Holiday Season ~ Resist temptations or indulge?

Halloween, where we are loaded up with sweets that could last us more than a year, has already past.  Thanksgiving is just around the corner with Christmas following closely behind.  This is probably the hardest time for anyone who enjoys nearly any kind of food that exists because the worst of it is brought out.  All the fats and the breads.  Not to mention the cooler temperatures which I believe make us more inclined to indulge in all the fattening foods.

Since my last post I have not gained any weight.  In fact during the month of September I lost an additional 10 lbs!  I could not believe it.  Since September I dropped another 2 lbs, but I have been going up and down 5 lbs over the last several weeks.  In total I have lost almost 70 lbs.  Not quite, but I am close.  I am confident I can at least reach that much by Christmas if I can make it through all the holiday parties.

The benefit of taking this long with my weight loss is that I have established a lot of healthy habits. Habits that are not easily broken.  Okay, so more recently I have not been counting calories or exercising as much.  But I still continue to eat the right stuff and I do try to stay active throughout the day if I don't exercise.  It is evident to me that I have changed.  I don't even feel guilty allowing myself to have a few foods that may not be so healthy to me, but I know my limit.  I have come a long ways from the person that I once was over two years ago.  I don't beat myself up as much if I am not as strict on my diet and exercise because I know that I can always get back to it the next day.  Before, I would beat myself up and then I would abandon what I learned and gain all of my weight back.  Then I would beat myself up some more because I allowed myself to gain the weight.  This is not how God wants us to be.  He did not create us so that we could continuously beat ourselves up every time that we feel that we failed at something.  He created us in His image.  The last two years I have learned to love myself the way that I am.  I know that I am not perfect and there is always room for improvement, but God created me.  My body is created to be His temple.  His home should be a place of love, not of disgust, pity, self-doubt, or even hatred.  With all of these holidays approaching, remind yourself that your body is created by God in His image.  Take care of it.  Ask for Him to give you strength where it is needed and He will help you to resist that second helping of potatoes, sweet rolls, pumpkin pie, etc.  But also know that it is okay to eat those foods that you rarely have a chance to partake of.  All you need is a little taste.  Don't beat yourself up if you do indulge or fall into temptation, there is always tomorrow to start fresh.  Whatever you do, take care of the body that God has given you.

Summer Break Is Over, A New Beginning

This summer has been amazing!  So many things going on.  Bought a Groupon for Gold's Gym in which I am able to attend 20 fitness classes before December 21st of this year. My sister graduated from college and married in June.  Went to St Louis with friends in July and Door County in August.  Over the last few weeks have only begun the celebration of my brother's soon-to-be marriage in October!  It has been a rather eventful, exciting summer.  However, they say, "all good things must come to an end."  Or must they?

While the summer break is ending, a new season is beginning.  In one day, I will be back to work at the school and ready to be back into a routine.  It has been a long time since I have written anything, and with the change, I am hoping that this will be a fresh start.  One thing that I have learned about my weight loss journey is that sometimes along the way, you must start fresh with a clean slate.  You have missed so many of your smaller goals that it makes it near impossible to reach your next one, so rather than stressing about it, you start fresh and new, with a new set of goals.  You look at your past achievements and  know that you didn't come this far doing nothing.  You set goals all along the way and made changes to your life to help you get this far.  It has almost been exactly 2 years since the very beginning of my weight loss journey this time around and I have lost 57lbs.  That is quite an accomplishment to be proud of.  I cannot be unhappy with what I have done so far.  If my body were to say right now that it just could not do anymore, than I will be happy.  But I do not believe that I am done yet.  I am still losing weight.  Slow and steady.   I actually do have a goal to try to reach my ideal weight by Halloween.  It is probably pushing it a little bit, but sometimes it is good to take on a challenge and see if you can achieve it.  I hope that as I start fresh, some of you reading this might be thinking the same thing.  While I still have lost quite a bit of weight over the summer, it was not as much as I had hoped.  With the new season and changes happening in my day to day life, my hope is that it will help me to be more consistent.

