Staying Strong

My positive attitude was still around today. I didn't get up w/ my alarm (for the 2nd day in a row), but, like yesterday, I made time to workout during my kid's quiet time. I was dreading it today, even thinking about skipping today's workout when I realized it would only take 20 min out of my day. That's a piece of cake! I felt better afterwards and got through the exercises w/o every muscle in my body screaming for me to stop. Next week I'm going to up the intensity.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Weight: 159.5 (the encouragement I needed!)

Breakfast:
whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter and hot chocolate (I know the hot chocolate isn't great for me but w/ this cold weather it's my one weakness!)

Snack:
Banana and almonds

Lunch:
1 cup whole wheat spaghetti, 1/2 cup sauce, 1/2 cup roasted red potatoes

Snack:
Cheese stick and handful of baby carrots

Supper:
Homemade chicken nuggets, 1/2 cup broccoli and cauliflower

Exercise:
20 min. EA sports workout on Wii - burned 90 calories, I planned to do some Wii Fit exercises too but time got away from me

Thanks to everyone for reading!! Keep sending me positive thoughts!

Back on Track

I visited a friend over the weekend who is tall, blond, and thin. She's a vegetarian, has 2 kids and I couldn't stop staring at her ass for 2 reasons: she has that sought after gap between her thighs and I really liked her jeans. Needless to say, this really motivated me to get my own ass in gear. I restocked our fridge and pantry w/ fruits, veggies and other essentials and made our weekly meal plan, something I hadn't done in at least 2 weeks. I'm re committed to my goal and have changed my attitude. It's going to be tough w/ the holiday season upon us and all the sugary goodies I will be cooking/offered/sampling.

Monday, December 3, 2012
Weight: 161

Breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal w/ banana, 1 cup hot chocolate

Lunch: homemade Mac & cheese, 1/2 c. grapes

Snack: pear and Colby Jack cheese stick

Supper: clean sloppy joe on bun, 1/2 c. frozen peas, 1 piece whole wheat bread w/ butter and honey

Exercise: 1 session EA Sports workout session (16 min 90 calories burned), Wii Fit Plus mini sessions (advanced step, rhythm boxing, hula hoop, 14 min 25 calories burned)

I have some explaining to do...

I could give my readers a lot of lame excuses (you all know by know I'm good at that) about where I've been for the past couple weeks, but no one wants to read them, nor do I want to write them. So I'm going to pick up like I was never gone.

Friday, November 30, 2012
Weight: 161

Breakfast: whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter

Lunch: whole wheat spaghetti noodles w/ 4 cheese sauce, 1 c. cooked carrots, 1/2 an apple

Snack: banana

Supper: baked turkey burger on bun w/ ketchup and lettuce, 1 c. mixed vegetables

Exercise: 20 minute workout on my Wii w/ EA Sports 30 day program. Today was my 2nd day in a 30 day challenge. I'm feeling pretty stiff and sore in places I haven't been sore in before which I'm pretty happy about.

I have been really lax on our clean eating plan and as expected, I've gained my weight back and been feeling pretty down on myself. My main problem is I haven't been organizing meals like before and that was a huge factor in the plan and my success. Another factor has been money for groceries b/c of buying extra food for in between meals. So wish me luck at getting back on track!

Getting the Ball Rolling

Alright everyone, its still been a bit hard getting back on track. I've been missing my in between meals and I can really tell a difference in my afternoon schedule. My body has been giving me signs something funky is going on (or into it). I'm sorry if some of this may be too much TMI for my readers but I want to be honest w/ you all. My bowels have been more regular (I had been going only once a week) and over the weekend when I would "cheat" or miss an in between meal, I would get severe stomach pains and a couple times a bout of diarrhea. This week my stomach still gets cramped up and sometimes I feel nauseous. I've been stupid and haven't been paying attention to what time I'm eating (or not) and tracking what's causing these cramps and nausea.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Weight: 159 (on the way back down!)

Breakfast @ 8 - 1 cup oatmeal w/ Stevia and cinnamon

Snack @ 10 - 2 rice cakes (eaten in the car)

Lunch @ 12 - Wendy's crispy chicken Caesar wrap (I know it's not clean friendly), small bowl of chili

Supper @ 6:45 - oven roasted chicken breast sandwich from Subway on wheat bread w/ fat free honey mustard, pickles and lettuce (I know, again it's not "clean")

I did, however, stay w/in my allotted calories for the day so I wasn't too worried about not sticking to our plan.

Thursday, November 16, 2012
Weight: 159

Breakfast: 1/2 c. oatmeal w/ Stevia and cinnamon

Lunch: homemade mac and cheese w/ mild cheddar cheese

Snack: pear, 2 mini three musketeers

Supper: leftover Taco Soup (1.5 c.), glass of strawberry milk

I ordered the program EA Sports Active for our Wii. I'd been reading some reviews of some fitness programs and was a little clueless as to which one to order. The EA Sports got great reviews and also said it was basically like a couple other programs I was interesting in. I'm betting it will be here after Thanksgiving which will work great for me to start an exercise program by the first of December.

My Apologies

No one wants to hear my excuses for missing blog posts the last 2 days. After the weekend I was completely unmotivated to get on the right track. Keep in mind I didn't let my eating habits stray too much over the weekend, but it was still hard to get back to it. Monday my kids and I had a play group in the morning and went out to lunch then grocery shopping. I didn't plan accordingly and in a moment of weakness found myself wolfing down a burger and fries at McDonald's. I didn't eat my in between meals either. I was pretty down on myself that day. Then Tuesday rolled around...

Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Weight: 160 (Gained that pesky pound back!)

Breakfast @ 8:15 - 1/2 cup oatmeal w/ Stevia packet and a banana

Lunch @ 12:15 - Salad w/ vinaigrette dressing and a chicken breast

Supper @ 6:30 - 1 1/2 cups taco soup, toast w/ butter, apple slices

As you can see I was able to get at least halfway back on track on Tuesday even though I still didn't eat any in between meals. However, I took a long afternoon nap, which was a huge mistake, and felt like crap all evening. I hope I've learned my lesson. I've been trying to get a good workout routine established so will hopefully be starting to post an exercise portion too. Send positive thoughts! I know we could all use some!

Playing Catchup

My weekend wasn't spent following our clean eating schedule, but I didn't pig out on sweets either. My body was definitely telling me I was eating something it wasn't used to. (May be TMI, but I'm trying to be honest.) I had several instances of stomach pains, nauseau and some diarrhea. Nothing real serious but very uncomfortable and made me aware of how clean eating last week has changed my body.

We're starting over tomorrow and hopefully I didn't add too many pounds to the scale. Wish me luck in the morning!

Day 3 - Resisting Temptation

Today I faced the ultimate temptation: We ate lunch at McDonald's. (You're probably thinking, How did she do that?!) We had a play date at the park and I had planned on eating lunch out so had packed food accordingly. I was pleased to realize I wasn't the least bit tempted. The only thing I was really jonesing for was caffeine, a pop. But I made do w/ my cup of water.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Weight: 159 (Whoo hoo!)

Breakfast @ 7:45 - blueberry oatmeal

Mid morning snack @ 10:15 - apple slices, almonds

Lunch @ 12 - baked chicken breast, McDonald's side salad, Newman's Own viniagrette dressing

I missed my afternoon snack

Supper @ 6:30 - homemade mac and cheese, crinkle cut carrots and broccoli cuts

I don't really feel too different today, not sure if I should be feeling better or anything. I did however sprout 3 new zits on my chin! I thought by cutting out all this sugar my skin was supposed to clear up. I have been under some stress so I'm hoping that the trigger for these new blemishes. This weekend is going to be tricky for both blogging and watching my food. We're going home to visit our parents and there will be lots of temptation, opportunities to "cheat" or give up for a few days. I'm going to try and stick to it but I'm not going to beat myself up if I slip once or twice. Also, I may not be able to post the next few days but I'll be keeping track and will post when I can just be aware it might not be until Sunday. I apologize in advance. Thanks for reading!

P.S. I'm trying to remember to take pictures of my food but always seem to remember after I've eaten it. I'll try and be better.

