JULIE*JULIE   790
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JULIE*JULIE's Recent Blog Entries

"Do not supersize me" ...or..."how I broke the fast food habit"

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

I was addicted to Taco Bell, Wendy's and Burger King. It was easy, fast, cheap and I'd eat in the privacy of my own home (or car). I had heard of the movie "Supersize Me" where, under doctor's supervision, a man eats McDonald's for every meal for 30 days....and the doctors monitor his weight and do regular blood work. Watching that movie really helped me realize how BAD fast food is for you. I know I'd heard it a million times, but I guess watching one person go through some very bad changes to his life hit home. I benefitted from the man's comments on how he was feeling (sluggish/depressed) and how he didn't even really "taste" the food after a while....
I think of that movie EVERY TIME i am tempted by a fast food joint. So spending the 2 hours watching it was worth it !

  
  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

JLITT62 5/14/2009 12:03PM

    Maybe I need to rend that for DH.

Thankfully, I'm not really terribly fond of fast food. I like fries, but over the last few years haven't even found fast food fries to be terribly satisfying, and I no longer even crave them. I really believe it has to do with eating healthy most of the time -- you end up craving more of what you're eating.

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EXPENSIVE....AND WORTH IT

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

"Good" food is expensive. Chicken, fish, berries, avocados, nuts, fresh produce, fresh fruit.... I used to NOT spend the money on those things, with the mindset that I "couldn't" spend that kind of money on stuff that would disappear down my throat. But NOW after a year of shutting up about it and JUST DOING IT...I realize several things.
1. My budget hasn't even noticed the extra 'expense' of quality food to put inside my body. Because I'm treating myself to these beautiful, natural, God-made, colorful foods, I am more appreciative of it, I eat less, and I do not "blow" other money on Taco Bell, Wendy's and Burger King drive thrus. I'm worth so much more than that.
2. Even if I had to cut out something else in order to "afford" an extra $40/week on fresh produce/fish at the grocery store, it would be so worth it. So many people comment on my skin now...how it "glows" and it so "clear". What do you use? they ask. I use any old moisturizer from Avon...but the key is the fresh fruit and veges, and especially my avocados, which I love. I eat 1/2 avocado just about every day and that = clear, creamy skin :)
3. I would have argued these points last year BEFORE I TRIED IT. Now I KNOW. Now I won't ever go back to putting any crap in my grocery cart! If you told me over a year ago that I wouldn't be relying heavily on LeanCuisine and Weight Watchers for lunches...I'd have said well, what do you expect me to eat? Fast food? Nope...now I take a little time planning meals and lovingly making them for a very special person....me! Whole wheat pasta w/ veges, lots of salads, homemade sushi...just to name a few. Yummy.
4. I treat myself better every minute of every day BECAUSE of how much thought, money, time I put into my "machine" (my body). If you buy an expensive car...you wanna take care of it, right? I am so much nicer, calmer, happier, quick to laugh, than I was a year ago. Who knew?
5. For way too long I was overweight, unhappy, depressed...but too unmotivated to do anyting about it. Because yes, it is work. BUT, it is the work of your LIFE. And now that I've jumped right in....I love swimming!
6. I think I learned that I could either stay pitiful, or get powerful. But not both. Now, I am powerful. What about you? You have to either put up, or shut up.
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  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

OBNURSE3 5/13/2009 7:08PM

    I agree eating healthier has benefitted my skin as well as my disposition. I feel healthy and my outlook is sunnier. It is sad that the healthy stuff cost more as that also increases the cost of healthcare for everyone because there are many families particularly lately that can't afford fish, fruit and vegitables and must settle for "junk food" anf the result is poor health and an obesity epidemic.

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JLITT62 5/13/2009 6:13PM

    Nice to see you back!

Yup, making my own meals is very key to my success. Even the best processed foods aren't the same as home made; they just can't be.

But . . . 1/2 avocado every day? I know they're the good fat, but that still seems like a lot. Altho my sking doesn't glow, I must admit. I love avocado, but I always buy them & then don't end up using them.

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KARITIGER 5/13/2009 4:18PM

    I'm totally there with you.. I find I don't even crave the countless choc chip cookies, chips and whatever else garbage I used to eat.. and in the long run you end up saving money.. I used to buy all this processed food.. and I thought I was saving money.. Now I'll gladly pay a dollar an apple or pepper if it means I don't need fast food or chocolate! I am satisfied with a cup of cocoa and cooking at home is fun! I used to hate cooking because I found it depressing because I didn't have the stuff to make most of the stuff in the cookbooks... I do now.. and if I don't I can run to the store and just get the mushrooms.. (fresh) it's much more satisfying.. I'm in much better control of myself and I know I'm a lot healthier too...

