Lose Weight AND Enjoy The Holidays!??! The December Holiday Challenge

I know - you're thinking I must be crazy right? Well *I* think it can be done. Why wait until January 1st (or come on lets face it - the 2nd or 3rd by the time you get around to it- or the 27th in my case) to get in shape? Why make it a New Years Resolution? I never make New Years Resolutions...why? Because I never stick to them and they're expected of you...everyone makes them! Break the mould and get the jump on a few pounds BEFORE January 1st! If you're already on the path to a healthier you then come January you won't need the added pressure of a New Years Resolution hanging over your head. This is how I propose you do it (and still enjoy the Holidays!)

Let's start with the food. I know the holidays revolve around food and parties and drinks and food and drinks and food and...well you get the picture. So yes you are going to be faced with endless amounts of tasty treats. The thing is, you won't be at a party or event every single day. So when you are at home, at work - essentially any time you are not at a holiday function - eat smart. Eat clean. Make sure you start every day with a healthy breakfast within an hour of waking. If you are not a breakfast person I highly suggest you become one as breaking the fast in the morning kickstarts your metabolism and gets you going for the day. If you don't have breakfast your body is still in "starvation mode" and essentially storing fat cells for survival. If you don't have time to make your breakfast and sit down and eat in the morning try making something the night before (like a mug of overnight oats),  a warm dish of slow cooker oatmeal, or a pre-prepped breakfast smoothie. You can also make these egg muffins ahead of time and keep in the fridge for up to a week or you can freeze them and thaw overnight. There are lots of clean, healthy and TASTY options for those of you who are short on time in the mornings. By now you should know how I feel about prepping your food for the week, so make sure you are thinking ahead and making yourself small meals to stay on track for day of the week. By keeping up with a regimented eating schedule (every 2-3 hours) you will be less likely to go for the snack machine or over-indulge if those Christmas treats make their way into the workplace.   Last week we were treated to a delicious lunch at work, but I still brought my own and ate that first before I even entered the luncheon. I was still able to sit and enjoy some of the offerings with my coworkers knowing that I was staying on track.  One thing I don't suggest is not eating all day because you know you are going to a function that night where you know there will be a ton of food or a big dinner. Again - it comes down to your metabolism - and if you keep the motor running it will help to burn off those extra calories more efficiently. And make sure you are drinking lots of water. Keep up with it all day. Set a reminder on your phone or computer if you're not in the habit.

If I know I am going to a big dinner, I always try to have a protein shake, or some greek yogurt,  before I leave. This way I won't be as tempted to fill up on bread or appetizers before the main meal is served. I make sure I take advantage of the salad course and scale back on the higher calorie sides. At parties, go for the veggie and fruit trays before the sugary, gooey, creamy, fluffy, chocolatey, melty treats.  Notice I said "before" the treats. You have eaten clean all week, you have made smart food decisions, you have planned diligently and prepped all your food, you have been committed to your weekly workout (see below) you have ultimately primed your body to effectively deal with a few extra calories. So have that gingerbread cookie, or a couple nanaimo bars, or that slice of fruit cake (I know - there is a stigma against it but my inlaws make *amazing* fruitcake). Indulge the craving but don't overdo it. I have noticed that since I started eating clean whole foods taste so much better than the processed ones and this is particularly true with sugary treats. I should also state that once you start eating clean the body reacts differently when you reintroduce greasy fatty foods - I always think "do I want to enjoy my evening or suffer the belly pain and bloating (or spend my night in the bathroom)" and this helps stay on track too. This is typically a lesson everyone needs to experience on their own but without fail every person I have talked to who has started eating clean has regaled me with a story about regretting that slice of pizza or the side of fries because of how their body reacted afterwards.

Ok so for the booze....unless you're planning on cutting out all together this is kind of a hard one. If you have been eating clean all week that also means that you have stayed away from the alcohol (yep its a clean eating no-no) so you may choose to have a few holiday cocktails but there are things you can do to lessen the caloric footprint (did I just coin a phrase? Probably not) If you are a white wine drinker - try a spritzer (half wine half club soda). If you are a red wine drinker, sorry - I got nothin'. I suppose you could try a spritzer but ew - I think reds are too full-bodied to be watered down. Stay away from the wine and vodka coolers, and the creamy mudslides etc. They are loaded with sugar. If beer is your thing, low carb/low cal beers are available. If you like hard liquor try on the rocks, neat or with club soda. Diet sodas are just as bad for you as regular soda and actually transport the alcohol to your blood stream faster so I would stay away from those altogether. Alternate between water and your alcoholic beverage (so you're drinking less alcohol, and lessening the effects of dehydration and thusly the effects of a hangover the next morning) Most importantly, if you choose to drink, please do not drive! Have a designated driver, or make sure you have cab fare handy. 

