I'm taking over in 2011 - be prepared!

Before I tell you how I am going to conquer 2011 I want to mention something really important. I want to give major props to my wonderful husband who deals with so much from me. I am a constant mover and shaker he is the best sounding board ever. I try to tell him every day how much I appreciate him, but I also wanted to immortalize him by telling him via blog. Scott, you are so wonderful to me and I can't imagine my life without you. You make my life complete! I love you!

Okay, now that we are done with the mushy stuff... :) I told you in my last blog that I have decided to become vegetarian for a little while and I wanted to give you a quick update. I have not had any meat in 13 days. Because I am not normally a vegetarian I have really had to put myself out there and try new things. I gotta tell ya, I love it! My body feels really good. So many foods disagree with me resulting in major stomach aches, but I have been feeling really good for the past week and a half. When I first tell people that I am vegetarian right now their first response is "Oh man, that must be so hard! Aren't you going through meat withdrawals?" For those of you wondering if you could ever do it, you can! I have not had one meat craving since I started, and I feel pretty good about that. If you have stomach issues, I would highly recommend it.

Now my plan to dominate 2011. :) I have been feeling so inspired by a new year. There are so many possibilities open to me, and I want to make sure to take advantage of all of them. I want to share some of my goals/resolutions with you. Part of me hopes that you keep me accountable for the goals that I set, but mostly I hope it inspires you to set your goals high for this year and really put yourself out there.

1. Honesty
Don't take this as the things that I tell you aren't the truth, but much like others I know I hold back to spare other peoples' feelings. I hold onto so much stress and anxiety that it makes me really sad. So I have decided to talk to people (in a constructive way) about how I'm feeling. This includes letting people honestly know when I'm not interested in doing something. I have been the kind of person that you can ask to do anything for you and I will say "yes" because I don't want to hurt your feelings. I have already tested this out in a couple ways, and I feel so empowered by it.

2. Take more risks
I play too many things safe in my life and let other people tell me what I can and can't do. So for 2011 I am going to take more risks and put myself out there. I have already started by telling my boss at work that I would like a raise and more responsibility and following it up by letting her know that I would be back to remind her of my needs. I want to take more risks with my business. I love photography, but I have a lot of anxiety when I work. I always have in the back of my head "What if they don't like my work?". I am not going to doubt myself. I have come a long way from where I've been and I will not look back. I also have some business things brewing with my sisters, so I'm excited about that too.

3. Give back
I have always said "if I had more time I would love to volunteer", but I can just never find the time. So I am going to make the time this year to give back! There were times in my life where my family was very poor, and I'm so lucky that there are wonderful, generous people who gave to us. I want to put that back into the world. I am very lucky to have such wonderful family and friends that I want to make sure that I put that positivity back into the world.

4. Healthy habits
I have tried a lot of diets in my life, only to gain every pound back when I quit. I think that learning healthy habits are so much better then fad diets. Yes, you may lose weight from eating one carrot, and drinking cayenne pepper and water, but at the end of it you can go right back to where you were. There is a woman that I work with that had lost a lot of weight before I started there. She told me that she was going to lose it all again by basically only drinking water for 60 days. I'm sorry, but does this sound crazy to anyone but me?!?!? Doesn't she know that your body can't function without food, your brain can't function without food? Moral of the story is that she did not make it 60 days, and she looked terrible. Eat more vegetables, bike to work instead of drive a couple days a week, only allow yourself desserts twice a week... Whatever it is that you choose know that you are taking steps towards prolonging your life. That is a HUGE reward.

I hope that you found this blog inspiring to make your own goals this year. Be bold! As always, I am here to encourage you, because you encourage me. :)

Starting it Fresh for 2011

For lots of us our New Year's resolution every year is to lose weight, then by February we are back to our old habits and completely forget our goals. This year let's set lots of small goals and make it happen!

Although I haven't updated my blog recently I have been keeping up with healthy eating for the most part. Working out has been taking a backseat to some minor medical issues I've been having, but I am working it out, and will be working out soon enough.

I will be embarking on a little journey of vegetarianism for the first part of this year. A very dear friend of mine recently had a doctor tell her that in order to start on a healthy track that she would need to go full vegetarian. I told her that I would support her in this task, and I've always wanted to try it. So I am writing this blog as my delicious smelling spinach and cheese manicotti is baking in the oven.

I want to encourage you all to make big goals for yourself this year. I am still working on my list, but for accountability purposes I will share it with you when I'm done.

Happy New Year y'all! Let's get healthy!

Day 34 - Dear Food

Dear Food,

I never thought this day would come, but our relationship is over. I have recently been thinking about all the good times we've shared over the years, and now I see it was all a facade. Every time I would feel stressed, overwhelmed, angry, sad, happy (let's face it any excuse to be with you I took) and I would instantly run to have you embrace me. Your sugary sweetness, your delicious saltiness, all of you, all the time. You never really made me felt better, and after spending a prolonged period of time I saw that you only made me feel worse about myself.

