Thursday, December 31, 2009

New Year's Eve

So, we have no big plans tonight. There are big festivities going on out at our church center, but our kiddos are too little to stay up that light. The fun doesn't start until 8pm, after our kids are already in bed.

Josh and I plan to order in Chinese, watch a movie and go to bed. I do have my weigh in tomorrow, and I've been saving my calories for the sweet and sour chicken I so dearly love. ;-) But I will practice moderation so I can maintain the loss I saw on the scale this morning.

Hope everyone has a great evening and a wonderful new year!!

Green Smoothies, just for Dawne =)

Ok, I know green smoothies sound HORRIBLE, but they aren't. Really, they aren't. If you use fresh baby spinach it doesn't have a taste at all, really. Add in some fruit (not tons and tons otherwise the caloric content goes WAY up) and it's an easy way to get in some greens.

Just make sure you put in enough water and blend it well. You can make it thinner, and therefore easier to drink, by adding more water and less bulky fruit--like bananas.

Give it a whirl; if you don't like it you can always dump it down the sink. ;-)

Today I've eaten:

3 turkey sausage links
1 slice of whole wheat bread
1 lite laughing cow wedge
9 slices think smoked turkey
Green smoothie (4c spinach, water, 1c blueberries and 1 banana)

I'm working on my smoothie... I have to drink it fast otherwise my boys gobble it up. See, Dawne, if a 3 and 2 year old will drink it, it can't be half bad! :-D

Workout finished

I managed to get my workout in, despite my grumpy kiddos. ;-) I did a 2 minute warm up, 21 minutes HIIT and then a 2 minute cool down. I think this is what I will plan to do from now on. It's doable, it's HIIT, and it only takes 25 minutes.

I've been exercising every morning in a fasted state, meaning I don't eat or drink anything except water before I do it and for an hour afterward. Usually I drink my green smoothie an hour after my workout, and then throughout the day.

Today's smoothie is spinach, 1 c blueberries and a banana. =)

It's working =)

I stepped on the scale today and am very pleased to report I'm down 2.5 pounds. =) I am going to make Friday my "official" weigh-in day, but was curious this morning so I stepped on a day early.

Off to get on that blasted treadmill. ;-)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Another inspiring post and a CHALLENGE!

I totally enjoyed reading THIS, and hope you do too!

I'm also going to do a challenge... found here.

My goal is to lose 20 pounds in 10 weeks. A hefty goal (for me, given my track record with losing weight), but it can be done! I'm also going to really focus on eating healthier, only when hungry and only until full. And making sure I exercise at least 4x a week, even if it's only 20 minutes on the treadmill.

So there you have it! In writing, no less. =)

Successful Day =)

So it is almost 7pm and I'm sitting at 1105 calories. I'll probably have a snack of wheat thins and cheese (ha ha, seriously!!) and then call it quits for the day.

I plan to put my kiddos to bed, run a hot bath and soak with a book. Ahhhhh, bliss. =)

ETA: I ended the day at 1280 calories, and piddled around with my blog page instead of taking a bath. I should have been in bed long ago. Oops. ;-)

Snacking vs. 3 square meals

Dawne suggested that perhaps part of my problem is that I snack on things, instead of eating a full meal. This could be true.

However, when I was at 130 and maintaining without counting calories or sweating in the gym, I snacked. All day long. Grazing, if you will. =) And what did I eat? Wheat thins and cheese. So maybe, subconsciously, I eat these things because it's what I ate when I was thin. Who knows?

In any case, I think Dawne has a good point. It's really hard for me to make meals for myself (usually) because I'm so busy with my kiddos and the housework. It takes too much time, energy, concentration. No, I'm not kidding. I really feel that way. At least, right now I do.

I don't have any mixed greens, and I need to just go get some, because a salad isn't hard to throw together and I've already got the chicken baked and ready to go. I guess part of my problem is coming up with healthy ideas for breakfast and lunch. I'm going to buy some Kashi cereal, but I highly doubt 1/2 a cup is going to tide me over very long.... and then I snack. Hmmmm, what to do, what to do????

In any case, it's something to be aware of and work on.

693

I've consumed 693 calories so far today. I have a question for y'all... Do you count back in the calories you burn?

I don't think I should because that seems totally counter-productive. But on thedailyplate.com, they allow you to eat the calories you burn off in exercise, and if I remember correctly, WW lets you do it too. This doesn't make sense to me, but I'm wondering what everyone else does.

I'm not hungry, but I definitely feel like I want a snack. So I'm going to go finish off my green smoothie from this morning. It's actually really tasty; I used fresh strawberries in it and they are super ripe and yummy.

My hubs is working late tonight, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about dinner but it will be easier since I won't have to prepare a full on meal for myself if I don't feel like it.

Losing weight is hard work

Yesterday ended up fine; I stayed within my calories. I did, however, skip dinner so I could eat the chips and guacamole I wanted. I had eaten a lot of protein earlier in the day, so I was ok with that.

Every morning it's an Armageddon battle to get on my treadmill. My body hurts. My joints hurt. My big toe hurts; I think I sprained it. I get mad. I don't deal well with pain. But, what am I going to do? Short of SmartLipo, there's only one way to get rid of this fat. Exercise and eat healthy.

I'm going to keep at it, but today I'm really struggling. It just seems so impossible. I have 40ish pounds to lose and in a month I haven't lost a single one. Granted, Christmas was thrown in there and totally screwed me up, but still.

If anyone sees my fairy Godmother, let her know my wish is to wake up weighing 130, okay? ;-)

I did 30 minutes this morning on the treadmill and mixed up my green smoothie with spinach, strawberries, peaches and half a banana. I haven't had any yet, because I don't feel like drinking it. Yesterday I drank all 50 ounces, so that is good.

I'm going to focus on not snacking and eating chicken instead. I don't have any salad, but I do have some chicken soup in the freezer that I'll pull out for lunch. I also baked 4 more chicken breasts yesterday, so I can eat those as well.

Off to do laundry and keep my kiddos happy.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

So far, so good =)

Today after I worked out, I uh, had to go to the bathroom. I hopped on the scale after (I know, disturbing but true) and despite all the water I drank while working out I was at 172.5. So I'm hoping that really I'm more like 172 in general.

I've eaten:
40oz green smoothie (spinach, 2c peaches and 1 banana)
2 lite string cheese
16 wheat thins
1 lite laughing cow wedge
4oz chicken (from last night)
1 WW oatmeal cookie--these cookies are really good and are 88 calories each. Must not overdo it, but was so nice to eat it fresh from the oven while watching the snow fall outside.

I've also discovered diet hot chocolate. Only 25 calories per cup, so it's a nice alternative to coffee for me. =)

Working on finishing up the last of my green smoothie and staying away from the rest of the cookies.

Day 23 New Beginnings

It's 9:03a.m. and I'm done with my workout. Yippee! Dawne hit it spot on--moderation in exercise. That's what I intend to do.

This morning I walked at 3.5 for 30 minutes and got a good sweat going. My plan is to get up each day, get my children breakfast and settled in with OPB and then get on the treadmill. I need to find a plan that I can stick to, with regard to having 3 small children and a body that needs some TLC. This morning I only planned to go for 20 minutes, but my children were playing well so I kept going. I know that won't be the case every single day, so I just plan to do what I can each day.

