Monday, March 6, 2017

The skinny scale, how my eating has changed, exercise

Rich and I have the same primary care physician and coincidentally, we had annual physicals a week apart from each other.  Mine was scheduled first but because of a snow storm, had to be moved a few weeks out.  After Rich's physical, he commented that he must have lost a few pounds because when they weighed him, his weight was down from the scale at the gym and at home.  Our scale at home isn't the most accurate, but it's close enough, and I had weighed myself on Grammy's scale a week before my physical for a comparison to our scale.  My physical was scheduled for two o'clock and I ate breakfast and lunch.  The scale at the doctor's office had me weighing about three pounds less.  I'm convinced their scale is either somehow adjusted or just off because there is no way I weigh that amount, especially after eating two meals.

My eating habits have definitely changed for the better now that I'm at home and not commuting into the city and sitting at a desk/in meetings all day.  I've never been able to eat breakfast right after I wake up.  When I was working, I typically ate (usually a not-so-healthy) breakfast at my desk.  I tried to bring my lunch as much as possible, especially in the colder months, but when I did, I would end up snacking in the afternoon.  When I went out and bought lunch, it usually wasn't anything light or small and I would stuff myself.  Sometimes I would grab an afternoon snack as well.  I'd always eaten dinner late - 8:00 or so - even before having kids.  Because it's a long time between lunch and dinner, I'd always snacked.

Now that I'm at home, it's so much easier to simply eat when I'm hungry.  Because I'm eating when I'm hungry and not stuffing myself, I don't need a huge meal to feel satisfied.  I'm also a believer in moderation, especially when you stop eating when you are full.  It's okay to eat pizza - you don't need to eat half the pizza though.  Stop when you are full.  Also, I've been eating dinner with the girls between 5:00 and 6:00 so I don't need a big lunch or afternoon snacks to hold me over until dinner.  My only issue is that sometimes around 8:00-9:00, I'm hungry again.  And I want ice cream.

Excluding vacation week, I've been exercising three (sometimes four) days a week.  I came across some YouTube videos last week and then I ended up looking at this and that on IG and next thing you know, I'm super motivated but I just lost an hour of time.  In addition to running, I've been lifting weights but it's been very limited and I'd like to expand on that.  When I stopped working, I imagined myself exercising five times a week - not including bike rides, walks, etc with the kids.  Imagining and actually doing are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum though.

Right now, I look at it this way - something is better than nothing.  Maybe the warmer weather, whenever it arrives on a more permanent basis, will help with motivation.  My retirement isn't only about being at home with the girls but to get us all (not just me) back on track with health.  We are eating healthier and I've had a few people comment on how I don't look run down like I did before.  Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that life is too short.        

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