Cassie Vs. Redbull

Sorry for fibbing too you guys! I fell asleep by 8:00pm last night, but I mean, sleep is important right? But sadly this also means that I missed my chance to get on the scale. I’ll have to do that next time I stop by my mom’s house. So you lucky people get another tangent of mine, get excited! Ha-ha.

So the topic of today is: getting rid of this phrase- oh might as well.

Let me explain with an example. Yesterday I was tired, beyond tired, probably why I fell asleep at 8pm! And I went to the convince store in the building of my work and decided coffee wasn’t enough, I needed Red Bull (comment on Red Bull coming). So in case any of you are unfamiliar with Red Bull, it comes in a regular version or sugar free. The regular red bull has about 110 calories (in the smallest size) and the sugar free has about 3 calories (again small size). So it’s roughly a 100 calories difference. Since I had all my meals planned for the rest of the day and they all seemed to leave me with a little extra wiggle room, I figured why not go for the full sugar version of red bull for only about 100 calories more? It’s such a small amount for a better taste, in my opinion.

What type of reasoning is that?

If you are trying to get fit then calorie awareness is important. And no one should eat too small an amount of calories, if you do then what would your body run off of? The issue is making the right calorie choices. Why didn’t I use that “extra” 100 calories to eat some almonds or tuna or fruit? Something good for me that would provide either water or energy or both. Instead I was cranky and tired and decided “oh might as well” when it came to which Red Bull to get. There is a danger in that. You can “oh might as well” yourself into a lot of extra calories, not just 100, and not just when you need some more calories. Instead of “oh might as well” I should have been thinking “what would be best to put into my body to add 100 calories to my intake today”. See the difference? Each thing we put into our bodies is a choice, and focusing on making better choices one by one.

Which brings me to my next point, why am I drinking Red Bull? That is a bad decision in itself. Just as a general point I think it would be better to stick to a natural energy booster over something where the ingredients sound like they could destroy Superman. Also it makes my heart race. And when I crash off it I can barely move. There is so much to be said about making better choices.

A final note today is about one of my favorite things that I will never give up, although I’m trying to limit it, coffee. So as most people know coffee can give your metabolism a boost. Interest fact though: if you drink coffee before you eat first thing in the morning, coffee actually has the opposite effect, it will slow down your metabolism. Now you know: there is more than one reason to start your day with a balanced breakfast, right before your coffee (if you indulge)!

Till laters,

Cassie

Trying a new Idea

Hey Everyone!

It’s been awhile, my apologies. Between leaving my laptop behind in every possible situation, I’ve been very busy and very tired. But I have been doing some thinking. While I like rambling in this blog, I feel like if I put more rigid guidelines on when and how I update this maybe it will help me stay on track, cause I have been struggling. And I am well aware that the struggle is part of the journey, but struggling a lot can make us all feel defeated. I’ve had great healthy days and bad not healthy days. But either way here I still stand.

Which has lead me to an important point: Don’t panic.

What I mean is don’t try to base your entire day or week over thinking about the food you have eaten. Don’t be paranoid that other people are going to judge you on what you do or do not eat. Don’t put all your emotions into the cupcake that is right in front of you( I want it so bad but if I eat it I’m bad, I’m a failure, etc). That’s something I struggle with. If I want something I over think it and over think it till I have either eaten it or willed myself not to eat it. But if I don’t eat it I have a hard time not thinking about the food still, like maybe I wished out on the most amazing cupcake in the whole world. I think when you are over thinking about the food you don’t eat or do eat, it’s all a state of panic. You have to take a deep breath, maybe count a few. If you aren’t calm how can you make a rational decision you can stand by? It’s food, one way or another. You eat it or you don’t. If you don’t you won’t get an award and if you do you won’t be punished. Take a minute and try to listen to your body. Are you actually hungry or is this an emotional drive? If you are hungry do you really want that bag of chips, why not try a bag of carrot sticks instead. And whichever direction you choose, maybe take a minute and reflect on how your decision made you feel. That’s my advice for the day.

