Tag: Dining Room

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Weight Loss Exercise

Thankgiving Eating Tips



I received these Thanksgiving eating tips from one of the fellows at Better Body Better Life and though I would pass them on. We all need to think about these every day now just on big holidays but the problems is that on holiday meals like on Thanksgiving we end up eating the wrong foods and too much of them.

Thankgiving Eating Tips

Portion size is key.  You can enjoy turkey (white meat is healthier), stuffing and all the foods that come with Thanksgiving, but know how to ration them on your plate. Ideally, you should have three fist size servings on your plate, one for protein (turkey), one for carbohydrates (stuffing) and one of veggies (sweet potato or green beans).

Thankgiving Eating Tips

Thankgiving Eating Tips

Eat breakfast.  Skipping a meal to “save” your calories so you can eat more at dinner is a bad idea.  Not only will you be starving your body of calories needed for energy, you’ll actually eat more erratically at the big meal to soothe your hunger.

Save leftovers for the next day. Remember that it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to let your brain know that’ you’ve had enough, so if you’re thinking about eating more, wait at least 20 minutes and then re-evaluate the situation.

Make time for exercise.  Although you might find yourself extra busy this time of year, you’re also probably more stressed.  Exercise shouldn’t be neglected this time of year.  Even 20 minutes a day of walking or some physical activity is good for you both physically and mentally.

Switch out the products.  If you’re involved in preparing the food, use products lower in calories, fat and sugar.  Use healthier substitutes for ingredients like oil and butter; use evaporated skim milk instead of heavy cream and plain fat-free yogurt instead of sour cream.

Drink plenty of water.  It will keep you feeling full and boost your metabolism.

Stay out of the kitchen and dining room.  Make the center of your Thanksgiving holiday the living room or outside in the fresh air, and only enter the kitchen to cook and the dining room when it’s time to eat.

Have you ever seen these thankgiving eating tips before? Probably. But have you followed them at all? I bet never! I am terrible if left to my own devices so before I open that door to go into my sisters house for Thanksgiving or a friends house for Christmas dinner I have to think about these tips so that I will apply them an not get caught messing up.

How about you?

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General Weight Loss Tips

Why Today Was Awesome

Today I created a list to live by based on what I consider to be a successful day. It’s slightly embarrassing to share this on the internets, but I really love lists and encouragement so here goes…

To take care of my body by:

Exercising: 60 minutes a day (taking Sunday’s off)

Eating Well: planning meals a day ahead, taking time to cook and count calories

Caring for my skin: Washing my face morning and night, using moisturizer

Caring for my teeth: brush morning and night (minimum), floss and use mouthwash

Caring for my feet and hands

To take care of my environment:

Keeping the dishes clean:  not going to bed with a dirty kitchen

Making the bed and putting clothes away

Quick tidy-up in the bathroom, living room and dining room

Caring for plants and animals: watering and tending

To Work Hard:

Complete “musts” on to-do lists

Complete small chunks of large projects daily

To meet deadlines and fulfill expectations, to do more than expected

To Be Creative:

To blog daily

To create new jewelry

Create new recipes

Take photographs

Paint and sew

To Connect:

Return emails as I read them

Stay in touch via phone, email, visits, twitter and facebook

Leave comments on blogs

Take time to do something fun with husband every day

Plan special events with husband, friends and family

All of the red tasks are items that I checked off my “successful day” checklist. I won’t do this every day, but it’s good for me to check in with my goals and to see if what I’m doing every day is taking me closer to them.

I’m making a true effort to get my eating in check this month. I feel like I keep saying it, but I really need to do it. It’s not that I feel that I’m eating horribly, but I can do better. My plan is planning. For tomorrow I have my breakfast and lunch already planned out and prepared with the calories counted. Everything is in a container and ready to go. I feel good about this, but I always feel good on day one. We’ll see.

We’ve entered week SEVEN of insanity and I just cannot believe it. I can hold a steady plank pose now. My stretches are much deeper and I am moving better in general. I’ve noticed that I don’t want to eat bad foods because I am having the thought “I won’t feel good enough to exercise if I’m bloated, or feel sick from food”. Having that thought is shocking for me. That is a thought that I think truly healthy people have; considering food choices because of how they makes you feel. I want to do so much that eating poorly would only take my energy away. I’m just now realizing this, food=energy, bad food takes energy, good food gives energy. Why did it take me so long to realize this?

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A Clean Kitchen and Dining Space

I’ve been spending a lot of time doing some pre-spring cleaning and things are feeling really good in our home. Cleaning + daily exercise makes me feel like I’m on the right track. I started with the kitchen and dining room which needed a good scrub down and reorganization. Things got really out of control during the holidays and I am always motivated to cook more when everything is clean and in order. Behold:

After taking these photos I realized that it looks more cluttered than it feels in the photos. An empty and clean sink!

Cutting boards, mixer, fruit stand, bento box, one of my many salts, and a photo of Simon (the cat).

Cook books and cooking magazines.

And the dining area (right beside the kitchen):

And there you have it. Our small, but mighty (that’s what she said!) kitchen and dining area. I love our home so much, this space was one of the reasons why I fell in love with our house. It feels like us in here.