My weight loss in 60 seconds: premeditated portion control

I've been back to WW since April 4. I lost a little weight, cruised for a few weeks and this past week, I lost weight again.

I had wisdom teeth surgery two weeks ago. I remember telling myself that one week of recovery shouldn't derail my efforts. I told myself I was going to recover without gaining weight. I tracked my points and that was super smart. I maintained my weight that week.

This past week, I took my tracking seriously. I thought I was serious before but not really. I took advantage of the scanner tool in the WW App and I scanned foods that I thought were zero points. It turns out, I was eating more points than planned.

For example, we buy chicken breast (zero points right?). The thing is, the frozen type, when scanned is worth 2 points. I added those points to a chicken barbecue pulled pork sandwich we had for Sunday lunch. I counted the hamburger bun we bought and I ate guilt-free.

12 years ago I had a major lesson about portion control. I was part of a weight loss group in my North Carolina town. The nutritionist would teach different topics each week. One week, she taught us about portion control. That lesson changed the way I viewed food and nutrition.

Lately, I've been listening to people who believe that we should eat until we're satisfied, not until we're full. I don't know why this never made sense to me before. I practiced the whole eat until you're satisfied approach last week. My husband even asked me why I didn't finish a salad I ordered. I told him "I'm not hungry any more." Now that's super different for me!

Last Tuesday, I saw that this whole strategy worked. I'm sure I won't lose 3 pounds per week. I am happy that I have a better idea of what portion control is and I know how to stop eating when I'm satisfied.

I gave my kids a little lesson on portion control too. We were packing our lunch for the week, so I showed them the portion recommendation in the nutrition label. It's the little things right?

My challenge is to continue this approach until I reach my weight loss goal.

I am specially happy because I finally arrived to the lowest amount of weight I hit with WW before my break. I was this exact weight last summer some time.

I'm eager to finish what I started. I'm already enjoying where I am. Thanks for joining me in this journey friends!

Stats:
WW start weight: 175 lbs
4/4/19: 161 lbs
Current: 156 lbs
First Goal: 150 lbs

Previously in this Series:
• • First week of WW
••• WW Speak

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My weight loss in 60 seconds: WW Speak

I am approaching week 3 with Weight Watchers. I want to give you an idea of all things WW Speak and my own approach to success. Let's start with WW Speak:

I use the App in order to track my points. I battled with it at first but I have found that tracking is the way to success. The app is the easiest way to do that now.

Daily Smartpoints • I get 23 daily points. The beauty of WW is the amount of foods that are zero points. Let's say I am eating really well! I'm not abusing the system: I'm making sure I get the best nutrition for my points, no matter what. I pre-plan and pre-track most of my points.

Weekly Smartpoints • The first time I was a WW member, I didn't really use my weeklies. This time, I'm using them strategically. They are there to give me flexibility. They are a tool for success. I learned (thanks Youtube) that if I roll them over, I have flexibility during special occasions.

Rollovers • A few weeks ago, I saved a few points a day. They became rollovers and those rollovers, in addition to my weeklies, help me really enjoy weekends with my family. There's no reason to cheat if I plan my rollovers ahead of time. I went to a party recently and I had cake. I asked myself, should I be feeling guilty? The answer was no. I had my rollovers and I used them.

Profile • WW stepped up its digital game with the App. While I am not going to meetings, the profile and its perks make you feel like you are part of a greater community. The fun thing is that the community is everywhere if you so choose to connect outside of the app. I listen to a WW related podcast and I'm part of a group (I don't frequent) on Facebook.

Daily used • very important to know. You don't want to be too low or too high. Regardless, you want to be true to yourself when it comes to your daily use. Being truthful will reveal a lot about your results.

Daily meals • The place you go to add all the food and liquids you ingest. There isn't a special place for water. If that's an issue for you, you might want to include it somewhere.

Other features I like:

• Days in healthy eating zone - a calendar that shows how long you stayed within the parameters of the plan. I love calendars so this visual is awesome.
• Weight journey - a graph and list of your weight evolution. I'm glad it kept the info from last Fall when I was a member for the second time. My first time, we were all paper all the time.
• Messages: automated messages that give you feedback on your week. The weeks I gained weight, the message would suggest that I track more.

