Slowing Down

I think this blog will be slowing down; as in, I won't be posting as often here. I mean, really. How often do you want to hear that spinning class was so brutal, about the climb, about the pool of sweat? Yeah, that's what I thought.

It's not very interesting now that I'm basically done with my weight loss journey. I mean, I do still have ten pounds to go, but I don't care that much whether or not they come off.

And the truth is, I'm really bad at dieting. I'm doing fairly well with the exercise, but when it comes to dieting... I'm pretty much an epic fail.

Instead, I'll be posting a lot more interesting, funny, yummy things at my new blog.

Deliciously Disheveled

It's my new endeavor and I'm way excited about it.

I'll most likely post here once a week or so but if you'd like, feel free to come on over to my Disheveled life and follow me there.

New Blog

I started a new blog... inspired by my friend Jen. ;-)

The new one is going to be a place where I can post pretty pictures, write funny stories that happen to me, pour out my heart, and maybe post recipes.

Feel free to hop on over and check it out. :0)

Deliciously Disheveled

Friday 'Fess Up

I enjoyed my confessions last Friday, so I'm thinking I may keep it going. For now, at least.

I confess:

Remember when I was on HCG and gained almost a pound inexplicably? Well, the next week it suddenly hit me what had happened. Josh had given me a massage. With massage OIL. Um, yeah. I am super bright. Like a 40 watt bulb. :-P

I am making cinnamon rolls today for breakfast tomorrow. I keep coming across them and can't get them out of my head. I'm a sucker like that.

I did not go to spinning today. I debated for a long time whether or not I should, since Kate is home from school. She isn't enrolled in the daycare at the gym, and I could have gotten her a day pass. But my house needs some scrubbing and we have a playdate at noon, so I skipped spinning.

I eat a lot of things for the texture rather than the actual taste.

I love Vanilla Nut and Peppermint Mocha creamer.

Fall is my absolute most favorite time of year. Hands down.

I think I'm going to have to start logging my calories in The Daily Plate if I want to lose these last 10 pounds. I'm just maintaining, which is much better than gaining, but I've got 10 pounds to go. Hmph.

I love to read. I am at the end of almost all the series I've started, and the other books I have reserved on the waiting list at the library will take approximately 4 years to get to me since everyone else is also waiting to read them. (The Help, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, the newest Hannah Swenson and Sarah Booth Delaney books, a couple of Stephanie Plum novels, etc...)

I made pumpkin pancakes this morning and they were super delicious. I made them with half whole wheat flour and they are actually pretty clean. Ish. Only 1T of brown sugar and otherwise it's just spices and pumpkin.

We've been watching Christmas movies for over a month. I haven't broken out the Christmas music yet, but we're definitely gearing up. I don't love Halloween. I do love Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just fyi.

I love the happy face mug my friend gave me. I alternate between it, a cheery striped Christmas one, and my big ol' travel cup.

My coffee tastes plasticky this morning. Gross.

I think my head has lost weight. My glasses suddenly are way too big and will NOT stay up on my nose. I'm constantly looking over them as they perch on the end of my nose and I remind myself of Goldilocks' granny.

I think Dawne SHOULD create some type of therapy for people who have lost weight, cuz it's definitely needed. Learning to adjust to new body images and the psychological growth that needs to happen and what not.

I am so, so, so happy that we have no plans for tomorrow or Sunday, besides going to church. I have a couple of projects for my Joshie to do and I plan to have the fire going all weekend and putter around the house like the good homebody I am.

Have a really wonderful weekend, everyone!!

Muffin Top--the good kind =)

Well, I made the muffins yesterday and they turned out really super yummy. You either get about a bazillion normal size muffins or 24 gigantic muffins. I went the gigantic route, as I got tired of baking them. ;-)

The dough is very, very stiff and sticky so it's sort of hard to get the batter into the muffin wrappers. However, they really don't rise that much at all, so you can fill them pretty darn full. They also come out exactly the way they went in, so if you're looking for pretty muffins you'll have to do some work.

Here is the original link to credit the person who came up with it. =)

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/easy-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins.html

The recipe was posted last year, so I'm not sure if there is still a pumpkin shortage this year, although in my experience, there is. I had to go to 3 different stores before I found a can and then they were charging $4 bucks for it. I did find it at Costco, in the 3 pack (of 30oz cans) so I grabbed it then.

Anyway, here they are after I baked them:


As I mentioned, I made them with white chocolate chips. Next time I will definitely use milk chocolate (my fave) or you could use semi-sweet, too. The white chocolate make them a bit on the sweet side, and since they are already large you can't really get through a whole one. Or, if you do, you get a stomach ache. Don't ask me how I know this.

Anyway, I give it two thumbs up. It's easy and yummy, and if you don't add the chocolate chips and don't make gargantuan muffins, relatively low in calories, too.

How's that for a weight-loss blog post. ;-)

Moving on to something a little more in-line with losing weight... body image.

