

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a beautiful day. It's scorching here in Texas, as usual by this time in the summer. Maybe next summer I'll be a little less uncomfortable since I'll hopefully be carrying around less extra weight.

Much love ladies

Amy

@jessiquoi, thanks for starting this thread! This is what it's all about for me. I took a good look at the rest of my life last December and decided that if I didn't want to spend it fat and achey, then I better get busy and change my ways! What a difference it makes! Logging my food and exercise on MFP has made me more mindful and kept me honest about my choices.

Lately I am trying to revive my flagging prayer life. I started a bullet journal mainly for that. Prayer makes me feel grounded and connected to the One who made me and has a purpose for my life, and loves me unconditionally. I need that in my life every day.

Right now I have a lot of time because I'm a teacher/missionary and we are on "home assignment" in the US for a few months. Usually, I'm so busy and tired and have trouble finding time to exercise or to care what I eat... now I have a lot of time and the challenge is to use it well. Again, the journaling helps with that. It's vital to do first things first and have a plan for the day, and do it.

After several days of being too tired to care, I'm regaining some energy!!! Yassss!!

Ohmygoodness @finngirl61 - I hate tracking too! Sometimes... What we hate and resist the most.... Turns out to be our greatest tool for living. So, with that thought in mind, I'm inconsistently tracking. If you come up with a dynamic mindset through all this, let us know!!!

@rheddmobile - I can really relate to the "forgotten" foods! But the best story I ever heard was a lovely friend of mine who related that she joined weight watchers, told nobody that she joined, and had to eat her candy bar in a stall of the women's restroom at work, to keep from feeling guilty! She never tracked the candy bar. I know our minds work that way! I've finally learned not to close out the day's tracking until well into tomorrow. It keeps me honest. Again, if you find a really dynamic mindset that helps you track, let us know!!!

@MeredithDeVoe1 - good for you! A healthy spiritual life is an important part of overall health. Prayer keeps your body, mind, and relationships healthy. And, of course, keeps you connected to God always.

@gillykh - here comes another cheer!! Good for you! I agree about limited weigh ins. The scale can really do bad things to my mood, and I'm going to guess that you may be that way also.

@katadx - yes on the second hand stores for mason jars. Also estate sales. They are a tad expensive brand new - and then you have to buy rings and lids too. Maybe I'll buy them new for selling honey, customers like that. But some of my own favorite jars came from estate sales.

@nickiphillips1 - yeah boy do I understand. I filed bankruptcy after my divorce twenty years ago to get out from under his bills. After time passes, you will discover that it was just another life event to go through. What determines your love and passion for life and friends and family is you, not the garbage that was thrown at you. You are one strong woman.

Speaking of strong women.. Congrats @jessiquoi for getting back to tracking foods! We keep each other on the journey.

And @happysherri - another strong woman. Okay. As soon as vacation rest is over, get back to the gym! But good golly, vacations do have a restorative way with your spirit. Ahhhhh...

I want to exercise. My oxygen level has been 91-95 all day for several days. Raspberries to lung disease. It is only prayer that gets me through. I said goodbye today to a long time therapist who is moving to a different business. I went home and slept for several hours. Life goes on.

Tracking food: is there a way we can overcome this obstacle with a sassy attitude? Can we make it fun somehow? Take that devil! I craved celery yesterday and it was good! Ha! And it happened on a day that I was not tracking.... It's my little secret.... Two whole clumps of celery!! Eaten in the dark.
Heh heh heh.

Love to all.

Lea

Hello ladies! I've been back to trolling again, as I haven't been participating in a lot of beautiful behaviors. However, it's my birthday today (51 - woo hoo), and I'm vowing to make a fresh start. I must motivate myself to start getting some exercise! My beautiful behavior will be to take a nice walk with my dog at least every other day. I love to read these posts. They're so encouraging!

@MidModJenn: Great job! I, too, struggle with that often. I have a weird mindset that I have to take full advantage of "free food". If only the calories were free, too! You had a great plan and carried it out - congrats!

Hugs to all. Hope everyone has a great day!

skymningen wrote: »

Hi there... I am new to this and I am not sure if I fit in. I lost about 25 lbs in the last year and a half and I was not even actually overweight, so now I am supposed to not loose more. My goal is to build muscle and generally get more fit, which means exercising without losing more weight. And it is harder than I expected.
Whenever I am stressed I can't eat well and as a last year PhD student, I am stressed most of the time. Also, I was a carbohydrate junkie, so eating more protein and fewer carbs is my struggle.
Also, I suffer from migraines and high blood pressure (at age 30!) Something needs to change.
Finally, exactly on the first of July, I set my foot in a gym for the first time in my life. And did not walk back out without a membership. Now I am trying to get into the habit of strength training 3x a week, with a little cardio for warm-up.