My own approach to success:

• I take tracking seriously. It is the only way I'll succeed. Imagining what I ate does work. Trust me, I tried.
• I eat the same things my family does for dinner. I didn't put them on WW. What I do is to make sure we all up our veggie and fruit intake.
• I haven't added my exercise points to the mix. If I need to, I certainly will. For now, the weeklies have been plenty.
• I have a strategy for work, buffet and parties. We get A LOT OF FOOD every day at work. We don't get bad food either. The first thing I learned to do was to desensitize myself from the smell of pizza. We get pizza every day and there are leftovers often. I learned my buffet strategy around 12 years ago. The thing is to remember that food will not disappear from the world if I leave some in the buffet. The other trick is to look before I make my decision. I learned to choose what I really want instead of getting a little bit of everything because it's been sitting there for 3 hours before I showed up. Sunday, we had a party at church. It was potluck. I took my own breakfast so when I arrived, I wasn't starving. Also, I got what I really wanted and I practiced paying attention to my hunger scale. Just because it is there, I don't have to eat it. If I'm not hungry, I can wait until later.

So, I had two wisdom teeth removed so I didn't weigh in so this stats reflect last week's numbers. Thanks for joining me in this journey!

Stats:
Beginning: 161 lbs
Current: 159 lbs
First Goal: 150 lbs

Previously in this series:
• First week of WW

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Vigilantes do Peso

Voltei pros Vigilantes gente! Eu entrei na primeira vez em 2010. Tive que sair porque não estava mais dando pra pagar pela mensalidade. Tive minha filha mais nova em 2012 e perdi peso sozinha. Com a vida, estresse, etc, ganhei bastante peso de volta. Resolvi voltar em 2017. Pela segunda vez, tive que sair pra poder poupar um pouco de grana. Eu comecei a usar uma App gratis, mas não consegui perder peso como antigamente. Fiquei muito feliz por não ter ganhado tudo de volta. 

Dia 4 eu recomecei minha jornada com o VP. Estou usando a App, e estou gostando muito. Infelizmente, eu não estou com tempo de ir as reuniões. Até agora, o meu plano está funcionando. 

Aqui estão os números:

Início: 79.37 kgs

Objetivo: 54 kgs

Peso da semana: 72.5 kgs

Meus objetivos dessa semana são:

• anotar tudo o que como na app

• guardar alguns pontos pra me divertir com a família no final-de-semana

• continuar fazendo exercícios de 4-5 dias por semana

• descansar bem

• beber bastante água todo dia 

Obrigada por me acompanhar nessa jornada amigos e amigas!

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5 Money Saving Habits

Most people would like to have more money. I find that if I can save more, I’ll automatically have more income. I have developed several habits that help me stretch my income without compromising the quality of my lifestyle. My objective is to be a good steward of the income God has entrusted to my family. Here are five habits that have helped me:

• Eating in - Buying food on the way home is so tempting. I have decided to count to cost so I can convince myself that eating in is efficient. How do I do that? I look at the price of different foods and I calculate how much it’d take me to make the same dish. I’m telling you: it is effective to learn how to cook the dishes we like. There’s also the internet for rare ingredients as well as local ethnic stores for spices. Eating at home has a positive effect on my health as well. How so? I know exactly which ingredients are in my dishes. I also enjoy sharing the joy of cooking with my husband who is excellent at it. I often tell him ‘I don’t know why we go out, you cook better than most restaurants we go to!’

• Car Cleaning - this one is also up for debate but it works for me. I went to the dollar store and bought a few car cleaning supplies. The first time I cleaned my car I timed myself. It doesn't take that long, and I successfully convinced myself of this money saving habit. I believe I’ve saved close to $400 dollars in the past 4 months by being the car wash. I also burned $1,632 calories by washing my car. It’s been hot outside so it does feel like cardio!

• Starting Cheap - when I shop for groceries or for a party, I start at the cheapest store, then I proceed to the most expensive grocery store. I often start at Aldi then I move on to a traditional grocery store. I save a lot at Aldi but there are a few items such as organic rice that I can’t find there. Recently, while planning my daughter’s birthday party, I started at a dollar store (King Dollar) then I went to a more expensive place like Party City. The savings were incredible! If you have a neck for DIY and Pinterest is your friend, start cheap when it comes to your shopping. It only means more money in your pocket!

