Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Spending $6 on milk that goes bad tomorrow.

I have been drinking lots of protien powder shakes for breakfast recently, so I picked up a $6 gallon of organic milk... just to find it goes bad tomorrow. (My husband already thinks it's gone south.)

Great, I can chose cheap industrial farmed milk full of whatever they are pumping into the cows, or milk that's healthy... but spoiled.

I am starting to think vegan towards soy, almond and rice milks instead.

I mean milk is something that in nature is there to help a 30 pound baby calf turn into a 800 pound beefy steer in a year.... Do I want that stuff in my body?

I might have to look into this more. There has to be sites about Vegitarian and Vegan body building... right? :)

I'll let you know what I find!

-Jess

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It costs you nothing more and shows your support of this site!

Thank you!!!!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Working out tonight

Tonight is another workout night for me but I feel so pooped from the work week!!!

MENTALLY
I know that working out is JUST what
my body needs to feel more energized!

PHYSICALLY
I just want to crawl in bed and sleep.
Zzzzz......

EMOTIONALLY
I feel annoyed that I have to workout.

SPIRITUALLY
I will pray for the strength need to be healthy.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Breaking stuff in the Breakroom

This morning I broke a coffee pot at work. I do not drink coffee, but I accidently bumped it when slicing up my fresh strawberries.

I felt so bad… and it turns out we don’t have a broom in our suite!

At least we get to go play boardgames tonight!! :-D

Last night I worked out on my elliptical trainer at a pace of 5 mph for 30 minutes. I was reminded of high school when we had to “run” the mile… and I was always one of the last kids to finish. I was never able to run for an entire lap. I would get to the third curve of the track and hit a wall… then walk all the way to the starting line again… where I would jog a bit passed the teacher… then start walking again. It seems so silly… like she could not see me walking around the rest of the track!

I would get lapped. The healthy girls would sit on the grass and wait for rest of us to finish. They would all cheer when I finally cross the finish line… but it just made me feel more like an out of shape loser. I felt mocked -- like they were cheering “Thank God she’s finally DONE!”

Now I am a healthy, successful IT professional, living in the Atlanta Metroplex, and many of them have become overweight, alcoholic townies still living in the backwoods of Wisconsin… Thank you Karma!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Visiting All 4 Rooms Each Day

The health concept I would like to share today is from A House With Four Rooms by Rumer Godden.



Living a healthy life is more than just diet and exercise.

While taking care of your physical body is an important part of a well-balanced life, there are also 3 other "rooms" of life that should have daily attention as well.



Physical Room
The Physical Room is usually the one most people think of when they think of losing weight. The main focus is on the body. This is the area which covers what you eat and how much you eat. Your level of activity is also located in the Physical Room.


Emotional Room
The Emotional room is just as important as the physical one, and has a huge impact. If you are not feeling up to working out, there is something that needs to be addressed here in the Emotional Room. Are you feeling sad, lonely, depressed, worried... Have you taken time to step back from the hectic pace of life and really assess your feelings? Feelings are super important. Bottling them up or putting on a happy face only works so long. There are lots of resources online about finding emotional peace and stability. There are even lots of free counseling options out there that can help "get things off your chest." The catharsis of sharing your burdens is often enough to get you feeling happy again.


Spiritual Room
No matter which faith you practice - even it is your own belief and not an organized religion - you need to spend some part of your day nurturing your "soul." Your inner spirit needs care just like your body. Feed it with good words and uplifting stories, exercise your beliefs through prayer and worship.


Mental Room
Do you have too much on your proverbial plate? An overloaded mind is out of balance. Stress is a huge factor in making bad health choices. It wears on the physical body. It makes you cut corners -- grabbing meals on the go, picking something convenient rather than healthy. Your mind keeps you up going over all the issues in your life, and not letting you rest. It is helpful to visit one of the other rooms to get things back in order in your Mental Room.


Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day -- even if only to "keep it aired -- we are not a complete person.


My "cure-all" to visiting all rooms in just an hour each morning is yoga. It works your body, mind, and gives a feeling of inner peace.

My favorite Yoga DVD is Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss




It has 4 different instructors (Fully Modified, Half Modified, 1/4 Modified, and Full Workout) and it really helps you progress!! Even after all these years, I cannot do the full out super bendy work out for all poses. I like that it shows me lots of ways to do yoga, but doesn't try putting my body into a pose I'm not ready for, yet.

