Bad Habits

It seems like this once-a-month thing (blog posting) is becoming a habit. But if it is only once a month, is that really a habit? I don't know. For now, I will just keep trying to post at least once a month, so you know I am still alive and kicking. Is that alright with you?

It is hard to write because I keep thinking you only want to hear about successes and not failures. Of course I don't actually HAVE failures....more like setbacks. This current setback has been going on for several years though. My how time flies!!! It is hard to remember that I HAVE kept OFF about 65 pounds for the past two years or so. I can't seem to give myself credit for that.

This past summer sure has been busy for me. It hasn't shown signs of slowing down just yet. We've taken the RV out twice now. The first time was back in July. We visited friends. Thank goodness they had outside electric outlets, because our generator wouldn't run! That meant we would not have air conditioning. It was in the high 90's, so AC really WAS a must-have item. Our friends let us plug in to their house though, so we managed. One of the nights we had a campfire. I was struck by the folks sitting around the fire:

Young and old were all overweight. Several were very overweight. One had a knee brace, several were smoking cigarettes, and several were drinking...a lot. Don't get me wrong, I like my alcohol too. I was just struck by how common all our bad habits are. I left the weekend with renewed resolve to clean up my act a bit more. I've been skating along a bit too much of late. I worry for our friends though.

Currently I am still teaching yoga, one day a week. I take a second yoga class on another day and do strength training twice a week. I am teaching a weight loss/healthy living support group class once a week too. I have started to come up with little mini-challenges for them to try. We've done a challenge where everyone picks something they can do to improve their meals. Another challenge was to pick two days to write down what we did every hour of the day for two 24 hour periods. It has been inspiring! We've started talking more about how to improve things in our lives. I was almost ready to close the group down and now we seem to have breathed life back into it. A support group really does help!

A simple thing I often struggle with is eating two sandwiches, or two hamburgers. I am hungry so I think I need two to make my tummy stop growling. I don't. But I will eat two, anyway! Why? I have eaten just one sandwich or burger and been very sated. Why does my brain fight me so much?

I can fix a yummy shell fish taco that has only 90 calories. Shoot, I could have several for what the sandwich or burger has in calories. I'd be bursting if I tried to eat that many fish tacos. I love the crunch too. Is this a common problem for us fluffy folk? Is that why we overeat? Are we so afraid of that feeling of hunger that we stuff ourselves, just in case there will never be food in our lives again? I wonder.

Something else I have noticed is how portion sizes really affect healthy eating habits. We think we know how big a serving is, but we really don't. Check out some of these comparisons:

Then there is the whole wine beer booze crap. In the morning it is a non issue. I can tell myself I won't have a drink that night. I can do that every single morning. At night my resolve fades. It has become a bad habit and probably not all that good for me. le Sigh. I have managed to cut back a lot this summer. I still enjoy one or two drinks before bedtime though. At least it isn't a whole bottle of wine every night...yes, it used to be that! As in all the changes I make to be healthier, it is baby steps that work best for me.

So ya, is anyone out there? Will Crabby stop by? She's such a love for stopping by and seeing me. I feel honored, every single time. If you don't comment, I don't know if anyone reads this anymore. If you comment anonymously, I can't email you back. DO know, I always really appreciate your comments. Even if you only said "Hi!", at least I would know someone was here.

Guess that is it for today, and probably for this month! Oh, ya...before I forget....walk on my dear readers, walk on.