feeling strong

There's something about making positive choices in one's life that makes them feel strong. At least, it makes me feel strong.  I think that I've mentioned this before, but I'm a total grazer. I'll see a snack, and I'll have one, then I'll walk past it another time and have another...and then I'll have a little of the snack the kiddos are eating, and then...As you can see the calories mount up pretty quickly when you're working that way.

Yesterday, there were some thin mint girl scout cookies sitting in the office, and on any other day, I would have grabbed one. The funny thing, is that I don't even like thin mints that much...my girl scout cookie of choice is a samoa :) But since it was THERE just waiting to be eaten, I would have grabbed it. Yesterday, no sir. In fact every time I passed that little green box, I felt light, free, as if nothing could get to me.

I did pretty well on resisting the sugar yesterday. I had one homemade cookie a kid made, and that's it. When I came home I resisted having a popsicle or ice cream sandwich, and I made kale chips, collard greens, and pulled bbq chicken. Which, all THREE were delicious...especially the collards. Good god I made some fantastic collards. Thank god the pot was only 200 calories cause I ended up eating the whole thing. Although the sodium content was not so awesome :)

I ate well, exercised in the morning and did my yoga in the evening, made delicious food, slept soundly and for at least 7 hours, and guess what? I feel good. This is what healthy feels like. Ah, I'm so excited for the rest of the year :)

Today the book talked about being interested vs. committed.  Here are some differences between the two--

interested--
stay until something better comes along (donuts?)
depend on results to keep you going, when you plateau, it goes out the window
when you struggle, you blame others (they gave me chips!), or you make excuses (if only I had this...)

committed--
you stay on track...even when your favorite donuts are in the room
even when you plateau, you push through knowing that results will eventually come
others are not to blame for our struggles. you continue despite not having resources, supportive friends, or family.

There's a definite difference. I've seen it in the spark people I see on this website. I've seen it in myself at times. I'm committed to myself.  I'm committed to eating healthy, exercising regularly, giving my body adequate rest, and keeping my body hydrated. Today, to show I'm committed, I'm going to drink at least 80 oz of water. That by far is one of the hardest things for me to do. So I'm going to commit myself that that today.

Matt 2. It's interesting to read about how far some people will go to ensure they are "top dog." Herod killing all the baby boys back in the day? Not cool. It's important for me to remember that I'm not always going to be top dog, and that I need to be open to new leadership, new ideas, and new people. I can't be so caught up in my position and power that I'm willing to make unnecessary sacrifices. Power in the wrong hands can be oh, so terrible...and it just goes to show that it not only applies to today, but hundreds and thousands of years back.