#beautifulinsideandout week 8

 Image via That's Nerdalicious!

How did I go last week? Well, better than the two weeks before, that's for sure. I didn't manage to stick to my goals, though. My husband was sick and I used that as an excuse to get us lots of comfort foods. However, I'm really feeling like I've had enough of that, and that I want to make real changes.

This week I want to focus on one goal:

Stop eating food I can't digest.

I have known that I am lactose intolerant for several years. About a year ago I found out I am also intolerant of many other foods, including wheat. (My many food intolerances will have to be another blog post-- there's something for you to look forward to!) I went on a very strict elimination diet to find this out, and was vigilant about keeping those foods to a minimum. However, over time, I've become lazy. It's so much easier to grab a roll for lunch and than to look around for a gluten-free alternative. It's so hard to resist biscuits when a coworker brings them in.

But I've come to the point where I really don't feel good. I feel like my body isn't happy, and I need to make changes. So no more wheat, no more cheese (except my beloved vintage cheddar, thank god for aged cheeses) and a lot more cooking.

Drop some crumbs on the curb for me!

#beautifulinsideandout week 7

Image from Cutest Food

Ha ha, what happened to week 6? Don't ask!

Work has been crazy lately. I'm in a new role, and we have been working on a very large and complex project. I was out of the office and on my feet every day, and exhausted and stressed out every night. All my good habits went out the window and I drank too much coffee, ate out too much, ate fast food and comfort food.

But now I am back in the office (so I can easily record my calories), and much less stressed (so I can get back to being healthy.

Here are my goals for my New Start:

• Exercise four times a week for at least 30 minutes
• Record calories eaten
• Eat home-cooked meals 5 days a week
• No deep-fried foods

My inspiration this week is Dempeaux's post on eating and living healthy. Today I ate a salad and a yoghurt for lunch! We can do this thing!

#beautifulinsideandout week 5

 Image from cutefoodforkids via Cutest Food

So... you may have noticed that I skipped a week. Oops! The truth is that the last few weeks have been really stressful (huge project at work, tension leading to a four-day headache and now twice-weekly physiotherapy, etc) and I've really let things slide.

At the moment I'm just not set up to keep entering everything I eat at Calorie King, because I'm on my feet all day and not at my desk. So I'm scaling back a bit on my goals. Here are my goals for week 5:

• Exercise three times a week for at least 30 minutes
• Cut out lollies and sugary drinks 
• Eat home-cooked meals 4 days a week
• No deep-fried foods

Hopefully I can scale back a bit, get back into the exercising habit, and be more careful about what I'm eating.

#beautifulinsideandout week 3

 image via Cutest Food

My goals for last week were:

• Exercise three times a week for at least 30 minutes
• Record calories eaten
• Cut out lollies and sugary drinks

How did I do?

Pretty good!

I exercised five times (Pilates for an hour, dancing for 90 minutes, and walking for 30 minutes three times)! It felt great to get moving more, and I am definitely feeling fitter.

I recorded my calories every day except Saturday. I've found it easy to keep track on weekday because I'm at my desk all day, but I try to stay off the computer on the weekends. I need to make an effort on weekends, though, because that's when the tempting food is around!

I stayed away from lollies by chewing sugarless gum after every meal-- I find that it really takes the craving away. It was pretty painless to cut out soft drinks.

Grade: A

This week I'm updating my goals:

• Exercise four times a week for at least 30 minutes
• Record calories eaten
• Cut out lollies and sugary drinks 
• Eat home-cooked meals 5 days a week
• No deep-fried foods

We've been eating out way too much lately, which is expensive and can be unhealthy (or at the least calorie-dense). I put home-cooked to include visiting family. Cutting out deep-fried foods is a no-brainer: I have to stay away from chips! And I'm increasing my exercise amount to 4 times a week.

#beautifulinsideandout week 2

Ha ha, the fact that I am posting my Motivation Monday post on Tuesday is a good indicator of how I am doing!

My goals for last week were:

• Exercise three times a week for at least 30 minutes
  
• Record calories eaten

How did I do?

Um... OK. I recorded my calories each day that I was at a computer, using Calorie King (which I highly recommend for Australians). It did help me make better choices, and I learned that some things I assumed were healthy were actually far too large for one meal. I didn't manage to do it every day, though, so I'll make more of an effort this week.

I exercised twice: Pilates for an hour on Wednesday and walking for 40 minutes on Friday. I was having a really stressful day on Wednesday and doing Pilates at lunch was fantastic: everything melted away and I completely relaxed. Work is very intense at the moment so I really need to step up the exercise to combat this.

Grade: C-

This week I am going to try to meet those goals, and am adding another goal:

• Cut out lollies and sugary drinks

I am a bit addicted to sugar. I've wanted to wean myself off for a while now, and I just found out via Dempeaux that eating sugar damages collagen in the skin, so that's an extra motivation. I'm not trying to cut it out altogether, just the extra sugar I consume in lollies and the occasional soft drink.

#beautifulinsideandout

Michelle of Eat Paint Sniff Glue and Kirsten of Commander in Chic have started #beautifulinsideandout, a way for them (and anyone else who wants to join in) to start taking better care of themselves. In Michelle's words:

To keep the focus on positive lifestyle changes, and to make the task less daunting, we’ve made an executive decision not to focus on our current weight, but instead on achieving small, weekly goals. There will be no tweeting of current weight (unless you're brave and really want to), only diet and fitness goals, and of course our weekly results.

Our goals are to be tweeted on Mondays with the hashtag: #MotivationMondays

Our results tweeted on Sundays with the hashtag: #SexySundays

The bridging hashtag, cleverly thought up by Kirsten, shall be #beautifulinsideandout. This tag will help tie the two together, making the whole thread available under the one search. This third hashtag will be our main one, and will serve as a device for general, related chitchat.

I think this is a lovely idea. Focusing on specific goals instead of results ("lose 10kg") or vague intentions ("eat better") is much more likely to help build better habits. There are several things I need to change, and doing anything with the support of a group is easier.

I don't know how much I'll be using Twitter for this, but I'll blog about my progress. Since I tend to make grand plans, fail and then immediately return to bad habits, I'm focusing on small, cumulative goals. This week, my goals are:

• Exercise three times a week for at least 30 minutes
  
• Record calories eaten

That's it. I'm not going to make a huge effort to restrict my calories (although I find that to a certain point that happens naturally when I take notice of exactly what I'm eating). I have a weekly Pilates class and a weekly dance session, so I just need to exercise once more this week.

Small changes are easier to make than big ones, and they add up.