I'm off to the shower and then going to make some green smoothie.

I weighed myself this morning... 173. =( I feel like I got broadsided by Christmas. But today is a new day. This is something I'm learning, and therefore there will be some setbacks. But I'm not going to stop.

I'm marinating some chicken breasts as well and then plan to cook them up so they will be ready whenever I need them. I marinated some in garlic infused olive oil last night and then baked them and they were really, really good.

Here's to a successful day, a day of moderation, and a day of learning new habits. =)

Monday, December 28, 2009

Partial Success

Well, today has been a partial success. I've counted my calories, but I've eaten a lot of them. We got McDonald's while we were out running errands. Chicken nuggets have a TON of calories. So not worth it, but I didn't know. And I counted the calories, so- so be it.

I NEED to start working out again. I know it will help my motivation, help me eat healthier, help in many ways. But my body is soooooo sore. My knees and back are shot from painting and my whole body aches. I need to remember what I posted a few days ago, about the skinny turtle. I don't need to run marathons. I just need to move.

Josh goes back to work tomorrow, so I can get back into my routine. I've thrown out all the leftover goodies from Christmas, so that temptation is gone. I got a nice blender for Christmas and I bought spinach today, so I'm going to try to get in a good amount of green smoothie every day. If nothing else, it will hopefully get things moving in my digestive tract.

I'm going to go drink a bottle of water and put my kiddos to bed.

Days 21 and 22 HELP

I am so all over the place these days! Yesterday started out well. Okay, it wasn't great cuz the first thing I put in my mouth was a Reese's PB Cup that was sitting out. BUT I counted the calories for it (100!) and then had an egg, 1 biscuit and 1 turkey sausage.

I got home and ate half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And then things went haywire.

My husband and I have spent the last 2 days painting and painting and painting. When we moved into our house I had a Tuscan themed paint scheme in mind... butter yellow and brick red. What I got was Ronald McDonald ketchup and mustard. But my husband and his brothers/friends had stayed up all night painting, so I felt like I was stuck with it.

Well, for Christmas Josh gave me new paint as part of my gift. We went and picked out the butter yellow I had originally wanted and have been painting ever since. It's taken a while because we're working around the kiddos.

ANYWAY, when I'm painting and dealing with the kids I started to snack... crackers and cheese and then carrot cake. And once I start snacking and don't know the caloric content, it seems I tumble quickly down the overeating mountain.

Today is a new day, and I'm going to be conscious of what I eat. We are done painting. I'm going to drink more water and eat healthy and in moderation.

Sherah- if you google "recipe calorie counter" there are tons of websites where you put in all the ingredients of a meal and how many it serves and it tells you how many calories are in one serving. TheDailyPlate.com also is a great resource as far as finding out how many calories are in things. My problem is that if I'm not by the computer, I'm out of luck because I have no idea how many calories are in different foods.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Day 20 All over the place

Arrrggghhh, I hate that I'm so new to calorie counting. I have NO IDEA how many calories are in things.

I have eaten fairly well today, but haven't run to the computer to input it each time so I don't know if I'm on track or not. I had almonds and a string cheese for breakfast, a nonfat coffee from Java Crew and then some crackers and smoked gouda. Oh, and a whopper jr with no mayo or cheese.

I need to eat what I know, so that I can keep track of calories, because I didn't work out today. I'm going to try to get to the gym tomorrow and leave the kids with their dad.

In any case, I'm still excited to lose the weight and will do what it takes to get there. =)

Friday, December 25, 2009

Day 19 Merry Christmas!

I weighed this morning, but after I had eaten and I was at 171. I'm not discouraged and I'm not giving up. I know this is going to be a battle, the battle of the bulge, but I will win!

Today went okay. I did snack and eat too many chocolate mints, probably, but I didn't overeat at dinner. Just too many small things throughout the day.

As I was getting ready for bed, I realized that once again I have completely forgotten to take my digestive enzymes. This has to stop. I'm not exactly sure how to remind myself... ideas are welcome. =) But, when I am at home and able to monitor/plan what I eat it is so much easier. The digestive enzymes actually help, because I am supposed to take them every single time I eat anything. Snack, meals, etc...

I need to plan my meals out better as far as making sure I have healthy options that I like available. Like the smoked almonds in my purse. I also ran out of bananas, which are a pretty good staple for me. The only problem with those, and sorry if this is TMI, is that they constipate me and I reeeeallly don't need any help in that area.

Anyway, I'm glad Christmas is behind me and I look forward to the future. I AM GOING TO DO THIS. I don't have a specific date, which makes it much easier for me. Especially with my "broken" body. My back and knee are really inhibiting me doing what I want with the HIIT training. However, if these issues mean I can only walk on the treadmill, by golly that's what I'll do. I'm not going to give up because I can't do it perfectly, or because I can't do my super fat burning HIIT routine.

I'll be the turtle, and at some point in my future I will be a skinny turtle. ;-D

All in all, I'm still upbeat even though I have gained back the weight and haven't eaten just right. Because, I'm learning as I go. Babies don't learn to walk in one day and then never fall again. Same with me. I'm learning to lead and live a life of moderation.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Day 18 Finding Balance

I'm having some issues with finding balance regarding the goodies at Christmas. As Dawne mentioned, it would just be easier to restrict myself and not allow anything. It seems once I start sampling, I can't stop. This only applies if there are lots of options out and available. I am still learning moderation here.

My knees are seriously killing me. I need to get a brace, but money is really tight. My gym membership will expire soon (in January, I think?) and I don't plan to renew it. That $400 will be put to much better use for updating things on our house that need updating. So, I'm so incredibly thankful I have the treadmill (which was given to me for free) but I need to figure out how to use it without killing my knees and back.

I'm not sure if I'll get a workout in today, but I do plan to be vigilant at dinner this evening. My mom is bringing over no less than 7 different kinds of cookies. Not including pies. And the rest of the usual dinner spread. Must. Not. Go. Overboard.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

My elbows are sweating

Phew, I did my workout. I just walked for 35 minutes, increasing the incline to 5.0 and then 10.0. Sweat was rolling off of me, off my elbows. =) That's a good thing.

I've eaten a light string cheese and had 30oz of water so far.

Loving the new beginning today. :-D

Oops, I did it again

Argh. So, last night after I posted I threw up because I once again forgot to take my enzyme. My brain really does not work super well these days, and unless the bottle is sitting right in front of me (it was in my purse because I took it to my in-laws the other night) I forget. Anyway, I lost the junk I had eaten, but then 20 minutes later I was STARVING.

So I ate another rice krispy square. Yeah, those are going in the garbage. Then I had 3 Lite Laughing Cow wedges and some wheat thins and triscuits. I didn't count them out. Oh, and 2 wedges of chocolate orange.

Yesterday is getting a big, thick, black scratch out line! :) I weighed myself this morning and I was up 2 pounds to 170.5, but I surely knew that was coming.

Anyway, I realized how unprepared I was yesterday, with my lack of food and saw how that spiraled into really bad eating choices AND not working out. Not a good lifestyle or way to drop the pounds.

So today, as soon as I'm done writing this I'm going to get myself something to eat. Probably a string cheese and orange, then get my kiddos breakfast and then my booty will be working it on the treadmill.

