Making it through the Weekend

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. The weather here is Chicago was beautiful! Saturday I joined my friend Chris and her friend for a bike ride at a local forest preserve. We did 7 miles in about an hour. This was the most I have done on my bike since breaking my wrist. I was pretty proud at myself for holding a 12 mph pace the whole time but I was pushing through a lot of pain towards the end. My wrist was killing me and it hurt most of the day afterwards. BUT my OT will tell you I am one tough cookie. Pain is part of my every day life now and because I broke my wrist at the joint; I will be on arthritis medication for the rest of my life but I am not going to let that stop me!

One thing I have learned through my recovery is you have to push through the pain. This can be applied to a lot of things especially pushing through the temptations. Yesterday, was a hard day. I am not sure why but I wanted to snack and I knew I was not hungry. I had to push through it reminding myself that there is nothing that tastes better than wearing my size 8 pants again.

If you are a snacker like me. Here are some snacks I always have on hand...

• Smart Pop (1 pt per cup) - This is the best commercially prepared popcorn on the market!!!!
• Bananas (0 pts)
• Frozen Grapes (0 pts)
• Cherries (0 pts)
• Oranges (0 pts)
• Herbalife Shakes (3 pts per shake)
• Apples (0 pts)
• Little Peppers (0 pts) - I have to fight my daughter for these. :)
• Any seasonal cut up veggies
• Beef Jerky (2-3 pts depending on brand but watch the salt!)

Happy and Healthy Eating!

Dawn

Found it!

I recently read in one of my Weight Watchers Weekly's that you should find a workout that you love. They said that you should not be looking at the clock and it should be something that you look forward to and miss if for some reason you cannot do it. I found this quite interesting because I couldn't really think of anything that I love doing other than riding my bike. This is the one thing that I could not wait to get back to after breaking my wrist.

But this morning I found something else to add to my list. ZUMBA! Ok, I have done Zumba before and it was fun. BUT I was not thrilled of dancing in front of other people because I stink at it. My embarrassment has kept me out of the Zumba classroom. So last week, I decided to invest in the Zumba DVD's and I am glad I did! I have now found a workout I love. I can do it right in my living room and I don't even have to leave my house! In fact, I cannot wait to go home and pop in my 20 Rush DVD when I get home.


So what's your favorite workout?

Back in the Chair

Last night was my first time back in the chair since I broke my wrist. It was with mixed emotions. I was happy to see my old leader and I was greeted with a big hug. I really missed that! She is a great motivating person who always takes the time to help you through those rough patches. I wouldn't want to be in the chair with anyone else. But it was very embarrassing returning 40 lbs heavier than I last time I saw her. However, she reminded me that we have all been there and if I did it once I can do it again.

I am feeling empowered that I am tracking everything that I eat. I will admit, I hate doing it. It is a tedious task...I don't know why I feel that way. But I know it works and that is the only way I will ever get to where I want to be. So let's do this...

It has been a while...

Wow it has been a while since I have written in my blog. Lately, I feel like I have let a lot of people down including myself; but I remembered one line from my blog "day to day struggles of finding my thinself." I have to admit that this year has been a struggle. Since January, I have gained approximately 40 lbs. Teetering on the line of onederland and struggling to stay on that lower side of the fence.

So what happened? Well, the first part of the year I was struggling with stressed induced hives. My son was recently diagnosed with ADHD and struggling in school, I was stressed about work, school and my other activities that I was engaged in. I was just way overwhelmed and my body was telling me so. For almost a month I was on steroids to help suppress my symptoms. I began to eat massive amounts of food to comfort myself. In fact, at one point my son said to me "Mom what is wrong with you?" He knew that the quantity of food I was eating was not me. Well, my clothes started to not fit.

