Monday, October 31, 2011

Friend-Making Monday: How Do You Get Back On Track?

Those naughty little chocolate bars! 
Well, the weekend is over and today was the day to get back on track. This morning and early afternoon were taken up with some running around for vehicle stuff that had to be done in the morning and the afternoon was prepping for supper and getting things tidied up. And so my day goes.


I didn't get to the gym and I don't really want to walk on Halloween night. So, it will be a quiet evening in giving out candy and trying to withstand the temptation of eating those little bars! Anyone else feeling a bit anxious about this? That's a lot of chocolate and I will have to distract myself and grit my teeth not to dig into some of those leftovers! 

Today is Friend-Making Monday at Kenlie's blog, All The Weigh. If you would like to join in, just grab the image off of this page, and answer the following question. Then, go over to Kenlie's blog and leave a link, and leave a comment here to let me know you took part, too.

This week's question is an interesting one. Here it is:


FMM: What do you do when trying to reclaim your healthy lifestyle after a few emotional, unhealthy weeks? 
Well, this is something I am struggling with all the time. It seems like I keep going back and forth between making great choices and then not-so-great choices.  So this is a constant issue for me. 

What works for me? Here are a few things: 
  • Walking really helps to get my head in the right space again. It is exercise and it gets the circulation going. I find if I keep walking, I get more motivated to eat right. 
  • I make sure I start blogging, if I have stopped. Coming back and admitting my struggles helps me to be accountable and face things again. 
  • I eat a big salad for at least one meal. Getting fresh, healthy food feels so good after eating a bunch of processed crap for a while. 
These are some of the things that I do but by no means do I have this one figured out. I'd love to hear your strategies! 

Saturday, October 29, 2011

My Blogging Experience ... Bring Your Own Crazy!

So, I don't usually do two posts in one day but .. I couldn't resist when I saw the "Bring Your Own Crazy" meme that Joanna was doing over here, at Diary of a Mad, Fat Woman. I've done at least one of these before and they're a lot of fun! If you want to do this, just copy and paste the questions and answer the questions for yourself. Then let me know if you have done so!

Okay, so here goes. This is a good one!

1. When did you begin blogging? Do you plan to do it a long time or do you think you’ll stop after a while?
I first started blogging in August of 2009 (this was my first post) and then kept it up for about a year but then dropped out of blogging altogether for almost one whole year!   Lucky for me, the blog was still there when I started blogging again this year. I don't know if I will continue this blog forever or not. My purpose is to lose weight and if when I do, I am not sure if I will still want to focus on it, but I think I will want to write something to encourage other women.
I love writing!


2.  What do you enjoy more - blogging yourself or reading other’s blogs?
I have to admit, I love blogging the most. Just because I love writing so, so much! It's my passion. And I also just adore the design aspect of it. I'm constantly tweaking.


3.  What’s the biggest thing blogging has taught you? Biggest surprise about blogging?
Wow, interesting question. I guess the biggest surprise is how easy it is. Before starting this blog, I thought writing on the Internet in any way was something only a technical genius could do. You would not believe how intimidated I was when I first started. When I got the first comment, it was like a whole other world had opened up!

Blogging has taught me that people are so much the same. Even the "skinny girls" who have made it in their weight loss efforts have to struggle with eating right. And it's also taught me that I can express myself through writing and reach other people. I think it's helped give me more confidence in expressing myself to more than just my immediate family. 

4.  Have you met any other bloggers in real life – solely because of your blog or theirs?
No, not yet, but there is a blogger who lives in my city, Winnipeg, that I have been talking to, and we might meet. That would be so exciting! 

5.  Does your blog have a general theme as in one topic or do you cover everything and anything?

I actually have a couple of blogs that I write but this one is definitely for weight loss. I am pretty focused on this blog, on this topic but I do talk about how things in my life are affecting my weight loss journey. Weight is not just about eating and exercising but also about stress, confidence, body-image and emotions. It's about all of our lives.

6.  Are you public or anonymous? Whichever you are – do you ever wish you were the other?

Kinda sorta both. I use a moniker, "prairieprincess" but it's pretty easy to follow the links and find my name if anyone wants to. I am always kind of being pulled between wanting to stay anonymous and wanting to just be "me."

7.  What’s your best blogging advice for a new blogger?
 I think the best advice I would offer is to be yourself. It's easy to get intimidated by other bloggers and look at what everyone else is doing but like someone else told me, "it's your blog." So use it in a way that works for you. I'm still trying to work this one out for myself!

8.  Does anyone in your real life read your blog/know it’s address? Do you wish they would or wouldn’t?
There are just two or three, I think. My sister and one or two friends. I have asked several people on Facebook to read my blog but no one seemed very interested. I actually wish more of them would read it.