• Recycling clothes - I know this is not for everyone but it has worked wonders for me. Take my latest jeans purchase for example. I went to a second-hand store and I saw some this cute pair of jeans. I bought them for $6. Apparently, they sell for an average of $200! I do not look for brand name stuff, I stick with quality, color and the way an outfit makes me look. I wouldn’t have spent $200 in jeans but knowing that I can find quality clothes for a good price is wonderful. The other day I went to a different second-hand store and my friend told me certain items were on sale for $1. I scored a cute jacket and I wore it to a speaking engagement. I also have friends who have clothe exchange parties and I try to be a part of it when I can. Again, this is not for everyone but honey, it works for this woman.

• Free Fun - for every kid activity out there is a free or cheaper option. When my son turned one, a friend of our family made balloon animals for a donation at his party. There are free summer camps for kids. I know that my readers who live in smaller towns are thinking “I wish this was available where I live!” You have to remember that you can make it happen. Getting together with two other friends and using your strengths is the same thing as offering summer camp. We just have to work together. The public library has wonderful, free of charge, educational programs. There are free splash pads out there as well as rivers and parks. I am thankful that a wonderful childhood doesn’t require a fat hedge fund. It requires love and a bit of creativity from all parties involved.

These are a few of my money saving habits. How are you saving money these days?

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100 Days of Food Journaling: I did it!

I wanted to change and I believe I did. For the past 100 days I've been saying that by day 100 I will not be the same person who started this challenge. Here's how it happened:

Who: me, myself and I. I challenged myself to keep a digital food journal for 100 days. It's amazing how I did. Thank God I did. 

What: a food journal. Plain and simple, write down everything I eat, drink and how much I exercise. 

Where: there are many ways to do it but this time I chose to keep a digital food diary on Google Drive. 

Why: My weight and eating habits were getting out of hand. I was unhappy with the way I felt and running was tougher than what it needed to be. A lot of my clothes were not fitting properly. 

How: I kept the following format:

Day 5, June 13, 2015

Breakfast: banana, clif shot (pre-run); 1 egg, 1 slice of bread

Snack: Coffee with soy

Lunch: butternut squash with meat and tilapia. small piece of fried chicken breast

Dinner: butternut squash, fish

Exercise: 10-mile run

H20: 16 + 16 +  16 oz

Thoughts: It was tougher to eat healthy yesterday than I thought. I’m still determined to succeed. Today was a much better day: a night of sleep and a long run as well as yard saling with my mom really added to my well being.

Friends, I was obviously not trying to change drastically, I was trying to make progress. The important thing is that I'm not where I was before. 

The truth is that my weight went down more than up. The truth is that this challenge has helped me make progress and I am grateful.

Will I keep journaling my food or go for another 100 day challenge? You may ask. The answers are yes and maybe. I will keep journaling but I think I will focus on one week at a time. 

I do get better results when I journal for it is a great way to improve my health. 

I am thankful to God for this opportunity and I am happy to have accomplished another wellness challenge! 

100 Days of Food Journal: 
• Day 1 
• Day 11
• Day 21
• Day 59

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100 Days of Food Journaling: 3 words

This is day 59 of 100 and here is my latest update:

#100days #fooddiary #foodjournal I'm so thankful.

A video posted by Cintia Listenbee (@cintialistenbee) on Aug 6, 2015 at 4:01am PDT

I can say that writing down my food intake has become a well-established habit. I can also say that losing weight is not my main motivation (although it's really nice). Improving my health is the main reason why I am persevering in this project. The side effects are many: running is getting easier, I am losing weight and my clothes are fit better (yes!!!). 

When I started this process, my focus was to regain control of my food intake by paying close attention to nutrition. Every day has not been "glamorous" which means I am learning from my mistakes. My main drive can be summarized in 3 words "don't give up." 

