I Can & I Will
One Woman’s Quest For Healthy ChangeArchive for goals
Eating Healthy on the Go + More
The week of my return to school is finally here. emotions run high, traveling is a must, and the temptation for comfort (aka FATTENING!) food is around every corner.
Yesterday, I think I did pretty well. I ate a few scant things for breakfast (banana bread, milk, apple, etc.) and for lunch I had a 6 inch of my favorite Subway sandwich (black forest ham + spinach leaves + red onions + light mayo + splash of chipotle sauce + O/V), and then in the evening I had a chicken wrap from McDonald’s + a fruit and yogurt cup.
Today, I had a sausage biscuit from McDonalds (sandwich only, no hash browns) and another fruit and yogurt cup before church. At lunch, I repeated my Subway deal, this time with Baked Lay’s Chips (which, surprisingly, have less calories than Sunchips!) and a small soda (bad, I know, but one change at a time).
Dinner has me a little torn. I really want to watch what I chow on, but I’m not really feeling like I want to keep hitting Subway. They’re alright, sure, but I get tired of the same food quickly. Plus, a local Taco Bell/Pizza Hut is tempting me. I haven’t decided exactly what to do just yet. Any suggestions for heating health-conscious at fast food places?
In the midst of cleaning up my dorm and redecorating, I’ve also created a work-out goals chart to help me stay on track. It has boxes for 3 days a week for 4 weeks, and spaces for date, time spent , and activity. My goal is 30 min, 3 times per week for a total of 180 minutes in the first month. We’ll see at the end of the month whether that gets upped or not–right now my goal is habit and consistency. I’ve also talked my boyfriend into giving me his secret stretching routines for post-workout awesomeness.
Later, I’ll be posting my projected menu plan; any comments here would be great. I’m interested in recreating that fruit and yogurt parfait from McDonalds for breakfast or midmorning snacking. I’m not sure whether to aim for Greek or regular vanilla yogurt, how much to add, or what some good fruit ideas would be for it. I’m also going to be on the lookout for small snacky thngs to carry with me and keep me from getting too hungry between classes.
The Countdown Begins
Summer is dying for me. It’s final breaths will be spent gathering school supplies and spending time with my brother, who will soon leave for some school in Boston.
But this time is also one of renewal and restart, especially concerning my food/health goals. It was too difficult to try to finagle new menus and schedules out of the chaos of my parent’s home; I thought it would be much better to try to initiate these lifestyle changes at a time when the rest of my life will be changing, too.
This time is here, and yet I’m feeling a little nervous about it, especially that first week. I will be there on August 15, but I won’t actually start classes until August 21. I won’t really have any obligations during this time, so I can easily see myself slipping into summer habits, such as sleeping in, eating junk food, and being all-around lazy. But if I do get up early on those days, what will be the point? Get up at 6 when I don’t have anything but gym planned seems a little weird.
Anyone have any ideas how to go about this?
Oh, and soon, I will be posting a menu plan. I’ll try to do this every week, and input would be very helpful.
Roadblock?
No wonder it’s a popular idea (at least here in the South) that healthy food is for the rich.
So last night, I was digging through some cookbooks and Health magazines, scrawling for healthy things to eat so I can prepare a quick-n-dirty, healthy cookbook. I was initially excited by the ideas, and was really getting into it, when I realized that most of these dishes are going to require a lot of ingredients (not to mention that there’s only so many ways to make Italian-dressing-grilled-chicken-pasta-salad before it gets old).
This summer, I really flubbed up. I was supposed to work my butt off to earn enough money to live comfortably, if meagerly, next semester so I wouldn’t have to deal with messy part-time job hunting for 4 months. Unfortunately, that didn’t really work out; now I will be almost entirely dependent on parental support for food, gas, and rent (not that my parentals mind terribly–they are incredibly understanding). This means that my food budget is likely to be incredibly small.
