Thursday, April 29, 2010

One Step Forward, Twelve Steps Back

Hoo Boy.

So Kate ended up throwing up yesterday. All over me. I was holding her on the couch and all of a sudden she just... spewed. Not a super great way to end the evening. ;-)

After having 8 kids in the morning, then putting my kids down, then Kate feeling ill, I didn't work out. Instead I read my book, ate some peanut butter M&Ms and baby carrots and just chilled.

Today I woke up not feeling well. So no gym again.

Honestly, I feel very overwhelmed with the whole working out thing. I thought I'd just dive right in, love the way it felt to move and exercise. But instead I feel sort of crushed. It was way harder than I expected. It wasn't fun. It hurt. It wasn't pleasant.

That doesn't mean I'm going to stop. I'll continue to go, once we're better. It's just not the flying leap I was imagining I'd take into the world of fitness.

Part of it is I have to overcome my negative mindset. I struggle with really believing it's possible for me to lose this weight. I don't have a will of steel. I can't force myself to eat only salad. I can't force myself to go to the gym and work out like a madwoman. I'm too lazy! Seriously, the past week I've really been thinking that it's not so bad, this weight/size I'm at. Only because it takes such an incredible amount of work, dedication, exercise, etc... to lose weight.

But deep down, I'm not satisfied. I want to see these fat rolls disappear. So I'll keep at it. Maybe not as zealously or intensely as other people, which means I won't get results as fast. But I don't care. I have to do what works for me, so I don't burn myself out and go off the deep end.

So although this week has been NOTHING like what I thought it was going to be, the bottom line is I'm not giving up. This (chubby) turtle is going to continue on toward the finish line. :0)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Realistic Expectations

I didn't go to the gym yesterday. I wasn't planning to, as I'm only trying to do 3 days a week right now. But I was going to keep track of my calories, which I did not do.

I never ate breakfast; I just got too busy with my kids and the computer. *blush* Then for lunch I had 1/4 of a quesadilla and a few chips with cheese. Yes, very UN-nutritious. I ate some Cheez Its in the afternoon and then made potato soup with cheese bread for dinner.

I decided after getting sick last night that I need to start baking up chicken again. I need to make salads and eat that instead of empty calorie cheez its and lord knows what else.

So that's my plan today. I'm going to bake chicken and hit the gym later. This morning I'm watching 5 kiddos besides my own. They are so sweet and obedient and no trouble at all. Their parents are actually at an ultrasound appointment to find out if their 6th child is a boy or girl! So fun and exciting. =)

Anyway, I plan to go to the gym later this morning, as long as Kate feels up to it. She has been a little under the weather yesterday and today. Not full on sick, but definitely not brimming with life and vitality. So we'll see how it goes; maybe I'll attempt my Jillian video. Just the thought makes me quiver in my boots!

I need to set realistic expectations for myself and then stick to them. I can't expect to lose weight when I absentmindedly snack on stuff all day long. So I'm going to change that, because I can.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Uff Da

Any fellow Norsk/European speakers out there? ;-)

So we went to the gym. It's nice. There isn't actually a bouncy house, but there is everything but. They have arcade type games, McDonald's Playland-esque tunnels and slides, crafts, Wii, movies, etc... And there are 5 staff assigned to the kids, which is nice because there are a lot of kids.

The gym is huge. There are at least 40 elliptical machines alone, same number of treadmills. It's vast. I can't say I was impressed with the front desk people; they are rude. But whatever, I don't have to deal with them every day and the ladies that work in the daycare part are really nice.

I only managed 300 calories burned yesterday. I'm way more out of shape than I thought, but at least it's a start. I also didn't count any calories yesterday. I ate:

protein shake with rice milk, walnuts and flax seed for breakfast
banana bread and tea for snack
half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some chips for lunch
a handful of Cheez Its for snack
bowl of spaghetti sauce-yep, just the sauce, no noodles- and 2 pieces of garlic bread for dinner

I haven't had anything yet today besides my cup of coffee. I need to figure out what to eat. My protein shakes aren't as good without bananas and I don't have any currently.

I plan to work out 3x a week for now, so tomorrow I'll be back in the gym. I might take a walk with the kids later; there is a really nice walking trail not far from my house. So we might go check that out. I also have errands to run... Costco and Target, so we'll see if we make it on the walk. It's been raining off and on, and the kids don't have raincoats.

Today I'm going to attempt to count my calories, just to get an idea how many I'm blowing through on an average day.

That's about it, folks!

Monday, April 26, 2010

This is it!

Good Monday Morning to you!