Challenge yourself with the new season to just start over and start by drinking more water, doing light exercise, and eating more fruits and vegetables and less of everything else.  That is a great start!  I do want to emphasize that if it has been awhile since you have exercised, please don't try to run a mile or do a 60 minute class/video right away.  You have to work up to it or else you could wind up injuring yourself.  Over the summer, I read that majority of successful weight loss cases were people who decided just to take up walking everyday.  When you are starting your workout regimen, I would recommend first off to listen to your body.  If you are feeling a lot of pain during your workout, you are pushing yourself too much.  The most you should feel during a workout is maybe a little fatigued, but not pain.  I would suggest starting with 20-30 minutes of cardio 3 times a week and 2 sessions of strength training.  If your body has not fully recovered by your next workout, then either take a break or do a very low intensity workout, such as walking.   Sometimes movement can help the soreness to go away because you are warming up the muscle and helping the lactic acid to exit the area. However, one of the reasons the muscle is sore is because there are little tears all the way through it and they still need to repair.  You do not want that muscle to tear all the way through.

It has been awhile since I have done my early morning workouts, and I'll be honest, I'm a bit intimidated at the thought simply because the last time I did a video workout I had a hard time breathing.  It is peak allergy season for me.  So rather than starting off this new season doing 60 minute workouts, I will be doing 30 minute workouts each morning until I am ready to move up.  I feel that I need to take it easy since my body has had a rest from the schedule I held last year.  My intent is to get up again at 5am each morning to workout before work.  I really found that this schedule worked well for me last year and I'm hoping that it will work well for me again this year.  It had me going in the morning and by the time I was done with work, I knew it was already done for the day and all I needed to do was go home, make dinner, and not have to worry about trying to fit working out in with everything else that needed to be done at night.

I do also want to mention that I am currently using www.myfitnesspal.com for keeping track of my calorie counts.  While I loved using www.sparkpeople.com, I discovered a large number of my friends use www.myfitnesspal.com and since I am not only looking for a way to keep track of my calories, but also have accountability, I decided to switch over.  If you are interested in using this program, you can friend me just like you would on facebook.  My username is KaraBeem.  One of the features that I like about this program is that you can allow your friends to see your food diary and get some pointers or allow them to see what you are doing to make you so successful with your weight loss.  You can also see some of your friends diaries as well to get some ideas for meals.  Especially when you can see that they are very successful in their weight loss.

Hoping you all hit the ground running this time around!  If you are ever in need of some pointers, let me know.  I'd be happy to share what I have learned. :)

Memorial Day Weekend 2012 - Being Active

On typically nice weekends such as Memorial Day weekend, it's always nice to find ways to be physically active outdoors or in your community.  There are all sorts of free activities that you can take part in.  Here are some websites containing events locally for North Eastern IL and South Eastern WI this memorial day weekend: http://www.visitlakecounty.org/events.cfm, http://www.markcz.com/events/, http://www.wistravel.com/events_in_wisconsin/.  Beware of those unhealthy choices, such as hot dogs and ice cream.  It's ok to enjoy a little, but it is easy to binge on these holidays.  Be careful of your portion sizes, and if you have the option of having food containing less calories and are just healthier in general, don't be afraid to make the best choice!

If the big crowds are not your thing, try a day at the forest preserves in the area.  The nice thing about the area that we live in is that there are many preserves with nice trails.  If you do plan to to go a park, be sure to load up on sunscreen, bug spray, and watch out for ticks.  Last year about this time, I had the unfortunate event of finding a tick attached to me after a visit to the preserve.  It is good to wear long pants and a baseball cap.  You won't be able to completely avoid them, but you are less likely to find them on you if you do take some extra precautions.  You want to stay away from tall grasses because that is where they like to hide.  Staying on the path will help you to avoid that.  After your visit, be sure to check under your clothes when you arrive home and have someone check your hair.  If you do happen to find a tick on you, there are proper methods for removal. Check out http://firstaid.webmd.com/tc/how-to-remove-a-tick-overview.  You will want to keep an eye on the bitten area to make sure that it does not become infected or appear irregular.  This may take a couple of days.  Be sure to call your doctor if you have any doubts.  If the area is red and you can see where the tick was attached, there tends to be more concern then if you cannot see where you were bitten at all.

