A weigh a day: Day 7

bendoeslife:

Day One: 281.0

Day Six: 273.4

Day Seven: 273.2

Once you start and build a solid few days, you become addicted. You want to maintain the momentum and keep the streak alive. I’m in a good place, one that I haven’t felt health-and-fitness wise in a long time. 

I watch this guy weigh in. I’ve watched from the beginning, when he was doing things like dropping 13 lbs a week. I know he’s healthy about it. He doesn’t starve himself, and he exercises.

So when I eat at a deficit and exercise and can only manage an pound or half a pound a week I wonder what his secret must be. Because whatever it is, I’m obviously doing it wrong. And I’m kind of jealous of it. Sometimes it feels like I’m not getting anywhere.

Picky eating.

I used to be an incredibly picky eater. One of those kids that threw a fit if there were tiny carrots in her condensed soup. One of those kids who wouldn’t eat mashed potatoes if they contained a single piece of potato peel.

I’m happy to say I’m not that picky anymore. Though I did spend nearly all of college still not eating salads (because lettuce, ew!!), I am happy to report that I’m getting better. In the last year, the foods I do consider edible have exponentially increased. I’m really proud of the progress I’ve made in that direction.

Unfortunately, I’ve also seen a different sort of picky eating taking over. The “omg, I can’t eat that because it’s not even food, ew!!” sort of picky eating. The “if I put this in my mouth will I die from it?” picky eating.

For example, I went to work at 4am this morning. On days like this, I normally just eat breakfast in the hospital cafeteria. It’s fast. It’s cheap. It’s easy. And the food isn’t half bad. I couldn’t decide what I wanted this morning, and pondered for a while. Eventually I decided on salad bar fruit and two pancakes. When she handed me my pancakes, the serving girl said, “Don’t forget your syrup.” So instinctively I grabbed a container from her bowl.

When I sat down at my table to start eating, I looked at the package of syrup. My syrup at home lists “100% maple syrup” as it’s only ingredient. Not this stuff.

The ingredient list for this “syrup” was: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, salt, caramel color.

And I thought: This Isn’t Food! This is a chemical concoction designed to look like food. How dare you serve me this, especially in a hospital, where you claim to better people’s health?! Rude.

And then I ate my pancakes and strawberries, and I thought, “I wonder what is even in these pancakes… And I bet these strawberries aren’t organic. I wonder if they even washed them…” And I finished my breakfast and went back to work.

It’s good that I’m being choosy about the foods I eat, their health and nutritional value. But I kind of don’t like the haughtiness that accompanies it. The idea that I would sit there upset that my food wasn’t high enough quality seems like a character trait that would be applied to those spoiled rotten incredibly wealthy folk who everyone hates because they erroneously believe they’re above the “common folk.” I have a coworker like that. I can’t stand him. I don’t want to be like him.

So how do I reconcile this new picky eating style with also being a totally normal, down to earth person? I don’t know…but becoming an elitist isn’t on my to do list.

Hey, Fat Girl →

amygetsfitandhasfun:

bikesbrainsbetterliving:

emilydoesscience:

tryingtogetsmaller:

thekaizenway:

THIS IS JUST THAT AWESOME - please read

This is so full of win.

Really Great!! I feel the same way, I always want to highfive other runners :)

This brought tears to my eyes.  I never know what to say to the runners I see struggling, the ones who are fighting through.  I don’t know how to tell them—quickly, in the moments we have, without sounding condescending or butting in on their personal space—the respect I have for them.  That I’ve been there.  That they’re doing something amazing.  Yes—you are a true inspiration.  I bow to you.

I’ve got something in my eye. Erm yeah that’s it. Beautiful post. I can do relate. I was and still often feel like that girl.

(Source: sarahgettinghealthy, via amandagetsfit)

I wish I could make a sandwich.

But we don’t have the ingredients. We have lots of bread. We have lots of jelly, but no peanut butter. We have lots of cheese, but no meat. We don’t even have hummus or veggies or…idk anything else you might put on a sandwich. Totally out.

:-(

New York Plans to Ban Sale of Big Sizes of Sugary Drinks →

amandagetsfit:

fitbodymindsoul:

A proposal that would take effect as soon as next March is the most ambitious effort yet by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s administration to combat rising obesity.

I just saw this on Good Morning America, and I kind of like it! I never drink things that big anyways, but still. 

I sort of don’t agree with this. I’m torn because I’m all about public health awareness and legislation. As someone who wants to be a physician, I understand the importance of enacting regulations to keep people healthy.

But at the same time, I read this, and I think, “The sale of alcohol is still legal. The sale of cigarettes is still legal. The sale of foods containing things like trans-fats and other dietary poisons is still legal. So why bother with this?”

People are always going to ingest things that aren’t good for them, whether someone else wants them to or not, because food choices are incredibly personal. I don’t think banning the sale of large sodas is going to do anything to combat the obesity problem.

Instead, we should invest all of this energy, time, and money into awareness campaigns, health education, and greater emphasis on physical education in schools. If we can teach kids from an early age how their bodies work and what is good for them, it will be much more beneficial than telling people they just can’t have something.

Most people who drink these beverages already know they aren’t the healthiest things out there. But it is their choice to ingest them. Just like the prohibition didn’t stop the production or ingestion of alcohol, neither will this reduce consumption of sugary beverages.

Teach them. Show them. Enlighten them. Then let them choose for themselves.

Dinner tonight: Pesto Deliciousness.

Start with some whole wheat noodles, add some pesto, finish with some herb marinated fresh mozzarella, and my tummy is happy. :-)

Woah! Hey, New Followers!

I just got like 60 new followers since this morning. I don’t know what tumblr famous blog reblogged something of mine, but thanks! :-D

I just wanted to say hi and welcome everyone to my healthy life journey. It’s great to have you.

A bit about my blog: I try to be on here everyday, but some days I get really busy. I try to weigh-in every two weeks, but usually I forget to post about it. I try to photograph my dinners each night, but I usually forget to do that too. I also try to be healthy all the time, but some days that doesn’t work out either.

You could say my “weight-loss” blog is a failure because of those things. And you would be right if this was a standard weight-loss blog. But it isn’t. I may regularly forget to weigh-in or post my calories and food, but what you will always find here is perseverance, body positive thoughts, and a desire for health in all aspects of my life.

I’m not a gym rat. I don’t run every day. I eat dessert. But I’m slowly but surely losing the weight I need to lose to be healthier. I recently ran a half marathon. I’ve lost two pants sizes since last summer. The foods I eat have drastically changed. My blood pressure has gone down 32 points. Those are the real rewards, in my opinion, not the number on the scale.

So stick around if that’s the kind of thing you’re interested in. But fair warning, I do end up posting more lengthy text posts than “fit-spo” or whatever images. This blog is incredibly personal, and I like keeping it that way.

If you ever need or want anything, my ask box is ALWAYS open, anon or otherwise. Don’t hesitate to contact me about any topic, weight loss and health and fitness related or otherwise.

Hope you’re all having a lovely day. :-D

Truer words have not been spoken, Krysta. Probably not ever.

Reblogging myself because I thought you might want to see how I spent my Sunday.

How I spent my Sunday: In Pictures.

Parks, good food, and board games with my boy and our Californian.

Best day ever. It certainly didn’t hurt that I won both games (1982 Genius Edition Trivial Pursuit and Settlers of Catan). :-) What can I say, I’m epic.

Should mention though, that the boys did ALL the cooking, and it was the best ever. Veggies and steak. Totally amazing. Delicious. I’m jealous of myself, to be honest.

(Source: quixoticandabsurd)