I’ve posted before about all of the things that have been going on in my life, and lately, it seems like they just keep piling up. However, I’m determined to make 2014 better than 2013 was. First off, I graduate from Champlain this year (AHHH. Pause for major freak out). I have set a fitness goal, and I have every intention to actually reach it this time. I am making a cookbook! (Yippee). More to come on that once things really get rolling on that. Ultimately I have reached the point where I’m ready to take full control of my life and make sure that I am living it to the fullest.
But with anything new, you have to look back on the old, even if it’s only to make sure that past mistakes aren’t repeated.
I mentioned earlier this year that my Grandmother was sick with a brain tumor and that she was expected to pass. On December 31st, she passed away and became the brightest of angels up there. I have never lost anyone so I’m taking it pretty hard but I know that she will always be a part of me and that she is with people whom she has loved and they are all watching over us.
This picture is at least 10 years old, but this is the woman I remember. Not the sick one that I saw a month ago.
Enough of the sad though, because no one wants to read about all of my issues. Here are my promises for 2014:
1. I will go back to blogging a lot and posting recipes. However, because of the cookbook, some recipes may just be teasers where I only post pictures.
2. My New Years Resolution is to give up soda. I never really drank it too much, but I want it out of my life. But, I also plan to lose weight, I just decided to not make it my resolution this year.
3. I want to do some how-to posts. I love them, and I feel like there are a lot that could easily fit into the idea behind my blog.
4. More smoothies! Goodness I love smoothies and I don’t know why I haven’t made more of them.
That’s all I really have for now. For those of you going back to work and school today, have a great day. If you’re a college student like me and still have off, live up your winter break! For us seniors, it’s our last one (again, pause for major freakout).
If you like to bake as much as I do and you want your treats to be as healthy as possible, check out the link below for the great chart that shows what can be substituted for what, and what it tastes great in.
This is a topic I’ve been avoiding for a while because I was afraid that Jared might see the post. But, I don’t think he’s ever voluntarily gone to my blog, so I’m going to take a chance here and say that he won’t see this. One of the problems that is pretty constant in my life and something that I think a lot of other people will resonate with, is a relationship’s effect on your eating habits.
There are a few different ways that relationships really seem to play a role on eating. In my mind, there are stages and each, has a different cure (for lack of a better word). For the sake of things, I’m going to explain all of the stages from a woman who is dating a man’s point of view, but this can, of course, apply to someone of any gender and sexual orientation.
Jared and I not long after we met when we were early in the dating phases.
Stage One: “We Just Started Dating and I Just Want to Not Gross Him Out Stage.”
This stage is always bad because it seems to be the time when a lot of binge eating happens. You just got into a relationship with the cute guy that you just met (or have known for a while but just got up the courage to finally go out with, whatever) and now you just want him to like you. You don’t want to be the person who orders a salad when he wants someone who orders a burger but you don’t want to order a burger and completely gross him out. You don’t want to drink to much or say anything that will make you look stupid. You’re nervous (unless the date is a total dud) so you’re stomach is already doing twists and turns, and you’re racking the menu for something that you can eat and won’t risk getting any sauce on the shirt that you bought earlier that day from Charlotte Russe. It’s not exactly a healthy thing yet we subject ourselves to it all of the time. Then, you get the guy who says “I like a girl who can eat” and suddenly you feel the need to eat more than you can handle because he’s going to be more impressed by it… or something like that. So, already, one date, maybe two, in this person who you hardly know is already impacting the way you’re eating. Personally, I always seemed to eat next to nothing out to eat for fear of seeming gross and then the second I got home eat everything in sight. Not exactly healthy. Especially if you date a lot and it’s something you do multiple times a week. Don’t intentionally make yourself uncomfortable. If you know you’re not going to want to eat when you’re actually out, don’t go out on a dinner date. Choose the movies or a Carnival or something that doesn’t require you to eat. If you don’t want to put your foot down and say that you don’t want to go out to dinner, eat a snack beforehand, that way you’re salad will actually fill you. And stop worrying about what he’s going to this about the food you choose, odds are, he doesn’t really care.
