Hey everyone! Thank you to everyone who stayed on me about not posting! I did not forget... things have just been ridiculous! We went back to start setting up my classroom on August 1st and have pretty much not sat down for 2 seconds since. (Even now I feel guilty because I should be doing some of the work in my HUGE box of stuff I brought home!)
Last week I worked 13-15 hours EVERY day last week! Needless to say, that left no time for working out. I did walk around a lot though! The problem is I was leaving the house at like 8am and getting home at 11pm, so I ate out for lunch and dinner EVERY day. Not great for the weight loss!
Yesterday was weigh in day. As expected, I did have a gain, but it was luckily only 2 pounds! (I was perfectly happy with that after the week I had!) I am hoping the return to work will be helpful because I am on my feet a lot more, and I have less time to snack! Fingers crossed! Now back to work!!!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Sunday, July 28, 2013
OMG!!!
Well, after not having a great week, I was a bit nervous about weigh-in this morning! I got on the scale, saw the last number, and proceeded to freak out! I thought I had gained 8.5 pounds! However, I then proceeded to look at the rest of the numbers and couldn't believe my eyes! REALLY? I LOST WEIGHT??? I am down 1.5 pounds since last week! I am completely in shock and super happy! I guess even the small differences and just being more aware of doing better must be helping.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Ups and Downs
Well, Thursday was much better! I had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast, chicken nuggets and light yogurt for lunch, and made a roasted garlic pizza for dinner. I know pizza isn't the best, but this one had chicken, onions, roasted garlic, and parsley. Only the creme for the sauce (which I used sparingly) and the cheese were on the bad side. I also did gymnastics with Jameson and did some cleaning.
Yesterday was not as good because Mom took a day off and we hung out all day, but it was still better than I would have done before all of this. For breakfast we were getting ready to leave the house and I just wanted something to tide me over until lunch, so I had some pecans. For lunch, we went to Wendy's for lunch. I got a pretty fatty burger, but I decided to forgo the fries. Jameson also had a Frosty that he didn't finish. I took 2 bites, but I threw the rest away before I ate it. Mid-afternoon we went to a play place to let Jameson run around and play games (since it continued to rain!) Mom had some popcorn, and I had pretzel bites with cheese dip. Luckily, there were not too many pretzel bites, and I only used about half the cheese. Then we met Chris for dinner at a Mexican restaurant because Mom hasn't had Mexican lately. There were 4 of us who shared a basket of chips, so I ate WAY less chips than usual. They brought a second basket, but we left them. I ate my dinner and resisted the urge to snack later in the evening. Like I said... not a great day but way better than my past habits.
So far, today has gone well. Chris is gone helping his boss move, so Jameson and I are just hanging out at home like we do during the week. I had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all around for lunch. (Yes Mom... he finally got his PB&J!) Not sure what dinner will be yet, but it better be good because tomorrow is weigh-in day! UGH! Not looking forward to this one!
Yesterday was not as good because Mom took a day off and we hung out all day, but it was still better than I would have done before all of this. For breakfast we were getting ready to leave the house and I just wanted something to tide me over until lunch, so I had some pecans. For lunch, we went to Wendy's for lunch. I got a pretty fatty burger, but I decided to forgo the fries. Jameson also had a Frosty that he didn't finish. I took 2 bites, but I threw the rest away before I ate it. Mid-afternoon we went to a play place to let Jameson run around and play games (since it continued to rain!) Mom had some popcorn, and I had pretzel bites with cheese dip. Luckily, there were not too many pretzel bites, and I only used about half the cheese. Then we met Chris for dinner at a Mexican restaurant because Mom hasn't had Mexican lately. There were 4 of us who shared a basket of chips, so I ate WAY less chips than usual. They brought a second basket, but we left them. I ate my dinner and resisted the urge to snack later in the evening. Like I said... not a great day but way better than my past habits.
So far, today has gone well. Chris is gone helping his boss move, so Jameson and I are just hanging out at home like we do during the week. I had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all around for lunch. (Yes Mom... he finally got his PB&J!) Not sure what dinner will be yet, but it better be good because tomorrow is weigh-in day! UGH! Not looking forward to this one!
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Rough!
Oops! Life seems to be getting busier and busier these days! School is right around the corner, so I am trying to get things ready AND spend as much time with Jameson as possible! (We are watching Bubble Guppies right now before gymnastics this morning!)
Well, my weigh-in last week went well! I was down another 3 pounds! We also went out to dinner with friends on Saturday night, and I did pretty well! The worst thing I had was an extra beer. I also brought the majority of my dinner home.
Then Sunday came... and it got rough! I seemed to be unable to fill up and having serious cravings! This has seemed to be the case the majority of the week, and I know I've made bad choices. Then yesterday it hit me... PMS!!! While that explains the constant hunger and the uncontrollable urge to eat peanut butter by the gallons... it doesn't make it okay! I made many bad choices (although Monday was okay)... especially Tuesday and Wednesday!
I am happy to say that this morning I woke up feeling a little more normal. PMS tends to affect me for 3-4 days, so hopefully this means things are back to normal! This morning I ate a small bowl of cereal with skim milk for breakfast and feel satisfied with that. Now we have gymnastics and gorgeous weather to take advantage of! I have several days of bad choices to make up for and only 3 days until I have to weigh-in again! This week I'll be extremely happy with breaking even!
Well, my weigh-in last week went well! I was down another 3 pounds! We also went out to dinner with friends on Saturday night, and I did pretty well! The worst thing I had was an extra beer. I also brought the majority of my dinner home.
Then Sunday came... and it got rough! I seemed to be unable to fill up and having serious cravings! This has seemed to be the case the majority of the week, and I know I've made bad choices. Then yesterday it hit me... PMS!!! While that explains the constant hunger and the uncontrollable urge to eat peanut butter by the gallons... it doesn't make it okay! I made many bad choices (although Monday was okay)... especially Tuesday and Wednesday!
I am happy to say that this morning I woke up feeling a little more normal. PMS tends to affect me for 3-4 days, so hopefully this means things are back to normal! This morning I ate a small bowl of cereal with skim milk for breakfast and feel satisfied with that. Now we have gymnastics and gorgeous weather to take advantage of! I have several days of bad choices to make up for and only 3 days until I have to weigh-in again! This week I'll be extremely happy with breaking even!
Friday, July 19, 2013
Oops!
Well, apparently things were not going to get less busy this week as hoped! Now I realize it's been like 5 days since I posted! Yikes! We've had all kinds of activities going on this week, so we haven't been home much.
So basically... I'll give you the quick recap of the week. Monday was pretty good day food wise, and I got a workout in. Tuesday was great day food wise but minimal exercise. Wednesday was a good day food wise and little exercise (but I did go grocery shopping, so I did a lot of walking at the store!) Thursday and Friday were disgustingly hot, so anything outside was definitely out! Thursday my exercise consisted of gymnastics with Jameson! I am always sweating more than him when it's over! LOL Food went pretty well, although I overate a little at dinner. Today was a pretty good for breakfast and lunch, but we got pizza and breadsticks at Jameson's request for dinner. That was not great, but overall I think it was a successful week! We also got to play in the pool at Grandma's house this afternoon! Now comes the hardest part of the week... THE WEEKEND! Weigh-in on Sunday... I will keep you updated on how it goes! I'm hoping to be down where I was back before July 4th!
So basically... I'll give you the quick recap of the week. Monday was pretty good day food wise, and I got a workout in. Tuesday was great day food wise but minimal exercise. Wednesday was a good day food wise and little exercise (but I did go grocery shopping, so I did a lot of walking at the store!) Thursday and Friday were disgustingly hot, so anything outside was definitely out! Thursday my exercise consisted of gymnastics with Jameson! I am always sweating more than him when it's over! LOL Food went pretty well, although I overate a little at dinner. Today was a pretty good for breakfast and lunch, but we got pizza and breadsticks at Jameson's request for dinner. That was not great, but overall I think it was a successful week! We also got to play in the pool at Grandma's house this afternoon! Now comes the hardest part of the week... THE WEEKEND! Weigh-in on Sunday... I will keep you updated on how it goes! I'm hoping to be down where I was back before July 4th!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Checking In
I know things have been short lately! I'm hoping that will change this week, but I know it's only going to get worse as the new school year approaches! I was hit with the realization this week that I only have 2 and a half weeks left until I head back! GEEZ!
