Stress and Mood--Does that effect you?

With eating, I mean?

With the ACFW writer's conference fast approaching, I'm in the thick of realizing just how much they affect me and my eating habits. I wish I were one of those people who starved themselves while under stress--who couldn't use a fast here and there in their life--but instead I'm one of those who grabs for the sugar and carbs that only add to my stress. The moment I swallow, I dig my mood deeper and deeper into the pit of despair. So why do I eat the stuff in the first place? Why can't I foresee that mood dive a milla-second before I put the stuff in my mouth?

And what's worse, the absolute worst thought crosses my mind once despair is met. For a flash, I actually consider purging. I've never done this in my life. Honest. I haven't. But with such publicity out there, I now have this as an after thought fix. How bad is that!! Thankfully I haven't succumbed to doing it, and I keep praying that I won't. Once, at the thought, I ran to my treadmill and made the wise decision to just walk off the calories I'd just intaken instead of taking the stupid road in the bathroom. Now, I'm an adult, so it terrifies me to think of teenagers who have the same reaction as I do to messing up with what they eat. Lifting prayers especially for them to choose the exercise road to correction instead.

So, I'm starting my day deep in prayer, and asking for guidance, direction, and self-control today. Maybe I'll try and get in the habit of drinking 4 to 8-ounces of water before eating anything. That should give me enough time to reach for the carrot sticks or broccoli instead of the twislers.

Praying for us all to discover peace.


Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

The Key to Success is...

Commitment!

Until you wrap your whole being around a goal and add determination to it, success will be dismal if any at all.

So do some searching, discover the reasons you want to limit the sweets, curb the carbs, leave out the fat, and up the exercise. Then pray on it, make it priority, and SUCCEED!!!


Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Getting into that needed mindset

For me to diligently stick to eating healthy food and in healthy portions, I really need to meditate some first.

I literally have to run through all the reasons that this is the time to behave, and why I so need to. It helps if a special date is coming up in the near future, like a niece's wedding. I do this for stopping nail biting, too. So I have two things to meditate on now since the wedding is in less than four weeks away.

Once the meditating has sufficiently altered my mindset and boosted my self-control, the next thing is to pull my food log back out. Every single thing that enters my mouth is logged. Water, a single cheerio, a single hershey's Kiss, a slice of bread, ounces of meat, cup of lettuce, 2 tbsp oil and vinegar dressing. EVERYTHING!

And as I turn to prayer when the cravings begin to test my resolve, I'm reminded that this body I'm housed in is not really mine, it is His, my Heavenly Fathers. The least I can do is take care of it for Him, so that He may use it and it's strength to His glory. I'm an instrument through which I hope He works, and I want to be healthy enough to do as He commands.

Let the challenge begin once more!


Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

Doing Better

Not counting the small bag of chips I've consumed the last two days, I've been doing relatively well with the water and food consumption.

I'm back on the L-glutamine, and hopefully that will soon recharge me. I still have cravings for the bad stuff, but self-discipline (other than with the chips) has saved me so far. Hopefully soon the cravings will stop all together.

Costco sells a huge skinless, boneless salmon fillet that could feed our whole family twice. It's wonderful to cook up with a little lemon juice and a sprinkle of non-salt seasoning, and it's healthy for us, too. I've been feasting on it a lot lately. Along with fresh organic carrots, cucumbers, and clementines. Non-fat yogurt has been a joy to eat as well. The key for me is to limit the carbs, and these past two days I've done not too badly with that challenge. Hopefully I can keep it up.

Keep reaching for the healthy options, everyone, and you'll reach your goal!!

Blessings,

Eileen

Thanksgiving Weekend -- The Aftermath

Oh, boy, I'm still dealing with an upset tummy, and it's not from the two bushels of concord grapes I juiced with my Dad, either, or the Turkey dinner we attempted to enjoy on Monday.

I was extremely stupid and ordered a Big Mac Meal from McDonalds on the way home on Sunday afternoon from my parent's place. We had stopped at a Tack Shop in Beamsville on route home, and then ducked into the nearby McDonalds for lunch. BIG MISTAKE!