Enjoying some sugar on snow, a few weeks into our relationship
Stage Two: We’re Finally in a Steady Relationship But He Doesn’t Share My Eating Habits
This stage doesn’t always happen, but it is pretty common. A lot of men, especially those who are single, tend to have food habits that are far below healthy. Jared, for instance, prefers anything fried, and if he could, he would eat burgers, fries, and onions rings every day with the occasional bacon and extra cheese pizza. Love him but getting him to agree to eat healthier was not easy, and every now and then I have to give him one night of unhealthy eating or he’ll lose it and go nuts, eating all of the fast food he can get his hands on. When a relationship is still decently new, it’s easy to fall into his eating habits and you may gain some weight during this time. The most important thing I can say here is please do not beat yourself up about it. This is normal and if you beat yourself up, you’re most likely going to completely fall out of your diet and give up. DO NOT DO THIS. If you find that you’re eating less healthy foods when you go out with your significant other, eat healthy when you’re not with them and maybe work out a little harder but do not give up and do not starve yourself, this will not help with anything. When you realize your mistake, figure out ways to fix it, without making yourself uncomfortable. Maybe, instead of eating the whole burger and fries, you go for a veggie burger, or you only eat half and save the other half. Whatever works for you is what’s going to be best for you.
Enjoying cider donuts a few weeks into our relationship. He had a few too many
Stage Three: “We’re In a Serious Relationship, What Did I Get Myself Into”
This is the part of a relationship stage that Jared and I just got past. We’ve been together for what will be 3 years in November. I love him and he really is my other half. That being said, we got comfortable with each other and as a result, we both put on some weight. I started cooking the foods that he liked, and for a fear of spending too much money, we shared everything. We both grew up eating frozen foods and in houses that had a decent amount of junk food in them. His family, unlike mine, at least had some consciousness of what they were eating and his mom worked hard to keep healthy options available. For the greater part of my life, my family couldn’t afford healthy, fresh foods, so we ate frozen dinners a lot; a habit that carried over into the beginning parts of our relationship. I didn’t want to cook for him and have the risk that he wouldn’t like my foods and I would get really upset if he didn’t like something so we stuck with what we knew and the pounds kept on piling on. This is common in a lot of relationships. People tend to put on pounds when they become comfortable and they don’t realize what’s happening until something smacks them in the face. Most of the time, it’s the number on a scale. Now couples are faced with a problem. You have to find foods that both people like that are healthier than the foods that you were once eating. Sometimes, when both members aren’t committed to being healthier this is hard. The most important thing is not to let food come between your relationship. Your significant other doesn’t have to share your health goals. Don’t let that be a stresser on your relationship, do what’s best for you and let them come around in their own time. This is something that took me a little too long to figure out.
He finally came around
Stage Four: “We are Committed to a Healthy Lifestyle, Together”
It could take a long time for this stage to finally hit. People realize that they need to eat healthier in their own time. For Jared, it wasn’t until I was already committed to a healthy lifestyle and I had started secretly switching our meals over. But, while I was waiting for him to come around, I was stuck buying foods that weren’t the 100% healthier versions like I wanted. But, there was compromise and sometimes that’s the best you can ask for. Finally, Jared came around and he realized that the healthy foods can be just as good as the frozen, greasy, and unhealthy foods that he had grown to love. He trusts me in the kitchen and I don’t get upset when he says that he doesn’t like something, instead, I think of healthy ways to alter the meals so that he likes them more. Once you hit this phase, it’s important to make sure that both people participate in choose the meals that you are going to have. Let him have some input in the foods that you eat, that way he doesn’t feel out of control. Most importantly it’s okay to have cheat nights every now and then. Give yourself a night every couple of weeks where you do eat something that you both miss and don’t punish yourself for it.
Dino Nuggets and Smiley Fries are one of Jared’s favorite cheat night dinners.
