Movie I made with friends in my singles ward for our ward's Fundance Film Festival. It won for Best Visual Effects. My 7 1/2 hours of editing paid off!! The theme was "It was an ordinary day until..." We had to hide Where's Waldo somewhere in the movie, so try to find him!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Saturday, March 22, 2014
For My Next 30 Years
About a week ago, my landlord approached me to ask if I would be interested and willing to do something for her. She told me that she is going to Hawaii in 6 weeks and wants to lose a little weight before then. She knows that if she is going to do any sort of diet, she needs support or someone to motivate her. She wrote up the "Health Plan" and we met to talk about it. Now, you have to know, I'm not really a big fan of "diets."
A little bit of background on me. When I was 12, I weighed over 200 lbs and ate as much as my older brothers and very unhealthy. In junior high, I joined the high school water polo summer league with my brothers and my best girl friends. In addition to the exercise, I started REALLY limiting what I was eating. I look back and know that my "diet" wasn't healthy at all. You should never say you can only eat 7 things all day, including drinks. Fortunately, that didn't last long. When I was in high school, I still limited what I ate and I ate a little healthier, but I was depriving myself more than anything. I was a stickler to not ever eating any sweets or junk food. Even though I stopped doing water polo and swim after my sophomore year, I continued to go jogging sometimes, but I don't think it was very often. I think the lowest I weighed was 140 lbs and you can ask my brother Steven, I looked like skin and bones. I look back at my senior prom pictures and I was skinny, but I look... unnatural. According to the BMI index, I was healthy and within range, etc, but if you looked at me, that was another story. The funny thing is that I didn't take advantage of my thinness. I still wore baggy, guy clothes. Man, I wish I hadn't done that! The other funny thing is that I still FELT big and fat. I was still "bigger" than my cohorts. I honestly think that it is the Swedish/Norwegian in me. I'm just... bigger boned or something. I don't know.
My parents supported me in college, so I was able to eat fairly healthy, unlike many college students. I finally started wearing girl clothes that fit better, thanks to my one of my first roommates at BYU. Boy, was that out of my comfort zone! However, I gained some weight, of course. I'm not sure when it started, but I eventually started going running and riding a bike when it was warm. I also discovered that I REALLY LOVE hiking, especially to waterfalls, so I started doing that. A roommate started counting calories and I did that for a while, but I HATE counting calories. It stresses me out. When I graduated college, I think I weighed about 185-190 lbs. I look my graduation pictures and others taken around that time and OH MY GOODNESS! I definitely didn't feel thin, but I was! I looked good! I didn't look like a walking skeleton! By medical standards, I would have still be considered overweight by BMI, but I was at the PERFECT WEIGHT for ME. What happened since then might you ask? Well, real life happened. Stress happened. I have a terrible sweet tooth and a terrible habit of stress eating. I gained the most weight when I lived with my grandma for a number of reasons that I won't go into in this post. What's funny is that when I did the Nauvoo Pageant the first time, I hadn't gained that much weight from the stress yet and so I looked alright. But even so, they didn't have a costume in my size and I had to wear an over-sized one. No wonder I thought I was so fat! Before weighing myself for this "Health Plan" I hadn't stepped on a scale in at least 3 years because I knew I wouldn't like it. It would depress me and begin the cycle of stress eating, etc. Yeah, it's bad.
So, I did step on the scale again, and no, I didn't like what I saw. But instead of depressing me, it gave me motivation. I like that we are calling this a "Health Plan" because I want to form life long habits from this. This isn't a diet, it's a change. I want to practice the principles in this Plan for the rest of my life if I can. What is my goal? Since this is a long-term thing, my goal is to lose a pound a week. Ultimately, I'd like to be back to 185-190 lbs and see if that is still the perfect weight for me and then try to maintain it. I will have days "off" of the Plan to begin with, but I think that eventually I will find some middle ground that works best for me to maintain the healthy lifestyle throughout my life.
Thanks to my landlord, I've discovered some guilt-free chocolate bars that I can eat when I'm really craving something sweet. Mostly that's at work, otherwise the temptation is usually ice cream. I will take days off to have that! I'm very excited to adapt recipes I know to fit the Plan and learn some new recipes. Once work is over, that will be much easier. For now, at work I'm eating only part of the lunch that's served (I get lunch twice) or I've started bringing a protein bar or something else from home to quickly eat between classes. When work is over, I will have a lot more options as to what I can eat when I get home from work. As it is, I'm eating salads for dinner. Every time I eat a salad, I hear my dad's voice in my head saying that I am eating rabbit food. I've found some really awesome tasty salad dressings and things I can add to salads so they aren't bland or boring. I'm actually starting to like eating vegetables and salads! That's a miracle! Number three is the hardest for me and I learned this week that getting enough protein is actually kind of hard for me, too.
Here is the Health Plan. There a few things that I'm not strictly following, so I guess you can say I'm doing the "moderate" version of the Plan.