As usual, weekends can be very difficult! We celebrated Chris's birthday with a day of family fun on Friday (which turned into a family nightmare in the form of a screaming tired 2 year old!) and then had a birthday party AND a BBQ with friends yesterday. UGH!
HIghlights include:
As usual, weekends can be very difficult! We celebrated Chris's birthday with a day of family fun on Friday (which turned into a family nightmare in the form of a screaming tired 2 year old!) and then had a birthday party AND a BBQ with friends yesterday. UGH!
HIghlights include:
- Had grilled chicken and a diet root beer when we went out for Chris's birthday lunch
- Took some of the meat off of my sandwich when we went out for birthday dinner with Mom and Pat
- No snacks at the Science Center
- Ate a lot of celery at the birthday party and avoided the dessert table
- Ate pulled chicken instead of pulled pork (less fat)
- Had about 2/3 as many chicken nuggets when we had lunch at home today
- No "real" exercise this weekend (even though we walked a lot on Friday)
- Had taquitos, potato salad, and cake balls at the BBQ
- Took Jameson out for a celebratory ice cream tonight after dinner for eating all his dinner (doesn't happen often) and a good day with the potty training. (I did get a small instead of a regular and no cookies in it.)
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Where is all my time?
So... after teaching summer school, this is my 4th week off for the summer! You would think this would allow for PLENTY of time to blog, but it's been crazy around here! We have had multiple plans almost everyday! We're also rushing to get in as much fun as possible because the summer is flying by quickly. I have kindergarten orientation in EXACTLY 4 weeks from now. That means I have 3 weeks before I have to be back in there setting up... and only 1 week until I get my class list and start mass creating! Anyone who thinks teachers have 3 months off obviously doesn't know a teacher!!! I work 70 hours a week all school year, have to stay after the kids get out for summer, am there for professional development about half of the days the kids are off during the year, work weekends, work on and off all summer, attend meetings, teach summer school, go back August 1st, etc! I have been working on things for school at least 1 day a week all four of the weeks I have been off. Ok... off the soapbox!
So... here's the update that I've been struggling to have time for!
Wednesday was a crazy day! Everything that we had planned fell through for one reason or another. So even though we spent the day at home, it was in no way relaxing because we still spent most of the day getting ready to go places we never went!!! I was able to get a short 5 minute walk in, but that was about it. I had no breakfast because we got up late due to the storms keeping us up throughout the night. For lunch, I made a microwavable Old El Paso tortilla stuffer (basically mexican rice, black beans, and steak) and put it in a spinach tortilla shell. I then was going out for girls' night with some friends from work for dinner and drinks. While we went to a pub full of fried, huge dishes, I had a grilled buffalo chicken breast sandwich and a small styrofoam bowl of potato salad. Also, I managed only 3 drinks in the 6 hours I was out! I had a Budlight, a Angry Orchard apple cider beer, and a small glass of Riesling wine. Some of my friends had huge heaps of bbq nachos with onion straws and stuff, but I stuck to my grilled chicken!
Today was equally crazy! As most of you who read this know, today was my husband's birthday AND Thursday is gymnastics day! In our rush to pick up my mother-in-law and get to gymnastics, I did without breakfast again. (I know... shame! Shame!) For lunch we went to Firehouse Subs. I had the smaller sandwich. I got the BBQ brisket and cheddar sandwich WITHOUT mayo. It came with chips and a drink, so I got Sunchips and a Diet Dr. Pepper. We then went to the Butterfly House and walked around there and then walked over to the St. Louis Carousel where we had armbands to ride an unlimited amount of times. Luckily, Jameson was done after 3! For dinner, we met the whole family at Llwelyn's Irish Pub for Chris's birthday dinner. We had 3 appetizers on the table, but I managed to only eat 1 soft pretzel stick and 1 boneless wing. For dinner, I had the buffalo chicken wrap with seasoned vegetables (thanks to some serious persuasion from Nicole!). I had only 1 beer with dinner (while many others had 2) and then had a glass of water. We then went to the park for birthday cake. I had a small piece of gooey butter cake. I had purposely gotten some of Chris's favorite desserts that I don't prefer so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat a lot!
It's been hard because I have not had a chance to get a REAL workout in the last two days, but I have walked as much as possible and tried to make better choices. Overall, I'm still happy with my progress. No one said it would be easy!
So... here's the update that I've been struggling to have time for!
Wednesday was a crazy day! Everything that we had planned fell through for one reason or another. So even though we spent the day at home, it was in no way relaxing because we still spent most of the day getting ready to go places we never went!!! I was able to get a short 5 minute walk in, but that was about it. I had no breakfast because we got up late due to the storms keeping us up throughout the night. For lunch, I made a microwavable Old El Paso tortilla stuffer (basically mexican rice, black beans, and steak) and put it in a spinach tortilla shell. I then was going out for girls' night with some friends from work for dinner and drinks. While we went to a pub full of fried, huge dishes, I had a grilled buffalo chicken breast sandwich and a small styrofoam bowl of potato salad. Also, I managed only 3 drinks in the 6 hours I was out! I had a Budlight, a Angry Orchard apple cider beer, and a small glass of Riesling wine. Some of my friends had huge heaps of bbq nachos with onion straws and stuff, but I stuck to my grilled chicken!
Today was equally crazy! As most of you who read this know, today was my husband's birthday AND Thursday is gymnastics day! In our rush to pick up my mother-in-law and get to gymnastics, I did without breakfast again. (I know... shame! Shame!) For lunch we went to Firehouse Subs. I had the smaller sandwich. I got the BBQ brisket and cheddar sandwich WITHOUT mayo. It came with chips and a drink, so I got Sunchips and a Diet Dr. Pepper. We then went to the Butterfly House and walked around there and then walked over to the St. Louis Carousel where we had armbands to ride an unlimited amount of times. Luckily, Jameson was done after 3! For dinner, we met the whole family at Llwelyn's Irish Pub for Chris's birthday dinner. We had 3 appetizers on the table, but I managed to only eat 1 soft pretzel stick and 1 boneless wing. For dinner, I had the buffalo chicken wrap with seasoned vegetables (thanks to some serious persuasion from Nicole!). I had only 1 beer with dinner (while many others had 2) and then had a glass of water. We then went to the park for birthday cake. I had a small piece of gooey butter cake. I had purposely gotten some of Chris's favorite desserts that I don't prefer so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat a lot!
It's been hard because I have not had a chance to get a REAL workout in the last two days, but I have walked as much as possible and tried to make better choices. Overall, I'm still happy with my progress. No one said it would be easy!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Ready for Bed!
Well,I know it has been a few days since I posted, so I am going to catch you all up to speed. HOWEVER, it is 12:10am while I'm typing this, and I am ready to go to bed. Tomorrow is free movie morning and swim lessons in the afternoon!
Sunday = making better food choices than over holiday weekend but no workout (slept most of the day after being up so late for drive-in on Saturday)
Monday = GREAT low cal. meals for breakfast and lunch but had Mexican for dinner... Family went for a 1.25 mile walk after dinner in the humid weather. (Ugh!)
Tuesday = GREAT DAY!!! I had oatmeal for breakfast, a buffalo chicken wrap and piece of french bread for lunch with an iced tea (and left the potato chips), drank a Diet Coke at my mom's house, went to Crazy Bowls and Wraps for dinner and had a grilled chicken caesar wrap and Diet Dr. Pepper for dinner. It came with fresh tortilla chips. I ate about half of them with black bean hummus. Also, I ran on the elliptical for 12 minutes this morning and then walked 1.32 miles at the park after dinner.
I REFUSE for this week's weigh-in to be like the last one!!!
Sunday = making better food choices than over holiday weekend but no workout (slept most of the day after being up so late for drive-in on Saturday)
Monday = GREAT low cal. meals for breakfast and lunch but had Mexican for dinner... Family went for a 1.25 mile walk after dinner in the humid weather. (Ugh!)
