still trying to get in that healthy mode... inshallah

when I am trying to diet, I make sure I eat plenty of calories and eat very healthy. I start with around 2200-2300 calories a day. I start like this because everyone seems to plateau at some point and I know a lot of people who start dieting with 1500-1600 calories a day. I want to be able to give myself room to drop 50-100 calories a day if I plateau (and I am giving myself room to plateau and reduce calories several times inshallah) and still feel like I am eating enough calories for myself. I have yo-yo'd up and down so many times in weight and work out on and off (workout like crazy for a time and then completely quit). my metabolism must be completely going haywire. I am able to go on these healthy kicks and exercising when there is some kind of pressure--some kind of event coming up. but once that is over I go back to being unhealthy again. and I kicked myself every single time the weight came back.

every single time I tell myself I will keep continuing the eating healthy and exercising, but once the event I lost weight for was over, I couldn't get back on track again.

and the thing is, although I was eating very healthy, I thought everything was delicious. I switched to all whole grains...whole grain bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, etc... I also was almost eating like a vegetarian, lots of veggies and fruits, tofu and beans for protein-- though I did sometimes still eat chicken breasts and salmon and other fish. when my husband and I would go out to eat, I almost always ordered salmon if it was on the menu, and asked to have it accompanied with steamed veggies with no oil or butter. and it was always still delicious.

yet, when I am not in the health mode, I never choose the healthy stuff.

it is the weekend now in Dubai (in UAE the weekends are Friday and Saturdays) so this past week I at a mix of good and bad but here is to start the weekend with eating good inshallah. I need to get back into the health kick and then let myself have meals now and then where I eat what I want. but really, when I am in the health mode, I don't even crave the bad stuff all that often.

for exercise, I will start slowly walking on the treadmill and see if I can also do some of the aerobic DVDs like Turbo Jam and Tae Bo that I have inshallah. I broke my big toe on the left foot in January and it is still a bit sore if I put pressure in it, so I have to take it slow. Incidentally, I broke the toe the night before the treadmill was delivered to me!!! I was so ready to start working out again and bam!! a broken leg on an old elliptical trainer I own fell right down hard on that toe... so we are now in April and the treadmill is still brand spankin' new LOL...but inshallah I will break it in so to speak tomorrow. I bought some very comfy padded sandles from Geox to wear for walking because I still cannot wear closed toe shoes because of the pressure they put on the toe. inshallah I will be able to fully workout with high intensity soon.