New Year - New Format!! The Journey Continues...by Liimu

So, my new commitment to this journey of learning how to lighten my load, so to speak, in a healthy, intuitive way is going to be very interesting. At least, to me, anyway. I thought I would just jot down my thoughts throughout the week in a much more personal way. I hope you don't find it to be overkill. I am really excited to share with you as I transform into my best possible self in the most loving, intuitive possible way.

Thursday:

Thank God the holidays are almost over. I can start to feel myself getting back into my own groove after several days at my mother-in-law’s house, where there were literally counters covered with cookies, brownies, pies and cakes. I fell into the habit of eating a cookie or two here and there every time I went into the kitchen. It added up. By the time we checked out of the hotel, I was feeling bloated and no longer positive that intuitive eating was going to work for me. I did hang in there with the whole thing and resisted the temptation to resubscribe to Weight Watchers, call and beg my trainer to take me back, or attempt the Master Cleanse for a week or two. I even got to the gym a couple times, thanks to having the company of my nine-year old – don’t be alarmed, we just walked on the treadmill and did a few jump squats and ball crunches.
Back at home, I apparently needed some extra rest, because I slept until 10 am on Thursday and ended up just doing a little bit of exercise here and there throughout the day – jumping rope for a minute, 25 squats in the shower, that type of thing. It’s unorthodox, and much different from the 90 minute workouts I used to push through, but it felt right.

Friday:

I’m feeling much more solid, much more on my game. I ran across a wonderful blog called Deliberate Receiving that really helped me get back on track with what I need to be doing to stay the course of intuitive eating. Essentially, the first and most important thing to do is to avoid processed foods and any chemicals you can’t pronounce. I presented my kids with my new food philosophy: “If you can’t read it, don’t eat it.” (They are willing to try adopting it, but I’m not going to force the issue. Just a gentle reminder now and again.) As for me, it was very easy to stay on track with intuitive eating by following that simple philosophy. I can really complicate things and so I need to find ways to keep it simple. I thoroughly enjoyed the choices I made today – shrimp gumbo, Ezekiel bread with peanut butter, extra veggies at dinner instead of bread. Yum! I also enjoyed intuitive exercise – on the way to the gym, I turned to my daughter and asked if she’d rather go for a walk along my favorite trail. We ended up walking 3 miles, with a couple 8-minute intervals of walking and jogging. Later in the day, she suggested we walk to the playground to meet her sisters, rather than drive. She even suggested a couple bursts of running along the way! While at the playground, I actually joined them in a game of tag, rather than sitting on the side reading on my iPhone, like I usually do.

The Law of Attraction is law and it is working. My weight loss journey has finally begun.

Saturday:

Happy New Year! My family celebrated the new year in style at Dave and Buster’s. I was underwhelmed by the nasty buffet that offered cheap chicken nuggets and mini pizzas, and not a vegetable in sight unless you count salsa or ketchup. I did manage to work up a sweat on the Dance Party Fiesta video game, however. Yay, me.

Sunday:

I kept my promise to myself of trying at least one of the recipes using my Christmas gifts from Hubby – the Best SlowCooker Recipes cookbook and a top-of-the-line Set and Forget crockpot. Tonight, I made sweet potato soup. Tomorrow, I plan to make easy chicken and rice, which is a meal my mom used to make and I used to love. Not sure my kids will be into it, but so what – at least I’ll have a nice hot lunch option. Tomorrow starts my resolve to start eating natural sugar only, at least for awhile. One more week till I check in on the scale. I have done a great job staying away from it, at my trainer’s suggestion. I do look forward to seeing how I’m doing from that perspective.

Monday:

I’m about to get my period. I realized this in a quick bathroom moment of meditation after about two hours of feeling like everyone in my house was completely annoying and out to make my life miserable. I finally realized that the common denominator was my complete lack of tolerance for any of them. I also remembered that this feeling of intolerance, combined with the feeling that I’ve suddenly expanded to twice my size, and the extra couple of zits that are no longer the norm thanks to my steering clear of hormone-laced dairy products, could only mean one thing. I’m probably still a week away from relief, but I am feeling the hormonal shift.

I guess with that thought in mind, the small amounts of chocolate I consumed today should be considered commendable, and huge progress over years, even months past. I also made it to the gym and had a pretty respectable workout. So, all that to say – it’s ON, folks. I am officially on my game.

Tomorrow, I meet with the nutritionist. Cannot imagine he will tell me anything I don’t already know, but my friend Joan from the gym swears by him, so who am I to think I know it all? I am nothing if not teachable.

Tuesday:

Met with the nutritionist today. He’s a smooth one, that John. I tell him my diet and he notices that I usually have no snack between breakfast and lunch and an extra snack at night. After quite a long conversation about the benefits of eating sooner after waking and not letting more than five hours go by without eating – so as to keep the metabolism from slowing down – he tells me that as long as I eat a structured diet, I should be fine. Although it would be better if I could eliminate one of the two nighttime snacks. In other words, I should eat three meals and three snacks, spaced 2-3 hours apart. Brilliant. Why have I never heard that before? Oh yeah…I have. To be fair, it really hit home with me this time and seemed like a reasonable request. So, I’m trying. I’m noticing that I could work on my portions. Baby steps.

Wednesday:

I’m doing really great. Making small changes, working out nearly every day, even got my water intake up to four liters today. I went to the gym for a workout class today and I actually didn’t hate what I saw in the mirror. I still look pregnant to me, but according to one of the trainers at the gym who’s certified in prenatal instruction and assessment, that’s partly due to the fact that I have ab separation, also known as diastasis recti, which is a common occurrence after having children. Mine is fairly severe, so I am limited to only certain ab exercises (no crunches – only planks and leg lifts) until it closes up. Hopefully that will also help lend me the appearance of a smaller waist. Either way, I was pleasantly surprised to see changes happening in my body when I scanned the workout room, which for some evil reason is walled in mirrors. Doesn’t the fact that we are paying to workout suggest that we might not be vain enough to want to be able to see our thighs jiggle from every possible angle?

The other thing that’s been helping is that I’ve been working out a lot with my sister lately. She and I had an opportunity to try this cool new product, “Cool Off,” a post-workout wipe that’s individually wrapped and is small enough to fit several in your purse. My skin is very sensitive, so I had a slight allergic reaction to the alcohol in the product (hoping they come out with an alcohol-free version). My sister, however, really loved the scent and said it left her feeling refreshed enough to squeeze in a couple of errands before heading home for a shower. You can get them on Amazon or directly at their website.

Next week’s update - the post-holiday weigh in!! You don't want to miss it!