The last part of the equation is the exercise. Here are 50 body weight exercises you can do at home so you don't need to join a gym. This site has them broken down to full body (which I would suggest doing 3 times a week i.e mon/wed/fri) and by body part which I would split into 5-6 times a week (arms one day, legs the next, back, chest,abs etc). Choose 4-5 of the exercises and do 8-15 reps of each in 3-4 sets. This will be a pretty decent workout. On your off days from the full body workout, or your off days and the ab day for the split, do 20-45 minutes of active rest (a walk, hike, some yoga, dancing in the kitchen, sledding or ice skating with the kids - whatever keeps you moving).

Between the clean eating and the exercise, you are setting up a great foundation to be able to battle the holiday bulge, and get ahead on making 2014 your healthiest and fittest year yet! If you stay committed through the week, and make smart eating decisions, the parties and holiday festivities should not derail your efforts and you can avoid the holiday weight gain!  So faithful readers - this is your December Challenge. I put it to you to meet it head on and wish you not only the best in this, but the Happiest of Holidays and the Merriest of Christmases.

Trust the Process

These past couple weeks have been...stressful. Changes at work, some silly unwarranted drama in the emotional department, financial adjustments...just one of those 'when it rains it pours' times. To be honest though the rain is more like a foggy drizzle than a downpour so really I still have it pretty good. It's just these little blips that every once in a while remind you that things can change in a heartbeat, you need to be prepared for anything, and you need to learn how to roll with the punches (one of my specialties if I do say so myself). Every time we are handed a blip, we need to take something from it. I believe I've mentioned before that we can't control life, just how we react to it, and these past few weeks have been a good lesson in how I react. This isn't to say I wasn't maybe cranky with people who didn't deserve it, or didn't possibly maybe have a day where perhaps there may or may not have been some tears and a little bit of feeling sorry for myself...but I didn't dwell on the negative and I put my positive thinking to action and made it through what would have once dropped me to my knees in a long drawn out poor-me kind of funk. I can use these changes to help steer my life in the direction I want my life to go. I can embrace the opportunity to make changes where changes are needed. I have learned a little more about what I want, and more importantly what I don't want, from the people I surround myself with.  I will continue to try to better my situation on every level and maybe I am late to the race but I am making strides in getting things on track and being a happy well-adjusted adult. There is a quote that gets thrown around a lot with people who are undergoing transformations/bodybuilding/life in general - TRUST THE PROCESS - and not just the process I have put in place for myself but what the universe has thrown my way ... Learning to trust myself and my abilities to cope with life in general has been an eye opener and a constant project. This past week especially has been a constant inner monologue of turning negative thinking into the positive and making sure I have kept my head above the things trying to bring me down.  I am nowhere near where I want to be, or the person I want to become but I honestly feel that I am a step closer to being that person having accepted the challenges of my latest blip. So - now that I have restored some of the order to my inner-self, it's time to take care of my environment which has suffered some. In other words the state of my house is a complete reflection of the state of my head - and heart - as of late, and needs some order-restoring of its own.  In other - other words it just means I need to clean the house ... enjoy your weekend folks, and whatever path you may be on, Trust the Process.

From The Girl Who Couldn't...: rolling with the punches...

From The Girl Who Couldn't...: rolling with the punches...: It has been a very ... different ... few weeks. I apologize for not keeping up with the blog but life has a way of reminding you who's i...

rolling with the punches...

