Well, we just returned from our vacation, and to insure we continued our new way of eating packed all natural and carb free choices! I lost five pounds, so that's super exciting. The feeding schedule the kittens are on has tired me, so exercising has been put on the back burner for NOW. Thank the Lord we were on an Island without a lot of dining choices, it made sticking to the plan that much easier. BUT, I must say, Jekyll Island was one of the most serene and quiet vacations... most relaxing vacation that my family and I have ever taken. The beaches were empty, and we felt as if we were on our own private island. We enjoyed a wonderful place to stay; Days Inn. There were two pools, jacuzzi tub, and childs pool. Many hours, and evenings we had the pool to ourselves. What a way to exercise; swimming laps in an almost empty pool!
Early in the mornings as the fishing boats would sail past, you could sit and drink your coffee while watching the dolphins, and birds. My children are the type of children who enjoy nature, and absorb their surroundings, so this trip was a magnificent get away. We found horseshoe crabs, a small shark, a stingray, jelly fish, hermit crabs, a bank load of sand dollars, and a variety of seashells, all along the beach. We cannot wait to back again, next summer.
I don't really like the word "diet". I mean, it really sets you up for failure when you begin looking at your eating habits as a "diet". Puts a lot of pressure on you to eat things you don't really enjoy, doesn't it? I mean, the minute you mess up your so called "diet", you begin that self degregation thing and beat yourself to smithereens... don't you? Well, I do.
I recently began a challenge. The challenge was to change my eating habits to basically reflect what people are already doing on the Atkins Diet. The only thing is, it's not a 'diet' to me; it's a new way of eating. I think of this challenge as a health improvement challenge: a lifestyle change. When looking at most so called 'diets' the focus is either on reducing fat, watching your carbs, and/or counting your caloric intake. I find eating the Atkins way more desireable because I am able to pick and choose foods from a variety of healthy foods that I actually enjoy. There are many ways you can make substitutions for sugar and carbs... but trying to make changes in fat content without changing the taste, well... we all know that doesn't jeeehaw very well. Right? Not only that... counting fat and caloric intake takes a LOT of know how and time.
Most health food experts will tell you, there's nothing wrong with 'fats' as long as you're not combining them with a bunch of sugars. Sugar, in the healthfood industry is also known as "poison". Refined foods, loaded with sugars and other additives should also be known as 'poisons'. If I could recommend two books to get you started on eating healthy, and eating clean I would recommend Dr. Atkins, "The Atkins Diet" as well as Tosca Reno's, "The Eat Clean Diet". Eat wholesome healthy foods and make it about a lifestyle change... a healthy life style. Make the change from diet... to life long commitment. By seeing it as a lifestyle, you don't feel forced to follow a strict 'rule' and put unnecessary pressures on yourself. Set goals based on your personality, preferences and abilities. By doing this, you don't view it as a failure when you eat, or drink something you shouldn't or skip a workout when you're incredibly tired, sick, or occupied by other commitments. You view it as an opportunity to indulge, and know that your lifestyle hasn't really changed. After your indulge you get right back to what you normally do, but without the GUILT. Even Robert Kennedy (Editor of Oxygen Magazine) admitted to indulging in cake from time to time.
RSS Feed