This weekend, I intend to do some shopping and to also hang out with my hubby and friends at an amusement park.  A lot of walking.  Great way to burn calories. Much more fun when you have more than one purpose, I think.  My exercising regime was also very lax this week, so I also plan to workout a little more this weekend to make up for my lack of working out.  I have been experiencing a headache the last two days, so I'm hoping that it will not prevent me from accomplishing things this weekend.  I'm greatly looking forward to getting some vitamin D naturally through the sun. I hope you all have a wonderful time this memorial day weekend and take advantage of the many opportunities to be active and healthy.

Another Year Older . . . And Wiser

Yes, today is my birthday.  Thirty-one years ago today, my mother spent 24 hours trying to meet me before I decided to make my appearance.  Yesterday, I spent a wonderful time with family celebrating that and look forward to today spending it with my husband, coworkers, students and friends.  I truly feel blessed by all the people in my life.

As I look back on the past year or two, I feel that I have gained much knowledge and wisdom on how to take care of my body.  While I still feel like there is more for me to learn, I feel like the changes that I have made are not temporary but lasting.  When you truly desire to lead a healthier life, you just have to come to a realization that there are some things you have to learn to live without or find ways to make substitutions that will make it easier on you.  In my past, I would lose weight, then lose track and gain it all back.  I would make excuses as to why I should or should not do something.  My biggest one over the past few years has been, I'll wait until the summer, I'll have more time to get healthy then.  Of course, summer would come and I was more busy in the summer than I was during the school year.  I finally realized this year that I needed to stop making those excuses and make a change.  I just had to start making an effort and making my health and well being a priority.  I started working out at 5am.  I know, CRAZY!!! Right?!  Well, it has been the best change I have made this whole school year.  Now there are about 2 weeks of school left and I'm about 24lbs down since September of last year.  That is an average of 3lbs a month.  Ok, so maybe it's not as quick as I would like it to be, but I am down 24lbs and I cannot tell you how many inches.  I feel great physically and mentally.  That in itself is a huge reward.  I have so much more energy than I used to and I can move in ways that I have not moved probably since high school.  Like I said, I feel like I have so much more to learn, but this has been one great year!  I cannot wait to see what the next one brings.  I'm at 189lbs this year.  Hopefully by next year I will reach my goal of at least 165lbs.  Shooting for 155lbs, but I will be happy with 165lbs if that is as far as my body will go.

Sparkpeople.com, a FREE way to keep track

So I have been doing WW the last couple of months, which has been great.  I have seen some success with my weight loss.  However, I am not thrilled about the fact that it does cost to continue to  use the online system.  Recently, a good friend of mine told me about sparkpeople.com and how you can keep track of your calories in and out for FREE!  And there is no secret formula to figuring out numbers and such.  It's all just calories and it will also track some of the other nutrients for you.  I thought I would test it out and compare with the WW program over my spring break, and when I put the two side by side, there was not much that was different in keeping track of the diets.  I reached my limit with sparkpeople.com calories around the same time I would reach the limit of points with WW.  So if things are a bit tight for you with money, give sparkpeople.com a try.  I plan to make the switch.  Oh yes, and if you are just trying to maintain, they have that option as well.  Oh yes, and one more thing, are you pregnant?  Yes, they also have an option for pregnant woman so that you do not add all those extra pounds during pregnancy, but are making sure that you and your baby are getting what you need.  Check out BabyFit.com.  How about . . . are you a teenager?  Check out sparkteens.com.  If you sign up, you can use me as a reference: KaraBeem.  Not only do they have trackers, but there is a wealth of knowledge and thousands of new recipes that you could take advantage of.  You can even build your own recipes and it will calculate the calories for you. :)  Since I started keeping track, I've lost 6 lbs in 3 weeks.  If you do decide to join, let me know.  I would not mind having a little friendly competition as long as the goals are realistic.  I'm down 41lbs and have about 40lbs to go before I reach my ideal weight goal.  Although, I would be quite satisfied with just losing 30lbs at this point. :)

I'm in "One"derland!!!

