Mind, Body and Soul Manifestations

I am noticing a pattern here. Every single time I feel stressed at work, my eating habits go completely haywire! I'm trying to correct it, but it's getting tougher and tougher to stay motivated when I'm not happy in my job. It seems to be affecting all aspects of life at the moment. I'm not sleeping well which is just making me crave caffeine and sweets! (I normally crave salty foods, but stress seems to make me the opposite.) I have been trying to get it out at the gym, but I feel so wiped out all the time and I don't know if exercise is helping or hurting! I just feel pretty overwhelmed about a lot of things right now. I'm hoping to change my job situation next year, but the waiting is tough. I'm reading a book called "Nurtureshock" right now. It's a very interesting research-based book about how we're raising kids and how we can improve it. Obviously I'm not a parent, but being a teacher, it's quite interesting. I just read about...

I know I said before that weight is just a number, and it is; however, I am pretty pumped that I FINALLY shed a pound! It might not seem like much, but I'm thankful that my calorie counting and workout attempts are at least doing some good. I visited my sister and her family in NC this weekend, so I sort of fell off the wagon as far as calorie counting and being consistent in working out, but I got back on today. I haven't been eating great this week, but I'm trying to at least keep it under 2000 calories and I stepped up my working out today. I did 40 minutes on the bike on the "random hill" setting. It was challenging, but I felt a lot better after completing it. I am still working on trying to fit in snacks and remember to pack things. Yesterday was a staff development day at work and I ate well for breakfast (oatmeal with fruit and a nonfat latte), then had a granola bar before heading to my meetings at noon. I forgot to bring my lunch in with me, so I just...

My motivation and I need to have a chat. I'm not sure where she disappeared to, but I sure hope she comes back soon. I was all set to go to the gym this afternoon and when I get there, I realize I have forgotten my socks, iPod and a hair tie. I sweat, A LOT and going to the gym without something to pull my hair back is just a pain in the ass! I don't know if I'm subconsciously trying to sabotage myself or what! On Monday I forgot to pack my shoes! I forced myself to get on the stationary bike hoping that I wouldn't be too uncomfortable, but it was so squeaky I couldn't handle it. Without my iPod to drown out the other sounds of the gym it was very hard to focus on my workout. There were no other bikes available so I switched to an elliptical. The first one I got on was making strange noises as well and I felt a bit lopsided on it. I switched to yet another and after about 12 minutes, I couldn't stand it any more! Normally when I get on the machine and get into a...

I think I have to shift my thinking a little this week. I had a bit of meltdown on Saturday when after a week of making good choices, not splurging and trying really hard to work out, etc., I did not lose a single pound. I then had date night with Ben and ate entirely too many calories...and had a few too many blackberry martinis. I got back on track yesterday and today though. I'm watching The Biggest Loser and after seeing some of the contestants melt down about how awful they feel about themselves and their lives, I'm trying to give myself some more perspective. This journey is not about a number. It's not about the size of my pants or the number on the scale, it's more about being healthy. I do not want to look in the mirror 20 years from now and say "Why did you let yourself go?" I want to be able to have kids, be a good role model AND have a healthy self-esteem. I don't want to blow my whole week just because I'm angry that the scale didn't b...

I'm really struggling today with trying not to eat everything in sight! It has been a very stressful week at work and today, even working out is not helping me feel satisfied. I want chocolate and the 2 Ghirardelli squares I allowed myself are NOT doing anything to make the craving go away. I drank some peppermint tea, have been guzzling water...and I can't get chocolate out of my head. I keep replaying the Joan Jett song "I Hate Myself for Loving You" over and over in my head about chocolate! (It really has been one of those weeks.) I'm going to push through this and keep reminding myself that the swim I took earlier and the good choices I'm trying to make when eating are going to pay off...it's just really flipping hard to take things one day at a time this week...

Thank goodness for the gym and Florence and the Machine today! It was a super-rough day at school. For those of you who are educators, today was the first day I had to use my CPI training...not something I thought I'd have to do. I was very stressed and somewhat shaken up after work. Normally, I would grab a bottle of wine, go home, sit on the couch and veg out with Maximus. Well, today I made a much better choice. I knew I needed to relieve the stress, so I hauled myself to the gym and did 35 hard minutes on the bike at an uphill climb. I felt so much better afterward. I cranked up Florence and the Machine and got it done. I also did not get that bottle of wine. :-) I'm trying to keep myself hydrated and on top of things instead of wallowing in my sorrows or self-medicating. On another note, I've been comparing notes with a friend who is also trying to lose weight. It really does help to have a buddy! One tip I loved was pre-hardboiling a bunch of eggs for the week. Her ...

Quote I just heard from the Dr. on Biggest Loser, "If I told you that you were dying from lymphoma, would you take two hours out of your day for chemo?" Contestant: "Yes," Dr.: "Well, you're dying of being overweight. So..." If that's not perspective I don't know what is! Getting my ass off of the couch and doing a kettleball workout while watching the show!

So, weekends are my weakness. I have absolutely no will power when it comes to the weekend. I'm working two jobs, so when I actually get free time, I have this sense of wanting to be lazy and indulgent. I know I need to fix that mindset, but it's going to take a while. I face-painted at a friend's daughter's birthday party on Saturday and managed to avoid cake and pizza, but I did indulge in some chips and dip: only one handful and about 2 tablespoons of dip. However, I tried to balance it out a bit by eating some grapes. Then we got to Sunday...I started off well. I had to work, so I made some pancakes (with skim milk) and had a green smoothie. Then, I had an Odwalla bar for lunch. I was feeling good. However, it was the Redskins playoff game last night and I completely overindulged in fatty foods. My parents came over and we had chicken wings, fried oysters and oysters wrapped in bacon with cheese. While all of this was incredibly delicious, I know it did not do much ...

So I am proud of my lunch decisions once again today. Some wonderfully generous person left almost an entire cheesecake in our teacher's lounge today that was for everyone to share. I sat right in front of it with my usual lunch ladies. I told Melissa, one of my colleagues, that cheesecake is a weakness of mine and it was very tempting. She said to me "Don't do it Sarah! It's a new year!" That was exactly what I needed to hear. I thought to myself, will cheesecake make me feel more beautiful in my wedding dress 10 months from now? NOPE! So, I ate my half of a turkey sandwich and two clementines and was pretty satisfied...while inhaling the cheesecake mind you! At least I can say that I beat the cheesecake! It did not win! :-P Also, I dragged my butt to the gym today! I only did about 20 minutes on the elliptical before my ankle started bothering me too much, but 20 minutes is certainly better than no minutes! I'm still keeping up with my exercises during the...

Today was a bit of a wash. I did not eat poorly, but I didn't exercise either. I'm feeling pretty yucky today. I'm trying to figure out why I keep getting headaches and feeling nauseous. I have a Dr's appointment on Friday to get checked out. Recently, I had to go to the ER for dizziness and a really horrible headache. I decided to check into the medical information about my prescriptions. A few of the side effects were listed as those symptoms I was experiencing. The Dr's at the ER told me I had a tension headache and was experiencing some vertigo as a result. I was also very dehydrated. Some IV fluids and anti-seasickness meds helped, but again, I am really hoping that these healthy changes I'm making will help me get off of medication and feel better overall. Now to discuss the title of the post: Gertrude. I was watching the news when I came home from work and there was a 101 year old woman named Gertrude who is still able to ride her bike and run on the tr...