When my daughter was little and I did something special for her she would always say “Mom you didn’t have to do that”, and I always replied “Tiffany, I am a grown-up I don’t HAVE to do anything”. I explained to her that almost everything we do is a choice; well with the exception of certain bodily functions like sleep, going to the bathroom, etc. She really didn’t get what I was saying for the longest time. She would say “But mom you have to go to work, don’t you?” Technically I don’t have to go to work; it is a choice and not making the right choice has consequences. Yes, I could choose not to go to work but then there would be consequences. I would have to take time off and if I did it too often I would most likely lose my job. I choose to go to work so I can make a good living for us.
Life at this point is really just a sum of our past choices. If you think back it really is amazing how one decision made differently would totally change our existence. “What if” really can be two powerful words! What if I chose a different college, what if I chose a different place to work (I met my ex-husband at work). I wouldn’t have gotten married and I wouldn’t have had Tiffany. What would have been? Every decision takes us down a different path.
In the past I really didn’t even consider various choices when eating. What I ate was simply a habit, something done without conscious thought. I bought the same things at the grocery store I always did, I ate almost the same thing for lunch every day (ham and cheese with lots of mayo) and I snacked on what I wanted whenever I wanted. Every once in a while I would think to myself that I wanted to look and feel better, but I didn’t make the choice to do anything about it.
I honestly do not know why I continued to coast through life the way I was. Deep down I wasn’t totally happy about myself but I lacked the motivation to really do anything about it. I wish I knew what my “Ah ha” moment was. Once day I just decided I was going to change. For me yet again it was just a choice I decided to make.
Step one was going to the grocery store. I had to make sure I had everything in the house I would need to make smart eating choices. A priority for me was to have my healthy options quick and easy to grab. This way when I went downstairs to get lunch or a snack the “easiest” choice was also the best choice. From a snack perspective in the past I would grab the whole bag of chips. The issue was once I got the chips to my desk I mindlessly continue eating them without realizing that I had eaten half to bag! By having my snacks pre-portioned once I made the choice of what snack I wanted there was no way for me to over eat on it. Going back for more then became a conscious decision instead of mindless continual eating.
I believe (almost) every day we can choose our attitude. I choose to be happy. I don’t succeed in this every day, but I sure try. We have a running joke in our house. I have a “Grumpy” t-shirt from the Disney store. If I wake up and I can’t find happiness I usually put it on. My family makes jokes about staying away from me for a while. It is my warning sign if you will, and usually the act of joking about it is enough for me to snap out of my funk, but certainly not always. I still have my days that I can be a downright bitch but those days are definitely few and far between.
We also have a choice in how we react to situations. My daughter would come home and say “Ally made me so mad”; but I would tell her “Ally shouldn’t have that power over you”. Regardless of someone else’s actions we choose how we react to it. This is very hard to do as emotions come into play. Choices are hardest to make when we allow our emotions to interfere with our thought process.
Over all I am very happy with my life and I happy with the choices I have made. There are very few things I look back on and say “I wish I had done” or “I wish I hadn’t done”. The one big thing for is that I wish I had made the decision to improve myself sooner. With that said, you cannot change the past, what done is done. What you can do is make your choices now to improve your future.
Making the right choice is not always easy. I’ve realized sometimes the best choice is not put you in the position to have to make that choice in the first place. Right now I would rather not go out to our favorite restaurant; I do not want to be faced with the decision to choose between something healthy and my old favorite Cajun Chicken Pasta. This goes for other aspects of our lives too. Right now I am trying to keep things around me very positive. I had a situation recently that really annoyed me. I still do not know what bothered me more… what was initially said to me or the fact that I allowed myself to let it get to me the way it did. In either case I made the choice not put me in that situation for a while.
The weekend is upon us and I know I am faced with more choices during the weekend. I am out of my routine and I have more time on my hands. This weekend may be especially challenging if any of you have plans for Valentines. Sometime just simply pausing and realize your actions themselves are a choice can help. Try and make good choices. If you don’t once the choice is done there is nothing to do about it but accept it and move forward. Don’t beat yourself up about it; just use it as a reminder to make a better choice the next time.
“When a man is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself.”
– Sir Alexander Paterson
I got my package in the mail today. Thank you Buffy!!!!!!! Two new DVD’s, 100 calorie popcorn, and a book by Jillian Michaels :-D. The book is for folks with that stubborn last 20lbs to lose for a special occasion…..like a 23yr class reununion. My weekend is cut out for me now. Taxes and studying my new reading material.
Buffywood! What a wonderful blog! I totally agree with you thank you for posting this it came at just the right time for me. I went out to lunch with my husband and daughter and the three of us split an entree and a piece of their famous key lime pie. Later on the afternoon I was kinda bummed and felt like I blew it today because of the small piece of pie I ate that I was going to attack the heck out of something (like chips fries ect) so I came here really quick for an inspirational boost and I got it. I choose to not eat the bad but choose to eat the good. I choose not to get in my car to get chips I choose to stay here and play a game with my family, and most importantly I choose to be ok with the fact that I had 1/3 piece of pie when normally I would have had the whole thing by myself. Thank you so much again!