Earlier this week I was looking at myself in a full length mirror and I didn't look (to myself) one iota different than when I was a size 14. I looked just as fat. Regardless of the fact that I was wearing my 5/6 jeans, what I saw in the mirror was a bloated, fat version of me.

I know I'm not the same size. When I hold up my jeans they look so small and I can't understand how they fit me. I am not that small, am I?

It was weird, because I totally realize I am not still a size 14. I have gotten smaller. But it's like I have body dysmorphia but I don't because sometimes I can see in the mirror that my body is smaller.

I don't know if I even really have a point with this, except that it was weird and even as I looked at myself I wondered how I could look so large when I have lost some weight.

I wonder when the endorphins from exercise are supposed to kick in? I feel like I could use a big ol' dose right about now. ;-) And I know that if I continue with the spinning I will get toned and in better shape. So I'm not going to stop, but I wish my brain would catch up with the fact that I'm exercising and (besides the pumpkin muffins) trying to eat healthier and reward me with a flood of serotonin. :-D

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. Josh has been gone 2 days this week; as in, we haven't seen him since Monday night. Like, at all. =( He'll be home tonight and then tomorrow he gets to come home early as we have an open house goal setting meeting type thing for Kate in the late afternoon. I am so ready for the weekend!

Weight Watcher Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

Hi guys. =)

I am DONE with my spinning class for the day, thank the good Lord. It was hard, but not as hard as Monday. I still sweated a good amount; the room was really humid today.

My "sit bones" for lack of a better term, are seriously bruised. My friend and I both felt like we were sitting on hot pokers during class. Hopefully they toughen up soon; it makes the class a lot harder when your pelvis is on fire!

I ran across this recipe that is SO easy. SO not clean, but if you're doing WW, each muffin is only 1 point. I thought I'd pass it on; I'm trying it out this afternoon and I'll let you know what I think of them.

You take 2 boxes of spice cake and a 30oz can of pumpkin. Mix it together and bake for 22-25 minutes at 350. Voila, you're done! I'm going to add some white chocolate chips, which negates the 1 WW pt, but since I'm not doing WW, I don't really care. :-P

I made my peanut butter/banana/oatmeal concoction this morning. I didn't get nauseated, but I felt weak. That might have just been due to my mammoth workout on Monday, though. I plan to keep eating it because it's DELICIOUS and packed with protein and complex carbs.

I'm off to put my boys down for naps and whip up the muffins.

Happy Hump Day!

Rest Day

Howdy, Folks!

Today is a day off from exercise, and I couldn't be more excited about it. :-D I feel like I worked really, really hard in my class yesterday. Apparently the instructor came to stand in front of my bike several times to make sure I was ok, but I was so in my zone with my eyes closed that I didn't even realize he was standing there! He often walks around the class, encouraging people individually, but I don't know how I didn't notice him standing right in front of me! LOL

Today I had a super yummy breakfast; I saw it on a fellow blogger's site and actually, have seen it several places. I made some oatmeal with almond milk, then mixed in organic, sugar-free peanut butter, a bit of honey and cut up banana. SO GOOD. I think I'll try to eat it tomorrow before my workout and see if it helps with the nausea. I still haven't found exactly the right meal to eat before I work out. I either get really weak and lethargic or really nauseated. We'll see how this breakfast works.

Otherwise I can make a protein shake with my chocolate protein powder, almond milk, banana and peanut butter or almonds or walnuts.

I'm doing pretty well. It helps so much to have my hormones in balance. I just can't even express it. It's the difference between heaven and hell, for lack of a better way to explain it.

I've also been walking Kate to and from the bus stop in the morning and afternoon. She decided she really wanted to ride the bus, and it's actually more convenient for me, too. I was very leery at first, what with the sex offender in the neighborhood and all. But there are around 15 kiddos at her bus stop and usually 3 or 4 moms. That's really nice, because M,W,F I usually drop her off around 9:05 and head to my spin class at the gym. The bus doesn't come til 9:12, so it's really nice there are other adults there until all the kiddos get on the bus.

Tuesdays and Thursday mornings the boys and I stay with her til she boards the big yellow school bus. =) And in the afternoons we head on over and pick her up. It's not very far; maybe 3 blocks, but it's just really nice to head out into the fresh air for a brisk walk. I think we'll do it most days, unless it is dumping buckets of rain.

I've really fallen off the Clean Eating bandwagon this past 10 days or so. I need to read the book again so I can comprehend it, but at the moment I just don't have the gumption to do so. I've been doing fairly well with cooking meals that include whole foods and not a lot of processed stuff, but definitely don't have the 6 small meals a day down.

I hope you're having a nice Tuesday!

The Climb and Size Matters. Maybe.

Hello All,
Sorry I went MIA there for a few days.

Life intervened. ;-) In the past 2 weeks I've had 3 separate crisis type situations in my family. At one point, when the 3rd thing happened, I just started crying and sobbing that it was "too much stress". Not so fun.