Showing perfect before and after pictures can't do justice to the real stuff that goes on in real life. This week for example, I started my new job. I haven't worked outside of the home for 6 and a half years. It is a big adjustment but I am determined not to let this change derail me from my wellness goals. 

Exercising is still a priority but I've been fitting in when I can. Last night I had THE worse run ever but I got it done. This morning when I weighed myself I gave glory to God for helping me lose 2 more pounds. 

My friend, you can achieve your health goals. My encouraging words to you can be summarized in "you will succeed" and "take small steps."

If you need support in your wellness journey, join my Health Support Group on Facebook.

100 Days of Food Journal: 
• Day 1 
• Day 11
• Day 21

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Meia Maratona de Franklin: 25 dias

arroz, feijão, verduras e legumes.

Duas semanas atrás resolvi cozinhar meu almoço e minha janta, medir tudo e colocar na geladeira. Estar preparada pra semana foi uma das melhores decisões que já fiz! A minha alimentação ficou bem mais saudável, eu comi todos os nutrientes que precisava e perdi o peso que estou precisando perder. Correr a meia-maratona no peso certo é bom porque não vou carregar o peso extra por 21 km. Assim que comecei a medir tudo e comer na hora certa me senti bem melhor. 

Chia amolecendo na água, aveia com banana, pasta de
amendoim e canela. 

A maratona de Houston em Janeiro foi ótima, mas quando cheguei lá eu estava lutando pra não ficar doente. Com a graça de Deus terminei a corrida bem, e a recuperação começou. Depois dessa fase de descanso eu continuei a fazer exercícios, mas aumentando os kms no final-de-semana e incluindo a musculação. Fiquei feliz com essa a oportunidade de correr a meia maratona de Franklin porque é mais um incentivo pra continuar o treino e pra manter a saúde. 

Fim da corrida e a felicidade do nosso treinador atrás de mim.

Sábado passado corremos 16 km. Estava quente a bessa, antes de chegar aos 5 kms estávamos pingando no chão. O segredo aqui é correr onde se tem posto de gasolina porque lá dá pra colocar gelo na garrafa. Também passamos perto de escolas onde sempre tem bebedouro. Durante a época do grupo de corrida (começa em Julho e termina depois da maratona de Houston), um grupo de voluntários põe água e gatorade em certos pontos do treino pra nós, então não precisamos de nos preocupar. Nesse Sábado eu levei o meu próprio Gatorade (na verdade o Powerade Zero) porque aprendi no verão passado que repor os eletrólitos é importante demais. O meu objetivo pra essa semana é de continuar tomando bastante água, tomar o nuun (eletrólitos), comer bem mas sempre medindo tudo e continuar com o mesmo plano de exercícios. Tenho me sentido bem melhor e mais forte. Comecei a fazer mais exercícios abdominais e também tem me ajudado bastante. Parece brincadeira, mas por causa do meu abdômen estar fraco por falta de exercício e por causa das cesárias, levantar da cama ás vezes é bem doloroso por causa de cãibras. Isso melhorou bastante em um mês de exercícios abdominais e nos outros músculos daquela área. Bem, por enquanto são essas as novidades. Uma semana bem saudável pra você!

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5 foods that helped me lose 44 Pounds

I didn't have a personal trainer nor did I follow a diet. Thank God I was still able to lose  44 pounds the old fashion way. Today I wanted to tell you about 5 foods from the traditional food groups that I eat on a regular basis. Food was part of a winning combination of education, mind renewal, behavior modification,  stress management and flexibility which resulted in weight loss. Here's my list:

Real Food rocks!