Usually, when we make use of a fast food joint, I order the salad. Salads are good, and good for you! But this time, since I hadn't had my turkey dinner yet I decided I'd splurge. I should have taken my husband's disbelieving glance as a serious warning when I ordered. He knew it wasn't a good idea, bless his heart.

But I didn't listen, and so four days later I'm still suffering the consequences. Bloated and my tummy aches as though it is always overstuffed. I'll not be ordering anything but salads from fast food joints for a good long time from now, I promise.

I'm going to sound like a broken record, I know. But water does seems to be helping. Today, the ache isn't quite as bad, though the bloating is still present. What do you do to rid yourself of tummy aches brought on by stupid choices? Any suggestions?

Blessings,

Eileen

Training the mind to control the intake

Okay, this has been a rough week. What has happened to my self-control?

Hmmmmm...she found herself at the Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese festival and discovered apple fritters, flan cakes topped with loads of whipped cream and saucy strawberries...that's where the self-control diminished.

And once you let your guard down like that, then it's a whole lot of trouble to rebuild the self-control department. It's like a downward rolling snowball after a dumping of beautiful packing snow. It spirals out of control and grows and grows. And I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.

So how do we regain discipline in the eating department? Well, for starters, I guess drinking loads of water to make you feel bloated would help some. So I'll be doing that as I make use of the ladies room OFTEN. Not baking goodies is another excellent idea. My kids won't be pleased, but this won't be the first time, so on with the job of being a Mom, not a friend. Maybe if I make creatures out of fruits and veges they'll pass as a 'good' after school snack, despite their lack of empty calories. Considering my situation, we'll have to go with that. Because I'm too weak yet for the old faithful self-control to protect me.

Okay, so the plan is extra water, and keep away from the 'bad' stuff. Out of sight, out of mind, out of stomach. Let's hope it works.

If you have a way of getting back on track, please do share!

Blessings,

Eileen

Schedules are Good

After my roller-coaster summer I'm looking forward to getting back on a SCHEDULE. Are you?

It's always easier to eat properly when there is some semblence of normalcy in your day-to-day, hour-to-hour happenings. These first few weeks of getting back on a schedule is the perfect time to instill good eating and exercising habits. Don't forget to chug the water, and latest news has it that a squeeze of lemon in it helps with clearing your skin and losing weight. So you might want to grab a bag of those organic lemons from the grocery shelf next time you make a visit.

As for me, I have an extra four pounds that's accumulated over my summer break. I blame all those yummy salads we talked about earlier. Guess my portion sizes were too generous, too. So over the next few weeks I plan to be extra cautious of what I let my tongue taste, and work on ridding myself of these extra few pounds.

After all, I want to be in ship-shape for the approaching Christmas celebrations, right. Oops. Am I really pondering Christmas already? I'm bad, I know. But this is the perfect time to be thinking ahead, and benefiting from doing so. So pull out that tucked-way-back food scale, make use of those measuring cups, and start working on portion control, and log, log, log, your food and drink intake so that you can correct any bad habits you may have picked up over the summer.

Good luck to everyone, and may we all be a success in achieving our goals!

Blessings,

Eileen

Stress Release

Hi, All:

If you're like me, or at least, how I used to be, you'll gravitate to empty-calorie food when times of stress hit. For our own health, we have to conquer this defeating action. And that's not going to happen when you're in the thick of things, is it?

So, what about practicing better alternatives to stress release ahead of time? What about training our minds to gravitate toward something healthier as a calming, stress-buster?

Consider things you enjoy. Do you enjoy pumping iron? Do you enjoy gardening, walking, talking to an old friend, digging up worms for your next fishing exhibition, quilting, needle work, writing, cleaning? The list is endless. While you're not in high stress take the time to discover things that you can turn to in times of despair or agitation to keep you from sabotaging your healthy attempts at eating well when those difficult hours/days strike. If you prepare ahead of time and train your mind to directly desire healthy choices instead of destructive food, then you'll have a better chance at combating the old stand-in harmful stress releases.

So take a few moments this weekend to consider what has a calming and peaceful effect on you and make note of it for the next time you need a quick diversion.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Blessings,

Eileen

Need a Pick-Me-Up?