Day 2 - Seeing the slightest bit of results

I woke up not really feeling that hungry and apparently didn't learn my lesson from yesterday b/c my alarm went off about 6 but I didn't get out of bed until 6:30 when my husband got out of the shower which means I was again scrambling to get breakfast and his meals sorted out for the day. Luckily I had made a smoothie yesterday and there was some left in the fridge. That was easy for him drink in a hurry. His meals for tomorrow have already been talked about and carefully arranged at eye level in the fridge. I have some errands and a play date w/ my kids so my meals could be a little trickier.

Tuesday, November 5, 2012
Weight: 160 (Lost half a pound!)

Breakfast @ 7:30 - 2 clean pancakes w/ 1/4 c. sugar free syrup

Mid Morning Snack @ 10:15 AM - banana, 11 almonds

Lunch @ 12:15 PM - baked chicken breast (4 oz), romaine lettuce w/ 1 tbsp. lemon juice, an apple

Mid Afternoon Snack @ 2:15 PM - 1/4 c. clean tuna on wheat crackers

Another Snack @ 5:15 PM (my timing got messed up today and I ended up eating 6 times instead of 5, I stayed w/in my allotted calories though) - 1 pear, 11 almonds

Supper @ 7:15 PM - Clean chicken and dumplings in the crockpot, 1 cup corn, handful of grapes

The last 2 days I've kept my calorie intake below 1300 and I haven't been overly hungry at the end of the day. I thought I did better again at keeping my temper and patience level in the normal range and that 2 PM nap everyone wants to take didn't come today. It might have been b/c I was cooking my ass off trying to get supper in the crockpot (left it to the last minute). I did however, get really sleepy around 6. So much so that I dozed for awhile on the couch waking periodically in a panic to make sure my children were still in the room. (Don't tell me no one else is guilty of this.) All in all I'd say the clean eating is working out pretty well. The only down side I can see right now is that neither my husband nor I want to eat the same things every day and we have so many leftovers from supper I don't want to waste food. I'm sure everything, w/ the exception of the tuna salad, will keep for awhile. Check back tomorrow to see if the pounds are still dropping!

Clean Eating Day 1

Today was our first day of eating clean. I spent the past couple weeks scouting recipes, making a meal plan, reading research and prepping meals. My husband wasn't crazy about shopping at an organic health food store, but he went along w/ it and has been a good sport (so far). The meal planning went really well, until I realized I hadn't considered calories for each "meal." While I wasn't too far off in my food pairings, I realized this last night at 10 and had to scramble to get things sorted and packed for my husband. Lesson learned: I need to calculate calories for each meal in the day. (Which happens to be 5.)

Monday, November 5, 2012
Measurements: Arms - 11.5
                            Chest - 42
                            Waist - 35.5
                            Hips - 42.5
                            Thighs - 21
Weight: 160.5

Breakfast: 7:30 AM - 2 clean pancakes w/ 1/4 c. sugar free syrup

Mid-Morning Snack: 9:30 AM - 1 pear and 11 almonds

Lunch: 1 PM - Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie

Mid-Afternoon Snack: 4:30 PM - 1/2 c. clean tuna salad, 9 wheat crackers, 3 rice cakes

Supper: 7 PM - 1 c. clean chili mac, 1 1/2 slices Ezekial bread

I also increased my water intake and while I was peeing constantly, I was suprised by how easily I drank 7 glasses of water. (This was a 22 oz cup from Kwik Shop so really 14 glasses.)

I was also able to keep my temper and patience in check today in re: to my son. (Hopefully that doesn't make me sound like a crappy mom.) The only thing lacking from my day was exercise. I wasn't able to fit it in b/c my daughter decided she didn't need an afternoon nap. Instead she screamed for 20 min. while in her crib. I'm planning on tomorrow going better.

Day 53 Stats

I'm afraid I've let you all down. :( The weekend saw me a little out of control w/ food and doing a lot of sitting on my butt. All that is going to change next week. My husband and I decided this is the time to start our clean eating adventure. I'm taking this week to get organized w/ menus, recipes, grocery shopping and meal prepping. I hope to see some results before the holidays start!

Monday, October 29, 2012
Weight: 162 (WTF?!)

Breakfast: We were running late so I skipped :/

Lunch: Chicken fried steak sandwich, fries and ketchup

Supper: beef stroganoff (prepared by my husband I must add), grapes, ice cream

Steps: 4039, 1.7 miles, 344 calories burned

Days 51 & 52 Stats

Sorry I've been MIA the last few days. We visited our parents over the weekend and I didn't get a post written before we left. I apologize. This also means days Sat. and Sunday will be missing from the blog. Sorry!

Thursday, October 25, 2012
Breakfast: 1 c. quick oats, 2 packets of Splenda, 1 tsp. brown sugar, 3/4 of a banana

Lunch: 5 fish sticks, 1 can chicken and noodle soup (Campbell's)

Supper: 3 pieces pepperoni and beef pizza (I know, it was a bad idea)

Friday, October 26, 2012
Breakfast: French toast bake, quiche, banana nut bread (MOPS meeting)

Lunch: 1 slice leftover pizza, 1 c. grapes

Supper: Spangles chili cheeseburger, fries

I haven't been using my pedometer app the last few days so don't have any steps to report right now.

Days 49 & 50 stats

Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Breakfast: Apple dapple cereal w/ 2% milk

Lunch: leftover whole wheat spaghetti w/ garlic and herb sauce, 1 c. grapes

Snack: 1 mini Kit Kat

Supper: 1 boneless chicken breast, 1/4 c. rotini pasta (not whole wheat) w/ butter and grated Colby Jack cheese, 1/2 of an apple

Steps: 2564, 1 mile wa, 292 calories burned

Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Breakfast: 1 slice whole wheat toast w/ butter, 2 eggs scrambled

Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread, 1/2 cup chocolate pudding, 1 c. grapes

Supper: black beans and salsa over 2 slices whole wheat toast, 1 cup corn, 2 crescent rounds w/ butter and honey

Steps: 1469, .5 miles, 125 calories burned

Days 47 & 48 Stats

Things have been getting a little better in the food department (okay maybe slowly but better!). I downloaded a new app on my phone, spark people. Anyone have any luck w/ it or have comments? Please share. There are some things I like better than the my fitness pal app and some things I don't. Seems like it doesn't recognize as many foods when I scan the barcode as my fitness pal app does but I have the option to enter it manually which works.

Sunday, October 21, 2012
Breakfast: skipped (I know, I know it's the most important meal, but we were running late for church and Catholics aren't supposed to consume any food 1 hour before communion)

Lunch: bacon, lettuce, cheese sandwich on whole wheat toast w/ mayo, pear slices

Supper: sloppy joe on white bun, 1 c. Velveeta shells and cheese, ice cream, 1/2 a package of King size Twizzlers

Steps: Sadly I didn't have my pedometer on today

Monday, October 22, 2012
Weight: 161.5

Breakfast: wheat toast w/ peanut butter and banana

Lunch: leftover Logan's Roadhouse mini steak burger w/ sea salt chips

Supper: 2 grilled cheese sandwiches on whole wheat toast w/ Kraft American cheese slices, butter, sea salt chips and ice cream

Steps: 1841, .8 miles, 161 calories burned


I've been doing my research on clean eating and hopefully in the next week my husband and I will have a plan and grocery list mapped out to begin this new journey into healthy eating and losing weight! Anyone w/ advice/success stories feel free to share!

Days 45 & 46 Stats

I'm on the ball w/ 2 posts in one day! Let's hope I can keep it up.

Friday, October 19, 2012
Breakfast: wheat bread w/ peanut butter and 1/2 a banana

Lunch: Sonic jr. cheeseburger, 1 c. peas and carrots

Supper: 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread, Kroger black bean and salsa chips, cantaloupe

Steps: 8759, 3.7 miles, burned 570 calories (we hopped around the city a lot today visiting a museum and the zoo and I still didn't make 10,000 steps!)

