The Final Fifteen Pounds

Ever get got at one thing while losing it with another? I'm fussing with this a lot this year.  Exercise habit is churning right along nicely. But drinking a soda everyday. It gets me through 5th period.  I love the kids. Just h aving fits with the allergies.  I worked out last night. Win! And during lunch today. It's a cool workout designed for teachers to do in the classroom. Love it. (I'll share it with you for free if you decide to take the Keep it Cool Newsletter - Stress Relief 4 Teachers ).  The workout cleared my head. And I felt better off.  But I've created this daily habit of the soda. Now I'm having a heck of a time breaking it. I feel better after drinking it, but I know it's ultimately messing with me. So the feeling good is all a ruse. Dang. Well, okay. Need to put my big boy britches on and figure out how to crush the soda while massaging the exercise habit.  This is my whack-a-mole life. In a hurry today. No am...

There it is, right in front of you, sweet and sultry, saying here I am.  What to do?  The STAAR test in Texas is our state mandated, big-deal test. And we just spent Tuesday and Wednesday doing it. Even Monday was affected. Teachers are spent. Kids are restless. And admin is tired and appreciative of the hard work that teachers have put in. And what is the best way to show your appreciation? Bring on the doughnuts! It really is a nice thing to do. But for the teacher who is trying to lose weight, especially this one, it's a trap. Because I feel like I deserve it.  Is that sweet hole what I really want? I know it's not what I need. Do I really want to dump sugar, processed white flour and fat into my stomach? I don't. But it tastes so good.  But when I'm trying to lose weight, here's what happens (and this is what happened with Coke and me recently): it resets your body's expectations. It's something that happens in the brain. Now, the br...

Ever tried to quit a habit that was so hard to stop it made you scream? I'm trying.  The latest scoreboard: Weekend = No soda. Win Monday = No soda. Win. Win. And there are good reasons why it started to work. I casually read diet and nutrition stuff. I listen to podcasts like Fat Burning Man , Half Size Me  (it's kinda girly but I still get a lot out of it), and Bulletproof Radio . And they don't all agree with each other on the best ways to lose weight.  But one thing they all agree on (the blogs, the podcasts, and the books) is that drinking sugar is really bad for us. It's starting to sink in. And so I haven't imbibed over the last three days.  But I did every day last week. Half a soda each day. Dang it.  And my weight isn't budging down. Not an ounce. And I mean I posted and everything about how to start a new habit in one day . Remember that? And I believe it. But I didn't have enough foundation in place to make it wo...

One of the ways weight loss derailleurs get us, is that we don't think it through. Our belly is thinking. Not our minds. Or possibly our worries are blurring our focus.  Focus: I wanna weigh 173. This week: What I did well - ate more apples. Didn't eat candy or doughnuts. What I didn't do well - drank 1/2 a soda every weekday. Hoping that getting back on green smoothies will take that craving away from me. So I'm noticing something. I'm battling a huge headache everyday. I don't realize it's there until my aggravation has built up to the point where every little tap on a desk is bugging me. I believe the headache is allergy related. The rains in Texas have been unrelenting this year. So Spring is powerful.  This has caught me by surprise.  Here's my plan for coping with the daily headache. Reduce caffeine intake.  Eat inflammation reducing foods.  Obviously the soda has to go. Whole foods become primary. Processed foods need to fade...

Gotta think ahead about how things are going to affect you. That's what the weight loss game is all about. Seriously, one blink-eyed decision can have day-long, week-long, and even longer affects.  So yesterday, I drank a Coke at about 3 PM. 12 hours later the affect finally wore off. That 10 ounces, seriously affected my ability to go to sleep. Today, as soon as I get an opportunity, I'm running out to get a bag of juicy apples. That gets me through the rough spots. I also have to work at not taking myself too seriously on a day like today.  Handling Life (and Middle Schoolers) On 3 Hours of Sleep Have Fun Tell Stories Laugh Listen Get Some Exercise Go Home (earlier than normal) How do you get through days when you aren't feeling your best? Add to my list. 

I'm happy. I did my diet right. Mostly. I did drink half a Coke. Hmm, you wonder. What's the big deal. All on it's own, it's not. It's that one fizzy, sugary soda, feeds my craving. It makes me want one tomorrow. And that all leads to weight gain, not weight loss. The goal here is loss. It's one of the few goals in life in which we wanna lose, not gain. I'm focused on finding 173. I am. I exercised when I got home but dinner is coming. I've done relatively well. I wanna end the day with a win. Dinner can be like a sand trap on the 18th hole for me. Shooting great and then stuck.  I am interested in what you think about all this. Seriously.  So do this. Click on the comments link down there. And add your two cents.  Click and Add Your Comments Getting involved in the conversation helps us both.