Tuesday = GREAT DAY!!! I had oatmeal for breakfast, a buffalo chicken wrap and piece of french bread for lunch with an iced tea (and left the potato chips), drank a Diet Coke at my mom's house, went to Crazy Bowls and Wraps for dinner and had a grilled chicken caesar wrap and Diet Dr. Pepper for dinner. It came with fresh tortilla chips. I ate about half of them with black bean hummus. Also, I ran on the elliptical for 12 minutes this morning and then walked 1.32 miles at the park after dinner.
I REFUSE for this week's weigh-in to be like the last one!!!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Pissed Off
As you can tell from the title, I am not in a good mood right now! As I knew it would be, this weekend has been very difficult. We did the parade, BBQ, concerts, fair, and fireworks thing on the 4th. Friday Chris was off so we had a BBQ at our house with friends. Yesterday was so nice, and we wanted to do something as a family. We decided to take Jameson to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch and to play. On the way, I spoke with my brother and found out that him, his wife, and her friend were going to the drive-in last night to see Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University. We were wanting to see both of them and thought Jameson would like it, so we met them for dinner and went along.
This weekend has been a blast, but it has also led to a lot of poor food choices, overeating, and on a few days inactivity (except on Thursday when we had to walk 4 miles). For this reason, I knew that this morning's weigh-in was not going to be pretty. However, it was worse than I thought! I was extremely angry when I got on the scale this morning and had gained back ALL 5 pounds that I had lost in the week and a half prior.
Normally this would be the point where I'd give up! I would throw my hands up and say "I quit! What's the point? I worked my butt off and gave up all the foods I love for no reason." While I find it extremely frustrating that I can work like crazy for 2 weeks and gain all of it back in 3 days of being careless. Doesn't seem fair! However, today I did not have that giving up mentality that has plagued me for years! Today it was a motivating anger that I'm not going to let one stupid holiday weekend ruin my hard work. In fact, it makes me want to do the best I've ever done this week to get that 5 pounds back off in record time.
I'm not going to lie... I knew what I was doing and was mad at myself while I was doing it. But just like a cigarette to someone who trying to quit smoking, it just felt so good and comforting. But it feels better when I get on the scale and see the loss.
So while this is a post that I did not want to make... it is also a statement of my resolve to make this time different than all of those failed past attempts and for a better week ahead! Wish me luck!
This weekend has been a blast, but it has also led to a lot of poor food choices, overeating, and on a few days inactivity (except on Thursday when we had to walk 4 miles). For this reason, I knew that this morning's weigh-in was not going to be pretty. However, it was worse than I thought! I was extremely angry when I got on the scale this morning and had gained back ALL 5 pounds that I had lost in the week and a half prior.
Normally this would be the point where I'd give up! I would throw my hands up and say "I quit! What's the point? I worked my butt off and gave up all the foods I love for no reason." While I find it extremely frustrating that I can work like crazy for 2 weeks and gain all of it back in 3 days of being careless. Doesn't seem fair! However, today I did not have that giving up mentality that has plagued me for years! Today it was a motivating anger that I'm not going to let one stupid holiday weekend ruin my hard work. In fact, it makes me want to do the best I've ever done this week to get that 5 pounds back off in record time.
I'm not going to lie... I knew what I was doing and was mad at myself while I was doing it. But just like a cigarette to someone who trying to quit smoking, it just felt so good and comforting. But it feels better when I get on the scale and see the loss.
So while this is a post that I did not want to make... it is also a statement of my resolve to make this time different than all of those failed past attempts and for a better week ahead! Wish me luck!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4th of July to everyone! It's nice to finally have a July holiday that isn't a billion degrees outside.
Well, it's been a crazy week of ups and downs. As you saw, Monday was great!!! Tuesday was not! We ended up meeting Chris for lunch after our library storytime and went to Steak n' Shake. I did forgo the milkshake that looked delicious, but I wouldn't say it was a healthy meal. I made stuffed red peppers for dinner, but I also had a beer and ice cream later in the evening. And I'm not sure what was worse... eating what I did or how I felt afterwards. First of all, the Steak n' Shake was the greasiest meal I've had in a while and did not agree with my stomach. Second, I was so disappointed in myself and angry at the choices I had made. HOWEVER, it was too late, and all I could do was move on!
This morning I got up with renewed motivation. I spent the day working on potty training again.... running to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes. I also made breakfast, ran for 20 minutes on the elliptical, made lunch, did 3 loads of laundry, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, did some squats and wall chair sits, did some cooking for the weekend get togethers, etc. I barely sat down all day. In the meantime I ate oatmeal for breakfast, 1 half stuffed pepper left over, and the leftover filling (long grain and wild rice with hamburger). I also drank about 120 oz. of water!
Tonight we were on the go so we went out for pizza at Chris's request. I ate too much pizza and felt a bit bad after how much I had worked today. However, it was gorgeous out when we got home so we went for a walk. It was about a mile. This is probably the most I have worked out in one day in a LONG time!
Tomorrow is a holiday. While I want to take advantage of some of the holiday goodies, I am going to work hard to balance it with healthy choices and exercise. I know that we will be doing a lot of walking which will help greatly! I expect it to be a very late night, so I will probably post again on Friday or Saturday morning because we are also having people over on Friday!
Well, it's been a crazy week of ups and downs. As you saw, Monday was great!!! Tuesday was not! We ended up meeting Chris for lunch after our library storytime and went to Steak n' Shake. I did forgo the milkshake that looked delicious, but I wouldn't say it was a healthy meal. I made stuffed red peppers for dinner, but I also had a beer and ice cream later in the evening. And I'm not sure what was worse... eating what I did or how I felt afterwards. First of all, the Steak n' Shake was the greasiest meal I've had in a while and did not agree with my stomach. Second, I was so disappointed in myself and angry at the choices I had made. HOWEVER, it was too late, and all I could do was move on!
This morning I got up with renewed motivation. I spent the day working on potty training again.... running to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes. I also made breakfast, ran for 20 minutes on the elliptical, made lunch, did 3 loads of laundry, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, did some squats and wall chair sits, did some cooking for the weekend get togethers, etc. I barely sat down all day. In the meantime I ate oatmeal for breakfast, 1 half stuffed pepper left over, and the leftover filling (long grain and wild rice with hamburger). I also drank about 120 oz. of water!
Tonight we were on the go so we went out for pizza at Chris's request. I ate too much pizza and felt a bit bad after how much I had worked today. However, it was gorgeous out when we got home so we went for a walk. It was about a mile. This is probably the most I have worked out in one day in a LONG time!
Tomorrow is a holiday. While I want to take advantage of some of the holiday goodies, I am going to work hard to balance it with healthy choices and exercise. I know that we will be doing a lot of walking which will help greatly! I expect it to be a very late night, so I will probably post again on Friday or Saturday morning because we are also having people over on Friday!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Good Day!
Happy Monday everyone! It's nice to know most of you only have to work 3 days before you have a day off! A lot of our weekly activities (free movie and gymnastics) are cancelled this week. Therefore, we are spending this week doing crazy potty training. We had 11 successful potties and only 3 accidents today! My exercise has been running back and forth to the bathroom every 20 minutes! LOL
Today I DID eat breakfast! I had a bowl of oatmeal. For lunch, I had a turkey, cheese, mustard, and lettuce wrap with a side of hummus and multi-grain crackers. Around 4:30, we were getting hungry waiting for Chris to come home so Jameson and I shared an apple. For dinner, we stopped at Chick-fil-A on our way to Target. I thought ahead (especially because I really wanted Mexican!) and looked up the nutritional facts on their website before ordering. For a daily total... I had 1800 calories (partly due to the cider beer that I drank when we got home.) STILL... pretty great day. I've thought about how many calories I would have eaten before without even thinking... and it's probably about twice that! OUCH!
Tomorrow is another day of potty training and eating some healthy food at home!