Saturday, October 20, 2012
Breakfast: 5 mini pancakes w/ butter and syrup

Lunch: 2 mini cheeseburgers, fries, roll w/ butter (Logan's Roadhouse)

Supper: 1/2 chicken fried steak w/ mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed veggies

Snack: Wendy's jr. bacon cheeseburger, 1 c. strawberry gelato (we went to dinner and an early movie so I was hungry afterwards)

Steps: 3320, 1.4 miles, 188 calories burned (clearly I didn't do as much walking as Friday, I need to step up my activity)

43 & 44 Stats

No excuses for my being absent this past week. You all don't want to hear them so let's jump right in.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Breakfast: 3 slices banana bread (mini loaf)

Lunch: grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread w/ American cheese slice, 1/2 can Kroger brand grilled chicken and sausage gumbo soup, 3 orange slices

Snack: 1 c. grapes, 1 1/2 slices banana bread

Supper: 1 1/2 c. leftover chili, 1 c. chicken salad, ice cream

Exercise: I downloaded a pedometer to my iphone so can now track my steps 2053 steps equals .41 miles, I also took my daughter for a walk in the stroller that was 1.15 miles

Thursday, October 18, 2012
Breakfast: Kix cereal w/ splenda packet and 2% milk, yoplait yogurt

Lunch: leftover chicken and stuffing w/ mixed veggies, apple slices, 1 c. cantaloupe

Snack: 1/2 piece cinnamon roll cake

Supper: whole wheat spaghetti, garlic and herb tomato sauce, 1 chicken breast cut into strips, breaded and fried, 3 crescent rounds w/ butter, 1 c. frozen peas and carrots

Snack: bowl of Kix w/ 2% milk

Steps: 1384 (I thought it was running in the evening when really it wasn't, major disappointment)

Day 41 & 42 Stats

Ok I know I'm skipping a few days, but we had 7 house guests over the weekend (2 of which included kids) so I did not log any meals etc. I'm starting new this week and we're just glossing over the last few days like they didn't happen, okay?

Monday, October 15, 2012
Weight: 160 - considering all the sweets we ate over the weekend (sweet rolls, 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies, and cinnamon roll cake) I'm amazed that number isn't higher

Breakfast: 100 calorie Greek yogurt

Lunch: 1/2 of my 3 cheese Parmesan chicken breast and grapes

Snack: Twizzlers

Supper: (grazed off my kid's meal) 1 fish stick, 1/2 c. broccoli cheddar bag noodles, turkey sandwich on rosemary bread w/ mayo, 1 slice colby jack cheese, and lettuce, 3 scoops ice cream

Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Breakfast: apple dapples cereal

Lunch: chicken salad sandwich on wheat bread w/ mayo, chips, pear slices

Supper: 2 pieces Papa Murphy's chicken/pepperoni pizza, salad w/ French dressing, 2 scoops ice cream

Exercise: 2 mile walk w/ my dog

Days 36 & 37

Things have been looking up the last couple days. I'm working harder on increasing motivation and while I haven't been exercising as much as last week, I'm being more careful w/ food and portion sizes. I got my Eating Clean book in the mail and plan to spend the next week reading and studying it. What I've read so far it sounds like it may be tricky to get the ball rolling w/ this eating plan, but I suspect once we get started it will become routine. If anyone has tips/advice/results please share!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Breakfast: 2 bowls of cereal w/ 2% milk (shared w/ my daughter)

Lunch: salad w/ French dressing, hard boiled sliced egg, 3 oz. piece Parmesan crusted chicken

Supper: Stove top chicken bake (chicken breast, cream of chicken soup, 2 bags mixed vegetables, stove top for chicken), ice cream

Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Breakfast: wheat bread w/ peanut butter

Lunch: 3 oz Parmesan crusted chicken, 1 c. diced potatoes

Supper: Chicken salad on 2 slices wheat bread w/ mayo, 1 c. broccoli and cauliflower, peach slices

Exercise: 2.25 mile walk w/ our dog, 1 mile walk pushing my daughter in her stroller (which means it was a leisurely pace)

Days 34 & 35 Stats

I'm afraid I have to again apologize for being so slow to post! My motivation level is dangerously low not to mention I haven't really left the house in 2 days. That makes for an unhappy mommy. (The holiday really threw off our weekly schedule.) I would like to say things are returning to normal but that's not going to happen any time soon. Remember the sickness I reported was attacking our house? I finally got in to see a Dr. (we hadn't gotten established w/ anyone since we moved and that was not an easy process) and was told I have a sinus infection. I've never had one before so wasn't sure what to expect. I got prescribed an antibiotic, a nasal spray (that smells like old lady perfume, how nice I get to smell it all day long!), and was advised to buy some Mucinex D. That was a pretty pricey trip to Walgreens! I think I already wrote that my husband is now sick and doesn't look too good. I was nice and bought the extra large package of Mucinex D to share w/ him. Hopefully we both start seeing some results ASAP. Luckily he's not a whiny patient. He did tell me he was sorry he didn't show me more sympathy when I was sick. What a guy.

Sunday, October 7, 2012
Breakfast: wheat bread w/ peanut butter and 1/2 banana, sliced

Lunch: 1/2 cheese omelette, 2 slices French toast w/ butter and syrup, cantaloupe and grapes, diced potatoes (Village Inn breakfast)

Supper: leftover ravioli casserole

Monday, October 8, 2012
Weight: 160.5 (an improvement from last week! my goal is to not be above 160 again)

Breakfast: wheat bread w/ peanut butter and 1/2 banana, sliced

Lunch: 1 can tuna, 1 slice wheat bread, 3/4 can Campbell's chicken soup (shared soup w/ my daughter)

Supper: tacos w/ wheat tortilla shell, shredded cheese, salsa, and lettuce, cantaloupe, ice cream for dessert

I've been going a little over board w/ the ice cream and the cooler weather has not been great for getting out and walking.

Days 32 & 33

Friday, October 5, 2012
Breakfast: generic apple jacks cereal w/ 2% milk

Lunch: McDonald's McChicken sandwich, side salad w/ Caesar dressing

Snack: 1 c. trail mix (chocolate chips, M&M's, peanuts, raisins)

Supper: Parmesan crusted chicken (chicken breast w/ mayo, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs), mac and cheese, banana, cup of hot chocolate


Saturday, October 6, 2012
Breakfast: 100 calorie Greek yogurt

Lunch: chili, slice of cinnamon dessert bread, chocolate chip cookie (store bought)

Supper: grilled pork chop, diced potatoes, bowl of ice cream

Days 30 & 31

WOW am I ashamed of myself. The cold bug has hit our house this past week (thank goodness it wasn't anything more serious) leaving us all coughing our hearts out, wiping drippy noses and chugging cough medicine. Needless to say, I got a little behind on both blogging and tracking my food intake. I apologize. Everyone is starting to feel better (w/ the exception of this nagging cough) and I was able to get caught up on my food journaling.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Breakfast: part of a smoothie (it didn't taste quite right so I dumped most of it out), 1 c. popcorn

Lunch: salad w/ French dressing, hard boiled egg and 1 can tuna, handful of grapes, finished the last 4 bites of my daughter's mac and stuff

Supper: round steak cooked in the crock pot w/ brown gravy, 1 1/2 mashed potato cakes (got this recipe from pinterest, not sure I made it right though), apricot halves

Dessert: Small Sonic chocolate shake

Exercise: 2 sets of abs and legs exercises, 3 sets of arms, walked 6 laps around school track pushing stroller, walked to the park (3/4 of a mile) pushing stroller


Thursday, October 4, 2012
Breakfast: generic apple jacks cereal w/ 2% milk

Lunch: salad w/ French dressing, hard boiled egg, 1 can tuna, 1 slice of Papa Murphy's beef/pepperoni pizza

Snack: 1 c. grapes

Supper: ravioli casserole (beef, bow tie pasta, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, spinach, mozzerella cheese, Parmesan cheese), 3 Pilsbury biscuits w/ butter and jelly

Day 29 Stats

I think you are all going to be really proud of me after reading today's post. (I know I am.) I think I've finally got it through to my body that I need to get up off my lazy butt and start working really hard to exercise. Yes it will be hard and a lot of times I won't feel like doing it, but in the end it will be worth it. Next I'm working on my attitude toward eating healthier and monitoring my portion sizes. Somedays it's too easy to finish whatever the kids have left on their plates and that's a no, no. I've been doing some research on clean eating and ordered a book to read. Maybe after a couple weeks of reading and getting my head around the concept (and my husband) I'll have more to report on that subject.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Breakfast: 100 calorie Greek yogurt, banana

Lunch: Salad w/ French dressing, tuna, hard boiled egg, 1 c. Velveeta shells and cheese (my weakness!)