9.  Do you enjoy blogging or do you view it as a chore? How often do you blog?
I absolutely love blogging! It's my excuse to write every day. I love communicating and sharing my heart. A lot of my blog is kind of self-centered, I guess, because it's about my journey but I love it when others can relate in some way. And I love sharing new information that I find out.

Sometimes it does feel like a chore if I'm feeling depressed and have made bad choices but I am glad that I kind of force myself to write, anyway, because I think it produces an honest blog, not just a perfect one!

10.  Do you tell people in your real life that you blog? Or keep it a secret?
I haven't told that many people (besides on Facebook) because at first I was so embarrassed at my weight and how much I need to lose. I think I want to start sharing it with more people, though. It would be great to have more RL acquaintances commenting on my blog!

So, that was so much fun! If you want to answer these questions on your blog, please do so and post a link here!

Blog Roll Extravaganza!

The Blog Roll Has Great Treasures ...
Happy Saturday, everyone. I hope you're having a good weekend. It's getting chilly this weekend here and it looks like it's time for a warmer jacket.

These are a few things that I read this week that I thought were amazing. Hope you find something inspirational.  There are quite a few here!

This is so inspirational: From Plump Non-Fiction. Last weekend, the author of this blog, Pam, just finished a 5K race. This is has changed her life. Read how.

Wow, wow, wow. The Line of Visible and Invisible.  I can relate to this so much! Being ignored while being fat. Wow.

Could Gratitude Be The Key To Weight Loss?  is a wow, wow, wow post about how gratitude is such an important part of weight loss. This is a must-read! 

From Princess Dieter,  she writes about how it feels so good to be in control. Very inspiring from someone who has worked very hard to make changes and is now reaping some of the benefits. Good for her! 

The Cost of Losing Weight. Great post that made me think. Yes, losing weight costs but, as this author points out, so does staying fat.

A post about "not blogging." This got me re-examining the reasons for blogging. Very thought-provoking. Why she's quitting the blog.

Awesome snack idea! I had thought popcorn was kind of off the list but this article made me re-visit popcorn. Popcorn as a Healthy Snack 

So that the list. Pretty long, eh? So, do you know why you blog? Have you ever thought about quitting? What keeps you at it?

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

More Reasons To Accept Ourselves ...

It's Beautiful Wednesday today. When we talk about body image, self-acceptance and feeling beautiful, no matter what your size.

Here a few more reasons to accept who we are, even when our bodies are not perfect. If we wait until we're perfect, we will never be. And we will never be happy. 

Case in point: this video on body image in teens. Teens, skinny as many of us once were, still aren't satisfied with themselves. Young men and women, looking the best they ever will, unhappy with how they look. Why? Because our culture teaches us we are never enough. Let's STOP now. Let's teach our teens and young children that we don't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

 

And another one. This is powerful. Let's show our daughters, our nieces, our female students that we accept ourselves, and they can, too. In spite of what the media says. I want my two beautiful nieces to know that the media's definition of beauty is wrong.


Be You are beautiful! I love you, ladies!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Trusting God For My Writing

I am starting to get my bearings about a writing career. It's been very hard to find a direction. What helped me today was a passage I read from Jeremiah during my Bible reading. Here's the story.

Jeremiah prayed for a word from the LORD
God had just saved a "remnant" of people from destruction from Babylon and they were grateful and told Jeremiah, their spiritual leader, that they would do anything that God asked of them.

Jeremiah went to the LORD, prayed and got a word from the LORD about what they should do. He told them to stay there in the land and to not go anywhere. Just stay where they were and trust in God for provision. If they did that, he would bless them beyond belief. Sounds simple, right? Stay put. Trust God.

Well, it wasn't simple for them and they refused to do it. You see, everything looked risky and they were scared. Instead they went to Egypt, moved to a place where they thought the world would protect them and started worshipping false gods again. WHY why would they do that? I mean, it seems silly, right? It's hard to believe they would blatantly disobey when they had heard from God so clearly but they did.


And that's what I think most of us do. Look for something else to save us, and we often flounder. We get a direction but then we veer, doubt. At least that is what I do! I have been letting myself get overwhelmed by all of the information out there, all of the things I could be doing, that I have forgotten what I am called to do. I do that so much, instead of staying put in what I have already started. 

I need to trust in God as my safety, above everything I read online about writing success and online marketing and Google. I need to trust in him, not in "Egypt" as it were: the gods of this world. And I need to stay put. Keep doing what I have set out to do and not look for anything else.

Where I am to stay put? Keep writing from the heart when I can. Look for writing jobs from what I know. Work on the sites I already have. Don't try to find jobs that I know nothing about but write from my already acquired expertise. And most of all, trust God to bring the increase. I prayed and I believe that this is where he wants me right now. I have to keep trusting that. That is what he asked of those of the remnant. That is what he asks of all of us.