In my mind, I am subconsciously feeling like I won't be successful at losing this extra weight. I've been here so long, with no change, and it just seems like this is where I'll be forever. I don't want to weigh 170. I don't want to wear size 14. But, it just seems impossible to get ALL THIS FAT off.

Yesterday as I was finishing up my Christmas shopping I walked past a display of cute panties and tank tops. The first thought to enter my mind was "I will never fit into something that small" when, in reality, if I was the size I should be, a healthy size, they would fit.

So I'm working with those thoughts as well. Psyching myself up, convincing myself, persuading myself, telling myself that this IS possible, I WILL lose this weight, I CAN do it.

In the end, yesterday was a bump in the road, but not the end of the road.

I will keep at this. I will strive to exercise 5 times a week, but at least 3 minimum. I will work on choosing healthy options and NOT overdoing it. Oh, that reminds me... It seems like my stomach has shrunk because I get the full feeling much quicker these days. That is another battle, because my mind cries out, "No! Not yet! I'm not done enjoying this." And I'm tempted to continue eating because it feels like I just started. But, if my body is saying FULL then I need to stop, period.

I have lots of things to work on and be aware of, and I intend to be more conscious of my decisions and their consequences.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Note to self: Don't allow yourself to get ravenous

Today I was out and about all day, and only had 1/2 a slice of bread with butter, one slice of bread with a bit of mayo and 4 slices of lunch meat and 2 cups of coffee. By the time I got home at 4:30, I was STARVING. I scarfed down 2 more pieces of toast with butter. (Homemade whole wheat bread... super yummy).

Then we took our kiddos to the dollar store to buy gifts for each other, and bought hamburgers for them at McDonald's. I had 10 fries, although I wanted to eat them all up. Then I ate leftover lemon chicken at home... about a cup. Then I had 2.5 peanut butter rice krispy squares.

I don't know how many calories that all totals up to, but it can't be good AND it's not healthy.

From now on I'm going to keep a small baggie of smoked almonds in my purse, for an emergency snack.

I've also noticed that if I don't do my work out in the morning, or make myself stay home and do it at nap time, it doesn't get done. Today I didn't work out, because I made plans, left the house at 11:00a.m. and didn't come back until 4:30. So, I'm going to work on being diligent to just get up and do it, whether I do my HIIT training or just walking on the treadmill.

I'm still working on drinking lots of water, and hoping to see a loss on Friday. Even if it's just a pound, I'll be very happy.

Day 16

Last night went fairly well. I did fine at dinner; it was later in the night when the meat/cheese/cracker/chocolate came out that I overdid it a bit. I did eat past full, which was not so bueno. The other thing was I had a glass of wine; I didn't even finish it, but I drank it on an empty stomach and got a bit tipsy. I don't even KNOW how many calories are in wine, but I don't have a drink that often so I'm not going to beat myself up.

I just plan to be aware of what I'm eating today, make sure I get enough water in as well as my workout, and keep on going.

I've had half a slice of whole wheat bread and am working on a cup of coffee.

Happy Tuesday. =)

Monday, December 21, 2009

Mid Day Update

So far today I've eaten:

1/4 cup smoked almonds (170 calories and 6g protein)
2 cups of coffee with creamer
1 cup of sweet and sour chicken (6 pieces)
A bite of chocolate chip creamcheese bar my sister brought, and a bite of some delicious cookie my mom brought.

My sis and mom came over for lunch. It was super nice, but now I have some delicious cream cheese chocolate chip bars my BIL made. I also made peanut butter rice krispy treats with my kids, and those are MAJORLY addicting to me. Especially when frozen.

So, I have to watch it and keep myself in line. I haven't eaten past full or not when hungry, so that's good. I've also drunk 72 ounces of water, which is a really huge victory for me. Drinking water is not easy.

We're going to my in-laws for dinner, I have no idea what is being served but I plan to just eat in moderation.

****

I just have to say, I know I differ from many people who are "dieting". People who are "dieting" don't drink full fat, full sugar Peppermint Mocha creamer (3T per cup!) or eat cookies. But I'm not most people.

In order for me to succeed, I can't restrict myself so severely. My goal right now is not to eat more calories than I'm allotted, and it seems to be working so far (coupled with exercise 5x a week).

I don't feel bad or like I failed because I ate a bit of cookie. This is just my way, what I need to do to be successful, and I am really most interested in learning to live in moderation.

It's actually quite shocking how little food I need to eat. My portion sizes in the past have been double, even triple, what I need to be satisfied. Stepping back and listening to my body has been an eye opener, for sure. A good one, though. =)

I'll post tomorrow how the night went (although, I already know it will go well because *I* am in charge). :-D

Day 15, Slow and Steady

Sorry about the downer post yesterday... I've touched on it a bit, but my PPD flares up and everything gets blown out of proportion. That's what happened yesterday, coupled with lack of sleep.

Today is much, much better. I got up and did my workout. I decided not to do HIIT today. My knees have been really acting up. Yesterday they literally creaked with every step I took, and I couldn't bend/kneel. My plan today was to go for 45 minutes at a good, steady pace; my kids FINALLY got a good night's sleep in and were being very cooperative. I was walking away the pounds, working up a really good sweat. At 33 minutes my youngest son who is 2 (and can be a real "peach", if ya know what i mean) decided he was mad at me for something and threw himself on the treadmill. He flew between my legs, off the end and straight into the wall. With his big ol' noggin. And he does have a huge head. Charlie Brown, if you will.

So I pulled the cord to stop the machine, took him off and comforted him, and tried not to be mad that he interrupted my work out groove. Selfish much? :( Anyway, he's totally fine, but I bet he'll give my treadmill a wide berth from now on! LOL

I haven't eaten anything yet, but I have drunk 48oz of water and had a cup of coffee. I'll eat when I feel hungry, probably an orange and string cheese.

Thanks for the comments and feedback! I'm particularly looking forward to Sunshine Mama's workout routine/exercise recommendations! =)

Christmas isn't getting me down; I love it! My husband and I are going to put together the toys and wrap them tomorrow night; I can't wait! =)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Day 14

I had 3 small crepes for breakfast, with fat free organic yogurt and raspberry jam.

For lunch I ate a banana, 16 wheat thins and 1 wedge of lite laughing cow cheese.

I feel really tired, run down and peeved at the world. I'm going to just lay low and be still the rest of the day.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

End of Day 13, soooooo tired

The lunch went well; I ended up getting a bowl of chicken soup, ate half and also half a roll. I also drank all of my water, which is a victory for me. It's so hard for me to drink water!

After that I had a few bites of a sugar cookie and one of my coconut chocolate chip cookies. I had a string cheese and a handful of almonds.

It's 6:00 now and I am utterly exhausted. We finished up almost all of our Christmas shopping, came home and decorated cookies and now I'm ready to fall into bed. The kids were up in the night for unknown reasons, for hours. So, it's early to bed for this girl.

HIIT workout done for today... Day 13

So I got up and did my HIIT routine at home. We have sort of a busy morning, so I decided just to do it at home as opposed to driving to the gym.

I have to figure something out; I haven't quite figured out why sometimes my workout is hard, but doable and other days, like today, I am DYING and can only manage 15 minutes. It seems that if I eat before I work out, I get nauseated and if I don't then I get weak. Have to figure out some sort of balance.

So, today I did 15 full minutes of HIIT, not including warm up/cool down.

