I've got A Secret!

I sort of feel like I've been keeping a secret from some of you, and I don't want to any more!

I have one piece of my regimen that I believe is really helping me get the nutrients I need, feel great, lift more weight, and most especially stay healthy.

Before when I've been down this weight loss road, I got massively sick. I think it is very difficult to lower your calorie intake enough to lose pounds, and not deprive your body of the nutrients it needs. I do everything I can to provide the most nutrients with the lowest calorie intake. This time, I am staying healthy to an extreme degree. I have tons of energy all day, need less sleep at night, and I even think my allergies may be disappearing.

Anyhow, I am restricted from publishing in this blog about the secret. But I want to tell everyone I know about it - I think it's that helpful to overall health. So if you're interested in learning more, please send me a quick email, and I'll tell you everything you need to know!

Thanks for noticing!

As I go through my day I am so very blessed to have lovely friends and aquaintances who are noticing my efforts and give me sweet moments throughout my day.

"You've lost more weight, haven't you?!?"
"You're really looking great!"
"Wow - you can tell you've lost weight!"

It's pretty good to be me lately! So I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who boost me up. It makes a big difference - you never know when I've hit a little rough spot, and your compliment will keep me rolling.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. And especially thank you to the person who said this one the other day "You look so great! I didn't recognize you from behind - I didn't know who you were!"

Thanks for reading and subscribing! Love all ya'll!

Not 1 more minute...

An email from an old friend reminded me of how important relationships are. For me, life's all about relationship. And when I was in my old mindset it wasn't.

I'm no longer willing to give up one month of life, one week, one day, one minute to unhealthiness. I want every moment of life that God chooses to give me for my son, for my family, for my friends, for myself. No food is worth the trade.

It became very real to me that what I was doing was exactly that - trading life for fatty food, for laziness. Who knows what extra strain I was placing on my body and what time that was costing me. Maybe you're thinking, heck, you're only 30 years old, that's a morbid way to think. I wish I had gotten it at 20. Or 15, or 29 and 1/2! But I'm glad I know now.

What are you trading? Life for food? For laziness? For a chocolate bar?

I'd love to hear from you about your trades in email or in the comments section here.

Food glorious food!

What are you eating?

That must be the #1 question I've been asked lately, and the answer is.... Drumroll please.....

Lean protein, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. That's about it. Really.

I think I've had 1 Dove dark chocolate in the past 2 months, and that was when we were camping on St George Island and had just gone hiking for 3 (!!) hours.

My body loves being fed this way. And in small meals spaced throughout the day -- 150-200 calories at a time. I have caught myself eating too few calories on some days (like yesterday I maybe got 900 - whoops!) and my energy level has definitely paid for it. So that's what I'm working on now - making sure I get enough without turning to something other than... say it with me now....

LEAN PROTEIN... FRUITS.... VEGETABLES.... WHOLE GRAINS!

Rah Rah Rah!

My New Calorie Counting Obsession

I just got my beautiful brand new tea green Polar heart rate monitor, and I am a woman obsessed. I knew it was going to happen. Seems lately everyone at the gym has a new one and is running around comparing.... CALORIES!

This new model doesn't just tell you your heart rate, it goes on ahead and gives total calories burned based on weight, height and age. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but I think it's a good ballpark range.

Anyhootie, put the thing on for its first test - Catherine's 6am spin class. 1 Hour 10 Minutes of hard work, what was one of her more difficult classes because of these crazy hard intervals. (Turn up the tension! Now Go as hard as you can for the entire song?!?!?)

Result: Nine Hundred and Sixteen Calories. SWEET. 916. Love that number. Must translate into fat burned in a big way.

Wanted to see how many calories I burned just walking around during the day, but after my shower couldn't get it to sync up with the strap again, but I did burn another 400+ calories in 2 hours or so. Love that after-workout extra metabolism effect!

Got Blood?

Another happy day in Get Healthy land. Reflecting back on the start of this journey when I got my annual blood work results. Seeing those imperfect results and researching what they meant was like a light switch turned on.



Before result: 2 glasses of wine with dinner - normal

After result: Not a sip of alcohol (not that I'm saying never again.)



Before: Ate large portions of semi-healthy and healthy food

After: Near perfect food consumption.



Before: Exercised regularly 3-4 times/week

After: Dedicated to really sweating it out 5-6 days/week



So, how long has it been for you? A year? 2? 5? If it's been more than one, get on over to your doc and get checked out. And don't just trust them for explanations, really learn about what all the numbers mean - especially any that are abnormal. It's information about your body that you need to know.



Oh, and by the way, I HATE having blood drawn. Have to lay down every time so I don't just pass out on the floor. So, no excuses for me, no excuses for you!

A size is a size is a size....

I've gotten some email and in person comments about my mentioning that I would like to end up a size 6.







Just in case you think otherwise, I want to let you know that this is not a big deal goal for me. First and foremost in my mind is to feel great. To not feel like I'm lugging around a giant dog food bags worth of excess. And sizes vary greatly from store to store, designer to designer.






Second comes body fat percentage. I'm aiming for 20%, right now I'm around 36%. What does 20% fat mean in terms of size and total weight? I'm not exactly sure. And maybe I'll end up wanting 18%. It's uncharted territory for me.






The size 6 is a guess on the smaller size, because after all if you aim for the moon and miss you land amongst the stars.