But now things seem to be getting better. My SIL and her sweet, sweet baby are doing better. I got to go down and see them and snuggle Miss Macy and chat with Jen and it was just what the doctor ordered. I also got some time in with my sisters, who I don't get to see nearly as often now that we've moved.

I also got my new batch of hormone drops from Dr. Ray, and I have noticed a HUGE improvement. So things are on the upswing. =)

I weighed in at 140.4 this morning, and I am happy with that. I had this irrational fear that since I haven't been weighing every day that I'd step on and see I'd gained 3 or 4 pounds. But I actually lost a bit since last Monday. So that's nice.

While visiting my family I stopped at the mall there, at the one place I've found jeans that fit me perfectly. They have no return policy, so as long as you have the receipt and the clothes aren't demolished, they'll take them back. Even if you washed and worn them for weeks. Which I had. So I took back a long jean skirt, size 11/12, a long jean skirt size 9/10 and a pair of pants size 9/10 that I had been wearing on a regular basis.

I was nervous that the size 7/8 pants wouldn't fit, as I'd tried on a pair of size 8 Mossimo brand jeans and they were quite snug. HOWEVER. I tried on the 7/8's and they were too big! Baggy in the rear/thighs. :-O My rear and thighs are definitely the biggest part of my body. So I tried on the size 5/6 pants. THEY FIT. I was and still am in shock.

I'm convinced this particular store is just very generous with their sizing, as I definitely do not fit into a size 6 anywhere else, much less a 5. But it was still fun to fit into something with such a small number on the tag! ;-)

Now, onto the Climb. Well, let me back up a bit. Let's discuss Owen.

The boy is crazy in the head. He abhors the gym. He hates it. He despises it. He loathes it. I have no idea why! It's a kid's dream world in the gym daycare! Movies, Wii, arcade type games, ball pits, McDonald playplace type structures, arts and crafts, etc... But yet, he acts like I'm throwing him into a dungeon when we go.

And it starts first thing in the morning. He wakes up asking if we have to go to the gym. And when the answer is yes, his whole morning is ruined and my whole morning gets 100x harder. He won't eat, he won't get dressed, he won't go to the bathroom, he won't brush his teeth. Nothing. Because he doesn't want to go.

I am a little unsure what to do about this. He screams and cries and I have to peel him off of me. He is frantically trying to put his shoes back on while I take his coat off, or put his coat on while I take his shoes off. He sticks to my leg like white on rice. USUALLY he screams for a minute or two after I leave and then he's okay. But today he screamed for 30 minutes. =(

I really don't know what to do! He acted like this when we first moved here and started going there, and it was one of the factors that made me stop going. I feel bad for him! I know he is in good hands, and he is only in there 1.5 hours max. But still, it feels like I'm neglecting him or something.

So, any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated! I don't want to stop working out, but I also don't want to make Owen insecure and feeling abandoned 3 times a week.

Anyhoo, on to The Climb.

Today's spin class was brutal. Incredibly brutal and hard. More than one of us had to slow down lest we puke. Me included. Jee, the teacher, is amazing. He really knows how to lead a hard, intense class yet make us all push ourselves harder and more intensely than we think is possible. He involves everyone. He gives us pep talks. He'll walk around the room and encourage people individually. He has fantastic music. I'm very glad he is the instructor here.

But. He loves climbs. In spinning, this means turning up the resistance on the bike to think-you'll-pass-out levels. Today we did a 12% and 13% incline. That doesn't sound like much, but believe me. It is. Probably Lance Armstrong and other cyclists encounter it during the Tour de France. I don't know for sure, but probably. ;-)

The climbs last a long time. Steadily climbing/increasing resistance for up to 20 minutes without a break. And we do this 4 or 5 times per class, which is an hour long. Today we started right out with a hard climb. We were sweating and exhausted and it had only been 18 minutes. I honestly don't know how I finished the class, but I know I had to take 5 minutes off and pedal slowly lest I lose my breakfast in front of everyone.

At the end of class Jee actually had to tell us all to wipe our bikes, but not worry about the floor. Everyone had a puddle of sweat under the bikes on the floor. Not a few drips, but a full on puddle. Sweat was dripping/running off of me like I was standing in a sprinkler. This is probably a good, healthy thing, but man. I felt like I was going to pass out and die.

It was by far the hardest workout I have ever done in my entire life. It feels good, but it felt even better to be done with it. :-D

Anyway, I'd encourage you to try a spinning class. It really is a full body workout and if you have a good instructor it's totally worth taking the time to do it. I've realized that when I went to the gym on my own I pushed myself maybe 60% of what I was capable of. Jee makes us push ourselves 100%. And it will bring results. I know it will. Cuz if it doesn't I'm going to have to stop and just sit on my couch and drink coffee for an hour every morning. ;-) Just kidding. Sort of.

Well, this has become quite the mammoth post. I'll wrap it up for now. I hope you all had a great weekend and are having success in your healthy living and weight loss journeys!