This morning we're going to brunch with some friends, to a local place. They don't have a menu or nutrition info on their website, and since I'm so new to counting calories we'll have to see how it goes.

I am still sweating from my workout, even after a cold-- yes, cold-- shower. It's a tiny bit annoying to get out of the shower and still feel sweaty and gross, but at least it's burning some fat. At least, that's what I'm envisioning. =)

Friday, December 18, 2009

End of Day Report

So, today has gone swimmingly well. =) I didn't get to exercise, but I plan to go first thing in the morning and I'm totally addicted to HIIT. It seems to really work; I was just telling Jen that for hours afterward my body temperature is elevated. Like, I sweat because I'm so hot. This is pretty unheard of for me. So, I'll continue doing my 30 second intense, 1 minute moderate for 20 minutes minimum, working up to a more intense "intense" if that makes sense.

For dinner I ate 1 piece of Little Caesar's pepperoni pizza; according to the website and TheDailyPlate.com, that's 280 calories. I knew Josh and I were going to watch a movie (Last Chance Harvey I wasn't impressed) and I knew I wanted to have a snack with him, so I deliberately only ate one piece of pizza.

So, during the movie I ate an orange and 5 Ritz crackers with 1 wedge of Lite Laughing Cow. I had dished myself up another portion (5 crackers and another wedge) but after the orange and the first portion, I felt full so I set the plate away from me and didn't eat the rest.

I feel very good, I am so super duper happy to have lost 3 pounds, I'm looking forward to continuing this weight loss journey and succeeding in making my goal weight. I'm so very, very thankful for good friends along the way who encourage me, motivate me, and rejoice in my victories. =)

Today I ate 1, 090 calories (497 less than my allotment according to the Daily Plate) and 57 grams of protein.

Looking forward to the future!

I never was good at math....

HA HA HA, I crack myself up! I was just doing the dishes, thinking with glee about my weight loss and it came to me... I started at 171.5. Today I weighed 168.5. That's THREE pounds!!! THREE whole pounds!

I am so much more excited. :-D

Today I've eaten:

1.5 bananas
1 string cheese (Frigo Light)
4 oz of tuna (2 servings)
2 T reduced fat mayo
16 wheat thins

512 calories, 38g protein

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Day 12 Full Bladder = Back Pain

I figured out something last night. The fuller my bladder is the worse my back aches. Weird, no? I discovered this as I hobbled from my bed to the bathroom approximately 12 times last night. I made good on my promise to drink LOTS of water. And worked out 20 minutes doing HIIT at the gym. But, it was worth it because this morning the scale said....







168.5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so extremely happy! TWO pounds!!! TWO!!!!! It's exhilarating. =) I vow to NEVER return to the 170's as much as in my control. I can't help bloating, water retention and what not, but I can be in charge of what food I choose to eat and choosing to exercise over sitting around like a lame duck.

Thanks for the suggestions on other protein foods. I had no idea Kashi had protein in it; I'm definitely going to check that out.

I'm off to fix breakfast; then we're headed to story time at the library and the kid's club so my kids can run off steam and I can chat with Jen. =) I'll be back later with what I've eaten.

Is anyone else having issues with Blogger? I had sort of what happened to Sherah happen to me. Several times in a row when I clicked on a Blogger page it immediately shut down and I got a message saying Firefox had crashed???? Weird.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

Today I ate:

1.5 fried eggs (and barely got them down. I seriously dislike eggs)
2 lite string cheese
1 banana
16 reduced fat wheat thins
2 light laughing cow wedges
170 calories worth of creamer (I tried the FF stuff and it was too sweet, so I went back to regular. And I actually drank 2 mugs today, so I have to count all the calories.)
1 Hershey Kiss. Yep, I was able to eat just one. =)
1.5 cups of dinner, which was "chicken enchilada casserole"... chicken, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and cheese.

All that adds up to just over 1,000 calories! NOW I see how people can blow through calories. I feel like I haven't eaten that much all day, I'm still hungry, and yet I've already eaten ONE THOUSAND calories!

Now, according to TheDailyPlate.com, I can have 1587 calories a day. So, I'll probably have another 2 bananas after my workout. Speaking of which, I plan to finish up my Christmas shopping tonight and hit the gym on the way home. I'm going to just burn 500 calories. I think. Unless I want to just get home, in which case I'll do HIIT for as long as I can.

I'm also going to try to drink a TON of water tonight, since I'm weighing again in the morning.

My goal weight is anywhere between 125-130. Pre husband and kids my body maintained at 130ish without me having to do a thing diet or exercise wise. I'd like to get back down to that. I'm 5'3" with a small frame/bone structure. So 170 is ENTIRELY too heavy for me. I can feel it; it weighs me down.

I'm so looking forward to getting rid of this weight. I will do it.

Day 11, New Perspective

Thank you guys so much for the encouraging words; some days that's all I've got!

I usually weigh maybe twice a week. Always on Fridays and usually one other day. I weighed this morning and lo and behold I was down half a pound. At first, I wanted to just be disgusted--all that work! For 8 oz???? BUT then, I thought, I needed to have an attitude readjustment. So.

I AM DOWN HALF A POUND! ONLY HALF A POUND TIL I LEAVE 170 BEHIND FOREVER.
:)

I got a good night's sleep last night, my TOM (time of the month) is in full swing and I can get my hormonal supplements and digestive enzymes from my mom today.

My goal today is to eat LOTS of protein. Even though I don't particularly care for eggs, they are cheap and easy, so I'll be eating them.

I am taking the kids to the grocery store this morning to do my shopping, then taking the dog to the groomer. Depending on the timing of things, I may try to go to the gym to burn 500 calories this morning as well. If it doesn't work out, I'll do my HIIT on the treadmill during naps.

I am trying to learn to be flexible and work with what I've got. ;-)

Off to make some breakfast for the kiddos and myself.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

I can't wait for Day 10 to be over!

Man, today has been SO. STRESSFUL.

My kids are acting like total renegade hooligans on crack. Seriously, I don't know what has gotten into them! Screaming, pinching, biting, pushing, hitting... I feel like I'm living with a couple of future WWF experts. Geez Louise.

I ate 3/4 cup turkey pot pie (leftovers from last night), some white chocolate (it's German and I didn't know how to calculate the calories; I was estimating each square to be 60 calories and then noticed today that each square is only 40, so that was a pleasant surprise), an orange and 16 reduced fat wheat thins with 1 oz smoked gouda. Oh, and a diet coke. HOW ON EARTH DO THEY MAKE THINGS WITH ZERO CALORIES? That has got to be so chemically unnatural!

I have been pulling my hair out with my kids, I am way sleep deprived and it's not looking good that I'll be able to get the rest of my workout in. Plus, I am so DONE so my lovely, wonderful husband is picking up Chinese food on his way home. I need to make sure to eat moderately, but I'm sure I'll still be a bit over calorie for today. It's ok. Tomorrow is a new day.

I don't know how much to go into it on this blog, but in a way, it really does have a lot to do with losing weight/the mental war it takes, etc... but my postpartum depression seems to be flaring up big time. When this happens, it's like everything besides just making it alive to the end of the day falls by the wayside. I can't think, I can't do special crafts with my kids, I can't focus on the food I'm eating, I get so easily overwhelmed. It's sort of like torture. I know I need to learn to work through it. I even took a Xanax to help me just chill out.