5 • Banana - I buy a lot of bananas for our family. I like the way they taste and they are my go to food before my runs. It turns out they are also packed with B6 and vitamin C. Read about other benefits of Bananas here.
4 • Cabbage - I got in the habit of buying them because they are really cheap and they make a great basis for my vegetable soup. I started doing this 2 years ago and it just works for me. Most of the soup is cabbage and the rest is either mixed veggies, beans or whatever else we have. Cabbage has a lot of vitamin K and vitamin C. You can read about other cabbage benefits here.
3 • Black Beans - a Brazilian staple, these Beans have a winning protein/fiber ratio. We eat Black Beans most days at our house, I only stay away from it when I'm expecting. I guess my stomach couldn't take it for some reason. I add it to soups, we eat it with rice and we occasionally make Black Bean burgers my husband loves. Read about the benefits of Black Beans here.
2 • Almond Milk - I was very sensitive to dairy during my pregnancy so Almond Milk was my main source of dairy. I use it as coffee creamer because is super low in calories. I also drink dark chocolate almond milk as a recovery drink after running. Here are other benefits of Almonds here
1 • Oatmeal - I didn't grow up eating oatmeal but I acquired this great habit almost 7 years ago. The kids and I love it for breakfast and honestly for snacks too. It' is super filling if you don't want to be hungry in the morning. I almost never use instant oatmeal because I don't like the taste of it or the amount of sugar. I cook it fresh and we enjoy it most days of the week. Learn about the benefits of oats here.

I am thankful that God is such genius and created fresh food. I am aware that it is a lot of work to cook fresh food but oh the benefits! I feel better overall when I enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables. This past year I also enjoyed cakes, pies, sweet tea, chips, etc but on a very limited basis. Our family eats pizza once a week for dinner and I was still able to lose the weight. My point is to find the best quality foods for my body allowing myself the occasional treat.

I hope you enjoyed my list! What are some of the foods that helps your health journey?

Video Series:
• My Weight Loss in 60 Seconds (Complete Video Archives)

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Reevaluating my Goals

I wanted to take advantage of being in the middle of the year to reevaluate my goals. I think that rewriting this letter could be beneficial:

My 2011 Letter

The idea is to write a letter the future you is writing to the current you. It lists the successes you are currently incorporating in your life, the changes you want to make in the future and the winning strategies that will help you make the changes. According to my original goal, I have 6 weeks to arrive at a BMI OF 24.9 or less. Sometimes I wonder if I can. Most times I am telling myself not to give up and keep pushing forward. I hope you have time to reevaluate your goals.
Action Items:
• Read your goals;
• Reevaluate them;
• Write down new Strategies to reach them.

Related Posts:
• 7 Steps Toward Success
• Goals: Starting Fresh
• The New You is Calling
• Goals for 2013: Why?
• Reaching Fitness Goals
• Reassessing my Goals
• Exercise: Pre-planning Works
• 3 Ways to be More Productive

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Vision Boards, an Evolution

My health coach encouraged me to keep an account of everything that went into my mouth. I used to write it in this pretty journal:

Food Journal 2007

I also used to keep up with this little thing. I marked how many fruits, veggies, dairy, protein, etc I had for the day.

Food Journal 2007

Between pregnancies I tried to keep my writing habit going but it was really challenging. I used to post it on my refrigerator so I'd see it often. Notice the (ancient) photo of us with one kid only!

Food Journal 2009

When I joined Weight Watchers I also kept great notes on what I ate. They went a little further and encouraged me to dream a little higher. I was thinking beyond a number in the scale. 

Weight Watchers form from 2011

When I left Weight Watchers I decided to stick with what works for me. I slowly but surely lost the habit of writing down EVERYTHING I ate but I kept losing weight for the most part. I decided to have Vision Board but I enhanced mine a bit. I try to include my goal and how I am going to get there. I also include my weekly weight so that I can get encouraged with my progress:

Vision Board 2012

This year I decided to add my rewards for the year. It will be fun to have something to look forward to as I lose weight. Thus far my reward has been to fit in pre-pregnancy clothes.

Vision Board 2013

I believe that everyone's Vision Board should be special and taylor made. What motivates you do not motivate me, that's one of the reason's why everyone's boards should be different. I called this post an "evolution" because I moved from a strickt form to a freer approach to weight loss. Yes, I could write down every single thing I eat on my diary but I decided to do without an extra stress in my life. I have also decided that I will not write down everything I eat for the rest of my life, I will learn how much I'm supposed to eat in order to live a healthy life. I learned a lot from writing things down in the past but currently I feel like writing down my exercise, having a vision board and eating a healthy diet is all I can afford and is giving me results. That's the magic word my friends, results. Vision Boards are worthless if the board's owner is not doing the work that gets results.
It started in my mind. It had to be renewed. All the other fun and glittery stuff just makes my journey prettier. The essential thing was to renew my mind. That my friends was my first step to a healthier journey.
QUESTION • Do you have a Vision Board? Have you thought about the relationship between the renewed mind and a healthier lifestyle? What are your thoughts on that?