So, today I start working out and losing weight. =) I weighed in this morning at 167.5, which I'm not upset about. Honestly, if you could see how much junk I ate this past week, you'd be surprised. Heck, I surprised myself. ;-) Lots of twix and chips.

Anyway, I'm excited and motivated to start moving forward towards reaching my goal. Right now my goal is 130. So I have 37.5 pounds to lose. I can do this.

My plan is to go on the elliptical at least 3 times a week, each time burning 500 calories. I also am going to try to count calories. When I'm not logging my calories I very easily forget how quickly they add up. And it seems my body has at least one thing going for it... it can maintain like nobody's business.

Case in point... I have not been exercising or restricting my eating one teeny bit in the last 6 weeks and my weight has fluctuated between 165.5 and 167.5- so my hope is that once I get down to 130 (which I know is going to take blood, sweat and tears) that I won't have to be so strict with counting calories and what not.

We'll see how it goes once I actually get down to my goal weight. For now, I just want to focus on moving my body, getting in shape, feeling good about myself and setting a healthy example for my kiddos.

I've heard only amazing things about this gym we're going to. I haven't seen it yet for myself- today is the day! But the kids club daycare part of it reportedly has WII, bouncy house, structured crafts, etc... So my hope is that my children will enjoy going as much as me. If they hate it, it will make it so much harder for me to take them there just so I can work out. So hopefully all of us are as impressed with this gym as everyone else I've talked to.

I feel ready. Up to this point there have been times where working out/dieting was not a priority. And I was okay with that. But now I feel ready to do something about this extra baggage--get rid of the back fat, muffin tops, thunder thighs and belly bulge. Ha ha, that sounds like a tall order!!! But I'm just excited to be DOING something about it.

I'm telling myself that I have to stick with my Skinny Turtle motto. There will be weeks where I push myself and yet the scale goes up. There will be weeks when the scale stays the same. And then there will be the wonderful weeks when the scale goes down. =) But through it all I just have to keep plugging along. Because if I quit, nothing good will come of it.

I plan to weigh on Mondays. I've started a new weight tracking spot on the sidebar and erased the other months, since basically nothing has changed since January. :-P

Hope you all are well. I plan to try to blog fairly regularly now that I'm actively on the weight loss warpath.

Happy Monday!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Watch out, here I come!

This morning I had a very rude awakening. My husband hung up a full length mirror and I got a good gander at myself. Whoah Nelly, it wasn't pretty. I am basically one of those Russian Stacking Dolls... Short and fat, lol!!

BUT, I have a weapon. My wonderful hubby came home yesterday and handed me my gym membership!!! So now I can start working out, hallelujah, praises and glory be. ;-)

I can't wait; I feel sluggish and gross. I have to buy a new battery for my scale so I can start tracking my weight again. I weighed before we moved and I was actually down to 165.5; I have a feeling I blew right past that and went up some. I've been eating quite a bit of salt and chocolate. I don't even have a good excuse, other than I'm out of sorts and still trying to get into a new routine here.

In any case, I'm excited to start MOVING, burning some calories. I'm putting the whole "cut out wheat" thing to the side for now and I'm just going to concentrate on working my body. I don't want to fail before I even begin.

Tomorrow we have Kate's kindergarten roundup, where they get to meet the teachers, make a craft and ride the bus while the parents are given useful info. So I won't start the gym tomorrow, but hopefully Monday our routine will start. Wake up, eat, get dressed, go to the gym, come home, have lunch, nap and then the rest of the day to do whatever.

So, this blog will soon return to a weight loss blog, what it was actually intended for! Hee hee :0) I look forward to seeing those numbers go down, to feeling better--healthier and lighter-- and to having more energy. WOOT for exercise!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

House Pictures

DISCLAIMER: All of these were taken with my shoddy phone camera, so none of them are good quality. But you'll get somewhat of an idea where the Skinny Turtle will complete her journey. ;-)

The Living Room
The couches sit across from the entertainment center.



The Living Room Corner and part of the Fireplace


The Dining Room
The candle screen was used in our wedding. =) The huge picture was painted by my great aunt.



The Kitchen
The blank wall that you can barely see to the right of the hutch will be filled with a huge corkboard type thing that I plan to cover with pictures of my family and friends.



Main Bath
It has a huge tub, PERFECT for soaking in!



Our Bedroom and Bathroom





Laundry Room/Powder Room in Basement



Basement with Wet Bar
We haven't done anything with this room/area yet besides plopping our hide-a-bed couches down there. ;-)




Deck and Backyard... at least part of it. It's raining today, so I didn't venture out too far. The yard is pretty big but hard to capture because the back part is sloped. Anyway, it's all open underneath the deck, and that is where we have their swing, mini trampoline, etc... set up. On the side of the house, which isn't pictured, there is a concrete pad with a basketball hoop and that's where they draw with chalk.



