Snack Attack Report 5 and Quality

A month has passed since I began the experiment, and it's time to reevaluate. Neither DH nor I were comfortable with how much sugar was being consumed, and DH was not happy with the eat-when-you-want-to practice. We did like how certain foods weren't as big of a deal anymore and how competitive eating stopped.


Observations:
5 y.o. - He: shared his stash often,went through it slowly, chose to snack on a variety of real and play foods


10 y.o. - She: went through her stash slowly, shared with her friends, chose to snack on a variety of real and play foods, ate a lot more candy than usual (Before the experiment, her holiday candy would sit on a shelf, forgotten. When it became part of her stash, she began eating it more and more).


11 y.o. - He: went through stash quickly (nearly empty by Fri's restocking day), prefers the extra-sugary stuff, does enjoy and requests fresh fruit


Me: I had no desire to dip into their stash; I had my own: a large bag of peanut M&M's that I'm still working on (In all fairness, I was sick for two weeks and had no desire for them. Otherwise, they'd be gone, I'm sure). I keep a zip-bag of them in my purse along with some pecans.


What's Next:
We are continuing the snack stash boxes with modifications. Each box will have (typically): favorite nuts, dried fruit, real granola bars (not candy bars disguised as granola bars), and ONE play food -- all customized to their tastes. Additionally, I'm buying different types of beef jerky for them to try -- a higher quality*, less greasy variety -- and ad to their boxes.


5 y.o.'s choices: pistachios and cashews, raisins, rolled wafer cookies (plus the granola bars and beef jerkey I'm having them try)


10 y.o.'s choices: pistachios, dates, Lindt dark chocolate truffles* (plus granola bars)


11 y.o.'s choices: cashews, apricots, pop tarts (3 of the 4 packages in the box), (plus granola bars and beef jerkey I'm having them try).


Guidelines:
-They can eat when they are hungry, BUT they must ask first when the next meal is ready (if it's within 20-30 minutes, they'll need to wait).
-They can snack on veggies and fruit almost any time (supplied in fridge and counter).
-They have to make their play food last at least a week. (We'll restock once per week).
-I will provide additional real-food after-school snacks; then they can dip into their stash if still hungry.
-Future holiday candy: they can choose their ultimate favorites and donate the remainder to the Bishop's office (he has a candy jar).

Source

*Quality
Lindt truffles can be expensive but are a better quality chocolate. I want to encourage them to get a taste for quality in a variety of foods. Then they'll learn that cheap versions are not "worth their taste buds." We may not purchase a lot, but the quality will be savored. That's also why I'm trying better quality beef jerky for the boys.


I've noticed this for myself: when I choose better quality, I lose a taste for cheap stuff (which is usually less healthy). I've been working to learn to cook and bring in flavorful veggies and better quality meats, etc. In the process, I have lost the taste for most fast-food. (This is a work in progress, one I haven't mastered, yet, but do see changes in).


For example, I used to buy steaks for everyone in the family for dinner. I'd buy the cheaper cuts that didn't turn out very good (I know, my skills may have a lot to do with that). Now, I buy the expensive cuts of meat, but because they are expensive, I buy one cut, and we all (5 of us) share the one. Although less quantity, it's so much better. It's enjoyable. With that joy comes a feeling of being satisfied and fed.

Exfoliate the Scale

I used to weigh myself everyday, and every month I would do several measurements and report them on the side bar:  BMI, belly fat, fat %, etc.  The scale messed with my mind.  I'd lose weight, see the number go down and think, "That was easy," then not be diligent.  Or, I'd feel like I should have lost weight, (worked hard, felt good in my skin, happy), then I'd see the number higher than expected and feel like giving up.


I stopped weighing myself several months ago as a challenge from Jarah (Eating for Your Soul - a program about intuitive eating/exercising and spiritual growth).  This is an action about being more kind and respectful to myself.


Here's a quote from Jarah, "Getting on the scale is all about judgment, and it brings you back to the diet perspective you learned about in Step Two.  You are letting the numbers determine your day and once you get on the scale, the thoughts of calorie counting, good vs. bad food, and exercise for the sake of weight loss return and there you go!  To stop the cycle and the diet perspective, you need stop weighing yourself.  It's about giving up the need to control the body so that you can start to listen to it."


It's been an empowering experience after packing away the scale.  I pay more attention to how tight or loose my clothing are instead, and  I take other cue's from my body.  If I have been exercising and eating quality foods, I feel great.  I don't need a scale to throw me off track.


This step also included getting rid of clothes that didn't fit (posted about it here).  That was really tough for me, and I didn't do it the first time I went through the program/steps.  I felt like I was some how giving up ever being size I want to be, again, by getting rid of the clothes.  This time I compromised and instead packed my favorite too-small clothes away in the garage.  Now, every item in my closet fits me, and it's no longer depressing to go in there.


