via Daily Prompt: Glimmer

Since last month’s post about working out, I’m still going to the gym. It’s not as often as I imagined, but I’m averaging twice a week.

I would be much more motivated to exercise if I could see slimming effects, but weight loss is not as easy as in my 20s. I’m trying hard to persuade myself that exercising is a fun activity. For fitness enthusiasts, you may think I’m talking crazy.

However, I’ve experienced some positive changes in my life with exercise: fatigue level is improving, sleep is more restful, and I’m making an effort to take care of my physical health. I think about food choices, portion control, and activity level.

I’m trying to implement some positive changed into my daily routine: eat more regularly; drink more water; and sleep at a reasonable hour. It sounds like commonplace advice, but I’m not doing those things. I tend to avoid eating after I’ve cooked meals for the umpteenth time. Instead of eating I’d rather veg out. For me, sleep is preferable to food. So I skip meals, graze on leftovers, eat more chocolate than necessary (it makes me happy). When the deep hunger pangs come, I binge eat.

All of these tendencies created a vicious cycle of guilt from overeating and anger at myself for lack of self-control. I had to break free from it; my family and I were hurting from my grumpiness, hangriness, and lack of energy.

Here are some concrete steps I’ve taken towards healthier living:

1. Eat less chocolate (This does not include this birthday weekend for my kids. I ate pizza and cake, but I did not indulge. It would just be plain rude not to participate in the festivities!) *the photos below
2. Reduce rice and bread intake.
3. Keep moving if possible: dance with the kids, vacuum, dust the floors, declutter, clean the garage, take the stairs, or whatever else to burn calories.
4. Snack healthier: eat fruit, nuts, a sweet potato, squash porridge, or oatmeal. Yesterday I ate a whole tomato for lunch with tuna. I’m not used to this combination, and the fish aftertaste almost made me throw up.
5. Love my body as it is and all the things I can do.

Happy to say that I refrained from eating cake here.

I ate 2 slices of this cake…the chocolate sponginess was just too yummy.

I’m experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t. My kids are fully on board to keep me on track; they love to remind me about my new dietary changes, dramatically block the pantry door, or give me the fierce stare when I pretend to eat their snacks.

See, I told you the steps are small and doable. Healthier living and a slimmer body are still glimmers, but I’m making a conscious effort to make it a lifestyle change instead of a passing fad.

Categories: Daily Prompt Posts Personal growth

Tagged as: Exercise health healthy habits sweet tooth

singlikewildflowers

Welcome to my blog! My name is Esther and I'm so happy you are here. I'm an avid nature photographer and a daydreaming thinker. My posts revolve around photos of nature's beauty, homeschooling adventures with my 2 kids, sporadic reflections on my child's heart condition, Bible reading reflections, gardening feats, and other mish mash things. Hopefully you'll leave encouraged, pensive, or smiling at the simple things of life. Thank you for stopping by and hope you'll find some interesting posts to read!