Today I DID eat breakfast! I had a bowl of oatmeal. For lunch, I had a turkey, cheese, mustard, and lettuce wrap with a side of hummus and multi-grain crackers. Around 4:30, we were getting hungry waiting for Chris to come home so Jameson and I shared an apple. For dinner, we stopped at Chick-fil-A on our way to Target. I thought ahead (especially because I really wanted Mexican!) and looked up the nutritional facts on their website before ordering. For a daily total... I had 1800 calories (partly due to the cider beer that I drank when we got home.) STILL... pretty great day. I've thought about how many calories I would have eaten before without even thinking... and it's probably about twice that! OUCH!
Tomorrow is another day of potty training and eating some healthy food at home!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Weigh-in #2
Well, what we thought would be a nice boring weekend turned into anything but! We figured it would be a calm weekend because we had no plans, Chris's parents were going out of town to visit his little brother, and his other brother was going out of town for a guys' weekend for his birthday. Well, things changed! We had my little sister stay with us all weekend, Chris's parents ended up not leaving town after his mom was in the hospital at the beginning of the week for a blood clot in her lung, and we had them and his brother's girlfriend over for a BBQ last night. Today we went to lunch with my Dad, stepmom, and grandma when they came out to pick up my sister.
We spent half of yesterday cleaning and baking for the family BBQ. We spent the other half of the day entertaining. I ate too much last night, but at least most of the food we had was somewhat healthy. Chris grilled some amazing corn on the cob. He pulls the husks back, brushes them with olive oil, sprinkles it was seasoning, pulls the husks back up over the corn, and grills them that way. IT WAS DELICIOUS! I did eat some of the dessert I made (trying a new Pinterest recipe), but I did not go back for seconds when others did.
Today was weigh-in day! Last week I had lost 3 pounds. This week I lost an additional 2 pounds! While I am not actually seeing the results on my body yet, it is encouraging to see the numbers showing some progress. It is much more motivating to keep going when you see the progress happening! I know this week will bring some unique challenges due to the holiday. However, I am planning ahead. My goal is to be very good the next 3 days and workout each day. Thursday we are BBQing at Chris's parents' house, but we will also be doing a lot of walking (to the parade and back... then to the fair and back). Friday we are having friends over for a BBQ. I am going to try to make sure I get my workout in that morning before anyone comes over and that there are plenty of healthier options for food. I will post on how it is going! Let's hope for another 2-3 pound lost next week!!!
We spent half of yesterday cleaning and baking for the family BBQ. We spent the other half of the day entertaining. I ate too much last night, but at least most of the food we had was somewhat healthy. Chris grilled some amazing corn on the cob. He pulls the husks back, brushes them with olive oil, sprinkles it was seasoning, pulls the husks back up over the corn, and grills them that way. IT WAS DELICIOUS! I did eat some of the dessert I made (trying a new Pinterest recipe), but I did not go back for seconds when others did.
Today was weigh-in day! Last week I had lost 3 pounds. This week I lost an additional 2 pounds! While I am not actually seeing the results on my body yet, it is encouraging to see the numbers showing some progress. It is much more motivating to keep going when you see the progress happening! I know this week will bring some unique challenges due to the holiday. However, I am planning ahead. My goal is to be very good the next 3 days and workout each day. Thursday we are BBQing at Chris's parents' house, but we will also be doing a lot of walking (to the parade and back... then to the fair and back). Friday we are having friends over for a BBQ. I am going to try to make sure I get my workout in that morning before anyone comes over and that there are plenty of healthier options for food. I will post on how it is going! Let's hope for another 2-3 pound lost next week!!!
Saturday, June 29, 2013
New Motivation
Sorry I didn't post last night! Our internet was not working. UGH!
Well, today I have been given even more motivation to lose weight than I had before! My little cousin, Holly, who is more like a sister to me got engaged last night. I am going to be in her wedding, which means a new dress. And for once... I do not want to be the fat bridesmaid! She's losing weight right now, so hopefully we can continue to motivate each other (from afar).
So after the rough day on Wednesday, Thursday was an AWESOME day! I did not have breakfast because we were hurrying to gymnastics. I once again spent an hour spotting Jameson in his gymnastics class and was sweating harder than he was by the end. We came home for lunch, and I made him and my sister a pepperoni pizza to share. I made myself tuna with a bit of Miracle Whip and put it on a Light Flatout wrap. I also had about 2 Tbsp. of hummus with multi-grain and flax seed crackers. After Jameson's nap, we took a walk up to the park in town to the Farmer's Market. I walked the dog and my sister held Jameson's hand all the way there, and we switched on the way back. It was 2.6 miles roundtrip. We also bought fresh sweet potatoes. The kids got large peanut butter cookies, but I did not. For dinner, we went to Panera Bread Co. I had the Pick Two combo with a grilled chicken caesar salad and a smoked turkery breast sandwich (and the french baguette). All three of them got the pastry items for dessert and ate them right in front of me, but I didn't! AWESOME DAY! I felt great!
Yesterday was good too (although not as good as Thursday). I didn't eat breakfast again because I just can't find anything I like for breakfast that isn't awful for you! For lunch, I made Jameson a PB&J sandwich and Jordan 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. I made myself one of the Old El Paso tortilla stuffers. It's rice, black beans, and steak that you heat in the microwave. I then rolled it in one of the Light Flatout flat bread wraps again. It was really good! From 5-8pm I was at a 31 meeting and then visiting with some girlfriends. I had a SMALL glass of Moscato, a beer, a few cheese slices, and 2 small homemade cookies that were awesome! At 9pm when we got home, I had some leftover spaghetti and meatballs from Wednesday night's dinner. I ate a smaller portion this time! I also spent a while yesterday doing some housework.
Tomorrow is weigh-in day! I will let you know how it goes!
Well, today I have been given even more motivation to lose weight than I had before! My little cousin, Holly, who is more like a sister to me got engaged last night. I am going to be in her wedding, which means a new dress. And for once... I do not want to be the fat bridesmaid! She's losing weight right now, so hopefully we can continue to motivate each other (from afar).
So after the rough day on Wednesday, Thursday was an AWESOME day! I did not have breakfast because we were hurrying to gymnastics. I once again spent an hour spotting Jameson in his gymnastics class and was sweating harder than he was by the end. We came home for lunch, and I made him and my sister a pepperoni pizza to share. I made myself tuna with a bit of Miracle Whip and put it on a Light Flatout wrap. I also had about 2 Tbsp. of hummus with multi-grain and flax seed crackers. After Jameson's nap, we took a walk up to the park in town to the Farmer's Market. I walked the dog and my sister held Jameson's hand all the way there, and we switched on the way back. It was 2.6 miles roundtrip. We also bought fresh sweet potatoes. The kids got large peanut butter cookies, but I did not. For dinner, we went to Panera Bread Co. I had the Pick Two combo with a grilled chicken caesar salad and a smoked turkery breast sandwich (and the french baguette). All three of them got the pastry items for dessert and ate them right in front of me, but I didn't! AWESOME DAY! I felt great!
Yesterday was good too (although not as good as Thursday). I didn't eat breakfast again because I just can't find anything I like for breakfast that isn't awful for you! For lunch, I made Jameson a PB&J sandwich and Jordan 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. I made myself one of the Old El Paso tortilla stuffers. It's rice, black beans, and steak that you heat in the microwave. I then rolled it in one of the Light Flatout flat bread wraps again. It was really good! From 5-8pm I was at a 31 meeting and then visiting with some girlfriends. I had a SMALL glass of Moscato, a beer, a few cheese slices, and 2 small homemade cookies that were awesome! At 9pm when we got home, I had some leftover spaghetti and meatballs from Wednesday night's dinner. I ate a smaller portion this time! I also spent a while yesterday doing some housework.
Tomorrow is weigh-in day! I will let you know how it goes!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Busy Week
Thank you to all of you who have been on my case about not posting. It has been an extremely busy week, and I haven't been getting to bed until 12-1am already. That just doesn't leave a lot of time for blogging. It's been a stressful week! We've been trying out a new budgeting software program and trying to make that work, making dinner menus, grocery shopping, pictures of Jameson with my nephew, picking up my little sister who is staying with us until Sunday, haircut, etc. I am WIPED OUT!
