Ok. I am going to try to make this fairly succinct, as I promised myself I would be in bed by midnight, and I’ve already missed that mark, and really, really wanted to not fall too terribly behind on writing. So, my whole determination to even achieve 10 minutes of exercise three days a week hasn’t really been happening. Sure, I’ve had a few weeks where I’ve done even better than that, but since moving back to Nebraska, any of my good exercising has been outweighed by my obsessive late-night snacking (usually involving chocolate). I’m also getting really close to weaning III off of nursing, so I’m definitely not burning 500 calories a day on that anymore. The result: difficultly buttoning my jeans lately.
Arg. I’m having a hard time finding motivation, but I read a few things today that encouraged me. I am going to try to take a few of these new tips and put them into practice to hopefully make my jeans fit comfortably again!
First of all, let me say that I am not a dieter. I mean, I’m working on eating healthy, but counting calories or cutting out foods is just not my cup of tea. It makes me angry, and I don’t think that’s a healthy way to live. I certainly don’t want to over-indulge in fattening foods (which is what I’ve been doing lately), but I also don’t want to feel guilty over every little thing I eat.
(In case you want to read the whole article, you can find it here.) My first goal is to eat more salad. For those of you who know me well, you know I do not do this joyfully. I don’t hate salad; I just don’t really like it either. But, I found numerous articles supporting the benefit of eating a salad (with a light dressing) before your meal. Basically, because it fills you up a little at the beginning of the meal, you eat less. Studies show that people who eat soups or salads before a meal eat about 10-12 percent less calories throughout the day. So I’m shooting for at least twice a week on this one.
My second goal is to sleep more. I may complain about my kids waking up earlier than they’re “supposed” to, but I also wait a good 3 hours or more after they’re asleep to turn in myself. That’s why I was shooting for midnight tonight (now I’m going for 1!). I know I need sleep, but knowing that getting more could also help these unwanted pounds to go away really makes me want to get off the computer and go to bed! Here’s what the article had to say: “Insufficient shut-eye appears to increase production of the stress hormone cortisol, which regulates appetite. High levels seem to worsen bingeing and hunger; moreover, too little sleep could keep your body from burning carbohydrates, which translates to more stored body fat.” Ack! I certainly understand the stress and bingeing!
My third goal is to drink more water. I just forget. When I was pregnant with III the doctor basically told me that I could end up killing my baby by not inducing because my placenta was going to stop working, but if I made sure to drink lots of water that should keep my amniotic fluid level up which would help things. Well, I think she was wrong on the main bit, but I did make sure to drink lots of water anyway. I had multiple alarms set on my phone throughout the day reminding me to drink. Now I’m going to try to take care of my body for my sake, not just a baby’s. Being hydrated is really important—everyone agrees on this. One article said sometimes you get cravings for food merely because your body wants water and it’s telling you to get it however you can. So tonight when I got the munchies I poured a nice tall glass of water, and guess what? I drank, and no longer felt the desire to snack! One small victory today that I’m hoping to continue.
So there you have my three new goals. Sleeping, drinking, and leafy greens. Seems pretty obvious, huh? I will continue to try to make time for exercise, too, and I think just being well-rested will help me feel motivated for that as well. One good thing leads to another, right? (Oh, and if anyone wants to call me at a quarter to midnight and shame me into going to bed, that’s all right with me!)
Tags: diet, exercise, healthy living, water
The Daring Kitchen
Hmm, water and sleep huh? Someone should have told you about those before….