This series is not going away, I have heard some wonderful feedback from people and want to keep encouraging others in their journey.
Jaye of Artquiltmaker responded quite a bit ago and I have been swamped with some big deadlines. So posting others successes has been put on the back burner, that needs to change.
“I love quiltmaking even though it is a sedentary hobby. I have tried to make it more active and that doesn’t seem to work, so I admit that I have to get exercise in other ways. Exercising and watching what I eat has made me feel less guilty about sewing,” says Jaye. You bring up a great point, we can try to make this sedentary hobby more active, but we really need to move in other ways to see results.
What do you do to keep yourself healthy?
I exercise and watch, carefully, what I eat. This includes paying attention to serving size and measuring when necessary. I use the FitBit Flex and the mobile app. I enter all of my activities and food in addition to counting steps. while, I am sure calories aren’t exactly right, it has really helped me make better choices about what I eat AND how much I eat.
This is not easy and I don’t always stay under, but I have leftover calories enough of the time to have lost weight – enough weight to have had to take in my pants 2-2.5″. I also feel a lot better. That is a wonderful result of your hard work.
I do like it that I can eat whatever I want and don’t have to stick to a prescribed menu. This way that I am losing weight takes willpower! In my line of work I have found that prescribed diets/menus rarely work for people. Having flexibility is really helpful.
Have you seen to #sweatnsew movement on Instagram? Does group support help you?
Not aware of it. I am not really interested in competitions or diets. If I am not on board, motivating myself, getting healthy doesn’t work. This is the first time I have been able to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off (so far!) Self motivation is key to long term success. What is motivating you today?
When it comes to sewing or exercise, which usually wins out?
I have times I do each and those times don’t overlap. If I HAVE to choose, it depends on when my last workout was and how I am feeling mentally.
What impact has being healthy had on your sewing, creativity, or quilting?
As I said above I don’t feel guilty about spending time sewing anymore.
What kind of challenges do you face when it comes to staying active or being healthy?
I also have a gluten intolerance, so this further limits what I can eat. Portions and the way our society eats is not conducive to healthy eating. If the portions sold were smaller by a 1/3 we would all lose weight. If I don’t plan ahead for snacks, then sometimes I am somewhere and have no snacks that fit in with my GF diet and are within my calorie limit.
Planning ahead is essential too. Having snacks on hand is great to avoid high calorie temptations. Portions in this country are ridiculous. When you are out to eat, did you know a portion for a burrito should be the size of a checkbook? Not the whole plate. You can get 3 meals out of some meals.
Do you have a favorite quote, technique, recipe, and/or exercise video to share with others?
It is more of a thought: Today I am good enough. This means that if I can only do half a workout today because I don’t feel well, that is good enough and tomorrow is a new day. I don’t feel I have to compete with anyone and am actually sorry I added friends on Fitbit.
Thanks Jaye for taking the time to be apart of this series. Keep up the hard work!