Thoughts on Comparison

One of the 5 things that Pahla B. emphasizes in her Five-Oh! method is mindset.  She encourages us to think about our thoughts and label them as helpful or not helpful.  Many times my inner mean girl leads me down the path of comparison with other people.  That path does not end well for me and 99.99% of the time is not helpful at all!  

Recently I've been working really hard not comparing my fitness with my husband's.  He is at his goal weight (mostly) and walks anywhere from 3-6+ hours a day.  He tries to get in about 100 miles a week!  I have to continually tell myself that to walk that much is his choice and I don't have to make the same choice.  For one thing I don't think my body would be too happy with me and for a second I would not enjoy it.  I'm a true believer that you don't know what tomorrow may bring so make sure you are enjoying each day you have.  I am also having to continually remind myself that someone else's journey is not my journey.  I have my own journey and all I can do is walk my own road.  I can certainly be inspired by other journeys but beating myself up because I'm not as good, thin, fit, successful, creative, (enter any other destructive word here), as someone else does not get me closer to where I want to be.  Instead I need to look at what my goals are (not someone else's goals for me) and determine what I am willing to do to achieve them.  To that end here are some of the goals that are floating around in my head - some are health related and others are just bucket list type items but either way they contribute to my overall well-being.

• Reach a healthy weight that makes me feel good about myself and allows me to do all the things I want to do
• 20 minutes of moderate exercise each day
• Eat healthy 80% of the time - allow the treats and don't be ashamed of them!
• 7-8 hours of sleep each night

• Create a daily routine in retirement that allows me time to be creative while still maintaining my home and relationships
• Bible journaling/study
• Home maintenance/blessing
• Exercise
• Spending time with people who matter
• Fun outings with my husband - biking, hiking, museum crawling, etc.
• Reading for pleasure
• Creative endeavors

• Work through my worries in a healthy way
• Reality check the situation
• Plan for worst case scenario
• Prayer - let go and let God!

• YouTube
• Film what I enjoy - encourage others
• Don't let channel become yet another comparison vehicle
• Stop worrying about the numbers

• Find ways to bless others through my time and talents
• Project Linus
• Dress-a-Girl
• Operation Christmas Child
• DAR projects
• CTMH
• Cards for Soldiers
• Sponsored kids
• Handmade gifts for friends and family

I'm sure I will add to this list and at times take things away but I think this was a good exercise in looking at what I really want and not comparing myself to others and trying to achieve their dreams instead of my own.

Catching Up!

I just looked back and it's been a while since I last posted!!  Wow!!  I've been on Profile all this time and I've been very successful but am losing steam with the intense difficulty that is involved with this program.  As of last Friday's weigh-in I have lost 45# and have 39.2# to go - over half way there!!  Woohoo!!!  The problem that is now happening is that we have been loosening up our weekends for some treats and that has led to small losses and several maintenance weeks.  That's great for my hubby who reached his goal last week (over 100# lost!!) but I still have some road to walk.  I know that Profile is amazing and works when nothing else really has but I also know it's just not sustainable for much longer for me.  Profile cuts calories quite dramatically and involves the use of their shakes and bars.  We paid for a year of coaching (and it was not cheap!!) and the bars and shakes end up costing about $110 a week each.  I am retiring at the end of September so our income will be going down a bit so we are looking at ways to cut some costs.  I know my health is important but I also know my mental health needs a break from the intensity of Profile.  My mental health will also benefit from being able to cut our food costs a bit so we can take more vacations!!

So...in comes Trim Healthy Mama.  I've been hearing about this lifestyle (not a diet) for quite a while and have been slowly learning the plan.  I picked up the book for my Kindle (reading it again for the 2nd time now) and then found the first cookbook at our used book store.  I've joined several THM FB groups and am reading and just soaking it all in.  I've started incorporating THM concepts into our Profile journey (trimmy coffee and Wasa crackers for the win!!) and plan to transition completely to THM mid-October when our coaching runs out.  It will be really hard to let our coach know we are not going to be meeting with her anymore but it's just not financially nor mentally sustainable any longer.  Do I recommend Profile?  Absolutely, 100% YES!  It is a program that will really get you working toward learning about nutrition and give you the kickstart you need to get healthier.  It's helped me get to a weight I have not seen in over 9 years.  Getting to that weight has reduced the pressure on my joints and allowed me to engage in more activity.  I've been going on 5 mile walks 1-2 times a week, doing yoga nearly every day, riding our exercise bike consistently for the last year, and now I'm incorporating weights along with some cardio exercise through Pahla B's YouTube channel.  Overall I feel amazing and I've had to downsize my clothing as well.  I know I have more to lose but I'm ok losing it a bit slower and being kind to myself as I walk down this health path.

While THM doesn't push you to have a calorie limit I know myself and know that I will very easily overdo even healthy food.  Pahla B has a program designed for women over 50 so I'm using that to guide myself on healthy limits.  She recommended some calorie calculators and said to calculate using these five and then get the average.  I did that today and my calorie goal is 1,870 calories a day.  I think on Profile I'm set around 1,100.  I'm going to start using a food tracker to see what sort of calorie intake I have going on now (TBH I've been adding in a few things non-Profile so I know I'm over the 1,100 but don't think I'm that close to the 1,870 (on regular days) but we shall see the truth when I start actually tracking each bite).  

I'd really like to find a way of eating that is intuitive and doesn't ban certain foods.  I want to move toward seeing food primarily as a fuel source for what I want to do but then also allowing some meals/treats to be special.  I can't deny that food is one of the joys in my life and I truly believe God put food on this earth for enjoyment as well as sustenance.  I just need to work on that balance!