And last but not least, our new family ride:

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

We made it!

Hiya Everyone!
We made it safe and sound. This whole experience has just been amazing. I don't know how many of you guys believe in God, but I sure do! Every single step along the way He has opened doors and made it abundantly clear that this is His will for us. It's been humbling and comforting.

The move went without a hitch! Well, ok, I may have forgotten all my baking sheets and pot holders at the other house, as well as my snacks in the cupboard... but Josh was able to retrieve them today. ;-)

We are totally settled into our new house. Pictures are hung and everything! We had some fantastic friends help us. The kids are settling in just fine. They have had no issues whatsoever. It's truly amazing.

Our church family here has welcomed us with open arms and I already have playdates scheduled for this week and next week. =)

I'll post pictures of the house tomorrow. We just set our internet up and I wanted to check in.

Those of you who are reading... can you leave a comment with your blogpage address? We got our new computer so I lost all my bookmarks. I'd like to be able to check in on all of you and see how you're doing. =)

Thanks for all the well wishes!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Chugging Along

Hi there Blogger Friends!
So, guess what? In the last 2 days we've rented our house, sold both our cars, bought a minivan and a new computer. So crazy, but fun too. =)

Things are going amazingly well here. The packing has not been stressful, I just do some every day and so far so good. Tomorrow we get the U-Haul and start loading it, Friday we finish the job and head out!

Our new van is really nice. It's a 2000 Honda Odyssey and the best part is that we bought if for less than we sold our Explorer for! So we now have ZERO car payments. I'm really excited about that.

I'm looking forward to settling into our new house and getting into 24 Hour fitness. I'm really motivated to make a change and start losing weight again. It's been way too long that the scale has been stuck. I'm thankful it hasn't gone up, but it's time for it to start heading down again. My plan is to use the elliptical for however long it takes to burn 500 calories--usually 45 minutes or so, when I first start out. I also plan to cut out wheat. From there I'll research more into the Blood Type Diet and eating what is good for me and avoiding the "bad" foods.

Not much else to report right now, just wanted to check in. I'll be posting picture of the house once we get it done.

NONE of this is weight loss related, lol! Oh well, this is where I'm at right now. =)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Monday, April 12, 2010

No Man's Land

Our house is sort of like No Man's Land right now. Stuff packed and strewn and mixed up. Well, it's not that bad, really, but it's not all nice and tidy like it usually (for the most part, that is) is. But the packing is going very well; WAY less stressful than I had anticipated.

Things are moving along nicely. We're getting a new computer tomorrow, WOOT WOOT!!!! So I'll be offline until after the move, most likely, since we have to take all the data off this computer and move it onto the new one. Well, WE won't be doing that, but it will be getting done.

Hope you all are doing well. I've had a few tear-filled days, but for the most part I feel pretty good and I'm getting a lot accomplished. REALLY looking forward to being moved in and starting to work my booty off at 24 Hour. (literally!)

I'll be back once the computer is up and running and I have internet access!!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Under the Weather

Today I woke up with a cold. =( My nose is stuffy, yet running (HOW does that work!?), my ears are plugged and itchy, and I just feel... pooped. Like I got hit by a mini-cooper. Not a semi or anything, but definitely run down.

I went out last night with some very good friends as a good-bye thing. I had lots of fun, but it was also really sad and made me acutely aware of just what I'm leaving behind. ALL my friends and family. WAAAHHHHHH!!!!

I keep focusing on the positive, exciting aspects of the move, but today and I'm sure more days in the coming weeks, I am just plain ol' sad. I don't WANT to leave my friends and family. I don't WANT to leave my beloved house that we were just starting to really make our own. I don't WANT to leave everything I know and love.

I know it won't be all bad, I know that I will make new friends--really good friends-- and that this will be an important chapter in our lives. It's just hard today. Because basically today and this weekend are the last "free" days I have before the Packing Mania ensues and then... we're gone.

I AM looking forward to getting into a nice routine once we move, however. We are signing up with 24 Hour Fitness, as they have a really nice Sport Center 10 minutes from where we'll be living. I plan to start our new routine as soon as we're settled in. This new routine will be to get up in the morning, eat breakfast and go work out. It will also help get us in some kind of schedule to get ready for when Kate goes to school this fall.

