I went to a lovely little Italian restaurant tonight with the group of us that traveled together...I can't tell you what the name of the restaurant is, because I was too exhausted when I got there...but it was very good, and the company was nice, too :)
Most days, I am emotionally drained after work, then I go home and start what I call my second job--being a wife, mom, home-school teacher, housekeeper, etc., etc....Eventually, once I'm done with all of that stuff, I normally wind down by reading or watching TV, or just taking some time to talk with my husband and kids--this explains why I go to sleep so late.
At the restaurant, as we were telling stories and laughing together, I realized that I never actually wind down after work with my colleagues--ever. Tonight, it was good to eat, laugh, and enjoy the moment with the people that I work with. It was...positive...fun...not work-related (well, mostly, not work-related). I think I finally understand why people do happy hour.
I'm not a happy hour kind of gal--most days, I miss my family so much, all I can think about is getting home to them when I'm done at work. Don't get me wrong...I'm a hard worker, and I take pride in my work. But, sometimes I'd rather work from home to finish things instead of staying late at work. Tonight, though, I realized how important it is to spend time with the people I work with in a different environment.
OK, back to the restaurant. I didn't really look at the menu--the words were swimming on the page--so I let the waitress guide me. She recommended a small personal pizza with fresh spinach and mushrooms. The spinach was great, but I wish that the mushrooms would have been bigger.
I have one healthy thing that I have done for these travel days: I have slept. I haven't stayed up watching TV or movies. I didn't bring a book, so I haven't stayed up reading. I've gotten in bed, turned everything off and SLEPT.
Last night, I slept 7 hours. I haven't slept that long in forever. Tonight, I'm going for EIGHT.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
When I Grow Up...
I'm traveling for work for the next three days, and I'm not so sure how I'm going to deal with my food situation. I'm basicaly going to be eating out for every meal.
I'm trying to stay flexible and not have an all-or-nothing mentality, which is what have done in the past. Instead of just throwing out the next few days and eating whatever, whenever, I want to make the best choices I can for the next few days.
If I can stay focused on the long term goal, which is real change, it's not that difficult to make good choices. However, when I focus on the food in front of me without thinking about the future, I find myself throwing all caution to the wind and stuffing my face.
I wish that I could love myself more than that. I wish I didn't have to think--rationalize--so much. I wish it came naturally. This is what I'm instilling in my children, because I don't want them to go through the struggles I go through when it comes to food.
Sometimes, I overhear them saying wonderful things. The other day, my oldest asked the others if they wanted a treat, and I heard the little one say, "No thanks, I already ate and I'm not really hungry right now." This sounds like such a normal response, but it's not my normal response. When I was a kid I NEVER said "no" to sweets, even if I was full.
I love that they make these choices so naturally. I tell myself that these decisions "come naturally" to them, because I have worked hard at allowing them to listening to their body signals instead of forcing them to "clean your plate" the way my dad did to me. I've also tried to expose them to as many healthy and delicious food as possible so that the word "vegetable" isn't a bad word in my house.
I remind myself that we are all born with the ability to listen to our bodies, with the hope that one day I will relearn how to do this and be able to make these decisions naturally, just like them.
When I grow up, I want to be just like my kids :)
I'm trying to stay flexible and not have an all-or-nothing mentality, which is what have done in the past. Instead of just throwing out the next few days and eating whatever, whenever, I want to make the best choices I can for the next few days.
If I can stay focused on the long term goal, which is real change, it's not that difficult to make good choices. However, when I focus on the food in front of me without thinking about the future, I find myself throwing all caution to the wind and stuffing my face.
I wish that I could love myself more than that. I wish I didn't have to think--rationalize--so much. I wish it came naturally. This is what I'm instilling in my children, because I don't want them to go through the struggles I go through when it comes to food.
Sometimes, I overhear them saying wonderful things. The other day, my oldest asked the others if they wanted a treat, and I heard the little one say, "No thanks, I already ate and I'm not really hungry right now." This sounds like such a normal response, but it's not my normal response. When I was a kid I NEVER said "no" to sweets, even if I was full.
I love that they make these choices so naturally. I tell myself that these decisions "come naturally" to them, because I have worked hard at allowing them to listening to their body signals instead of forcing them to "clean your plate" the way my dad did to me. I've also tried to expose them to as many healthy and delicious food as possible so that the word "vegetable" isn't a bad word in my house.
I remind myself that we are all born with the ability to listen to our bodies, with the hope that one day I will relearn how to do this and be able to make these decisions naturally, just like them.
