Miscommunication: The Head, The Heart and The Stomach

Communication is important in any relationship. If people do not communicate then chaos, or something like it, will ensue. A very important part of communication is listening. Being a good listener takes effort. It means being patient, putting aside what you have on your mind at the moment and intently listening to what the other person is saying. Nodding your head and using affirmative cues tell the other person that you respect what he or she is telling you, whether you agree or not.

One of my problems, pre-lifestyle change, was that my head, my heart and my stomach had a lot of miscommunication. The head and the stomach should be able to communicate effectively by themselves, but the heart likes to meddle. The heart created communication problems similar to the middle school dilemmas of “he said/she said confrontations”. My heart wanted to tell my stomach that because I was upset about something that my head was telling my stomach that I needed to eat., but the head said no such thing. And so I did eat. I listened to the lies that my heart was telling me. The heart had ulterior motives. What was really happening is that my heart was controlling my stomach and that’s out of order. The head should be in control, so if the heart has any concerns, it should tell the head. More than likely it’s an emotional issue that needs to be resolved between the head and the heart and the stomach doesn’t need to get involved.

Understanding our emotions is very important. Thinking about how we feel and why we feel that way is the first step to not letting your heart control your head and stomach. Listen to that nagging voice that says you don’t need “just one more” cookie. Ask your stomach if it’s truly hungry. More than often, if it’s not telling you it’s hungry then it’s probably not! And if you still want to eat- ask your heart why.

That is not to say that one is more important than the other. The head, the heart and the stomach all play important parts in the communication process and respect should be given to all three. The stomach speaks in ways that are very easy to determine. It growls. Say no more. The heart is a little more tricky. Sometimes there’s laughter, sometimes tears, and sometimes nothing at all. But the way you feel says it all. Emotions should not control eating, but for me, they often did and sometimes still do. The head is like that little guy on your shoulder telling you right from wrong. It’s your conscience. You head can logically determine what it is that you body needs if it is listening to the other parts.

But sometimes we chose to ignore what our body is saying to us. We don’t respect or acknowledge our emptions for what they are, we don’t listen to our stomach telling us not to eat certain foods (or so much of certain foods) when we get heartburn, sometimes we don’t just rest when we’re sick. Listening effectively is so important. Listen to your body. Respect what it’s telling you. Don’t let miscommunication lead to slipups in the path to healthy living.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies- 2 WW points!

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups of flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ground ginger and set aside.

2. Using a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.

3. Add the pumpkin, eggs and vanilla.

4. Slowly add the dry ingredients.

5. Scoop cookies onto coated cookie sheets and bake at 375* for about 12 minutes.

I made 72 cookies from this recipe and they are nice sized! I input the information into WW Online Recipe builder and it comes out to only 2 points for 1 cookie and only 3 points for 2 cookies! These are absolutely delicious. They are moist and have a cake like consistency. They’re perfect for Halloween! Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Hubby’s Home and Guilt Over Food

I did not sleep well at all last night. This was the first time that I have slept alone in our house! 6 AM came early, but I was kind of glad it did because I was tossing and turning all night.

For breakfast, I had 1/2 slice of homemade toast with PB and a banana along with 1 cup of 1% milk for 4.5 points.

For my first break, I made a green smoothie out of 1 cup of spinach, 1 medium banana, 1 peach and 1/2 cup of light vanilla yogurt for 4 points. 3 servings of fruits and veggies, how’s that for a super smoothie?

It kind of gave me heartburn though- weird!

I was really hungry by lunch time for some reason. I had leftover Sassy Pumpkin soup for 2 points.

I also had grilled cheese alla sandwich thin for 2 points.

I was craving something sweet, so I had a serving of low fat brownie fudge ice cream for 3 points.

This stuff was delicious!

I was craving a little something sweet on my last break, so I had a Laffy Taffy for .5 point.

Hubby got home around 3:30- it was so nice to see him! But I still had 1 hour left to work. That was one long hour- let me tell you!

After I got done working, we headed into the office to pick up my Wii! It was finally in!

Now from here on out I am going to teach you the repercussions of not planning ahead…well I shouldn’t say not planning ahead, because I DID plan ahead, I just didn’t stick to my plan.

We had planned to go to Applebee’s because we had a $10 gift card. The perfect choice, right? I actually chose that over Red Lobster because I knew I could order a WW entrée. Well my plans derailed when we saw the 2 for $20 deal that included an appetizer- and we were STARVING!