So, yes. Bittersweet. I've given myself permission to cry today, and I'm taking that permission with gusto! :-P I've cried A LOT. But it feels good, like it's part of the process and something I need to do in order to be able to move on.

Josh comes home today, FINALLY! This was the LAST week he had to travel for 3 days a week. Once we move he'll still have to travel back down here, but it will only be 1 day a week, which is much more bearable.

I'm going to leave you with a few pictures that make me smile:

Fashion Challenged Bus Passenger
We were on a bus in Hawaii when this lovely lady caught my eye. :-D


Romantic Gestures
I came home to this one day after a long, hard day at work. Josh still does this for me from time to time. I adore that man.


Frou Frou Drinks with Umbrellas In Them
'Nuff Said =)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Chicken

Hiya Peeps!

Today I ate a chicken breast for the first time in ages. Honestly, it made me a little queasy. I get this way during... THAT time. It's weird, but my stomach gets really weak and I can't handle weird/gross smells, textures, etc... So the chicken sort of grossed me out because I kept picturing live chicken running around, thinking that here I was eating their meat. I know, I'm weird. LOL!

I made some delicious pancakes for breakfast. Josh, my husband, loves oatmeal pancakes, a recipe his mom has made for many years. Today I was in a hurry and wanted to get some protein in without the mess (for my kids) so I added peanut butter to the batter. Oh. My. Goodness. We basically ate peanut butter oatmeal cookies for breakfast, except they were healthier because there is only 2T of sugar and I made them with almond milk. So good.

I took Kate to a friend's house to play and then a friend of mine brought her little guy over to play with my boys. It was a nice morning, but it involved a LOT of coffee. My kids woke up extra early--how do they wake up when the sun isn't even out yet, their rooms are dark and they have a sound machine on? They defy nature. ;-) Anyway, I drank quite a bit and now my stomach is hurting a little. Too much acid, methinks.

Has anyone seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Oh me, Oh my, I LOVE that movie!! I know it's ridiculous and far out, but it makes me laugh every time. "It's only a flesh wound!" ha ha ha =)

Not much else going on around here. Still slowly putting things in boxes. We've been trying to sell our Explorer so we can buy a van, but not really getting any serious people so I guess I'll just have to learn patience. We washed and detailed the truck so now we're all squished into the Honda! Talk about cozy quarters; guess I'll just be that much more thankful when we get a nice, roomy van!

Totally random, but I was looking at my wrists today. I really like them. I think I've mentioned this before. They are skinny and dainty and I like the way they look. They are the measuring stick for the rest of my body; I think if I can have skinny wrists then the rest of me can be thin too. Makes sense, right? RIGHT!? :-D

Obviously I'm feeling a little silly today; or maybe I've just plain cracked and headed on over to the Crazy Side. Either way, it's fun. ;-)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

9 days until we move!

Hello Gang!

I feel good today; the sun is peeking out for the first time in a long time it feels like, and it's wonderful to see it's shining face! I stepped on the scale today and it read 167, which would be one pound up. But I'm not worried at all, since I had some salt last night and expect my period today. Also, the scale took a few tries to even turn on, so I'm thinking new batteries are in order.

I can't believe it's only 9 days until we move! So crazy. I'm excited, though, and ready to just be moved into the new place. I have lots of help with the kids next week, which is super because then I can pack with a vengeance. ;-)

I was thinking this morning that lately I've said several times that exercise/diet is not the most important thing in my life, that I don't have hours to devote to it, it's not my main priority. And this is true for me, but it occurred to me that perhaps that came across in a negative way for those of you who DO devote time out of your day for those things. I hope that's not the case, because in the future when things settle down I really hope to get into a routine that includes exercise. It's just that right now it's too much. So if that came across in a negative way to any of you exercisers, I'm sorry!

I tried putting strawberries in my protein shake, a la Sunshine Mama, but didn't really enjoy it. Which is weird, because there aren't many things better than chocolate and strawberries! :-P Anyway, I'll just stick to my normal stuff for now.

I have a babysitter today- she is a WONDERFUL girl and I'm so thankful for her help. So I'm going over to my mom's to help organize her basement. She has HUNDREDS of movies that we are going to sort through and sell. I'm excited, because I think I'll be bringing some home to take with us when we move. She mostly has kid type movies. Plus, I just like to hang with my mom and in 9 days that won't be possible. WAAAHHHHH!!

Well, I better get my booty in gear. I've got lots to do and want to get crackalackin while I have the energy.