But still, it's a major... I don't want to say hurdle, but it definitely takes some consideration into how it plays into my weight loss plan. So, there's something there for me to work through.

I'm happy that I am not tempted to give up. Yes, today was a totally crappy day. Yes, I fell off the wagon and got road burn in the process. Yes, I wasn't able to do my full workout (not even just mentally-- I physically could not do it.) But, if I want to lead a life of moderation, all these different things have to come into balance also. I have to learn to just say, "Ok. Today I'm not going to get a full work out in. So be it."

I'm looking forward to tomorrow (I will be getting the hormonal supplements and digestive enzymes from my mom ASAP), looking forward to a brighter day, a healthier day, a more successful day.

Ok, and the other thing? I'm REALLY depressed that the scale isn't moving. I read all these other blogs and people lose 1, 2 even 3 pounds in a matter of days. DAYS. Me? I've been at it a week and half with no change. None. This has happened before. I sometimes wonder if I'm psychologically damning myself. If my brain is controlling my body and it will not let me release the weight? I don't know, but I do know I *need* to see some change.

I am not giving up, let me just make that clear. Even if the scale refuses to move, and it seems like it is, I'm not going to give up. This is a lesson in discipline, as much as it is a crusade to lose weight and get fit and fab. From Flab to Fab- that's my motto, that's my goal.

Thanks for all of your support; it really, truly helps!

Really inspirational blog post

I just read this post today, and it was super inspirational and motivating for me.
ENJOY!

http://amazonrunner.blogspot.com/

Just another manic... er, Wednesday?

Wow. So, last night I went to bed with a growling, hungry stomach. But I didn't want to eat anymore, I was 200 or so calories under my limit and I wanted to make up for the day before.

My son has a cold and was coughing. And coughing. And coughing. We'd done everything we could think of: cold and cough medicine, cough drops, breathing in hot steam, Vick's on the chest... Nothing was helping. He was waking up every hour, and thus waking me up with him. Finally, in the middle of the night I thought, "This has GOT to stop!" So I went out in the garage to rummage around for our nebulizer.

Well, what else is in the garage? The "gingerbread" houses we made. Without even thinking I swiped 2 large gumdrops and popped them in my mouth. As I dug through boxes in the freezing cold garage, I was getting pretty frustrated. I headed back into the house to see if my husband knew where it was. On the way in I grabbed two mint things and ate them.

I woke up Josh, asked him where the nebulizer was and we went out into the garage to search for it. We located it, brought it inside, I set it up and while I waited for Josh to bring Christian out to me, I ate 2 bites of pumpkin pie.

ARGH. I just kicked myself over and over and over afterwards. WHY did I do that? Because I was tired, grumpy, frustrated and just wanted something sweet to tide me over. DUMB DUMB DUMB.

This morning I woke up and had half a slice of bread with butter. Then I ate 2 cookies. And a slice of pie. And then I thought, "GET A GRIP!" So I got on the treadmill to do my HIIT training.

12 minutes into it I was seeing stars, drunkenly swaying (I wasn't drunk, just for the record) and was going to seriously injure myself. So I got off, and promptly had to run to the bathroom. At least my body won't have a chance to digest those cookies and pie, but still. What is up with my body throwing up after exercise? Or, at all? I can't wait for my mom to get back with more of the digestive enzymes I need.

Anyway, I'm back on track, I'm counting the calories for the candy, cookies and pie (nothing like rocketing off the wagon and then crashing and burning!) and I will attempt to finish my workout later this afternoon.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Nothing to do with fitness, everything to do with technology

I found this blog and she is giving away a new computer, and by golly ours is on it's very, very last legs, so I'm entering!

Here is the link:
http://mckgiveaways.blogspot.com/2009/12/hp-touchsmart-giveaway.html

=)

End of the Day

I had one cookie this afternoon and another cup of tea. However, this morning's cup of tea only got about 2 sips out of it, so it doesn't really count. ;-) For dinner I turned the turkey soup into turkey pot pie by adding 1 can of cream of chicken soup, dumping everything into a pie shell and sprinkling some cheese on top. I ate 3/4 cup of that and 1/2 cup mashed potatoes.

Total calories consumed: 1463, with 200 (+/-) burned.

I then took a long, hot soak in the tub. My back is totally acting up again. I'm going to take some Ibuprofen and hit the hay.

I really enjoy doing the HIIT on the treadmill and it takes away the pressure of trying to get to the gym. I'll go, on days that it works for my kids, and probably just do the standard "burn 500 calories" and then continue to do HIIT at home.

I do, however, need some ideas for stomach, back and arm exercises. I have 3lb hand weights currently, but want to get some 5 and 10 pounders also. Any suggestions?

My stomach looks a bit smaller to me, although it's most likely just due to the fact that I'm not bloated anymore. I'll keep on keeping on and see what the scale says on Friday.

HIIT training DONE :)

So, lunch... I ate a little bit of soup, but for some reason couldn't stomach the turkey in it. So I ate the barley, carrots and celery with some broth and a piece of warm, fresh bread with butter. This bread is seriously so good. My sister came over today and remarked that it was like Great Harvest bread--moist and hearty and just yummy.

I put all the kids down for naps, and lo and behold BOTH boys slept! I was super stressed from the morning, my back was aching and I just wanted to sit on the couch with a cup of tea and my book. But I thought, "If I don't do my workout now, it won't get done." So I pulled out my treadmill and did the HIIT training on it. It wasn't as hard as I thought, switching the speed all the time. I just had to give myself a few seconds for the speed to readjust either up or down and it wasn't as complicated/jerky/interrupted as I thought it was going to be.

I did 25 full minutes, plus 6 minutes warm up/cool down. I forgot to look and see how many calories I burned; the last I looked at the display it was at 200, so I'll just call it that. I tell ya, that 2.0 incline will be the death of me. In the beginning of my workout I was holding onto the handles for dear life, lest my treadmill spit me right off the end and into the wall. But by the end I was letting go and *gasp* JOGGING at 5.1mph. I'm proud of myself. It's not Lance Armstrong standards, but for me, it's very good.

I hope my body continues to burn some fat today. If nothing else, I burned off the calories from the 2 cookies I ate. ;-)

So far today, I've eaten 897 calories and burned 200.

Just Updating My Food Intake

I've had an orange and a light string cheese. I've got turkey soup on the stove and a fresh loaf of bread due to be finished in about 1/2 an hour. =)

Lunch will be a bowl of soup and a slice of bread.

Day 9 and an update from yesterday

So, I never made it running yesterday. Sometimes I feel like a really feeble octogenarian. I'm only 31, but my body has pretty much broken down from having my kiddos. With my last pregnancy my back got so bad I couldn't get out of bed by myself, couldn't roll over, couldn't get up from sitting on the floor, etc... My back is still wonky and last night it flared up. I was walking crooked, bent over and in so much pain. So, no running or jumping for me.

Josh and I watched Julie and Julia last night; I loved it! But then, I love to cook, love Meryl Streep. It was a great movie, BUT it totally made me eat. Right when we were starting the movie I thought, "Man, I want another cookie." And the thing is, I *felt* hungry. But I *knew* I couldn't be, because we'd had dinner not that long ago. So, I drank 28oz of water.

