3 Things I Did In The Past That Did NOT Better My Health

August 10, 2015August 10, 2015 / ktbuchs87

We all make mistakes. It’s part of the human experience and I am most definitely human so I make a lot of mistakes. Shocker, I know. People hear the word mistake and immediately associate it with something negative, I do it all the time. But I have started to look back at my mistakes and realize that they were important parts of my journey and helped move me in the direction that I needed to go, even if I resisted at first.

As a blogger, it is so tempting to only show you the good stuff. The happy stuff. The stuff that spreads my message beautifully. But it isn’t the only stuff that goes on in my life. There are messy parts, ugly parts, not so good parts that I am glad the whole world can’t see. It’s the combination of all these stuff and parts that make me who I am.

When it comes to health, I have made my fair share of mistakes. I have done things that did nothing to help me and if I had kept up with them would have ultimately hurt me. I want to share these with you so you can avoid the same problems or maybe realize you aren’t alone. Here are three things I did to try and be healthier but were all wrong.

1. Severely restricting my calories

This is usually some of the first advice you get when you want to lose weight and be healthier. Eat less, move more. It seems so simple and we want weight loss to be simple. On the surface calories in vs. calories out makes sense and it is true that if you eat more food than your body has a need for, you will gain weight. But there is so much more going on. We are learning more and more that calories aren’t all the same and we don’t use them in the way we previously thought. I know when I first started to be serious about losing weight, I demonized calories. Calories were the enemy. They were the things that were making me fat. They were the evil demons that I had to battle every day. The less the better was my mindset. Here’s the thing, calories are not the enemy. You need calories. They are the things that fuel your body. Literally every function of your body requires calories, from blinking, breathing, just being alive. I had to work to flip the switch in my brain that made calories bad and focus on finding the right food to fuel my body and allow me to accomplish my goals. Which leads me to my next mistake…

2. Putting food into a “good” or “bad” category

Ok so I figured out that calories aren’t the devil. But there were definitely good food and “bad” food. I had to avoid the “bad” food at all costs or my body would revolt and instantly fall into a pit of unhealthy shame. Dramatic? Yes. What I whole-heartedly believed? Totally. Food is food. There are better choices but in the end bad food won’t completely end you. A healthy diet is what you consistently eat, not what you treat yourself to once in awhile. Eat the chocolate and move on. Don’t dwell on it, don’t feel guilty about it, and keep eating the real food that makes up the majority of your diet. I still struggle with this every now and then, but it is getting better.

3. Thinking my weight was the end all be all to health

I used to weigh myself every single morning and I sadly let the number on the scale dictate my rule and mood. If it was what I believed was acceptable then the day was a good one and I was happy. Anything higher than what I wanted was grounds for a horrible mood, more food restriction, and feeling guilty. It took me a REALLY long time to get over this one, but I can say that I have not weighed myself for over a year and have no clue my number is. And you know what? The world hasn’t ended. I haven’t gained 50 pounds (I literally worried that would happen when I retired my scale) and my self-worth has not gone down. What you way is in no way the best measure of your health or the entirety of who you are. If you weigh yourself all the time, try taking a break and see how you feel. Go about your day and see if not knowing what you weigh affects you in a negative way. I bet it won’t. Your family will still love you, your co-workers won’t ignore you, and life will not stop because you don’t know your weight.

These are three of the bigger mistakes when it came to my health, but once I started working through them it got better. I realized that good health isn’t static and changes from day to day. There are times when I’m less than perfect and that is ok. I’ll learn and move on.

If you’re just starting out with your health journey, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You will learn more about yourself and be able to adjust your habits to find the best health possible!

Run The Mile You’re In

July 20, 2015July 20, 2015 / ktbuchs87

1 mile down, 6 to go.

Only 45 minutes left. 40…35…30…

The minute I cross the street and go from walking to running, I am counting down. I love running, I really do, but there is a struggle between my mind and my body. Some days my mind is fully prepared to run, it urges my tired and leaden legs forward. Other days my legs are ready to go 100 miles, but my mind wants nothing to do with the pavement beneath my feet.

There are good running days and there are bad running days. The bad running days are brutal and each step, each labored breath, each drop of sweat pleads for me to stop. On those days I am only looking forward to the second that my run is over and I can move onto better things, easier tasks, and just take a shower and wash the bad run juju off my body.

But then I think of a quote from Scott Jurek’s book, Eat And Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness.

Run the mile you are in.

It’s so simple yet so powerful. Run the mile you are in. Be there. Be totally present for THAT mile, right now. Notice the air on your face, the sites around you. Take inventory of your body and see where you are in that moment. Don’t think about the tough hill in that next mile, stop longing for the finish line, and run the mile you are in.