So we had the Spinach Artichoke Dip- which I am pretty sure I ate half of. I was repulsed when I looked up the points when I got home. I spent 18 points on half of that dip- I cannot believe that- what is IN that stuff!?

And so then I ordered the Fiesta Lime Chicken. Now for this, I felt like I made an ok choice. I immediately scraped off all of the cheese and ate only the chicken breast. I did not eat the rice. I am overestimating this for any leftover cheese that may have been on it, etc, as 10 points.

And to top it off, the $10 gift card only had .92 cents on it! We must have used it before and forgot about it!

After that, hubby and I did a little shopping. We got a new monitor for my work computer- so that will be so nice! It’s a wider and bigger screen that should be better on the eyes, too!

Before we went home- we stopped for dessert. We always buy the mini blizzards at Dairy Queen when we go- which isn’t that often! So that’s a change in the right direction- better than getting other sizes. I had the mini fresh silk pie blizzard and scraped off the whipped cream. This was 9 points. Pretty high- but very delicious. Ice cream twice in one day- whew. Better watch that!

I am having a hard time with feeling guilty over what I ate. Looking back, I never would have ordered what I did if I had known the points values beforehand. But then again, I don’t want to be attaching feelings, negative or not, to foods. It’s not a good thing to do. Food is food. It is not the enemy and it is not evil. I am not a bad person for eating foods, for one night, that are a little more calorie laden than I should be eating right now. I do not need to feel guilty for overindulging this one night. Or do I? Is it ok to indulge every once in a while? Give me your opinions.

I do know that I will do much better tomorrow. I used some weekly points, but not all of them. So ultimately, I am still on track!

How do you deal with guilty feelings about food?

I want to thank Kristi for the Versatile blogger award- thanks for making me feel special.

Right On Track

I meant to wake up at 6 AM this morning to work on reading for school, but the wind was hollowing outside making our old house creak, and it felt so warm and cozy under those covers that I reset the alarm for 7 and went back to sleep. I could have slept all day today!

For breakfast, I had 1 cup of oats with 1 tsp PB and a banana sliced on top along with 1 cup of 1% milk for 6.5 points.

Oatmeal is always a good start to the day. It’s filling and makes me feel healthy. Add that PB, even just a tsp. and it’s even more filling!

Mom left at the same time that I did. I was sad to see her go! We had a lot of fun! Thanks for coming, Mom! I wouldn’t mind if she came back every week hubby was gone. lol So, I headed to school. It was SO cold today!

Walking across campus wasn’t very fun. It’s definitely time to get out those winter coats! I need to try mine on and see if they even fit anymore…

On the way to class I had 1/2 of a Naked Strawberry Banana for 3 points.

For lunch, I had leftover BBQ chicken, 1 cup of green beans, and a slice of homemade toast with blueberry jam for 7 points. That is steam in the picture, not a ghost.

For dessert, I had a No Pudge! brownie for 2 points.

Before signing in to work, I made pumpkin spice coffee and added some creamer for .5 point.

It was everything I could do not to eat some peanuts and candy corn, but I knew that I couldn’t possibly be hungry after that big lunch and that I could save it for later if I was still craving it tonight after work. So I walked out of the kitchen triumphantly!

I received some fun UPS shipments in the mail today, so stay tuned for some posts on those in the next 2 weeks! PSSST there could be another giveaway! A really good one!

After work, I talked to my sister for a while and then hubby called so I talked to him for a while. He comes home tomorrow!! Can’t wait to see him!

I really wanted to ride the stationary bike, but it wasn’t working. I changed the batteries and no luck. So I will have to have hubby take a look at it when he is home this weekend.

So I hopped on the treadmill. I walked .25 mile, ran 1 mile, walked .25 mile, ran 1 mile and then walked the last .50 mile. A total of 3 miles! It felt wonderful! I also did intervals of running 5.5 mph. That’s the fastest I have ever run and I can DO IT! I want to see how fast I can run, even if it is just for a short period of time, but I don’t want to be too experimental while hubby isn’t home, just in case! I haven’t listened to my iPod while running for a LONG time- since hubby and I have been running together and we talk while we run. So it was fun to listen to my music! I also read my newest issue of WW magazine while I ran. I burned 515 calories. I have completed 5.8 miles of my 100 mile challenge now!

Someone asked for the details of my challenge, it’s really pretty simple! I am going to bike, walk and run 100 miles from October 27th- November 28th. It’s just a simple goal to track my progress and keep me active while hubby is away for work- if you want to join in, feel free to! Also, don’t forget The Thankful Healthy Blogger 5k!!

