Overcoming Emotional Eating

(FYI, I was pregnant in this picture)
I AM AN EMOTIONAL EATER! I have somewhat known that, but was in denial. Bob Greene's book has taught me how to figure out what my triggers are and how to overcome them. I've learned that sleep is a very important part of my health and that the loss of it causes weight gain and overeating. I've learned that writing down everything I eat will help me to take responsibility for what goes and out of my body. I am learning something new about my body daily and it's kind of fascinating. There are a lot of steps to understanding emotional eating and I pray that I can eventually overcome it.

S.O.R.E.

I am sooooooo SORE! I am told that after you workout and you're sore, it's a good thing. Ummm, are you serious? I've never been this SORE before, yet I've never been this determined either. Right now, I need a spa massage, a couple of hours in a jacuzzi and a looonnnggg nap. My "pretend personal trainer" off of the EA Active is so hard on me...LOL! But the workout is very fun, so it doesn't feel as if I'm working out, it's more of a competition, which I LOVE. I've lost another 2 pounds...yay! My goal is becoming more and more real. Bob Greene is slowly helping me to break down my barriers. It's all in the mind, literally. Once you have made up your mind, like seriously made up your mind, nothing can stop you. Unfortunately my mind hasn't stopped my chocolate cravings. That is my biggest barrier..ugghh and it totally annoys me that I can't JUST SAY NO! Please pray for me or send me ways that I could get past this addiction. Thank you!! :) Here's to 100+ more days of being SORE...wish me luck!

Just keep moving...

Yes! I lost 2 pounds last week, just from working out. Imagine if I ate better, how much I would've lost...LOL! But I am proud of myself and I'm on track with my life change. Today I started EA Active 2 with the WII and it's pretty intense. At first I was like, okay this is nothing and then they had me jumping rope, playing basketball while lunging and dirt bike racing and I was the bike. There are pros and cons working out with the WII, but I can't deny that it was a workout indeed! I am also more and more aware of what I put in my mouth and how it affects my body. Which is one of Bob Greene's challenges. It makes me think twice sometimes before I eat. I'm liking the beginning stages of the new me. A plus to my working out, is that Sol has joined a "Biggest Loser" competition with a group of his friends. He lost 8 pounds in a week,(so unfair) and is a great example/motivator for me. I'm grateful that we are changing our lives for the best. Our children need us and we need us. As long as I keep moving daily, my life will become what I want it to be!!

As a side note: Juniors team took 2nd place in his All-County league tournament and Jasmines, Jazzy Girls team, took the Championship in their PARA league basketball tournament! I am so proud of my kids and for their dedication to their love of basketball. Serena and Jas took 2ND in their school science fairs. And Jasmine took 3rd in the district. So now off to State! Ebony won a principals award in reading. I'm so proud of my lil children!! Wooowhooo!!

Day 4...136 days to go!

Yesterday, as well as today, so far were wonderful days. I worked out for an hour and it felt sooooo good. I didn't even realize I was working out for so long because I was reading while doing the elliptical. Once I get to reading nothing else matters. So I found my secret to working out...reading!! Yay me...lol! But I am slowing become more and more aware of what I'm eating and how I feel after I eat. I haven't stopped eating the not so good foods, but I don't eat as much of it. I don't want to burn myself out by exercising and dieting at the same time. So first I want to get myself moving and eventually the food part will come. I love Bob Greene's book. He is teaching me that we as humans have barriers that stop us from living our best life. That is so true. So he is challenging me to break down the barriers and love myself! Things are starting to look up and I'm hoping that it just keeps going up from here!! Here's to tomorrow...

Day 2...138 days to go!

Today was not a good day. I don't even want to post what I ate. But I do want to talk about the book I bought today. It's Bob Greene's book titled The Life You Want: Get Motivated, Lose Weight, and Be Happy. I just started reading it and I love it. I knew that in order for me to lose weight and keep it off, I needed to motivate myself and to really know why I turn to food for comfort.

Here is my favorite excerpt from his book so far: "Many people who don't triumph at weight loss beat themselves up without taking into consideration that humans are predisposed to eat as much fat and sugar as possible to conserve our energy and to avoid discomfort-all of which contribute to the difficulty of changing eating and exercise habits. The truth is, there are some things about your physiology that you can't change, and a natural propensity to seek pleasure is one of them.
What you can change, however, is what gives you pleasure as well as your tolerance for discomfort."

I have come to realize that I need to change my pleasure of eating all types of chocolate to mainly dark chocolate and my tolerance for it as well. This will take a looooooooooong time. But I know I can do it and I pray that I eventually will be able to do without my DAILY chocolate fix. On to another day...goodnight~

Day 1...139 days to go!

Today is the first day of my life change and I wasn't too prepared. I stayed out late last night and woke up way too early this morning. I took a nap in the afternoon which left me feeling like crap. I hate when I do this and knew that when I succumbed to the nap, that that would be my consequence. Anyways this was my menu for the day:

Breakfast-
1 cookie
1 fruit snack pack
6 strawberries w/ about a 1/2 cup of cream cheese dip
water
Lunch-
1 meat pie
1/2 cup crab salad
water
Snack-
2 oatmeal raisin cookies
Dinner-
1 chicken thigh
1 slice of wheat bread (my new favorite bread)
water
Dessert-
6 strawberries w/ 1/2 cup of cream cheese dip

Workout:
30 mins on the elliptical (woowhoo finally after 2 months!)

I know, I know, not such a great start for my first day, but it can only get better. On a side note, I actually did couponing today (LOVE IT) and saved 63%. All in all the weather today was beautiful and my goal was not so beautiful. So on to a better day tomorrow. Good night!