goals

When school got out last June, my plan, for one, was to use my stained glass supplies and make the items that I was planning on making at Christmas time for my friends and family (Christmas had been too busy, so I was going to do it once school started in January, but then I took a long-term sub job and never did any stained glass work, so I postponed my crafting until summer when I would have time to do it.)

So summer came around and I just couldn't bring myself to craft and was really into reading in June. I was reading several nutrition and health books, among other things (like my Old Testament reading project). I figured I would craft in July and/or August.

And then I was called to be a seminary teacher. No crafting. Lots and lots of reading to get ready.

So, this Christmas time I told myself that I wasn't going to sub so much. The main New Year's goal I had was to improve my teaching skills for my seminary class. I wanted to spend time taking care of my home instead of always feeling like I was behind in everything.

And then the day before school started in January, I took a long-term sub job that will probably last the entire semester. But now I'm thinking the reason why last June I didn't feel like crafting but reading nutrition books is because now I am teaching the health classes at the high school.

Of course there is more to health class than nutrition...actually nutrition really is only about a week long out of 19 weeks.

So, I've signed up for an online health and wellness class from my local community college. The class:

Covers the components and wellness and of lifelong tools that will help enhance wellness, health values, attitudes and behaviors of self and others. Students will be active in design and execution of personal fitness and wellness plans.

Which fits perfectly into my health goals.

Last year at this time I weighed about 193, 25 or so pounds more pounds than I do now. The first 10 pounds were lost during that other long-term sub job when I was so stressed my stomach was in knots half the time. Then just before summer started I drastically cut down on my white sugar and flour intake. Over the summer I lost about 13 pounds. 

School started again and I started to eat too many treats again. My weight hovered around 170 for the next 4 months. I am now careful about my white sugar and flour intake, and this morning I weighed in at 166.5, which is my first time down to 166 for a while.

Teaching health class is going to help me with my health goals. I don't want to be the unhealthy doctor/coach/health teacher example.

The fact that I'm at school helps me not to snack when I'm bored, so that's a plus, too.

My rules for eating are:

Eat when you want to, as long as it's healthy. I don't go for the "don't eat after 6 pm" kind of thing. If I'm hungry, I eat. I think that keeps the binges away.

I take in about 4 or so teaspoons of added sugar a day between my morning oatmeal and my herbal tea and pero that I drink. I try to avoid other added sugars, but I don't swear off treats. I just try to limit them. I think that also keeps the binges away.

I eat fruit maybe 3 times a day--berries in my oatmeal, an apple as a snack, and sometimes tangerines or bananas as well. Anti-oxidants, you know. They help with the free radicals produced by the other foods we eat.

I try to limit beef to once a week. Some weeks I'm not so good at that, though. And I generally don't eat large portions of meat (chicken or otherwise).

I try to eat yogurt or drink kefir milk each day (though I haven't been doing that lately and need to start up again.)

other little things I do:
-I try to eat beans a few times a week.
-I also eat brown rice and not white.
-I add ground flax seed, wheat germ, and oat bran to my oatmeal.
-My cooking oil of choice is grapeseed oil (I don't like the taste of coconut oil).
-I use olive oil (or canola oil) for uncooked foods.
-I eat potatoes, but with the skins (even when mashed).
-I watch my portion size and rarely take seconds. And if I do take seconds, I try to take them from the healthier portion of the meal (like vegetables and not beef, for example).