Re-re-re-focus Again

There is a reason I struggle with my weight--I fall off the wagon repeatedly. Little by little I loosen the reins until I am having dessert after every meal and eating fried foods at restaurants. There is a reason I have to keep motivating myself--because I am really not very motivated to do this. Several times this weekend I thought how much I'd love to just make meals without thinking about their fat, calorie and fiber content! I'm one of those who looks in the mirror and instead of seeing the truth, sees what I want to see. So I require flagellation and information and pep talks constantly.

I realized that I had lost sight of my "swing thoughts"--Cary taught me this golf term that refers to setting your mind on a path for your body to follow. Here are a few of mine:

Food is fuel.

Work out for vigor and strength, because the hot bod days are over.

Drinking water helps you pee away bad stuff.

(Swing thoughts ain't Shakespeare, ok?)

Motivational phrases anyone?

Short and Sweet 16

More A/C leaking, water damage and STRESS here, so this quick update will be about a new frozen treat I found last night at the grocery store. It's a fruity creamy sugar free popsicle kind of a thing made by Philly Swirl, and it only has 16 calories!!! What's more, it is really yummy!

Empty calories are my friend because they satisfy my sweet tooth or munchy needs, so today let's do empty calories. I love rice cakes, sugar free jello and lite cool whip. What are your favorite empty calorie foods?

The Straight Poop

Fiber is miraculous. It's like the boom to our oil spill, filtering out bad junk in our bodies (and consequently lowering our cholesterol, blood sugar, bmi, etc.) while making us feel full!

One of my goals this week is to up my fiber intake. I already take supplements, but I want to tap into the dietary fibers. Take a peek at this list of high fiber foods for some ideas.

A few of my favorite fiberlicious foods are: All Bran crackers, fig newtons, okra pickles, hummus, and popcorn! What are yours?

The Write Way to Lose

I really get tired of doing it, but logging every bite that enters my body really does keep me on track. And almost every eating plan endorses its participants keeping a food journal. There is something about writing things down that seals the deal.

Fat Secret has a really great food journal online, with versions for your mobile phone. Its best feature, I believe, is the UPC code search that makes it possible to get nutritional information for virtually every product you can throw in the hole. With a click, it is integrated into your journal.

Do you journal your eating?

Weekend Whoopee

Happy weekend everyone! If you're like me, you loosen up a little on the regimen on the weekends. For one thing, you usually have new challenges, daunting but temporary, like the rest of the family at home, or less structure to keep you in line, or events with special food and drink. I find that by having a little loosey goosey on the weekends I am much more capable of weekday discipline. Of course, the key word is "little!"

One aha I had this week is that if I am investing my time and energy into myself, by exercising and fueling my body well, I am much more reluctant to throw it all out the window in a moment of weakness.

What is happening in your world this weekend? Do you have any physical activity on the agenda? Is there a special treat in store?

Trick foods

Trick foods are the ones that satisfy some food desire that rages within, without blowing your plan.

This week I discovered Special K Fruit Crisps. They remind me of a pop tart, something I crave sometimes, only they are thinner and crisper. There are two thin crisps to a packet, and at only 100 calories total, guilt free. They aren't very substantial, so I think of them more as a cookie than anything else--nice for dessert, pretty on the saucer beside mid-morning coffee.

Share one of your trick foods!

Stress eating

I'm too tired to be very clever today. Our A/C exchange leaked through the ceiling again last night, which means I am hot, sleepy and facing repair and repair costs in my Kath Zone. There goes the precious control that allows me to keep a tight reign on my eating and maintain my exercise.

Thankfully I hit the grocery store yesterday, so at least when a choice is to be made there are healthy ones available. But I established an "I feel bad, I can feel better with a treat" mentality long ago, and I revert to it in times of stress.

So today, let's all get those comments rolling and help each other [ME] out--What stresses you out to the point you lose sight of your fitness goals? How do you combat those urges?

Go Gym Dandy, Go! Go!

Today's thought: If you don't like where you're living, MOVE!

No matter what type of exercise you can do or you enjoy, it's all good. I have hurting stuff on my body, and moving it around seemed to be a very bad idea. Ironically, that's untrue. It's like a rusty old lawn mower, the first step to fixing it is getting it to move again.

It turns out that even a little walking around, swinging arms, breathing deeply, stretching--has a positive effect. You don't have to go gung-ho gonzo, just add a few minutes. And keep adding them. It makes you feel better physically, but it also really does a lot for your noggin'! Better sleep, improved self esteem and mood, increased energy, and hey hey, what's this--healing for achy hurting parts--all from just a little bit of exercise.

BONUS: You can wear comfortable clothes, no makeup and dirty hair without repercussion!

What kind of exercise do you like? How does it affect you?

Plan

Today's thought is:

Make the plan, work the plan.

By this I mean think ahead, at least for today--its meals and snacks, possible pitfalls, exercise schedule, etc.--and at most for the week. Gather the ammo you need.

My plan is to eat heavier on the protein side of things, lighter on the carbs, to enjoy the company of my son and focus on that instead of having birthday treat food, to drink hot tea and pretend I'm a fancy English lady.

What is your plan for today and this week?

Weight! Just listen!

I know there are weigh too many diet blogs and websites and gurus and diets out there. (Maybe too many puns as well, but let's table [heh] that for now, shall we?) All that information confuses me too, and bores me spitless. But the fact remains that I weigh too much. I have to work on my weight. It is a constant in my life. I know many of my friends also grapple with this.

There are things that help me. It's a head game, isn't it? Well, is it? Let me know. I see this as an ongoing conversation we can have about weighty issues.