A new year = new choices

Here we are on the end of another year - I am amazed at how fast time keeps going by. I keep thinking of things I would like to do for the new year - walk 5 miles a day (inside or outside) or just exercise (get moving) a minimum of 1 hour a day... Yeah they sound great on paper (even if it is virtual paper on my computer screen) but I don't know that I really could keep up with that for a whole year... There are a lot of things that I know I couldn't keep up with for a whole year, so why set myself up for disappointment...

Rather I am going to do what I hope you will do as well - resolve to keep making better choices...  

An example - today I had the munchies - the bottle of juice I had with me was not going to cut what my body/mind was telling me I wanted... The thought crossed my mind to go through McDonald's and get an order of fries - but the price stopped me on that - $2-3 for an order of fries, when that much money will buy a whole bag of potatoes that we can make home fries with at home... But I still needed something to eat that I could chew & I knew was gluten free/grain free... I decided on an order of chips and cheese from Taco bell - yes corn meal could be considered a grain, but I think it was a better choice than the McDonald's one...

McDonald's small fries - 230 calories and 11 grams of fat 

Taco Bell chips and cheese - 270 calories and 15 grams of fat...

OK, OK so after I looked it up, it wasn't really the better choice - but guess what - I am more educated now and will make a different decision next time...  LOL

I also now know that a Tostada or a crunchy taco would have only been 170 calories and 10 grams of fat... Again with educating myself so I can make different DECISIONS next time!

So back on track after I realize that I could have made a better decision today - guess what? I won't die from making the wrong decision - I just learn from it an move on... Similar to when I make the wrong decision to eat the wrong thing, or too much of something - I bottle up that feeling of over-full-ness and put it in my memory bank and draw upon it next time I am in the same situation...

Another thing I can learn from today is that I need to pack some healthy snacks that I can have in the car so I don't mess with the drive thru option at all (mind you that was the first time I had gone through a drive through in a LONG time...)  Packing a small baggie of homemade trail mix, or almonds would probably be helpful in the future to have on hand when I just need to CHEW something!  :)

So what am I getting at in my end of the year ramblings?

I am CHOOSING to make healthier decisions in 2013 - one decision at a time - making decisions to a healthier me!  Will you join me?

The end, or just the beginning?

Obviously we all lived through all the hype of the end coming on 12/21/12... So I am referring to the end of another calendar year... For me it signifies the end of one of the healthiest years I have had. I have gone through so many changes this year with my eating and my lifestyle choices... I feel so much better now than I have in a long, long time...

I feel good in my own skin - not worried about what the number on the scale says (even though it is a nice measurement tool at times)...

I feel good in my relationship with my best friend aka my husband - we are closer than we have been in a long time & I like it!

I feel good in the world - trying to find better ways to relate to the world - not knowing when someone may be watching and be inspired, or not inspired by something I say or do...  And paying attention to if I am doing something because I want to or because I think someone else wants me to... I am working on ME!!!

I look forward to the next year - seeing what it holds...

Back to bed...

I really was hoping to see a sign like this today on my way to work...  But unfortunately I did not... :(  Bummer...

I don't know what it is today, but I am really wishing I could just crawl back into bed with snuggly covers and just relax mentally and physically... I might be able to swing that after work today, but unfortunately I think I have to trudge through the day...

I am a bit overwhelmed on how much stuff I have to do and it is creating a mental road block & I just need to bite the bullet (not candy and junk) and put one foot in front of the other and JUST DO IT...

Here we go... going to put on my headphones with some good tunes and start up the treadmill and get to it!

oops...

Saw a picture like this on Facebook today & thought it was pretty amazing to think about...  I am thankfully pretty lean in the fact that I don't LOOK like what the scale says I weigh... But I know there are a few more areas that could use some more conversion to muscle, and I am working on that a little at a time.

My oops title - is because I haven't posted here in almost a month!  Wow...

I am still plugging away at juicing for 2-3 meals per day, eating wheat/grain free, being mostly vegetarian and dairy free...  I get most of my protein from beans - been experimenting with creating my own chili with potatoes, kidney beans (from dry - I soak them before cooking them), tomato paste, and seasonings... my oldest daughter loves it once she adds some onions to it and both of us have been having it for a warm breakfast!  :)

I am trying really hard to get my walking in at work - and at my current pace I will only be a bit short of my goal for the year - the shortage is really from how my workload changed in the summer to be working more on helping with the fires that PDR deals with - and the coordinating the contents cleaning crew and writing the estimates to bill the insurance for the work we do... I really enjoy it - but it starts to wear on me when I am really doing two full time jobs at the same time!  Soon enough we will have an employee in place to take up the slack of what I have been juggling...

I have soo many hats I wear at work - Job Cost Accountant, Office Manager, Contents Manager, Tech support - and general person to ask any questions of LOL...  I enjoy the variety, but not the current feeling of being behind all the time...

Current challenge : trying to keep from eating so much crap!  There are a lot of sugared things that fit into the category of things that I can still eat - vegetarian and wheat free... I keep finding myself consuming WAYYY more of the junk than I should... I contemplated starting another reboot to stop myself... But then thought to myself - if I can have the willpower to reboot (juice only for 3-10 days) then why can't I just STOP eating the junk?  I am starting today on trying to make that adjustment...

I remember when I did my Reboot and how I didn't want to convert to eating - because the juicing for every meal took away the need to make choices - I just had juice all the time - and didn't need to decide what to have...  Well that is sort of a crutch - as I can't juice forever - I have to figure out how to deal with saying NO to the junk and get past it... I was able to do a juice fast and say no to that stuff for 7 days, why can't I say no to that stuff while eating normally... I will report back how that goes... :)