Supper: 1 3/4 slices Papa Murphy's beef and pepperoni pizza

Exercise: took the dog for a 2 mile walk, walked w/ the kids to the park (pushed stroller, my son walked) 3/4 of a mile, 2 sets of arm and leg exercises, 1 set of abs (this was cut short by the end of nap time)

Day 28 Stats

New month should mean new goals, but all it means for me is "maintain/continue w/ previous goals." So far I haven't lost a significant number of pounds (or even 1) and while I am really bummed about that, I have no one to blame but myself. I go back and forth so much w/ watching my calories and food intake one day to being completely starving the next and I binge which shows on the scale the next morning. Starting tomorrow I will no longer be weighing and recording my weight every day. It's too frustrating and kind of a let down to the start of my day. If the number is less that the day before, I have high expectations for myself, if the number is the same or higher, I go into a kind of funk (you all know what I'm talking about). So I've decided weekly weigh ins and reports from now on. Since this is my post for Monday I will post my weight.

Monday, October 1, 2012
Weight: 162

Breakfast: 100 calorie Greek yogurt, 2 1/2 mini pancakes, banana

Lunch: leftover spaghetti (unfortunately it wasn't whole wheat pasta) w/ meat and sauce, 1 c. watermelon

Snack: 1 1/2 c. grapes, one Honeycrisp apple sliced w/ peanut butter

Supper: turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread w/ 3 slices of Colby Jack block cheese, mayo w/ olive oil, lettuce, 1 serving of black beans and salsa chips, and I'm sad to report I gave in to temptation and had a peanut butter cup blizzard from Sonic

Exercise: 4 sets of arms, abs, and leg exercises

After this disappointing day, I did kick myself into high gear and can confidently say there will be no more set backs like today.

Days 25, 26 & 27

Forgive me for missing the past 3 days. I went out of town over the weekend and didn't take my laptop w/ me so couldn't update everyone. I did keep track of my eating and activity  though so you will find the last 3 days below. Unfortunately there are several fast food meals on here. That's our only weakness about traveling. I was also pretty sedentary over the weekend and didn't do any exercising. Not even walking the dog like I originally thought I would do at least once. I didn't have access to a scale so my weight hasn't been tracked on 2 days below.

Friday, September 28, 2012
Weight: 161

Breakfast: sausage and egg casserole, breakfast bread (not sure what kind), mixed fruit (I had my MOPS meeting so breakfast was provided)

Lunch: turkey sandwich on wheat bread, mayo, 2 slices colby jack cheese, lettuce and chips

Supper: Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich, small fries, 1/2 chocolate frosty

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Breakfast: homemade biscuit w/ homemade apple butter

Lunch: ham w/ spicy mustard, mac and cheese made from scratch

Supper: 6 oz. T-bone steak, macaroni salad, 3 pieces cantaloupe

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Breakfast: sausage casserole, cinnamon roll, 1 c. grapes (social hour after church)

Lunch: hamburger on bun w/ cheese and ketchup, 1 c. taco salad, white and chocolate cake (1 piece had both flavors, I didn't have 2 pieces!), ice cream

Supper: Burger King grilled chicken sandwich w/ small fries


So as you read above, my eating habits struggled a bit and I'll be making up for it at both meal time and nap time by eating less and exercising more. A new month is starting, a perfect time for motivation to get revved up.

Day 24

My "visitor" was not a nice house guest yesterday. She made me cranky, irritable, tired and just put me in an overall bad mood. My children were not being the nice accommodating people they usually are so that only added to my irritation level. I only got about 30 min. to myself and chose to use that time poorly (looking at pinterest and laying on the couch).

Thursday, September 27, 2012
Weight: 160

Breakfast: apple jacks cereal w/ 2% milk

Lunch: shared the leftover mac and stuff w/ my daughter so I'd guess my portion was about 1 - 1 1/2 cups

Snack: celery w/ peanut butter

Supper: too easy hotdish (ground beef, cream of chicken soup, tater tots and cheese baked in the oven)

I will be out of town over the weekend so no posts until Sunday night/Monday morning. Everyone have a great weekend!

Day 23 Stats

I know some of you may be getting bored w/ me and my lack of progress. Please don't! I need to see that all of you are checking on me and are anticipating my next post.

Yesterday I had a visit from my friend which put a damper on my mood, appetite, and motivation. (Sorry if there are any guys reading this, but this kind of information is important when reading future posts.) I didn't get out of control w/ my eating just wasn't watching as carefully as I should have. I did manage to stick w/ fruit for snacks instead of candy or sugar. With Halloween around the corner it's going to be hard to resist the bags of chocolate!

Okay, down to business.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Weight: 160

Breakfast: 1 slice wheat toast w/ peanut butter and 1/2 of a sliced banana

Lunch: Salad w/ French dressing, 1 c. hamburger helper cheeseburger macaroni

Snack: 1 c. grapes

Supper: Spaghetti w/ meat and sauce

Snack: 1 c. grapes

Exercise: 3 sets of arm exercises w/ 2 lb. weights, 3 sets of abs, 3 sets of leg/thigh exercises

Would anyone find it helpful/want me to list the actual exercises I do? I haven't b/c I don't know the "technical" name for all of them but if someone is interested I would certainly do my best to get it right.

Day 22 Stats

Well I will admit that while it was harder to stick w/ a stricter diet on day 2 of the 3 day diet, I did manage to drink the recommended gallon of the apple cinnamon spa water recipe and I must say I was feeling great! It helped that both my kids were awesome that day too. (Their mood usually affects my mood.)

Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Weight: 159

Breakfast: 1 slice wheat bread w/ peanut butter and 1/2 a sliced banana

Lunch: Sonic jr. burger, 1/2 my daughter's grilled cheese (I can't just throw that away!), 1/2 c. grapes

Supper: homemade steak fingers and homemade french fries

Exercise: 2 sets of arm exercises w/ 2 lb. weight, 1 set of ab exercises, 2 sets of leg/thigh exercises

As you can see I went a little overboard; I tried to do some floor exercises to counterbalance some of my eating and while I know it didn't come close to burning enough (or even half) of the calories ingested, it made me feel better about myself just knowing I had done them.

Thanks to everyone who keeps coming back (or who's new) and reading! It gives me motivation to see that others are rooting for me and want to know if I've made any progress. Please don't give up on me! :)

Day 21 Stats

Finally time to post during the day! My son is at preschool and my curious 1 year old is exploring the kitchen as I type. She is getting pretty steady on her feet and keeps us on our toes.

At the beginning of August, my husband and I decided to try the 3 day diet I found on pinterest. While we didn't stick to the diet as closely as we should have, we did pretty well, but only lost a pound or two and the website stated you should lose close to 10 lbs. in the 3 days. Well, I decided over the weekend to give it a try again. After all, it's only 3 days. I thought I could handle hunger pains for only a few days. I had a positive mindset going to bed Sunday night.

Monday, September 24, 2012
Weight: 161

Breakfast: Activia yogurt, wheat toast w/ peanut butter

Lunch: Romaine salad w/ a can of tuna and French dressing (I routinely ate this lunch when I was still working and I think it's delicious!), 1 slice wheat bread, 1 1/2 c. cantaloupe, Fiber One brownie

Snack: 8 dried mango pieces

Supper: 3 oz. grilled chicken breast, 1 c. cheddar broccoli noodles, 1/2 an apple, salad w/ French dressing

Dessert: mini Nestle drumstick

I tried to put everything in my fitness pal app as best I could to figure calories. As close as I can tell the whole day I consumed roughly 1400 calories. I thought that was pretty good and my hunger level was about a 4. When I went to bed my stomach felt a little empty but it didn't keep me up all night. Wish me luck w/ following through on Tuesday!

