Saturday, May 19, 2012

Mind over Matter

Now I do not understand the Spanish written under this picture, but I do understand the picture.  What I see when I see this dog is her will to live, to move, and to accomplish life to the fullest regardless of her circumstances.  Not only has she overcome horrible odds, but she is inspiration and joy to those whose life she touches. 

Our journey in health, while NOTHING compared to this dog is also about our willpower.


Sticking to a healthy diet and working out regularly can feel restricting at times.  It can almost make me at times literally bummed out.  When I make my kids cookies, I really want nothing more than to eat them all, by myself!!!   But it is my willpower that keeps me from devouring every cookie as it comes out of the oven.  I have to continually tell myself, and yes I often say it out loud several times, I want to be healthy more than I want this cookie, I want to be healthy more than I want this cookie!  And you know what......sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  But I rejoice in the times it does and I don't get down on myself when it doesn't.  We have to remember that the more we use our willpower, the easier it becomes to say no.  Why?  Actually it's a science, the less carbs and sugar we have in our body, the less we crave it.  So it actually works, the more you use that willpower the stronger it gets!  Woohoo, you only have to get over that 72 hour hurdle!

Now here is the great news, it's OK to cheat every once and a while!!!  YAY!  Actually, it's even beneficial to your metabolism if you've been really sticking to your diet for 5-6 days that you do have a "cheat" meal or snack.  Your body becomes so used to the lower calorie lower carb diet that your metabolism will actually slow down.  By cheating a bit on day 7 your metabolism goes "oh no sugar and carbs I have to work really hard, ah shock!!"  And it's ok for someone who is really struggling with staying on their diet to give themselves a cheat meal every 4 days and work up to every 7 in order to stick to the "diet" and eat healthy for 3 days knowing they get to cheat on the 4th!

This is key, sometimes we all forget this especially when we step on a scale!  This will lead me to my next recommendation.......STAY OFF THE SCALE!!!!  The best way to track your progress is through a cheap sewing tape measure or just simply how your clothes fit.  If you read my last post you would see that 5 lbs of muscle and fat look significantly different, however they both weigh 5 lbs.  So it goes to say that if you are gaining muscle and losing fat you may not necessarily see the scale go down, but will notice the inches come off.  So taping is a great way to track yourself and keep yourself in line for success. 

It's tricky sometimes, but really ....


So are you ready to change?

~Recipe of the Day~  This is yummy, a healthy alternative to a lemon bar!

Lemon Protein Bars

    Calories: 86
    Fat: 1 gram
    Carbs: 10 grams
    Protein: 9 grams

Lemon Protein Bars
+ Click To Enlarge.
Lemon Protein Bars.

Ingredients:
Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix oat flour, vanilla whey protein, salt, baking soda and crystal light, in large bowl.
  3. Mix egg whites, Splenda, applesauce and water in a bowl.
  4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together.
  5. Spray 8x8 glass pyrex dish with non-stick butter spray.
  6. Pour ingredients into dish.
  7. Bake 23 minutes.
    Makes 16 squares, 2 squares per serving

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