Sleep...

One of the things that the Dr. Oz show talked about is getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. That's something I want to work toward. If I want to get up at 6, I need to be asleep by 11, which means being in bed by 10:30. If I want to get up at 5, it's 10 and 9:30. If I'm not getting up until 7, it's midnight and 11:30.

Those seem reasonable to me, now I just have to work at not piddling around before bed and actually getting there on time.

Pitfall: Prepackaged foods for Eliana

I purchase prepackaged foods for Eliana partly because it is easy to grab on the go, have on hand for times I need a milk-free snack for her, and because until we move into our new house I do not have bento / lunch supplies on hand.

So.... I am working to re-think what I buy for prepackaged food for Eliana. What specific foods do I fall prey to?

Instead of buying her FRUIT SNACKS I am going to buy her DEHYDRATED FRUIT SLICES.
Instead of buying her OREO COOKIES I am going to buy her ANIMAL CRACKERS or sometime similar that doesn't tempt me.

Those are the two that come to mind right now and are perpetual downfalls. So... replace one with the other. That's my first step.

Food...

I watched a segment on Dr. Oz today with my mom and, while I don't actually like Dr. Oz or his show, found some of what he had to say interesting. He was promoting his 11 Weeks to Weigh Loss in 2011 plan. It is basically composed of 3 steps:

1. Calculate your BMI (mine is, by my best guess on my weight right now - I'll weigh in the morning, 26.75)
2. Record your food in a food log - everything you put in your mouth (I am planning to use Spark People for this)
3. Exercise 30 minutes per day

Now, that doesn't seem too hokey, so I thought I'd see what else he had to say on the subject. There was a section on eating for your body type, and since I couldn't figure out if I am a "belly-fat" person or an "all-over-fat" person, I simply combined the suggestions for both. They seemed complimentary, so I don't see a problem with that. Here is what was suggested:

• Concentrate on a diet high in monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) such as... olive oil, peanut oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds
  
• Eat whole grains
• Eat plenty of fiber
• Cut carbs in half and double vegetables
• Replace sugary snacks with fruit
• Do 30 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning

Those sound like good suggestions to me, so we'll see how they go. I am planning to weigh myself in the morning to get an accurate BMI, but I'm guessing I am between 135 and 140.

I am trying to figure out what my pitfalls are so that I can see them coming and avoid them... one is having pre-packaged foods for Eliana on hand. I tend to munch on them when they are around.

If I am going to go for 300 calorie meals and a couple 100-200 calorie snacks, I need to make sure that I have a plan in place. That's what I'm working on.

Anti-depressants...

I just took my pill, and it reminded me that I wanted to expand a little on why I take that little blue pill each morning. While it is an anti-depressant (specifically an SSRI), it was prescribed to offset the symptoms of PMDD, not to work as an anti-depressant. As my doctor explained, if it were being prescribed for depression, I'd be on 350 mg or so. Because it is being used to balance out my hormones and alleviate the PMDD symptoms, I am on 50 mg.

So... it basically just brings me back to neutral, which means that the rest of the decisions and motivations I face throughout the day are unaffected. Those are things I get to work on myself. =D

Some days when I forget to take my pill, I notice a sluggishness, but that's about it. The other day I forgot my pill (the day I started my period) and I was in full PMDD force. I felt completely out of control, thought people were out to get me, I was up, I was down, I felt panicky and like my life was spinning out from under me. Yesterday (at the end of my period) we were in a rush to get to the airport after sleeping in and I forgot to take my pill (I'd actually already packed them in this case) until I got unpacked that evening at my parents' house. I felt fine. I was productive. I used the layover time at the airport to make MK calls and get my team members set up with directors in the new towns they are moving to. I take my pill everyday because it if I don't it will take me about 2 days to have it be really effective after being off it for a while. On the days that I am PMDDish, I notice if I am a couple hours late taking it. On the days that I am out of the PMDD zone, it doesn't affect me nearly as much.

So... that's kind of the story for why I am on anti-depressants and why they don't keep me from being "depressed" even though they do help me not feel out of control and like the world is out to get me. =D

Evaluation, a couple weeks later.

I'm revisiting my rebellion list from 2 weeks ago. Let's see where I am now...

I resist getting up in the morning. (I've stopped setting my alarm clock unless there's someplace I have to be before 10 am - and oddly, I seem to be waking up around 6 a few mornings a week, so I'm just getting up whenever I wake up.)

I resist reading my Bible. (I've been reading/listening to my Bible each day. I've set a goal to go through the entire Bible this year, so I've been following a chronological plan for that and really enjoying it. The days I am up early, I enjoy having a great quiet time. The days I am not up before Eliana I have still made it a priority to at least listen to the daily reading - my phone will read it to me - and meditate on it as I get ready in the morning.)