Day 19 & 20

Wow, I've got to be better about posting daily. Now that the new week has started I will be better. It gets hard on the weekend to find a spare minute what w/ all the napping that happens around here. ;)

I realized I forgot to mention what kicked my butt into gear to start exercising last week. I recently joined a mom's group on meetup.com. The first meetup was last week at a park in Wichita. I had never been to the park, didn't know what to expect from the group meeting, and was nervous as hell. I always get nervous when going into a new situation/meeting new people. Luckily my kids have a way of relieving my stress in public b/c I figure I'm too busy running after them to worry if anyone is watching me. (Yeah I can be that paranoid.) Anyway, I didn't know how many other moms would be at this meetup, and there were A LOT of moms and kids there. I had planned to just wander over to a group and ask if they were there w/ the meetup group. I'm trying to direct my son over to a different part of the park when this line of women pushing strollers comes jogging down the sidewalk in front of the park. There are easily 7 women all pushing double strollers, one of them is at least 6 months pregnant. They come into the park (it's a gated playground area) and unbuckle their kids and send them on their way to play while the women unroll their yoga mats and resistance bands. One woman, who is clearly the "leader," immediately lays down and yells out, "We're going to start w/ the V move!" Which is you sitting on your butt w/ your legs slightly lifted and your arms doing a kind of chest fly w/ the resistance band while doing a small crunch. Wow. I watched these women w/ both admiration and disgust. God I hoped this wasn't the group I'd gotten myself into! For a split second I panicked, but the panic quickly subsided when I got a message from the meetup group that a mom had just arrived (you check in online) so I knew this jogging mom group was not my group. A huge weight was lifted. I did however find 2 other moms that belonged to my same group and hit it off w/ one of them. After I got home and was telling my husband about the jogging mom group, I realized while I couldn't necessarily become a jogging mom, I could become a fit a workout into 30 min. of a day mom which is what I've been striving to do. Some days it doesn't work out and I'm not beating myself up on those days, I'll try and keep up when I can.

Saturday, September 22, 2012
Weight: I got my haircut today so didn't shower and didn't weigh

Breakfast: Kix cereal w/ 2% milk

Lunch: Sonic crispy chicken flat melt wrap, tots

Supper: homemade chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes

I didn't do so well on the self control on Saturday as I would have liked. When my husband cooks he tends to make wonderfully fatty, fried foods.

Sunday, September 23, 2012
Weight: 162 (damn last night's supper!)

Breakfast: 4 pancakes w/ butter and syrup

Lunch: Rib Crib - baked potato w/ pulled pork, butter, cheese, bacon bits, fries, 1/4 of my daughter's grilled cheese

Supper: Turkey sandwich on wheat bread w/ mayo, 2 slices block cheese, grapes and cantaloupe

Exercise: 2 mile walk w/ my dog (I set a goal on my walking app to walk 20 miles in a month. I'm a quarter of the way there!)

Days 16, 17 &18

I know it's unusual for me to do a 3 day post (slacking I know), but I'm saving myself some time tomorrow if I don't get around to posting.

I think I'm finally starting to see some answers to my prayers for motivation! The past couple days I've put forth the extra effort and while it's too soon to see results I definitely feel better about myself for doing it! I'll fill you in below.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Weight: 161

Breakfast: 1/4 c. scrambled eggs, 2 slices wheat toast w/ peanut butter

Lunch: McChicken sandwich, handful of fries

Snack: 6 mini strawberry oatmeal muffins (these are absolutely delicious!)

Supper: Cooked chicken breast w/ onion, red pepper and pasta w/ Italian dressing, 3 crescent rounds, and salad w/ French dressing

Exercise: 1 1/2 mile walk to the park holding the dog's leash

Thursday, September 20, 2012
Weight: 159.5 (Finally under 160!)

Breakfast: 4 small pancakes w/ butter and syrup, Activia yogurt

Lunch: chicken salad on lettuce, mac and stuff (hot dogs, mac and cheese, stuffing mix, and peas)

Snack: 3 mini strawberry oatmeal muffins

Supper: grilled cheese, 1 1/2 c. broccoli cheddar soup w/ diced potatoes, grapes

Exercise: 2 mile walk pushing stroller, 2 sets of arm toning w/ 2 lb. weights, 1 set working legs/abs

As you can see I really kicked it up a notch on Thursday. I was pretty pleased w/ myself. Now I hope I can keep the momentum going through the weekend!

Friday, September 21, 2012
Weight: 160 (it's back up!!!!)

Breakfast: 2 strawberry oatmeal muffins (regular size), Activia yogurt

Lunch: mac and stuff, salad w/ French dressing, cantaloupe

Snack: 2 strawberry oatmeal muffins

Supper: taco meat w/ tortilla chips, salsa, shredded cheese, and lettuce

Exercise: 1 set of arms w/ weights, 1.8 mile walk pulling wagon to park and back

Day 15 Stats

So......I've let you all down. I was all gung ho at the beginning of the week to get in an exercise routine and I've failed. Granted it's only the second day of the week but I didn't get up yesterday or today and while I did a small "workout" yesterday, it was pretty wimpy and didn't burn ANY calories. Let's just say I'm pretty disappointed in myself and am going to kick my ass in gear. I need to stop w/ the excuses of I'm too tired, I don't have time when the real reason is, I'M LAZY!! I keep praying for motivation and know it will find me soon.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Weight: 160.5

Breakfast: 3 small pancakes w/ butter and syrup

Snack: Cookie crisp cereal (I'm a kid at heart!)

Lunch: turkey sandwich on wheat bread, mayo, cheese and lettuce, 1 c. mac and cheese

Snack: 6 mini strawberry oatmeal muffins (recipe from pinterest, amazing!!)

Supper: Pizza Hut marinara pasta bake, 1 1/2 cheese breadsticks, salad w/ French dressing, mango pieces

Day 14 Stats

So today didn't go quite as planned but overall a good day. I didn't make it up in time to walk. It was way too late when I went to bed and my eyes didn't want to open this morning. I was able to work in a mini workout this afternoon that I don't think was enough to work anything that I ate off, but it was a step in the right direction.

Monday, September 17, 2012
Weight: 160 (When I started this 2 weeks ago, I was 161.5. Even though it's fluctuated daily I'm going to call this progress!)

Breakfast: slice of whole wheat bread w/ peanut butter, strawberry slices and 1/2 of a sliced banana

Snack: 1 c. grapes

Lunch: chicken salad over lettuce, 1 can Progresso soup, apple pie pocket

Supper: 6 inch sub, handful of grapes, few pieces of pineapple, 2 cookies

Exercise: I have a workout app on my phone that gives you a workout routine in specific time span. I chose the 10 min. one b/c this was my first time using the app. It gave me very simple upper and lower body work to be done for 30 seconds for each exercise. I believe there were about 15-20 different exercises. It was easy to follow and when I was done I felt like I'd done a lot. I will be trying the app out again.

Stats - Day 12 & Day 13

Saturday my husband and I had a rare morning together to run some errands. On 2 separate occasions my car wouldn't start, both times it needed a jump. We called our sitter and took off for a few hours to buy a new battery and check on a new fridge. It's rare that my husband and I get some time w/o the kids, unless it's after the kids go to bed. He was leaving on a day trip to Florida at 12:30 so our time was limited. We were able to buy a new fridge, new battery and grab some lunch before heading home. It's nice to get away from our kids for a while, but boy do they make running errands exciting! I think I was able to stay "good" when we ate out. We went to Panera and I probably should have ordered a salad but the weather was dreary and soup just hit the spot.

Saturday, September 15, 2012
Weight: 160

Breakfast: None (I know it's not a valid excuse, but I didn't have time)

Lunch: Panera Bread - 1/2 turkey and cranberry panini, chicken stew (forgot the name) w/ veggies, piece of bread

Snack: mango pieces

Supper: 1 1/2 c. Hamburger helper lasagna, salad w/ French dressing, diced peaches


As I've written about countless times (I promise to put a lid on my whining), I am very dissatisfied w/ my body. I'm aware I'm not a minority on this topic, but I feel I have no will power. This morning in church and this afternoon at Dillon's, I saw so many women, w/ children I might add, that had such great bodies! (Yes, it may sound strange that I check out other women, but I do.) I started beating myself up in my head about what I've been eating, my lack of exercise. I hope to bring a new attitude to my life starting tomorrow. Back to the intention of walking in the mornings and working out w/ my Wii when my son's at preschool and daughter is napping.

Sunday, September 16, 2012
Weight: 161

Breakfast: Cookie crisp cereal (had to relive my childhood!)

Lunch: chicken salad on lettuce, 1/2 an apple, Fiber One brownie

Supper: pork roast w/ BBQ sauce, homemade fries w/ ketchup, sliced peaches

Dessert: ice cream and apple pie pocket

Please be sending positive thoughts my way this week to keep me on track. I'll be thinking of you all too. Thanks for reading!