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Weight Watchers Wednesday

Hope you enjoyed the video! Here are a couple of meals I've had this week:

Peppermint tea, banana, peanut butter, rice cake

Oatmeal with cinnamon & banana, decaff with 1/2 cup of 1% milk

lentil soup with kale

Shepherd's Pie

What small steps will you take towards a better health? Tell me one.

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Portion Distortion

Now that we're passed the stage of 'all day sickness' (lucky you if you just had it in the morning!) I found out I need to be more conscious about food portions. My body naturally did that for me in the beginning of this pregnancy but now, I'm pretty much on my own. Half of the battle is remember to eat. Once my pantry is filled with healthy options I have to make sure my portions are not distorted.

This morning I had generic Raisin Bran with skim milk and a little over half a banana.

According to the cereal box:

1 cup - 190 calories 

1/2 cup - 230 with skim milk 

This means I ate 115 calories with the cereal. 

I always eat more when I'm tempted to fill the bowl without measuring. I often have to use a measuring cup just to prove to myself I can be satisfied with 1/2 cup of cereal. 

Another good thing is that my son is highly enjoying bananas. He eats a couple of small bites of one in the morning and I use the rest for my cereal. 

When it's time for lunch and specially dinner, the bigger the plate, the better it looks. I'm always tempted to fill it to the max, so I try to eat with my salad plate. I usually don't measure what goes in such a small plate but I used to and it was great. My dream is to make sure I buy a smaller set of dinner ware in the future. I remember that growing up I got used to drinking from huge cups while one of my sisters always used smaller sets and better controlled her weight. Here are my dinner plates and a 1/2 cup measuring cup so you can see the difference.

The challenge to drink enough water is never ending around here. My son is in the game as well. He used to think that the water in the sippy cup was a toy but now he drinks a little bit throughout the day. It's a habit that needs to be acquired. When I was working full-time I used to place a huge water jug in my desk and the goal was to make sure it was empty by the end of the day. I did really well during my first pregnancy as well because of that habit. Weekends weren't always so good but I was always hydrated. Now that I'm at home more the battle continues. Some days I drink enough, some I don't. I use this big boy in order to measure what I'm drinking (or not). 

Different women have different philosophies when it comes to eating while pregnant. I swore to perfection with my first one: I started a skinny vegetarian and ended up a health conscious flexatarian. With my second pregnancy I had no choice. I still love to eat but in the beginning was just not hungry or couldn't eat much (let's not forget about the stomach bug incident). Now that things are somewhat back to normal I try not to be perfect (no food pyramids for pregnancy in my refrigerator) because I don't have the time. I try to make the best choices I can for myself, starting with portion sizes. My husband has encouraged me to keep walking as well as to get more vegetables, legumes and fruits in our diet. This week we've been eating better than I can remember in months. You'll find tofu, brown rice and lots of veggies in our diet, thank God and thanks to the leadership of my husband. My son never has to worry about eating great things. He eats lots of veggies, fruits and whole grains daily, it's up to the adults to end their portion distortion mentality. 

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Nice Update

I’m so happy that after deciding it was time to get back to healthier habits I lost 2 pounds! I wasn’t super dedicated the whole week as I have been in the past. By day 4 I was wondering what’s the use of sticking with it: there was no time to think about calorie content so the best I could do is read labels. There was no time to prepare meals at times so I did go to fast food twice. I made the time to walk which was 3 out of the ideal 5 times I wanted to get out there and thank God, it still worked! If I could focus on 3 things instead of 30, I would focus on portions, exercise and adding more fruits and veggies. I also started taking my vitamins. It’s a good start and I’m happy and thankful to God for the results. I do plan on keep doing what I’m not doing and not making it hard for myself.