We started the movie, and I still felt hungry. So I went and got the smallest cookie-- one of the last of the batch, so it's about 1/3 the size of the others. That still didn't do it so I ate 16 reduced fat wheat thins and 1oz of smoked gouda. It wasn't til the end of the movie when I was watching some of the commentaries and someone mentioned the movie would make you hungry and want to eat that the light bulb went on. ;-) Super smart one, here.

So, in the end I did no exercise and ate 230 extra calories. Not a good plan. ;-)

This morning, by the grace of God, I got up to use the restroom. Not 10 seconds after I got out of bed, my 3 year old son threw up-- and it would have been ALL OVER ME if I hadn't gotten out of bed! SICK!! I thought he just coughed too hard and then ended up throwing up. But he just came to me (I'm in my bedroom on the computer and he was in the living room watching OPB) covered in puke and said, "Mooooom, you have to wash me!" SO I guess his stomach isn't feeling well.

Which means, no gym for me. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sad because I don't feel that great myself. But it would've been nice to be able to burn 500 calories, to make up for yesterday and today. I guess I'll just go on my treadmill, and if it works out try to do my HIIT on the exercise trampoline.

Dawne uses a video-- "Walk Away the Pounds" and I am going to check into it. I need some sort of something I can do at home, for when I can't get to the gym.

So far today I've had 1/2 a slice of homemade whole wheat bread with butter. I am going to keep a strict eye on myself, calorie wise. Good thing is, I don't feel super hot so those cookies aren't tempting me. And I've become quite proficient at whipping up chicken noodle/pearl barley soup in a jiffy. :-D So I'll prob make some for myself for lunch. I really load it up with chicken, too. I do have some turkey cutlets in the freezer, so maybe I'll use those.

I'm going to take Dawne's suggestion and try to eat more protein and see if that helps the scale move.

Here's to a new day!

Monday, December 14, 2009

No Exercise... yet

So, I haven't worked in an exercise regime today yet. I've been busy with the kids, decorating our Gingerbread "Huts" (the roofs fell in, so they became huts) ;), doing my housework--lots of laundry and dishes, vacuuming, etc...--baking some DELICIOUS cookies (coconut chocolate chip), having my sister over for lunch, etc...

I do plan to do something, but I don't know if I'll make it to the gym or not. In any case, SOMETHING will happen for 20 minutes, whether it be jogging in place, or taking a run outside after Josh gets home...

So far today I've eaten:

1 slice homemade whole wheat bread with butter (the bread is SOOOOOO good)
2 Lite Laughing Cow wedges and 16 Wheat Thins
2 cookies (I can NOT eat more... I'm estimating them at 150 calories each; and that's probably underestimating.)
1 cup of black tea with half and half and 1 T sugar

I'm making meatloaf, mashed potatoes and salad for dinner and will work on eating just til full and no more. Also not planning to eat anything after dinner.

Hopefully the scale will start moving down... this is my greatest Christmas wish! :-D But if not, I will not quit, because it can't hurt to create healthy habits, even if my body won't cooperate currently and release the weight. We'll see how things go.

Have a great evening!

Protein

The Daily Plate dot com is really cool, because it allows you to see how your calories break down into carbs, fat and protein. I am severely lacking in protein.

Anyone have any good, easy, fast protein ideas? I don't particularly care for string cheese, but I can eat one a day or so. Same with hard boiled eggs (or eggs any way, for that matter).

All suggestions are welcome!

Day Eight- Monday

I weighed myself this morning before hopping in the shower, and it was the same as Friday. 171.5 A bit disappointing, and it's going to be very depressing if Friday rolls around and there is still no change. I don't understand how the scale can NOT be going down. I'm eating less, moving more... just like Dawne says! ;-)

The Church Christmas Party was totally fine-- I ate prob 6 oz of roast beef, 1.5 cups of green beans, 1/2 cup mashed potatoes and 2 bites of chocolate pie. I was pretty busy with my kids, since Josh had his work Christmas Party the same night and wasn't there, so that helped curb my "picking" at food.

We iced the houses for our gingerbread houses last night and put them in the garage to set. The kids and I are going to decorate them today. Josh bought lots of different sorts of candies, but none of them appeal to me. :-D So I should be just fine with that little project.

I have a call into Dr. Ray, my doctor in Arizona. Hopefully he'll call me back and I can discuss some of the things I've been experiencing with him. My hormones seem to have reverted to their disastrous ways.

I'm not giving up, and luckily I still don't feel super great, so no temptation to overeat really. I've had 1 slice of homemade wheat bread with 2 tsp butter and a sip or two of coffee so far.

Last night I made some really yummy chicken soup, and then Josh and I shared a slice of warm, fresh bread with butter as soon as it was done baking. Probably not the best thing it eat at 7:30 at night, but I was still under my calorie allotment for the day.

All 3 of my kiddos have colds now and are just generally feeling icky, so I'm not going to the gym. I'll do some sort of HIIT training at some point. It's a lot easier to work in, since it's only 20 minutes. I think I'm going to run/jog on the exercise trampoline. It seems too cumbersome to constantly be trying to change the speed on the treadmill. ???

I saw a magazine full of soup recipes at the store, but put it back when I saw the $10 price tag. Guess I'll go rummage online for some new recipes. =)

Continuing on....

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Day Seven

I still am not feeling really well. Just achy, sore, tired and blah.

Today I've eaten 1/2 cup organic FF yogurt, 16 Wheat Thins, 2 Lite Laughing Cow Wedges, an orange and 1/4 of a quesadilla.

I'm drinking some Airborne right now, hoping it will help me fight off whatever is trying to get me. ;-)

I have taken off yesterday and today from exercise, but plan to start again tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll make it to the gym or just do something at home, but I'll make something happen.

Our family is going to make graham cracker gingerbread houses tonight, so I'll have to watch myself closely to make sure I don't eat all the candy. I LOVE CANDY. All kinds, just love it. So, I'll need to watch what I'm doing. ;-)

Hope everyone had a pleasant weekend!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Day Six

Ugh, I feel not so well today. I think I either overdid it yesterday, or am maybe coming down with something. Perhaps a little of both?

My husband had to go into work today, so I'm alone with my 3 kiddos. Our church Christmas Party is tonight, and I really hope to make it. They are serving dinner, and I don't really have a way to calculate the calories. I plan to just eat a moderate portion, and make sure to eat salad first.

So far today I've eaten 2 crepes, 1 tsp organic yogurt, 1 tsp jam, a cup of coffee, 16 reduced fat Wheat Thins and 2 Lite Laughing Cow wedges.

I'm not feeling all that great, so I don't plan to eat very much. The thought of salad turns my stomach, so I'll probably have soup for lunch.

Have a wonderful Saturday! It looks like that freezing rain my husband was so worried about is making an appearance; hopefully it doesn't get too slippery!

UPDATE:
I ended up eating an orange for lunch. I didn't have any soup; well, I did but it was similar in taste to cat food so I threw it down the drain immediately. (It was canned, not homemade) I've eaten 498 calories so far today. Looks like I'll be ok to eat dinner and dessert. ;-) But I'll just eat until I'm full and no more. Leaving room for cake. :-D

Friday, December 11, 2009

Well, that was fun

NOT! I've never experienced minutes fly by so fast and seconds crawl by so slowly. I did the HIIT training... 30 seconds hard core, 1 minute moderate recovery for 20 minutes. The whole time I was trying not to barf.

