Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sugar, Food, and Body Image


I fight with myself on a daily basis on whether to satisfy my taste buds or to eat the food that I know to be healthy and good for my body. Unfortunately, I have found that for me at least, I cannot satisfy both; at least I have not reached that point yet. I never really was someone that gained weight in high school, and in college I might have gained 5 pounds or so but it was during a summer break in college that I decided to go on weight watchers, just for the time I was home. I remember it being really difficult but by the end of the summer I was proud of myself that I had weighed the least amount that I had ever remembered myself to weigh as an adult or even a teenager.  But I still wasn’t satisfied.

Throughout college and even after, I found myself periodically keeping track of what I ate and even counting calories. During the times I was keeping track, I would find that I had such a huge sweet tooth that I would actually sacrifice eating the amount of food that was good for me just to get in my sweets that I so much desired. I still got the results I was looking for but I was ever so hungry and sometimes after work I would find myself stuffing my face after a full day of eating less.

After getting married, I gained 10 pounds that first year and quickly started seeing it in the mirror. I decided to hard core count calories and 6 months to a year later I was down 18 pounds, but still not eating the well-balanced diet that I needed.

Over the past year I have been doing some research about healthy eating and I have become overwhelmed at everything out there. I have found though that the general consensus is that the healthier you eat, the more you can eat! What a concept, hah. I have been more concentrating on whole wheat/ whole grain items, fish, nuts, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Of course, I eat things other than that, but that is a lot of my concentration with going to the grocery store.

I always focused on what I ate and based that on what I wanted to look like. I never really considered that the food I was eating was affecting the inside of my body one way or another. This has also helped me in determining what type of food I eat. Along with trying to be healthy on the inside I have never been someone to regularly exercise. If I didn’t see results on the scale, I would stop (because I hated it anyway). I now am realizing the importance of staying active and the health benefits of it. So, last week Hubert and I started this crazy program called Insanity. It is a 60-day workout program and in this, my goal is not to get super skinny and flexible, but for it to kick-start us in staying active. We are also eating from the nutrition menu they have provided to make sure we are eating the food appropriate for this workout. I have vowed not to jump on the scale during these 60 days and only to use a tape measure as I hope to gain strength in muscle.

I am still far from being healthy and doing everything that I need to be healthy, but I find it concerning when so many times that I am “caught” out in public eating healthy, I almost get scrutinized for it. I haven’t figured it out yet if it’s because of my size (not overweight but still eating right) or due to the unpopularity of healthy food.

I have one more little tidbit about this topic; obviously I have had a lot to say about it! I get very irritated when there is judgment about people smoking, tanning, drinking, and other things that people are saying is harmful to your body. According to I Corinthians 3:16-17, it says:

"You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred-and you, remember,  are the temple."

I feel people like to pick and choose as to what is harmful for you body. This reference just ensures me that how you treat your body is also highly related to the food you put in your mouth as well as the activities you are making your body participate in.

Like most girls, I constantly struggle with my body image and never being satisfied with outcomes, but I am trying to change my outlook, remain healthy, and constantly remember that I am God's temple.

That’s My Life at Current

Monday, March 11, 2013

Does Absence Really Make the Heart Grow Fonder?


I read a book soon after marriage that said as husband and wife there is no such thing as spending too much time together. It actually said that if you have hobbies that do not interest your spouse, try to find another hobby that you both will enjoy. My first impression of that was that it was completely absurd and that we needed time apart in order to enjoy and appreciate time together. Nonetheless, we talked about it and figured we might as well make an effort to find new things to do that we enjoy together. We discussed the realization that I would never be playing basketball with him nor would he be playing softball with me, so we ventured on to find other sports/activities that we both enjoyed: volleyball, geocaching, devotions, board games, and even exercising together (sometimes J). I have to say, the times we have spent time together on purpose have been some of my most cherished memories. This is not to say that we never do things separately; there are the occasional times when Hubert will go out with his buddies or vice versa, but it’s not too often. Still there is never a feeling of inhibition between us; we truly enjoy spending time together.

I do have to say that it took some getting used to, at least on my side. This was not because I was always wanting to do things apart from him, but more because I enjoy my time alone, and I very early realized that when you marry someone, they are always there, haha. But I very quickly found out how fun it is to always have someone at your side-someone to laugh with, joke with, cook with, get out frustrations with, and learn how to do somersaults on a mattress with (totally happened last week).

With my measly 2.5 years of experience being married, I truly believe that it takes more effort and compromise learning to be together in all things than having time being separated. I feel if you are blessed to be able to have a similar schedule as your spouse, take advantage of it and learn how to do everything together. I mean, this is the one earthly relationship that we are meant to be together with until death. Embrace it, love it, and cherish it!

And that’s my life at current

PS Shout out to hubby-he gets his top braces off tomorrow!!!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

My Life at Current

Best Day Ever - Nov 20 2010

It has officially been one whole month since the hubby and I have moved into our new apartment and are officially on our own (again). For those of you that don’t know, we decided over a year ago to take the road less traveled and tackle our student loan debt all at once by putting every last penny into it until it disappears. This decision was made when after about 8-10 months of being married we looked at our finances and couldn’t figure out when in the world we would ever be able get better cars, a house, or even plan for a family with a minimum monthly loan payment as large as a mortgage going out of our bank account for another 8 years. This was a rough decision because we knew that some things would have to be sacrificed. We made the difficult decision to move in with friends to cut down on living expenses. After being married for only a year, who wants to share space with someone, regardless of whom they are?  I truly believe we grew closer to each other during that experience and I would never regret doing it. We started our “debt snowball” (The strategy endorsed by Finance Guru Dave Ramsey) and from December 2011 to January 2013 we were able to pay off $30,000! I know that sounds amazing, but unfortunately we both chose to attend private universities so we still have $34,000 to go. We plan to be debt free by Jan/Feb 2014 as long as everything goes as planned (we all know how that goes).  

As for living on our own again, I never really appreciated it until we didn't have it. I actually enjoy cleaning our new apartment because I take so much ownership in it for being “just ours”. I truly admire those who either have chosen or, due to difficult circumstances, have no choice but to live in a multi-family location. It is truly a time of compromise and learning but I would have had it no other way!  
Speaking of cleaning, I have developed this great weekly cleaning routine that, like I said, I truly enjoy. I am sure this is nothing new to you schedule-oriented avid cleaners out there, but I focus on a different aspect every day. And on the days that I know I will be too busy or just don’t want to do anything, I don’t have to!

Sunday: Kitchen
Monday: Laundry
Tuesday: Floors
Wednesday: too busy
Thursday: Dust
 Friday: who wants to clean on Fridays??
Saturday: Restroom

I love it! And I get everything covered in an entire week and I start it again the next week. Many times the hubby will get some of the stuff done during the weekend and I won’t even have to do anything! Also, every morning I have about 30 minutes to spare before I go to work, so I make sure EVERY DAY that all is picked up and ready to be “lived in” when we both get home from work. It’s such a nice feeling to come home to a clean house. J

Well, you've experienced a part of me in a nutshell. I am thoroughly grateful that you stopped by to see what I have to say.

That’s My Life at Current