TURN a NEGATIVE into a POSITIVE

Good morning Bloggers!

Today is such a beautiful day – I woke up feeling awesome. Yesterday was definitely an emotional day for me, and my body felt it regardless of how I ate. I had cravings, and by the end of the day – literally the end of the day (12am) I found myself eating baked cheese nips. Now, this would be fine if it was early in the day, but it was late at night and way after my allowed time to eat. But, I am human right?!

What do I do now? Get over it! Dwelling on cheating will lead to more cheating, and this means you are setting yourself up to cheating a lot more in the near future. Understand your body and life, and as you experience the real bad days, you will learn how to handle it going forward. Reflect on the day’s events, and identify the triggers of the stress. Mine was – getting two flat tires within a 12 hour time span on the same tire, and having to deal with the business who failed to fix the flat the first time. It was very emotional, and then work was an added stress. I felt drained and even though I had my vitamins, drunk plenty of water, walked to get my cardio, and even my 4 shot sugar free latte from Starbucks could not get me motivated! So, the stress was real, and even though I did not cheat in terms of having double cheeseburgers with French fries or a gallon of soda, I still cheated in the sense. I allowed my emotions to take over what was most important – my goal.

MAKE IT INTO A POSITIVE THOUGHT

What did I do this morning? I woke up (thank you Lord). But, after that I made sure I took note of my actions (this posting), made a healthy breakfast, and looked at all that I have accomplished. For instance, today was my first day wearing a comfortable belt – where I did not feel like I was almost being cut in half. That is an accomplishment for me! I used to be a size 26 in jeans, and still have to wear girdles to suck things in. This used to make me feel 10x worse about my body, but now I need to wear a belt because my size 22s are slowly becoming baggy on me J. So, the motto of the story is – turn a negative feeling into a positive reality!

We all have bad days, but don’t let your bad days completely overcome your ultimate healthy living goal. Be happy, and for my New Yorkers, enjoy the beautiful weather today – I know I am!

TW aka Plus Size Health Nut!

Stress and Healthy Lifestyle

A client asked me, if stress should hinder or stop her weight loss progression. My answer – YES!

Stress is a factor which impacts many humans – work stress, financial stress, and emotional stress – stress is everywhere. As people we experience and encounter a lot in our lives daily, and the journey towards a healthy lifestyle makes it very difficult to maintain when you are overly stressed. Establishing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle puts many stresses on people especially the emotional factor; many unhealthy people (both average and overweight individuals) will look to food as the stress reliever; therefore, eliminating the foods that usually assist in dealing with your stress will mentally and internally impact your weight loss (or gain for some people).

How does one cope with stress during this healthy journey?

The main factor in dealing with stress during your new lifestyle is to understand this is not a temporary situation. Your problems may be temporary. For example, people are stressed at work because they are working on a major project, but the project is only 2 weeks long. What can you do during these two weeks? Well, first make sure you prepare and pack up plenty of healthy choices with you especially if you are going to work long hours. Vending machines or ordering take out temptation is the easiest fix for most people who are stressed out. If you continue to surround yourself with healthy choices, even when you are stressed out, you will not turn to the unhealthy foods or snacks.

The next thing one can do is exercise. Working out is a great stress reliever. If you are feeling tense and sore, you can look into yoga classes or possibly just go for a walk or run (running burns more calories). Getting up and moving your body will help you in possibly sorting your thoughts as to how to deal with the situation at hand, or it could help you to forget your problems altogether. Exercising will get you back on track especially if you have possibly gained some weight back.

Lastly, the one thing that has helped me throughout this journey is talking to someone – make sure the person is not part of your stress. I recently decided to see a therapist because I was dealing with many stress factors – long work hours, I am a PhD candidate, relationships (personal and family/friends), and finances. I found that most of my stress stemmed around one another, and how it was one of the reasons I never successfully lost weight in the past. When I took hold and control of my healthy lifestyle, I found I had a better handling on most of my other stresses. See, in the past, my weight was my biggest stressor, and now that I am able to control it, I am able to handle other stresses. So, in talking with my therapist, I have found ways in handling the big stresses and help to identify ways to improve who I am, but now on a mental and emotional standpoint.

Being healthy is very important, but let’s be realistic – nobody is able to completely live stress free, so you have to learn how to cope, but cope in a healthy way. Stay strong and remember you can be your biggest enemy, but why? Do not allow this to influence your journey because this is just a small obstacle in life’s big challenges.