As soon as I was done, I raced out to my car, drove to a deserted area and puked on the side of the road. This was not nice for two reasons. 1) It's never pleasant to throw up, especially in public and 2) because of my prolapsed bladder (from having my kids so close together) I involuntarily pee when I throw up. Yeah, not fun.

On the bright side, there was no freezing rain to be found. My husband was very concerned and even offered to drive me there, wait with the kids in the car and drive home again. It was dry as a bone on the roads. :-P

I'm done for, I'm achy, my throat burns, my head throbs. I'm taking a hot bath and crawling into bed.

But hey, I did it, right? 5 days of working out under my belt, yippee! Total calories eaten today 1, 268 and I burned a little over 250.

Off to the gym

Josh is home, so I'm dragging my booty out into the freezing rain, headed to the gym to burn some serious calories and some pent up frustration. =)

I'll come back and post how I did and also what I end up eating for dinner. Since my salad I've had half a slice of homemade wheat bread with butter and a Jack and Jill from Java Crew. That brings my calories so far today to 1,058 (thanks to a 400 calorie coffee) ;-)

I'm going to eat a banana or two before my workout and then be done eating for the day.

Exercising Tonight and a Change

So, I'm planning to go to the gym tonight after my husband gets home to give HIIT a try on the elliptical.

Also, I decided that instead of waiting until Monday and using that weight as my start, I'll use today's.

So, this morning I was at 171.5. I'm really looking forward to getting out of the 170's and leaving them far, far behind.

For lunch I had my regular... mixed greens with turkey, craisins, feta and ff italian.

Day Five- Crepes!

I made crepes for breakfast this morning. A couple months ago we checked a book out at the library called Suzette's Crepes. In the back there was a recipe for crepes. My sister in law was reading it to my daughter and she wrote the recipe down for us, and now we have crepes once a week or so. =)

Anyway, today I substituted Vanilla Almond milk for half the milk in the recipe. I doubled the recipe, because my kids DEVOUR crepes. Anyway, it ended up making 20 crepes, and here is the nutritional breakdown per crepe(limited version):

83 calories
2.5 g fat
3 g protein

Today I had 2 crepes with 2 tsp Stoneyfield French Vanilla Organic Yogurt, 2 tsp Mixed Berry Jam and 1/2 a cup of coffee.

I did get on the scale this morning and was saddened to see it looks like I've gained 1.5 pounds. I'm not absolutely certain what I started out at, since I didn't weigh on Monday. So, my plan is to weigh again on Monday and make that my starting weight and go from there. It's very disheartening, because 99% of the population would have seen a loss by now. I know it's only been 5 days, but I have drastically reduced my calories AND added a workout every day.

BUT. The title of my blog is Flab to Fab, ONE DAY AT A TIME. As much as I'd love to wake up at my goal weight, I know that isn't going to happen. And I'm not going to quit just because my body isn't cooperating and giving me the losses that other people experience. I will just keep plugging along.

I am going to keep at it until I go to see Dr. Ray again in January. I will talk to him then if I'm still having problems dropping weight; I know he has some sort of weight loss supplement that he sells and maybe he can specifically look for digestion issues when he looks at my blood and hormones.

I plan to do some HIIT training in my living room today, and just let my 3 year old skip his nap for one more day.

Back with more later. =)

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Work Out Complete

So, I did my workout. I only managed 26 minutes before my boys woke up yelling. Well, one woke up, the other never went to sleep. I did increase the speed, to 3.8 so that's pretty good.

So far I've eaten 733 calories:

2 fried eggs with half a slice homemade whole wheat bread, 2 tsp butter
banana
1/2 orange
2 bites of a really dry scone (see below for more details)
Salad with 4 oz chicken, 2 T craisins, 1.5 oz feta, 2 T ff italian dressing
1/4 cup of coffee with ff creamer

So we went to my brother's "concert". The kids were cute and actually sounded ok. They were singing in the mall, right across from Starbuck's. My SIL took Kate for the day, so it was just the boys and I. I decided to get them each a hot chocolate and a scone to split. Well, they wouldn't have anything to do with the hot chocolate, claiming it was too hot even though it was lukewarm. They also didn't like the cranberry orange scone.

I tried a cup of the Christmas roast. My point here is, I don't like Starbucks. LOL

Their coffee is bitter, the scone was really dry and crumbly, which was a good thing cuz it made it easy to toss it in the trash.

I'm facing a dilemma now. I've been working out during naptime for my kiddos, but my middle son has stopped sleeping. And that's not a good thing. He doesn't need a nap every day, but right now he is desperately overtired and NEEDS to sleep. He's been waking up at 5:30 when my littlest starts yelling he is DONE SLEEPING!

So, I think I need to lay down with my middle son, because he usually falls asleep that way. However, that means I need to find a different time to work out. So, that's something I'm going to mull over and see what works.

Anyway, so far so good today. I'm having somewhat of a problem eating all the calories I'm supposed to eat every day. I think this probably isn't a good thing, because I don't want my body to think I'm starving (why it would think that is beyond me. I have enough extra padding to ensure I could live many, many days if there were a famine). Anyway, I need to look into some healthier things that I can snack on, to eat the calories I need to, but in a healthy way.

I'm really hoping the scale is down on Monday. Please, God, please let it be down!

Time to work out...

I am sitting here at the computer and DO.NOT.WANT. to move. Bleh. But, I'm changing into my yoga pants and sports bra and hitting the treadmill while my boys are in their beds.

Ruthi, my SIL, took Kate, so I have no excuses.

Here I go.....

Day Four

I have a concert for my little brother to attend this morning, so I'm hoping that after naps this afternoon I can make it to the gym. I don't have my niece, and it's nice to be able to burn 500 calories as opposed to the 150-200 I burn on my treadmill.

Sherah has used the HIIT method of training. High Intensity Interval Training. Here is a website with more info:
http://www.intervaltraining.net/hiit.html

I'm going to try to do this, whether it be on my treadmill here at home or the elliptical at the gym.

I desperately need new running shoes. My Nikes are just not cutting it anymore. SHERAH--I remember you got new shoes recently. How do you like them?

I'm off to make breakfast for myself and my kiddos. I'm making eggs and turkey sausage, trying to get a lot of protein in to tide my kids through the concert (and me, too!)

I am very proud of myself for working out the last 3 consecutive days. It's so not easy for me, I really don't enjoy it (yet) and it's hard to find the time and energy to fit it into my life. But that's exactly what needs to happen-it has to become part of my lifestyle. So I'm working on that.

I'll be back later with more to report. ;-)

Day Three, Update Two

I had a fabulous time at Marie Callender's with my sisters in law. We are quite the funny bunch. =)

None of us were exactly hungry or wanted dessert so.... I got a black tea and all 4 of us split ONE piece of pie. HA HA, I don't think our waitress was too pleased with us, especially as we were the last people to leave the restaurant. But, we had a great time and none of us overate. :-D

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Holy Calories, Batman!!!

Good gravy! I just went to Marie Callendar's website to get an idea of how many calories are in a slice of pie... Get a load of this:

Chocolate Satin Pie, 1 slice: 410 calories, 29 grams of fat
Chocolate Cream Pie, 1 slice: 535 calories, 29 grams of fat
Apple Pie, 1 slice: 863 calories, 49 grams of fat!!!!!!!!!