I'm going to make this brief. Basically, PMS has still been affecting me the last few days, but I can tell it is starting to taper off. It makes me hungry all the time... it's like I can't fill up. This is always a difficult few days when I am trying to watch what I'm eating.
Monday was pretty good day. (Honestly, forgot what I had to eat by now, but I remember it was decent!)
Tuesday was alright. I didn't have breakfast because we were on the go. We ate out for two meals because I had lunch with my sister and brother-in-law after the boys' pictures and then we met Chris at work to go grocery shopping last night. I had a cod sandwich and potato salad for lunch with water. We went to Smashburger at my husband's request for dinner, which is a burger joint where you can get pretty much anything you want on a sandwich. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and added provel cheese, a little amount of buffalo sauce, and red onion to it. I ordered the Sweet Potato fries instead of the regular and I only ate about 1/3 of them! We also shopped at 3 stores in 3 hours, so I did a LOT of walking!
Today was a rough day. We picked up my sister VERY early, and I forgot to grab breakfast. We went to a free movie at the theater in South County, and Jameson asked for popcorn. This, of course, led to me eating some of it too. We got a medium bag of popcorn and a medium root beer. We split the popcorn 3 ways, and I considered it my breakfast. I was disappointed with myself, but it was too late to turn back the clock. Jameson drank most of the soda (He drinks like crazy!), so I barely had any of that! We then went to my grandma's house to visit with her this afternoon. She made those Stouffer's French bread cheese pizzas for lunch, and I ate one of those. I also had one bite of Jameson's vanilla pudding cup. For dinner, we had spaghetti and meatballs with parmesan cheese. THIS IS A HUGE WEAKNESS! I'm pretty sure I should have been Italian or something because I LOVE pasta! I ate a much bigger helping than I should have.
I am disappointed with myself today, but I know that things will be better tomorrow. The only thing we have planned for the day is 45 minutes of gymnastics class (which is a workout for me too), so we will be able to eat at home more and get in some more activity. I refuse to let this be the beginning of a slippery slope! I WILL NOT give up now!
I decided that Sunday would be my weigh-in day each week and put a recurring reminder in my phone. Last week I started on Tuesday and weighed on Sunday. I was down 3 pounds in that week. I hope today does not sabotage my results for this week. I guess we will work hard until then and find out what happens on Sunday! Wish me luck!!!
I'm going to make this brief. Basically, PMS has still been affecting me the last few days, but I can tell it is starting to taper off. It makes me hungry all the time... it's like I can't fill up. This is always a difficult few days when I am trying to watch what I'm eating.
Monday was pretty good day. (Honestly, forgot what I had to eat by now, but I remember it was decent!)
Tuesday was alright. I didn't have breakfast because we were on the go. We ate out for two meals because I had lunch with my sister and brother-in-law after the boys' pictures and then we met Chris at work to go grocery shopping last night. I had a cod sandwich and potato salad for lunch with water. We went to Smashburger at my husband's request for dinner, which is a burger joint where you can get pretty much anything you want on a sandwich. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and added provel cheese, a little amount of buffalo sauce, and red onion to it. I ordered the Sweet Potato fries instead of the regular and I only ate about 1/3 of them! We also shopped at 3 stores in 3 hours, so I did a LOT of walking!
Today was a rough day. We picked up my sister VERY early, and I forgot to grab breakfast. We went to a free movie at the theater in South County, and Jameson asked for popcorn. This, of course, led to me eating some of it too. We got a medium bag of popcorn and a medium root beer. We split the popcorn 3 ways, and I considered it my breakfast. I was disappointed with myself, but it was too late to turn back the clock. Jameson drank most of the soda (He drinks like crazy!), so I barely had any of that! We then went to my grandma's house to visit with her this afternoon. She made those Stouffer's French bread cheese pizzas for lunch, and I ate one of those. I also had one bite of Jameson's vanilla pudding cup. For dinner, we had spaghetti and meatballs with parmesan cheese. THIS IS A HUGE WEAKNESS! I'm pretty sure I should have been Italian or something because I LOVE pasta! I ate a much bigger helping than I should have.
I am disappointed with myself today, but I know that things will be better tomorrow. The only thing we have planned for the day is 45 minutes of gymnastics class (which is a workout for me too), so we will be able to eat at home more and get in some more activity. I refuse to let this be the beginning of a slippery slope! I WILL NOT give up now!
I decided that Sunday would be my weigh-in day each week and put a recurring reminder in my phone. Last week I started on Tuesday and weighed on Sunday. I was down 3 pounds in that week. I hope today does not sabotage my results for this week. I guess we will work hard until then and find out what happens on Sunday! Wish me luck!!!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
A Better Day
As the weekend winds down, so does the temptation! Although I hate to see Chris have to go back to work in the morning, I know the week will be a good thing! During the week we have many less social events, and I always find Friday and Saturday to be the hardest days.
With that said, today was a better day! We had no plans today, and we stayed home all day. (Not going to lie! It's 10:45pm, and I am still in my jammies from this morning!) I lucked out, and it was my morning to sleep in today. I crawled out of bed around 10am, so I didn't bother to eat breakfast. I didn't even begin to get hungry until 11:30. Due to the need to go to the grocery store (pay day is Tuesday!), we do not have a lot to choose from in the food department, so at the request of the 2 year old, we had dinosaur chicken nuggets for lunch. I had 14 nuggets on my plate (they are smaller than the regular nuggets), but I only ate 12 and gave the rest to Jameson when he ran out. HE NEEDS TO EAT! I also drank water with my lunch. This came to 423 calories so far for the day.
Throughout the afternoon, I avoided the kitchen and kept busy, so I did not feel the urge to snack! Around 5pm, I was starting to want to snack, but I knew it was almost dinner time, so I just went to start dinner. Well, the lasagna bake that I was going to make didn't work out because we were out of mozzarella cheese, so it was back to square one. We had a pound of ground beef thawed. The Hamburger Helper was cheeseburger macaroni and full of calories! Sloppy Joes didn't sound good either. So, I decided to fry hamburgers in a skillet. Usually we grill hamburgers, but it was the middle of a thunderstorm outside! I had two small cheeseburgers, but I stacked them together in one sandwich to do without the 100 extra calories of 2 more pieces of bread. I also had a glass of milk. The total for the milk, cheese, and bread was 480 calories. That is 903 calories before the meat. I'm not sure how many calories were in the beef, but I know I was well under the normal 2000 calories for the day, and I was completely satisfied! This evening all I have had is water. I have ignored my brain reminding me of the peanut butter ice cream in the back of the freezer! LOL
It feels good to be back on track, and I hope the rain will go away now so we can get back to our family walks!
With that said, today was a better day! We had no plans today, and we stayed home all day. (Not going to lie! It's 10:45pm, and I am still in my jammies from this morning!) I lucked out, and it was my morning to sleep in today. I crawled out of bed around 10am, so I didn't bother to eat breakfast. I didn't even begin to get hungry until 11:30. Due to the need to go to the grocery store (pay day is Tuesday!), we do not have a lot to choose from in the food department, so at the request of the 2 year old, we had dinosaur chicken nuggets for lunch. I had 14 nuggets on my plate (they are smaller than the regular nuggets), but I only ate 12 and gave the rest to Jameson when he ran out. HE NEEDS TO EAT! I also drank water with my lunch. This came to 423 calories so far for the day.
Throughout the afternoon, I avoided the kitchen and kept busy, so I did not feel the urge to snack! Around 5pm, I was starting to want to snack, but I knew it was almost dinner time, so I just went to start dinner. Well, the lasagna bake that I was going to make didn't work out because we were out of mozzarella cheese, so it was back to square one. We had a pound of ground beef thawed. The Hamburger Helper was cheeseburger macaroni and full of calories! Sloppy Joes didn't sound good either. So, I decided to fry hamburgers in a skillet. Usually we grill hamburgers, but it was the middle of a thunderstorm outside! I had two small cheeseburgers, but I stacked them together in one sandwich to do without the 100 extra calories of 2 more pieces of bread. I also had a glass of milk. The total for the milk, cheese, and bread was 480 calories. That is 903 calories before the meat. I'm not sure how many calories were in the beef, but I know I was well under the normal 2000 calories for the day, and I was completely satisfied! This evening all I have had is water. I have ignored my brain reminding me of the peanut butter ice cream in the back of the freezer! LOL
It feels good to be back on track, and I hope the rain will go away now so we can get back to our family walks!
