Wood Chucking

How much wood can a woodchuck chuck? Woodchucks don’t really chuck wood, but beavers can fall a tree like nobody’s business. Most people can’t endure a triathlon without extensive training but everyone can do something. Some days the obstacles we have before us seem too overwhelming. Some days seem like there is too much on our plate to clear. We all experience these hurdles. It’s normal. Do not be discouraged.

Develop positive self-statements, such as “I’m getting stronger and better every day.” Okay, my cows don’t believe that every day because they hurt. But it’s true. “Every day in every way, I’m getting better and better.” If you need more affirmation, take a look at the first day you recorded your weight. Think about how much better you feel.

Listen to your body. Take a look in the mirror. Hey, I actually was able to get the Levis over my butt. Still can’t zip them yet, but I can get them on! Wooop – wooop! Stay positive, stay motivated.

Think about other changes you have faced in your life. How did you adjust to them? The strengths you relied on then may help you now. Use them. There are no rules. It’s all about making changes we can integrate into a permanent lifestyle transformation. You are doing great. Keep up the good work.

See ya next time!

Choose Healthy

Build it and they will come, write it and they will read, cook it and they will eat…ya-da, ya-da, ya-da. Not always the case. It’s like leading a horse to water. He is only going to drink if he’s thirsty. We are only going to get what we put in. Effort. Believe you can do it and accept the fact that it is not going to happen overnight.

It’s weigh-in day. Hop on and take a gander. Unfortunately and fortunately I stayed the same. Unfortunate because I really was hoping to see a loss on the scale. Fortunate because I did not see a plus on the scale. Take the good with the bad and move forward. I will get geared up to work a little harder in the next week.

I used to joke all the time that I worked hard to keep this full-figure body full. Joe used to eat a dozen donuts or two or three bagels a day and not gain a pound. As we age, our metabolism slows down, and changes need to be made accordingly. We don’t have to eat less, we just need to eat different.

Every little thing that you can do to make changes helps. You know that big plate of spaghetti you are craving? Instead of pasta, invest in a spiralizer and make veggie pasta. You can purchase them already spiralized in grocery stores, but it is a heck of a lot cheaper to do it yourself.

Chicken Parmesan with Sweet Potato Noodles
12 oz. chicken breast, flattened and cut into equal portions
12 oz. jar prepared pasta sauce
1 egg, beaten
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 sweet potato, spiralized
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. onion powder

Combine parmesan cheese with Italian seasoning and onion powder. Dip chicken cutlets in egg and roll in parmesan cheese. Sauté in copper chef fry pan until golden brown on both sides and internal temperature is 165º. Steam the sweet potato noodles for 3-5 minutes until al dente. Top with prepared pasta sauce and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Add a side of non-fat cottage cheese and you have yourself a nice little pasta free din-din. One sweet potato equal 114 calories verses one serving of pasta equal 210 calories. You figure it out.

Until next time,

Organize and Improvise

 

 

Bet you didn’t think this road to fitness was going to include organizational skills. Part of being successful is being organized. Planning your meals for the week will save time and money. It will also discourage grabbing something unhealthy because you’re hungry and didn’t plan ahead. Take a look at what you have planned for the week. Do you have meetings, travel, any social occasions, etc. planned? All of these can affect your road to fitness. If you plan ahead, you’ll come out on top.

Remember the banana split I was wishing for? Well I improvised. Take a nice parfait glass, if you don’t have one, a beer glass will do. Add two tablespoons of vanilla yogurt, a few slices of banana, a tablespoon of blueberries, a sliced strawberry, a piece or two of pineapple then another tablespoon of yogurt. Keep layering until the glass is almost full. Top with deluxe trail mix that include little bits of chocolate. Healthy version of banana split….trust me, you’ll love it.

If you are thinking you just don’t have time for exercise because your schedule is maxed out. Think about this. The average American watches four hours of television each day. Add that to how much time you spend surfing the web or other social media platforms (2 hours and 33 minutes per day)—whew! Imagine if we exercised 6½ hours a day! We’d all be hot bods! Time isn’t really the issue, it’s all a matter of priorities. Sometimes we have to give up one habit and replace it with a good habit.

