My Healthy "To-Do" List

I LOVE "to-do" lists. I'm a list maniac. Just take a look at my day planner, it's full of them. I wake up in the morning with all the thoughts in my head of things I'd like to do and can't wait to sit down with my breakfast, day planner, and pen. I slowly make my list of all the things I'd like to do. The best part is when I take my red pen and slowly mark those things off as the day progresses. Even on my laid back days, I feel the need to write myself a list. My obsession with lists is a bit weird, but the people in my life have come to accept that about me.
So, it's no surprise that when I started MFP (myfitnesspal) and it helped me create little goals, that I was super happy. Yay! Goals! As I started setting my weight goal, exercise goals, and daily eating goals, I didn't quite feel like it was enough. I needed more things to look forward to. I needed more things to scratch off my "healthy to-do list." I needed more short term goals to keep me satisfied until I could reach those awesome big goals. That's when I sat down with my pen and started writing out a list of things I'd like to happen. Some of them were scale related and others were non scale victories that I craved desperately. I made sure to have a wide variety of goals, so that even on those bad weeks, there was a chance for a small accomplishment, a little victory to push me. The feeling of scratching off a goal that once seemed so hard to reach is so powerful. I highly recommend making out small goals, medium goals, and large goals for yourself.
Here are some of the goals that I have met and still have to look forward to:

*Lose 15 pounds
*Reach a 10% weight loss
*Be able to run a mile again
*Do a REAL push up
*Hold Plank position for a full minute
*Do a pull up unassisted
*Have a normal sized towel fit around me with no gap
*Fit back into wedding ring (by far the most special victory for me)
*Lose 40lbs before husband gets back home
*Go down a clothing size
*Fit into single digit pants again
*Wear a medium

I have many other goals, some silly, some really big, and others just plain awesome. I know that eventually, I'm going to be able to scratch them all off (even that darned pull-up one that I'm not sure why I even put on there.. ugh, hate pull ups!). I have little rewards that I give myself for doing well. When I started going down clothing sizes, I rewarded myself with some new clothes. My mom and I plan on having a girl's getaway when we both reach our final goals. And I have other rewards planned for my remaining goals. Some small, some bigger. I hit the 40lb goal a bit early, so I'm changing to to 50lbs. Bit of a stretch but I'm optimistic.

Now that I'm starting to scratch off more and more goals, I'm putting more focus and emphasis into what I'm eating. I've been slowly changing my eating goals over the last month. I'd like to say I eat 100% healthy, unprocessed, clean, and balanced foods everyday. But that just doesn't happen. I do try my best. I make the healthier choices and watch how much I intake but I still have a lot to work on when it comes to food. I still have a lot to learn.
This isn't something I've been able to change over night. I battle with it all. Sugar, salt, etc. I try to focus on one area and when I feel confident enough, I battle another. One area that I know I will need to focus more on eventually is my carb intake. For now, it fits in my macro goals on MFP but I know that I would see better results if I dropped my carbs some more. I'm not ready to do this yet. I choose hearty whole wheat choices, veggies, and fruits as the carbs I intake and will keep them until I absolutely have to make that change.
Sodium has been my big one that I've been working on currently. I was blown away when I realized how much sodium I was ingesting each day and didn't realize it. Most of my focus is on keeping my sodium down at the moment. This is easier by just making most stuff at home and using fresh ingredients. Not always easy to do when you have 200 other things to do during the day. But I've been working on planning ahead and making changes one at a time. Planning my meals out in advance and doing the prep work the night before has helped me make progress.
I do enjoy a treat everyday. When I first started, I avoided it all. I had such a strict, bland, and unsatisfying diet. It made me cranky and I hated every bit of it. I felt like I was on a diet and just waiting for it to end. Not what I wanted. I'm going for lifestyle change. So, I decided that as long as I stick to my calorie and macro goals and I practice self control, I will have myself a treat. I make sure the treat is under 200 calories. I use lighter versions and make it instead of getting it from somewhere else (helps me control the portion and know the nutritional information).
Today's treat was a "smore." I used a reduced fat graham cracker, sugar free chocolate pudding, and reduced fat cool whip. It was so yummy and satisfying.

 Dinner was spaghetti. Spaghetti is one of my favorites. Of course, I've had to change the recipe up a bit to make it healthier and fit into my goals. But that's okay, I still get my spaghetti. I'm learning that I can still eat the food I love and lose weight. Moderation and ingredients are key!
I was hungry today, so I threw in extra veggies to give it more volume. 2 cups of mushrooms and 1 cup of sliced zucchini gave it that extra volume. Cooked it with some ground pork and enjoyed it with some low sodium organic spaghetti sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top of whole wheat spaghetti noodles. Filling and low calorie.

                                                                  
                                                                 Finished product:

Well, tomorrow is a rest day (day away from the gym). It's also Pancake Saturday. I'm trying a new recipe I found: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/09/double-chocolate-brownie-batter-pancakes/.
I've been looking forward to tomorrow all week so that I can try these babies out! I'll let you know how it goes. :)