It has been a very ... different ... few weeks. I apologize for not keeping up with the blog but life has a way of reminding you who's in charge (and if you think it's you - guess again....the only thing you control is how you react to what's thrown at you)  I can't blame it all on life though, I am responsible in part due to laziness and not making the time. No excuses - I have been a bad blogger. So here I sit on a rainy Saturday evening in front of my computer, partially snuggled into the couch in sweats and an afghan and if I had to think about it, regardless of the changes in the last few weeks and the stress, life is pretty darned great. WHY?? Because I choose to see things in that light.  We have a roof over our head, clothes on our backs, a nice car to drive, food in the fridge, and I have a job to go to everyday. My job can be stressful. But I love it. I have worked in some form of customer service since I was a teenager and I honestly believe it is my strength. "But I thought you worked in the home healthcare industry" you say? I do - but what we do as coordinators ultimately boils down to customer service; the same principles apply. And those principles should be practiced on everyone that we deal with in our day - from our PSW's and nurses,(who are some amazing people by the way) to our clients, to our co-workers and colleagues. Not one of us can do our job without any of the aforementioned people. Now, I haven't been an active coordinator in just about a year - I have been working in the intake department (which has some coordination but not primarily so)  It was a good switch at the time, as I really needed to escape some of the negativity on the floor that some people were putting into the universe, and gave me some much needed motivation to shed some of my own negative skin. I believe I did ok in the intake role, but I was missing that customer service connection that I really dig. Well, in the past couple of weeks I was offered an opportunity to become a Team Lead - a position we haven't had before and one that hasn't yet been clearly or entirely defined. But I am jumping at the chance!! Who knows what this opportunity could bring, and  I have always been one to roll with the punches. I am looking forward to interacting with people again, I am looking forward to the challenges and the changes, and being involved. I am looking forward to helping develop the role as needed and am grateful that I still have a job.  I have never been one to stay somewhere that I didn't feel I was appreciated or where I felt stagnated, and luckily I have been offered opportunities that alleviate these issues. So while the last few weeks have been a big switch-up with a lot thrown at me at once, I am ready for whatever these changes will bring! This whole year has been one big ball of change for me and I have embraced every minute of it. THIS is the life we lead now - not the one we had in the past or the one we think we want in the future. What we do TODAY will determine what happens tomorrow. So embrace it - every second - the good and the bad. Learn from what you can, forgive what you need to, and move on. Like I said at the beginning up there, we don't control life - we can only control how we react to it - and the people in it. So react well people...

Giving Thanks

I have spent much of the past week in my head...my birthday being this past Saturday I was battling past demons and feeling sorry for myself that I had no one "special" to spend it with, that because I don't drink anymore that I was some sort of birthday pariah because I had no particular "birthday plans" and I was sort of dreading my birthday weekend. In retrospect, I think it was a part of my transformation that I had to endure. As I've mentioned before, it's not all physical. There is a great deal of emotional upheaval going on as well, my insides are changing as dramatically as my outsides. I could not be more wrong that I didn't have anyone special to spend my day with...Friday at work I was celebrated by my colleagues, and friday night was spent in the company of a good friend watching movies and just ... being ... as we like to call it. Saturday morning I woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning and had good session at the gym, and a day spent with my daughter and my sister. M and I joined my folks for dinner and then spent the evening watching a movie together. Sunday was spent in the company of my second family, and today I have had some quality alone time, and will spend the rest of another gorgeous fall day enjoying the scenery that the Niagara Region has to offer, as well as yet another Thanksgiving Dinner, this time with my parents and my brother. I have spent the entire weekend with the most wonderfully giving and supportive and loving people I could ever ask for. They are beyond special and I have not for one moment felt like I have been lacking anything. I have been blessed with a second family who treat us like their own, and am lucky that there is no awkwardness in regards to the relationship between Meaghan, her dad, his girlfriend and I. We are truly one big happy family and Jamie is as much a part of it as Meaghan. My own family - I would have to devote an entire new blog to how amazing they are. This weekend has taught me that I am truly on the right path and once I got past the hurdles in my head I was able to truly enjoy the passing of another year, and cannot wait to see what the next brings. I have been blessed by many birthday wishes, and some very heartfelt messages that I will take with me on my journey. I am thankful for the things that I am learning that I am capable of - the changes I have gone through both physically and emotionally and the changes that I will continue to experience. I am thankful for the opportunities and adventures I have been able to have with my kids, and that they are kind, generous, charming, happy, smart and funny. We all have many things to be thankful for, and I hope that your list is diverse and easy to write. Happy Thanksgiving.