The Truth about Being Overweight
If you have never had a problem with your weight, you are lucky! While I am sure everyone struggles with their weight at some point in their lives, count yourself blessed if you never have to deal with being overweight or obese. I wish I could be one of those people who needs to lose 5-10 pounds to reach their goal weight. I envy you!
Part of the reason that this journey is so difficult is that overeating is an addiction. Just like smoking cigarettes, alcoholism, drug dependency, overeating is an addiction that is hard to overcome. It becomes a part of your daily lifestyle that you do without thinking and begin to depend on to get by. And although it may take longer than some of those addictions, it is just as lethal to your health. The difference is that to stop smoking or drinking, you can avoid those things. (While I am not saying this is in anyway easy!) However, food is different. You can't avoid food. You can't just stop eating cold turkey. You can't avoid people around you who eat because the reality is that food is everywhere and something we HAVE to have. Now, I can avoid places like bakeries or going to McDonalds, but eventually I have to go to the grocery store, a restaurant, a family gathering, etc. I also have to eat at home on a daily basis. Even if I do not buy junk food, I can overeat on things that are healthier. I am not only having to change my activity and WHAT I eat, but I'm having to drastically change how much I eat! I am having to convince myself that what I'm feeling is not hunger but boredom or a "withdraw" if you will to eating. There is no AA for food... there is no rehab for food... it's just a daily struggle in the real world. That's why I'm doing this... this blog and talking with my family and friends about my feelings, struggles, etc. is my therapy... it's my food AA program. Thanks for continuing to help me! The encouragement from everyone has been awesome! (And a huge shout out to my wonderful husband who is having to live with me and deal with the struggles day in and day out!)
Part of the reason that this journey is so difficult is that overeating is an addiction. Just like smoking cigarettes, alcoholism, drug dependency, overeating is an addiction that is hard to overcome. It becomes a part of your daily lifestyle that you do without thinking and begin to depend on to get by. And although it may take longer than some of those addictions, it is just as lethal to your health. The difference is that to stop smoking or drinking, you can avoid those things. (While I am not saying this is in anyway easy!) However, food is different. You can't avoid food. You can't just stop eating cold turkey. You can't avoid people around you who eat because the reality is that food is everywhere and something we HAVE to have. Now, I can avoid places like bakeries or going to McDonalds, but eventually I have to go to the grocery store, a restaurant, a family gathering, etc. I also have to eat at home on a daily basis. Even if I do not buy junk food, I can overeat on things that are healthier. I am not only having to change my activity and WHAT I eat, but I'm having to drastically change how much I eat! I am having to convince myself that what I'm feeling is not hunger but boredom or a "withdraw" if you will to eating. There is no AA for food... there is no rehab for food... it's just a daily struggle in the real world. That's why I'm doing this... this blog and talking with my family and friends about my feelings, struggles, etc. is my therapy... it's my food AA program. Thanks for continuing to help me! The encouragement from everyone has been awesome! (And a huge shout out to my wonderful husband who is having to live with me and deal with the struggles day in and day out!)
Bad Day and a Helpful Quote
As a predicted, yesterday was a difficult day! We had a graduation party at the park to go to for my cousin, and it was full of food... very little of which was healthy. There was Asian cole slaw, pasta salad, taco salad, HUGE sub sandwiches with about 2 inch thick bread, chips of all kinds, baked beans, cheese dip for the chips, watermelon, cake, cupcakes, cupcakes filled with cheesecake, sodas, etc. This is a diet nightmare! (The good thing was my cousin is on a diet right now too, and we were both feeling the heat together... and it was her party!)
In preparation, I tried to eat light in the morning. I had skipped breakfast since I did not get up until almost 10am due to being up until 1:30 the night before. When the boys I ate lunch, I passed on what they were having. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread with just barely enough peanut butter or jelly to coat the bread. I also had a Yoplait Light yogurt cup and water. Yum, right?
At the party, I made a plate and decided that it was okay to have some of my favorite things because if I never eat anything I like, I won't stick to it very long. When I got to my sandwich, I used mustard instead of mayo (saving about 100 calories!) and tore off about half of the bread (as I mentioned it was super thick). Although those 2 changes couldn't make up for the other things I ate, it was more than I ever would have done before! I also avoided the greasy potato chips. I did have some of the tortilla chips with cheese dip, but I made it a small portion and avoided going back for the seconds I would have loved to have. I also drank a Diet Coke instead of a Pepsi. This was my first soda all week!
When it was time for dessert, everyone around me was eating cake, cupcakes, peach pie (no thanks!), etc. but I ate a small plate of watermelon for dessert. It was hard to walk past the cake, but once I ate the watermelon, it was really good!
We had been planning to take a walk while we were at the park since they have a fabulous paved trail, but it was pouring down rain and had lightning when we got there. My Aunt Linda and I planned to take a walk together if the rain let up. Unfortunately, that did not happen, so I never got to walk. I mentally made plans to work out when I got home (which would later be derailed).
I had not seen my dad in quite a while, so he was eager to visit with us (especially Jameson), so he asked us to come over to the house for the evening. We had no other plans, so we decided to go visit for a while. Obviously this is what prevented me from working out at home (and it was still raining at their house, so no walk). Around 8pm, my dad ordered Imo's Pizzas. I was feeling a little hungry, and I decided to have a few pieces of pizza and water... which turned into more than a few pieces. :( I also had a Mountain Dew to keep me awake on the way home. (It's over an hour drive.)
We got home around 11pm, and I went straight to bed. It was not a good day! However, I am focusing on the fact that I did make a few good choices (the mustard, tearing the bread off, the watermelon) AND I came home to realize I had started my period (sorry for the TMI) and was in the height of PMS! So honestly, that was a great day! Usually this throws me into a 3 day eating binge! It's awful!
This is usually the point where I would say, "Well, I screwed up big time and ruined it. I don't know why I bother trying." and give up! However, I woke up this morning with even more resolve to get back on track. The positive.... no more social events for a week and a half!!! Also, I feel that God has a bigger plan for me and that he puts things in our life for a purpose. Well, this morning I had one of those things happen. I have a friend from work who has been an inspiration to many people. She had never run a day in her life until 2 years ago and took it up cold turkey. She has lost a LOT of weight (80ish lbs. I think) and runs marathons and half marathons on a regular basis plus several miles every day in between. This morning she posted an awesome quote from one of her running pages on Facebook that I think God wanted me to see. It said, "Rather than aiming to be perfect, just aim to be a little better today than you were yesterday." That's what I needed. This is not a quick fix... this is a long journey that is going to have ups and downs. Yesterday was a down, but I did just that... I wasn't perfect, but I did things better than I would have a week ago! Today is a new day, and I will not let one bad day ruin this. I have big plans for my life (and my children's lives), and food will not be the death of me... LITERALLY!
In preparation, I tried to eat light in the morning. I had skipped breakfast since I did not get up until almost 10am due to being up until 1:30 the night before. When the boys I ate lunch, I passed on what they were having. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread with just barely enough peanut butter or jelly to coat the bread. I also had a Yoplait Light yogurt cup and water. Yum, right?
At the party, I made a plate and decided that it was okay to have some of my favorite things because if I never eat anything I like, I won't stick to it very long. When I got to my sandwich, I used mustard instead of mayo (saving about 100 calories!) and tore off about half of the bread (as I mentioned it was super thick). Although those 2 changes couldn't make up for the other things I ate, it was more than I ever would have done before! I also avoided the greasy potato chips. I did have some of the tortilla chips with cheese dip, but I made it a small portion and avoided going back for the seconds I would have loved to have. I also drank a Diet Coke instead of a Pepsi. This was my first soda all week!
