5-19-2013 Spark Coach Challenge

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Today on Spark Coach I was challenged to eat a meatless meal. Sounds easy, right? Well it was for me as I ate a breakfast without meat. I had greek yogurt for protein and it was filling. I might have two meatless meals today. Beans are good for you and another form of protein. I will have to see what I have to eat for dinner in the line of beans.

It is still raining on and off here. Gloomy day. Makes me restless. I want to get out and walk, but not in the rain. Well, guess I will have to use my resistance bands and watch a Coach Nicole video!

Hope you all have a very nice Sunday!
Angie

  

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DEBBYFROMMT 5/19/2013 3:07PM

LOL! It is pouring here and has been raining since before I got up! (woke up to a reverse 911 call). Coach Nichole DVDs do come in handy in this kinda weather! Report Inappropriate Comment

5/18/2013 Three accomplishments I am proud of this week.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

I think my biggest accomplishment is that I walked to the nursing home closest to my home where a elderly friend is staying. I took off from my home at 6:30 am. It was really nice. Hardly any traffic. I walked up hill for quite a while. I was on a 20 minute mile pace. I visited with her and then walked to my nephew/nieces. They live just across the street from the nursing home. I visited with my niece for about an hour and a half. Then I walked home. I was temped to get a ride!! She offered, but I stuck to my guns and said I would walk it. I walked a total of 2.6 miles that day in 42 minutes. Not super fast. Right with my normal speed, but 6 tenths of a mile further than I have gone before. And now I know I can walk to my to see people that live up the street and not worry about not making it back!!

Accomplishment number two is that I baked last night and only saved a few cookie bars for myself. I made them for other people to enjoy. Especially my nephew. He works so hard and uses so many calories when hanging sheet rock. He needs a little extra to keep him going. He just can not keep the weight on. He keeps losing and he is a bean pole already!! I know losing can be a problem just like gaining, although I sometime wish I had that problem!!

My third accomplishment was that I finally had my car detailed. It was filthy and my niece used to detail cars for a living. She did a great job. Now I have to keep it clean. I told my friend today she can't eat in my car. She and I always eat in there, but I am curbing that habit right now!! It is not good to eat on the go like that anyway. So I am going to try to keep my car nice and clean. I also won't let it get that dirty again!! The outside I didn't have her do and I am glad, because we have had 3 days of showers on and off. It is now cleaned off from the rain. I will have a wash when I get my oil changed next week. They do a complimentary wash when you have work done. It is nice to take advantage of in the summer. The have one of the stalls in their service department that is a drive through car wash. So cool!! Yeah for Underiner Honda in Billings. I never take my car anywhere else. They are really good to me and often charge less the the last mechanic I had work on my car. The guys in the service area all know me by name. I feel special when I go in there. And I often get discounts...which I am sure many people do. But I have had a lot of maintenance done this past year and it is nice to catch a break once in awhile!

Well, I may try to make this a regular things I do on my blog. A list of accomplishments throughout the week. It is good to acknowledge the good things in our day. Not to always focus on what we didn't or can't do. I feel fortunate to be able to toot my own horn once in awhile!!

Have an awesome rest of the weekend.

Angie

  

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NGCHILD 5/18/2013 10:54PM

Great accomplishments Angie! Way to go!! Report Inappropriate Comment

MT-MOONCHASER 5/18/2013 10:53PM

Great idea for positive blogging!! I think I will try to do that, too. Good going on the walking. Report Inappropriate Comment

DLDMIL 5/18/2013 6:26PM

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KNYAGENYA 5/18/2013 5:54PM

That's great! Report Inappropriate Comment

5/11/2013 Busy day

Saturday, May 11, 2013

I started my day with a 2 mile walk. It was beautiful. It felt so good. Then I went and helped clean the church. It took about 45 minutes for the job I did. Then I went and tried on a pair of narrow walking shoes. They felt great and I bought them. They were 20 % off. I have wore a pair of narrow tennis shoes. I know I have narrow feet, but I didn't know they made narrow tennis shoes. I ordered some on line and had to send them back. They slipped in the heal. Anyway, now I have some really supportive walking shoes. Hopefully they will help with my muscles getting so sore.

Then I went and picked up my bountiful basket. They had lots of help, so it went really fast. Plus I wasn't there right when they started handing them out. The line wasn't as long.