I am over you. I know that we will be friends, and spend a healthy amount of time together, in healthy doses. It feels good to be free of you Food. I will use my new found independence to help other people get over you too.

Sincerely your former lover,
Carey

Day 22 - If there were a medal for making excuses...I would win the gold!

Although still very focused on my goal, there are always things and just life in general that seem to want to detour you from doing what you need to do. I am the QUEEN of making excuses, sometimes they are so elaborate and well thought-out that I give myself a break just for being so clever. :)

Do you ever find yourself doing this? You know that you had a rest day yesterday, and that you need to work out today, but instead you say..."Well, my body would want me to rest two days like a "weekend" and then workout extra hard tomorrow." Or "My cousin's uncle's sister's cousin's brother is having a get together, and I really need to be there and bring cupcakes, I can't just not bring cupcakes." Ha ha. Even now as I sit here writing this (hopefully) inspirational blog I am thinking to myself, "If I write a blog, then I shouldn't have to physically work out. I am giving my brain a work out."

Let me tell you that a world full of excuses is not going to make that number on the scale go down. I always feel better once I get to it, so I really try to focus on that. So next time you need to "take a nap with your cat, because it would be terrible if they napped alone" instead of working out, just think about how good you feel when you work out. Mind, body, and soul energized from a good work out. And if all else fails...offer yourself a reward for working out. When I finish my workout I am going to watch that trashy TV show I love....if I work out 5 days this week I will get myself a massage this weekend. Reward yourself! You deserve it!

Day 20 - Put down the cookie and walk away!

First let me say, can you believe it's already been 3 weeks! It feels like just yesterday that I set my goals and started working it out. It takes three weeks to set a habit, and this feels really natural to me.

I am a stress eater, and that has been something really hard to kick. I had a very stressful day at work on Friday, and it sent me into place where I thought..."I'm having a bad day, and I've been SO good, I should be able to cheat." For the first time in a while I was able to stop myself, and think it through. "Is this going to make me feel better?" I might think so while I'm doing it, but most likely I'm going to feel disgusting after eating it, and then feel guilty for giving in. So I just put the "cookie" down and walked away. Even writing about it now, I feel really empowered. I am in control!

I lost 0.2lbs at my weigh-in today. While it doesn't look like a big number, everything small bit counts! I also try to think how easy it would be to gain 0.2lbs...I could probably do that before finishing writing this blog. :) It's so hard to lose that, and I never want to see that again!

I try not to think of myself as "dieting", but just taking control of creating a healthier lifestyle. The word "diet" has too much negative power behind it. To some, this is a terrible four-letter word. When my co-workers are deciding where to eat, they politely ask me if I want anything...and then quickly take it back..."Oh, sorry, I forgot you are dieting". It makes me laugh a little. I can eat anything I want in the right portions. Some things are worth it, and some things are not. Does that sound like dieting to you? :)

Day 15 - Kicking My Own Butt!

As I lay on the ground, in pain, covered in sweat, I thought to myself...OH YEAH!!!! I recently purchased Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred, and I wasn't entirely sure what to think of it. I have my doubts about things that say "Lose 20lbs in 30 days!", but if I did this for 30 days and ate really well, I am pretty sure it would live up to it's name. I practice rest days, because I think they are important both for your muscles, and also for your soul. Working out every day, every minute will make you crazy!!!

My last couple of days have been rest days due to a terrible week-long headache that I had. Luckily, I visited my doctor, and I am getting this problem under control. I was able to kick my own butt today, and it felt really good. Even though I hadn't worked out in two days...as I walked through my office this afternoon I felt lighter, and my pants felt looser. It felt good. I even decided that before I weighed myself today I wasn't going to be down if I didn't lose any weight, and that not going up was going to be my victory. I dropped another 1.5lbs, and although it's a small number every pound lost feels like a BIG victory!

Day 13 - Preparation is key!

Being prepared is the key to losing weight. A couple months ago I would eat lunch out with my coworkers every day. Not only was I spending tons of money on lunches, but tons of calories. Even the sandwiches you order are HUGE, so you end up consuming so much more then you think you are. Several times I ate myself into a food coma after lunch time. Heavy, fried food with lots of fat that leaves you feeling disgusting after you eat them. Yuck!

I prepare my lunch for work every day now. Not only do I get to eat healthy foods, but I control the portions. I pack myself nutritious snacks too! I try to prepare my lunches the night before. Part of being prepared is making sure that you go to the grocery store and buy the foods to have them on hand. Make sure that when you go grocery shopping that you haven already eaten, because this is also where you get in trouble. When you are hungry you tend to buy foods that are convenient, and I usually toss in a couple too many sweets!

Buy lots of fresh fruits and veggies! Another part of my preparation is coming home from the store and preparing those fruits and veggies to be ready to eat. You spend a little extra time right when you get home from the grocery store preparing your food, you won't regret it!