avoiding temptation

This week I felt more like I am getting into a routine with the food and exercise. I am starting to know what gets me in trouble with the food. Tonight I didn't plan my food, I just grazed in the kitchen as children and grandchildren stopped in. I got into the worst trouble with a granddaughter's brownies. I have to think ahead better next week.

I have committed to exercise early in the morning. Otherwise, something always comes up to get in the way, and personal exercise has to be postponed which is disastrous to the effort.

I love walking with my daughters. One of my BYU granddaughters went with us on Saturday. We make it 5.4 miles in Provo Canyon. She is very fit, but she and Lori just strolled along as I huffed and puffed. They are so patient.

web site

I meant to mention earlier: There is a wonderful website for anyone who is interested. It is www.sparkpeople.com. It is totally free and has all kinds of health information. You can look up hundreds of foods for nutrition content as well as keep a log. It is a large site and was started by one of the original owners of eBay as a way to give back to the public. Loseit is another free site that I use a lot. I need all the help I can get, so thought I would pass it on.

food help

Today was a good day. We got our food/meal assignments this morning with the exchange lists, calories we are to eat. A lot of emphasis was put on the food categories showing us how to figure exchanges. The literature we have received is most helpful, since there is plenty for me to learn about food, but I feel I am finally onto a food plan that I can stay on for the long haul. Dividing the plate into four quadrants was especially helpful.

I really enjoy the workouts with our trainer, Shan'tel. I feel myself getting stronger and that is a great feeling. I really look forward to the walks with my daughter, Lori,(Bonnie has to get kids to school when Lori can walk) and meeting Bonnie and Shan'tel for training.

I wish that everybody who would like to do this program would be able to. I wish something like this would somehow get in the health plan they are discussing in Washington. I think it would be a real money saver as well as a life and health saver.

better day

Today was really good. I finally read the food directions and put them to use. In other words, I divided my plate into four sections like the flier says, filled two of them with veggies, one with starch, and one with protein. I also changed plate sizes--eight inches rather than 12 inches. It worked really well and I didn't get the munchies like normal. I am surprised how well it worked. I thought I was doing really well on the food--at least the best I knew how. But this new idea really did make a difference. It also helped me mentally because I knew I was well fed and not deprived so I had no reason for comfort food. But that's a lot of veggies--half the meal! The program is sinking into this brain slowly.

I think my problem has been too many starch foods. Bread, potatoes, etc.. I love, love fruit, too. And though it is good, I think I was overdoing it. Tomorrow we get our diets. I am glad because I really want to do this thing correctly.

I love meeting the participants at the gym. It is so great seeing so many trying so hard. Good for you'all. You are such a inspiration to me. Thank you for trying so hard. Brittany Snow made the time fly for me on the bicycle. And who can imagine what Matthew Bowden has accomplished loosing all that weight. I feel so lucky to get to know the folks in this program. Thank you !!

tough few days

Well, I have had a couple of challenging days as far as the food goes. But I am exercising and that is taking a lot of time. Going to bed on time is one of my main challenges because I need to exercise early in the morning or I don't seem to get it done. I will call this my struggle week. I am still adjusting to the routine of it all. I am hitting one of those points where I am really having to talk with myself about this 100-day-Challenge for the long haul.

I am surely looking forward to getting some guidance on the diet part of the challenge. Right now the munchies have won on too many days, and that is not good.

I sure appreciate our trainer, Shan'tel. She is just wonderful. I am glad for the kick boxing class on Saturday. That should be a hoot with my creaky joints. But I plan to give it a try. It can't be any worse than the last Yoga class I tried--that "down dog" pose, among others, was just not meant for me.

I sure loved seeing the Bawdens and Winters at the gym on Tuesday night. Both of those two teams are a real inspiration. Good luck to everybody !

Exercise in the snow

I went with Bonnie and Lori, two of my daughters, for a wonderful, cold walk in the snow this morning along the Provo River. It was beautiful. I am so grateful to have them exercising with me so we can cheer each other on. I am pretty tired--they are younger and more fit than I am. But they are wonderfully patient with me. When we finished we stopped in at Lori's house and had a wonderful herbal peppermint tea in her lovely china tea cups. I felt just like I was in a Jane Austin novel.

I have managed to keep my food diary up to date and as I go. But the little books the dietitian gave us don't work for me. I have a notebook and use a page for each day. That way I don't have to worry if I eat a lot of different low calorie things, which I usually do. I also track my exercise and weight on the same page as the food since there is plenty of room.

All in all, today was a good day for me. I certainly appreciate reading the blogs everyone writes. They really let me know that others are doing it and so can I. Thanks for your help.

Write it down!

We met the dietitian this morning. I surely had a revelation by writing down everything I eat. I know now that I eat for entertainment. When I am bored, I eat. I don't consciously walk into the kitchen, I do it on automatic pilot--my body just goes to the frig or freezer with my brain almost unaware. CRAZY ! Now I ask myself "What on earth am I doing in the kitchen?" !! I don't want to write down ice cream and cookies.