When it was time for dessert, everyone around me was eating cake, cupcakes, peach pie (no thanks!), etc. but I ate a small plate of watermelon for dessert. It was hard to walk past the cake, but once I ate the watermelon, it was really good!
We had been planning to take a walk while we were at the park since they have a fabulous paved trail, but it was pouring down rain and had lightning when we got there. My Aunt Linda and I planned to take a walk together if the rain let up. Unfortunately, that did not happen, so I never got to walk. I mentally made plans to work out when I got home (which would later be derailed).
I had not seen my dad in quite a while, so he was eager to visit with us (especially Jameson), so he asked us to come over to the house for the evening. We had no other plans, so we decided to go visit for a while. Obviously this is what prevented me from working out at home (and it was still raining at their house, so no walk). Around 8pm, my dad ordered Imo's Pizzas. I was feeling a little hungry, and I decided to have a few pieces of pizza and water... which turned into more than a few pieces. :( I also had a Mountain Dew to keep me awake on the way home. (It's over an hour drive.)
We got home around 11pm, and I went straight to bed. It was not a good day! However, I am focusing on the fact that I did make a few good choices (the mustard, tearing the bread off, the watermelon) AND I came home to realize I had started my period (sorry for the TMI) and was in the height of PMS! So honestly, that was a great day! Usually this throws me into a 3 day eating binge! It's awful!
This is usually the point where I would say, "Well, I screwed up big time and ruined it. I don't know why I bother trying." and give up! However, I woke up this morning with even more resolve to get back on track. The positive.... no more social events for a week and a half!!! Also, I feel that God has a bigger plan for me and that he puts things in our life for a purpose. Well, this morning I had one of those things happen. I have a friend from work who has been an inspiration to many people. She had never run a day in her life until 2 years ago and took it up cold turkey. She has lost a LOT of weight (80ish lbs. I think) and runs marathons and half marathons on a regular basis plus several miles every day in between. This morning she posted an awesome quote from one of her running pages on Facebook that I think God wanted me to see. It said, "Rather than aiming to be perfect, just aim to be a little better today than you were yesterday." That's what I needed. This is not a quick fix... this is a long journey that is going to have ups and downs. Yesterday was a down, but I did just that... I wasn't perfect, but I did things better than I would have a week ago! Today is a new day, and I will not let one bad day ruin this. I have big plans for my life (and my children's lives), and food will not be the death of me... LITERALLY!
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Quick Update
Didn't get home until after midnight last night from date night with Chris. We went to dinner and the Muny to see Spamalot (his Father's Day present).
Due to our busy evening last night, we did not get to walk or run. We did have to walk all the way around the Muny to pick up our tickets though and back up the big hill to get into the theater. (And I'm pretty sure I sweated off a lot from sitting in the heat!)
I knew we were going out to eat last night, so I tried to eat as lightly as possible earlier in the day. I had more Skinny Pop popcorn for breakfast (155 calories for a full serving). For lunch, I mixed together the leftover rice and green beans from Thursday's dinner. I also had a half of a glass of milk. By dinnertime, I was really hungry. We went to Outback Steakhouse because we had $45 in gift cards! I had a small glass of wine and 2 glasses of water to drink. I had a salad, a small piece of bread, a steak and coconut shrimp combo meal, and a sweet potato for dinner. I knew I would have a lot of calories at dinner, which is why I practically starved all morning and afternoon! LOL
I had the unfortunate chance of sitting next to someone at the Muny with a giant bucket of buttered popcorn. Every time the wind would blow I would get a whiff, but I resisted! On the way home, we were super thirsty, so we stopped to get a fountain drink. They were on sale for 50 cents each! I tried to avoid the soda that looked good, but there were no "healthy" drink options, so I had a Gatorade. Although I probably should have eaten a smaller dinner, I was proud of myself for thinking ahead and taking my large dinner out into consideration when I ate my breakfast and lunch.
Now on to another challenging day! We have a graduation party this afternoon for my cousin. I will report back later!
Due to our busy evening last night, we did not get to walk or run. We did have to walk all the way around the Muny to pick up our tickets though and back up the big hill to get into the theater. (And I'm pretty sure I sweated off a lot from sitting in the heat!)
I knew we were going out to eat last night, so I tried to eat as lightly as possible earlier in the day. I had more Skinny Pop popcorn for breakfast (155 calories for a full serving). For lunch, I mixed together the leftover rice and green beans from Thursday's dinner. I also had a half of a glass of milk. By dinnertime, I was really hungry. We went to Outback Steakhouse because we had $45 in gift cards! I had a small glass of wine and 2 glasses of water to drink. I had a salad, a small piece of bread, a steak and coconut shrimp combo meal, and a sweet potato for dinner. I knew I would have a lot of calories at dinner, which is why I practically starved all morning and afternoon! LOL
I had the unfortunate chance of sitting next to someone at the Muny with a giant bucket of buttered popcorn. Every time the wind would blow I would get a whiff, but I resisted! On the way home, we were super thirsty, so we stopped to get a fountain drink. They were on sale for 50 cents each! I tried to avoid the soda that looked good, but there were no "healthy" drink options, so I had a Gatorade. Although I probably should have eaten a smaller dinner, I was proud of myself for thinking ahead and taking my large dinner out into consideration when I ate my breakfast and lunch.
Now on to another challenging day! We have a graduation party this afternoon for my cousin. I will report back later!
Thursday, June 20, 2013
An Easier Day
Today was a really busy day! Jameson started gymnastics classes this morning and swim lessons this afternoon, so we were on the go a lot!
Before leaving this morning, I still had the same "nothing healthy for breakfast" problem. I ended up remembering Chris's snack from last night that looked good, so I had 2 triangles of Light Laughing Cow cheese with 12 Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers. Total... 224 calories and less than 5 grams of fat.
Jameson's gymanstics class is the toddler class right now, which means that Mommy participates with him. I did not know what a workout this would be for me! I spent 45 minutes spotting him, supporting his weight, getting down on my knees, up on my feet, climbing onto the trampoline, bunny hopping with him,etc. I was sweating harder than him!
After gymnastics class, we went to lunch with Chris's mom. She suggested a place I hadn't been before that had sandwich, soup, and salad choices. I ordered a pick 2 combo with a small pecan dijon salad (lettuce, grilled chicken, small bacon pieces, pecans, and dressing) and a beefeater sandwich (roast beef and cheddar on a parmesan bread) and a water.
We went back to my in-law's house for Jameson to take a nap. I resisted margaritas or iced tea and had a glass of water. I also drank water while Jameson was at his swim lesson.
After the swim lesson, we met Chris at a local park that has hiking trails in the woods. Chris ran, but Jameson and I walked a good portion of the hiking trail for a while until the bugs got too bad. Then we went to the playground to play.
After the park, we came home and made a dinner. We had grilled chicken breasts, long grain & wild rice, and green beans. I had a small chicken breast, about a cup of rice and a LOT of green beans. I also had a glass of milk. I wanted milk, but I changed to water for the rest of the night.
Overall, today was a lot easier than yesterday! I made better choices and still got in some activity! The last three days have been pretty good. I am hoping the weekend will go well!
Before leaving this morning, I still had the same "nothing healthy for breakfast" problem. I ended up remembering Chris's snack from last night that looked good, so I had 2 triangles of Light Laughing Cow cheese with 12 Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers. Total... 224 calories and less than 5 grams of fat.
Jameson's gymanstics class is the toddler class right now, which means that Mommy participates with him. I did not know what a workout this would be for me! I spent 45 minutes spotting him, supporting his weight, getting down on my knees, up on my feet, climbing onto the trampoline, bunny hopping with him,etc. I was sweating harder than him!
After gymnastics class, we went to lunch with Chris's mom. She suggested a place I hadn't been before that had sandwich, soup, and salad choices. I ordered a pick 2 combo with a small pecan dijon salad (lettuce, grilled chicken, small bacon pieces, pecans, and dressing) and a beefeater sandwich (roast beef and cheddar on a parmesan bread) and a water.
We went back to my in-law's house for Jameson to take a nap. I resisted margaritas or iced tea and had a glass of water. I also drank water while Jameson was at his swim lesson.