TW aka Plus Size Health Nut

Believe in YOURSELF

If you haven't realized yet, but this will probably be one of your most difficult challenges you will face. As you look to make small changes, realize in the end you only have yourself. This weight loss (some weight gain) process will provide you the opportunity to see just how strong you are, and what you feel you cannot do, but in the end you will see just how much you are capable of doing. Living a healthy lifestyle is very hard especially when you have life's challenges in your way - flat tire early in the morning, bill collectors calling, children misbehaving in school, and the list goes on. As you see to establish yourself as a healthy person, you will realize just how easy this is and how much control you have over yourself. Keep going and never turn back. We want the scale and measuring tape to go down, not up!

TW aka Plus Size Health Nut

5 Tips to my fellow HEALTHY LIVING PEOPLE

1. Prepare your meals. People think logging their food and drinks is difficult, but if you prepare your meals this makes it easier for you.

2. Keep a positive attitude. Some days you are going to feel you have no purpose, but the reality is you control the thoughts in your head. If you want this, claim it!

3. Take ownership of your actions. Some people cheat, and dwell on it; therefore, they continue with the bad habits instead of taking responsibility for their actions and moving forward.

4. Cheat, but cheat wisely. I hate when people say, "Today is my cheat day. They cheat for the entire day instead of cheating for one meal. You are entitled to treat yourself, but do not allow it to become 3 big unhealthy meals for the entire day - that is not good.

5. Enjoy your new lifestyle. Sometimes, we fail to realize just how amazing being healthy is. When you are used to eating unhealthy, you tend to continue with this pattern. If you love cooking, then cook new amazing meals. If you love dancing, then let dancing be your source of exercise.

TW aka Plus Size Health Nut

I've lost 50+ pounds - you can too!

This journey is probably the best journey I have ever taken. Each day, I realize just how bad how I want to be healthy, not skinny, but healthy. In the past, I’ve tried crazy diets and taken ridiculous diet pills just to lose the weight, but I was never successful. Starting this journey now 7 months ago, I’ve realized just how strong I was.

Throughout the course of this change, I’ve experienced many trials and tribulations. Days before the New Years, my house was robbed and I was extremely emotional. They stole my X-Box console, which I used daily to do my workouts, and this impacted my workout regime. I was no longer in control, but after a few days of sulking, I got over it, and realized that I still had to maintain focused so that I could accomplish this goal.   For a month in a half, I did not work out, but I ate properly – I followed the plan. Needless to say, I was able to lose about 2 pounds during the course of just eating properly. So, my trial turned into a triumphant event because as I realized how much control I had especially during the time of “disaster” in my life.

This change is something I plan to keep with me throughout the course of my life. It went from almost impossible, to difficult, to easy – it is second nature to me now. People will never have to wonder if I am going to relapse completely back to my old ways because I am determined to overcome the life of unhealthy living. Yes, ordering Chinese every night is easier than cooking a healthy meal. Yes, stopping at McDonalds for breakfast is more accommodating than making your own delicious breakfast. Living the unhealthy life is easy, but you have to find the balance for yourself.

See I work full-time as a teacher and Academic Advisor for a Medical Assisting program in Brooklyn, NY, and some days I am constantly moving or spend more time at work then at home; therefore, I had to find ways to incorporate this change into my new lifestyle without having to feel it was hindering it. When I started, I did not have the resources to which I have currently, but I spoke to people who were healthy, got ideas, did research, and found a plan that worked for me – counting calories. Up until this day, I still maintain 1200-1400 calories a day. I did fall off the band wagon of logging my food, but I seek to go back to doing that, so I can see the trends of what I eat, especially when it comes to my emotions.

The day I made this change was definitely an eye opener for me. What happened you may ask yourself? Well, on the night of October 15, 2012, I stepped on the scale and it read “OL” which means over the weight limit for the scale. I literally cried and felt myself going into a depression. I knew I was in the 300s, but I never knew I was that big. So, I basically went into my kitchen and cleaned house – literally. If it was not healthy, it did not belong in my presence. I went to the supermarket that evening, and I purchased fruits and vegetables. That night I did not have a plan, but all I knew was I had to make a change, and it had to happen immediately. Within in 2 days, I was able to read my weight on the scale – 345 pounds. While I was not happy about the 345, I was happy I was no longer OL, and I refuse to turn back to that day. I’ve moved forward, faced many challenges, overcome many trials, but in the end, I am a healthier person.

So, being healthy really can take a toll on us. Some people who are not aware of how unhealthy they are will not always understand your mind frame. People will try to get you to eat unhealthy or to binge drink, but you have to take control of yourself, and understand what YOUR GOAL is? Nobody can walk in our shoes; therefore, they will not be able to walk in your skin. Keep a positive mindset throughout the course of this journey, and you will realize just how amazing you are. If I can lose 50+ pounds, you can lose whatever number you choose to lose.

TW aka Plus Size Health Nut