Today I introduced sweet potatoes to the baby. I bought one of those baby food jars in the store and yes, I read the label. I noticed the amount of crazy ingredients they add in some baby food. It’s sad but that’s what it takes to make food have a shelf life that is due in forever and a day. I bought a butternut squash to make so he can try next week. This whole thing about introducing new foods is fun. It will be interesting to see when he’s ready to start with table foods. I’m looking forward to giving him rice and beans (a favorite around here).

If you look in the previous post you’ll notice we gave the Little Prince a haircut. We knew the time was coming so we went ahead and did it. You can see his beautiful face better. It’s definitely easier to keep up with this hairstyle because I don’t use the brush as often as I did before. It requires way less shampoo (I was using my own because the baby shampoo was doing nothing for him) as well.

There’s a huge consignment sale coming to our town and I am looking forward to buying new clothes. We go enough to cover us for most of his first year but we have winter coming. I also need clothes for 9 months and on. I don’t sell things on consignment yet because we are definitely having more children so it’s not wise to give everything away right now.

We went for a walk around the neighborhood today, it was such a lovely one! The baby loved riding in the front carrier and I enjoyed the extra weight on me, which added a lot to the exercise. Let’s see if the weather will permit us to do that again this week. That’s all for now friends! Have an awesome week!

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De Volta

Fazem dois dias que voltei a Redução alimentar. Estou seguindo a pirâmide alimentar como seguia antes. Coloco o formulário que preencho na geladeira pra eu não esquecer do que comi e do que preciso. Já esfriou bastante aqui. Na hora que vou caminhar já está frio mas no final da caminhada a gente já está aquecido. Eu anoto o exercício que faço no mesmo formulário, então fica prático.

A novidade que estou esperando pra anunciar é que foi convidada pra escrever no blog ‘We are the real deal’, um blog pra mulheres. Está em ingles mas da pra ler aqui. Fiquei honrada com o convite. Esse blog tem escritoras fixas mas as vezes eles convidam uns ‘guest bloggers.’ Falei sobre o meu testemunho de como Deus transformou minha mente e depois que a mente foi transformada a perda de peso aconteceu.

Meu filho completou 5 meses na terça-feira. Estou muito feliz e agradecida a Deus por essa bênção. Até a próxima!

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Tudo tem o seu tempo

Ontem eu recomecei a cozinhar. Acho que nao cozinho fazem umas 2 ou 3 semanas. Como eu tinha dito, nossos vizinhos, irmaos da igreja e amigos nos ajudaram muito durante a primeira semana de vida do LP, eles trouxeram comida pra gente nao ter que se preocupar com mais uma coisa pra fazer enquanto estavamos nos acostumando com a nova rotina. 

Ontem o Zeke fez churrasco, ficou muito bom. Fiz arroz e feijao, e ele fez batata frita. Falei com o meu marido que ja que nao estou gravida e ja passamos da primeira semana em casa com o bebe, vou parar de comer sobremesas. Algumas pessoas trouxeram, mas de agora em diante vamos comer mais frutas em vez de sobremesas. Estou liberada pra caminhar, mas ainda nao tive tempo de recomecar. Assim que der e assim que parar de chover pretendo caminhar devagar pelo menos por uns 15 minutos, mas vamos ver. Ainda nao estou em condicoes de comecar a reeducacao (escrevendo tudo, etc). Tem muita coisa nova acontecendo, e ouvi dizer que esse e um pessimo momento pra recomecar a reeducacao por causa do trabalho que um bebe novo da. Voce tem que se acostumar com essa parte da vida pra depois tentar mudar a outra. Isso nao quer dizer que eu nunca vou recomecar ou que nao ligo pra reeducacao. Sinto muita falta de correr mas o negocio e me recuperar bem e me adaptar com as novas mudancas pra ter um controle melhor da vida sem ter que abracar o mundo com as pernas sabe? Paciencia tem sido essencial. O legal da reeducacao que fiz antes e que sei muita coisa que ainda estou usando (medindo o cereal que como de manha, parar de comer quando nao estiver com fome, comer bastante legumes e verduras, etc). Tenho bebida muito agua tambem, gracas a Deus. Voltei a beber cha, mas nao bebo todo dia, entao minhas bebidas principais ainda sao agua e leite.