A little bit of background on me. When I was 12, I weighed over 200 lbs and ate as much as my older brothers and very unhealthy. In junior high, I joined the high school water polo summer league with my brothers and my best girl friends. In addition to the exercise, I started REALLY limiting what I was eating. I look back and know that my "diet" wasn't healthy at all. You should never say you can only eat 7 things all day, including drinks. Fortunately, that didn't last long. When I was in high school, I still limited what I ate and I ate a little healthier, but I was depriving myself more than anything. I was a stickler to not ever eating any sweets or junk food. Even though I stopped doing water polo and swim after my sophomore year, I continued to go jogging sometimes, but I don't think it was very often. I think the lowest I weighed was 140 lbs and you can ask my brother Steven, I looked like skin and bones. I look back at my senior prom pictures and I was skinny, but I look... unnatural. According to the BMI index, I was healthy and within range, etc, but if you looked at me, that was another story. The funny thing is that I didn't take advantage of my thinness. I still wore baggy, guy clothes. Man, I wish I hadn't done that! The other funny thing is that I still FELT big and fat. I was still "bigger" than my cohorts. I honestly think that it is the Swedish/Norwegian in me. I'm just... bigger boned or something. I don't know.
My parents supported me in college, so I was able to eat fairly healthy, unlike many college students. I finally started wearing girl clothes that fit better, thanks to my one of my first roommates at BYU. Boy, was that out of my comfort zone! However, I gained some weight, of course. I'm not sure when it started, but I eventually started going running and riding a bike when it was warm. I also discovered that I REALLY LOVE hiking, especially to waterfalls, so I started doing that. A roommate started counting calories and I did that for a while, but I HATE counting calories. It stresses me out. When I graduated college, I think I weighed about 185-190 lbs. I look my graduation pictures and others taken around that time and OH MY GOODNESS! I definitely didn't feel thin, but I was! I looked good! I didn't look like a walking skeleton! By medical standards, I would have still be considered overweight by BMI, but I was at the PERFECT WEIGHT for ME. What happened since then might you ask? Well, real life happened. Stress happened. I have a terrible sweet tooth and a terrible habit of stress eating. I gained the most weight when I lived with my grandma for a number of reasons that I won't go into in this post. What's funny is that when I did the Nauvoo Pageant the first time, I hadn't gained that much weight from the stress yet and so I looked alright. But even so, they didn't have a costume in my size and I had to wear an over-sized one. No wonder I thought I was so fat! Before weighing myself for this "Health Plan" I hadn't stepped on a scale in at least 3 years because I knew I wouldn't like it. It would depress me and begin the cycle of stress eating, etc. Yeah, it's bad.
So, I did step on the scale again, and no, I didn't like what I saw. But instead of depressing me, it gave me motivation. I like that we are calling this a "Health Plan" because I want to form life long habits from this. This isn't a diet, it's a change. I want to practice the principles in this Plan for the rest of my life if I can. What is my goal? Since this is a long-term thing, my goal is to lose a pound a week. Ultimately, I'd like to be back to 185-190 lbs and see if that is still the perfect weight for me and then try to maintain it. I will have days "off" of the Plan to begin with, but I think that eventually I will find some middle ground that works best for me to maintain the healthy lifestyle throughout my life.
Thanks to my landlord, I've discovered some guilt-free chocolate bars that I can eat when I'm really craving something sweet. Mostly that's at work, otherwise the temptation is usually ice cream. I will take days off to have that! I'm very excited to adapt recipes I know to fit the Plan and learn some new recipes. Once work is over, that will be much easier. For now, at work I'm eating only part of the lunch that's served (I get lunch twice) or I've started bringing a protein bar or something else from home to quickly eat between classes. When work is over, I will have a lot more options as to what I can eat when I get home from work. As it is, I'm eating salads for dinner. Every time I eat a salad, I hear my dad's voice in my head saying that I am eating rabbit food. I've found some really awesome tasty salad dressings and things I can add to salads so they aren't bland or boring. I'm actually starting to like eating vegetables and salads! That's a miracle! Number three is the hardest for me and I learned this week that getting enough protein is actually kind of hard for me, too.
Here is the Health Plan. There a few things that I'm not strictly following, so I guess you can say I'm doing the "moderate" version of the Plan.
Health Plan
1. Three quarts (96 oz) of water per day-No juice, soda, or sugary drinks.
2. Include at least one good serving of fresh or steamed veggies per meal- five servings per day and at least one salad per day (large salad counts for 2 servings). Iceberg lettuce does not count toward the five servings of veggies.
3. No more than one serving of fruit per day. (One serving= one whole fruit)
4. No more than one serving of complex carbohydrate per meal- preferably 2 to 3 servings per day. No refined flours or sugars. Only one piece of bread or toast per day of the hearty whole grain variety. (eg. Multigrain or 100% whole wheat, brown rice)
5. Don't eat after dinner-one or two nights per week can have a smoothie after 6.
6. Eat one serving of healthy protein per meal- fish, chicken, eggs and legumes (lean red meat or pork no more than one time per week). Eat protein three to five times per day. Raw nuts and almond butter are good. Avoid whey protein.
7. No more than one serving of dairy per day (this does not include eggs or yogurt (low-sugar, plain)). Use almond milk. Avoid soy.
8. Exercise four to six times per week- Each must include 20 to 30 minutes with heart rate in the fat burning zone (not above or below). Five to ten minutes of stretching after.
9. Use essential oils at least one time per day at night (up to three times per day).
10. May eat a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack. Must include at least half veggies.
11. Use dairy based condiments, ketchup, and salt sparingly. When a few dairy based condiments in a day are used it can add up to your one serving of dairy. (eg. Use dairy as an accent: sprinkle cheese on salads, eggs, etc.) Use vinegarette or other non-dairy dressings.
We'll see how this all goes!! Wish me luck!
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