Mommy Gaming and Fitness: A Juggling Act

Thursday, October 25, 2012

I am super honored to be featured as a guest blogger this week on The Mommy Gamers! Go check it out and please leave a comment to show your support. I had a lot of fun writing a fitness/humor piece and hope to do more work like it again in the future. 

The Universe Knows...

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The Universe knows me.

I've been getting these nifty little emails from The Universe. They're fun and usually pretty inspiring. Like a horoscope, you can twist the meaning in such a way that you think it was truly written just for you. I find that I am able to relate my notes for the Universe to my weight loss journey fairly often.

If you knew for absolute certain, Amybeth, that every little thing you did today would later be scrutinized, literally moment by moment, by a future you, and future friends, as well as anyone else interested, and you'd all be looking for a number of qualities, especially patience, kindness, and love, during this game of games and test of tests called life, how might you treat the very next person you see after reading this Note? 

Yeah, 

    The Universe

 This one in particular really made me think. If I were looking back on myself from the future, I would be appalled by the way I treat...ME!

Think about it. I don't take care of body or love it the way it deserves. I feel it with nasty chemicals from awful processed foods. I allow my muscles to turn to mush. I talk negatively to myself and about myself to others. I refuse to buy myself nice clothes because I'm ashamed of my body.

That's not fair, at all. I deserve every ounce of respect that I show others. It's time to say no to disrespecting myself and begin being the friend that I deserve.

Do you treat yourself and your body unfairly?

Learning to Say No

Monday, October 15, 2012

Used with permission from Arthlete

One of the most difficult trials when losing weight is learning how to say "No." In the beginning it may feel like you are punishing yourself by taking away all the foods you love best. You may go through a phase of trying barter by finding healthier cookies and less fatty hamburgers. The truth is that by simply switching to a healthy version, you're still feeding the craving. Personally, I cannot do a small treat once in a while or a healthy alternative because I always want more.

I've found that for me, it's easier to say "No" if I just get it out of my system. I just need to go cold turkey, the first few days are the hardest, and it does the trick. After a week or two, sweet things start to taste sickening. I lose the need. If you had been in my house last night as I begged my husband to please go get me some ___, you would have known which stage I'm in. I had a very delicious cupcake with cream cheese frosting on Saturday at a birthday party. 

In trying to eat better, I've been trying new recipes and cooking at home more often. Last week we tried Zucchini, Black Bean and Rice Skillet, Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemon Garlic Green Beans, Rigatoni with Sauteed Eggplant and Tomatoes, and Weeknight Spinach, Mushroom, and Turkey Lasagna. I made a few changes here and there, less carbs or meat, switching for whole grain, things like that. All of the recipes were simple to make, filling, and scrumptious. Good recipes take so much of the work out of it!

I'm still losing, slowly...which is good enough for me. I feel like I can only focus on one thing at a time either nutrition or exercise. I know that in order to lose long term and keep it off I need to learn to do both, but right now I'm just taking baby steps and am still learning my way. One step at a time right?

Do you find that you have an easier time with exercise or with nutrition? 

The Truth You Don't Want to Admit to Yourself - A Guest Post

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Run like no one is watching. Photo by Bernd Moehle

This is a guestpost by Kim Thirion of Un-Copied Life.

"Oh, I don't workout in public— Someone might see me."

If I had a nickle for every time I used to say that...well, lets just say I'd be typing this from a villa balcony in some rustic Italian city right now instead of my comfy recliner listening to the sounds of MarioKart coming from the kids bedroom. Don't tell me you haven't thought those words at some time or another, because I probably wouldn't believe you if you did. Do you skip your walk because there are people around? Do you avoid the gym because other people might see you exercising? Are you embarrassed? Ashamed? I get it. I do. You don't want others to see how red your face gets. You don't want them to notice that you're huffing and puffing harder than the Big Bad Wolf. You'd honestly like to be invisible. And you know what? It's all a lie. It's a lie we tell ourselves because we don't want to face the real truth. What's that you ask? We don't want to exercise in public, because others might see us. And if they see us, then they'll see that we're overweight. Well guess what honey? They already know you're overweight. They noticed it the moment you walked up. It's hardwired into them.

People notice people who are different.

So, why would we continue to hurt our bodies (by remaining overweight) and our minds (by participating in negative self-talk) just to avoid something that everyone already noticed anyway? Because by pretending no one knows it, we can pretend it doesn't exist. We can pretend we're not different. It's a survival mechanism. Our brain knows that if we keep insulting ourselves, then we'll shut down. But not all systems are fool-proof. If we keep pretending, keep giving up, keep giving in, then we'll never get anywhere! If we keep telling ourselves that different=bad, we'll never make progress and we'll never succeed. We quit because there isn't an urgency. We quit because the reasons to continue aren't quite strong enough. We quit because we don't think we can finish. Let me ask you this... If someone held a gun to your head and ordered you to deliver a package a mile away, but only gave you 7 minutes... you bet your beautiful behind you'd run. You would run until you made it, or you passed out— but you'd do it. You'd do it because you'd have a reason to. You'd do it because the alternative is unacceptable. So today, I challenge you to find a reason. Find a reason right now. I want you to put that metaphorical "gunman" next to you and run like crazy. I'll leave you with a quote:

“Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.” —Mark Twain

Tell me what/who your "gunman" is in the comments below. Kim is the writer and creator behind Un-Copied Life where she writes twice weekly about non-conformity. You can also find her on Twitter and Google+.