Stats for Days 10 & 11

Things have been busy around here and I've been a little scatterbrained this week. I've kind of plateaued and can't seem to break 160 lbs. This next week it's my goal to get under that number! I think I can do it!! My motivation is back!

Thursday, September 13, 2012
Weight: 162 (all that damn ice cream!)
H2O: 4

Breakfast: Activia yogurt, mango pieces, half an apple

Lunch: 5 fish sticks, 1/2 c. mac and cheese, strawberries, salad w/ French dressing

Snack: handful of cookie crisp cereal

Supper: leftover spaghetti, meat and sauce, mango pieces, ice cream cookie

Friday, September 14, 2012
Weight: 160

Breakfast: slice of wheat bread w/ peanut butter and sliced strawberries

Brunch: I went to a new mom's group (MOPS) and had some food there. Monkey bread, egg casserole, yogurt and granola, mini blueberry muffin

Lunch: 2 slices pepperoni pizza, salad w/ French dressing

Supper: chicken salad sandwich, grapes, ice cream

Next week I hope to remember to start taking pictures of my food. Then I'll probably have to remember to load them to the blog w/ each entry.

Days 8 & 9 Stats

I'm getting a jump on tomorrow's post and am doing a double entry today. My husband left on a trip today and won't be back until late tomorrow night. When he's gone it seems like my motivation goes even lower than usual and so does my desire to keep up the house. Throw 2 kids into the mix and it's a recipe for disaster. Please everyone who reads this say an extra prayer for me for the next 2 days that I don't completely fall apart!

My motivation has done way down this past week. Anyone that has ideas/confidence boosters, anything please share! I greatly appreciate it!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Weight: 160.5
H2O: 2

Breakfast: oatmeal w/ splenda, brown sugar and fresh peach slices

Lunch: tuna salad sandwich on ciabatta wheat bread, 1/2 c. mac and cheese

Supper: 1 1/2 slices meatloaf, 1 c. mashed potatoes, 1/2 c. tropical mixed fruit, salad w/ French dressing, ice cream and a S'mores bar

After supper we took the kids and the dog for a walk to the park. Round trip was about 3/4 of a mile, but our pace wasn't fast enough to burn any calories.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Weight: 160.5

Breakfast: We ran some errands this morning before my husband left for his business trip and were in a hurry. No breakfast for mommy.

Lunch: small hamburger, pasta salad, 1 chicken strip, few French fries

Supper: 4 slices pepperoni pizza, 1 c. grapes (I know this was excessive and I have no excuse) ice cream, S'mores bar

Day 7 Stats

I'm on top of things this morning! Dropped my son off at preschool, baby girl is fighting a nap in her crib, and I have roughly 2 hours to myself. We'll see if I can fit in a work out between laundry, dishes and my other chores.

Monday, September 10, 2012
Weight: 159.5
H2O: 8 cups (the cup I was using is about 14 oz I think so this total isn't completely accurate)

Breakfast: 2 slices wheat toast w/ peanut butter, Spark

Snack: 1 c. popcorn

Lunch: 1 1/2 c. spaghetti w/ meat and sauce, 1/2 c. grapes, chips

Snack: S'mores bar

Supper: bacon, corn and potato chowder, 3 biscuits, salad w/ French dressing, S'mores bar and ice cream

Exercise: 2 mile walk pulling wagon

I may have gone a little overboard w/ my dessert but we were all still sitting at the table as a family eating and I gave in. Usually my husband and I enjoy ice cream after the kids are in bed so it was rare that everyone was eating together.

My son wanted to take a walk to the park and I needed to do a couple errands so we walked the mile downtown and visited the post office and Dollar General. The temperature may be dropping and there was a nice breeze, but the lack of clouds in the sky made it seem a lot warmer than it was. By the time we got home, my face was flushed and I was sweating like crazy.

Days 5 & 6 Stats

I had another busy couple of days that's the reason why I haven't posted in 2 days again. Don't worry I won't make this a regular habit. At least I'll try not to. :)

Saturday I was feeling depressed, unmotivated and just all around unhappy. My husband had a gun safety class that day which left me home w/ the kids again, on a Saturday. The weekend before he had spent w/ his friends hunting. I had no time either to myself or spending "family" time. It's safe to say I was not a happy mommy on Saturday. My eating habit wasn't very good that day even though I was trying to be conscious of what went in my mouth. Exercise wasn't good either.

Saturday, September 8, 2012
Weight: I didn't shower today which is when I usually weigh myself.

Breakfast: 1/4 of a strawberry poptart, unfrosted

Lunch: small flatbread pizza, leftover spaghetti on my son's plate, 1 c. diced mango

Snack: 5 mini Nutter butter cookies, 3 pieces mango pieces

Supper: Chinese food, sweet and sour chicken, 2 egg rolls

Exercise: We walked to the Chinese restaurant which was about 1/2 mile from our house.

Sunday I had some "me" time w/ going to a consignment sale, eating lunch by myself, and doing some grocery shopping w/o kids! My husband is really understanding about me having time for myself although he has more opportunities to "get away" than I do. My "mommy" net has been cast and I have several dates on my calendar to socialize w/ other moms and their kids. It will be awhile before I make a friendship strong enough to go on a "mom" date but I'm willing to put in the time to gain new friends.

Sunday, September 9, 2012
Weight: 160

Breakfast: Activia yogurt

Lunch: Panera Bread - clam chowder, strawberry and poppyseed salad, bread

Supper: 5 oz. piece of garlic chicken, sliced peaches, peas and carrots, S'mores bars

I made an apple detox drink I found on pinterest. I plan to make a dent in this gallon jug tomorrow. The website states it helps w/ weight loss and energy. I'm all for the energy b/c I've really been dragging lately. Check back tomorrow and I'll keep you posted.

Days 3 & 4

I know what you're thinking, I quit already, right? Right? No, we had a home visit, my daughter had her 1 year Dr. appt, and my cold symptoms got a little overwhelming. By the time we got home from our errands, supper was made and the kids in bed, I was too worn out to post anything. Today there's a double post.

Thursday, September 6, 2012
Weight: 160.5

Breakfast: quick oats w/ splenda, brown sugar, and half a diced peach (this was so delicious and came out to be about 300 calories. I wish I would have taken a picture to post), Spark

Lunch: 1 1/2 cheese breadsticks, 1 slice pepperoni and hamburger pizza (thin crust), 1/2 c. cantaloupe

Snack:130 calorie snack size ice cream drumstick

Supper: 1 c. turkey chili, 5 fish sticks, 1/2 c. sliced pears, 1 c. mashed potatoes

Exercise: Scrubbed the floor, went up and down the stairs multiple times, 1/2 mile walk to the park, 1 set of lunges, 2 sets of squats, 60 knee cross crunches

I went a little overboard on supper today. My husband had a late meeting so the kids and I just ate whatever was available. I succumbed to the pressure of not leaving anything on my kid's plates which I said from the beginning would be a problem.


Friday, September 7, 2012
Weight: 160

Breakfast: 1 slice whole wheat toast w/ strawberry jelly, Activia yogurt

Lunch: McDouble, side salad w/ French dressing, small fries from a Happy Meal, 1/2 happy meal hamburger

Snack: 3 mini marshmallows

Supper: diced potatoes and sliced sausage links

I admit today was also an overboard day. I thought I was doing okay by ordering a side salad at McDonald's but then that hamburger just looked so dang tasty.

Day 2

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

My cold still has my head and nose stuffy so no walk happened again this morning. Hopefully next week this cold will be out of my system and I can add more exercise to my routine. Here's what my Wed. looked like:

Weight: 159.5 (I know 2 pounds right?!)

Water: I was only able to suck down 5 glasses. A lot better than yesterday though!

Breakfast: 2 slices whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter and banana spread on top plus my usual glass of Spark

Lunch: 1/2 shredded chicken sandwich on wheat bread w/ mayo and a slice of cheese, 1 c. Kraft mac and cheese, 1 1/2 c. cantaloupe

Snack: mini tootsie roll (when my son was digging around for his pee candy I grabbed one impulsively)

Supper: 1 c. spaghetti noodles, 1 c. meat and sauce, I also attended a mom's group thru our church and there was a buffet of goodies there. I sampled some in moderation of course, but I'm sure still ate more than I should have considering I had already eaten supper.

