Healthy, Positive Thinking!

ahhh... ok so i feel really good. I was so mad at myself for falling off of my wagon these past few months.. throughout the winter really. I had gained all my weight back that i lost, but now i've come to the conclusion that the past year was just the very beginning of my realization that i can be a healthy person. I have learned how to eat healthy, and learned that i CAN get out there and be active. Living in the country for so long, despite ppl thinking that you'd actually get outside more, I became so inactive cuz i drove everywhere, and didn't do a whole lot. Now i bike, walk, go to the gym, swim, and buy my own groceries. I must say too, that I am very good at buying groceries. Many people go to the grocery store and get tempted to buy all the crap. I find that my trip to the grocery store is quite therapeutic and I actually get motivated and re-motivated by buying really healthy things. (tonite was a grocery night and went great.) i've also concluded that it may be a bit more expensive to eat healthy (not sure if this is even true) but as i put away the contents of my grocery bags tonite, i thought to myself, if i have to invest a little more to ensure that i am eating healthy and preventing major diseases in my life, then im sure as hell going to do it.

I have cut out fast food since may 14th. I did slip up once as i had arbys with my friend kevin. However, I am proud of the fact that instead of completely binging after dropping kevin off (as i usually assume that because i gave in i might as well really binge,) I went back to my healthy habits.

Speaking of healthy habits, I also have to address the fact that aside from my addiction to fast food, I have adopted pretty healthy eating habits in the last year. For example: i rarely eat sandwiches. My sister once told me a long time ago about a friend of hers who lost a bunch of weight by cutting out sandwiches and limiting her carbs. I couldn't even imagine cutting out sandwhiches at that time. HOwever now, I find that sandwhichs are rarely made in this house. My milk is always skim, my bread is ALWAYS whole grain or whole wheat.

The contents of my shopping cart are always as follows:

- fresh fruit (apples, oranges, bananas, and the occaisional tropical seasonal fruit.. strawberries, cherries etc.
- fresh veggies (broccoli, lettuce, spinich, green onion, tomatoes, cucumbers)
- boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
- salmon
- canned veggies, soups, canned pineapple
- canned salmon or tuna
- skim milk
- eggs
- marble or mozza cheese ( i have pretty much cut out processed cheese)
- low-fat yogart and lots of it
- cottage cheese
- whole grain pasta
- canned tomatoes
- frozen fruit/veggies
- whole grain/whole wheat bread - i like to buy pita bread lately
- high fiber cereal (goLean cruch is my fav right now)
- today i bought almonds

This is the bulk of my grocery list and sometimes i supplement with condiments, like calorie-wise salad dressings, low fat miracle wip (today i bought fat-free)
we always use extra virgin olive oil for cooking.

if anyone has any suggestions for good snacks or anything, please leave me a note.
(not that anyone actually reads this..lol)

I am happy to report that i have pretty much cut out processed cheese, and kraft dinner, chinese pre-packaged noodle soups. So, if i can continue cutting out fast food, my diet will pretty much consist of the above. Fast food is where my downfall is, because i eat healthy at home, but when im out is when i give in to all the processed, high-glycemic index foods that are so tempting and addicting.

My blood pressure the other day at shoppers was 112/78 and 106/77 which i was ecstatic about! (last year and throughout my heavy stages my systolic has been up to 140's.

A non-scale victory (NSV) for the week: my purple scrub pants are way looser and they are now within acceptable ranges to wear to work! (the were painted on me before 2 weeks ago)
I've started writing down the foods im eating in a little food journal. Hope i can keep this up.
In order to continue supporting myself in a healthy lifestyle, i have to surround myself with healthy thinking, healthy actities, and healthy people! To contribute to this, i have gone to health websites like 3fatchicks.com and sparkpeople.com. I also have developed a habit of buying health magazines like "shape" and "fitness" and even "womens health" i find that flipping thru these mags really inspires me and sets my thinking right.


yay me! good day, and now.. a good night.