Replacing Habits - My Warm Milky

I went ahead and read The Power of Habit this week.  I liked it!  It was really interesting.

I started looking closer at my habit of winding the day down with a sweet.

Basically the author suggested that you fix a habit by replacing it with another one.  The problem with picking a new habit, is that it has to become something you crave and really desire.  I was kind of hoping for more suggestions but since it was general book about habits, I had to come up with ideas on my own.


When I was younger, my mom and I were reading a book where the character made herself some warm milk with honey.  We decided to try it and found it pretty tasty.  I decided to change it up a bit and make my own version.

Warm Milky
Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp flavored syrup (I used Torani Hazelnut)
Splash of vanilla

Pour milk and honey into a mug.  Microwave on high until desired temperature.  (I put mine in for a minute and a half.)  Add your syrup and vanilla.  Let it cool a tad, while you soak in the warmth on the your fingertips.  Enjoy!

Thus far, this has been a lovely end to my day.  The milk is not only tasty, but warm, comforting, and relaxing.  It has the honey in it, which is a more natural sweetener and it is also full of vitamins, so I don't feel too guilty about my little indulgence.  It's a great way to wind down.

The Power Of Habit

Last week I posted this link on our Spank the Pounds Facebook page.  I follow this blog, Afford Anything, regularly and while it is, in fact, about finances, the author made a great point concerning food consumption and habits.

I found this rather interesting.  What habits were causing me to eat more sweets?  You should all know by now that sweets are my big temptation.

For the last week I decided to track my habitual cues every time I craved something sweet.  I found that most of my factors also fluctuated, but the factor that was most consistent for me was preceding action.  Here are the top three things that signal sweet time to me:

Spying Sweets. This was a big one.  Every time I walked into the kitchen or opened a cupboard and saw something sweet, I instantly thought, "Oooh, that sounds yummy."  I also found Pinterest to be a big pitfall because I cannot seem to log on without spotting a delicious dessert of some kind or another.  The solution?  Stop keeping sweets readily available.  (And maybe un-follow a few Pinterest boards.)

Completing meals.  I can definitely see the habit in this.  Our family consistently has a "treat" after almost every meal.  My sister-in-law once remarked to me that her family never had treats so regularly and, once she married my brother, she found it easy to fall into desiring a treat after every meal.  It's now a habit.  The solution? Find another, healthful option to signal the end of meal-time.  Perhaps some fruit?

Putting the kids to bed. Hmmmm, treats are apparently my way of finishing things up. In this case, it is a reward for a job, well...done.  Once the kids are in bed, I want to relax and do something for me.  The solution?  Once again, find another, healthful option to signal I'm done for the day.  Maybe a short round of yoga?  Some cold cucumber water?  Warm milk with a bit of honey?

This was an interesting exercise for me.  I have identified my own personal triggers and can now hopefully come up with some solutions that will help me form new habits.  I will have to think more on the actual habits I want to replace sweets with.  In the meantime, I think I will take myself off to the library and check out Charles Duhigg's book for more information.

Monday Mountains - Food Traps

Check out this article on 15 Food Traps that Derail Diets.

I think the part that most stood out to me was:

" Not every dinner out is a celebration, so don’t treat it like a calorie free-for-all. Instead, enjoy it as a meal that you don’t have to prepare or clean up. And that is special, even if you’re eating grilled fish."

I TOTALLY fall into this trap.  Thinking, "Well, I'm eating out and I don't get to do that all the time, so I'm going to treat myself."  When really, I should think that not cooking and cleaning is a treat in and of itself!

Monday Mountains

Okay, I know it's a tad early for a Monday Mountain post. But I already know what my mountain is going to be this week, so why wait?

My nemesis?

Schedules.

Yeah, remember my last tip? Well, let me first say that it's a solid tip and that I stand by it. I work out first thing in the morning every chance that I get.

But those darn schedules.

They aren't always conducive to morning workouts.

Errands to run, children to shuttle (and I only have 2 little ones), play dates, shopping trips, and, mostly importantly, The Hubster's work schedule.

You see, we've decided to do the running thing together. It's a good arrangement.

Unfortunately, The Hubster's schedule is very...well...flexible. And I don't mean that in the good kind of way. I mean that in the one-day-it's-one-thing-and-the-next-day-it's-completely-different kind of way.

For example, last week. The Hubster got stuck doing graveyards. Ick! It wreaked havoc on not only our exercise routine, but our entire family routine. He would leave just as I was going to bed, get back just as I was getting up, sleep all through the morning, wake just as the kids went down for naps, then family dinner and by then it's dark outside and the kids are cranky, ready to wind down.

This week I don't even know what his schedule is yet. That's part of the frustration, it's almost impossible to plan for because even if he "knows" his schedule, it could change at the drop of a hat.

So I guess my mountain is learning to be flexible and steady at the same time. It's something that I struggle with.

Any suggestions?

And please tell me I'm not alone. What's your current mountain?