To get back on the exercise bandwagon, my son just learned how to Rollerblade. One day after a birthday party the kids and I went to Play it Again Sports. I figured if I was going to get my son a pair of blades (he was wearing mine) I might as well get myself a "new" pair. Why not, right? A few hours later, while skating with the kids I fell and I fell hard. I broke my radius bone and dislocated my hand. It required surgery and I had a plate, 10 screws and a pin to hold everything together. Almost three months later, I am still in Occupational Therapy three times a week. I have gained a total of 20 lbs since breaking my wrist bringing my total gain to 40. :(

However, now that I shared all that with you...I have good news. After, watching a friends YouTube video and seeing and hearing her excitement about her weight loss, toning and healthy eating, it reminded me about how excited I was when I first started this blog. I went right online and looked at meeting times for WW. In doing so, I found out that my favorite leader has not one but two after work meetings in Park Ridge. Starting next week (Monday), I am back in the chair. Starting today, I am tracking every bites, licks and tastes. All I have to say is I am back and I am going all the way this time!!!!

Happy and Healthy Eating,

Dawnie

Diary of a Reformed Meat Eater

So people have asked me "Dawn when did you become vegetarian?" Well here is the low down...

I have always felt that eating meat was wrong. How could I love animals and still eat them? But like many I was addicted to meat. I felt that I "needed" meat. I needed it for the protein...I needed it for the iron. Several months ago I did a detox and I was told not to eat meat during this time. I thought "Ok, I can do this. I gave up meat for Lent a couple of years ago, so 30 days is no problem." It was during this time, I realized I felt better. I no longer craved massive amounts of sugar and my energy levels were much higher. Better yet, I started to lose weight. I felt great!

If you are a loyal reader of this blog you know that in January 2009, I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). This is caused by a hormone imbalance. It is a known fact that our meat is pumped up on hormones. When we eat this meat we are also ingesting the hormones that were given to the animal to "pump them up". Doctors have already raised their concern that these hormones are causing young girls to hit puberty at an earlier age. Since I have given up eating meat I have not had any new cysts and I have been pain free. Just for the record...I do not take any medicine to control my PCOS.

Now don't get me wrong there are times when I walk out the door and there is a smell of grilled steak wafting in the air and my mouth waters. Being a reformed meat eater does not mean that I don't remember the taste of meat that has been grilled to perfection. But I know that my healthy food choices has cut my risk for certain cancers in half. These are just a few reasons why this girl is a reformed meat eater...

Until next time...Happy and Healthy Eating!

Meatless Monday

Hey blog readers...I'm back!!! My husband reminded me last week that I have been neglecting my blog readers of my trials and struggles. So just to let you all know I am back and I am on track!

Did you know that today is Meatless Monday? Today, is the day that everyone is challenge to give up meat for one day. For some this may seem unthinkable and for others this may be less of a challenge. Here are my thoughts...it is always good to change up your diet every once and while. Going one day without meat is not going to kill you and you may even find that you like it.

Recently, I have done a lot of reading about the Western diet. I feel that some where we have gotten all out of control with our diets. If we think back long ago when people lived on farms or hunted for their own food, meat was a luxury item. You could not go into the store and buy a couple of pounds of meat. They had to go out and hunt for it or you had to raise and kill it yourself. The fact of the matter is our bodies are not made to ingest the large amount of meat we are putting in to it! This is why cancer is on  the rise as well as heart disease but that is a whole other blog. :)

Today, I challenge you all to give them a break and go meatless. If you accept my challenge, I would love to hear about it. Until next time...Happy and Healthy Eating!

Eating on a Budget

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that eating healthy is expensive. Usually, when people tell me this I ask them where are they buying their groceries. If you purchase groceries at major grocery chains you are probably over paying for your fresh fruits and veggies. Here in the Chicago area we have stores like Mariano's, Garden Fresh and Caputo's. They usually have a nice selections of fresh fruits and veggies that are much lower in price than major retailers. I also like to buy frozen bag of fruits and veggies when they are on sale. They are helpful to have on hand for quick meals and soups. Many times stores will have them on sale for 99 cents. They are way better for you than canned vegetables.

Buy fresh fruits and vegetables that are on sale. For example, there are plenty of times when blueberries and strawberries are on sale. Buy them and freeze the extras.

I also suggest trying some of these healthy recipes that are $3 or less per person. You can feed your family well while on a budget.

Eating healthy does not have to break the bank. You just have to be smart!