Let it Surface
I woke up extra early this morning to try out the boot camp training that I mentioned in my last blog. It completely kicked my @ss! At one point I felt like I was either going to pass out or throw up or both, as the workout is fairly heavy on the legs. Fortunately, I did neither, but I did stop after two full circuits due to both exhaustion and poor time management. Then came the usual morning prep of getting the kids ready and dropped off at daycare, before heading off for another full day of orientation. It was a l-o-n-g day of learning about bloodborne pathogens (I am working in a health clinic), and OSHA, Hazmat, benefits, etc, etc. Yawn. I didn't get as many breaks today as yesterday, so I didn't eat any peanuts in between lunch, but I am happy to say that I made much better choices with today's lunch than I did yesterday. I had a huge plate of salad with a few sprinkles of Italian dressing, then about a tablespoon of mashed potatoes, and the rest of my plate was filled with some sort of beef in gravy with mushrooms. It was a lot closer to being "on plan" than yesterday, and I passed up the delicious looking sweet treats they had provided which included cupcakes, brownie bars, and frosted sugar cookies. It helped that my hobby of blogging was announced by the session leader, and everyone was asking all kinds of questions, which definitely held me a lot more accountable for what I put on my plate today. It's good to have these things to help keep me on my toes.
We got released about 45 minutes early for the day, so when I got home, I went for a walk for an extra half hour cardio session. It felt really good to be moving around after sitting all day. Now, I am finally eating my evening meal, still way too many hours in between meals, but at least the cardio pumped up my metablolism. Last night was the first time in weeks that my metabolism woke me up and I needed to eat during the night. I'm happy that my eating and resolve is back on track. I just have one more day of catered lunch to get through! And tomorrow I get to actually go to my sight that I will be working at, and start to get acquainted with where everything is. I'm pretty excited about that. I think I am going to love working for this company, they really take care of their employees.
One of the ladies that was in orientation with me mentioned that she is also loosing weight, and that she has lost 40 pounds since January 1st. Then she sat next to me at lunch, ate a frosted cookie and pointed to my Diet Coke and said that drinking diet soda is one of the worst things you can do for your body. She was a nice enough lady, but I just shrugged. I rarely drink soda anymore, but I enjoy it, and I am not going to get down to the basics of every macronutrient because at a base level, everything you put in your body could potentially be bad for you. Anyway, after she spent most of the half hour lunch break drilling her method into me (like a God warrior tries to persuade you to follow their beliefs) I realized that this is so typical of people on a weight loss plan, and I truly hope I don't do the same thing to people. I believe in the South Beach Diet because of the amazing results it has given me in the way of my trigycerides and blood pressure. It, being designed by a cardiologist, hits the mark and does exactly what it is supposed to, give you a better chance of not getting heart disease or having a heart attack. The bonus is that you lose weight, and look/feel great. And if anyone approaches me and asks me how I am losing the weight, I will tell them that this plan has worked remarkably for me. But we do have the tendancy to preach our method to others don't we? I don't know why that is, I have been guilty of this in the past as well, and when I was done preaching, I felt awkward, but I still really wanted the person I was preaching to, to rush out and buy the book and start eating clean the next day. But what I've come to realize is that, most plans these days are fairly similar, basing their diet on a nice balance of lean protein, high quality carbs, and a small amount of the essential fats. So why do we try to convince others to do what we're doing? To get some sort of second-hand credit for changing their lives? It is a strange phenomenon, but one I can live with by simply doing the favor of listening to everything they are saying, respectfully, and genuinely praise them for their awesome work. Everyone has a different style, a different method that works for them, and that is how it should be. It's nice that so many different plans are similar or even integrated/modified versions of earlier diets that have been upgraded to include the latest research. We are fortunate to have limitless information at our fingertips.
In my dream last night, I dreamed that after I'd reached my fitness goal I became a personal trainer, and it felt really natural and right, and I really enjoyed it. In waking, it seems a pretty big stretch of imagination, but then again, who knows what I'll be doing in five years from now? I'd love to help people who need inspiration. By then I will have awesome before and after photos to share for those who don't believe that they can do it. We've all been there, and everyone faces those moments of self-doubt. But the place where people split is in the belief that, at some point, they will do it. Can and can't aren't even a factor. They will. And that is the way we have to approach this thing. I have always known I would, and once my mind changed from "someday" mentality to "what am I waiting for" the rest took care of itself. I can't brand and market my method because I think motivation, and even the journey itself, is so subjective and personal, I can only say that every person who knows they can and will conquer this, has exactly the power and motivation they need already inside of them, they just need to let it surface.
