To Wine or Not to Wine

No I am not talking about the type of whine you hear from me after an arms workout; I am talking about the wine made from grapes. I bet I have your attention now...

Wine makes me happy inside

When I started cleaning up my diet at the beginning of the year, I only wanted to eat and drink foods that I felt would be healthy and have nutritious benefits for my every day life. Alcohol didn't seem to fit into that category so I cut it out. I had a glass of wine on February 1 at a fire department function and didn't even have a sip for months after that.....until recently. 

Let me explain. Lately I have been thinking about maybe adding in a glass sometimes, I admit after a tough week it is nice to unwind with a good glass and relax your crazy week away. So I looked up the nutritional value and found that a 4 oz glass of Barefoot Moscato (I love Moscato) contains 120 calories and 11g of carbs. Hmm would it be worth it to consume my calories and carbs in the form of a drink that had really no big benefit to me drinking it except I enjoy it??

Hmm... I like the way this guy thinkshttp://www.stelladot.com/

And then last weekend happened...I had a date. I was sort of set up by a friend of a friend and for some reason I was nervous. You would think after so many dates, especially with being on match for a few months I wouldn't even be phased, but that night I was feeling my nervousness.  When we got to the restaurant I decided tonight would be a great night to slowly get back into drinking wine. I ordered my drink, very much aware that I hadn't had anything to drink in a while and I didn't want this to go to my head too quick, so I sipped extra slow and enjoyed. It tasted delicious and I admit it helped me to  relax just a little and enjoy the evening. We had fun that night and yes we have seen each other since. 

Ha ha, yup

I was pleased the next morning when the scale stayed the same, I wasn't feeling yucky at all, and I got right back into my workout routine. So here is my thinking, it's okay to have a little indulgence occasionally, as long as it's not something that will make you sick due to an allergy or sensitivity, and the rest of the time you eat and drink healthy and continue to workout. Moderation and balance is the key. 

I have no idea what the future holds with dating and the new guy, but I do know wine is now back in my life!

Struggles and Support

I don't know about everyone but I do know when it comes to me and weight loss there are times I want to take the scale and throw it across the bathroom. Times when I just don't understand how it could possibly go up and why do my pants feel snug!?! I didn't eat any oreos my nieces tried to give me. I measured and weighed all my food. I worked out every day. Sure I know my body is complicated and struggles to lose weight but this is just not fair. Well this is the point I reached the other day. I was on a solid roll for a while there. Scale and inches moving in the right direction and then it just stopped and even started going back up. Can you say frustrating! Part of me wanted to say I just give up and eat anything and everything. Then I thought about my health and how that would suffer, I thought about how horrible I would feel, and I thought about the example I would be setting for my nieces. I raised my white flag and admitted I needed backup.  It was time to call in for backup...my mom!

Yeah this is pretty much how I felt the other morning

My mom is amazing and thankfully patient and also my best friend. I can tell her anything. My mom also knows me better than anyone else and knows my struggles. She has been helping me, supporting me, and guiding me since the day I asked for help. I admit this time I wanted to try and do it alone...look what I can do. Then I realized if you have someone in your corner willing to help and support you and figure it out, you are lucky, and I have that with her.

My mom and I can have fun on the beach or even food shopping

I told my mom what was going on,  she asked me about what I was eating and came up with some ideas to possibly help. Then she even agreed to take a ride with me to Shoprite, on a Sunday! For those of you who don't know Shoprite on a Sunday, it's like any food store during a weather emergency! Madness!! But off we went for our adventure. It was like no one else existed in the store as we read labels and talked. I realized I had been slacking on protein and healthy fats while concentrating too much on fruits and other sugary high carb foods. My body hates sugar!!! I have no medical diagnosis for this, but I know. Just like anyone else reading this who knows their body. People might think you are nuts, but you just know your body. My mom showed me different types of meats and gave me ways to cook them. Without her support I would have probably been miserable today. Trying to figure out what to do and where to start to make it better. Instead after a day and a half of my changed eating I had energy. I wasn't relying on coffee, I wasn't starving all day, I wasn't grumpy, and I even had leftover energy to go swimming with my nieces. I'm hoping this is just the start to more days like these and I will keep you updated and even give some easy recipes (I don't do complicated ones yet).

Having fun and getting exercise while playing in the pool

Sometimes all it takes is someone in your corner who can see past the emotions of what you are going through.Someone to help you take a step back and figure out where you went off the path. Don't be afraid to ask for help or like me trying to prove you don't need help. I hope everyone has at least one person like that in their life and if not I am here for you. Feel free to comment on my blogs. I would love to hear your story and please don't give up no matter how challenging.