Breaking and Making

Thank you for deciding to come back for another day. How is everyone doing with their water consumption? Drinking plenty? Eating more fruits and vegetables? It won’t happen over-night, but you will start to feel a change in your body. Believe me when I tell you the change you will feel, sometimes hurts.

After our first week I had a blister on my right heel and every step I took would produce a shooting pain up the back of my leg. I also dropped a cast iron fry pan on my left toe and that swelled up so much I thought it was going to pop. (Epsom salt is my best friend-it cures almost anything.) Our walks were slow, but we did them day after day throughout the month of January. “Do it because you can,” says one of my faithful followers. Yes, and you can too!

Today I want you to replace one bad habit with one good habit. It can be anything. Change the humdrum every day routine that you have become so accustomed to. It does not matter how big or how small the habit is. The only thing that matters is that you change it.

Our bad habit: We gave up cookies. It was not easy for either of us. Joe loved to eat them and I loved to bake them. It was what I did every Sunday afternoon. The cookies were adding up to 300-400 calories a day or 2800 a week. It took a lot of getting used to, but now instead of baking cookies I cut up vegetables and prepare sushi wraps or salads for the week. Joe’s sweet tooth still craves a treat, but he replaced it with a piece of hard candy.

Our good habit: We measure portions. This might not work for everyone. Visualizing the examples I gave yesterday work for a lot of people. Measuring works for us. Another thing I do is put our meals on smaller plates. It makes the servings look bigger. I know that sounds silly but it’s true. Looks can be deceiving but when you are trying to eat less, this can be a good thing.

Don’t forget to walk at least 20 minutes today. Maybe you can add 3-5 more minutes to that routine. Swing your arms a little more, pick up the pace some. Last month we cataloged 66 miles. If you have a smart phone there are tons of apps out there to help log steps, miles, maps and calories. We use Endomondo. Last night we went a different route and it was like being in a restaurant. Grilled steaks, potatoes and onions and BBQ chicken were everywhere in the air. I wanted someone to come out and ask us to join them for dinner. Joe said we didn’t need dinner after that walk. If scents added calories we would have gained 500 pounds. Oh, and the sunset over the lake was beautiful!

Hydrate and eat a healthy breakfast. Try this easy wrap for lunch.

1 4-oz. can tuna fish packed in water, drained.
2 tsp. capers
A few slices of red onion
3-4 baby spinach leaves
1 tsp. Dijon mustard (if you don’t like mustard, trade for low calorie mayo and a few more calories)
1 spinach flat bread wrap

Prepare it cold or I placed mine on the skillet to heat it up just little, then wrapped it up and enjoyed it with a homemade dill pickle. 225 calorie lunch.

Press onward,