For me, my relationship has changed me in many ways. It made me even more unhealthy at first, but now, it has made me healthy. Having Jared support me and be willing to eat healthy with me has inspired to me to try a lot more things than I would have in the beginning and we’re both living healthier lifestyles because of it. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over the past couple months it’s not to punish him when he does eat something unhealthy. He will always love fast foods, and it’s up to him to change the way he eats. Getting mad at him only causes an unnecessary stress on our relationship. He may not have completely come around, but I know that he’s on my side, and that’s what really matters.
When I started this blog and really got into it a little over a month ago, I was weighing in at around 268 pounds. I was shocked when I stepped on the scale and saw that the number had gotten that, and disgusted with myself for letting it get to that point. But now, a little over a month after the blog really got going, I am weighing in at 256. Only 91 more pounds until I read my goal, which may or may not be permanent. I say that, because I have never seen myself at 165. At least not since I was younger. So, I don’t want to make unreal expectations. Once I get to 165 I’m going to see how my body is looking and go from there.
All of that aside, it’s time to talk about fitness! A week ago, I told all of you about my game to help motivate me on days when I wasn’t really feeling the whole fitness thing. While I’m still doing that on days when I have no motivation to work out or it’s too hot to go for a walk, I am also getting in some time at the gym at least 2 days a week so that I’m not stuck in my apartment working out all of the time.
So, let’s get to the topic of this weeks fitness friday post: equipment. When I decided I wanted to get fit, I bought a few things to help me along the way. Although these things are definitely not required, they have helped me change up my routine every now and then so that I’m not stuck doing the same things every day or two.
I bought, two 5 pound dumbells, and a balance ball (swiss ball, whatever you wanna call it) that came with three resistance bands. So basically, I have the most basic stuff, but I love it.
One of the biggest things that bothers me about health blogs is that just about every single one makes it sound like you need tons of money in order to lose weight. Whether that be through the food they want you to buy or the gym memberships they talk about, the message always seems to be there. But, I don’t have money to spend like they do and I’m still going to kick this extra weight’s butt.
So keep being fabulous and working on being fit. If you have any questions, comments, or just wanna say hi, you can tweet me @courtneyweitz, follow me on Instagram @courtneymweitz, or post comments here.
I will leave you with this lovely image of me doing some push ups with my ball! Have a great night everyone!
Today, Jared realized that he should probably jump on the eating healthier bandwagon (FINALLY) so things are looking up. When he came to visit me at work, he started eating his Strawberry Frosted Poptart (yuck!) and said that the sugar was too much for him. When I told him the number of calories that he’s burning each day and that he really needs to start eating more healthy calories and increase his protein intake each day, he decide we should run to Cumberland Farms really quickly (and he wanted a Mountain Dew, again, YUCK). When we got there, he went right for the pre-made breakfast sandwiches. I couldn’t complain too much because it’s better than the junk food that he would usually go for when he goes to a gas station.
I on the other hand, decided to pick up some snacks for my long day at work. I packed a lunch, which I will post later, but I didn’t really bring many snacks, partially because we don’t have much at the apartment. I always try to go as fresh as possible, and avoid their Cliff Bars and other types of granola bars. While some of those are really good and have great nutritional value, some also have way too much sugar.
That being said, I went for a few different things to get me through the day, and through my workout later. I grabbed: an apple, a peach Choboni greek yogurt, red pepper hummus with hummus chips, and a string cheese (I couldn’t resist) but, good news is it’s from skim milk, so it’s a little bit better.
So all of that being said, and now that I’ve finished my delicious yogurt, I have some other news. I have decided to join Sparkspeople.com as another form of support, ideas, and motivation throughout this process. So I invite all of you to check me out on there, my username is CourtneyWeitz. AND on a more surprising note. Jared has also joined. Trust me, I’m shocked. But his username is JaredDonohue. Don’t be surprised if you see more unhealthy stuff on his, but still. It’s the fact that he even made one that counts.
Have a great day everyone, and check back later to see what I have for lunch.
Shopping Healthy 