Kids don't have a censor ~ our little guy especially! He's only 7 years old but he has the wisdom and insight of someone older. He's witty, funny, and just lost his two front teeth.
We were out working in the yard last night getting everything ready for our family & friends get together this weekend (I have a birthday coming up on Friday). We finished up our weeding, mulching, and planting and since it was so nice outside last night we decided to stay outside a little longer. Not sitting still for one second, our little cowboy wanted to go for a ride with his bike and I decided to walk to get more exercise minutes in.
We were enjoying our time together when a challenge was thrown out to me. "Mom you wanna race?" His little toothless smile spread from ear to ear and then he said, "I know you can do it because your less fluffy than you use to be!"
"On your mark, get set, GO" exploded from my lips and the race was on! This less fluffy body ran for all it was worth and I felt like a kid again. The feel of the wind on my skin, the laughter exploding from my mouth, and the thrill of running for all it was worth AND NOT dropping over with exhaustion was a lightbulb moment for me!
I wasn't winded. I didn't hurt myself ~ didn't fall down, trip, or have to belly crawl back to the house. I am going to be a year older this week and my body is truly in better shape than it has been in I don't know when! The rewards of healthier eating, consistent exercise, and being held accountable by our weekly weigh in isn't just measured on the scale. It is measured by how great you feel.
The best reward came from our little cowby as he giggled in joy at the race that had just taken place (remember he was on his bike and I was running). He tipped his little John Deere hat off his head and wiped his forehead and then said, "Mom, you wore me out! I had to peddle really, really fast. Then he followed it with, "Want to race again?"
Many of our Meltdown participants have messaged me with questions on what path to follow when it comes to healthy eating. Do I count calories? Do I watch my fat intake? What program do you follow?
I think it's a personal decision on how to track things and of course you know we don't indorse any certain diet program. My personal decision was to pair calorie intake with healthier choices. Healthier choices for me meant less sugar or no sugar intake. No processed foods. Eating fish and chicken the majority of the week and having red meat only once per week. I have found if I want to lose weight that increasing vegetables and fruits to 5-7 servings a day keeps me full and keeps cravings at bay.
Consistent exercise of a minimum of 30 minutes daily for 6 days a week helps me register a decrease each week too. If I only do 3-4 days a week of exercise I can maintain but I don't register a decrease on the scales. I always like to hear what has helped others on their journey to become healthier and my co-worker Donna has brought lots of ideas, help, and inspiration through her sister Denise. Please read the wonderful words of Meltdown Wisdom from Denise:)
Our guest blogger for the week is Denise Van Cleave.
Denise Van Cleave is a wonderful inspiration to all of us here at the office. Denise is a wife, a mom to triplets, and the sister to our wonderful office nurse Donna. Denise sent me her tips and how-to's that helped her keep off 65+ pounds for the past few years and I am super excited to share them with all of you!
Denise Van Cleave's best advice
1. For at least a month measure and write down EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth. You don't really know how many calories you're consuming until you write down everything and get used to what a serving really looks like. I make a month's worth of the food journal sheets (see link posted below) and keep them in a 3-ring binder in the kitchen. Get a calorie counting book to keep with the binder so you can track those things like fruit, veggies, etc that don't have a nutritional label on them. It might even be a good idea to plan out your day's food ahead of time in order to keep the calorie count under control if you think that would help you stay on track. If you can stick to eating just what you wrote down that would work.
**If you would like the food journal that Denise uses please post a comment or email me and I will send it to you. Our blog will not let me post a printout.
2. For the food I cook myself, I typically try to enter them on my MasterCook software (I think http://www.sparkrecipes.com/ has a place where you can do this as well) in order to see how big my servings need to be in order to keep them within the calorie range I need. It's almost frightening to see the calorie amount in some of the most basic recipes.
3. DRINK, DRINK, DRINK! Drink 8 glasses of water a day at the very least. Add in tea, but loose the diet pop. It's not that hard to just stop drinking it, and with summer on the way it'll be easier to dump it now and drink tea & water instead.
4. Take supplements. I take one multi-vitamin, two calcium chews (one after breakfast and one after supper) and one vitamin D every day. I know I wouldn't get enough calcium in my diet otherwise, and I probably don't get enough of the other vitamins and minerals either so I take those daily. Has it helped? I don't know, but I feel like I'm doing something positive.
Tomorrow Denise's tips will be on exercise!!!
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