Saturday, June 25, 2011

Day 2 Food For Thought: One Step at a Time

One reason I hesitated so long to begin my weight loss journey is because my goal seems so unreachable. Pondering on how many pounds there are to lose is quite overwhelming. It made me feel discouraged, and I guess I have been afraid of failure. Instead of making steps toward my goal, my I-give-up before I start attitude has caused me to actually gain weight. Boo! Weight loss is not the only area I have noticed myself doing this. When my house is overwhelmingly untidy, I find myself trying to avoid cleaning at all. (I would rather type in my blog or something way more cool than washing dishes and clothes.) I've noticed it even about saving money. I began to see that even if I save a few dollars here and there, before I know it, I have saved quite a bit. I might not get the whole house clean, but I can do a little here and little there and before I know it, it becomes livable. I am carrying that over into my weight loss. I'm not focusing on the number of pounds I need to lose or the calculations that tell me if I do really well that I should get close to my goal in one to two years. All that just overwhelms me. But I can make baby steps. And before I know it, I will have lost physical weight, but more importantly, I will have renewed my mind and refreshed my heart to make this journey effortless and the destination permanent.

My baby step for this week....I want to focus on a more healthful breakfast. Breakfast is important because it jump starts our metabolism. I usually eat breakfast, but I want to get more creative to increase the nutrients. I want to add more fiber, “colors” (phytochemicals,) nuts, seeds, fruit...that sort of thing.

Wins for the day...Um....there are not that many. Yikes!
1) I purposely ate fish today because I have not had it in a while, and it is recommended to get it at least two times a week.
2)Even though I was beyond sleep-deprived, I did not snack on late-night comfort carbs. This is something I have a habit of doing.
3)I drank more water today.

Nutritional Nugget..
How many carbs does a person really need? Carbs get a bad rap, bur really our body needs them. Most foods contain carbs because God was so smart about creating foods to fuel the bodies he sculpted. There is alternative fuels if we don't eat carbs for energy, but these mechanisms are not as efficient and lead to the breakdown of lean body mass. This is not desirable. Appropriate fat loss requires the intake of carbohydrates. There are parts of our bodies that must have carbs to get energy this includes our brain and red blood cells. These cells do not contain the “pieces” to transform proteins into carbs. Of course the best carbs will be the ones God created for us. To determine the recommend amount of carbs, take your calories and divide by 2. That is about how many calories you need to get from carbohydrates. Divide that number by 4 to tell you how many grams of carbs you need to get everyday.

Again, I will gladly calculate your needs for you if you e-mail or message me. (See “Day 1” post.)

1 comment:

  1. Audrey may I suggest a Nike sensor for your running and walking shoes they are relatively cheap and hook to iPhones and iPods. I have one and have realized that my running time has increases and the miles add up pretty quickly. One week I logged 24 miles on these old dogs. Btw very nice blog.

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