When I first started doing this yoga DVD -- I could not even reach the yoga blocks!!! I followed the Fully Modified yoga routine, and used folding chairs until I got flexible enough to reach the yoga blocks!

Try visiting all of your rooms each day, soon you will feel more balanced, energized, and healthy.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I do not want to step on the celebratory Irish toes, but I do want to warn folks about drinking or eating in excess today.

Say what they may about one glass a day - Alcohol has a damaging effect on the body.

Many people who have problems with sweets have a family history of alcoholism. This is due to the way their brain is wired. The addictive craving for sugar is extremely similar to that for alcohol in the brain.

Having a "sweet-tooth" sounds cute, but sugar addiction is real and crippling.

There are strong biochemical reactions in the brains of sugar addicts, and the "high" they get from having sugar is like that seen in the scans of heroine addicts!!  Sugar and sweets truly make these people feel better. But it is fleeting, then there is a crash when the insulin kicks....

To make matters worse some sugar addicts have their insulin kick in too much, then throwing them back to strongly craving sugar again!!!

It can be very hard for people who have never experienced addiction, craving, binging, and shame, guilt... to understand the complex relationship a sugar addict has with food.

But let me be clear: YOU ARE NOT BROKEN!!!  Being addicted to sugar does not make you a 'bad person." You are awesome and loveable right now.

If you are reading these words right now, I know that you want to live a happier healthier life and you are working on it!!!

Please check out the LessJess Tips section of my website for ways to start getting healthier on tiny step at a time.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Getting Everything Back in Shape!

" HOLY COW! MY WEBSITE IS BUSTED!!"  I didn't realize that the image links were broke. It really made my sites look like junk! :-(    I plan to be making lots of updates - new pics, new format, and just getting everything neat and clean again.

I have been so busy the last few months!
 
I moved to Atlanta, Georgia from Madison, Wisconsin and started a new job. I totally fell off the wagon while transitioning to my new life, but I am now getting back on track!

Last night I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. The first 20 minutes were hard, but then the "This is not so bad! I can do this!!!" feeling kicked in. Today I feel perky and awake.


Monday, March 15, 2010

Lucky me...

Like losing an hour of sleep wasn't annoying enough,  I also got period yesterday!

I did not workout yesterday, but I did go shopping, so I thought I would share my typical menu for the week.

Breakfast foods:

On days I am short on time:
 - Carnation Instant Breakfast in Classic Chocolate Malt
 - Organic Whole Milk

On days I have time:
 - Eggs, salsa, cheddar cheese

Snacks:
 - Apples
 - Bannas
 - Strawberries
 - Light Yogurts
 - Cheddar Cheese
 - 100% Whole Wheat Crackers

Lunch:
Frozen Lean Cuisine Meals



Dinners:
Frozen Pizza
Frozen Pepper Stir-fry
Frozen Chicken Strips
Whole Wheat Pasta
Whole Wheat Bread
Shaved Turkey Breast
Random Pasta and BBQ sauces
Instant Potatoes
Butter

I don't really avoid any foods, I just make sure I eat sensible amounts.

Friday, March 12, 2010

I am not your billboard.

I am turning off the comments again.

I got up and did yoga today with my cats.   They were both cute and "helpful," and by helpful, I mean trying to kill me.  ;)

They like to rub against my legs and lay on the mat underneath me, so when I change to a different pose, the cat gets pissed off.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Monday Motivation!

My weight loss has always been about loving my body and making it healthy for a long life.

If you want to lose weight because you hate the way you look... a diet is not going to fix what is really wrong.  Self loathing isn't going to keep you motivated. In fact it is a vicious cycle that keeps making you feel worse!!! :-(

Loving yourself every step of the way is key to being successful.  Even if you seem to taking more steps backwards than forwards... You are still awesome, special and should take the BEST CARE OF YOURSELF POSSIBLE!!!!

It doesn't matter how fit or out of shape you are if you don't appreciate and love the person inside.

Learning to love and appreciate yourself is the first step towards a healthier, happier life.

You are Loveable,  You are Special, and You worth taking care of!!!

HUGS!

Jess  :-)