Organize the week. Plan your meals, make a grocery list, and eat before you go shopping. We are planning for week six of our road to fitness, which means we are increasing the intensity. Not only are we going to go faster, but a little bit longer. Take a look at your schedule so you can fit the times in. Maybe you need to do them in ten minute increments throughout the day. That’s okay. Organizing priorities equals successful healthy life.

Plan ahead, and enjoy the rest of the week. Until next time,   

Meal Planning

“I hate trying to figure out what to make for dinner.” I have heard this no less than one million times. Seriously, I would like to know how many people out there actually like to figure out what to make for dinner. It’s one of my favorite tasks. Meal planning for the week, making a grocery list and then going shopping. I’ve been doing it since my kids were old enough be involved in the planning. My son always wanted pork chops and apple sauce (homemade, mind you) and my daughter didn’t care as long as it included pasta. Meal planning takes a little time and effort but, trust me, it pays off later in the week.

I created a menu that we use month after month. Depending on time of the year we plan one or two weeks out and shop accordingly. Breakfasts and lunches are not put on the menu because those are usually predictable. Dinners take a little more preparation and if you plan ahead it will save time as well as money and calories. (Sure it’s easier to pick up the pizza on the way home, which equates to $20 and 2500 calories.) With a little planning it will cost less than $5 and equate to 500 calories.

We start with salad. Everything revolves around fresh leafy greens and salad. The more fresh vegetables you put into your diet, the healthier you are and the better you will feel. Salads don’t have to be boring tossed salad, however that creates a great base that can be put together for the week (I have found it will stay fresh for 3-4 days in the fridge). Lettuce, onions, peppers, radishes, carrots, try not to add cucumbers and tomatoes until you are ready to serve because they will make it soggy unless you use cherry tomatoes. Once you have your base salad created for the week, you can turn it into gourmet dinners. Add tuna and sliced hard boiled eggs, grill a steak, sauté a marinated chicken breast, add cottage cheese and fresh pine apple, or baby spinach, sliced strawberries and slivered almonds. The possibilities are endless.

Once you create the menu and you have the food in the fridge, you don’t have fuss about what to make for dinner. You can mix it up and change things around based on your mood. I’m including a blank menu so you can try it out.

Until next time,

Finding Encouragement

I saw this picture on Facebook yesterday. My cousin, Wayne posted it from his vacation. I stole it to share here because the sun shines upon you and smiles if you just take the time to look at the things around you. There can be good in everything if you just search it out.

It’s time to get on the scale again. For me, it stayed the same. No change this week. I’m okay with that. It is normal to see results for a few weeks then hit a plateau. Sometimes weeks may go by when weight stays the same. Don’t get discouraged. Long-term results don’t always show up right away. Exercise builds muscle. Remember muscle is denser than fat so you can have more muscle, look trimmer but not weigh less. All normal. You are making progress that the scale doesn’t show.

Sometimes we just need to re-evaluate our habits. I have not been drinking enough water. I will put that on my list for the next week to make sure I am doing that. Our walking schedule will need to be changed going forward because I accepted the new opportunity at work. At first I was upset that my schedule was not going to be the same as I am comfortable with. But I have to practice what I preach. Good things come with sacrifice. Sometimes we have to give up something we are contented with to grow. I’m looking forward to the new opportunity.

Last night we went to happy hour to celebrate my new position. We get to try different handcrafted beers. There is always something new. We used to go every thirsty Thursday, but on the road to fitness, we made a change to only go once a month. Last night was a little celebration. We selected the brews we wanted to try and the beer company representative said they were on the house. I thought she just had the hots for Joe. ☺ He is a hottie, you know! But we had free beer! WOW!

Finding encouragement is not through just hearing words of people. Look around. It can be found everywhere. Free beer, new job, smiling sun… if you are staying positive about what you are doing, you will see positive things.

“Shine on you crazy diamond”