Monday Mountains

Yes, it's Tuesday. I realize that.

But I need help/advice and so I figured I'd just do a late Monday Mountain post.

Lately when I do my workouts I've been getting light-headed.

Like...really light-headed.

This is strange to me. I never even had that problem when I first started even though I was almost 30 pounds heavier and much less in shape.

I've tried drinking more water and eating a heartier breakfast (with protein) and it doesn't seem to help. I just get dizzy and have to stop and rest until the world rights itself again.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

Chelsey- Monday Mountains

I've never posted a mountains post, but this week is a good one. Tomorrow we are leaving for our annual vacation to Yuma, AZ. ( Like to post a lovely thank you to Anselmo here who will be staying at our house and protecting our doggies) This will involove lots of eating out, and lot's of Grandmas cooking.. A grandma who cooks her hashbrown in bacon grease... How am I going to get to 189 while sitting in a car for 16 hours and then eating all this delicious food?? I will have to be very very strong... Smart choices, small portions...and go walking or biking everyday...phew.. Let's hope I can tackle this one..and survive 16 hours in the car with a Toddler. YIKES!

Monday Mountains

Standing in my way these next two weeks?

GOODIES!

Ah, Christmas goodies. I have a love, love, love, hate relationship with you.

I love you until you're gone and then I hate what you've done to my hips.

Fooey on you!

But I want you anyway.

Nay, I practically need you.

What's Christmas without goodies?

My game plan to tackle these tasty morsels?

Simple!

Portion control.

No, no, I said simple, not easy. BIG difference!

But I'm simply not going to say no to goodies. I already know that depriving myself will cause me to be bitter and angry and will produce later binging when I do finally give in. Followed by very low self esteem because I was so weak.

So instead of saying "No! None!", I'm going to say "Yes, please, just a little".

Now if you will pardon me, I need to go into a quiet room and summon all of my willpower.

Monday Mountains - Week 2

I have absolutely no problem thinking of a mountain to overcome this week. And I honestly have no great solution, so your input is greatly appreciated (read: needed!).

The obstacle?? A clingy 2 year old.

Okay, so the baby I can put to sleep and place in her swing. Easy peasy!

But the 2 year old? Fuhgettaboutit!

He HATES when I exercise. And I have no idea why he suddenly becomes a cling monster. Usually he wants little to do with me, he's quite independent. But the moment I turn on that video and start to march in place it's like I suddenly have a gravitational pull.

Oh wait! Perhaps, concerning my current weight, I should seriously consider that gravitational pull thing...

*ahem* Moving on...

The antics he pulls are as follows:
- "Mom, hold me!" Repeated while clinging to my leg.
- Throwing stuff at me or on the floor next to me (makes it hard to move)
- Screaming really loudly to get my attention
- Laying down at my feet (again with the movement thing)
- Telling me constantly that he has to poo (because he knows it gets my attention)

Seriously, he is acting out about me getting up and moving. WHY oh WHY?!

I have tried setting him up with a movie and a special snack. It lasted approximately 1 minute (until the snack was gone). And anyway, it's probably not good for me to feed my kiddo junk as I try to lose weight.

I also tried getting him involved and dancing with me. He will...for about 30 seconds and then he wants me to hold him.

He likes going out for walks, but it's honestly a little boring for me and a lot of work to get out the door. I don't want to have to do that every day.

Any suggestions?? Please, oh, please!

Even as I write this - I just finished exercising and he immediately took himself off to watch his movie.

Figures.

Monday Mountains

Ah, just another manic Monday.

Our first week has come and it is filled with potential. I have a whole week before me to make the right choices. But let's be honest, I also have obstacles that will attempt to stand in the way of achieving my goal.

So I figure now is a good time to identify one of my obstacles and determine how I will try to overcome it.

For my first obstacle I was going to choose "having kiddos". No matter how much I love my little darlings, they can definitely be an obstacle to losing weight. But as I thought on it, I realized that it was far too broad of a category. While brainstorming I thought of at least 10 obstacles that come from having kids.

Yeesh!

Let's narrow it down a bit.

Obstacle #1: Being Postpartum
- I have a newborn and I'm breastfeeding. This makes me hesitant to really start restricting my diet. With little sleep and extra energy needed, I want to make sure my calories stay high enough.

Possible Solutions:

1. Count calories
- I thought of this first thing. But the problem is that I know myself too well. I have neither the energy, time, patience, or desire to count calories. No thank you!
Rejected!

2. Make smarter food choices
- This I can do. Instead of grabbing fruit snacks or m&ms as a snack, I can choose apples or string cheese. Much more nutritious!
Can do!

3. Add some light exercise.
- It is already my goal to go out walking at least 5 times this week. Hopefully that helps kick-start my metabolism just a bit.
Can do!

And now my Monday is more than halfway over and I'm on my way to climbing my mountains.
Feel free to comment if you have any other ideas on overcoming my Monday mountains.

Then get out and spank those pounds!!