oolong

Yesterday was not such a good day. Had some sugary crap from work, to start. Well... I ordered unsweetened iced tea. The person who made it did it wrong and sweetened it. I'm too timid to ever tell someone they made my drink or whatever wrong, so I had a few sips and threw it away. That seemed to spark sugar cravings in me and I indulged. Back on the wagon today, though. I ate a bunch of crap yesterday, too. I think it was stress- induced. Today is going great though, and I'm super proud of myself. No sugary beverages, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. I went to Costco and the grocery store and now my fridge and freezer are completely filled with healthful foods that I'm actually excited about eating. I only got one treat, which is coconut pieces covered in 80% dark chocolate. Could be worse. I'm gonna try to log everything I eat on here. I figure if I force myself to record it in a public place, I'll be more likely to behave. Breakfast blueberry, banana, and spinach smoothie with chia seedsLunch spinach salad with strawberries, tomatoes, goat cheese, snap peas and cranberry-pear white balsamic vinegarsliced hamDinner steak stirfry with sugar snap peas, peppers, and onions brown riceSnacks a few samples from Costco. heh.a couple dark chocolate coconut pieces with some monkey picked oolong tea. delicious. Significant Accomplishments: ate plenty of fruits and vegetablesdrank no sugary concoctionsstuck to a grocery list and got just healthy items

Goals for 5/12-5/18 Eat 5+ servings of fruits and veggies per day. Continue with last week's goal of consuming no sugary beverages from my workplace. I feel pretty proud of my progress last week. I realized that when I don't get myself hopped up on too much sugar and caffeine, I have more energy and am more productive in my work day. And I feel healthier, too! I'm going to continue on that road and try to make a sugary treat an exception to my routine, rather than the rule. Unsweetened iced tea does just fine for me. To have a successful week, I'm going to go grocery shopping tomorrow and stock up on all my favorite fruits and veggies. Plenty of spinach, bananas, and frozen fruit for smoothies. I'm also thinking about making my favorite onion dip to keep in the fridge, and cutting up plenty of carrots and cucumbers to dip in it. I think hubs will like that, too. Though I'm sure he'd prefer to dip Ruffles in it instead. Before I go shopping, I have to clean out my fridge... there's something very smelly in there, and I'm very afraid of what it might be...

Thanks for all the advice, guys! I told him my goal for this week is to eat 5+ servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and he's on board with doing the same. We also decided to go for a picnic at the park this week, walk a little, and read books. So it's something small, but at least it's something more than sitting on the couch watching Seinfeld reruns for our together time.

The little girl I babysat was so sweet. I had a great time with her, even when it got kinda stressful. I'm glad your son is doing better these days! As far as exercise goes, I'm doing a program called DDP Yoga. There's a thread about it on the yoga board. I like it because it's presented in a fun way, gives you a great workout, and is extremely low impact. Because of a knee injury, I've been blacklisted from anything that puts stress on my knees (walking, running, squatting, plyometric exercises, etc.) So this program is great for me. I'm hoping to get my husband involved, too, as it's great exercise for overweight people as well.

I'm at the beginning of my journey to fitness... slowly making small, sustainable changes. I'm about 100 lbs overweight, and am fed up with the unhealthy lifestyle I've been living. My husband weighs about 400 lbs, and is afraid of most physical activity because he's nervous he'll collapse or have a heart attack. For most of our 3 years of marriage, we've both had terrible diets and very little activity. Because of his work situation (doing freelance stuff online), most of his day, every day, is spent in his comfy chair on the Internet. The only time he gets up is to wash dishes or do laundry. I really, really fear for his health, but he seems super hesitant to make any lifestyle changes, mostly because of fear of failure. I feel like I'm a bad wife for standing by and watching him sit all day, losing muscle mass and gaining weight. He went outside this winter to shovel the walkway and came back in after 5 minutes with bad chest pains. This can't go on. His health is one of my main motivations for making changes in my life- I want to set a positive example for him. He's been supportive of all my previous attempts at dieting/getting healthy, and gladly eats whatever healthy things I might cook up, but isn't willing to take responsibility for himself and his life. He's very sensitive, so I don't want him to feel that I'm attacking him. I genuinely want to help. I think that he's just so afraid of failing yet again that he's given up and doesn't want to give it another try. I'd really love some advice on how to encourage him to make diet and exercise changes. This is something I really want us to do together.