So far so good, but there's a "but". Tuesday I seem to have strained my right leg and now I am already dreading I might have to take a break of my new good habit. :-(

Is it okay if I join this endeavor even if my goal is to maintain/gain weight and only lose body fat? At least I am through the losing weight thing so I can relate to all of you.

You are very welcome here! We all have different challenges - as long as you are working towards a healthier you, it doesn't matter if you need to gain weight or lose it or stay the same.

How do you feel about nuts and avocados? Those are what I think of when I think of eating healthier without lowering calories.

Sherri, good luck with the sleep study! I did one a few years ago and it changed my life.

aleahurst wrote: »

Okay. I usually ignore YouTube videos on food prep for dieting.... But I really like this one! Rachel Aust does food, minimalism, work out that I cannot keep up with...

Lots of well balanced meals and good looking food.

https://youtu.be/nHrQHrZyHHo

Love to all.

Lea

Great video! The foods I frequently prep are:

spaghetti squash - I cook a whole one in the microwave then separate it into 4 sandwich baggies. One baggie is enough for a serving of pasta sauce, which I eat when my husband eats spaghetti. Baggies stack in the fridge better than containers. I also roast the seeds.
Quinoa - I make a big container of it once a week, which I use as the basis for breakfast bowls. Generally some kind of legume, lean protein, veggies, and dressing on top. At the same time I make a container of rice for my husband.
Ginger Garlic chicken: stir fry of olive oil, garlic, ginger, red pepper flake, onions, red bell pepper, and boneless skinless chicken thigh. Little soy sauce and rice vinegar. This is great over rice or quinoa, or in a wrap.
Porterhouse steak: my husband doesn't eat red meat, but I like it, so I cook one steak for myself and eat it about four times in 4 or 5 oz portions. I pepper and salt it, grill it on the stovetop in butter to rare, and eat the tenderloin then, then put the rest in a refrigerator baggie and slice it for salads, add to stir fry (because it's very rare it can stand to be cooked more) or use in sandwiches. Then the bone goes into soup.
Roasted winter veggies: it's summer now, so I haven't been doing this, but in winter I roast a big tray of winter squash, onions, beets, turnips, cauliflower, and other veggies. Summer veggies cook more quickly so I don't bother doing it ahead of time.
Cole slaw: a big tub of buttermilk slaw is an instant side dish for summer meals.

After lots of practice I can chop veggies very quickly (I have a mandoline which makes it even quicker) and chopped veggies deteriorate, so I often prep grains and proteins and add freshly sliced raw veggies at the last minute.

Good morning all,

I decided kind of last minute to join my husband for a night at a camp he runs every year. So I rode with a friend and am two hours from home, stayed the night, and going home this afternoon. About a 24 hour jaunt.

I didn't have much time to plan for this, but I managed to stay in my calories yesterday, which is rare for me. Usually I would kind of blow it and chalk it up to "special circumstances" (this also works for "special ocassions").

This morning, we went into town to print some pictures they gift to the campers. Grabbed a few things from Walgreens and I think I can stay on track today! This is not a small step, but it is a beautiful behavior. As much as I deserve a break at times, lots and lots and lots of breaks on eating well have gotten me where I am. So my beautiful behavior today is loving myself enough to show some restraint. I don't feel beat up about it, I feel strong.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Amy

Yes, @str8bowbabe - you will get back on track because you want to! That's the best reason there is! Just follow your heart.

@rheddmobile - I'm glad you told what you prep. It got me thinking about ways to make all kinds of foods easier to have on hand. Fixing Quinoa ahead is a good idea
And I could do steel cut oats that way. Good plan.

Amy @gillykh - wow! You got that special occasion eating down pat! Good for you!

Today, I spent mostly in bed, but for the first time in a while, I don't feel guilty about it. I spent my time looking for a house to buy. And also the alternative - I priced repairs to my home. I washed some clothes, but I like washing, so that's hardly working. Making decisions about moving is tiring! But I think I've decided what to do. I'm staying put until a certain family situation changes. I will move, when my mother needs me to move in with her. At that point, I'll have some idea of the housing market, and I'll know what to suggest. Whew!

Love to all.

Lea