I am so glad this blog is helping you! I really am a big believer in the power of choice. I went out ot dinner tonight with my BF and it was tough deciding where to go. We went to Applebee’s to try their under 550 menu. I had a great meal (small steak with a few small shrimp, and a great veggie meddley) for 490 calories.
Made OneMoreinBoston’s coffee body scrub and it is fab-u-lous! Did it after an 8 mile walk and made my sore legs feel great. This will definitely become part of the beauty regimine along with my weekly pedicure 😀
YAY!
well not for the sore legs. I have some other nice scrubs and foufou homemade beauty recipes. This is one is the nicest for puffiness though.
I did too. I didn’t have any sugar so I used Epsom salt instead and I gave it to my girlfriends in my Pilates tower class and they thought it was great but they had no idea how easy it was to make. Thank you OMIB for the wonderful recipe
I am looking forward to trying it too but I am nervous about it going down the drain here at my house. I don’t have city sewer. I can’t even call what I have a septic tank… it is an old stone well down the hill and the my pipes are terra cotta. I will wait until the gym on Monday so it goes down their drain.
Thanks for the “recipe”.
Goodness gracious! I forgot to mention this in my last comment. For all of you with smartphones, MapMyRun has a free app you can download to track your walks/runs/bike rides. I’m a little gadget challenged but I eventually figured it out. The app uses the GPS already installed in most phones to track your route. It’s free so why not try it?
I love that app! Have you ever tried zombie run? You can map out your runs and it will show you the zombies that are around you and when they turn red you need to book it fast or they eat your brains it is so much fun.
umm…scary!
@GoldenGirl, that sounds pretty dangerous! Knowing my luck I’d end up like that chick who fell into a water fountain while texting 😀
LOL! True, true. I used to do it on my fun runs because I didn’t want to trip but I would put my phone in my I pod holder and wear it on my forearm so I could glance down at it. No embarrassing youtube moments for me…. yet lol.
OneMoBoston, what other little beauty secrets do you have to share? Care to blog about it?
Sorry- honeyhead- I am tardy for the party!
I do have some other tricks up my sleeve! thank you for the kind offer! I may take you up on it down the road-but I am a little swamped right now.
I agree that would be great when you have the time OMIB.
Checking in, 1/2 lb this week. That is all
TLD 1/2 pound loss is great keep up the good work!
I didn’t weigh myself today because I am only doing it every other week I was becoming way to addicted to the scale. But once again I stayed in my calorie range, drank 100 plus oz of water a day, and got in all my exercise. I have also started saying a couple of nice things about myself in the mirror daily because I noticed how awful I was talking to myself (in my head) and I realized that that needed to change. I am also trying accept compliments gracefully and taking it at face value instead of analyzing it wondering what the persons motive is. (Gosh I’m twisted) On another note today is Valentine’s Day and in the past my honey and I would go out to eat and this year we are going to the gym for our date after all Valentines is about the heart right?
aawww- that’s cute!
Happy Vday everyone!
Interesting blog entry about lbs v. inches lost while dieting on fitbottomedgirl.com newsletter:
“We’re entering into the homestretch of the Virtual Weight-Loss Challenges that began in January. And although the teams all have a couple more weeks to go, most of the girls are seeing changes inside and out. We recently received a heartfelt email from our Phoenix leader Becky, who has ditched the scale for a more accurate representation of her progress—how she feels and how many inches she’s lost. Read on for her experience doing the program in her own words!
Changing Your Life One Thought at a Time
I have been feeling really good about myself and starting to feel slim and strong, too. I have lost 11.5 inches or 5.03 percent of my total inches in the past four weeks, so I decided to hop on that scale for the first time in four weeks. And guess what, I have lost ZERO pounds. It read exactly the same as it did four weeks ago! Now, I don’t really care that it reads what it reads because I am feeling good and have the inches to prove it. I know it is working. But I have given up many other times because of that scale, and for the past year, when I have measured inches, I have learned that the scale is a naughty, naughty device.
But in addition to the scale and the inches story, thank you very much for the entire program because the “feel-good thinking” is really helping with me. I am generally a very optimistic and positive person to others but never thought about treating myself and my body the same way I would treat others. I was striving to complete my first full marathon in the fall (I have done many halfs and other races) , and I know that I will succeed without a problem because of the way I am now training my brain to think about MYSELF! —Becky
We couldn’t be more proud of Becky and can’t wait to see her continue her progress in the coming weeks! If you’d like to get in on the Virtual Weight-Loss Challenge and start to embrace the Fit Bottomed Girls’ lifestyle and really learn to love yourself, your life and your body, be sure to apply to be a leader. We only have a few spots left for the April challenge and applications are due February 28, so don’t delay! —Jenn”
I agree that taking your measurements is very important to weight loss success. A few months ago I couldn’t budge the scale but I went down 2 pant sizes seeing the inches lost helped me to stay on track. I also think it’s a good idea to get your blood checked like your cholesterol levels then have them re checked in 6 months to a year out. I was so happy to see how my lifestyle change helped me where it really counted.