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!

A Few Thoughts On Food

June 22, 2015June 22, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Food is a complex thing.

On the surface, it’s just fuel to keep our bodies functioning. But we know that it is so much more than that. It is social, it is cultural, it is pleasurable, it is creative, it is tradition, and unfortunately it is sometimes the enemy.

I don’t know exactly when food became such a problem. If you think back to our ancestors, they didn’t really give much thought to food in regards to good or bad food. They knew that they needed to eat and that meant hunting, gathering, and cooking. There weren’t really off-limit foods. There weren’t junk food aisles at their local store, candy bars didn’t surround the cash register tempting them as they waited to pay, and while they had parties and gatherings with special dishes, they enjoyed them and then moved on with their life.

Somewhere along the line, food started to get more troublesome. We started mass producing food and creating products out of things that you wouldn’t necessarily find in a home kitchen. We moved away from making our own meals and started relying heavily on other sources like restaurants or meal services to provide. Diets started emerging each promising to fix all our myriad of health problems. All of these things combined has led to huge amounts of confusion when it comes to what food we should eat.

I have been there with the thousands of Americans who have no clue what is healthy and what isn’t. It’s hard when you have advertising for all of these products claiming to be healthy when in fact they aren’t any better than the junk food we know isn’t good for us. I’ve done my fair share of diets and cleanses and fasts and made food out to be the enemy of all my weight problems. Don’t get me wrong, food is a huge part of being healthy even more so than exercise. But it doesn’t need to be a complicated headache.

When things finally started clicking for me it was when I simplified my food. I stopped buying food in packages and that had commercials and marketing campaigns. I started using more fruits and vegetables and making all my meals. I learned how to cook and make things taste good without store bought sauces or dressings. I tried to stop stressing out over food and feed my body what it needs.

It’s an ongoing process. I still have times where I have a rocky relationship with food and I have to remind myself to simplify. Food doesn’t need to be a huge stress in your life. It will take some work to change the way you view and eat food, but it can go back to being pleasurable, social, cultural, and traditional instead of the enemy. Eat simply and if you have to wonder about a certain food then you probably don’t need it.

Simple is where it’s at.

DIY Wednesday: Croutons and Breadcrumbs

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Today’s DIY is so easy, it barely counts as a “recipe”. I didn’t even think about it until I was trying to brainstorm ideas for this series because it’s something that I don’t even think about I just do it. You will never have to buy croutons or breadcrumbs again with this handy little trick up your sleeve.

The other great thing about this DIY is that you can customize it to your needs. Whether you need gluten-free, low-carb, egg or dairy free, you can make sure that you get what fits your lifestyle. I will say that making these things with homemade bread works a little better than store bought. Sometimes store bought bread has preservatives and conditioners that prevent the bread from drying out, which is what you need for croutons and bread crumbs. Make sure to read the ingredient list and only buy things that you are comfortable with eating.

One more tip, using older bread is better than using fresh bread. You can use fresh bread you just might have to adjust times on drying out in the oven.

Croutons and Breadcrumbs

bread, a few days old (use gluten-free bread if needed)
Italian seasonings, optional
salt and pepper, optional
olive oil, optional

For Croutons: Preheat oven to 200. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. If you want seasoned croutons, place the cubes into a bowl and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and then sprinkle with seasonings. Mix until everything is covered. Spread the cubes out onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, rotating every 10 minutes. The croutons are done when the bread is entirely dried out and crunchy.

For Breadcrumbs: Preheat oven to 200 and cut bread into bite size pieces. Place the chunks into a food processor or blender and pulse until bread is broken up into small crumbs. If you want seasoned breadcrumbs, add in those into the food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Spread out the crumbs onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, shaking the pan every so often to prevent burning. Once the breadcrumbs are golden brown, they’re done.

Like I said, this is a really simple DIY and can be used anywhere you would use the store bought versions. The croutons can add a nice crunch to your salad and the breadcrumbs make a great binder for my lentil loaf or a nice crunchy topping for casseroles. Enjoy!

Where do you like to use croutons?

What If…

June 1, 2015June 1, 2015 / ktbuchs87

You might have been asked the question, “What if you knew you couldn’t fail?” What would you do? What risks would you take? I’ve asked myself this but when I think about it, I think it’s a fairly easy question.

I’d do anything.

If I couldn’t fail, why not do anything? Invest all my money in one stock? Sure, I’m not going to fail. Go skydiving? Why not? I’m guaranteed to make it to the ground. Talk to a room full of thousands? You got it. I think there is a better question we need to ask ourselves.

What if we weren’t afraid to fail?

That’s the tougher question because the chance of failure is still there. This also makes it a more realistic question. I am going to fail. You are going to fail. Maybe not today or in a horrible way but the truth is that failure is going to happen. We all work so hard to avoid failure, it’s not a fun thing to go through.

I hate failure. I try to avoid it so much that sometimes I won’t even start something if I know there is a fair chance that I will fail. The thing I am starting to learn though is that each failure is making me stronger.

I have been trying to grow this blog and share my message with a wider audience. A lot of the things that I have done to try and make that happen have failed. At first, I let it get me down. I felt like a loser and thought that maybe I just wasn’t suppose to be a blogger. I kept trying but nothing was happening. While I was wallowing I realized that each failure taught me something. It made me think in a different way to find something that would work. I was growing and getting better even though it felt like I was one giant failure.

Working on your health can feel a lot like that. You try something new and it doesn’t work out. You don’t lose the weight you wanted or you can’t change your eating habits or exercise still feels like torture. Failure happens a lot when you work on your health and a lot of the time we let failure win. We quit and go back to our old habits because we obviously don’t have what it takes.

Don’t quit.

Let that failure teach you something. Maybe that strategy didn’t work but there is one that will work. Keep trying and realize that those failures are making you stronger. Each time you fail but keep going you are making yourself better and making progress toward your goals even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Don’t ask yourself what you would do if you couldn’t fail, ask yourself what you’re going to do when failure happens. If the answer is get back up and try again, you are already winning.

Ode To My Body

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Thank you for allowing me to run as many miles as you have. They have made me realize I can endure anything both on the trail and in life.

Thank you for allowing me to try new poses in yoga. They have made me realize I am flexible, both on the mat and in my day to day routine.

Thank you for allowing me to lift heavy weights. They have made me realize I am strong, both under the bar and under pressure.

Thank you for allowing me to walk everywhere. They have made me realize I can use my own to feet to go anywhere, both in my neighborhood and with my goals.

I’m sorry for all the harsh things I have said to you over the years. You were doing the best you could in each situation and I couldn’t see that at the time.

I’m sorry for comparing you to other bodies out there. You aren’t meant to be like any other bodies and to compare made you feel unworthy of all the unique talents you have.

I’m sorry for punishing you when you did nothing wrong. It was my insecurities and skewed views that thought I should fix things that weren’t even wrong.

I’m sorry for the years of hating you and wishing you would change just to fit what I thought was perfect. I missed so much of what was good by focusing only on the bad.

I can’t say that I will always be good to you. There will probably be some times that I struggle to be kind but know that I’m working on it. I’m trying to change my stubborn ways because you deserve that.

I promise to praise you for all that you can do, encourage you to work towards what you are trying to do, and not criticize you for what you can’t do.

You’ve carried me through a lot of tough times and I promise that I will reward you for all the hard work you’ve accomplished.