Do you have any non-scale victories (NSV)?

Cowgirl Up

Time to get back in.











Yep. Time to get back in the saddle. I think this is how I've been doing it:

I've been really having a hard time keeping the binge-eating under control, but that doesn't mean I can't continue to exercise, particularly strength training.


Greta from Big Bottom Blogger has a challenge for us called "Race to 10." We are to lose 10 pounds of fat while increasing lean muscle mass, and we are using our % body fat measurements to monitor the changes. The scale may not show a weight loss, but the fat% numbers should. Click here to read more.


I like the idea of not relying on the scale, and measuring is more time-consuming than a quick weigh, so I won't be doing that every day. I guess I better get a plan. That would help. I'll work on that after I post this.


I'll admit I have this nagging fear of failing (again). I can't give up, though (I think that would be the ultimate fail). So, I'm gonna get back on that horse and show it who's boss.

Meal PLANNING Worksheet

Adapting Diane's worksheet for my weekly meal planning.

(Click image to enlarge).

Planning. Planning. Planning.

The need for planning has been repeated over and over throughout the many blogs I've read. Successful people say that planning is one of the biggest contributors to aiding them to achieve their goals. It helps avoid hasty, unhealthy, expensive decisions when you are hungry/bored/emotionally drained/(your reason here).

The more I learn about nutrition, the more I realize the meals I was making at home needed an overhaul. Sometimes...a lot, actually...I didn't even make time to prepare the meals and would opt for fast-food. I wish I could say that happened once a week, but sadly, it had become almost daily. Why? Because I had not planned. I usually winged-it. And usually the wings came with pizza.

Before I began my own blog, I poured myself into Diane's blog Fit to the Finish. There, amongst inspiration, I found a meal planning worksheet (click there for a blank, printable version of the above). I printed four sheets and put them in a binder. It's taken some time, but I have almost 4 weeks of meal-planning and healthier recipes my family actually likes.

I really like it. Preparation has become easier. I'm saving money, time, calories (as long as I stop buying those *&%$ eclairs and creme horns...old habits die hard). I'm feeding my family more nutritionally-dense foods. Cooking isn't as overwhelming as before. I look forward to it, and as I become used to the recipes, I can teach my kids. And I hope it helps me to stop my binge habit.

Other changes I've made:

Sundays: I try not to cook at all. I prepare a slow-cooker meal Saturday and put it into the fridge until Sunday morning where I transfer it to the heating unit. When we come home from church, we have a meal ready, and it's there the rest of the day if anyone is hungry.

For lunches and dinner: I make enough for dinner, too, then all I have to do is reheat and maybe add a salad or veggie. I'm usually wiped-out by dinner time and busy doing other things with the kids. I think this new approach will be very helpful.

This journey is one step at a time. I have a lot of muck to undo (like portion control). With these changes to my family's meals I hope to nourish us all and replace bad habits with good. That's the plan, anyway.

Binger Confessions

Image: caymanmama.com

Image: themojocoach.com

My goals are to add good habits to eventually replace the bad habits. I've started the C25K program, yoga every other day, finding and testing healthier recipes, and adding more green veggies each day. The good stuff is happening. The bad is still there.

I binged. Again. Not sure why. As I was eating, I tried to ask myself what am I feeling, what just happened, etc. No answers. No feelings, really. Everything was shut down. All I was focused on was how incredibly wonderful the junk tasted (eyes rolling into the back of my head).

I just bought it. No one offered it to me. I just scored a fix almost mindlessly. Like a spoiled child, "I want that." I certainly wasn't starving.

A package of NY style éclairs (4 in package...my D.O.C.), 1 1/2 boxes Little Debbie's Valentine cakes (shared a couple of packages with kids), 3 jumbo Butterfingers (they were on sale). This and whatever sugar-laden thing I could find at home.

I'm not terribly upset. Concerned, but not falling apart. Maybe my calmness is from knowing I am making changes one step at a time, and this step will come, too. This step being to one day be free from compulsively eating and craving sweet, creamy, gooey things.

Right now I weigh 208 pounds, up from my last monthly report on the right.

What the heck am I doing to my body? What do my arteries look like inside?

This week, no sugary junk. I can do that for a week. I'll leave it out of my Shrek Shake and other recipes. I'll go for fruit in the afternoon when I really have cravings. Maybe this will help change my taste buds.

Wish me luck.

I Must Resist

I'm taking my fitness journey to the next level and adding resistance training. I'll dust off the 10 pound dumbbells and do 3 sets of 10-15 each for bicep curls, triceps and deltoids. I'll also continue with the sorriest looking push-ups, 3 sets of 10ish.

And stretch.

The upper body will be every other day, alternating with lower (which for now includes 3 of 15 squats, 100 calf raises, and C25K).

