For The Love Of Oats

RTH: Simple Steps

Posted by: Lindsay on: February 9, 2010

Well gang… I started my RTH yesterday!  As I mentioned in my previous post, the next few weeks are all about Simple Steps.

My game plan for this phase is to identify an area I can improve upon or implement one new step each day as in a domino effect.  My goal was to post a new tip each day but since I wasn’t able to post yesterday I’m sharing with you both yesterday and today’s tips…

Monday’s Simple Step #1:  Well rounded breakfast

For most of us, eating a well-rounded breakfast is one of the very basic concepts of weight loss / healthy living.  However, somehow along the way, I seemed to forget how important this was.  My morning routine went from eating my bowl of oatmeal at home then it evolved to eating my oatmeal when I got to work… somewhere along the way, that routine then eventually went out the window and I would just grab whatever I could, like a granola bar or a piece of toast w/ pb, eating it quickly while walking out the door or en route to work around 6am… The result of my “small, on the go breakfast” was that by 8am I felt sluggish, tired, and famished… Although I wasn’t eating donuts and my choices were healthy, they were not healthy enough since they were not well rounded.  I guess I’m sad to say that somewhere along the way, I lost the true importance of eating breakfast.  I know this is a horrifying concept given my love for oatmeal and I’m not really sure how it happened… Somehow I didn’t make time for breakfast… I didn’t make time for ME… Therefore, my goal going forward is to have a breakfast that incorporates a minimum of 3 great food groupswhole grains (ex:  whole grain toast, whole grain cold cereal, homemade granola, oats, bulgur), fruit (ex:  frozen fruit, bananas, apples, berries), and lean protein (ex:  peanut butter, sliced almonds, crushed walnuts, eggs, whey protein, low fat dairy).  If I can get some dairy and veggies in also, that would be a plus!  I’m happy to say that the last two mornings I have eating delicious bowls of oatmeal topped with fruit and nuts and I plan to do so going forward.  I have noticed a difference just even the last two days in that I felt more energized and my day was off to a better start… For those mornings that I know I’ll be rushed, I will resort to eating a bowl of oatmeal at work first thing as I’m going through emails or keeping an emergency breakfast cookie in the fridge!

Tuesday’s Simple Step #2:  Stop, Take a Deep Breath, Think

One of my biggest known problems for as long as I can remember (probably since high school!) is that I am a classic Type A personality.  I worry and stress about absolutely everything from the very small tasks (“Did I remember everything at the grocery store?”) to very large ones (“How am I going to solve problem xyz at work?”)… No matter how hard I’ve tried, I’ve always struggled with reducing my stress level.  If you remember, I tackled this very topic last year around the same time!  I can’t guarantee that I’ll eliminate all stress from my life, nor can I commit to not stressing out, but I am committing to make a conscious effort to stop stressing as much and trying to find ways and outlets for reducing stress.  One of the things that I implemented today was in moments of stress to take the “Stop, Drop, and Roll” approach, except obviously, I had to tweak it a little bit to be realistic :)   That being said, I came up with a little mantra for myself when I feel a “Flight or Fight” moment coming on:  Stop, Deep Breath, and Think… I used it a few times today and it really put things in perspective for me.  It didn’t complete eliminate the stress I was facing obviously, but it helped me to clear my mind, refocus, and move forward…

These areas are aspects of my life that I will continue to work on so I’m sure my strategies will evolve as time goes on, but it’s a start…. and that’s what this new “Return To Health” is all about for me… :)

Return To Health

Posted by: Lindsay on: February 6, 2010

Alrighty peeps, I’m returning… back to my healthy lifestyle ways… and I know I can’t do it without accountability and support… I spent part of today plotting out a plan, so I’m sharing them with you so that you can join me in my “Return To Health” or just join in the fun of seeing how I will do it… most of you who are reading know my blog and know my story; however I am just fearing that I’m not putting my health first anymore and with it being Heart Month, something just clicked today and I need to get back on track!

So, before I get into anything further, my RTH is going to be broken out into three plans:

  • Simple Steps – Feb 8th thru 28th
  • Fueling the Fire – March 1st thru March 31st
  • Keep It Up – starting April 1st

I’ll get into more detail for each of the plans as they occur, however I’ll give you a brief explanation of what each one will entail:

  • Simple Steps will be exactly as it sounds:  doing simple steps and making simple changes that will help change my mindset and approach to everyday life.
  • Fueling the Fire will entail ramping up intensity and bringing passion to all that I do.
  • Keep It Up will start a new phase of my life that has NO END.  If you notice I didn’t put an end date, because my goal will be to utilize all that I have learned and implement throughout the rest of my life.