I feel a lot better.. no more food coma... and way way more energy.. YAY me.. YAY you.. we finally grew up! emoticon

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OAKBORN 5/13/2009 4:15PM

    What a emoticon blog entry!

Just goes to show what a little bit of truly caring for ourselves can do!!

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Eating, Drinking, OVERTHINKING....

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

So I run across this book called "Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: the Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol and Depression and How Women can Overcome..." and something in me just CLICKED....

I think I have been OVERTHINKING all my food/body/weight issues to death. I mean, we are all intelligent people, but do we over-analyze and try to FIGURE things out too much? Talk them to death? Live w/ them every day hoping for a breakthrough thought to come "save" us ... finally?

Maybe we should focus on JUST BEING. Be present in each moment. Not judgmental. Not analytical. Just be the beautiful hearts that we are. And watch. And wait. And marvel at the awe of what we see, feel, hear. The book "eat, pray, love" (one of my favorite books of all time) picks up on this exact same thing.

I truly believe that the harder YOU try to FIND something, the more elusive it becomes. Leave it to your "higher power" (as they say in Overeaters Anonymous) and let it come to you.

You know...all is pretty darn RIGHT in my world. I want to be more grateful for who I am, what I am (imperfect yes but still awesome) and yes what I look like. It could be much much worse. My children could be chronically ill; I could be addicted to drugs or alcohol; my parents could be dying. Much of the stress in my life is caused by MY anxiety and MY overthinking. No one has the power to stop that but ME.

By FOCUSING on weight loss, body image, what I eat or don't eat and the surrounding guilt/shame, clothes size, comparing the size of my ass w/ everyone else's....aren't I setting myself up to obsess about just those exact things? How bout we get our minds off of them and focus on ANYTHING ELSE, EVERYTHING ELSE! I find that the less I think about my weight (and thoughts about my weight come w/ negative self-talk and beating myself up)...
For me, I find that the the LESS I THINK/OBSESS about that stuff, THE LESS I EAT! and of course then the LESS I WEIGH. Mind you, I will always have to be "vigilant" when it comes to what I put in my mouth and getting myself to the gym, but I don't need to ruminate and overthink it either; I find that hurtful rather than helpful.

I'm making a pact to get focused on all of the OTHER STUFF that makes stirs my juices, makes me joyful, and brings me no shame or guilt: for me, its art, jewelry, beads, glass, photography and creativity. I've pushed this to the back burner for most of my adult life. I'm re-discovering the little things that make me happy and I'm NOT ignoring them anymore: scented lotions; going to the library to look at magazines and books for free; keeping my bills organized; listening to classic rock on my iPod while I do the dishes...

Don't push what makes you happy down and smother it inside yourself...get it out, let it breathe, take it for a walk, show it a good time. Ten bucks says your obsessions with negative things (food, self-hate) will fall away fast.

All of this is biblical-based, which is where I ran across it last year; in all my "Battlefield of the Mind' readings (truth: we are our own worst enemies). The Bible tells us to "cast down and refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ. (II Corinthians 10). " I have to stop letting my mind take me on little guilt trips because nothing my mind tells me during those trips is true; its all LIES designed to keep me down, keep me away from Christ and His Perfect Love. I also think "theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing" means any faith I put in my own self and my own thoughts that I think can solve my own problems...we're supposed to put 100% of our trust in Christ and what he's taught is true: i.e., he loves us exactly as we are, he's coming back for us, we're forgiven, etc. Again this is reinforced w/ Overeaters Anonymous 12 Steps, except they call it turning everything over to your "higher power" because you finally admit you are helpless to overcome the eating addiction alone. And "eat, pray, love" is more about getting in touch w/ the positive power within yourself but to clear your mind, stop thinking and just start living and being.

So TO SUM IT ALL UP, MY FRIENDS, I OFFER THIS :

Let's get the focus off of how depressed we're feeling, how much we ate today, how disappointed we are with such and such, how much so-and-so is driving us crazy ---

Let's each find some thing that really excited us and gives us joy and LETS FOCUS THERE most all of the time!

Wouldn't this world be an awesome place if we were all HAPPY?!

  
  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

OAKBORN 8/3/2008 10:04PM

    Love it Ms. Julie, so very true.

One day is one day, and the next day is a new start! What a gift that is!