Happy Hump Day! (ha ha ha, I crack up every time someone says that... you know, Wed is the middle of the week, so now we're over the "hump" and headed towards the weekend.) ;-D

Monday, April 5, 2010

Back on Track... Maybe

So over Easter weekend I didn't go hog wild but I definitely ate wheat. We had steak at the in-laws on Sunday, and although I love steak I do NOT love blood... and this was medium-rare steak. So I was a vegetarian for that meal. ;-) I ate 1.5 rolls, mashed potatoes and salad. For dessert I had the top half (no crust) of a white chocolate/chocolate marble cheesecake.

Today I started my day with a fresh cup of joe. I am really, really enjoying coffee these days. It has the added benefit of moving things along my digestion track, if you get my drift. For breakfast I had my protein shake, minus the banana. I've noticed that when I leave out the banana I don't get nauseated. Weird, but whatever. I am still getting the protein (26 grams per shake), rice milk, flax seed and walnuts.

For lunch I had 3 romaine lettuce leaves with turkey, pastrami and a bit of spicy mustard.

I have my niece today; she is SO cute and chubby. You should see the rolls on her thighs; just delicious! Too bad such chubbiness isn't as cute on us older folk :-D

So, crazy thing- we move NEXT week. I still haven't wrapped my head around it. It seems so surreal. Like, after next week we won't live in this house? SAD!?!?! I love this house. After next week I'll be hundreds of miles from my family and friends? SAD! I love my family and friends!

But on the flip side, I'm getting really excited to move into our new house and make it my own. I'm excited to get into a schedule that includes exercise. I'm excited to get to know our church family up there.

So, bittersweet is definitely the word that describes this whole transition.

I haven't weighed myself because I keep forgetting to. Honestly, I haven't even bothered because if it's up, I don't want to be stressed, and if it's down I don't want to stress about keeping it down. It's been literally 2 months with no weight loss at all. This is a bit disappointing and frustrating, but I haven't been exercising or counting calories. Guess I'm a real pro at maintaining! LOL

I do plan to try to eat as well as possible during the move. But I'm not going to kill myself over it. I know I say that a lot, but it's because I have to keep reminding myself that this is NOT the most important thing. It can really start to seem that way, especially when I see some of the results others are getting. But for me, for now, this is all I can do. So I'll just stick with it.

I hope to post pictures of our new home once we move in. Josh is going to talk to the landlord this week to see how he feels about us painting. I hope he says it's ok. Paint is such an easy way to make things more personal, homey and cozy.

OH! Guess what!? I bought a pair of size 12 jeans and they fit! I tried on quite a few pairs and some of them were really a tight squeeze. Pun intended. ;-) It seems my butt and thighs aren't the problem... my stomach pooch is. So hopefully once I get a new gym membership that will start going away and I can fit comfortably into a 12, then a 10 and maybe even an 8. =)

That's all for now, folks. So far our computer is hanging on for dear life, and I'm not sure when we're going to pack it up. But I'll be back to let you know when I'll be going off line for the move.

I think I just may go brew some more coffee; or maybe tea. :-D

Thursday, April 1, 2010

What a difference a day off makes!

I had a babysitter yesterday so I was able to get out and run TONS of errands and just be by myself. Holy Moly, that helped SOOOOO much! I was gone from 10-5 and when I got back the girl who was watching my kiddos was cleaning all the windows and had cleaned up the dishes as well. Such a nice surprise.

The wheat thing is hard. Monday I did great all day and then we went to dinner at a friend's house. Still fine, as we had ribs, mashed potatoes and salad. Then for dessert she served brownies. I didn't have one for a long time, then wanted a bite with my coffee. I had a bite without even realizing/thinking it had wheat in it. Whatever, not a huge deal.

Then Tuesday came along and I was stressed out hardcore. It is very weird, but when I have my shake or eat meat for breakfast it doesn't keep me full long, and it feels like I get low blood sugar really easily. So then I grab whatever is handy and it's usually a piece of bread or crackers or something.

Anyway, I'm giving myself a PASS on the whole wheat thing for now. I can tell it's the straw that will break the camel's back if I stress about it, and it's not THAT important. I am definitely going to do the best I can to limit how much I eat, but I'm not going to go all Nazi on myself.

I am taking mega doses of Vitamin D, and I think I can tell they are starting to help. Also, I'm cramping and bloated so hopefully my monthly business will hurry up and start and then leave me alone again. :-D

Only 2.5 weeks until the Big Move!!! I'm getting really excited, and not letting myself think about everything I'm leaving, otherwise I will cry all day. So I'm focusing on the new house and getting everything put away in my mind... thinking of where I want everything to go.

My kids are fighting like banshees, so that's my cue to get off the computer. Thanks for all the kind and encouraging words!