Friday, August 21, 2009

Healthy Habits

Remember back in July, when I experienced all of that fatigue and exhaustion after my triathlon? I started to keep track of what I was eating, how much sleep I was getting, my workouts, what kind of vitamins and supplements I was taking, and how I felt throughout the day. Well, I took a mild haitus from that when I was in NYC and got right back on the wagon when I returned.

I thought I would do a little update and let you know what has worked for me as well as what doesn't work:
  • It can be rather simple. That is keeping track of all of this stuff on a daily basis. It's not as hard or time consuming as one might think when they first start. In fact, I am using another blog to keep track and it's working out perfect for me.
  • Watch the BLT's. I am not talking about the sandwiches, but the Bites, Licks, and Tastes. Every one of them counts and should be accounted for in the journal. One would be surprised at how many times you may do this. For example, when you are preparing lunch or snacks for the next day, or even when baking!? When I pay attention to these, I am more likely to not do it, since I don't want to write down that I licked the spoon after dishing my yogurt into a container for lunch tomorrow.
  • Don't give up every sweet and salty treat. I have found this to be unreasonable for me. As I have cut back significantly on these, I have also noticed that I don't crave them as often. I am also starting to crave good things, like fruit and crunchy vegetables! During our 4 days of meetings/inservice this week, we were treated to 3 donuts, 2 huge chocolate chip chocolate muffins, and 2 cookies. I was able to turn ALL but 1/2 a muffin down. I shared it with another co-worker!
  • Water, water, water. I am drinking more water - less pop and coffee. You should be drinking half your weight in ounces each day (more if you are working out).
  • Caffeine. I used to be one that thought grabbing a coffee from Caribou or Starbucks in the morning before work when I was really tired would be beneficial. Now I am learning to cut back and have these just as a treat. I am starting to make coffee at home and ending up drinking less (and saving money!). Lately, I have also noticed that when I do drink coffee (espresso) from Caribou, I feel all jittery most of the day and don't like that feeling.
  • 6 meals a day. I am a pro at eating smaller meals, but still working on eating more often throughout the day. I need to get better about planning my meals in conjunction with my day's schedule and when I am working out. A couple days this week I struggled with this and actually went 6 hours between lunch and dinner.
  • Plan more meals. We have had long lunches this week, so many of us teachers have taken advantage of this and enjoyed the company while eating out for lunch every day. Yuck. I am very sick of it and look forward to packing my lunches next week. This, too, helps save money!
  • Eat more raw food, fruits and veggies. Still working on this.
  • Sleep is key. I love my sleep and have been pretty consistent with this now that I am back at work. For me, it helps to go to bed around the same time every night and wake up at the same time every day. This week I have been ranging from 8-9 hours each night - the transition back to work has been draining!
  • Vitamins and Supplements. I am still taking my daily women's vitamin and fish oil, and just picked up some glucosamine which I think will help with cartilage and my joints.

  • I am down 3.6 pounds, and know that this came off fast with the transition from a just a few adjustments. As much as I would like to lose 20 pounds, I am continuing to look at this as a lifestyle change and hope that with some of these changes, it will continue to fall off, slowly and in a healthy way.
  • It's all about baby steps. In the past I have tried to change too many things at one time. I would cut out soda, not eat out, no consumption of alcohol, all at one time. This time, I have a plan to add a challenge a week. Some things I will continue doing after the week is over, and some things might just be a weekly challenge. For example, I have refrained from eating after 7pm, which is usually 2 - 2.5 hours before hitting the pillows. I will continue with this challenge, but look forward to completely dumping soda and coffee next week.

Mary, over at FIT THIS, Girl wrote up a great post about Diet vs. Lifestyle Change. You should check it out here!

Alright peeps. I am out of here. Heading to the cities with the family for another long weekend. We hope to hit up the horse races at Canterbury, take in a Twins game Monday, and do a little shopping in between!

Have a great weekend, y'all! See you on the flip side!

19 comments:

Unknown said...

good job with the weight. i'm working to lose weight too. Lost 3.5 fairly fast and now I'm stuck (but at least not going up!!)

great tips...

Anonymous said...

great read- bravo on teh weight loss and glad to hear you are craving teh veggies and fresh fruits much more. I made that change in early June..and immediately dropped weight. Went from 218-220 to 195-198. Keep ti up!!

Wes said...

Good stuff! Baby steps! They do add up!!

Shannon said...

Great post! I agree with every word. Keep up the good work sista.

Anonymous said...

Great points; thanks and nice job

COTY said...

have fun with the family. Great keeping up with the loss..
The sodas are hard to give up but once you do you wont miss them!

RunToTheFinish said...

yes yes baby steps! that I keep telling people who ask me..make small long term changes. sure it's slower, but it's long lasting!

i'm hoping with the weight loss challenged of Denise's that I joined maybe I will really focus on more veggies and fruits all the time

Unknown said...

Great tips!

J said...

It really is all about baby steps and making simple changes! I sometimes keep track of what I eat and really it doesnt take that much time! I have noticed that now that I am eating better, when I actually do slip up and have the "bad" stuff then I feel gross and sick!

Jess said...

That's all great stuff to keep in mind!

RunnerGirl said...

All those snacks in the teachers' lounge are the worst! There are always cakes, brownies, chocolate, or something sinful being offered in there. It's dangerous ground I tell ya!

Holly said...

Teacher's lounges are horrible! Great job on being able to turn so much of it down!

Hope you're having a fun weekend!

N.D. said...

You are doing GREAT!! keep it up!

Being Robinson said...

these are all such good points. i am soooo addicted to coffee... you've given me hope that i can manage to cut down on it someday! ohhh and i love me some caribou, there isn't one here, just in KC, but every time i'm there, i go straight for the caribou. yum. okay sorry i was side tracked... anyway you also gave me some great reminders (like regularly taking vitamins). and great job btw!! hope you had a great weekend.

Carolina John said...

way to be awesome babe! the caffeine dependancy has a certain tolerance level (mine is way to high - i can't get jittery from coffee/tea no matter how hard i seem to try). and eating 6 meals a day can be really tough while you're in school. but stay with it, you'll get these last few kinks worked out.

Jess said...

Sounds like you're doing an awesome job working on everything. You've made a ton of really great changes! I need to get better about planning meals. Sometimes I end up with almost no food left in the house by the end of the week because I'm so not good about it.

Danielle said...

All the things I try to do and doesn't it suck that one bad week can undo? Keep it up tho. It's definitely the way to go.

Unknown said...

OMG! How funny, as I was reading this, I was like, "I am SO giving a shout out, this post is Great..." then I get to the bottom to see you mentioned ME! Great minds think alike!

SO glad you are down 3.6(!!) keep it up! The healthy habits listed here are so important, I LOVE the BLT acronym! My big obstacles are: water and planning meals and snacks. And getting enough sleep. :) Great work!

Runner Leana said...

Those are all great tips. Thank you so much for sharing! Congratulations on your weight loss.

I'm off to check out your link!