Time To Knuckle Down

First of all, check out my left sidebar over there - see it?  The new photo album/recipe thingie?  I'm determined to actually post the dinners I make and eat over there for y'all to keep me honest. 

Because sometimes, a girl just wants to hit the drive-thru and get a super-size fries, even if she made a giant shopping trip and just ranted about dog-crap in food.  Must.  Be.  Strong...

Eliminating snacks from my diet may seem counterproductive.  Yet that's what I'm determined to do.  See, as a snacker, I habitually fill my body with empty, thoughtless calories, and end up overeating at meals, because my stomach was already close to full from all the goodies I ate earlier.  I know that there are some people out there who have difficulty managing their blood sugar, and need to eat small, frequent meals.  As for me, I really don't.  I rarely find myself hungry, because I'm always snacking.  This has messed with my body's cues in a big way.

This was one of the problems I had with some of the traditional diet programs - on the old points program through Weight Watchers, I found myself eating veggie soup for dinner every night, having found a way to squander all my points on a little bit of this and a little bit of that during the day.  I hated having to account for every bite.   They built in plenty of low-point snack suggestions, and while I appreciated being able to have a fat-free pudding, or a couple of low-cal cookies, or a diet soda, or heck, all of that and more, I was filling my body with synthetic crap in an effort to entertain my palate.  Less than an hour later, I'd find myself craving a little something to tide me over.  It was a never-ending cycle.

My challenge for this week is to cut all the snacks out.  I've caved a few times, but I am finding that by eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, and including healthy fats in each meal, I am satisfied, and don't need to seek out a snack between meals.  And you know what?  I'm enjoying every bite.  I've got plenty of energy, and I feel balanced.  This is a major improvement, let me tell you.

I'm not saying that all snacks are bad - I know that other people (like, not me) can snack responsibly.  I'm unable to, and I'm finding that the urge to snack is not based on hunger - which is the only reason to eat, if I'm understanding correctly.  Who knew?  Perhaps I need to take up a new hobby.

Once my hideous sunburn heals on my back, I'll be back to crazy exercising. I've added your DVD suggestions to my netflix queue, and I'm looking for more ideas and challenges.  What do you want to see me do?  Here's what I have in my arsenal:

• mini-trampoline
• weighted hula-hoop
• roller blades
• scooter
• bike
• exercise ball
• assorted dumbbells and a curling bar
• jump rope
• good walking shoes
• newly started horseback riding lessons (Haaa!  Comedy GOLD, people!)
• access to all sorts of indoor and outdoor exercise venues - ice and roller skating, rock climbing, paddle boats, hiking trails, inflatable indoor party gym place, dance studios, the beach, the redwoods... use your imagination.
• no shame
• several new, cute exercise outfits from Target, to whom we should just give the paycheck, already.
• a camera capable of stills AND video

You wanna see me do a Survivor-style obstacle course at the park?  You want me to ride five miles on my bike while pulling two tantruming kids in the bike trailer?  You want me to climb a bazillion steps?  Want to see me attempt a challenging yoga series with my three-year-old "helping?"

I'm willing to try.  More than that, I'm willing to document and present photo/video evidence for your amusement.  So let's hear it.  Leave me a comment with your wild plans - and if I maim myself trying to base jump off the play structure at the local park at your suggestion...let's just hope I don't maim myself.  Too much.  Golly, this is starting to sound like an episode of Jackass. 

Comments

[Missie]

Go, Jenny, Go! Woo-hoo for you! Sounds like you are ready to get the show on the road.

I think you should do whatever you try that makes you feel good while you're doing it. If you like biking, then do that. Bungee jumping? do that. Because only when you find something you really dig will you stay at it and reap the benefits. I just had that epiphany myself (duh--and after 18 yrs in the medical industry) and I have finally found something I love and have kept at it.

I do have to say that anything you can do that incorporates punching can be a very very good thing. :) Great stress reliever.

[Amanda]

Go girl! You are making such positive changes. I need to follow suit, and really get rid of the snacks. I can so identify.

I have long said that if some Mom out there came up with a playground workout - chinups on the monkey bars, stretches on the jungle gym, etc., - that they would make a million bucks!

[EverydaySuperGoddess]

I had the same problem with "diet" snacks. And I still love to graze. Sometimes my hand is halfway to my mouth before I realize what I'm doing.

I love the idea of posting recipes and photos to keep yourself on track.

[BigSlice]

What? No one is throwing down an "I triple-dog-dare you to..." yet?

[steph]

okay, mizz jenny-o---
I challenge you to 50 boy push-ups. That's right, 5-0. I don't care if you do one at a time spread out through the 24 hours, just get. it. done.

It's only because I love you.
:-)

[JennyLauck]

Ha ha! Steph throws down a challenge! 50 boy push-ups in 24 hours. I'm all over it.

[Amalah]

A few weeks ago, I actually went to an exercise class. At an actual gym.

It was a stripping class. Yes. You worked out to striptease routines. In high heels.

Consider this your official stripper exercise challenge throwdown. Heh.

[Tara]

What's wrong with Jackass? I loved that show. WildBoyz just isn't as good. . .

Sounds like you're trying some great stuff. I'm high on circuit training-type workouts, as I just took a CT class at my gym today and LOVED IT. See, I get bored easily doing the same thing over and over, and this type of workout doesn't let you do enough of any one thing to get tired of it. Yet it worked every part of my body. Yay!

Someone mentioned punching is good--I have a Denise Austin video (think it's "Blast Away 10 Lbs." or something like that) that has a fun 20-minute kickboxing routine. I used this exclusively during my last Weight Watchers dieting phase, and it helped get me in the best shape of my life.

Rambled enough--looking forward to your recipes. Thanks for sharing!

[Ginny]

I love Three Kid Circus and I love your Big Slice blog, too! I just love your writing, no matter the subject. How about a belly dancing challenge? I recently discovered belly dancing DVDs and I'm having a blast, especially because the bigger your stomach, the better you look belly dancing. There is a teeny-tiny woman in one of the DVDs with flat, rock-hard abs and it just doesn't look right to see her shaking her stuff. In contrast, there is a big gal on the DVD and she owns those moves. I really want to see you belly dancing, preferably with one of those jangly little hip thingies.

[Amy]

I had the same problem with WW - all the synthetic food. Fat free Cool Whip - you can eat it all day long! It just didn't seem right. And the veggie soup. Yeah. I am pretty done with that route. I bought the Sonoma Diet and while I don't follow it totally, I got some good ideas for snacks, etc. My philosophy is to "make it count" - the snack should have a lot of fiber and/or protein. I also measure everything, which helps me a lot as I tend to graze and lose track of how many Hershey Kisses I've popped into my mouth over the last ... 10 minutes.

[EverydaySuperGoddess]

Okay, so I was thinking about this last night, and I remembered a couple of years ago when my sister, Meghan, suggested that I register to run in a half marathon.

At the time, Meghan had finished the Twin Cities Marathon five or six times, but I literally could not run around the block. I thought to myself, I so incredibly do not want to do this, which is exactly the reason why I guess I should.

Six months later, Meghan and I both finished that half marathon, and at one point as we were running along, I thanked her for believing that I could do something that I never would have considered for myself.

Sometimes, all it takes is one person believing you can do something.

So there you go, Mizz Jenny. In honor of my fantastic sister Meghan and myself, my wild plan for you is to register for and complete a half marathon some time in the next year.