Take this mantra and apply it to all areas of your life. Having a hard time eating better and incorporating more healthy food? Run the mile you are in. Don’t think of all the things you have to give up, focus on what you can do today to make a better choice. In the middle of a tough project at work? Run the mile you are in. Stop thinking about what will happen if you don’t meet the deadline, accomplish one task at a time until you reach the end. Finding your life in a rough patch? Run the mile you are in. While the suffering might hurt, learn as much as you can from this experience so you can grow as a person and help others with similar problems.

My tough run is making me a stronger person. I need to be there for every single mile of that tough run to get the full effect of it’s lessons. I need to be present for all moments of my life instead of wishing and waiting for better things. Often the better things are passing us by in those moments we are wishing were over sooner.

I’m running my 7th mile and it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t run the other 6.

My Misconceptions About Losing Weight And Being Healthier

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015 / ktbuchs87

When I first decided to get healthier and lose weight, I had a lot of misconceptions about what would happen. I learned through trial and error about what it really means to change your lifestyle. While some lessons took longer to learn than others, all the things I went through helped me get where I am today. I want to share those misconceptions with you so you can learn from my mistakes and maybe not feel so alone on your own journey.

Misconception #1- Losing weight will instantly make me happier

For so long my weight had made me unhappy. I felt uncomfortable in clothes, shy around people, and self-conscious about my appearance. I thought that if I could just lose the weight, I would finally be happy. I was wrong. Yes, losing weight made me feel better and I could wear clothes that I hadn’t been able to before, but my life didn’t instantly become better. That was because I never worked on the mental part of losing weight. I still saw a bigger girl in the mirror and I still felt like I didn’t look the way I should. Just losing weight won’t make your life better or you happier. You have to work through the reasons behind your weight gain and the mental side of losing weight.

Misconception #2- Exercising a lot and eating a little is the only way to lose weight.

You will lose weight if you eat less food and move more, that’s science even if it’s more complex than that. But I went about this the wrong way at the beginning. I was in the mindset that I had to be working out all the time, multiple times a day. I had to eat the bare minimum or else all that hard work would go to waste. This is a horrible way to be healthier because not only is it not a sustainable way of life, you could be hurting your health more than helping it. Exercise isn’t meant to a punishment to your body. It is meant to make it stronger, better, and more capable. It isn’t torture and you shouldn’t hate it. If you do, then maybe you need to find a different form of working out. Food isn’t the enemy. We need it to nourish our bodies and fuel our day. It should taste good and give us pleasure while making us feel amazing. Eating isn’t a necessary evil, it’s a chance to make your health even better. It took me a LONG time to realize these things but once I did, things really turned around.

Misconception #3- My body has to look the same every day to be considered healthy

This was, and sometimes still is, a hard one to get past. My understanding was that those athletes and models that I saw in magazines and online always looked that good. They just walked around with their rippling muscles, taut stomachs, shapely legs, and hair perfectly styled. It seems silly to think about that now, but back then I thought that was true. Your body changes daily. It won’t look the same every single time you look in the mirror. That’s ok and normal. It doesn’t mean you aren’t healthy or that you’re a slob, it means that you’re human. Some days I still struggle with this, but I remind myself that my body is capable of so many things whether I have a six pack or not.

Misconception #4- My cravings for “bad” food will magically disappear

No. Just because you’re eating better doesn’t mean that you won’t crave a big piece of chocolate cake or a huge slice of pizza every now and then. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Cake and pizza taste good and cravings are a part of life. What has changed for me is that before I just blindly give into my craving I stop and ask myself why. Why do I want that piece of cake? Most often there is something else going on that is making me want that cake. I’ve also learned to satisfy cravings with healthier things.

Losing weight is so much more than just losing weight. Being healthier can come in many different forms and each person has their own unique experience. Even though I had all these misconceptions and issues to work through, my decision to be better was one of the best things I’ve done for myself. I have learned about who I am and what I can accomplish and I have gained a passion for sharing that with others.

So know that if you are just starting this journey, it might be hard and certain things you do might not work, but you’re worth it and you will learn how to make your health better!

What’s Fun and What’s Not Fun

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 / ktbuchs87

This weekend can pretty much be broken down into what was fun and what was not fun. Luckily the fun stuff outweighed the not fun stuff and I enjoyed one of my very few free weekends this summer.

What was not fun:

Taking two cats on a 30-minute bus ride to the vet. It was time for Olaf to get his one-year wellness check-up and update his vaccinations and since Dot hadn’t been to the vet since before we moved to Chicago we decided to take her too. Bad choices all around. Since we don’t have our car we had to ride the bus to the vet. Neither cat was pleased with the loud bus and Olaf yowled as loud as possible for the first 15 or so minutes. Cue me freaking out that we’re bothering all the passengers and would get thrown off the bus. When we finally did get to the vet it was time for Dot to freak out. She would not sit on the table, would NOT let the vet tech take her temperature, hid under the chair in the room, and growled/hissed/scratched at everyone that came near her. The vet did manage to give her the vaccinations and Adam has a nice big scratch to prove show for it. Olaf was just fine and barely even noticed that he was getting an exam. As an extra special bonus, the bus ride back home was packed to the brim with Cubs fans because of course we chose a game day to go to the vet. One bright spot of this whole ordeal was that the bus driver on the way back was super nice to us and made sure that our cats were comfortable and safe. Overall, I never want to do that again and I’m pretty sure Dot is still angry at us for subjecting her to all of that.