And stretch.

The Primal Stride challenge and C25K training are going well. I'll report that at the end of the week.

I'm also doing better at adding good stuff like fruits, veggies and whole grains daily, but unfortunately I have not vowed to take away the majority of bad stuff like chocolate bars, cookies, cheeseburgers and French fries...now THOSE I can't resist.

5 at 5 Day 7 Report (Last Day!) and Next Challenge

I got the 5K walk in! And thanks to KatieO's advice yesterday, I didn't zap my ears.

Seth's challenge was a great way to kick start an exercise routine. I am going to continue walking but take it a "step" further. I'm going to do the Couch-to-5K program. It's 30 min every other day. In between I'll do the yoga video I won at Cranky Fitness (I ACTUALLY won something).

I liked getting up early. My goal is to get to bed earlier and wake at 5:30 a.m. I'm going to use at least a half hour of that for spiritual fitness (prayer, scripture study). First things first. Then the c25k/yoga.

Seth's next challenge is 250 crunches a day and a different green veg to crunch on per day for 7 days. I'm going to modify that. I'll do the crunches eod and do 100 calf raises in between (may modify that number depending on my plantar fascia). Green veggies are purchased and ready to be crunched.

Maybe you've heard this before, but I like it:

MOTTO TO LIVE BY

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave

with the intention of arriving safely in an

attractive and well preserved body,

but rather to skid in sideways, body

thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and

screaming, "WOO HOO, what a ride!"

Happy Feet and 5at5 Day 4

I purchased some quality sport shoes today. There's a small shop about a mile down the road from us called 26.2 Running Company. I am so happy I went. They video taped my running and analyzed how and where I plant my feet and at what angle. From that they know how much support is needed and where. They also know a lot about plantar fasciitis.

Feet feel great.

Did you know we shouldn't wear our training shoes all day? we should put them on just before we work out to maximize the benefit and protection our shoes give us. The cushioning system/padding gets compressed from our weight over time and needs a decompressing period.

Report:

I stayed up way too late again last night. I started getting up this morning and felt horrible. I rationalized that there are two 5:00's in a day, so I'll just take the later one and went back to bed. (I know...)

I also wanted to wait and get my new shoes.

Might As well Jump

I have a jump rope...had it for over 20 years. Never used it. Don't know where I got it. I've held on to it move-after-move and keep it in one of those on-the-door "shoe" holders with all the pockets. I've always over-looked it. Lately, though, I keep noticing it.

That would be good exercise, wouldn't it? Jumping gets the heart-rate up. It tones the muscles, strengthens bones. I've decided to add that to my daily exercise: 1 minute per day.

I did a "before" video of my very first time jumping rope. I've decided not to post it right now because I look like a complete idiot and have no "after" video to vindicate me don't want to waste your time without a motivating "after" video. Basically, the video shows me jumping for about 10-15 seconds before I begin getting tangled.

The goal is to build stamina, coordination, strength. I'll do an after video in a few months.

Nutritionally, my next step is to add a vegetable and fruit serving to my breakfasts each day. I'll talk more about that soon.

Rake, Baby, Rake

This is our first full year in this home...and today, I realized how arbor-ly endowed we are. This is our first home with more than two trees. When we first saw the home, we thought, "Oh, look at all the trees! How beautiful!" "Oh, look at the flowers on the trees...how beautiful." "Oh, look at the changing colors...how beautiful!" "Look at them fall...how beautiful."

Well, I thought I'd better rake before the leaves blow into the neighbors' yards. I'll tell you...it gets old really fast. I stand there in the never-ending sea of leaves and begin counting...11 in the front and 4 huge ones in the back. Fifteen trees!

Fif...teen...trees... I became discouraged. I can't imagine doing this the rest of my life. I secretly wished the next Spring's snow would split them, and we'd have to remove them. But then I thought this was a good workout for my arms. Doing this each day and soon shoveling snow will help tone the arms.

I want to gain arm strength. New goal: wall push-ups every other day (in addition to raking/shoveling).

Then, maybe someday I'll hear someone say, "Oh, look at her arms...how beautiful!"

Oink, Oink

It's been a week since my flu symptoms began. I'm learning it's probably the swine flu. Several neighbors have had confirmed cases with their doctors saying that's pretty much the only strain they've seen lately.

Most symptoms are gone now. Cough lingers. My energy should increase as I move around more. As nice as it has been to investigate the blogging world for hours from my sick bed, it's time to get back on track, even if it's a slow track.

New goal: move more. I commit to a 10 minute walk each day and 10 minutes of moving my body rhythmically to music (I'd call it "dancing," except I don't think what I do could be defined as dancing).

Soon I will deal with my "other" swine flu...the kind were I eat like a pig...it has been a real sickness. I want to be cautious about this...nothing radical. I want the changes to stick.