We got released about 45 minutes early for the day, so when I got home, I went for a walk for an extra half hour cardio session. It felt really good to be moving around after sitting all day. Now, I am finally eating my evening meal, still way too many hours in between meals, but at least the cardio pumped up my metablolism. Last night was the first time in weeks that my metabolism woke me up and I needed to eat during the night. I'm happy that my eating and resolve is back on track. I just have one more day of catered lunch to get through! And tomorrow I get to actually go to my sight that I will be working at, and start to get acquainted with where everything is. I'm pretty excited about that. I think I am going to love working for this company, they really take care of their employees.
One of the ladies that was in orientation with me mentioned that she is also loosing weight, and that she has lost 40 pounds since January 1st. Then she sat next to me at lunch, ate a frosted cookie and pointed to my Diet Coke and said that drinking diet soda is one of the worst things you can do for your body. She was a nice enough lady, but I just shrugged. I rarely drink soda anymore, but I enjoy it, and I am not going to get down to the basics of every macronutrient because at a base level, everything you put in your body could potentially be bad for you. Anyway, after she spent most of the half hour lunch break drilling her method into me (like a God warrior tries to persuade you to follow their beliefs) I realized that this is so typical of people on a weight loss plan, and I truly hope I don't do the same thing to people. I believe in the South Beach Diet because of the amazing results it has given me in the way of my trigycerides and blood pressure. It, being designed by a cardiologist, hits the mark and does exactly what it is supposed to, give you a better chance of not getting heart disease or having a heart attack. The bonus is that you lose weight, and look/feel great. And if anyone approaches me and asks me how I am losing the weight, I will tell them that this plan has worked remarkably for me. But we do have the tendancy to preach our method to others don't we? I don't know why that is, I have been guilty of this in the past as well, and when I was done preaching, I felt awkward, but I still really wanted the person I was preaching to, to rush out and buy the book and start eating clean the next day. But what I've come to realize is that, most plans these days are fairly similar, basing their diet on a nice balance of lean protein, high quality carbs, and a small amount of the essential fats. So why do we try to convince others to do what we're doing? To get some sort of second-hand credit for changing their lives? It is a strange phenomenon, but one I can live with by simply doing the favor of listening to everything they are saying, respectfully, and genuinely praise them for their awesome work. Everyone has a different style, a different method that works for them, and that is how it should be. It's nice that so many different plans are similar or even integrated/modified versions of earlier diets that have been upgraded to include the latest research. We are fortunate to have limitless information at our fingertips.
In my dream last night, I dreamed that after I'd reached my fitness goal I became a personal trainer, and it felt really natural and right, and I really enjoyed it. In waking, it seems a pretty big stretch of imagination, but then again, who knows what I'll be doing in five years from now? I'd love to help people who need inspiration. By then I will have awesome before and after photos to share for those who don't believe that they can do it. We've all been there, and everyone faces those moments of self-doubt. But the place where people split is in the belief that, at some point, they will do it. Can and can't aren't even a factor. They will. And that is the way we have to approach this thing. I have always known I would, and once my mind changed from "someday" mentality to "what am I waiting for" the rest took care of itself. I can't brand and market my method because I think motivation, and even the journey itself, is so subjective and personal, I can only say that every person who knows they can and will conquer this, has exactly the power and motivation they need already inside of them, they just need to let it surface.
I've discovered that there is virtually nothing I can eat that someone won't have an objection to. Between calories, fat, sugar, carbs, sodium....unless I'm drinking water, I'm pretty much going to have these things in my diet, some more than others at times. I try to cut back on sugar and then am told that sugar substitute is the worst thing ever. It all depends on your goals, and at some point you just have to accept that you're going to put SOME things in your body that aren't "good" for it, but our bodies were created to digest and process those things. It's back to that everything in moderation attitude, I guess. But you're doing great! Keep it up! And congrats on the job! :)
ReplyDeleteI find that I get on my high horse and preach to people about the food they are eating sometimes, or looking at peoples shopping carts and seeing what junk they have bought. A work colleague once asked why I never ate 'normal food' as she pointed at the salad I was eating. I told her people had been eating vegetables and fruit for thousands of years so it was normal food. The chemical saturated and processed crap she was eating was abnormal.
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