I emailed WW to find out how to calculate AP’s from calories burned with a HR monitor. Their response was that they don’t have an answer and that I should use the activity tracker. Come on, really? I don’t eat my activity points, but I would like to know how to calculate them correctly. I remember someone told me once, but I’ve forgotten. But seriously…lots of people use HR monitors these days and being as big as WW is (no pun intended tehehe) you’d think they would have that information or a calculator for it as part of their online tools. I suppose I could provide feedback instead of just complaining about it.

For supper, I made up another new HG recipe. Big surprise, huh? She’s my new hero! I had the Yumtastic Breakfast Burrito and the name was very fitting! It doesn’t get any better than bacon, cheese and egg (beaters), does it? I don’t have the same size tortillas that she calls for in the recipe, so I used 2 little ones and mine came out to 4 points.

I also had 1/2 cup of canned peaches with 1 sliced banana for 3.5 points.

This was the PERFECT supper for tonight- SO good!

I was craving a little something more, so while I’m typing this, I’m slowly snacking on 2 points worth of candy corn and peanut mix. Much more enjoyable now than just trying to eat my emotions at lunchtime!

So I ended out my day perfectly! That’s 2 days in a row that my points have been on target- and I’ve been getting in exercise. I have to keep this up and I will see results!

I was also asked for the Veggie Tuna Wrap Explosion recipe from HG, you can find it here, with what looks like the rest of the cookbook….not sure why I bought it? lol

I also want to say thank you for a couple of awards I was given today. I received the Versatile blogger award from Girly Girl: Losing the Gut and Weight Watcher Ramblings , thank you! I will try to post the 7 things about myself some other time. I appreciate the awards, that’s so sweet of you both!

I’m so happy that tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! Any big plans for the weekend?

I Love Weigh In Days Like This One!

I was able to sleep in this morning and I woke up at 7:15- that’s a lot better than 5 AM though! I took the day off because my Mom is here, and it was such a relief not to have any obligations for once!

Today was weigh in day and I was overjoyed when I stepped on the scale and saw 219.2! Not only is that a new low for me and breaks through the 220’s- but it’s a 3.6 lb loss this week!!! I NEVER have losses that big (but I wouldn’t mind if I did)! That’s a total of 68.8 lbs lost and I am SOOO close to that 70 lb goal- I think it’s time I go buy that hoodie so I have it on hand. Plus I have a coupon for the store and it expires 10-31!

This also means that I lose some of my daily points! I will now be allowed 28 points instead of 31- that’s a big drop- but I’m sure I will adapt. Those weekly points are lifesavers in times like this.

My sister had a great idea to help pass the time that hubby is going to be gone. She suggested I come up with another challenge. So I thought about it and decided that I will cover 100 miles during that time. That’s about 5 weeks time. No I will not RUN 100 miles. If only! The 100 miles can be made up of running, walking, or biking. I will be finished by November 28th. That’s 33 days to complete 100 miles. Approximately 3 miles a day. This will be tough- but I am going to give it a try! Thanks for the idea, Angie!

So after that motivating WI, I headed outside for a run! I walked to and from the trail and then ran on the trail for 2 miles straight. I kind of wanted to go longer but then there was this scary guy walking by the trail and then some dogs started chasing me and I think I started to run faster after all of that and by 2 miles I was tired out! Total distance was 2.8 miles. I burned 517 calories! You can track my progress on the ticker at the bottom with the turkeys and pumpkin.

By the time I got home- I was hungry for breakfast! I made us another new recipe from my HG cookbook. I made Egg Mug Florentine. This was SOOOO good! I will definitely be making this again, plus it was only 2 points! The green stuff in the picture is Spinach. I also had 1/2 serving of Blueberry Greek Yogurt and a medium banana for 2.5 points. Not bad for a 4.5 point breakfast!

After  breakfast, I got to work on my homework. I made us up pumpkin spice lattes for 1.5 points. YUM!

I had mentioned to my Mom that if she wanted to, she could read my blog now. So she asked if she could see it. So now my sister and Mom read the blog and so far so good. This is a huge step for me to be sharing this with people that I trust and feel comfortable sharing this with and the feedback I have been getting is so encouraging. I am so glad they are so understanding because I really didn’t know what to expect.

For lunch, I made a HG recipe- Veggie Tuna Wrap Explosion for 4 points.

This is the BEST tuna salad recipe EVER. My Mom agreed that it was delish!