Then I brought my produce home and got the mail. I had a little lunch, but not much as I wasn't very hungry.

Then my real treat for the day was a massage. It was great. I swear my massage therapist has magic hands. I felt like jello when I got home. It will help me sleep, especially with the exercise I had today.

Well, that about wraps it up for my busy day. Hope you all had a great day!

  

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CARRIEMT 5/13/2013 9:46AM

My favorite way to picture you walking is to think about the jumping jacks and passing cars- lifts my spirits and makes me happy. I love your smile, so you have to smile if any cars pass. Sounds like a good weekend with a relaxing ending :) YAY! Report Inappropriate Comment

MT-MOONCHASER 5/11/2013 11:24PM

Enjoy your new shoes!! Report Inappropriate Comment

LANAHAUTH21 5/11/2013 9:56PM

Good for you. Report Inappropriate Comment

5/10/2013 Volunteer day

Friday, May 10, 2013

On Fridays I volunteer at my local National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI Billings); I am also on the Board of Directors and have a mental illness myself. I see some blogs with people talking about Depression or Bipolar Disorder. I rarely see anything about my disorder. I have the label of Schizoaffective Disorder-Bipolar Type. Notice I did not say I am Schizoaffective. It is just a label for my illness like Diabetes is a label for a disease relating to blood sugar levels. Mental illnesses are brain disorders and definitely medical disorders. They can not usually be cured, but can be controlled with medication. The reason I say that is that some people are able to stop taking medications for Depression after taking it for awhile. Unfortunately there are those of us that must take it for the rest of our lives. Me included.

I have been mentally ill since I was 14 years old. I am now 50 years old. The biggest lesson I have learned is that I must be consistent on taking my medication. The second is that I must get 8-9 hours of sleep a night. The third is that I need a good diet with healthy foods including fruits and vegetables. Whether fresh, frozen or canned. The canned I buy low-sodium type. The fourth lesson I have learned especially since starting SP is I need to exercise everyday at least 10 minutes or more. I was doing water aerobics, because I have osteoarthritis in my knees and my spine. I did that for 4 years at least 3 times a week. Then I gave up my gym membership, because I didn't go as much in 2012. On February 1st, 2013, I started a walking program. The Shape Up Montana program was very beneficial to me. I walked 200 miles from Feb. 1st through May 1st. What an accomplishment for me! I had a partial knee replacement in Feb. 2010 and I wasn't able to walk more than 10 minutes at a time for 3 years. It took me awhile, but I am up to 1 and 1/2 miles in 30 minutes now. Wow! I am so shocked I am able to do it!

I love to walk early in the morning when there is no traffic noise and hardly any people out and about. I see lots of bunnies as I live in Billings and there is a lot of them here!! Not really sure why in a city this size there are so many, but we do have lots of green grass and trees. So they always can find something to eat.

I felt it was really important to get this message across to the SP community. There are mentally ill people in many families. In fact the statistics are 1 in 5 people are mentally ill.

I bet you know or have a loved one, friend, neighbor or have met someone with a mental illness. You may not see it on the outside, but the stigma associated with mental illness is so rampant that many people are glad it doesn't show!! Why? People don't understand the illnesses and often think we are violent people, because of all the recent shootings and tragedies around the country and world. I will tell you it is very hard to get treatment in many locations. The lack of psychiatrists in Billings alone is terrible. They all have waiting lists and they are long lists of people needing services. And in most places it is hard to be hospitalized against your will unless you are a danger to yourself or others. You also must go through the Emergency Room to be admitted. It often takes up to a day to get admitted. Sometimes it is shorter, but I have know people that have waited that long in the Emergency Room.

So I hope you have a better understanding of those of us that deal with mental illnesses. You never know who might have one, because it doesn't show on the outside. Maybe that is a good thing. Maybe not. I guess it depends on the person and how open they are about their illness! Me, I choose to educate people where ever I go, so someday the stigma now associated with mental illness will be lessened or gone! I wish it would be in my lifetime. I am not sure it will. But I can keep talking about it and explaining it to others in hopes more people will understand that it is a brain disorder. A medical illness in my/our brains.

