Small Spaces

Living in a small apartment has it's challenges with exercise. It's not always easy to find space for a treadmill or a home gym so the practical alternative is small space-saving tools. Using games and even exercise video's is one way to stay in shape but still takes time to set up and you're limited in location.
So in my attempt at getting into better shape without re-joining a gym( even on a health kick I find it hard to go) I purchased an exercise wheel, basically a wheel with handle bars. The beauty of this device is it works my entire upper body and in any space I can find (even a hallway). It's about as difficult as doing push ups with your knees on the ground, then by extending the range you can really increase results. The wheel is also a lot quieter than a shake weight and less embarrassing to use. :)
So now to put it to the test by using the wheel twice a day for a week and increasing it over time. I'm looking forward to toning my arms back and abs :)

Staying Faithful During Hard Times

When stress hits hardest it's easy to break down while dieting, but staying strong and eating right can actually help you through it easier. During times off loss it's easy to try to fill the gap with junk food and in some cases drinking excessive amounts. Though it is very hard to do, stick it out with fruits, relaxing teas, and lots of walking.

This past week was a tough one with stress from work on top of my best friend losing her mother. Though I felt like saying 'To hell with my diet!' I remained strong and focused on healthy foods that would help relieve the stress. When I'm particularly feeling down I lean towards floral or mint teas even a splash of cinnamon in a skinny latte is a nice boost(but don't have too much). When I'm upset I tend to crave sweets so having fresh fruit helps me to counter those cravings.

Walking is probably the best thing to so when facing hard times. Taking a nice walk can ease your mind as well as burn off calories (especially if you ate your feelings). This also works well when I'm angry, I can power walk to burn off steam and by the time I get back I've exhausted all my frustrated energy.

Even though changing habits is hard, the more you remind yourself and reward your good behavior, the more likely you'll reach your goal. With that in mind I'm down 3 pounds and a half inch around my waist

The Good with the Bad

Starting off is never as easy as claimed. Advertisements will try to sell you on 'quick fixes' and 'No-this diets' that work for some people but not everyone. I admit I too have tried the fad diets and quick fixes with obviously nothing to show as results from it. So what really does work?

Anytime I've experienced some success has been from eating the healthier things I love. Fruits are awesome to curve sweet cravings and are great for on the run, however to obtain my goal a high amount of vegetables are required. It's not that I don't like vegetables It's more I've grown accustomed to not eating them. To change a bad habit takes a little creative thinking. Often the best solution is to take the bad food you love and make them good by replacing ingredients with vegetable alternatives or even just adding in veggies.

I'm testing this out by making my lasagna with eggplant as well as leaner ground beef I got on sale. I plan to stick to one serving and pair it with chicken and strawberry vinaigrette salad. Also by hand shredding the chicken, instead of simply cutting it up with a knife, I've noticed I don't use as much and it looks a lot more filling. :)

Going for lower fat dairy is one way to reduce calories as well but the taste also tends to become weaker. However using stronger flavor products like Gorgonzola actually adds that cheese flavor, you're craving yet because it's such a strong flavor you won't add in much, this works very well when making pizza too.

Switching out white flour products for wheat is also an awesome healthy choice. Even though standard grocery stores sell wheat products at a more expensive cost you can save LOTS of money by going to smaller chain stores like Fresh and Easy or Trader Joe's who pride themselves on healthy eating at affordable costs.  Between the two I prefer Fresh and Easy for their selection and prices. They are the only place I can buy frozen fruit for under $3 and their meat prices are fantastic (referring to the price of chicken and ground beef especially when they go on sale)

Point being, there's always a little sacrifice to get to your goal but those BAD foods can be made good with a little trying. Just watch the portion sizes and try something new :)

The Plan

I'm sure everyone gets to that point in their life where they want to make a big change. Maybe it's when you come to the point of realization that 'I'm almost 30!' or in my case 'I'm almost 30! Crap! what have I been doing?!'. That thought first hit me in January 2012. Now a year, marriage, and a baby boy later my exclamation points keep growing. So the billion excuses aside for why I'm a professional procrastinator, I've got to do something about my life! (this however implies small gradual changes because let's face it  a professional procrastinator doesn't change over night.)

Getting down to it I've got a mile long bucket list that's certainly not getting any shorter. So taking out my sharpie I plan to cross off the biggest items first... that would be a grand idea but it's not going to happen without some small steps first. So the plan is to start small. My first BIG goal is very common as I would like to not drop or shed but SHOVEL off the weight I've had for too many years (plus the added love handles my recent pregnancy gifted.)

The problem about starting any kind of a diet is keeping it and if you're like me that's not going to happen easily. My theory on my failures is of course lack of self-motivation and thinking I've already failed so i'll give up entirely. With that in mind if i'm going to diet it has to be forgiving. So I will eat a occasional piece of chocolate as long as I exercise in equal proportion. This by no means allows me to eat fast food or down a gallon of ice cream.

So here's my plan to accomplish my goal:
-I'll start by getting rid of the foods I tend to cave on.
-I'll buy healthy foods I love (and A LOT of them)
-I will train myself to eat well by preparing meals as best i can which will save time and money.
-and the hardest of all is I will fit in exercise. maybe a walk after lunch or playing an on demand fitness video, but some kind of exercise.

So... at 256lbs and a 49" waist I've got a lot to lose. :)