This is a picture from my from my latest hub.
Last  night, I wrote a hub called, My Husband And I Are Opposites. It's the kind of hub I love writing: about relationships, to encourage others and make them laugh a bit. These are the kind of pieces I started with and I don't want to forget that kind of writing. I have had searches from all over the world for people missing their mother, from people in difficult second marriages and people considering divorce. This is part of what the LORD has called me to do. To encourage. To reach out.  He says that if I trust in Him, he will bring me the income I need to be sustainable.

My prayers were encouraged by a lovely comment from someone that read my blog, Katherine. She encouraged me to stay the course and it made my day. Thanks, Katherine! Here is her blog: For My Father's Glory. 

Find the Remnant Story Here: Jeremiah 42-43

Saturday, October 22, 2011

From The Blog Roll

Well, I am somewhat back on my regular blog schedule and Saturday is usually the day when I put some link love out there, sharing some of the stuff I've come across in the last week that you might appreciate.

This weekend, my husband is working the night shift so I stayed up kind of late. (I tend to have a hard time sleeping when he's gone all night.) I stayed up kind of late last night and was thinking about my career plans. I tentatively decided that I think I want to go back to teaching, but this time in the TESOL field. (teaching English to non-native speakers.) This is a long term thing and I am looking at taking the course next September. I do miss the interaction of teaching but want a lower stress environment.

I left teaching mainly because of the stress of my last full-time job. It was a toxic environment, with a lot of stress, and after leaving,  I was nervous about getting back into the public school system. (Plus the fact that it's not easy to get a job in this field.) This year, I worked part time at a school for adults returning to school but the contract ran out and I've been off since June. Since then, I have been writing articles online and trying to figure out the whole online writing gig. There's a lot to learn! I enjoy the writing but miss interaction!

So without further adieu, here are some links from my blog roll and beyond.



Okay, this first post is from the blog, Two Years To Happy Weight After, written by Princess Dieter. She is talking about the frustration of not being able to budge on the scale and she mentions a very interesting book, The Smarter Science of Slim: What the Actual Experts Have Proven About Weight Loss, Dieting, & Exercise, Plus, The Harvard Medical School, Johns ... UCLA Endorsed Program To Burn Fat Permanently (This link goes to Amazon.)

I checked out this book yesterday through Google Books and it looks pretty interesting. The author Jonathan Bailor, has examined 100's of studies on weight loss and says that basically, our whole paradigm for weight loss is wrong. If you want to see what this guy has to say, he also has a website set up. I am going to see if my library has this book first, because I do think it's worth a read.

Okay, next. I am going to give a shout-out to a couple of excellent posts from Diane at Fit to Finish this week. Both posts received a lot of feedback and generated some interesting discussions. First, some tips on night-time eating and how to avoid it.  I know this is one of my biggest problems, too! Check out the comments for even more ideas.

And also from the same blog: a post on whether or not we accept ourselves as we are. I have been very passionate about this topic on my Beautiful Wednesdays feature because I believe that loving ourselves now can help to move forward and change.

And one more from a blogger most of you probably know: Lynn at Escape From Obesity. She has such a thoughtful post about how she is enjoying her new body, after losing, and not sure if she wants to keep trying to lose. I loved this post because of how she describes how it feels to be "not big" anymore.

Finally, to end things off, I am going to share a couple of mine own articles. I wrote one article about the smoothie that I try to eat in the mornings, that seems to help me in getting results. I add hemp, which is such a powerhouse ingredient! I am working right now to try to create a low-carb version of this recipe, because I know some of you are doing a low-carb diet.

As well, I wrote an article about losing weight with Sparkpeople. I mention and refer to tracking quite a bit in my blog. This is all done through Sparkpeople. I highly recommend this site for tracking your food, exercise and also for support. If you do sign up, you can put me in as your referrer. My name on there is 100togo100togo.

And finally, I also wrote an article on Beverly Lewis on there. This link is for one of my readers who mentioned on her blog that she adores Beverley Lewis books. This is an overview of this author.

So, that's the blogroll roundup for this week. I did notice that there were fewer readers this week. I know I was gone for a while but I hope to be back at it regularly. I don't know if it was just a slow week everywhere or if it was something about my blog, but I love getting readers. To those who read faithfully, thank you, thank you, thank you!

If you haven't already, consider signing up for the Facebook page. I don't have many on there, but it's a convenient way to get blog updates. Take care, everyone!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Friend Making Monday: Have You Ever Been Stereotyped?

