On My Happy Cloud

Being Healthy

I have lost 20 pounds since March. I mainly count my calories and I would exercise 3 to 5 days a week too. But I’ve kinda slacked in the last week or so. My weight was dropping off like 1 to 2 pounds a week and now it’s kind of plateaued. I have gotten comfortable consuming 1,200 calories a day but I realize that I’ve gotten to the point that just counting calories isn’t going to do it anymore. So, I’ve decided to start really WATCHING what I eat. I really need to add more fruits and vegetables and less fat and carbs.

I’ve had a rough weekend, especially with some crazy hormones. I’m less than proud of how I ate! I even had McDonald’s for breakfast…and not anything they consider “healthy”. So, I’m trying to make up for it today by eating healthy the rest of the day and week. I’ve gotten a lot better about know what to eat and how much.

I also need to get back to exercising again. I’m going to try and jog when I get home. I actually really like jogging when I’m doing it. It’s the motivation to get going that’s the problem.

I’ve got an app on my phone called FitnessPal. When you sign up, it asks how much you weigh and how much you want to lose and then tells you how many calories to consume. Then you just start logging everything you eat and it keeps track and lets you know how much you have left. And you can log your exercise and how many calories you burned doing so if you happen to go over your calorie limit you can just exercise and earn back more calories to use. It also keeps track of how much fat, sodium, potassium, carbs, cholesterol and vitamins you’ve consumed. It tells you your limit and how much you’ve actually consumed. That’s where I mess up so seeing what I usually go over in tells me what I need to cut back on.

Today for lunch I had:

Naked Red Machine Smoothie, 2 servings 320 calories
Carrots and Hommus

My snack will be a small apple.

My dinner will be
4 oz. chicken breast sautéed with garlic and basil
Fresh garden peas and carrots.

I think it would be nice to keep track in here when I feel like I’m doing well. Something about healthy food makes me WANT to be healthy. I also just want to take the time to cook. I'm so lazy! Not wanting to cook CAN NOT be an excuse anymore. Not having the time is not the truth, not wanting to take time away from watching tv or playing video games IS the truth.

We all know how to be healthy. What is it that makes want to stop? That fast food or that candy bar in the check-out isle at the grocery store. I think the trick is small changes. We try and stop everything at once and the one second we give in to temptation or cravings, we convince ourselves it’s impossible. I’m doing well, I think. I haven’t quit everything all at once. I have years of learned bad eating habits. I have to accept that changing isn’t over night. I have to continue to be proud of myself and believe that I have the strength within me to do it.

Much love and happiness.


Elaine Bradley