I know it has been an incredibly long time since I have posted a blog.  As you have probably gathered from the title, I am doing great.  I mentioned a little over a month ago that I started WW.  As well as I felt like I was doing before I started up WW again, I realized that even though I was eating all very healthy foods, I was not tracking how much I was eating and limiting my portions at dinner time.  I tell you, my biggest food struggle is dinner time.  Since I started tracking food and getting back in the groove of working out, my weight started to move again.  This week while on my spring break, I took a little more initiative to get workouts done.  The nice thing about having this week off has been that I have been able to de-stress a little bit.  It has been a fantastic week aside from the colder whether that I did not expect after last week.  I have also taken some time to check out another FREE program that I wanted to share with you.  sparkpeople.com   This website is fantastic!  It helps you to calculate nutrients as well as calories.  Very similar to the WW online program, only no points, just calories.  The things that I believe gives this program a boost is their calorie burn tracker and if you want, it will give you a meal plan and a strength training routine.  That is if that is important to you.  I also enjoy the social network, articles, and recipes that they have.  If you decide to check it out, look up KaraBeem.  That is my SparkPeople name.  It is fantastic to see how many calories, carbs, protein, fats, and many other nutrients, if you choose, and be able to track how much you are taking in.  They also list many menu items from different restaurants.  I'd love to hear your opinion about this website.  I have made a commitment to do WW for another 2 months, but I am planning to transfer over to this program once that commitment is up.  Thanks for continuing to read

Starting Weight Watchers

So these last few weeks I have really felt down in the dumps.  I have really had no explanation for feeling this way.  The only thing I can figure is that I have not been working out and eating right the way I should.  I had also seemed to reach a plateau which never seamed to go away.  Then I started to reflect on my life and the times in which I was successful in my weight loss.  The common denominator was weight watchers.  So this week I have decided to start doing weight watchers.  However, what I will be doing differently is working out. In the past when I have done weight watchers I have neglected to make exercise as an important part of the weight loss, so in turn I believe that I lost a lot of muscle and not fat.  When I was at my lowest weight I remember thinking to myself, "my problem areas are still sticking out."  If I had done the workouts with the weight watchers, maybe my problem areas would have diminished more.  Anyways, so the good news is that I am back and I am happy to report that I have lost 5 lbs this week due to my efforts in keeping track of what I eat and exercising at least 3 days this week.  It is a good week thus far.  Hoping for another good week next week. :)  I think it may take me awhile to get back to working out more than 3 times a week again.  But as long as I'm getting the minimum of 3 in right now, I'm happy.

Battling illness & Finding time

So part of the reason I have not been blogging more recently has been that I have not been feeling well.  I tried working out last week and for a normal workout I nearly passed out, so I decided that until I'm feeling better, I should probably take a break.  The other issue has been finding time.  I have been working out, but finding the time to blog has been a challenge.  I think during the winter months I have been feeling a little more sluggish.  Does anyone else ever feel that way during the cold dark months?  My body just wants to go into hibernation.  I am more tired and with that I just never feel like I am able to accomplish as much as I do either in the spring or fall seasons.  If anyone has a remedy for that, I would not mind hearing it.

So I think one of the problems that I have been having with my health is that either I have caught a cold or my acid re-flux is back.  Not fun.  So, in case it is the latter, I have decided to try eating vegetarian style this month.  I may not eliminate meat all together, but I will be reducing it drastically.  When I have acid re-flux problems.  I start to have coughing fits and they just seem to get worse and worse until I do something about it.  Last time I had this problem, I found that eating grains other than processed or wheat tend to be helpful.  Avoiding any types of foods that could potentially either increase stomach acids or mucus production has been helpful.  Until I have lost the excess weight, I'm afraid that I will have to deal with this issue.  Overall, I have found a more vegetable/fruit based diet creates less acids in my stomach.  Hense the vegetarian theme for this month.  If you find that you might have similar issues to myself, please talk to your doctor about it.  Mine recommended that since I also lowered my grain intake that I take a complex vitamin B to help with my energy levels.  If you plan to change your diet in anyway it is always good to consult a Dr whether it be your general Dr or a specialist.  They know your body and it's specific needs and will be able to tell you if it will work or not.

