So yesterday I was yet again contemplating how life is a never ending box of change.  Today I should be mopping the floor but instead I am writing random thoughts.  I hate mopping.  Right up there with cleaning the shower and the toilet.  Those are three tasks that should never have been invented by God.  I mean couldn’t he of just given us self cleaning bathrooms and floors?!  Does that make me greedy?

I’m so proud that next week is my 1 year Blogaversary and I have a very special surprise! My new website design!  I am so excited for it and think my husband is the bomb for what an awesome job he has done.

Wrath – I gained 4 pounds last week.  What is wrong with me?  Ya ya ya I know…some of it is probably water weight.  I don’t care, 4 pounds in a week is ridiculous.  I even had to get down my FAT JEANS on Saturday.  It was that time of the month and I just needed something comfortable to wear, and they are still falling off of me but still that is never a proud moment.

To combat the effects of my recent laziness and gluttony I started Jillian Michaels 30 day shred video yesterday thinking it was gonna be cheesy and um ya it wasn’t.  It’s only 20 minutes and I stuck to level 1 but I still wanted to throw up afterwards.  Almost every muscle was hurting this morning.  I did it for a second time today and wanted to throw up a little bit less then yesterday.  Hopefully tomorrow there is no throw up factor.  And I am sooo envious of the abs on those chicks in her video.

I’m also doing the diet plan on her website jillianmichaels.com/shred.  It’s free for 30 days, she gives you your meal plan for the entire week and it comes with a shopping list and all the recipes.  It’s my second day and so far I’m super psyched about it, don’t feel hungry at all, have more energy and no cravings…so far.  The meals are AWESOME.  The recipes are not for those that are afraid of the kitchen but they are super delicious and healthy, full of fresh produce.  Even my husband liked the dinner I made last night.

As for extravagance/lust(how are those two the same thing anyway?).  I don’t know, I guess I’m one short.  So really this post should be called the 6 deadly sins.  Ya whatever.

Last year I joined a gym for the first time since I was 18.  I started working with a personal trainer but it was actually just once a month to check in and update my routine.  I was surprised to find that this was all I needed to lose weight.  I lost 20 pounds in 5 months.  That is 1 pound a week.  My original goal was to lose 25 lbs but I lost steam around the holidays.  I stopped meeting regularly with the trainer and just sort of did my own thing.  I am now up about 4 lbs and realize I need to do something before I gain any more weight back.  But I just DON’T want to work out.  I admit, I am being lazy.  Very very lazy. 

Last night I forced myself to get on a treadmill and once I was there I felt great.  That’s one of the most important lessons I learned last year.  When you don’t feel like working out FORCE yourself to get there and you will be happy once you arrive.  While I was walking I had a lot of time to think and I hope I came up with a solution to getting back on track.

This is my formula for getting my motivation back.

What worked last time?

Last time I told myself that I would give the workout and diet 2 months.  I HAD to do it for 2 months and if I wasn’t happy with the results then I could quit.  Well, of course I was happy because I had lost 8 lbs so I continued doing it.

What is my motivation now?

After I lost the 20 lbs I pulled down my box of skinny clothes from my closet.  There were a bunch of cute clothes in there I didn’t even know I had.  They were 2 and 3 sizes smaller than what I had been wearing before and they actually fit me!  I was so excited it was like going on a shopping spree.  Now that I’ve gained a few back the jeans are a little tight on me and there are a couple of things I can’t wear at all.  I can physically get them on but they are just a little too tight to be comfortable in them.  I really want to fit in these clothes again because I can’t afford to buy new ones.

Okay but how am I going to make sure I stay motivated?

I work really well with lists, because I love to cross things out once they are done.  Last time the trainer would make a calendar for me and what I was supposed to do on every day.  She would change up my routine every week to keep my body guessing.  So, last night I came home and made up a calendar.  I listed two months worth of exercise so that every day I can feel great about myself when I get to cross one off.

• Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have 45 minutes of cardio.  Stepping up the intensity each week.
• Tuesday’s I will do strength training in my very own home.  Things like push ups, dips, sit ups, squats, lunges, and step ups.
• Thursday’s I do yoga which will also work my muscles.
• Saturday and Sunday I rest but hopefully still stay active on those days.