The Dutch Apple Pie is 320 calories and 16 grams of fat, and is what I'll get if I choose to eat pie.

Holy moly, that was an eye opener!

I've eaten 1/2 a cup of organic FF Vanilla bean yogurt (Stoneyfield--it's DELISH!!)
and 1 cup of leftover chicken/barley/celery/carrots soup.

My calorie total right now is at 782, and I have 805 left for the day. (Insane) So I feel like it's okay to eat the pie if I want it. ;-)

Day Three, Update One

So far today things are going really well. :)

I've eaten 599 calories and worked out 30 minutes on the treadmill. And boy, oh boy, did I sweat! I love Dawne's analogy of burning fat as burning off "sin". As the sweat dripped off me, and my muscles burned and groaned, I felt so good. All those toxins being released! All that fat starting to burn, baby, burn!

It was an extra hard work out today. I'm not sure why. I did pump my arms with my weights, and take long, quick strides. Although I was only going 3.5mph, I pushed myself and kept my heart pumping and the sweat rolling.

Today, so far, I've had:

1 blueberry pancake with 1 tsp peanut butter
1 cup coffee with creamer
1/2 apple
1/2 banana
2.5 cups mixed greens
4 oz chicken
2 oz feta
4 T craisins
4 T FF Italian Dressing
1 Old Fashioned donut hole... anyone care to hazard a guess on how many calories that one itty bitty donut hole cost me??? SIXTY-EIGHT!!!!! :-O

Jen clued me into this great idea to "fry" chicken in the FF Italian dressing. It worked wonderfully and was really yummy. I just drained off the excess juice/dressing.

Tonight we are going to Marie Callendar's with my sister-in-law who is visiting from Canada. I plan to save some calories for a piece of pie, BUT if I don't feel like eating pie when it actually comes down to it, I'm not going to eat it "just for fun".

Hopefully I'll have another update later tonight. =)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Day Two

Real quick, as I'm headed to bed...

Today was "ok". Not great, but not horrible. I did manage to get in 30 minutes on my treadmill, 20 of those minutes with my hand weights/arm exercises.

But I also made Red Velvet Cookies for a friend of ours that we were having over for dinner to celebrate his birthday. They were delicious, and over the course of the day I had 4 of them. They aren't big--only 1 teaspoon of dough each-- but still, NOT necessary.

The other things I ate were:

Banana
One blueberry pancake with 1 teaspoon peanut butter and 1 teaspoon syrup
1.5 c homemade chicken soup with celery, carrots, pearl barley and FF broth
One cup of coffee with creamer

For dinner I made Swiss Cheese Chicken, corn and salad. For dessert we had one scoop vanilla ice cream and one of the aforementioned cookies. This is TMI, but since our company was here I forgot to take my digestive enzyme and ended up throwing it all up. =( But I'm counting it anyway. ;-)

Not sure how many calories that is, or even how many I burned on the treadmill. But the important thing is that I made myself do my work out (despite my 3 crabby kids, and 1 crabby niece) and was conscious of what I ate. EDITED TO ADD: I finally got onto TheDailyPlate.com and estimate I ate about 1200 calories today, even with the ice cream and cookies. Even if it was a full 1500, that's still less than the recommended amount I eat to lose 2 pounds a week. I love that site; it's super easy to use and has EVERYTHING you can imagine in their database, as far as food goes. They had red velvet cookies, even!

I lack self-control/self-will when it comes to not eating when I'm not hungry, but I am working on it. I'm also working on portion control. Those two things are biggies for me.

I hope to update this daily, but we'll see how things go. I didn't weigh myself before I started, but assume I was around 170. I'll weigh in again on Monday and see what the scale says.

This is hard work, but I am just going to keep plugging away, taking each day and working on what I eat and making sure I get some sort of a work out in.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Day One

Because I have sooooo much time on my hands (HA HA)  I started another blog. :-D

This one will be dedicated to my weight loss journey.

I need to lose between 40 and 50 pounds.  This is jaw dropping for me.  I always hear obese people say they didn't see it happening, just woke up and weighed the same as a small horse.  Yep, it happened to me.


I've been married 6 years and within the first 3 years had 5 pregnancies.  Two miscarriages, three healthy kids and 50 pounds later, here I am.  


This is the first time I've ever really had to diet and exercise in my life.  Before I met/married Josh, I maintained at 130-135 by eating whatever I wanted and not exercising.  I was a grazer.  I'd sit at my office desk with a box of Wheat Thins and a small tub of garden vegetable cream cheese and eat it in small increments all day long.  I snacked.  And I didn't gain weight.


Now, however, it's a different story.  I gained 20 pounds right off the bat during my engagement, due in part to Josh's insistence that I needed to eat "3 square meals a day". HA.  Thanks, babe. ;-)


With Kate I was so sick I only gained 12 pounds, with Christian I gained 15 and then with Owen I gained 20.  And now, here I sit at 170 on my 5'4" frame and it ain't budging.  It's gruesome and horrible, and it's gotta change.


SO.  My battle plan is to go to the gym on the days I don't have Savannah (my niece, whom I babysit), shooting for 3-4 days a week (more if possible) and burn 500 calories on the elliptical.  If I can't make it to the gym, then I'll do as much as I can on the treadmill here at home, a minimum of 20 minutes.  I also plan to log onto SparkPeople (I like TheDailyPlate.com better, but the site wasn't working and I couldn't register... I'll go back and try again tomorrow) and begin counting calories.  I have NO idea how many calories are in anything, as I've never dieted before. Well, I did do Weight Watchers for a short time, lost 10 pounds, plateaued forever (ok, it was prob 2 weeks, but still) and quit.  And gained the 10 pounds back.


So, now I'm in it for my health and for my self-confidence.  I am NOT going to allow it to affect my family, I am NOT going to allow it to rule my life, I am NOT going to allow it to affect my happiness.  BUT I am going to work on it, diligently and faithfully.  I don't have a time frame; I don't know how long it will take me, but I'm not going to give up.


A few months back I had a week where I worked out 5 days, burning 500 calories each day and eating no more than 1500 calories a day.  And I lost 1.4 pounds.  I was so discouraged--BECAUSE I have so much to lose, it seems like I should've lost at least 3 pounds-- that I quit.  


So now I have to be like the tortoise.  Slow and steady, taking the good losses with the not-so-great- losses and just continue continuing on.  That's the only way I'm going to get back down to a healthy weight.


I have a couple of wool sweaters from before I was engaged that are SO cute, and that is my goal-- to fit comfortably into them.  They zip up, have a hood and are just totally my style.  So, hopefully by next fall/winter I'll be able to fit into them. =)


Today I woke up and immediately drank 28oz.  I felt really dehydrated and have been doing very poorly with my water intake.  Then I headed to the gym, burned 500 calories (way easier than normal, since Jen was there to talk to me!):) and ate the following:


A banana
A cup of coffee, with non dairy creamer

A salad, with meat on top

A banana and apple
A few M&M's and Fritos
Chicken, Salad and a small baked potato for dinner

According to Spark People that's 1,155 calories.  I probably actually ate a little more than that, but at least it's definitely below 1500.



I'm not going to eat anymore tonight. =)