I resist doing my daily coaching work. (I still have forgotten some days, but have not actively resisted doing the work. In fact, I have been fairly consistent at reading the scrolls, and I've been more consistent in journaling. I've been working on power sessions, and I think I'm starting to see improvement in my ability to focus on the task in front of me to get it done.)

I resist taking my pill. (I have been much better at taking my pill, and the couple times I missed it until later in the day it was not a matter of rebellion, but of forgetfulness. I am working on that morning habitual routine so I don't even have to think about it to get it done.)

I resist eating a healthy breakfast. (Breakfast has gotten much easier. Protein is a great way to start the day.)

I resist taking a shower. (Don't know that I've fought with this the last couple weeks, though I probably did a couple days and just don't remember.)

I resist emptying the dishwasher. (The dishwasher has "magically" been emptying itself lately! While my breakfast is in the toaster / microwave, I start emptying the dishwasher and find that it only takes a couple minutes. Then it's done before I even have time to think about what an awful task it is!)

I resist doing a load of laundry. (I have been MUCH better about the daily laundry the last couple weeks. The weekends throw me for a loop, so I will have to figure out how to deal with them, but I'm making progress, and even Leif noticed!)

I resist making my bed and teaching Eliana how to make hers. (Yeah, still hit and miss on mine, and totally ignoring Eliana's)

I resist doing my work early in the day. (When I get up early, especially, I get a lot done early in the day. Still hit and miss on the other days.)

I resist exercising. (Yeah, still resisting this one.)

I resist cleaning the house. (Yeah, this one still needs work, too.)

I resist planning meals. (Been doing better at meal planning this last couple weeks.)

I resist eating a healthy lunch. (I was going to say I'm doing a little better, but I think today proved that wrong. I'm still working on this.)

I resist making dinner. (I had a huge success in this area when I wanted Leif to take me out to dinner! I told him I didn't have any plans for dinner and he said he'd let me know when he was done with the project he was working on and on his way home. In the meantime, I looked around for dinner items at home and by the time he got home I had a delicious, healthy meal ready and on the table. I even had freshly baked cookies for him for dessert! It wasn't so hard after all!)

I resist making business calls. (In the last 2 days I have booked 6 appointments!)

I resist loading the dishwasher. (Been doing that all through the day lately, and all I have to do at night is run it!)

I resist putting Eliana to bed. (Still resist this. She's getting pretty good at putting herself to bed when we tell her to. I am taking the time to read her a book, though, so that's getting closer, I think... )

I resist washing my face. (Erm... still resisting this one.)

I resist picking out my clothes for the next day. (Hit and miss... tonight I put together quite a few outfits so I could have things pre-assembled to choose from. Also helped Ellie pick out her clothes for the week so it's not a battle when we have to get out of the house in the morning.)

I resist going to bed at a decent time. (Again with the hit and miss. I've been managing to get to bed by 11 most nights, and that has actually been good. I'd like to be a little more consistent, though, as I think it would help the next day go better.)

Tracking... Day 2

I'm not calorie counting.

I'm not food pyramiding.

I'm not obsessing.

But I am tracking my food on SparkPeople again. Having to write down what I ate makes me think twice before I put something in my mouth, and that is good. It helps me make better decisions, I think.

I started today out strong. There was some turkey sausage, egg white, tea, and grapefruit juice. Then there was running errands after church, and to keep from eating unhealthy food out, I waited until I got home after 2:00 to eat lunch. Bad move. I was so hungry I reached for a bowl of cereal (a relatively healthy pumpkin/flax granola, but I grabbed a big bowl, of course...) and chowed down. I had a pudding cup then, too.

Then I had another pudding cup.

And another.

And another, because those things are so small, you know!

Yeah, I wouldn't call that a good plan. I didn't plan my meals today, and I can tell!

At day's end, though, I still didn't end up with too many calories, though I was tempted just to call today a wash and not enter my lunch and dinner into SP. But I am working on disciplining myself this year, and entering food when I don't want to seems to be part of self-discipline. So I did it. =D

So... 2 days into the new year, 2 days tracked on SparkPeople, and 2 days between 1200-1300 calories.

I'm headed to Texas on Friday for a little over 2 weeks, so we'll have to see what happens while I'm gone. My plan when I get back is to join The Ridge and start working out early mornings, and weighing myself there so I can get a consistent measurement. Right now our scale is packed away, so even if I wanted to use it I couldn't. So... for the time being I'm just going to practice making good (or, um, at least disciplining myself to record the not-so-good) choices when it comes to food.

Today is a day for watchfulnes...

1 Peter 5:8-9 ()
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. #Bible http://j.mp/gCSvDz