The one where she gives it a shot...

I love the way I've been eating this year. Healthy and making good decisions. I like that. This week, however, was a little.... not so great. Last saturday, we went up to NH. I drank a bit and had Chinese food (which I wasn't even hungry for). On Wednesday, a friend of mine needed help since his ceiling collapsed. We cleaned up, packed his stuff, and moved him to my house. That was also a day with another snow storm. I ate Wendy's and chose to eat not healthy stuff. Thursday, we ate out twice... more food than I needed. Friday, I grabbed a breakfast sandwich for breakfast at Starbucks, had some cookies with an otherwise healthy lunch, then had McDonalds for dinner.

Today is weigh in. I actually lost .1 pounds from last week. However, weeks like last week are a slippery slope. To prevent my avalanche, I decided to try out the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus. I love weight watchers and have been curious yet hesitant to try out the new program.

I haven't been logging my food.. just trying to make good choices. I've been happy with what I've done, but I think this is a good time to check it out. I get worried because when I log calories or points, I always come in WAY under for the day and I don't like that. I know that the more you eat during weight loss, the more you can eat during maintenance... but it's really hard for me sometimes.

Anyway.. I checked out PointsPlus and it seems to be in line with how I've been eating and how I've wanted to eat. So.. I have a 3 month membership. I'll try it out and see how it goes. 3 months of the new Weight Watchers... here I come!

The one with more snow..

Woke up to 3 inches of snow. Shoveled.. went to school.. came home to another 2 inches. Now it's raining and slushy! I don't know how impressive that sounds, but I was mistaken.. school did not start today.. it starts tomorrow. Dumb, huh? So I was at school for about 10 minutes and away from home for about 2 hours (had to drive slow in the slush and stop at the store for almond milk, eggs, bread, and chicken).

I am both relieved and saddened that there was no school. I'm anxious to start the semester, but nervous about not fitting in. Last semester, I took night classes. I was surrounded by people older than me and younger than me. When I went to school days at the community college, I was surrounded by kids.. and it was pretty annoying. I suppose we'll see. Days really makes it possible for me to take more than 12 credits.. which I need to do if I'm to graduate any time soon.

Bah.. that's all I really have to say today. I'm cold.

The one before the classes start..

Classes start again tomorrow. I'm taking 6. One is a one credit pass/fail course.. but the rest are not so simple. Writing 2 (easy.. but a lot of stuff to do), Pre-Calculus, Chemistry, Biopsychology, and Developmental Psychology. The closer I get to the beginning of the semester, the more worried I am that I took on too much.

So, tomorrow, I have one class.. it's the pass/fail class. However, it's supposed to snow again. Yay. (sarcasm). I am not looking forward to going to school for one class in the snow. But I will! 'Cause that's just the kind of gal I am...

I don't have much else to say. I have to go to school today to buy a book and work on my online class.. which is more work than I expected....

The one where she pulls out her soapbox..

Body image. It's an interesting thing. I can feel not good enough, not pretty enough, and find faults in any aspect of myself. I always have. I remember being 16 and weighing 145 pounds. Looking back, I was cute! I was thin! But I always felt like a whale. I always hid in my clothes. Now, at *ahem* not 145 pounds, I still feel that same way.

I try very hard to be comfortable in my own skin. I try not to fat talk, but sometimes it slips out. I focus on how I feel and try not to focus on that number on the scale. Do I wish that number would go down faster? Heck yeah I do! But my ultimate goal is to be healthy.. not skinny. I just wish that was everybody's goal. The world would be a better place for sure.

So, what am I doing? Well, I eat whole foods and limit processed foods as much as I can (currently working on phasing them out completely.. but I'm also trying not to feel deprived at all). I try smiling more! I take small accomplishments- non-scale victories- and enjoy them (my ring feeling looser, my pants falling off, my workout being easier, etc), and I congratulate myself on healthy choices (like when I got roasted potatoes instead of french fries with my veggie burger so I wouldn't nibble on them)

I have a long road ahead of me.. a lifetime of road, to be honest. Even once I get down to a healthy weight and am a champion, this voyage doesn't stop. The days of eating like crap and having movie marathons while barely getting of the couch must be over. I feel better when I'm active and eating right and that is what I must focus on. To get discouraged by the weight is nothing but poison. The more down about it I am, the less I do to change it.. and the more weight I gain. I always feel good when I eat right and always feel craptastic when I don't. These internal cues are ones that cannot be ignored. I must remember them and focus on holding on to them.

Food is fuel. The more I can relate those two.. the better off I'll be.

I meant this blog to take on a more whole world view.. but it focused on my feelings instead.

When I have children... if I have children.. I don't want to contribute to their body issues. To be sure that I can accomplish this, I must be sure that I have overcome my own issues...

The one where she pushes lemon water..

Today, I have decided to talk about my love of lemon water.. and why you should give it a try.

Every morning, I start my day with lemon water before I eat or drink anything. I fill a scotch glass with water and juice half a lemon into it. I use my juicing tool which allows for a lot more juice. Now... I love lemon. I could eat lemons alone every day, so half a lemon with the tool makes it extremely lemony. If you're not a huge fan of lemon, I would suggest more water or less lemon.

