I would like to start my blog by wishing my mom a happy birthday. She would have been 50 today and I know that somewhere she is busy celebrating with all of the people she loves who are gone from here. Today hasn't been the easiest of days on anybody in the family. It feels so wrong to not be able to call her up and wish her a happy day. Not to mention I don't get to harass her about the fact that she's turning 50. I took today off of work because I wasn't sure how I was going to be feeling and it was probably a good thing. I had some moments today when there were tears but I had a chance to talk to family so it helped. I'm doing pretty well right now. My friend Chris and I went out for dinner tonight in honor of Mom's life...it was really nice to get out, not to mention very tasty!
Things have actually been going really well for me in regards to my lifestyle changes. In a previous blog I mentioned that my goal was to lose, on average, 5 pounds each month. I am just about to make my goal for August. It doesn't surprise me that I'm meeting my goal early this month, it's always easier to lose in the first few months. I've been trying to eat better and I have been working really hard to meet my goal of working out each morning before work. I'm not going to lie. The first two weeks of the month were not so great. I was finding it hard to actually get up in the mornings to do my work outs. I think it was partially because I wasn't really sleeping well at night and therefore found it difficult to get up in the mornings. Well, I've started sleeping better and now I'm finding it more manageable to get up when I want. Actually want is probably too strong of a word, I don't think anybody actually wants to get up at 5:40. I just keep telling myself that the more mornings I get up and work out, the more weight I'll lose. The more weight I lose the less tired I feel. The less tired I feel the motivation I'll have to get up and work out. It's a vicious cycle but I think it's one of the good vicious cycles!
Along with more exercise I've been trying to be a more conscientious eater. I've been making menus and sticking to them. I'm taking advantage of the fact that there is a lot of fresh, locally grown produce available for really good prices right now. I've eaten a salad for lunch each day the last 2 weeks. The salads are loaded with fresh veggies and I'm trying to be really careful with the dressing. I'm measuring out the dressing instead of just dumping into the bowl to make sure I know how much I'm really getting and I'm using healthier dressing selections. Now, you might be thinking that eating a salad every day for lunch is boring but I LOVE salads and there are so many ways that you can change them up to add variety to your life.
Anyway, I hope to continue on and keep doing well. I need to start thinking about what my new monthly goal with be for September as it's right around the corner. Any suggestions?
OK, I have some other things that I want to talk about, actually I have a more spiritual matter I want to discuss but I think I should save that for another blog entry. I will end here for now. I hope the rest of your week goes well!
3 comments:
Happy Birthday to your Mom too! I'm sure her birthday and other important dates will continue to be a reminder of what a wonderful woman she is each and every year. I'm glad you took the day off...I'm also relieved that you were able to talk to family today.
Very proud that you're getting up bright and early and working out. It is a desire of mine to get up at 6am to work out on the treadmill on some mornings. Hopefully I can initiate that idea after I find my groove with the start of the semester.
Do you need to create a monthly goal for water intake? Or are you doing ok with that?
Or are there any food groups you need to alter? Veggie or fruit intake? Increase healthy oils?
Or are you wanting physical activity goals? How about wearing a pedometer and aiming for 10,000 steps a day?
I'm anxious to read your spiritually-based blog. Would you have any interest in reading the books I've collected by Jerry Bridges? They are great and relate very well to our lives.
I too think it was a good idea to take the day off as a way of celebrating and mourning at the same time. I had no idea that your mom was that young. It means she's technically younger than our mom, which is really scary. I hope as time goes by you are able to celebrate your mom more and more.
Congratulations on your success with the weight loss plan and exercise accomplishments. I don't think there is a chance in hell that I will get up extra early to work out. That may change as I get older, but right now, I am sleeping as much as I can. I too am working with my dressing amounts for salad. I want to make sure it's not adding extra calories I don't need.
My suggestion for goals would be to set limits on eating out, which you probably already do.
Or maybe to try a certain number of new healthy recipes each month. I know you are a good cook.
It seems like you are so doing well on your own; it's hard to come up with goals for you. I am intrigued by your spiritual matter too. Some days, especially recently, it seems like spirituality is taking a back seat to everything else. Only a significant event like a wedding or funeral brings me back to spirituality it seems. Most likely it's due to the fact that I quit church. It's not that I gave up on religion or spirituality, but I let life get in the way. Anyway, before I ramble further, Happy Birthday to your mom and thanks for sharing.
Jenny, I do have a pedometer but maybe my goal should be to wear it and see what my steps per day really look like. Also, I feel cheated because I can't use the water goal. I drink lots of water in a day so I don't ever need to work on that.
I like the new recipe idea LeAnn. I'm going to have to throw that one in there at some point. I love to cook but I don't try new recipes all that often.
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