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DECKEREC 7/19/2008 3:16PM

    “Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals can do for us; concentrate our energy.”
~ Denis Waitley quotes



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JLITT62 7/16/2008 4:43PM

    I agree . . . and disagree.

I absolutely think that we should concentrate on the positives. It's always amazing to me how some people face the most dire of situations with such grace. Things aren't good or bad, so they say, but thinking makes it so (was that Shakespeare?).

And yes, of course I agree we can overthink weight loss. It most definitely shouldn't be the end-all and be-all of our existence. It's just that it's so easy to go too far in the other direction, too, where we just ignore it . . . and end up even more miserable. That's where the balance part comes in. Somehow we've got to learn to balance healthy habits with our passions.

It's hard, tho. I go thru phases with a lot of things. I'm in a cooking/baking phase right now -- don't ask me why it hits me in the dog days of summer, but there it is. So I make yummy, healthy things . . . but my house is a mess. I can never seem to get a handle on both.

I'd like to say that 10 years from now I'll never remember that my house was messy, but I'll remmeber that I worked hard to be healthy; while that's true, I know that a messy house holds me back in some ways.

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Fell down...can I get back up?

Sunday, July 06, 2008

I screwed up BIG TIME last night, overeating in massive quantity, alone, in the privacy of my home. "Why" I did it was a crazy reason...I was feeling "happy" yet had nothing to do last night, no plans, no one to be with, so I decided to "celebrate" with a party in my mouth. I stopped at the grocery and picked out nachos, cheese, salsa and since Ben & Jerry's was on sale 2 for $5, what the heck. It was all gone within an hour. My stomach hurt until 3am. I went to bed, dejected.

If I had an Overeaters Anonymous Sponsor, last night would have been the time to call! Dear Mr. Therapist: Why do I think self-sabotage is a way to "celebrate"?

The reason for blogging today is this: I am feeling guilty of course, but--the good news is that for the first time in my life (finally!) I am realizing that I DO NOT HAVE TO LISTEN to the all-or-nothing voices in my head that try to tell me that I should just give up now, I can't change, I'm destined to overeat and be overweight, etc.

I GET TO START OVER...every day. AND FOR TODAY...I will make better choices than I did yesterday. FOR TODAY...I will choose to forgive and forget yesterday (I can't change it anyway). FOR TODAY...I will tell myself what I would tell my girlfriends (or SparkFriends) if they did the same thing: Everything is as it should be; you are exactly where you need to be right now; you are safe and loved; you are unconditionally supported; and you are beautiful for being exactly who you are; and you are capable of making responsible choices one day at a time.

If I *could* have changed one thing about what I did last night...it would be that I would have LOGGED ONTO SPARK PEOPLE for support. I know things would have turned out differently. It just didn't occur to me at the time that I had an awesome support network at my fingertips.

Note to self: remember this next time!
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  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

PEGSUE6 6/23/2009 10:31PM

    Wow .. Amen to that.. I have done this so many times.. but you are so right.. God gives us a brand new day every morning to start over and I am so thankful for that. emoticon

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TURTLEGIRLPA 7/25/2008 9:51PM

    My SparkFriend Louise had this in her signature line: Fall down 9 times, get up 10. Can you get back up? YES! Because to not get back up and try again means you've given up and I know that you haven't. You are just frustrated and disappointed; trust me, I understand. But it really is just a momentary lapse in judgment. You are learning how to have a new relationship with food and yourself and you will (fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) backslide on occasion. You took a big step by posting your *error*. By admiting your overeating episode, you take the power out of it. I have struggle with binge eating for many years and just recently learned to be angry with the binge and not me. Life is a long lesson in progress and based on your insightful blog post, you are on the right track!!

Susan:)

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OAKBORN 7/13/2008 5:33PM

    Hey Ms Julie!

It happens to all of us! REALLY!

But you looked back and have learned from it and you have a pointed lesson to reflect back on! Making mistakes is normal, but the real question is : what have you learned and what can you change in the future.

I had just like 4 times the polenta (corn meal mush) with cheese the other night and gobbled it down, then realized how much I'd underestimated the total calories. I did an hour of aerobics afterwards!

And you're right, you always have us! emoticon

Now get back on the horse on your choice and move forwards!

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MRSLAZZLOE 7/8/2008 7:54PM

    Wow! What a great thing for me to read TODAY! Thank you for sharing. You have helped me and many others I am sure!

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ZEETHENURSE 7/6/2008 11:56PM

  wow i needed to read this

thank you

and way to go!