What I am ultimately trying to gain is a healthy approach to eating right, workout out, staying calm (less stressing out!) and again maintaining balance and moderation from all angles.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new little series of mine and I hope we can do this together!!

Stay tuned on Monday when I begin Simple Steps… ;)

Funk

Posted by: Lindsay on: February 6, 2010

I’ve been in a workout funk lately…

With recently taking a new job, working longer hours, stressing more easily, I have to confess that I haven’t quite been able to get my normal workout in and my eating habits have oh so slacked off lately… I feel best when I get to exercise at least 4 times a week and I’ve been averaging 2 crappy workouts a week :(   As a result, I realize that I have to get back into the swing of things and have a fresh start… I haven’t felt my greatest lately and have a streak of minor illnesses which I know is a direct result of my poor eating habits… So, as I sit here today, trapped in the midst of a blizzard, I have decided that today is the day that I’m going to refocus, redirect, and get back to my previous healthy ways!

I plan on drafting up a little bit of a plan today – after all, I am a huge obsessive planner, I can’t help it, so I am gonna do it right!  I hope to share with you my “return to health“, affectionately called RTH, plan later today, since after all, we are snowed in!  I hope if there is anyone reading this that feels the same “funk” I have been feeling lately, that maybe you will join me on my RTH! :)

As part of this plan, I’m trying to factor in convenience to my plan for practicality… I’m thinking about quitting my gym (gasp!) and buying a cardio machine for my house so that way I never have an excuse to slack off… I’m thinking this way I can workout before work OR spontaneously (get a quick workout in whenever I feel like it!)… I had tweeted last week that I was looking at buying the Nordic Track X5i Incline Trainer and I was wondering if anyone has had any experiences with it?  If so, please email me and let me know your thoughts :)

Hope wherever you are… you are safe & warm!

Heart Health

Posted by: Lindsay on: January 27, 2010


Hi All :)   Hope you are having a great Wednesday.  Lately, I’ve become very concerned with heart health due to my family history, so when I received an email from Teresa about doing a guest post on heart health, I thought it would be a great idea.  The concepts are simple, but sometimes we forget how important they are.  After reading this article, I realized I need to really start following the “stress-free” aspect!  I hope you find this article very informative and useful.

~~~~

How to Enhance Your Heart Health
It’s the most important organ in our body, and when it stops ticking, life ends as well. It is the most important reason we are asked to pay attention to our diet, because it is what we eat that decides how healthy our heart it. Yes, genetic factors do come into play and we’re prone to heart disease if there is a family history, but it is our diet and lifestyle that have the power to minimize or maximize this risk, depending on what we eat how we live our lives. So if you want to enhance your heart health and raise the quality of your life, here’s what you need to do:
·     Exercise regularly: Exercise and your diet are the most important factors that either hasten or slow down the onset of heart disease. When you exercise regularly, you reduce your weight and avoid putting on excess pounds, all of which overwork your heart and put a strain on it. You must get at least half an hour of cardiovascular exercise, five days a week. Walking is safe for almost everyone, and if you’re young and not beset by health issues, you could take up activities that are more strenuous and which improve your fitness and boost stamina. Exercise reduces cholesterol and lowers blood pressure, thus improving your heart health.
·     Eat correctly: The best kind of diet is one that is balanced and that provides you with all the nutrients that your body needs. You need to include more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fiber, and good fats that are found in fish, nuts and some fruits like avocados. You also need to cut down on foods that are high in saturated fats, salt and sugar, and foods that are fried or processed. When you get into the habit of eating healthy, you don’t have to worry about your heart.
·     Enjoy a stress-free life: It’s not just obesity and unhealthy foods that you have to worry about when it comes to your heart; you have to minimize your stress levels too if you don’t want to drop dead because of a cardiac arrest. People who are staunch vegetarians and who exercise regularly have been known to die of sudden attacks to the heart, and the killer is found to be stress more often than not. So find ways to relax when work and familial pressures get to you and you’re stressed out all the time.
·     Evade cigarettes: Smoking aggravates any risk associated with heart disease. It also weakens your lungs and boosts your chances of contracting cancer. Those who smoke are twice at risk for heart disease than those who abstain. So if you like to puff away, you must try to quit before your heart puffs its last beat.
·     Ease out of laziness: And finally, the nature of your lifestyle is very important for a healthy heart. The more active you are, the better your heart functions. So get off that couch and forget your sedentary and lazy lifestyle if you want your heart to stay healthy for as long as you live.
By-line:
This guest article is written by Teresa Jackson, she writes on the subject of Nurse Practitioner Programs . Email her at teresa.jackson19@gmail.com.

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