Catching up & SPoH: Day 32 - How Toxins Effect the Body

Ok, so there has been a lot of very stressful, off schedule stuff going on over the last two weeks.  Just as I was getting excited about doing the 5am workouts again, things were happening at work that threw off my whole daily schedule as well as my focus.  However, things are slowly starting to go back to normal.  During everything, I did get up and workout when I could.  I just recently purchased a couple of workout videos that I am very excited about.  Most everyone knows Jillian Michaels who has been branded as America's or TVs toughest trainer.  I liked the last video of hers that I did so much, that I decided to purchase a couple more while the "New Year's Resolution" sales have been going on.  If you are looking for workout videos to do, January is the month to by them.  Many of them go on sale for pretty decent prices.  Anyways, so this last week I started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  Another kick in the rear end workout.  I like her concept of working out.  She has a formula that she uses: 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs.  Really a fantastic idea.  It's set up like a circuit.  In the 30 Day Shred video, she has 3 different levels.  Each level is only 20 minutes long.  Well, about that anyways.  It is not easy though.  Even at the beginning level.  Pushups for a minute at a time is not easy for me.  However, I can tell I am getting stronger.

Aside from starting this program, I have been doing one other activity: Shoveling Snow!  We have finally had our first real snowfall of the season.  I have been well aware that you can burn a lot of calories when you shovel snow BY HAND.  I did not anticipate that my T-Shirt would be soaked by the time I did a half an hour of shoveling.  If you are interested in knowing how many calories you can burn shoveling, use this calculator to get an idea. So instead of doing a workout indoors on Thursday and Friday, I took it outside.  It's a great winter exercise because you are also giving your lungs a deep breath of fresh air.  If you have a long driveway, this is a great activity that you can do together as a family.  Leave the snow blower in the garage for a little while.  Do at least a half hour of shoveling by hand, then pull it out.  You'll save on the gas for your snow blower and burn some calories in the process!  Plus you are teaching your family a number of things doing it together.  You can have fun doing chores when you work together.  They are learning responsibility of how to take care of the driveway for one day when they might need to know that.  Keep in mind that you need to stretch those muscles after spending all that time shoveling.  Otherwise, you are going to be awfully sore the next day or even the next several days.  Last year, I made the mistake of not stretching out afterwards and I deeply regretted it.  This year, I remembered that I needed to stretch out.  I'm not nearly as sore.  I just feel like I had a good workout yesterday. :)

SPoH: Day 32 - How toxins effect our bodies . . .  Body Odor!   Research is showing that a lot of odor is a result of eating red meats.  How interesting! If you have a lot of body odor, try a meat fast.  Specifically Pork and Beef and see what happens.  Vegetarians often do not have the body odor problems that people who eat meat have.  If you have any vegetarian friends, ask them if they have any problems with it.  Colbert said that he met someone who doesn't even use deodorant because she does not have any odors to cover up.  Our body odors are mostly due to the toxins we have in our body.  Toxins in our body open us up to a plethora of other issues such as: fatigue, Heart disease , Memory loss, Premature aging, Skin disorders, Arthritis, Hormone imbalances, Anxiety, Headaches, Emotional disorders, Cancers, and Autoimmune diseases.  What Colbert has to say next totally throws me.  How many of you have allergies, food sensitivities, or massive mucus production?  It could be because of all the toxins your body has been exposed to has caused your liver to be unable to process them all.  Your body may be experiencing a toxic overload!  Colbert recommends fasting as a way to detoxify the body which he talks more about in the next few days.  However, he has also written a couple of books on them if you are interested in reading more in depth. Fasting Made Easy and Get Healthy Through Detox and Fasting.

Day 44 of 5am & SPoH: Day 31 - Toxins that you would not expect

Sorry for the delay.  I was working on this being posted January 3rd!  Keep that in mind when reading this.

So I did it!  I woke up at 5am to do my workout.  Yay!  This is much better than last year.  I was doing pretty well with the workouts up until Christmas break and then I pretty much quit or at least wound up not working out nearly as much.  Anyways, today I pulled out Jillian Michaels "No More Trouble Zones."  Talk about intense!  Of course, I'm going to have to rebuild my body back up to where it was about 2 weeks ago because I did not do much working out over the course of the last two weeks.  I managed to do about 35 minutes worth of this video.  I wanted to do more before I realized that it is a 56 minute workout and not a 40 minute workout like the cover said.  Note about workout times on videos.  Sometimes I have found that they do not include the warm up and cool down in the actual time.  So if you see 40 minutes, plan on it being at least 10 minutes longer.  Anyways, great workout though.  I have  feeling that I am going to feel it tomorrow.  Jillian does a great thing with this particular workout and many others I have seen where she combines working two areas at the same time.  Lower and upper body.  It's nice because it gets your heart rate up a little more and you are maximizing the movement and getting the most out of it as you can.  I plan to use this workout DVD for awhile.  Looking forward to seeing results.  Push ups are getting easier.  Still on the knees.  Not ready for the feet yet.