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IKIRSTEN 7/6/2008 8:58PM

    The good thing about all of this is that you know what you did wrong and you have not continured it today. We all have those days. Just think of it as a cheat day and jump back on the wagon. It seems that you have already gotten back up. emoticon

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VISITORX 7/6/2008 7:17PM

    I have been there and I can tell you posting to SP does help. Next time, remember, help is only a post or a spark mail away!

Audrey emoticon

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JLITT62 7/6/2008 4:57PM

    We all have times we overeat, make poor choices, for whatever reason. But knowing that today is a new day, that you CAN start over again -- that's the ticket.

And analyzing why it happened & what you can do the next time . . . those are the next steps.

You go girl!

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The Perfect Body

Wednesday, June 25, 2008


This is a photo of Kim Kardashian. She usually flaunts her behind, but I think its usually after its been PhotoShopped, or when she's wearing Spanx undergarments. Don't get me wrong: This Woman's Body is Beautiful, any way you look at her; and even in this image.

What this photo said to me, however, was this: Stop looking at images of celebrities' bodies and thinking how "perfect" they are...and then relating that to your own body and thinking you'll never measure up. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and most importantly, it is what is in your heart and how you treat other people.

We all have flaws....and we are all beautiful. The best thing we can do is embrace ourselves, accentuate the positive and forget about the negative.

I know that since I've been blessed enough to have found SparkPeople last month, my eyes are brighter, I smile more...why? not because I've lost pounds but because I log on at least twice/day and feel connected and supported by everyone on this site as we open up our fears, worries and victories to each other. And THAT makes us all beautiful, to me.

Oh, and 1 other thing: I'm feeling pretty good cuz my butt looks about like hers!

  
  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

MZRICH 6/27/2008 4:01PM

    Great, insight. I always liked Kim's body because she has curves. Real women have curves. And look, she even has a little back fat that many of us also have.

Even when I was a size 9 I had booty. Now my goal is to be Size 12 all over. For my size and shape that would look great, for many women a double digit size is a great cause of concern. Not me! I just want to get mine under control.


Hurray for Spanks! Embrace your booty!!!! emoticon


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SMYLEERED 6/26/2008 10:57AM

    emoticon Julie for that reflection on the perfect body. Loved it!

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DECKEREC 6/26/2008 5:53AM

    Keep smiling!
emoticon

Go Periwinkles Go!

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BABYFACE26 6/26/2008 12:28AM

    Once again, Julie, so well put. Love reading your posts! Now this is a sensitive subject for me. I'm always comparing myself to the most toned, slender bodies. And usually of young women. Very young. Its insanity, but I know it's been picked up from this Youth worshipping society of ours. But also, its the preoccupation with physical beauty thats so prevalant! And I've so bought into it - I hate it! Its terrible to realize you judge yourself so harshly because of how you look! But you are right, you need to focus on whats attractive about yourself. ..and what's beautiful about us on the inside. Beautiful Soul. Beautiful heart. Beautiful voice. I have a lot of work to do in this area! But really, it bugs me that skinny is now the beauty standard. Because having some meat on your bones looks so much better, and feels better when you're hugging them. Don't you think?

Ellen emoticon

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SORGIN 6/25/2008 11:36PM

    I love what you wrote! What an inspiration. Thanks for sharing this. If you don't mind, I am adding you as a friend. Our goals are somewhat similar. Good luck on the rest of your journey and thanks for inspiring me to keep my head in the game (with the right perspective!)

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RED_BETHANY 6/25/2008 7:44PM

    Your last sentence cracks me up - because I said the exact same thing!
I totally agree with your blog and it is a shame what society has made "the perfect body". With all the lipo suction, boob jobs, nose jobs, lip implants, yadda yadda yadda that goes on - it would mean what people consider the "perfect body" is all fake anyway! I wish more people would focus on natural beauty!

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MRSLAZZLOE 6/25/2008 5:16PM

    Have you seen the book "Body Drama" and I am drawing a blank on the author's name...Darn it. Look for it on Amazon. I bought it for my 13 year old daughter but I found it really cool for me too. Lots of truths in there! (But I must warn, it IS graphic so not for the faint at heart).

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KOKORIFFIC 6/25/2008 1:24PM

    This reminds me of years ago when I saw Cindy Crawford on a talkshow talking about photos of herself being altered and she said - hey, even I can't look like Cindy Crawford!

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JLITT62 6/25/2008 1:10PM

    You are so right. I'm quite sure that SP is part of why I'm doing so well, and not just with my weight, either. It's an incredibly supportive community, and that's not easy to come by.

And of course you're right about embracing ourselves, the good and the bad. We need to be reminded of that a lot!

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