When I grow up, I want to be just like my kids :)
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Reboot T2 Day 9
I think I found a health coach. He is a nutritarian, and I went for a consult today. I was surprised to find out that he is also a practicing psychologist...which means that he doesn't just do the practical application stuff, like teaching you what to eat, but he also goes into all of the reasons for one's struggle with food.
I talked about my childhood and cried...I know that sounds SO stereotypical, but it's true. It caught me completely off guard when he started asking me questions, and for a moment I had that fight-or-flight response, LOL. I almost said, "I don't want to do this," but as I was getting myself ready to say it and walk out of his office, something in me switched and I took the plunge and started talking.
I kept trying to get out of talking about the personal stuff by talking about what I would like to get out of this experience. Specifically, I told him that I have always been good about following a plan or program, but that I get so goal oriented that the moment I reach my goal weight, I just STOP...everything. Then, I gain it all right back. I told him that I want to learn how to MAINTAIN. But, he just kept coming back to asking me to think about the emotional reasons for my difficulties. He was very polite about it, but definitely RELENTLESS, which I respect. I'm used to doing the same polite redirecting in my classroom when kids try to side track a lesson, but I've never had someone do that to me as a grown up, lol. It was skillful guidance, and he didn't let me get away with ignoring the issues.
Now I have to save up the money for the program...It's $1995 for 6 months, which is a little over $300 a month. If I pay all at once, he knocks it down to $1795, though...which is better, but still kind of pricey. It's about the same amount that all of the other people that I've called have quoted, so I didn't go into shock when he said it.
As far as juice is concerned for today. I didn't have much left in the fridge or the pantry this morning before doing groceries, but the juice I made was tasty.
half a bunch of kale
4 small oranges
about 2 cups of red seedless grapes
2 large carrots
2 small apples
1 golden zucchini
1 beet
1/2 inch nub of ginger
1 lemon
I'd like to include a note on the order of my ingredients. I always try list them in the order in which I put them through the juicer. It's better to put your ingredients through the juicer from softest to hardest, because the hard vegetables help the soft ones go through. You get more of the soft ones that way. Sometimes, I mix them together, though. For example, I'll wrap a leaf of kale around a carrot or beet. I stays in contact with the blade longer instead of just whisking it away into the pulp container. I didn't know that this was important when I first started juicing, so I thought I'd mention it.
I finally did groceries today, so I am fully stocked. Woohoo! Making juice tomorrow morning won't be difficult, and I'll have more greens.
Thanks for reading :)
I talked about my childhood and cried...I know that sounds SO stereotypical, but it's true. It caught me completely off guard when he started asking me questions, and for a moment I had that fight-or-flight response, LOL. I almost said, "I don't want to do this," but as I was getting myself ready to say it and walk out of his office, something in me switched and I took the plunge and started talking.
I kept trying to get out of talking about the personal stuff by talking about what I would like to get out of this experience. Specifically, I told him that I have always been good about following a plan or program, but that I get so goal oriented that the moment I reach my goal weight, I just STOP...everything. Then, I gain it all right back. I told him that I want to learn how to MAINTAIN. But, he just kept coming back to asking me to think about the emotional reasons for my difficulties. He was very polite about it, but definitely RELENTLESS, which I respect. I'm used to doing the same polite redirecting in my classroom when kids try to side track a lesson, but I've never had someone do that to me as a grown up, lol. It was skillful guidance, and he didn't let me get away with ignoring the issues.
Now I have to save up the money for the program...It's $1995 for 6 months, which is a little over $300 a month. If I pay all at once, he knocks it down to $1795, though...which is better, but still kind of pricey. It's about the same amount that all of the other people that I've called have quoted, so I didn't go into shock when he said it.
As far as juice is concerned for today. I didn't have much left in the fridge or the pantry this morning before doing groceries, but the juice I made was tasty.
half a bunch of kale
4 small oranges
about 2 cups of red seedless grapes
2 large carrots
2 small apples
1 golden zucchini
1 beet
1/2 inch nub of ginger
1 lemon
I'd like to include a note on the order of my ingredients. I always try list them in the order in which I put them through the juicer. It's better to put your ingredients through the juicer from softest to hardest, because the hard vegetables help the soft ones go through. You get more of the soft ones that way. Sometimes, I mix them together, though. For example, I'll wrap a leaf of kale around a carrot or beet. I stays in contact with the blade longer instead of just whisking it away into the pulp container. I didn't know that this was important when I first started juicing, so I thought I'd mention it.
I finally did groceries today, so I am fully stocked. Woohoo! Making juice tomorrow morning won't be difficult, and I'll have more greens.
Thanks for reading :)
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