Embrace the Cookie

Well, I saw my first Christmas decorations in a store yesterday, and Christmas Carols have been played on the radio. (btw commercialism - an earlier start to the christmas season does not entice  me to spend more or get more in the holiday spirit so knock it off and let me enjoy my Halloween season unencumbered, kthanks) Thanksgiving (for us Canadians) is next weekend - along with *someones* birthday - and this for me is the kick off of  what I like to call Food Season. In the past my birthday and both of our thanksgiving dinners (one with my folks and one with the outlaws) were a cause to pretty much eat and drink as much as I could without throwing up (or sometimes with...depending on who I spending my birthday celebrations with - yeah TMI - sorry)  The last time I tried to lose weight, I made it through the first half of Food Season relatively ok (but by no means acceptable to my goals) but I fell off the wagon hard at Christmas. I am feeling very confident in this new lifestyle that I will make it through the Holidays with no issue whatsoever. My mental game is at an all-time high, which is a huge portion of the battle, and I am learning and growing comfortable with the fact that I can allow myself *some* wiggle room with food, as long as I maintain my goals. Now - that doesn't give me the excuse to stuff my face for one day, or indulge in a piece of cake or a drink...I know that some things will just make me feel nasty no matter how tasty it is going down. I know there are very different takes on "cheat" meals and allowing oneself a "day off" or  a meal or whatever but these are my own personal decisions. You do what you want to do, and I will do what I want to do and we will all be happy with the decisions we've made and that's what this is really all about - being happy with the decisions we make in life. If I eat a cookie lets say...I am going to eat it because I have chosen to eat that cookie, and I will not feel guilty about eating that cookie because it was a conscious decision to eat it. I have embraced the cookie. I ate the heck out of that cookie and felt good about it. I will not eat the cookie and then say "ugh i shouldn't have eaten that cookie...i feel so guilty for eating that cookie.."  and then reach for another cookie because hey - I've already failed myself so what the hell...That is a food fail. When we incorporate conscious thinking into the decisions we make - especially where food or other vices are concerned - we have the ability to become masters of our own domains (Seinfeld reference anyone? haha - offtopic)  Instead of reaching automatically for the bag of cookies, weigh out whether or not you really want one, think about why you want one and if its because dammit you just really want that cookie then have one but don't beat yourself up over it afterwards, and definitely don't use it for a jumping off point of absolute gluttony. You can't say "I want to lose weight" and not change the way you look at food and exercise. So by implementing a new way of thinking, and prioritizing your food goals, and by exercising conscious decision making in the kitchen you can actually set yourself up for absolute success with your weightloss, without having to "cheat".  Let's face it, the guilt associated with eating leads us to feel worse about what we are doing, and in turn, usually leads us to eat more (emotional eating anyone??) So if we remove the guilt by making - say it with me now - CONSCIOUS DECISIONS about what we are eating, we are already on the road to a better lifestyle. We do so much without thinking why we do it - we just follow along. When I started to think about what I was doing, and how I was letting people make me feel, everything started to change. It's definitely not easy but when you do something that positively affects your life, everything else just kind of starts to fall into place. So as I head into Food Season, I am doing it with the utmost confidence that I will make it through with flying colours (and even meet my goal of losing a bit more body fat before going into my bulking season - which is a whole different post with a whole different set of implications that I will get into another blog)

Saturday Morning Ramblings

A rainy Saturday morning and I couldn't be happier about it. I had nothing on the docket this weekend, and was looking forward to a couple rest days and getting caught up on some housework so this is perfect weather for it. Not to mention I love cooler fall weather and being snuggly as much as I love the summer so really - I am in Rainy Saturday Morning Heaven. Even with the mellow relaxed Saturday attitude I am fairly buzzing on the inside...I am so invigorated with the change of seasons and the progress I'm having at the gym. And not once but twice this week I have been given amazing compliments on my physique by relative strangers who are very involved in their own fitness that have really fueled the passion to continue. It is very hard for me to accept compliments and when they come I am reduced to a humbled mumbling mess but just so you know, the level to which they are appreciated is something I cannot express. Having said that I am very critical of my body and I think I have mentioned more than once (or at least once) that I wish I could see myself through someone elses eyes. If I ever forget to thank someone for their support, help, love, inspiration etc it is definitely not because I am not thankful - it is because i am trying to process the outpouring that you all have shown me. Even the doubters and naysayers give me something to work towards - and not because I have anything to prove to them, but because it gives me something more to prove to  myself. I LOVE talking fitness and health and nutrition and I am absorbing everything I can and love learning new things. I want to take this to a new level. I want to learn it and be certified and know what i am talking about when I help people when I've been asked for advice. I want to base it on more than just my own experiences. I want to know the human body and put that knowledge to work for myself and share it with others. I want to be someone my kids can look up to and give them the healthy habits that will take them into adulthood and not have to know the feeling of being uncomfortable in their own skin. I think I am doing ok on this front so far...now just to keep it up. I am most excited about my sons foray into health sciences once he graduates highschool and my daughters growing involvement in school sports. She is training for the cross country team and while she is racked with doubts and "what ifs" it has lended us the opportunity to talk about just trying and doing her best. She won't know what she is capable of doing if she doesn't at least try. And she is open to training at home so that will give us an opportunity to spend some extra time together. Running is something we can do together and I am inexperienced enough that I can keep up with her boundless amounts of energy.  So yes...buzzing like whoa and super looking forward to everything the future will bring. Even if its just scrubbing the toilet on this rainy day - its allllll good.