The corner of my little world has been very busy and stressful lately, so I guess I have an excuse for my poor eating habits. However, that's not going to help me maintain a healthy, energetic body. Is it?

So, although I haven't gained weight, I do feel more fatigued lately and I'm sure it is due to not eating my proper vege and fruit intake and keeping up with my vitamins. Even my fingers are telling me to get back on track, as the signs of arthritis are painfully creeping back in.

Do you have segments like this in your life? If you're human, you most likely do and all I can suggest is to try and stop that inner chatter and anxiety long enough to take notice of the downward spiral, as I'm doing right now, and force yourself to take care of your God given temple--your body.

I'm heading upstairs to my kitchen now, and I'm going to force some broccoli, cauliflower and celery down me, along with a boiled egg or two and take my multi vitamin, B6 included for my arthritis, and then I know I'll at least feel that much better for taking care of my body.

May we all find a moment to get our priorities realigned!

Blessings!

Eileen

Met My Challenge, Did You?

Hi, All:

I am pleased to announce that it is much, much easier and faster to lose 2 lbs when you're in a healthy weight zone, than when you are not.

Sticking to my "diet" allotment for just one day accomplished my goal! Those 2 extra pounds are no more--Hooray!

See, it's worth the struggle to get rid of the weight upfront and well worth the effort to maintain your goal weight. By having a small alerting number to set you back onto a "diet" you can accomplish it with so much more ease than waiting until you have too many pounds to lose again.

When you're in goal weight it takes much longer to gain pounds than it does to lose them if you stay on top of it and try and make wise choices along the way. When you think of it, it makes sense, as how many years did it take you to gain all those pounds in the first place? For most of us, a lot. They just accumulate over time at a snail's pace so that we really don't notice it until one day...drats...it becomes more than evident to our previously closed eyes.

Well, I'm off for a scrap booking retreat with my Mom and a couple of my sisters. May we all have a wonderful weekend ahead!

Blessings,

Eileen

Mind Power

Hi, All:

I've been asked a time or two if I used "mind power" to achieve my weight loss goal.

Well...the simple answer is, YES.

I believe anyone purposely working toward losing weight is influenced by their personal outlook, and whether or not they practice a positive or negative attitude toward their set agenda will certainly affect the outcome.

Remember that old "I think I can. I think I can." chant? I challenge you to take it a step further and switch it to, "I KNOW I can, I KNOW I can..."

Believe in yourself and you've crossed the first hurdle of weight loss--you've gained the positive attitude that will help you overcome the inevitable setbacks that will test you along the way and continue to test you throughout the rest of your life during the perpetual maintenance stage.

Sorry folks, but that's the truth. If you are prone to packing on the pounds, this is a life long journey, it doesn't end when you reach goal, it's a cross you will bear the rest of your life so you would do well to accept it with a positive attitude!

Dare to imagine yourself with more energy, less fatty-tissue pain, clothes that fit comfortably that you can be proud to wear, an encourager for all who are struggling and can't imagine they'll be able to succeed like you have. But, oh, you're living proof that they CAN succeed. Envision yourself as an example of success. Dare to feel confident and secure in your choice to partake in that scrumptious cheese cake slice next time you socialize with friends or family. You've been disciplined all week, so you deserve the treat and won't feel a speck of guilt for enjoying it, afterall.

Dare to control your food intake and reap the benefits in so many ways!

Happy Positive Thinking Everyone!

Blessings,

Eileen

Don't be too hard on yourself!

If you're like me, it's a downward spiral when you chastise yourself repeatedly for unexpectedly eating a forbidden treat. I found when I was hardest on myself, I kept making the same mistakes over and over, like the evil deed snowballed or something.

I came to the realization that if I looked at those slips as just a well deserved treat--everyone needs a treat every once in a while--and allowed myself to enjoy the privilege of having had that treat, then I was able to get back on track all the quicker.

So, if you discover that once you slip, you tend to stay in a downward spiral, consider your reaction to the slip. If you're giving off negative energy, berating yourself, then what do you expect? You'll naturally gravitate to the negative, which happens to be more indulgences. Don't let that happen, choose the happy route instead.

Give yourself a break. Be thankful for the tasty treat, and get on with life and reaching your goals.

Onward with the fight,

Eileen