Time to Shape it Up

After all the excitement of the wedding, life seems pretty B-O-R-I-N-G right now. There is nothing huge to plan, nothing too exciting to look forward to, and my days seem rather dull. Don't get me wrong, I am happy but life is missing something.

 Maybe it's the beautiful moment captured here.

Or the fact I miss doing this!

So I think it's time to fix that! It's time to make more special moments with the beautiful people I surround myself with. After seeing some of my favorite people all the time, the normal busy schedules of everyone really puts a cramp in my social life!

New Way of Eating 


As I mentioned yesterday, I signed up for Weight Watchers Online. I have been intermittently doing my own calorie counts on websites such as Myfitnesspal and Sparkpeople which are free (nice little perk!) but its apparently just not working for me. Something about those sites leads me to get bored very easily, very fast. Boredom is a good way to set yourself up for failure and I'm done with allowing myself to fail at becoming healthier.

As much as some like to see the different stats in front of them: Calories/Fats/Carbohydrates/ Protein/Fiber/Sugar/Sodium etc, etc. I think it is a little too overwhelming for me because I'm constantly trying to tweak the numbers. So, maybe one specific number- Points, will be a better fit. I know that the numbers shouldn't be the driving force. I want to stay within my target number of calories/points while eating good wholesome nourishing foods. Foods that will give me energy and make me feel better.

So today is a new day to start my plan!

Breakfast

1 whole grain wheat english muffin
2 eggs
1 piece of american cheese

Made into a delicious egg sandwich. I could eat these everyday for breakfast!

Enjoyed with pineapple.

Meal one down...time to conquer the day!

Body Image Vs. Health

All of us have body image issues, whether we are overweight, underweight or in "our perfect weight range." None of us will ever look in the mirror and think that we are the best, because we are our WORST critics. If it's not our butt that looks too big, it's that our hair is too frizzy. You just can't win. But, you can learn to accept yourself the way you are, and make changes physically and psychologically that can make you feel like a BETTER you!

I am reminded every day that I go to work, how blessed I am to be alive and healthy. I may carry some extra pounds that I need to get rid of, but I have my health. If I want to keep it that way, I know I need to lose weight, and I am striving to do that.

At work, I see people in their sickest moments. Most days I am slapped with a reality check, such as the other day.  I was going in to check on my patient, when I saw his wife kissing him, her dying husband, knowing that those were his last few moments. This very emotional experience lingered in my mind for a  few days, as I thought about that person often and couldn't help but picture myself as if I was in their situation. While these experiences make it easier for me to see that I am so grateful for everything in life, some days my body image issues come creeping back in, as if they were the worst thing that could happen. I know that it is not what really matters in life and that's why I need to take a step back to really look at the bigger picture.

Because for me, this is what matters.....

and this.....

and all my family and friends.

This is my year to change how I feel towards myself. To make ME the best ME for my future. To change my negative thoughts into positive ones and to embrace both the good and bad. I will always have body image issues, everyone does. But I can control how much I let it get in the way of a fabulous life, and that's what I'm going to do. LIVE.

Carbs, Carbs, Carbs

I have always been a lover of all things carb related. Give me a piece of bread, and I'll have two more thanks. Crackers, pretzels, pasta, sweets, it's a downfall.

But then I started to notice how those foods make me feel. Bloated, uncomfortable, tired, irritable and in 30 minutes after eating them, I could see the scale go up. No I am not one to get on the scale after every thing I eat. I did a little experiment and I "gained" 3 lbs after eating 2 pieces of toast! I know that I didn't truly gain that but it did trigger my interest.

So I try to stay away from breads, pastas, crackers and sweets. Being that my blog title is Lovin' Chocolate Cake, you can see that some days it's not the easiest thing to do, and I do fail. But I figure it's how I embrace that fail, learn from it, move on, and keep a positive attitude. I have to remind myself before giving in to temptation, that I don't like feeling swollen, unhappy with stomach pain at the end of the night, because I most certainly do NOT! 

This doesn't always make foods completely interesting to me though. I am an Italian girl and I LOVE LOVE LOVE pasta dishes & pizza. So I have to learn how to substitute. Spaghetti squash is my new best friend, we are spending a lot of time together during these cold months.  You can only eat so many proteins and veggies without going crazy sometimes. You have to change things up, to keep your palate interested so that you stick with the plan. It's an every day challenge.

If you haven't noticed, I'm a little obsessed with the funny cartoons. Oh well.