Noticing Part II & Planning & Accountability

Good morning readers!
I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last post. Thanks for your patience.
An update since my Noticing post is that two co-workers (who happen to be sisters) commented in early December within a day of each other, that I was looking really good. It was very kindly given and I said thank you and talked with them both about how great I was feeling. Which I do, I feel very good and I am being consciously mindful about this fact. I'm down 40 pounds since July with a goal of 30 to go.
My lack of writing is not due to a lack of focus or success in taking care of myself during this holiday season. Instead, I will list some new habits that have been working for me:

• getting those 10,000 daily steps in (yesterday was my one fail since mid-July --Mulligan!)
• after one big meal, having a lot less for the next meal
• saying yes to desserts and snacks and sitting down with a plate of them
• passing on foods that don't interest me
• getting my best sleep as much as possible
• Always be moving (I'll explain this one further below)
• meal preparation and planning (especially during those weeks of back to work between Thanksgiving and Christmas)
• continually reminding myself that this is a special time (mid-November-Jan 2) and I can be trusted to be more rigid in my choices once I am done celebrating -- no guilt allowed (and no guilt about guilt either! lol)

"Always be Moving" is something I heard a young YouTuber Mrs. Midwest describe as a way of staying active throughout the day. I would change always to mostly --doing small chores does add up and goes well with the saying "sitting is the new smoking". Even if I'm on my feet making gingersnaps (yes I did that this month and they were a real hit!) that activity counts. I also do quick vacuums and bathroom wipe downs etc. In the past, I cleaned more thoroughly less often, I have really enjoyed the break in the day when I do some little chores that bring me both a burst of activity and a sense of pride in the cleaning itself. 

Meal preparation mainly involves lunches and occasionally dinners for work. I have found it is extremely beneficial if on Sunday I have 3-4 "main" lunch dishes prepared. One new main dish I have recently incorporated is chicken, tuna, or wild canned salmon salads with non-fat greek yogurt instead of mayo. I chop up lots of vegetables in it that includes spinach, pickles, carrots, jarred jalapeno, and whatever else I have. Sometimes I pack it as is and eat it with a fork other times I include a low carb whole grain wrap. I also pack a piece of fruit, fresh vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, radishes, with a few bread and butter pickles or a dill pickle or few olives), an ounce of cheese, and some nuts or seeds (a Tablespoon or 1/4 serving).  Once in a while I have stay late and eat dinner at work also and I have found Healthy Choice steamers or other similar meals to be an excellent resource. Environmentally they do add a lot of waste which is a concern. 

Looking towards 2020 I am offering to anyone interested, to be an accountability partner. I stopped using my app during Thanksgiving but have continued to weigh-in most days. Food logging the first of the year will be important for me and yet I find it difficult to do if I don't have someone looking over my shoulder. I am so proud of myself for giving myself a reasonable but true break from the strict calorie counting I had been doing from mid-July through mid-November. I can't remember ever taking a break from a healthy eating plan until I abandoned it completely due to reaching or nearly reaching my goal weight. Trusting myself is new but I am getting there. What do I mean by accountable? Whatever you want it to mean. For me letting someone know my intentions on a monthly basis and then having a weekly simple check-in would be helpful such as how did it go this week? 

January 2020 goals/intentions: do yoga 10 minutes a day 4 days a week (or get 40 minutes in over at least 3 days), walk at least 10,000 a day, take at least 2 - 25+ minutes walks a day, log food, stay between 1200-1500 calories a day aiming to have over 50% or more of foods coming from vegetables/fruits/whole grains and to have 70-80% or more be "clean" non-processed foods, incorporate good fats from olives/nuts/seeds/healthy oils, weigh-in each morning [I am taking a break from short jogs until March or whenever the temperatures are consistently above freezing].

Also moving into the new year I plan to continue to watch Dani Spies videos from her Clean & Delicious YouTube Channel especially from her playlist Health & Wellness & Weight Loss such as this one Clean & Delicious on not eating when you're not hungry.  (Note: she has promised a new course at the beginning of 2020- yay team!)

Happy New Year Everyone!

Much love to all,

AmyB