Olaf has forgiven all and wants to be held. Now

Poor girl is pooped from her trauma

Trying to get good food pictures with minimal space and light. We have two windows in our apartment and because of the way our apartment is situated, we get very little natural light. This makes taking pictures for my blog slightly difficult. At first I thought it was impossible but I’ve gotten creative and learned how to make what I do have work for me. It does lead to some interesting positions though. Good thing I do yoga!

What was fun:

Going to the farmers market. We finally got to go to our favorite farmers market. Because we have been busy pretty much every weekend since the Green City Market opened up, we haven’t gotten a chance to go. This weekend though we finally made it and it was of course awesome. All the fresh fruit and vegetables make me happy and I could wander around the market all morning if I could. Adam was happy to get his first Donut Vault donut of the season and even more excited that they had his favorite, lemon poppyseed. It’s the only way I can get him to come with me!

He’s trying not to stuff the whole thing in his mouth

Purple asparagus. I’ve seen green asparagus and I’ve seen white asparagus, but I had never seen purple asparagus. While we were at the market we saw these and of course I had to get them because they were purple. Best. Decision. Ever. They were so delicious and simple to prepare. All I did was drizzle them with a little olive oil, sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, squeeze a little lemon juice over it all and roast at 400 for 15 minutes. They were a little sweeter than green asparagus and I could have eaten like 5 more bunches. Too bad I discovered them at the end of asapargus season.

I’ll try any purple fruit/vegetable

Fruit crisp. The farmers market pretty much just led to all sorts of good things this weekend. This fruit crisp is proof that you should go to the market more often! I made Adam a strawberry rhubarb crisp with fruit we got from the market. He deemed it delicious and probably would have eaten the whole thing in one sitting. Which is quite the compliment.

Overall, it was a great weekend and I really loved having the free time to do some fun things and spend time with Adam. Here’s to another great week!

What did you do this weekend?

6 Months Later…

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Can you believe that it has already been 6 months since the beginning of the year? We are already done with half of 2015! That’s crazy!

Raise your hand if you are still working on any of the goals you made in January. Don’t worry if you didn’t raise your hand, I’ve had a few struggles of my own with my 2015 goals. The beginning of the year is always so new and fresh. You just got to spend time with your family over the holidays, maybe you’ve rested a little, and you feel like you can take on anything. This year is going to be your year.

Then life comes along and laughs at your goals and pretty much says, “Nope!”

We can’t always avoid all the problems that come our way. We can’t plan everything out and know for sure that it’s going to happen that way. Things come up, events happen, and many times we find ourselves far away from where we wanted to be when we started the year.

When I looked back at the goals I had made for the year, it seemed like I was barely doing anything that I had set out to do. Then I stepped back and really looked at where life had taken me the first part of this year and I realized I’ve done more than I thought.

I’ve been doing better with balancing the things on my plate and not letting one little crinkle in the routine throw me for a loop. I’ve even started to come to terms with not having such a set routine and letting the day lead me where it needs to go. It’s been a little bit of a struggle to adjust to things, but I haven’t completely lost it and I have to say I like having a little wiggle room. It’s nice to not know every single detail sometimes.

I’ve also expanded my blog, maybe not in the way I thought I would but it’s slowly growing. I’ve been consistent with my posts and improving the quality of my pictures. I’ve tried to have a bigger presence on Instagram and grow my following there and I finally started a Facebook page and found another way to reach out to my readers. I might not have thousands of readers like other blogs, but I do have loyal followers and that is all I could ask for.

As for my other goals, I’ve made different progress in those areas. I thought I would accomplish those in a different way than I am now, but that isn’t a bad thing! I’m actually learning a lot about myself and I like what I’m finding out.

I can say one thing with absolute certainty though and that is I have pursued everything with passion. That was my word for the year, the word that I chose to help focus all of my goals. It I start something or think about starting something and I find that I have no passion to put behind it, then I know that isn’t what I should be doing. I don’t want to half-ass anything anymore. I don’t want or need to waste my time. I want passion to be a part of everything I do because then I can really enjoy the outcome.

How about you guys? Have your goals been met, changed, or forgotten? Are you still using your word for the year to help guide you? What could you work on?

June is a great time to re-focus and get a fresh burst of motivation. You aren’t a failure if you haven’t made any progress yet! Time to get back up and start working towards what you want.