What I've noticed from doing this:
- more energy
- more "regular" (just about the same time every day)
- more hungry for breakfast (which is great for me because I'm not usually hungry in the morning)
- detox my system

I've probably noticed more, but that's all I can think of at the moment. Now, I've done some research on the topic and these are the benefits that I've come across. Some, I've not had problems with in the past, so I've never noticed. Others? Internal and how do you notice them?

- lemon juice cleans your mouth
- it controls excessive bile flow
- it dislodges phlegm
- it aides in the digestive process – heartburn and bloating
- lemon water helps alleviate constipation
- it helps prevent vomiting
- helps with throat issues
- cleanses the liver and kidneys
- natural skin cleanser
- blood purification
- fever reducer
- aids in weight loss (I'm not sure how.. but okay!)
- lemon and water are both diuretics which can really help with things like UTIs if you suffer from those..

I'm sure there is more, but I'm hungry and the hubby and I are going to a local pub for lunch! Gonna split some yummyness. While I *should* stay home and eat salad or something, we are both starting to feel the effects of cabin fever. Besides.. when was the last time either of us went out to eat?? (before Christmas, I think!)

I hope some of the information I have given will cause anyone that happens by this blog to consider giving it a try. I really believe in it! Interestingly enough.. while I love lemons, water, and my lemon water.. I never add lemon to water that I drink! I prefer my regular water to be plain and icy! :)

Hope y'all have a good day!!

The one with the blizzard..

Well.. the storm that crippled the south has made its way to my home. We started shoveling at 7:30 and had about 6 inches of snow. We still have 2 hours of this peak.

I've gotten so much accomplished today that I have completely misjudged time! It feels like it's 2 in the afternoon when really it is 10:19! .... 10:20!

- Jon and I both did the Shred
- We shoveled the driveway (which I think I'm about to go do again)
- We both did some yoga together (which was very nice, I thought, to do together)
- I prepared lunch and set it aside to marinate
- I called my mom
- I read a chapter of the book I'm reading (I forgot the name.. but it's the second of the Hunger Games series. The fire? I dunno)

I want to go out and maybe do another round of shoveling, but definitely take some pictures. Shoveling with be followed by more yoga! The plan is to counteract the pain of the snow with stretching!

Have a good one!

The one where she is full of hate!

I hate Jillian Michaels! I made Jon start the 30 day shred and he seemed to think I was starting it too... so I had to do it today. About 5 minutes it, I took the dvd out and put it away. Then, I decided that if Jon could do it... so could I. So, I put it back in and finished it. It sucked. Doing this for 30 days in a row with no break is not something I look forward to. I would not be surprised if I do not succeed (I have other workouts I'd rather do), but I'll try.. for Jon. If it keeps him doing it.. I'll do it.

School starts a week from today. I'm very excited about this! As happy I was for last semester to be over... this break seemed a bit too long... I like to learn!

My internet died while I was writing that, so I did some yoga. It was nice! I like this beginners dvd I bought! (so far..) it's got a bunch of different routines so you can master poses and like-poses.

Now, I feel great! I no longer hate Jillian Michaels :)

The one where she ate too much yesterday...

Hello world! I feel so much better than I did when I was sick last week...

It's strange to start a new year sick as can be. I had so many good intentions about exercising... but then I didn't at all last week because I could barely even stay awake. I also gave myself the okay not to worry about what I ate. I didn't do this as an excuse because I was sick.. but rather because I was barely eating. I would wake up, eat an english muffin, sleep for 6 hours, then not be hungry for dinner. After the first day of this and worrying about what I would eat for dinner, I decided to just go with the flow. The result? I made good choices.

Yesterday, on the other hand, was more than a challenge. It was the hubby's birthday. We went to his parent's house for lunch and ate pizza. I had 1 and a half slices.. which is better than the 4 that I would have had in previous incarnations of Megan. His mom got cheesecake for him. I hate cheesecake so very much.. so I had exactly zero slices. The bad part came when I had to make dinner. He requested lasagna. My original intention was to make a healthy lasagna with veggies and tofu and whatever else I could get away with. Unfortunately, the internet was down and I didn't want to risk making him a gross lasagna. I minimized the cheese, but still. I had a slice of that. I was getting full halfway through and stopped eating my slice. Then, suddenly, my plate was empty and I was super full. This was followed by cake that a friend of ours brought over.

I suppose it all could have gone worse...

Eating healthy is not hard.. but eating poorly is so much easier.

School starts next week. I have a lot of cleaning and reading to do in my remaining time off! I suppose I should get to that!

The one where she sleeps

I'm sick.

I'm so sick.

I've spent the majority of the last 48 hours sleeping than being awake.

Sneezing, coughing, blowing my nose..

I want to eat well, but I'm barely eating at all.

I'm going back to bed.

The one where it's 2011...

*crickets*

Did you hear that? Silence! I have no excuse for not blogging and not eating well. All I know is that this is the year I turn 30 and that's what this blog is about!

I don't know why I haven't been able to get diets to stick. Maybe being with Jon has done a lot to hinder me. It's not his fault.. it's just that I don't have to worry about finding someone. That isn't fair to him. I should put as much effort into myself now as I did or tried to be before we were together officially.

Anyway... I'm hoping to keep up with blogging.. but I suppose we'll see how that goes...