I actually worked in a little exercise today! It wasn't much but it got my blood moving and was a nice start after doing nothing for so long.
Workout: 50 knee cross crunches (standing and drawing knee to chest while touching w/ opposite elbow), 1 set of lunges (10 on each side, these always kill me!), and 2 sets of squats (12 in a set)

I was a little stiff when I woke up this morning. My daughter is napping right now and my son is at preschool. Time to whip up a little breakfast for myself and tackle some housework! See you all tomorrow!

Day 1 Stats

I decided to post my daily stats the following morning rather than the night of. I sat down last night to post and was so tired I didn't want to mess w/ it. So now I plan to squeeze it in w/ my other morning tasks.

I had my alarm set to get up and walk, (I've had a cold and can't breath thru my nose so sleeping has been interesting) but I tossed and turned so much that night I switched it off in the middle of the night. I was glad I did when at 6 AM I heard thunder and rain. Not a great way to get motivated for the day. To make a long story short, I did not do any form of exercise yesterday. My cold had my head all stuffed up and a monster headache. (I know another excuse!) But I did stick to a good eating plan (I thought).

I am trying to track calories on the My Fitness Pal app but get frustrated w/ creating a whole recipe. I usually do fine until supper time. I don't enter anything unless it's something specific. If it's one of my recipes I just try and watch my portions.

Monday, September 4, 2012
Weight: 161.5

Breakfast: Activia Light, Strawberry yogurt, I also drink a glass of spark every morning to boost my energy level (I'm trying to be better about creating more balanced and filling breakfasts. I've gotten some great ideas from a blog called Undressed Skeleton on tumblr. She has awesome breakfast recipes!)
Snack: Fiber One brownie
Lunch: 1/2 turkey sandwich on white bread (all we had in the house I usually eat wheat) w/ mayo and slice of cheese, 1/2 c. of buffalo chicken pasta salad leftover from last week)
Snack: 1 c. cantaloupe, 3 wheat crackers
Supper: 1 1/2 c. turkey chili, 2 pieces whole wheat toast (found some in a plastic bag we hadn't unpacked) w/ butter, 1 cupcake for dessert

I didn't get close to drinking as much water as I should. That's also something I need to work on getting up to. I drank maybe 3 cups all day. Even though I'm home all day, it's hard to remember to drink. I did have a pop w/ supper but I'm trying to cut down on that too. I only have 2 left in our fridge and don't plan to buy anymore after they're gone. We drink a lot of flavored water like Crystal Light. I found some great flavored water recipes w/ fruit on pinterest I plan to try.

So all in all yesterday wasn't too bad. I was pretty hungry by the time supper rolled around and didn't let myself totally pig out. My husband and I usually finish what our kids leave on their plates which in my son's case is usually most of his meal. I refrained from scooping another portion onto my plate. I was pretty proud of myself.

Starting slow...

Ok I know its been a REALLY long time since I last posted and all the posts before that basically said the same thing: me complaining about how I look and needing to get motivated to do something about it. Well I'm done complaining and have a plan to get my life (and my body) back on track.

Over the weekend we celebrated our daughter's 1st birthday. A whole year has passed since this tiny human being was pulled out of my body (I had a C-section) and nothing has really changed regarding my figure. My weight is the same (give or take a couple pounds), but my pants are a little tighter around the middle and there are quite a few dimples on my upper thighs. I have been using the excuse that this is my 2nd child and it takes a little more time to bounce back from that but in reality I'm in total denial. I don't want to start working out or watching what I eat. I want to keep complaining to myself and my husband about how my body looks but not do anything about it.

My son is starting preschool tomorrow which means I will have 2 1/2 hours free time 2 days a week (most of the time anyway). I have a master plan in my head that hopefully will work its way out on paper/computer. From now on I will log my weight, menu, and workout daily to try and stay on top of some kind of routine and keep myself motivated. I plan to take our dog for walks 2-3 times a week. Of course, in order to do this it means I have to get up at 5 or 5:30 to accommodate my husband's work schedule and the fact that I need to shower before he leaves in the morning. I have accomplished this task only once since we've lived in our new house. It was very dark outside and the street lights were sparse in our neighborhood.

See you all tomorrow for my first day stats!

I think I can, I think I can...

I was so proud of myself for keeping up w/ this blog and then the so called "routine" I thought I had established was disrupted when Baby Girl decided she needed to be held at 3 AM. This went on for about a week so by the time I was able to go back to bed, I had turned off my alarm and woke up to the Boy telling me to wake up. Luckily, I was able to shower and get ready after she had eaten and was happily playing on the floor.

The next week she was waking up when my alarm would go off. I usually hit snooze once or twice (who doesn't?) and by the time I was fully conscious, she was talking and starting to complain. I remember that week I slept hard and don't even have a memory of the first round of buzzing from the alarm.

I bought a body ball today and have every intention of inflating it tomorrow and getting started toning and tightening (let's hope it comes w/ a picture examples of what to do). I would have opened it today, but the boy was so excited about it and called it a "toy" that I think it's best to inflate when he's not here, use alone and hide. It will be hard enough keeping the dog away from it.

We're waiting to hear if there's going to be an offer made on our house tomorrow and I've been going through mood swings like you wouldn't believe. Luckily none of them have involved binge eating. I am starting to border on becoming severely depressed and hate talking to my husband as he lives the "bachelor" life. I know he misses us and all but how nice would it be to get a whole night of uninterrupted sleep?! I've dreamed of that for months. (Don't get me wrong, I love my kids deeply and have only left my son twice overnight since he's been born, but after experiencing single mom life for the last 6 weeks, I'm ready for a break!)

Check back to see if I was able to figure out how to inflate my body ball.

Workout craziness

In my last post I brought up Pinterest. This place is a procrastinator's dream. I can spend literally an hour on that site and it feels like 10 minutes have passed. I know everyone can agree w/ me on this. My problem is, I have the app on my phone, and so in the mornings I'll be scrolling through while I'm nursing my daughter and just pin stuff I like w/o really looking at the site it's coming from. The majority of my personal pins are recipes/crafts/items I know nothing about except they look cool. Please tell me other people have this problem too?!

Back to the exercise topic; I have pinned so many workout ideas I can't remember which ones I have and sometimes pin a repeat. My intention when we get moved to our new house and I turn into a SAHM is to create a "workout binder" which contains a list of workout ideas complete w/ pictures (if possible) b/c I don't want to have to find the appropriate routine on my phone everytime I want to work out, this way all I have to do is flip open my binder.

I spoke earlier about my denim capri pants (I call them my short pants) that are my favorite and I haven't been able to get into them for 2 years. I ordered my first pair of TOMS for my birthday and they should be here today. I told my husband they would look super cute w/ my short pants but I'm still too big for them. Well, they button and everything but there's a large portion of skin that hangs over the top which makes sitting uncomfortable in more than one way (everybody knows what I'm talking about).

There are so many things that could act as motivation for me right now and I choose to either ignore them or just plain forget. A wedding coming up next month where the bride is a stick, a 4th of July party where my sister-in-law and her husband will be visiting (she is the Queen of stick people) and our cruise in August. I worry that the summer will be over before I can get into my short pants.

Okay that's enough complaining and feeling sorry for myself. I've gotten better about that but still catch myself bitching about my weight and I've just gone on and on about how I don't do anything about it. No more excuses!

On a Roll

Wow, 2 posts already this week! Check off one daily goal first thing!

Since becoming a single parent Sunday thru Thursday, I've learned the importance of the morning routine. I was never a morning person, I mean NEVER. In high school and college I would sleep until at least 11. Once I got married I found it impossible to sleep past 8 and since having kids, what is sleep? But now that I'm "alone" in my house, I have settled into a nice morning schedule. I was snoozing my alarm for about 45 min. to an hour the first week after my husband left and discovering Baby Girl was also waking to my alarm. (Yes it took me about a week to realize this.) Now I let it snooze maybe twice then turn it off and get up. Sure I may lay there for an extra 10 mins. but I'm awake and giving myself a pep talk.