SPoH: Day 30 - Toxins that you would not expect. Heavy Metals have been known to cause several unpleasant symptoms.  We are exposed to them through our foods and our environments.  To help detoxify our bodies from the metal you should have chlorophyll foods, including wheat grass, barley grass, oat grass, healthy algae, and other supplements.   Many of our dentists in the past have used silver amalgam fillings for those unwanted cavities.  Unfortunately it exposes us to the metal mercury.  Most everyone knows that mercury does not do a body good.  This metal is slowly released into our bodies from the time we receive the filling until we eventually die.  However, you may be exposed to even more if you have them removed improperly.  If you decide to have them removed, make sure you find a dentist that is well aware of the effects and knows how to handle it.  If you or your children have any cavities, it is safer to go with the porcelain.  It is more up front cost, but think of the health that you will be saving!  Less problems down the road. Many of us already know that household products we use contain many toxins that are not good for our bodies.  If you are going to use chemicals, be sure to read the labels and make sure that your skin is not exposed.  Your body has a less chance of being effected by them when you are wearing rubber gloves than if you are washing with bare hands.  Also, beware of the toxins they emit in the air.  A good inhalation of bleach or ammonia can damage your lungs. If you can switch to natural products for cleaning (such as vinegar & lemon juice) and cosmetics (see www.safecosmetics.org), it is much better for you.

Happy New Year! & SPoH: Day 30 - Where do toxins come from?

The New Year has commenced and I am so excited for what is to come this year.  I am working on learning sign language.  I've already begun my bible readings.  While I have not started my 5am workouts this year, I am planning to do so starting tomorrow and I am really excited.  If you have not tried doing the early morning workouts, I must recommend it.  I feel so much better physically and even mentally when I workout in the morning.  I am also ready to get back to eating much better.  The holidays always seem to be the easiest time to gain weight.  Our culture is so inclined to have every favorite food item available at our family/friend parties when our bodies don't need it.  Next time you are considering having a family party, look at your food pyramid and limit what you serve.  It can be fun to have leftovers, but it has happened to me where sometimes you have leftovers for too long and the food is no longer good enough for you to eat.  Anyways, I am ready to feel healthy again.

SPoH: Day 30 - Where do toxins come from?  Air, Food, Water, and Skin contact.  Essentially through every possible opening we have on our bodies. 

The air contains loads of pollutants that if you live in America have most likely learned in an environmental biology or science class.  Industrialization, Cars, the Ozone, Pesticides - all of these things effect our air and eventually our bodies.  Inside our homes we deal with chemicals and bacteria.  If you are a smoker, things will be numerous times worse for you and your family.  I am thankful that in the state of Illinois, smoking has been banned from restaurants.

For foods, non-organic produce usually contains pesticides, herbicides, parasites and chemicals.  With processed foods you expose yourself to a number of chemicals.  Just read the back of a canned or boxed food.  If you do not know what a particular ingredient is on the list and it sounds like a chemistry element or compound, most likely it is a chemical meant to help preserve the product or enhance the taste synthetically.  Just imagine that going into your body.  Oh yes, and there is even a form of bleach found in many foods.  The stuff that has the warning label on it to not get it on your skin.  Animals imported from out of the country still contain DDT and PCBs which have been banned in the US.  Again, better to stick with Organic.  Also look for alkalizing foods to raise the pH levels in your bodies.  Also remember to drink filtered water. 
When choosing your fruit and tea drinks, again, stick with organic.  They have the same issues that our foods have.  It's always better to stick with water.

Don't forget that your skin is porous.  If you are using chemicals of any sort, it is better to wear gloves and keep your skin protected.  You want to be mindful of what chemicals can also cause more harm to the air you breath in your home.  While I love the clean feel I get from using bleach in my bathroom, the fumes are toxic.  I have resorted to using more milder cleaners