A Lesson in Eating Right

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
Have you ever had someone say to you, "You know, you don't eat much. I don't understand why you don't lose weight." Or maybe they say, "I don't eat much but still can't seem to shed the pounds." Well, as I have confessed, I am really, really bad at portion control. Food taste good!!! The better it taste the more I want. Of course that it not good for the waistline. So my first lesson was in portion control. It seems to me that everywhere you go food is "super sized" and of course we want all we can get for our money. But when you are working out you think more about how much you eat. This is old stuff. Most everyone knows if you take in more calories than your use up you will gain weight. We many times have a deluded perception of what a portion should be. Measure and weigh is the answer until you can eyeball -correctly!!!-the portion size you should be eating!! The Living Lean meals take care of this for me but sometimes I go out or eat something I or my husband prepare at home. Here are some tips that I have been given lately from the Diabetic Association:

Three ounces of meat is about the size and thickness of a deck of playing cards or an audiotape cassette. A medium apple or peach is about the size of a tennis ball. One ounce of cheese is about the size of four stacked dice. One-half cup is about the size of a racquetball or tennis ball. One cup of veggies is about the size of your fist. One teaspoon of peanut butter is about the size of the tip of your thumb. One-half cup of rice is about the size of half a baseball. One cup of pasta about the size of a tennis ball.

I hope this helps.

Now not only do I have to watch my portions but then I have to watch what I eat. Many times we think we are eating the right foods but we are not. Slaw seems harmless enough. Cabbage, carrots, a little vinegar and mayo. Well the mayo is what we need to be careful of. What started me thinking about this was a conversation I had with Gloria Trull, my trainer. I went out with some family to celebrate my husband's birthday. I ordered off the Senior Citizens menu. We were at Big Daddy's on Hwy 150 and my order consisted of a small piece of flounder, about 8 shrimp of which I ate 5, two oysters, slaw and green beans. I thought I did pretty good. However.....Gloria asked me, "Broiled?" "No, it was fried--lightly battered and not greasy," says I. Gloria said, "We eat broiled or grilled." So actually I had not eaten as healthy as I thought. Eating healthy is not as easy as eating less---we need to consider eating less of what!!!! and how it is prepared!!!!

I just thought I would share the challenges I face. This is a life style change and something I need to embrace as my way of life---eating less and eating healthier!!! Thanks for tuning in to my journey to a healthier life. Faith

The Little Demon on my Shoulder

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
Well I try to not only share all the success with you but I feel I need to share the trying times as well. The past few days have been difficult. It seems that when I weigh in immediately a little demon jumps on my shoulder and whispers all these temptations in my ear. On my way to the gym Thursday morning my thoughts went to the fact that I was weighing in and should I lose I should treat myself to a Southern Chicken Biscuit at McDonald's for breakfast. I passed the McDonald's and sure enough not a soul was at the drive thru window. Well I resisted that temptation and drove to work and had a protein shake for breakfast. One for me zero for the little demon!!!

All day long all I thought about was food that I should not eat. We celebrated a birthday at work earlier in the week and my thoughts went to the kitchen and what might be leftover from the celebration. The temptation to eat something rich and full of calories was almost overwhelming. I made it through lunch eating my Living Lean meal!! Two for me and zero for the little demon!! At home Thursday night all I thought about was food. I ate my supper (Living Lean) and once I settled down for the evening I tried to read a book. All the commercials on TV were about food. My husband flipped to the Food Network and I told him, "Oh no I cannot watch food all evening!!!" He found something else to watch. While reading my book, honestly this is what happened, my mind was scanning the kitchen cabinets for something to "nibble on". I could not believe the torment I was putting myself through.

That little voice kept saying, "Go ahead, it is two weeks before you have to weigh again!!" "Indulge a little!!!" Finally about 9:30 PM I just went to bed. Three for me zero for the little demon!!! Then the pity party began. Why should I have to watch every mouthful of food I eat. It is in my genes to be fat so accept it and learn to live with it!! I finally went to sleep really ticked off at myself for not being able to eat what I want to and for being so weak!!!

On Friday I did better through the day but my family was celebrating my great niece's birthday that night and where did they pick to celebrate-----Ryan's Steakhouse. Yep!! all I needed was troughs of food laid out before me with a waitress constantly filling up a basket of rolls, right at the table!!!. ALL you can eat is, in my opinion, my number one enemy!! While waiting for the others to arrive the hot rolls on the table were so hard to resist. And, well, the little demon won that round. I ate half of a roll. Three for me and one for the little demon!!! So off to the food I went!! First I went to the salad bar. A nice salad would not leave any room for indulging. I spotted roasted chicken so I retrieved a piece of that and a few green beans. I immediately went back to the table. I ate the salad, chicken and green beans and was happy with my choices. Four for me and one for the little demon!!! Then it was time for everyone to go to the dessert bar. I was just glad my sister did not make one of her delicious birthday cakes and bring it with her to the gathering. Well I went and looked, decided on a very small amount of strawberry frozen yogurt. It was very good. Since there was plenty of those rich, full of calories cakes, pies and cobblers I felt victorious at having a little frozen yogurt. SO I marked one up for me!!!

Thank goodness on Sunday morning I awoke and the little demon had decided to retreat!! I say retreat because I know she will probably be back. I just wanted you to know that this journey is not without its "work zones" where I have to really work at not indulging my cravings!! If you can relate let me know. I have been on this journey four months and know that I have many months to go. I did not put on all this weight overnight and I will not lose it overnight. The road is rough at times. So share your hard times with me. I would love to hear from you!!!

Thank you for coming along on my journey to a healthier lifestyle. Faith and her little demon!!!