I'm Worth It

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

There are days, ok many days, that I feel like giving up. I don't want to do this anymore, I just want to go back to bed. There are days where I don't feel like trying so hard. Maybe I can just workout sometimes and maybe a medium fry would make this hamburger ok. The unhealthy part of my brain tries to bargain. It tells me that because of ___ I deserve some ice cream, cake, pizza, soda etc. I tell myself that some soda is ok, but where is the line? Some soda now and some soda later adds up to be "OMG I'm drinking soda all the time!" I'm battling that part of my brain. I don't deserve ice cream, I deserve to feel good. I deserve to be healthy.

I bought myself some little notebooks to carry in my purse, just in case I need to write something down. They've been in there for two weeks and I didn't know why I needed them. I never need to write things down. But now I know. I need to write a letter to myself. Or a list. I need the support of friends and family to tell me that I'm better than fast food and that I deserve a healthy body, but more importantly I need my own support. I'm going to use my little notebook to write encouraging notes to myself, so when I'm struggling I always have my own support to read. 

I have to remember what I'm fighting for and what I've gained from this experience. I need to stop telling myself that I've only lost 15 lbs and rather that I've lost 15lbs!!

15 of these!

Because I'm awesome and I can do this!

Bump It Up

Monday, October 8, 2012

I'm still here and kicking!

It's been a long, crazy week since I last posted. The mom's group I loved shut down at the end of last week. As a result, I am now part of a great group of women that started a new group, MomMe. I'm super excited to be working on this. It's been a busy and stressful undertaking, but it's good stress! That said, I've struggled to find time to sit down at the computer and post here.

I am still focused on my health goals but just got a bit off track with the extra responsibility added on. I'm struggled heavily with my water intake. I'm back to not drinking enough, which scares me because of my kidney issues a few months back. I hate to admit, that Dr Pepper is starting to taste good again. I was still ordering soda out of habit and had a few too many, because now they don't taste like crap anymore. Time to go on strike and ask my friends to tell me NO if I have a weak moment.

I've been getting up with Robert each morning...5 am, say WHAT!? I've found that doing so gives me some alone time before Meghan wakes up and helps me to get to bed at an earlier time each night. I don't enjoy the getting out of bed part, but once I have a cup of coffee or another warm beverage in me, I'm fine. I want to start using my exercise bike in the morning as well. I'm confident that getting up earlier and starting my day with exercise will help my energy level throughout the day.

Here are my goals for the week:

More water
Stick to my weekly dinner menu
Schedule exercise

What are your goals? What areas do you feel you need to work hard on?

This week on Facebook...

Monday, October 1, 2012

This week on the Amybeth Loses Facebook page, we're sharing healthy recipes! I've been struggling with eating at home lately and asked my fans to submit their favorite healthy recipe. I'll be working on meal planning in the coming weeks and trying new things. I'll also be sharing my thoughts on what I cook at home.

Please stop by (don't forget to "like" the page to stay up to date!) and share your favorites! Your favorite might just become my favorite too!

Friend Makin’ Mondays: Uniquely You

It's Friend Makin' Monday again! What happened to the weekend? Wasn't yesterday Thursday? Sheesh!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

 Uniquely You

1) Do you prefer to talk or text? I'm old school and love the connection of talking. Ideally, I prefer in person talking. I do have a difficult time expressing myself out loud though and find it easier to talk about my feelings through written (or typed) word.

2) How often do you make your bed? Um...next question!

3) What sounds do you hear right now? Laurie Berkner Band, my daughter, and the dryer.

4) List three things that you always carry with you. Cell phone, wallet, and keys. I've been made fun of for always, always having to have my cell phone with me, but it's important to me that I can be reached in an emergency. 

5) What are your favorite TV shows? Right now I'm enjoying Revolution, it's probably my favorite new show. New Girl, 2 Broke Girls, Big Bang Theory...I love sitcoms. White Collar, Boston Legal, Covert Affairs. A lot of these I don't get to see anymore though. Boo!

6) Is there a hobby that you’d like to devote more time to? If so, what is it? Crochet. I'd love to be able to express myself through other hobbies too. I just need the time to learn!

7) What is your favorite drink? Pepsi. Grr. Trying to kick that habit to the curb. Honestly, I've done pretty well with it.

8) Share a couple of cool facts about your family. My father was French, Finnish and Polish with an Italian last name. Until I got married, I was the only person (as far as the internet can tell) in the world with my name. Now my last name is fairly common and there's countless copies out there! 

9) List one thing that you will do for yourself today. Work out my meal planning and collect new healthy recipes.

10) Share something that you’re thankful for today. Lots of time with my daughther.

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions!  Don’t forget to go and link up in the comments on All The Weigh's page.  And try to say something to someone new this week. There are some pretty cool people connected here.  Happy Monday, friends!