My new focus for 2012

     Right now, I am focusing on some things I neglected in 2011 and I need to get back into them! These are not resolutions. Because resolutions absolutely do not work. These are motivations, life-style changes, things to focus on for my life.     Because of the big changes at work, I got overwhelmed, overtired and stressed. I stopped focusing on healthy eating (although it didn't get too too bad) and stopped even attempting to work out. We were a little active in NH, but the day we planned for a big hike was rainy and the next day was too wet to do the trip we had planned. Anyway, a few years ago, I discovered that I do very well with waking up at 5:30 in the morning a few days a week (2-3) and working out, I also make it a point to work out at least once on the weekend. I get in a great work out, rev my metabolism and start the day off right. I did this for 5 or 6 months and lost 30 pounds! Then I got the dreaded summer cold which killed all attempts at healthy living for a month and I lost my momentum. I maintained my healthy eating habits even though I didn't use weight watchers online religiously though and even lost another 5-10 pounds the following year and was keeping active (not as active, but pretty good). The thing was, I worked with a lot of health conscious people and my co-teacher for most of that year eats healthy and we held each other accountable. (Danielle is still a dear friend and I miss not working with her!) That year I also started a two year Master's Degree program which took up any free time I had (my husband used to joke with me--when I was on my way home or calling him to talk he'd say "Ahhh...my long lost wife). So I switched careers in 2009 and went from teaching little ones to teaching teenagers with emotional and behavioral disabilities. BIG CHANGE. I became the boss in the room, not the co-teacher and even though I adore my co-workers at my school, the support system of women you spend 8 hours a day with every day was lost. So I gained ten pounds, which I took off by doing Jenny Craig (with out exercise so it didn't really stick, but I looked great as a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding!)
 
This first one is seriously the best shot of my body during the wedding--The ten pounds I lost actually came off from my waist and back which really helped the dress fit beautifully! My legs have always been heavier and I've never liked wearing short things because it it. I am hoping exercising will thin my calves out a bit.
     I also started a 30-day cleanse for healthy living. I started on January 2, so it will last until January 31st. You cut out dairy, wheat, gluten, soy, sugar, peanuts and simple carbs like white potatoes, corn and white rice. In exchange, you eat whole foods, such as eggs, lean protein, brown rice, sweet potatoes, almonds (almond milk), etc... You are supposed to buy a shake from the company but I couldn't see spending $60 on a shake for one month so I bought a Hemp Protein shake and it is pretty good. I'm one and half days in and its actually doable. When I think about things I can't have I remind myself that it is only for 30 days and I can handle it. That's a pretty good way of looking at it. Anyone can do something for 30 days.
     After the thirty day I will eat healthy: three meals and two snacks. One of those snacks will be at 8 p.m. and I call it my planned snack. It keeps me from grazing and snacking all evening long. Right now that planned snack has been my protein shake made with almond milk. With the berries I put in it, it is only about 200 calories. Much less than most shakes like that and the perfect amount of calories for a snack (according to my nutritionist!) The worst thing about the 8 p.m. snack used to be when my husband would say "Are you supposed to be eating that?" Not a very supportive way of supporting his wife. This would just make me grumpy and make me feel like a rebellious child, so I would eat more when he went to sleep. So I'm punishing him, but hurting myself...that works. So now he and I have come up with language that doesn't upset me. If he's going to ask about what I eat in the evening (out of love and support) he will say "Is that you planned snack?" If it is, I can honestly and happily answer, "Yes it is" and if it isn't, he has adressed my eating in a healthy way. Maybe it isn't my planned snack, but I didn't eat enough during the day and I'm hungry. So maybe if he asks me in this way, I can make a smart choice instead of eating junk!
    Anyway, I've done it before, so I know I can do it now. I'm going to try to keep track of what I eat. I use a Nutrition tracker online and I know I don't need to be psycho about it like I used to with Weight Watchers because it was getting unhealthy to the point where I'd say, "How much can I eat for as little points as possible." I wasn't getting any nutrition per say, so it wasn't really great. Last night I had brown and wild rice, asparagus and 3 oz of pork loin and didn't finish the meat. I was full. It was enough and I got a little hungry around 7:45 so I had my shake at 8...I put it off by finishing the dinner dishes, getting in my pj's and putting out the dogs. Then I have a cup of decaf green tea. And when I went to bed, my stomach was telling me it was a little hungry, but to me, that's ok, because that means that my stomach is empty and the energy my body used to put into digesting food at night and making that food into fat can burn calories of the fat I already have! Now isn't that a new concept!
Here's to a healthier 2012!

Here are the links to different things mentioned in this article:
http://sandratillinghast.com/28daycleanseprogram.pdf This isn't the exact program I'm using, mine isn't quite as strict, but this is close!
https://www.arbonne.com/shop_online/showCatalog.asp?category=265 If you do want to use the Arbonne shakes and extras.
http://nutivahempshake.com/index.htm This is the shake I'm using!
http://www.weightwatchers.com/index.aspx This is how I lost 30 pounds the first go round. It works if you can be that disciplined to write ALL of your food down.
www.sparkpeople.com This is the free nutrition tracker I use. It can set up a diet program for you or you can put in your numbers yourself (this is the route I went since I got them from my nutritionist!)