As far as my diet goes I already try to eat healthy most of the time.  I am just going to step it up a little.  Go back to not buying any unhealthy foods at the grocery store.  Focus on eating a small healthy meal 5 times a day and no more late night snacking.  It’s important for me to remember to take it one day at a time.  It helps to know that it’s not like I will NEVER be able to eat ice cream again.   Just not today.

What do you do to stay motivated?

Photo Credit: Flickr

I think I am about 2 Reese’s peanut butter chocolate eggs away from a sugar induced coma.  I woke up this morning after a day of stuffing myself with candy and cupcakes and downed an ice cream float then traced it with Butterfingers.  This left me feeling even more sick and lethargic than when I first work up (it took me an hour just to get out of bed) plus I was feeling really dehydrated and had a funny taste in my mouth.  It got me thinking just what are the effects of sugar overload on the body?  So I consulted a book I’ve been reading on child nutrition called Picky?  Not me Mom! by Karla Heintz.
She has a great chapter on energy level in which she addresses ADHD and ways you can alter your child’s diet that may help with their hyperactivity.  Lucky for me in this chapter she also addresses the association between sugar and energy level.  The book explained perfectly why I continued my sugar binge this morning.  Apparently after we eat sugar our bodies create insulin to try and bring  blood sugar levels back  down to normal.  Often times it creates too big of a drop in our blood sugar which is why we then crave more sugar.  It is also why the big increase in energy can quickly be followed with lethargy.  This totally explains why Eva woke up this morning BEGGING me for candy.  She would not stop and now I feel really guilty because I let her eat so much candy yesterday.  Poor thing her little body is just trying to balance itself back out.
Another important point she makes in the book is that many “white” foods such as pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, and flour can have the same effect because they have a high glycemic index value.  Heintz suggests instead of feeding your child sugary or processed cereals for breakfast give them something high in protein and fiber such as an egg with whole grain bread or fruit with yogurt.  (The book states that is better to give actual fruit instead of fruit juice because the juice lacks fiber.)
She questions the research that shows no relationship between energy levels and sugar consumption, which is something I always wondered about.  Instead Heintz suggest observing your child’s behavior after consuming large amounts of sugar and challenges you to test the theory for yourself.

Let’s play “How many grams of sugar are in that?”

A teaspoon of sugar Is 4 grams.  The USDA recommends no more than 12 teaspoons (or48 grams) of sugar be consumed a day (on a daily intake of 2200 calories).  Sadly most Americans consume well over this amount…about 47 teaspoons of sugar every day.  Think about that for a second, 47 teaspoons of sugar in a day!  Think about pouring 47 teaspoons of sugar in your mouth every day!  That is insane!

I pulled some things out of my pantry and sadly I wasn’t really surprised how much sugar some of the things had.

5 Reese’s Peanut Butter chocolate eggs = 19 grams of sugar = 4.75 teaspoons
4 large marshmallow’s = 20 grams of sugar = 5 teaspoons
1/4 of jellied cranberry sauce = 21 grams of sugar = 5.25 teaspoons
1 small serving of angel food cake = 23 grams of sugar = 5.75 teaspoons
1 cup of Kellog’s Smart Start cereal = 14 grams of sugar = 3.5 teaspoons
1 serving of cornbread = 15 grams of sugar = 3.75 teaspoons
8 oz of Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey = 17 grams of sugar = 4.25 teaspoons
2 tbsp of Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ sauce = 15 grams of sugar = 3.75 teaspoons
1 fruit punch flavored Caprisun = 18 grams of sugar = 4.5 teaspoons

ETA – Some popular drinks

1 can of coke = 40 grams of sugar = 10 teaspoons

1 bottle of powerade = 60 grams of sugar = 15 teaspoons

What I don’t understand is WHY?  Is it really that necessary.  I know when making things from scratch I don’t need to put anywhere near that amount of sugar to make something taste good.  Do company’s do this so that we become more and more addicted to their products.  Makes you wonder right?