And, for sure, there are rewards there, just calling my name. My husband LOVES ice cream with fudge sauce and bananas and nuts with chocolate chip cookies. And without those treats, he feels deprived and that is no good for me because I love him and want to make him happy. So I am constantly planning strategies to circumvent the siren sound of yummy treats for myself. So far I have done OK, but that is my struggle.

I have read that one's diet begins at the grocery store. I totally believe it.

Anyway, it was great to see nearly everyone at the meeting this morning. I love this adventure we are on together. I loved hearing the comments and questions this morning and I love the blogs everyone writes. They give me encouragement and insight into myself. You make me feel not alone in this modern battle of too much edible temptation. Thanks to everyone for their involvement, enthusiasm, and willingness to share of themselves.

Temptation overcome

Well, today was one of those challenge days, but I made it through so I feel pretty good about myself. I went with Bonnie and another daughter to a restaurant with lots of temptation of the worst kind for me--luscious baked things. But I was satisfied with a bowl of fruit while the carrot cake was screaming my name. Bonnie had the same problem, but she was also very good. And on top of that, I got in my hour of aerobic exercise. One day at a time it goes, and in 94 more we will reap the reward of our efforts--good or otherwise. But I will sleep well tonight.

Whatever I do, I am determined not to squander this opportunity to get in shape. I am really looking forward to the dietitian class in the morning. I have a lot to learn.

Second time with trainer

I just returned from the gym where Bonnie and I had a wonderful workout with our BYU trainer, Shan'tel Christensen. She is a jewel and so enthusiastic for our workout. I actually enjoyed the entire workout because I felt like I was on my way to a better body. It felt good to work hard, but the workout was not too hard--it was just right. It is so helpful to have someone guiding my exercise so I finally understand what I should be doing and how I should be doing it. A thousand thanks to whoever made this possible. Also, I am watching and recording what I eat. It is a revelation as far as calories go. No matter how healthy the food I choose, I still want to eat more than I need. I look forward to Friday morning with the dietitian.

So far, so good.

Today I managed to stay on my diet--I emphasize MY diet. I am anxious to meet with the dietitian on Friday to see what I should be eating. But I have cut my calories and am not eating any junk. I just hope my weight (hopefully weight loss) will reflect my determination.

I am recording every morsel that goes into my mouth and that is the first challenge that I am struggling with. Sometimes I guess about the portion size and I hope I am right. I am using a notebook and a piece of notebook paper to log each day. Sometimes I skip eating something because I don't want to go to the trouble to write it down--maybe that is part of the idea.

Tomorrow we have our second session with our trainer. I am very much looking forward to that. I have always hated weight training, but I think this time I will be OK with it. I really appreciate the way the trainers went about teaching us and that does make a difference.

I feel very privileged to be in this heart challenge--if I can stay on course, which I am determined to do--I feel like I won the lottery.

1st training session

Today we met our assigned trainer from BYU, Shan'tel Christensen, and received our evaluations from Traci Heiner. There was another trainer helping Traci, and I feel terrible that I forgot her name. She was also extremely helpful.

I was impressed with how carefully they evaluated us on each piece of equipment. Traci just inspires me to want to do better. I especially appreciate being shown how to do the weight lifting exercises correctly. I totally look forward to our next training session with Shan'tel.

I have told several people about the program and they all think it is wonderful and would like to participate. Kathy Bankhead who did the challenge last year told me it was wonderful and she did not exaggerate. She looks so good she is a walking advertisement for the challenge. I feel very, very lucky to have been chosen. I hope there is some way I can give back in return for all this help they are giving me.

3rd day, so far so good

I am determined to stick with this program no matter what. Well, yesterday I did well.I spent the day at my sons' Kirkham Motorsports open house. I helped out in the kitchen along side Magleby's German chocolate cake, BYU funeral potatoes, and BYU barbecue beef, all calling my name ever so loudly. But there were also lots of veggies. I ate the veggies and let the rest go except for a pinch of the cake, a tsp of the barbecue beef, and a tablespoon of the potatoes. I just had to find out the taste and that was enough. Amazingly, I managed to handle it, but it was only the heart challenge that made that possible. I keep this 100 days foremost in my mind at all times.

I notice that I am stopping myself from munching in the kitchen. I can see that I was munching unaware of what I was doing--a cracker here, banana sandwich there, (I'm from the South) and lots of ice cream. Well, now I am making myself grab a carrot or some veggie and it is not so enticing to graze in the kitchen as it was. Thank goodness. Only 98 days left to change the way I think about food. Right now I am forcing myself to do the best I know how. I am anxious to get with the trainer and dietitian. But I am writing every morsel I eat down in a notebook.

I also did about an hour today of exercising to music in my house. I did some resistance pulling on bands with my arms while I ran around the house. The resistance training only lasted about 20 minutes, but at least I did it.

The hospital staff gave us a great start today.

The first meeting of the 100 day heart challenge was today. I am very enthusiastic about the prospects for improving my family's health by learning from and working with the staff at the hospital. I found today's meeting as well as their public meeting on the 5th of this month especially helpful. It was eye opening to listen to the heart surgeons. I am very glad to see the hospital focusing on getting and keeping people healthy.