Good morning, everyone! It's Friend-Making Monday today. I have only participated in this event once but I would like to do it every week. It's a thang where you answer some questions and then post a link to your answers back to the original blog that posted the question, which is this blog: All The Weigh.

And this question is a good one. It is ... 

Have you ever been the victim of stereotyping?  If so, will you elaborate?  What do you wish people thought of you as they notice you for the first time?

Wow, good one! Yes, I think I have been the victim of stereotyping. I feel this a lot, actually. I think people assume that I am a little less smart and not that capable, because of being overweight. I think people think that fat people are kind of dumb, and not with it. Like a big jolly old lady.
I may be fat, but I sure ain't jolly! Image by Katherine Scribbles
I felt this sometimes this when I was teaching, with a couple of my colleagues. They would not treat me as an equal, even though my knowledge base and teaching skill was as good as theirs.  I would sometimes be excluded from conversations where I should have been included. It wasn't everyone, at all, but some people who seemed especially image-conscious. I had to work harder to prove myself, I think, because of the weight.

I have also been stereotyped as not caring about nutrition and loving junk food. We were doing a fun survey with the kids for a project and one of the questions we all asked each other was what we liked better: a meal at McDonald's or a meal at a fine restaurant. We had to guess each others tastes. My colleague guessed that I liked McDonald's. Let me just say here that I detest McDonald's.

I used to sometimes feel it at the grocery store, too. People might see junk food in my cart and assume it was for me but I was actually the one trying to be healthy. The junk food was for my stepsons and my husband. My husband had never eaten a vegetable in his life until he met me. Now he's eating healthy!
I wish people could know that I am smart and a deep thinker and not lazy and that I know a lot about nutrition, even though I sometimes overeat. And that I have not always been overweight and I am not jolly!
And you know what? Those who know me, know this already. And those who make assumptions, well, it's your loss!

Well, this is such an excellent topic. I think weight stigma is a real impediment to losing weight sometimes. When we think people are thinking bad about us, it can lead to us closing up and not wanting to try. 

I have read studies that document that there is a definite prejudice in the workplace towards heavier people. I think it's wrong and is just like discriminating against someone for colour or gender. Great topic for FMM!
Now, if you want to take part, copy and paste this question, and the graphic and then go ahead and put a link to the All the Weigh blog. It'd be great if you could let me know, here, too, if you took part.


Okay, one more thing after my rant, ha ha! I actually did menu planning! 

Here's my menu plan for the week. I only plan dinners. Breakfasts and lunches are kind of the same everyday, pretty much. It could change a bit but at least it's a game plan. I will post recipes later if I have time but these are all my own recipes.

Menu Plan, Image by Bunky's Pickle
MENU PLAN FOR THE WEEK

Monday: Beef Stew w/ Toast
Tuesday: Chicken Stir Fry w/ Rice
Wednesday: Chicken/Beef Burgers with Fries/Salad
Thursday: Perogies w/  Low Fat Sausages & Onions
Friday: Healthy Chicken Fettuccine
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Tuna Salad/Hamburgers and Poutine

Okay, so there it is. On Wednesday, the chicken burger and salad is for me. The Burgers and Fries are for my gorgeous husband. And Sunday, same deal: salad for me and poutine and burgers for m.g.h.

Happy Monday, everyone. Have an awesome week!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Review of "The Secret" by Beverly Lewis


(image by cindy47452 on Flckr.com)

The book I will be reviewing is called The Secret, by Beverly Lewis. This book features two simultaneous storylines: one of a young Amish girl named Grace and another of a modern, educated young woman named Heather. The two girls are from two different worlds but are both missing their mothers and dealing with problems in their love lives. Any connection between the two girls and their respective worlds is not immediately revealed.

This book starts out with a rather slow pace and the hackneyed Amish slang can be off-putting at first but as the chapters progess, the pace quickens and the old-fashioned characters start to become real and compelling. The book revolves around the initial incident when the mother of the main character, Lettie, leaves their home for somewhere unknown with only a mysterious letter left behind. All of the family are affected by her leaving in different ways and rumours start to run rampant about where she went and what she was doing.

The book is mostly set in an Amish community and deals with the culture with great sensitivity and honesty. The Amish "friends" are neither set up as perfect saints nor maligned as controlling tyrants. Differences in personality and style between groups are recognized. Reading this novel gives a window into a completely different world than our own.

Scripture is part of this novel because Scripture is interwoven into the daily fabric of the Amish existence. Children are brought up in the Word. The main character Grace loves to read a Psalm every morning and the whole community is involved in Sunday worship, held at different members' houses weekly.  Specific Amish doctrines are not looked at but rather the way doctrine seems to affect their everyday life.

Overall, I recommend this book, The Secret, by Beverley Lewis. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading more in the series.

For more about Beverly Lewis, see this Hubpages article.