I also had a cup of 1% milk for 2 points.

I spent HOURS minutes in the kitchen making dessert. No Pudge! brownies. Mom had never had these either- she liked them, too! This was 2 points.

After that, my Mom helped me clean the house- I know! Thanks Mom!

I kept working on homework. I’m glad we didn’t have to leave the house today because it was SUPER windy and cold out there! We got kind of hungry in the afternoon, so I whipped up some peach smoothies for 3 points.

For supper, I made Sassy Pumpkin Soup (another HG recipe) along with roasted zucchini and onions, and 1/2 a sandwich thin topped with 1/2 a light laughing cow cheese wedge- all for only 3.5 points. This soup is FULL of veggies- so definitely a serving or two or THREE of veggies in each serving of soup.

Later on in the evening, we had some Jolly Time Smart Pop for 4 points.

I had one point leftover- so I had  a Halloween pack of Sweet tarts for 1 point. I bought the fruity stuff so I’m not tempted by it very much. I did get some chocolate Halloween candy but that will not be opened until Halloween!

So I didn’t go over my points at all today! I’m happy with my eating today, but probably could have gotten more fruits and veggies in.

We’re over halfway through the week!

Shopping with Mom

I woke up with a terrible headache this morning. It was probably weather related- who knows, but it’s not fun! I was able to sleep until 7 AM this morning, which was nice. A quick glance out the window showed the weather that was predicted last night- showers and a high wind warning- fun!

I was surprised to step on the scale this morning and see a big loss- I’m hoping that it sticks around for tomorrow!

I started my day off with a nice, hot, aromatic cup of Pumpkin Spice Coffee with FF vanilla creamer for .5 point.

I had reading to finish up for class in the morning, so I got right to that! It was hard to read with a headache- but it finally started to go away- reading this would give ANYONE a headache though…

It is understandable, it’s just VERY slow reading!

Is anyone else getting random comments on old posts? It’s so obviously spam but they just make me laugh- here’s the most recent comment on a post back in July- “These things are very slow, so as not to waste the time I took random pictures of the place. Here are some photos of today.This was seen to be good looking things for people have their ideas going.” At first I wondered if they were dissing me by making fun of my picture taking. lol I apologize if you are a real person trying to make a real comment- but I highly doubt it as your name is “payday loan”. But you made me laugh.

For breakfast, I made 1 cup of oats with a sliced banana mixed in along with 1 cup of 1% milk for 6 points. This was especially filling this morning for some reason!

Shortly after, we headed into town so I could go to school. I was anxious for class to end! My Mom dropped me off and picked me back up after class and we headed to Panera Bread for lunch. I had the You Pick 2- broccoli cheddar soup, Asian Sesame Chicken Salad and a whole wheat baguette for 12 points.

After that, I wanted to take my Mom to the new bakery that has the best cupcakes. My Mom loves white wedding cake, so I knew she would love this place. I had a Raspberry Love cupcake and coffee with a  little creamer, that I am estimating at 4.5 points.

My Mom embarrassed me by wanting to take my picture in this dinky little place with all kinds of people around. lol. Do I look embarrassed?

And Mom with her white cupcake.

After that it was shopping time- and I mean shopping time! We spent the entire day shopping! I got some good deals, but didn’t spend too much or buy too much (in case hubby is reading this). hehe. It was a fun time! I even bought two new skirts in size 18. Did you read that!??! Size 18! I was so excited!!

For supper, we went to Texas Roadhouse. I had one of these:

I am estimating at 5 points. I also had just a few peanuts for maybe 1 point.

I also had a house salad with just a tad of low fat ranch dressing for 2.5 points? I really don’t know for sure. There was just a little bit of each topping.

For supper, I ate half of my pork chop and the sweet potato with a little brown sugar for 8.5 points? Just estimates. But I was trying to listen to my body, and I think I did fine.

We almost forgot that I needed to get some groceries, but remembered at the last minute! We didn’t get home until 9:30, and I was a little hungry so I ate a medium banana for 1.5 points.

And I guess I ended up going over my points by about 10.5 if I estimated right. I don’t feel bad about how I ate today though. I feel like I made good choices. Sure, I probably could have forgone the bread at Texas Roadhouse- but we NEVER eat there and I love their bread- and it’s much better than the 3 I would have eaten pre-lifestyle change! I drank lots of water, too.

I’m hoping weigh in tomorrow goes ok! I’m feeling positive tonight based on how my body feels- but we shall see!