Losing the Pounds

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
Good morning, it is 7:30 in the morning and I could not wait to get to the computer to blog today. I just came from the gym and today was weigh-in day. I am working on losing 25 pounds by June 16th. Within that goal is a small goal with a greater satisfaction and that is to get below 300 pounds. Today I weighed, are you ready, 307!!!!! That is a 4 pound loss for a total of 44 pounds lost. I have lost 14 of the 25 pound goal set for June!!!! and only eight pounds until I am below the 300 mark!! I also lost 4 3/4 inches this month (I measure every 4 weeks and weigh every two weeks). My total inches lost are 28 3/4 inches. If you are just tuning into my journey to healthy living I began this journey on January 16, 2008. As of tomorrow May 16 I will have been on my journey 4 months!! Pretty good, right!!

I could never thank enough those who are responsible for this journey I am on. I could not have accomplished what I have if someone very special had not suggested that I "join a gym". I cannot tell you how frightening those words were when she made the suggestion!! Gloria Trull at Body Dimensions is the best!!! I trust her completely, she knows exactly what I need to continue this journey I am on. Thanks, Gloria!!!! I also am very grateful to Lorin and Living Lean Meals. I am really bad with portion control and Living Lean takes care of that in a very delicious way. I also want to thank the supporters I have around me, my husband (most of all), my family, my co-workers, my fellow gymsters, and all of you who read my blog!! Thank you for coming along on my journey. I would love to hear from you!! Faith

Food by the Yard!!!

I started to name this blog "Another Bump in the Road" but Anniversary Sunday at church along with Mother's Day was more than a bump. I started by cooking most of the day on Saturday. I made a dessert that we will not discuss. This was taken and put in the frig at the church as soon as it was made. It was so decadent I dared not keep it at home!!! I also made calico beans, veggie lasagna, ham and potato casserole and a seven layer pea salad. We have quite a number of visitors and I like to make sure there is enough for everyone. My husband helped and was the taster and I got through the day without a taste of this and a taste of that. Those little spoonfulls of food can add up.

The Sunday school hour and worship service was wonderful and uplifting. I love going to church. Then came time to go to the fellowship hall for the noon meal. There was food on tables for yards and dessert tables as well. I prayed that I would get through the day without temptation and without alot of questions. I began by taking Turkey meatloaf, green beans and sweet potatoes, one of my Living Lean meals. There is always meatloaf, green beans and a sweet potatoe casserole on the menu at our church fellowships. So my plate looked similar to any other plate. My mother, God bless her, brought a large toss salad which I enjoyed with my own salad dressing. I ate my meal considering my sweet potatoes as my dessert and kept to my plan. I was satisfied but not stuffed as I usually am when we have a meal together at the church. I guess we sweep gluttony under the rug on these occasions. HEHE!!!!

I enjoyed my day much more knowing that I did not stuff myself. Oh, in case you are wondering I always drink water. I never mention what I drink but it is water all the time now. I use to drink 8 to 10 cans of caffine free diet coke a day but I can hardly stand the taste now. Thanks for coming along on the journey to a healthier me!! I would love to hear from you!! Faith

Website Launched

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13 KJB
Well the website is launched and welcome to all who are reading this blog. I have been trying to keep my journey chronicled since March 2008 when I was asked to blog my experiences on the road to live a healthy lifestyle. If you are just "tuning in" you can click on March to begin at the beginning and then April to continue the journey.

As some of you know I weigh in at the gym every two weeks, or try to stay on that schedule. I do not weigh at home. I did weigh every morning before I started working out with Gloria but Gloria says that can be discouraging. I had weighed in on April 18 and lost 11 pounds since my last weigh in. Well on May 2 when I weighed in I had gained a pound. Of course I was disappointed because when you are trying to lose weight you would like to see the hand of the scales go down continually but it doesn't work that way. I have learned that as long as I eat the proper foods and portions and workout as planned I really have no control over the scales. So I put my shoes back on and went out and worked really hard with Gloria that morning. Now I am not just shrugging off the gain. Heaven forbid!!! I am however not going to let it hinder my determination to continue on the road to good health!!!

My sister and I took our Mom shopping on Saturday and out for lunch. The shopping was great of course!! and we ate at Olive Garden, my mother's choice. I usually eat soup and salad but my sister wanted me to try the "Taste of Italy". This is a portion of Parmesan chicken, linguine alfredo and lasagna. I ate salad and just a bite or two of the entrees. The rest I took home for my husband's supper. Supper for me was a Living Lean meal!! Being my mother's birthday, dessert was ordered. I had two small bites of the dessert that I was sharing with my great-niece. I was very careful about the portions of food I ate. We had a wonderful Saturday morning and lunch together.

I try to share with you how I handle situations that arise on this journey. Some I handle better than others. Saturday went well. However our Anniversary Sunday is coming up on Sunday May 11th. In case you did not know Baptist women, like Methodist, Luthern, etc., are wonderful cooks. On this Sunday we have lots of visitors and we try to bring as much food as we can in order for all to have plenty. The tables are spread as far as you can see with the most variety of delicious dishes and the dessert table is unbelievable. MY PLAN: To cook dishes for my husband and others but to take a Living Lean meal with me for myself. A restrauant setting is one thing you are brought a portion of food. However, to walk along a buffet and fill your plate with a taste of this and a taste of that turns into a feast and I am not ready to tempt myself with such temptations. And the dessert table!!! well that is off limits for me!!!

I do hope and pray that my experiences are helpful to you all. Please comment and let me know. Thank you for joining me on my journey to a healthy lifestyle!! Faith