Move More Eat Well Wednesday

Intro and January report

I am taking Cathy Zielski's Move More, Eat Well 2.0 class on Big Picture classes.  The class focuses on being healthy in whatever way that means to you.  She provides prompts to get you thinking and staying accountable.  Let's just say I hibernated during January.... after I ran a half marathon. 

This was my first half marathon. I ran with my sister and as you can see we dressed the part.  We had fun, but it was a challenge and if it weren't for my sister, I may not have made it through the last 4 miles. 

So, other than those 13.1 miles, my movement for January was pretty much limited to laying on the couch and sometimes dancing with the little one.  My husband did convince me to do a couple P90X workouts with him, but there has been no consistency.
I blame the weather.  Does anyone in their right mind really want to do anything when it's hovering around zero outside?

I know that I am a better me when I get up and do some cardio first thing in the morning. I know I feel better. I know I think clearer. I know I have more energy during the day. So why haven't I been doing it? Bed has just been too comfy. Let's call it hibernating.  But that has to stop. I know what I want my day to look like and it begins with a good sweat then a healthy breakfast.

 I would also like to up the ante and include some yoga. I have wanted to begin a personal yoga practice for years, but I've never done it.  My type A-ness sometimes prevents me from doing something without doing it "right." Does that really matter with yoga? Of course I don't want to get hurt, but if I am getting a good stretch and some meditative time, then that's right.

I also need to incorporate strength training whether it be doing a P90X program or Jillian Michael's Body Revolution or some else, I know as I get older muscle density decreases and muscle burns more energy.  I need to make it a habit. 

I am going to do my level best not to mention the d-word. I am more concerned about being fit and healthy and able to keep up with my 2 year old than losing weight.  Would I like to lose weight? Sure. But it seems when I focus on that aspect of it I feel that I am good enough and stop working at it.

Eating is probably the hardest part for me despite my background in nutrition. New flash: I was an RD but I never practiced.  But over the years I've come to believe that the healthy eating taught to dietitians and endorsed by the ADA is way to simplified and dumbed down, and possibly influenced by outside forces. Also, nutrition is also a very young science and as such we're still not sure how things really work.

Currently, I am trying to embrace a whole foods approach with an equal distribution of nutrients if not slightly skewed to protein.  I am trying to enjoy cooking again. I always enjoyed cooking and making meals for my loved ones, until I started working at Jenny Craig and got out of the habit and got lazy about it and kept looking for shortcuts.  I want to cook again. I want to enjoy it again.

I have a love hate relationship with meal plans. I love that Clean Eating magazine includes a 2 week meal plan each month. I look for diet books specifically with meal plans. It's something about not wanting to think. When I find a meal, I start out all gung-ho. I take the shopping list and follow it to a T.  I get 3 days in and I find myself starting to rebel. No I do not want banana crunch oatmeal for breakfast, turkey roll-up for lunch, not today thanks.  Fish for dinner, how about pizza. And then 4 days of food slowly rots in my fridge.
Is there a right way to eat? Is it simply calories versus calories out? Or is there more to the food you eat? 
I want to follow the Clean Eating meal plans. They are my idea of the ideal way to eat. Preparation is key. Knowing that I am the one in control and that I chose to follow the plan in the first place is another. I don't need to rebel, I am the one who chose the meals in the first place. 
Another way to eat that I like is the Flat Belly Diet because of its mix and match approach. The meal plan is more open: pick a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack from the list and you are right on track. 
I'm having an internal struggle over which way to eat is for me.  The added challenge is my DH. The man does not eat vegetables. None. I can try to sneak them in, but he's like a heat seeking missile. He always find them and gives me grief that I don't consider him when cooking. The truth is I do consider him, I want him to be healthy and around for a long time. I want him to eat the good things. But I'm afraid this is a loosing battle, so a lot of time I end up making 2 pots of similar things. It's doable, but it takes a lot of the fun and enjoyment out of cooking.

So most of January was spent thinking about what I want to do with very little doing.  February needs to be about doing.