New Writing Blog

In case you haven't noticed, there is a new tab at the top of this blog labeled, writing.  Yes, I started a new blog specific for my writing journey: http://karenmariehansen.blogspot.com/  :)

Day 88: Portion Control

Portion control is a must for weight control when eating the things you really enjoy.  Honestly, you can eat anything if you keep the portions small.  I know, I've done it.

Take for instance these mini meatloaves, they are sitting in oil from the cheese and ground meat, which is normally a diet no-no. (Luckily, they aren't as oily as the picture looks.)  I don't know how many calories there are in one--I don't have time to figure it out--but I only eat one which is 1/8 of a pound of ground meat and a few tablespoons of grated cheese.  With a few baked potato wedges and a hearty serving of veggies, the meal is filling without being heavy on calories.

It's such a freedom to be able to eat what you enjoy while maintaining/losing weight. In the past, whenever I did a program in the past, the restrictions and things I had to do to stay on program would mess with my head. I often found myself obsessed with the process and often I would sabotage my efforts, because I could.

I'm currently going through some stressful times--as I know many of you are too--and counting calories/measuring foods is not something I have time for or even care to do. Normally, I would just say forget it and binge until I no longer could remember what was bothering me, but that only makes matters worse. Going through tough times with tight or no clothes in a body you can't stand is depressing. It's a downward cycle that gets harder to turn around as time progresses.

For me, eating real food, I not only feel full, I don't feel deprived and I haven't spent a ton of time measuring and counting. I actually feel empowered, in control, and that feeling helps me to stay focused on my goals.

Day 80: Crazy, insane virus that's going around.

About a month ago I saw some posts on Facebook from friends that their families had been knocked out by a virus.  It certainly happens, especially when you have a handful of kids. What caught my attention though, was that the illness came in waves.  I knocked on wood and hoped my family would be spared.

Wishful thinking.

Two weeks ago, the youngest and my husband started to show signs of illness. Nothing major, just mild fevers and a cough.  Nearly a week went by and no one else had symptoms. I was feeling quite hopeful the virus was contained to them.  Of course, they got worse just as my daughters and I started to feel under the weather.  Knowing it was likely the virus I had heard about earlier, I didn't push through my symptoms like I typically would. I took the opportunity to take it easy and get caught up on my reading and cuddle with the sickies since we all had the same thing. After a couple of days of not feeling so hot I started to feel better, figured my time had passed.

Then it hit.

I had a fever of 103.6 at bedtime that night.  I don't remember the last time I had a fever so high.  My ears were ringing so loudly, I had a hard time going to sleep that night. The next day and for the remainder of the week, I felt like I did when I had mono.  No joke.  Even now, a week later after the fever, I still feel pretty fatigued.

I am happy to say that despite my disease, I worked out every day and I didn't let the virus keep me from my efforts. Of course I lightened up the routine, I didn't want to kill myself! I also learned that one of the best way to get rid of the chills is to exercise for five minutes.  Of course I felt like I got hit my a truck, but I was warm and toasty.  It's been a slow road back to the workout I was doing before I got sick, but with a little effort, I'll be back there in no time.

The most important thing about taking care of yourself is listening to your body. I know the last few days I wouldn't have been able to do a full workout, so I haven't. But that's the beauty of this goal, by working out everyday, it gets easy to read your body. There are days I feel I can do more then my usual routine, and I will endulge.  But other days, I feel like I need to pull back, and I listen.

Take care of yourself, the virus that's going around...it's a doozy. ;)

Day 68: The goal is still alive!

Hello!!  I've been one bad blogger!! It's not that I've forgotten to do it, I just haven't. Life is a little insane right now, and by the end of the day, I'm getting my workout in and reading/writing with the last few moments before I crash.

But I thought I would check in and let you all know I'm still working out everyday! I've been maintaining and it feels good to be working towards my goal of 365 days.  When things settle down, I would like to blog more about food choices and an eating plan.

I can tell my body is transitioning. My muscles are getting firm, even though the scale hasn't changed much in the last several weeks.  This tells me that my weight distribution is changing--greater muscle mass and less fat. Just need to press forward despite what the scale and my pants say. The goal is about daily workouts, nothing more.  Everything else is just a perk to the goal.

I hope to be blogging more frequently, but life is crazy.  Just when things slow down, they tend to speed up.
If you follow me on Twitter, I'm always popping up there.