After taking a shower, I dress and head to the kitchen. Yesterday morning didn't go as planned (not every morning can go as planned) but Monday morning I wrote my blog post and settled down nicely on the couch to catch up on my overwhelming amount of scramble games. I have at least 6 going at a time and it is crazy! I was trying to catch up at work when I take my break to pump, but found that interfered w/ my reading so try to get caught up before bed and in the morning.

As for the diet/exercise portion of this blog: Yesterday I went WAY over my allotted calories (everyone needs to check out My Fitness Pal app). It is awesome! I love how I can scan the barcodes of the food I'm eating (of course recipes are a little tricky). And Baby Girl has been changing her nighttime routine so exercise has been non-existent, but it wasn't really there before so no excuses! Last week I actually thought I'd lost about 2 lbs. but was disappointed after stepping on the scale Sunday to see the numbers back in my "normal zone." I've plateaued and need to get under this number. It will happen! I need to be positive. Do you know how many exercise routines there are on Pinterest?! Wait, I think I just found my next topic. Tune in tomorrow!

Lots of Catching Up to do

Wow, can't believe I've neglected this blog for so long (and my other blog for even longer). We had a doozy of a storm last night w/ lots of thunder and lightning. I have always liked burrowing under the safety of the covers during thunderstorms but that was not the case last night. My husband had left for his "2nd home" and the dog is deathly afraid of thunder so much so that he whines and whimpers. While I do feel sorry for him, I don't want his barking to wake up our kids which for some reason, that I am extremely grateful for, have the ability to sleep through thunder. When I went to bed at 10:30 there was quite a light show going on. At 11 when I finally stopped reading, the girl decided to start crying. I won't go into the whole story, but it was 1 AM when I was able to lay her back in her crib. So now here I sit at 7 AM, I've been up since 5:30 not wanting to miss out on a shower and some "me" time before the morning chaos begins. With Steve living in the city during the week, I have found my morning routine to be very important and as much as I love lying in bed soaking up the morning, it can be difficult to find time to shower w/ 2 children demanding your attention in the morning.

For those handful of people that may read this blog, here is a quick update on what's been happening: My husband took a different job w/ the same company which he'd been debating pretty heavily for weeks. This means he lives in the city during the week and is home on the weekends. This arrangement has been going on for 3 weeks and so far my blood pressure has remained normal. We've had an offer on our house and we're still negotiating the price, but hope to come out on top. After weeks of scouting realtor.com, we looked at 3 houses that fit our criteria and made an offer on one. It was accepted on the contingency that we sell our current house. We're hoping to be living together again in the next 6 weeks or so. Be praying for us!

As for my "makeover," our new house is located just 10 min. from a YMCA where I hope to become a member. We booked a cruise a few weeks ago and if that's not motivation, I have a serious problem! I keep thinking about my favorite pair of capri pants I haven't been able to wear for the past 2 summers (yes I still have them even though they haven't fit) and how much I want to wear them this year. I better get cracking though b/c it's my tummy that needs the most attention. I'm still drinking the Spark but can't afford the other products right now. I drink Spark first thing every morning and have to say I've noticed a difference, of course, I sit at a computer all day at work so it's a little tougher to stay alert in the afternoon.

Rocky Road

So...things kind of fell apart these last 2 weeks. I ran out of my Catalyst pills and the budget didn't allow for more right now (they're kind of pricey!), I got a cold which threw my motivation into the gutter and my husband went out of town a couple days which left me a single parent. Without those Catalyst pills, my appetite grew, especially in the morning. I haven't been consistent w/ drinking my shake and then forget to eat something thus, throwing off my whole day.

I also dropped the ball on working out. The original plan was to work out in the morning before the kids woke up. The reality sank in when the alarm went off at 5 AM and my husband, we'll call him Steve, hit snooze. I didn't even realize the alarm had gone off and kept sleeping. At 6:15 when Steve got out of the shower, he woke me up to take mine. I was not on board for getting up at this time. I am a stay in bed until the last possible minute kind of girl. The other scenario not helping the get out of bed plan: my daughter waking up at random times in the middle of the night. I think the problem is I don't have the right motivation. The desire to lose baby weight is not great enough. I needed a date to work toward. A Wedding Date.

To be continued...

Prayer

This post doesn't have anything to do w/ my weight/organizational progress. I just felt the need to talk about it. It does fall into the "better myself" category.

I was reading a friend's blog the other day and she had an interesting post about how she keeps a prayer journal. In it she writes what she wishes to pray for and then follows the entry w/ a nightly prayer. She said a recurring item on her list was motivation. I found myself thinking about this idea and was struck by the fact that while I'm not a person who prays regularly, it had certainly never crossed my mind to pray for something other than people. I grew up hearing about the prayer chain. My mom was called when someone in our community was sick, died, in the hospital/surgery, etc. and needed to be prayed for. She then called the next person on the list. I regularly pray for my family and friends every week at church, but never had the idea to pray for things like strength, patience, motivation.

I want to thank my friend for opening this door to me. I'm ashamed to say I usually only pray at church and that's mainly b/c you almost have to, but sometimes I pray in the shower. It seems like that's where I do most of my thinking, probably b/c that's about the only time I'm alone during the day. I'm going to start thinking more about what kind of things I want to pray for, who I want to pray for, and how to help these people. I want to give strength to my grandpa, courage to my aunt, and patience to myself. But that's another post for another day.

Day One

After completing my first day, I know what changes to make in my routine tomorrow. I turned a few coworkers onto the energy drink I've started taking. It was hard at times to get the timing right and now what kind of nutrition my snacks needed to have. I almost felt like skipping my workout b/c I was feeling a little fatigued, but powered through a 20 minute workout w/ the Wii fit program and my Wii fit board.

A week has passed since I set up my profile on Wii fit and it was time to check back in w/ my weight and BMI. I'm not embarrassed to admit my BMI has been in the overweight catergory for several years. I'm not sure what I've been doing this past week but today I had lost 6.5 lbs! I'm not sure I trust it though. I haven't been SUPER careful w/ what I've been eating the past week, but I haven't been shoving everything I see in my mouth. Since I'm nursing my baby, I've been hungrier than usual so second helpings aren't a stranger to me. I guess it's true what they say about breastfeeding burning so many calories.

I had trouble w/ my blood sugar levels and felt a little squeamish afterwards. Not to mention I could have eaten the contents of our entire fridge.

I've got my schedule planned a little more specific tomorrow so hope to feel awesome at the end of day!

Tomorrow I want to try out my new workout Wii program which sounds a little about bootcamp w/ several different 10 minute programs both cardio and strength training.

Ready to Go!

My Advocare products that will give me more energy and lose my "pooch" of belly fat.

The key to organizing my crazy house/life!

I realized as I was typing this that I forgot to take a picture of my Wii fit board that I'm hoping will help lose this baby weight. The first week will be devoted to finding a routine that works and trying not to exhaust myself w/ too many "extra" chores and of course, not to obsess about a schedule which I find difficult to reign in. I get excited about organization and sometimes try to "over" organize things and over analyze (My husband would agree).

Check back on Monday to see if I'm already re-evaluating my approach or maybe I'll already be in bed and skip the update. Only one way to find out!

Starting Fresh

With this blog I hope to accomplish three New Year's Resolutions.

#1 Lose my baby weight (and then some) and become more active.
#2 Get my house (and myself) more organized now that I have 2 kids.
#3 Start writing again.

I realize most Resolutions only last a mere week or two, so this blog is going to be my motivation to keep going. Not to mention the money spent on weight loss products, food, exercise equipment, etc.

#1 I had heard good things about Advocare and decided to try it for myself. My products should be here at the end of the week. I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.
For Christmas my husband and I got a Wii. We found a used Wii Fit Board at Gamestop and a used copy of Wii Fit. I'm ready to get started on my exercise journey and think my only problem will be fighting my son to get control of the fit board.

#2 As far as getting myself organized, a friend raved about Stephanie O'Dea's book Totally Together. I read the first 2 chapters at my friend's house and was hooked. I had to order myself a copy and am eagerly awaiting its arrival in the mail. I'm already planning my weekly chores and trying to organize my day.

#3 I was a Creative Writing major in college and the job I currently have has nothing to do w/ writing. This blog is a perfect way to kick start my creative juices.

I invite anyone to share in my journey to becoming a skinnier, put together, better version of myself. Check back in a week or so and see what I've been up to.