kathryn bankhead 100 day heart challenge

AH! It's spring! At least about every other day it is. Now I can ride my bike to and from the gym in exchange for the time on the stationery bike and it is wonderful to hear the birds sing as I leave the house early and watch it get lighter. Last Saturday we walked the 5K route and got an idea about what it will be like to participate in May 30's event. The river, sunshine, new blooms, and blue sky made it seem like we were more energetic than we were. I was slow at sustaining any jogging, but will improve.....

We were all shocked to hear about the 20 worst foods to eat at restaurants in our nutrition class last week. WHO KNEW? I had no idea a piece of pizza had so many calories; I already knew not to order the awesome blossom onion ring appetizers; I often order lettuce wraps and feel so good about myself. Now I know that they are also high in calories but that we'll learn how to make them for 300 calories per serving from our chef Mike next week.

The real shocker for me was that my very favorite dessert--the Paradise Pie at Chili's--had as many calories and grams of fat as 3 hamburgers!! I haven't had more than a big bite of a nice juicy hamburger for years, but had quite frequently shared the appropriately named Paradise Pie, with me getting the bigger half by far. And I'm well acquainted with all 27 desserts at Magleby's grill. YUMMY!

How is it that I used to think desserts 'weren't that bad'? I remember responding to a friend who was worried about all the calories when she was baking cookies, "what's unhealthy about them? All they have in them is butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate chips".

I never even thought about fat, sugar, and flour etc. when I grew up. It was another era. Desserts were part of my everyday life at home. Even when I did know better, I ignored the facts and blissfully enjoyed them as up until lately.

But I know better now and have re-programmed my little brain. Now a "treat" is a Kashi fruit and grain bar with chocolate and nuts on top--or a Slim Fast snack bar with 120 calories. Why, I've even started using plain yogurt and flavored it myself with lemon or orange extract when I use it as a topping on a fruit salad and save my Yoplait light fat free yogurts for occasional treat. When I get hungry for chocolate, I shake up a vanilla protein drink with skim milk, a spoonful of cocoa, and a can of diet Sprite. Pure ecstacy....

And to what do I owe this change of mind and healthier heart? That I can tell you in one phrase I heard many years ago:
"Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels!"

I never got that close to being thin that I could believe that, but I'm a believer now. I already am able to wear some of the clothes I used to wear when I weighed 10 pounds less than I do now. Although I have a long way to go to reach my healthier heart and weight goals, I now have the skills, habits, knowledge, and desire to continue this eating and exercise plan the rest of my life; I'm committed to putting them into practice throughout the rest of 2009 and right up to February 13 of 2010, using some of the 'Holiday Hints' we got last week to get us from Nov through Dec I want to see where that leads me. Then I will have given it a true test of a one year period and found what I want to keep, change, add or improve.

Let's keep blogging to make sure we stay on the right path we're now traveling and help each other "carry on".