I’m in need of some help. I need to be able to figure out how to make tasty, healthy dishes with a variety of flavors (I will get bored fast if I have to eat variations on the same salads every week) on a limited budget, probably around $20 or $30 per week. Any ideas?
Stage I: Preparation
So, in light of my previously stated goals, I’ve decided to use the last few weeks before school gets started as a time to prepare for my new healthy life. Instead of starting a gym routine immediately, I’m deliberately going to wait until I get back and establish it as part of my “back to school” patterns.
But, I am going to start prepping for this. Here’s what I have so far:
- get a big poster, markers, and stickers to make a monthly fitness chart. It may seem lame, but I think it will work for me (that’s part of the reason I’m keeping this blog, too–to track my changes, vent my frustrations, and stay motivated). My initial goal is to do some kind of cardiovascular activity at least 30 minutes three times a week for one month. The poster will track how often I do it for that month, what I did, and how long I worked. The stickers are just for fun. =3
- Go through the Health Magazines my mom has around here, the cookbooks and some websites to get healthy (read: salad, vegetarian, or low-fat, low-cal) food recipes. This way, when I go grocery shopping, I can plan early to eat healthy and keep my fridge stocked.
-plan to update blog at least once a week, maybe more
-share my goals with family and friends to elicit support.
I’m welcome to any other suggestions you in cyberspace might have.
Backstory
I don’t expect this blog will get too many viewings outside of my friends and family who already know about it, but in case it does, I suppose some backstory is in order. Besides, it’s never a bad idea to record things for posterity.
It’s hard to know where to begin. Should I start where I sometimes do, explaining my high school illness? Or perhaps where I usually do, complaining about how I’ve tried and tried and tried again to lose weight and become more healthy? Or with yesterday’s epiphany, which changed it all and inspired this blog?
Perhaps I’ll start with high school and just get it over with. When I was a sophomore, I began to get sick. A lot. I threw up at least once a day, and barely ate anything the rest of it. I lost 30 pounds in a month, and then put on another 20, only to lose another 15, etc. Of course my parents took me to a doctor (several doctors, actually), and several misdiagnoses occurred.
March 2007, I was finally diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and put on a low-dose estrogen therapy which actually worked. After 5 years, we finally had an answer, but it wasn’t without cost. I had accrued severe weight gain (I’m currently about 60 pounds overweight for my height and race), a horrible reaction to the prescribed steroids which left my skin ruined and scarred, and a jaded attitude towards medicine. I had also torn my left ACL a few years back, which in addition to the sickness I used as a crutch to keep from being very active.
Over the years, I had tried several times to “get back into shape.” I tried diets, various gym routines, accountability partners; nothing worked. I’d get on a “healthy” kick to lose X amount of weight, get frustrated, and give up. It scared me that my family has a history of diabetes and heart disease, and that PCOS put me a greater risk for both; it just didn’t scare me enough to stick with it. I felt guilty around my skinny friends, especially my very trim boyfriend, and always felt very insecure about myself. I hated seeing pictures of myself, and hated to shop for clothes.
Plus, I love to eat. Cooking is a great passion of mine, and so I tend to eat way more food way more often than I should. It doesn’t help that my family is not exactly setting the bar very high when it comes to these things, either.
But yesterday? I don’t know, something just clicked. I finally realized that all these things are just excuses. I’m 21 now, it’s time to stop whining and just start changing. I know it’ll be hard, but that’s not going to stop me. Here’s what I’m going to do differently:
- this time, I’m not going to go for a number on a scale. I’m going to aim at monthly fitness goals.
- this time, I’m not going to starve myself or make food a reward. I’m going to live by the rule of moderation, and in general, try to eat better by incorporating more vegetables, whole grains, and fruit in my life and less fried or processed things. I’m also going to cook for myself more often and avoid frozen “diet” foods.
- this time, I’m going to rely on my boyfriend, my friends, my blog and a poster in my room to help me stay motivated
- this time, I’m not going to give up. I’m not going to accept defeat or excuses.
- this time I can and I will change.