If you get a chance there is a good movie out about mental illness. It is called "Silver Linings Playbook" directed by David O. Russell. It tells the story of Pat Solatano played by Bradley Cooper, a man with bipolar disorder who returns to his parents home after many months in a mental hospital following a meltdown after the break-up of his marriage. He is determined to reconcile with his wife. Go rent the DVD. Look for it on Netflix. Look at Redbox. I looked at a local Redbox in Billings and it wasn't listed yet. I am going to try Netflix or buy the DVD. I think it is worth it!

Have a nice day! Remember, everyone is struggling with something. Be kind and smile. That might be the one thing that brightens their day!! Thanks for reading!

Angie

  

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MT-MOONCHASER 5/10/2013 9:22PM

I think that it is great that you are so open about your illness and are so into educating everyone you can about mental illness. I hope you live to see acceptance of mental illness as "real". Hopefully, there will also be breakthroughs in treatment. Keep on plugging. Report Inappropriate Comment

5/09/2013 Spark Coach hunger scale

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Today's challenge from Spark Coach was to use the hunger scale to rate how hungry we were before we eat anything and what our emotions were contributing to the hunger.

HUNGER LEVEL:
1) Starving, weak, dizzy
2) Very hungry, cranky, low energy, a lot of stomach growling
3) Pretty hungry, stomach growling a little
4) Starting to feel a little hungry
5) Satisfied, neither too hungry nor full
6) A little full, pleasantly full
7) A little uncomfortable
8) Feeling stuffed
9) Very uncomfortable, stomach hurts
and (10) So full you feel sick!

Can you think of a time when you really felt like a level 1. You might have felt like you were going to faint and really needed to eat. I would imagine your blood sugar was a bit low, too. I was out running errands and shopping with a friend today and she was feeling this way after a light breakfast and 2 hours of running around with me. We ate at Subway. We split a foot long smokehouse barbecue sub on wheat bread. We each put our favorite toppings on it. And of course it is Thursday, so free cookie day. Good or bad, nothing is off limits for me. That 210 calorie double chocolate chip cookie really hit the spot. We had been grocery shopping and looking at all that food made me hungry. I was only at a level 3, but Linda has diabetes and I knew she shouldn't wait much longer.

As I am typing this it is pouring rain outside! (Sorry got side tracked!)

I was satisfied after lunch. A level 5 and it lasted until 4:30 pm when I had a silk fruity and creamy strawberry non dairy yogurt cup. It was really tasty. I would say I was at a level 2 at that point before I ate. I like to eat my dinner a little past 6 pm and then I have a snack before 7 pm. This was a challenge from the other day to not eat after 7 pm. Mostly they were talking about sitting in front of the tv or computer and mindlessly eating. Anyway, I have been trying this no eating after 7 pm. Not too hard if I go to bed by 10 pm. And it is better for my acid reflux to not eat 2 hours before going to sleep.

It is 5:45 pm now and I am at a level 4...just starting to feel a little hungry. My stomach isn't growling yet, but I know I need to eat within the next half hour or I will over eat.

I usually eat 6 small meals a day, unless I go to Subway or Pita Pit. Then I don't eat as many meals. Don't feel guilty about eating at those two places. I get plenty of meat and veggies. The pita pit might be better, because it is on a pita with less carbs. Oh well, those are my two favorites right now. I rarely go to a sit down restaurant. Just eat at home if I want something like that. I usually only eat out at my favorite places listed above when I am out and about at lunch time or when I am with a friend and we haven't seen eat other lately. Then we can catch up during lunch!!

Not sure what I will have for a snack tonight. I have a few pieces of red licorice left and that might be it. I bought a couple dark chocolate candy bars today, but not really in the mood after the cookie at lunch! That was enough chocolate for the day.

Well, guess that is it for my eating today. I bet we have all been about a level 10 on a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas. I know I have. How about you??

  

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PAMPAMBEBBLES 5/16/2013 2:37PM

I took the family to Subway for Mothers day lunch and found that they do salads too, but you have to pay $2 extra to lose the bun! That scale is a good tool. I try to snack on nuts and fruit mostly, which can be quite satisfying. Report Inappropriate Comment

KAYSON25 5/10/2013 4:28AM

Sounds like you have a great plan in place. I am still trying to not feel guilty when I enjoy a cookie, even though I do have just one instead of a dozen or more like I have done in the past. Good luck to you on your journey. Report Inappropriate Comment

BUSYGRANNY5 5/9/2013 10:02PM

Great blog!! Report Inappropriate Comment

HOTPINKCAMARO49 5/9/2013 9:02PM

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