Nos recebemos algumas visitas, mas nem tantas. Foi bom pq as vezes vc esta bem cansado, as vezes vc quer que o bebe durma sem ser interrompido, etc. Deus sabe do que precisamos e Ele tem nos dado exatamento isto. 

Aqui quando o bebe nasce o povo anuncia atraves de cartoes pra familia e amigos, alguns hospitais tem fotos (o meu nao teve) e vc pode colocar no jornal tambem. Como jornalista, sempre anuncio essas coisas no jornal: casamento, nascimento de filhos... e bem bacana. E mais pra cidade pequena (ou devo dizer, minuscula RS) como a nossa mas a gente fica feliz e marca a data tambem. 

Um bom fds a todos/as!!!

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Simple Simplifying

The world is really complex but your life doesn’t have to be. One of the reasons why I’ve failed on weight loss efforts is because things were more complicated than I thought they would be.

During one summer I was offered to take on the body shape diet. I had to read a book, take a test, watch a tape and do 50 jumping jacks before I actually started the diet. Okay, I exaggerated on the jumping jacks LOL. I didn’t get through the first page of the book. That summer (one of my 10 attempts to lose weight), I opted to simplify my meals and exercise twice a day (walking and biking). I lost at least 20 pounds that summer. I couldn’t keep that lifestyle in the fall because my schedule became more complex.

In my search for motivation to stick with my lifestyle change, simplicity has been a must. People can make simplicity complex. When I open a magazine about simple living, some of the tips are complicated. They take a lot of time to do. That proves me that I have to make things personal. I can’t rely on a magazine or a weekly show to tell me how to make my life simpler. I also understand that those tips might work for you.

These are some of the things that work for me if I want to simplify my life:

Sleep earlier. Getting quality sleep adds more to my life because I simply feel better. I have more energy to spend during the a day and I’ll be in a better mood.

Pack the night before. When I pack my gym clothes the night before, all I have to do is grab that bag on my way out to work. The same work for lunch. I’m less likely to eat crazy if I pack my lunch in advance. In grad school I used to cook for a whole week.

Use the same grocery list. My nutritionist gave me this brilliant idea. I have several busy weeks ahead. Because I’m the main shopper in my household, it makes it easier to buy the same things each week instead of coming up with new menus and items. When my schedule becomes more flexible, my list will surely change.

Simplify your eating. My nutritionist suggested that I simplified my eating plan and I refused it. I repented and today I started on a plan that’s called ‘simple choices.' I don’t have as many choices as in the food pyramid plan but I still get the same nutrition for the same number of calories.

Make God’s priorities your own. God cares about things I should care about. I’ve been meditating on Ephesians 5:15 which says I should live purposefully and accurately. The only way I can do that is if I know what God’s priorities are for me. The Bible is full of them: Building others up according to their needs (Ephesians 4:29) is one. I know others who are in this journey to lose weight. I purposefully build them up and I enjoy doing that. Each day we should seek God’s priorities for us as individuals. Someone needs you today. Feed the poor. Clothe the naked. Just find someone who has less than you do and bless them.

I can use simplifying in other areas of my life. For two years I was constantly frustrated because of unorganized paperwork at home. I’ve learned that if I work 10 minutes daily at it, I should see a huge difference after week 1.
I want to encourage you to simplify your life with God's help and therefore, enjoy it more!

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O Rio de Janeiro continua Lindo

O Rio de Janeiro continua lindíssimo! Cheguei hoje de manhã. Demoras à parte no aerporto, tive uma viagem ótima! Estive pensando sobre o que falar hoje no Blog. Que tal comida de avião? Não gosto muito e nunca gostei mas as porções são perfeitas. Nem muito nem pouco. Dessa vez eu realmente tentei achar algo positivo na viagem e achei: preciso controlar bem as minhas porções. Depois eu escrevo mais, ok? EU AMO O BRASIL!!!

Rio de Janeiro is still beautiful! I got here this morning. Other than the usual airport delays I had a great trip! I was thinking about what to write today on this blog. What about airplane food? I don´t like it and never did but their portions are perfect. Not too little, not too much. This time I really found something positive in the food. I found encouragement to practice portion control. I´ll write moer later, OK? I LOVE BRASIL!!!!

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