Back onto the rigid guidelines. I think I need to get on the scale and fess up to how much damage I have done to my body, although I know I’m starting to make the journey back. Maybe share a good meal I had that day, or a temptation I overcame, a new exercise...or if I ate an entire box of mac n cheese by myself. It doesn’t have to be everyday but it should be closer to that than not. I’ve always been a creative thinker, that’s why I go off on these tangents, but I’m not as good as acting on them. That’s part of the reason I started this, to be accountable. And t be able to look back on this all and say “ this is my journey towards health, all the good, bad, and ugly parts”.  So I think I will get on the scale tomorrow( probably cry and want 8 donuts which I will try not to eat) and start actually documenting it all better. That way I can see the progress and results, and you all can to. So maybe as I get closer to health and fitness, it will help some of you guys realize you can do it to.

Pinky swear to update tomorrow he-he.

Laters,

Cassie

Bad Food Equals Bad Mood

I have been in a bad mood for days. And between that and running around and computer issues I have not blogged.  You know when you get into a funk and you just can’t crawl out for a few days?

I went to the Red Sox’s game on Friday which was awesome. But I think I can see what sparked this bad mood. When I got to the game I got a alcoholic drink, followed by a few more and ate chicken tenders( with even more shame to admit, fries). The next day I woke up feeling like a sack of ick, and it never really improved. Today I woke up feeling not so great physically but decided to give my health a chance, put in some effort. So far so good, But I think it’s important to look at what happened on Friday and the days follow, and why.

After that I have a good article to pass on to you and A cool person to check out .

So what happened on Friday? Well I hadn’t planned on going to the game, it was a surprise. It was an amazing game with phenomenal seats and I got to go with my best friend, and her awesome dad. The game really had nothing to do with what happened. If was just that unplanned outings were something I hadn’t…well, prepared for. Which I know sounds like an oxymoron, how can you prepare for something you didn’t know was going to happen?  Well a good starting point is this: don’t let an outing you didn’t plan be an excuse or a pressure to eat poorly and drink a bunch of alcohol. I’m going to have an entry on the issue of drinking alcohol while trying to eat and live healthy, but that really does deserve to be its own entry. Back to the topic at hand though.

My thoughts really went mostly like this: I’m at a place where people are supposed to drink and eat a lot of greasy food, so I better follow suit. There were healthy options too, and of course water(which I and you should always be drinking), and I ignored them.  I mean that’s not “game” food, right?  How wrong is that reasoning? It’s just an excuse. I feel like excuses are going to be a topic that I come back to again and again, because I know for myself( and I’m sure a few of you out there)  that I make excuses on why I can eat bad food or not be active. Excuses are just things we make up for ourselves so that we can do something we know we shouldn’t,  or something that we know will hurt us but we desire it anyways. But even knowing that, it’s hard to make the brain leave that train of thought. You have to be very conscious of your thoughts, or you will end up tricking yourself. Complicated isn’t it? Hopefully I can figure out a way to do this and pass the information on.

So after eating this greasy food and drinking, I didn’t feel too great. That food and drink isn’t good for your body. And when you don’t feel that well physically then you can’t feel that well emotionally either. I woke up the next morning with a bit of a hangover and feeling worse than ever. I finally woke up this morning feeling more up to the challenge. So I felt bad for a few days, but that few days isn’t going to stop me.

So what did I learn from this? To be prepared for the unexpected! Just a few thought I have had so far:

1.       Always choose the healthy option, no matter what everyone else seems to be doing

2.       If you can avoid drinking, you probably should. And I only mean this in the “ don’t use an event or situation to drink 4 margaritas”  all that sugar and booze don’t help you, and they usually make your morning after pretty rough.

3.       Water not only is good for you, but it helps you feel full

So the article that  I read today that I thought was pretty good is called "10 Ways to Turn Around a Fat Day". Which is something I  face a lot as i have mentioned before. The idea that if you make one bad food choice to start your day, you then make the excuse that you might as well continue on in the same fashion and you end up making a whole "fat day" out of it.  It has some unique ways to help you turn around starting your day with some bad food choices. I definately want to give the red one a try! 

http://fitbie.msn.com/lose-weight/tips/10-tricks-turn-around-fat-day

If you want to check out a great trainer who posts a lot of interesting stuff, follow @Fit_Becca on Twitter. Just a suggestion. I think it’s good to embrace all you can in health and fitness, and why not take a peek at or follow a real person who lives the life style?

Talk to you guys soon :)

-Cassie