Hardy har har. Yup, it was my abs. It hurt like heck for days whenever I would laugh or cough or contract my abs in any way (ie- going from a laying to seated position) Then again, I am an overweight weakling. Thank you for the tips. I'll have to give RHC another try. I'm planning on trying all of the workouts at least once, and then making up my own routine with them. I took a closer look at the recommended routines that come with the DVDs, and the idea of just repeating Energy and Diamond Dozen and Fat Burner over and over again sounds so incredibly boring that I doubt I'd continue exercising. Thanks for your input!

Even though I'm making changes one by one, I would like to give some more serious thought to some realistic goals, so that I can keep my eye on the prize, so to speak. Short- Term Goals: 1. transition to a primal-style diet that eliminates processed junk, processed sugar, grains and most dairy 2. complete the beginner's DDP Yoga program 3. help hubs to create better healthy habits Long-Term Goals: 1. Weigh under 170 lbs 2. Help hubs to weigh under 300 lbs

Good Lord... that extreme workout looks like the complete opposite of fun... That's some intense stuff! What would y'all say are your favorite DDP workouts to do? So far, I've only done Energy, Fat Burner, Red Hot Core, and that 10 minute Wake Up workout. Red Hot Core was great... but it *killed* my body for days and days afterward. Wake Up is obviously not much of a workout, but it's a great way to get your body limbered up when you're feeling tight after waking up.

Hi Christine! Wow... you certainly have quite a lot to handle! I used to babysit a 10 year old with autism a few times a week, and was she ever a handful! I'm happy that you and your husband are on the road to good health together. I'm trying to get my husband (who is outrageously unhealthy) on board with a healthy lifestyle, and it's a struggle. With each other's support, though, I'm sure you guys can succeed! Best of luck to you, and I look forward to seeing you progress! ~oolong

Sent the video to my aunt, who for most of my childhood was in a wheelchair. She's now up and walking and recently joined a gym to try dropping 150 lbs. She often feels like giving up, but said the video made her cry and gave her the inspiration to continue.

Made it today... it made me happy.

I'm extremely proud of (most of) my food choices today! Had a pina colada smoothie for breakfast (spinach, pineapple, coconut milk, banana, and some coconut extract), a huge plate of sauteed kale for lunch, and some tuna with crudites for dinner. Good stuff! Did do some not so good snacking in between... but at least it wasn't burgers and fries and pizza all day. Succeeded with my commitment to no sugar from work. Just stuck with water today. No caffeine. Hope that'll help me have a more peaceful sleep tonight, too. Woke up in a lot of pain again today. Tried to do some yoga, but couldn't get through it. I'm a little worried about the amount of pain I've had lately. I've been tested in the past for autoimmune difficulties and the results were inconclusive and the opinions of the experts all differed. But it feels like something is flaring up.

Habit of the week is still looking good. This morning when I got to work at 4am, I made myself 4 shots of espresso over ice, with a little splash of heavy cream and some cinnamon powder. It was creamy, and the cinnamon made my brain (kind of) think I was having something sweet. It was a great morning pick-me-up. For dinner, I made quinoa with a homemade tomato vinaigrette, topped with roasted asparagus, bacon crumbles, and goat cheese. It was awesome. I had a small fight with my husband a bit ago. I'm realizing that I get bad cravings whenever I'm upset. The fight was over something incredibly stupid, but we both kind of quieted down and went to separate areas of the house. I'm angry and upset, and I really want ice cream. Guess that's not a mature or healthy way to handle a disagreement. Blah. Guess I should get over myself and apologize. But somehow, ice cream and chocolate makes it easier to man up and apologize.

Went to the fruit market today specifically to buy avocados for this dish! Can't wait to make it. Thanks for sharing.

I can't say that I did anything positive today. Didn't exercise, didn't cook. I had 4 cavities filled this morning, and my mouth has been pretty sensitive, so I've been having smoothies, applesauce, and soup because chewing feels so awkward. I did go to the fruit market because it was right by the dentist. Don't know when I'll eat all those fruits and veggies I got, but at least I have em! I think my body's still exhausted from my rowdy day yesterday. I took a 2 hour nap this afternoon and still feel tired. My plantar fasciitis started acting up again randomly, and my back is hurting. I should try to do a short, low-intensity yoga session to stretch everything out before bed.