It's not rocket science...

but it sure feels like it sometimes. Especially when you're standing at the fridge at 8:00 at night staring at leftover birthday cake.

You can arm yourself with all the things you're suppose to remind yourself, but when it comes down to standing there and deciding if you will eat the cake or not...let's just say it feels like rocket science.

It's like training for a race...it's mainly mental. We have to talk ourselves into getting out there and running, again. We have to talk ourselves into getting off our butts to go workout. We have to talk ourselves into NOT eating that leftover birthday cake. This exercise and healthy eating lifestyle is a mental thing most of the time.

I don't have the mental energy to talk myself out of eating that leftover birthday cake. Do you know what the answer is? Throw it away. Do you know what I did instead? I ate it!!!! Oh well, I'll work it off in the morning :)

The good news is that I find that my mental strength is increasing. Does that mean that I would temp myself with a Coke and chocolate...NO! But I do find that I want to eat healthier more often and I want to get out of bed at 4:45am to workout more often.

So hang in there...maybe the mental part gets easier. Workout hard!

The little things do add up

My healthy eating habits started to diminish around Thanksgiving and where pretty much none existent by Christmas. So I decided to get back to those healthy eating habits. Not because I wanted to lose weight, but because I knew how much more enjoyable my life can be when I eat healthy.

At the beginning of the year I started over. I gave up Coca Cola...not Diet Coke...straight, fully loaded Coke. I was up to one can a day, more when I ate out, so this was a big deal for me to give up (check out my Admitting you have a problem post).

I also went back to eating lots of salads. For lunch I eat a huge salad and at dinner I have a salad followed by a smaller portion of the meal. Sometimes I just have a salad. I don't get bored because I keep different healthy dressing choices on hand. I also throw on different veggies, fish and nuts on top.

I also switched from my 10 oz glass of OJ every morning to a little bit of OJ before my morning class and an orange when I come home. Less calories in an orange and more fiber.

I drink a lot of water. I keep a 32 oz water bottle beside the fridge and I try very hard to make sure I drink two of them a day. I also drink 32 oz of water before, during and after my workout, which doesn't count toward my daily 64 oz of water. I am juicing vegetables again and drinking about 16 oz of carrot juice a day. All of that water keeps us hydrated and helps our body flush out the toxins.

All of these little things add up. Since implementing these changes I have so much energy and I don't crave sugar as much. I have also lost 5 pounds...this wasn't my goal, but a nice added benefit :) Most of all I like knowing that I'm eating good foods and being a good example for my children.