After the swim lesson, we met Chris at a local park that has hiking trails in the woods. Chris ran, but Jameson and I walked a good portion of the hiking trail for a while until the bugs got too bad. Then we went to the playground to play.
After the park, we came home and made a dinner. We had grilled chicken breasts, long grain & wild rice, and green beans. I had a small chicken breast, about a cup of rice and a LOT of green beans. I also had a glass of milk. I wanted milk, but I changed to water for the rest of the night.
Overall, today was a lot easier than yesterday! I made better choices and still got in some activity! The last three days have been pretty good. I am hoping the weekend will go well!
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Day Two... The Rollercoaster Begins
Well, the first day is always the easiest for me! I am full of motivation and doing things perfectly. And then when the second day rolls around and the reality of not being able to grab McDonald's or have that ice cream I want after dinner, it gets more difficult.
As usual, that happened today! Jameson and I had plans to meet some friends today, so I knew eating something healthy at home was not an option. At breakfast time, I could not find anything that was healthy and breakfasty besides the eggs I had yesterday. Against knowing better, I chose to skip breakfast and we headed off for a day of fun. We started at the theater for the free family movie. It was Jameson's first movie, and I have to say that it went really well! Even though I could smell it, we resisted the urge to get any popcorn, soda, or candy!
After the movie, we had plans to meet friends at Panera Bread Company for lunch, but the kids were not too keen on the idea, so we ended up at the Mexican restaurant across the street. Anyone who knows me knows that chips and salsa is my kryptonite. I could easily eat 1-2 baskets of chips and 3 bowls of salsa by myself. I managed to SHARE 1 basket of chips and bowl of salsa with the 4 other people at the table. I ordered a water instead of tea (which I load down with sweetener) or soda. There was not a lot of "healthy" options on the menu, so I ordered a taco salad and ate about 3/4 of it. Although this wasn't the BEST, I had not eaten breakfast and is way better than what I usually eat!
After lunch, we took the kids to the park to play. There was a splash pad there, and Jameson had a blast! It was really hot though, so we left around 2:15. We decided to take the kids to Sonic to get slushies during their 50% off happy hour prices. (60 cents for a small!!!) I got a small slushie (blue coconut... YUM!). It was nice to see there were things I can have that are still sweet (even though high in sugar) that were not full of fat like ice cream and candy bars!
We had planned to meet Chris and Nicole at the park this afternoon again, but we did not get home and Jameson down for a nap until almost 4, so I knew we wouldn't make it. Chris ended up working until 6:45 anyway, so he didn't make it. (Sorry Nicole!) We had not taken anything out for dinner, so we decided to just each eat whatever we found for dinner. Jameson went with his traditional PBJ sandwich and a banana. I made a tuna sandwich on whole wheat toast. I tried to use less Miracle Whip than usual to take down the calories and fat. I also had a glass of milk.
After dinner, we decided to take a walk. Even though my ankle is still hurting very badly, I knew sitting on the couch wouldn't help anything. It was GORGEOUS outside as the sun was going down! We walked about a mile. (For those of you who know where we live, we walked to the railroad tracks and back.) It was nice to do something healthy and bonding as a family!
Overall, I know it could have been a better day, but I think I did well for me because when I had a not so great lunch, I kept up with my goal the rest of the day instead of saying, "Well, today is blown. I guess I'll eat whatever I want." like I would have in the past. We'll see what tomorrow brings!
As usual, that happened today! Jameson and I had plans to meet some friends today, so I knew eating something healthy at home was not an option. At breakfast time, I could not find anything that was healthy and breakfasty besides the eggs I had yesterday. Against knowing better, I chose to skip breakfast and we headed off for a day of fun. We started at the theater for the free family movie. It was Jameson's first movie, and I have to say that it went really well! Even though I could smell it, we resisted the urge to get any popcorn, soda, or candy!
After the movie, we had plans to meet friends at Panera Bread Company for lunch, but the kids were not too keen on the idea, so we ended up at the Mexican restaurant across the street. Anyone who knows me knows that chips and salsa is my kryptonite. I could easily eat 1-2 baskets of chips and 3 bowls of salsa by myself. I managed to SHARE 1 basket of chips and bowl of salsa with the 4 other people at the table. I ordered a water instead of tea (which I load down with sweetener) or soda. There was not a lot of "healthy" options on the menu, so I ordered a taco salad and ate about 3/4 of it. Although this wasn't the BEST, I had not eaten breakfast and is way better than what I usually eat!
After lunch, we took the kids to the park to play. There was a splash pad there, and Jameson had a blast! It was really hot though, so we left around 2:15. We decided to take the kids to Sonic to get slushies during their 50% off happy hour prices. (60 cents for a small!!!) I got a small slushie (blue coconut... YUM!). It was nice to see there were things I can have that are still sweet (even though high in sugar) that were not full of fat like ice cream and candy bars!
We had planned to meet Chris and Nicole at the park this afternoon again, but we did not get home and Jameson down for a nap until almost 4, so I knew we wouldn't make it. Chris ended up working until 6:45 anyway, so he didn't make it. (Sorry Nicole!) We had not taken anything out for dinner, so we decided to just each eat whatever we found for dinner. Jameson went with his traditional PBJ sandwich and a banana. I made a tuna sandwich on whole wheat toast. I tried to use less Miracle Whip than usual to take down the calories and fat. I also had a glass of milk.
After dinner, we decided to take a walk. Even though my ankle is still hurting very badly, I knew sitting on the couch wouldn't help anything. It was GORGEOUS outside as the sun was going down! We walked about a mile. (For those of you who know where we live, we walked to the railroad tracks and back.) It was nice to do something healthy and bonding as a family!
Overall, I know it could have been a better day, but I think I did well for me because when I had a not so great lunch, I kept up with my goal the rest of the day instead of saying, "Well, today is blown. I guess I'll eat whatever I want." like I would have in the past. We'll see what tomorrow brings!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Today's Breakdown - 6/18/13
Well, it was a pretty good first day! In addition to watching my diet and increasing my activity, I also got to have some awesome Mommy/Jameson bonding time! We spent our morning at the library for storytime, where we listened to 4 books about dinosaurs, sang and danced to some dinosaur songs, and made a dinosaur craft. He also got to pick out some books!
As for what I ate today:
Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with red peppers (I managed to avoid the cheese I really wanted to add)
1 sip of milk as I was pouring Jameson's
Lunch: I was not hungry, so I decided to wait. Around 3:00, I got hungry but didn't want to eat too much as I knew we were going to the park around 5:00 and didn't want to get sick. So, at 3:00 I ate one serving (4 cups) of Skinny Pop natural popcorn. The stuff is only 39 calories per cup, which is AWESOME! I also had a glass of water and added one drop of the Kool-Aid water enhancer.
Dinner: 1 Steak Fajita (a spinach tortilla shell, about 4oz. steak cooked in olive oil, red and yellow peppers, and cheese). I also had one 16 oz glass of milk. I wanted more (as did Chris), but we decided to do it together and both resisted!
As for my activity:
Besides the pure craziness of just keeping up with a 2 year old all day, we planned to meet Chris at the park after work. His brother (David) and his girlfriend (Nicole) met us there to run with Chris. We all left the parking lot at the same time. My ankle has been almost debilitatingly sore the last few days, so it was a struggle to walk at all, but I forced myself to do it. I have NEVER ran, and I hate it. I told myself I was going to try though. During my approximately 1.5-2 mile walk around the park, I did 5 stents of jogging to the best of my ability. My ankle was on fire, but each time I would find a straight stretch, pick a focal point up ahead, and jog until I reached it. I know it's not much compared to the 2-3 miles the rest of them ran (or the 1.5 that Jameson ran with Chris), but it was a start! Not only did I do that, but I also came home and made dinner and then went outside and blew bubbles for a while before collapsing!
Overall, I am pretty proud of myself today! It was not easy, but I made myself move and stopped myself from eating a lot of things that would have been more delicious! Baby steps!
As for what I ate today:
Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with red peppers (I managed to avoid the cheese I really wanted to add)
1 sip of milk as I was pouring Jameson's
Lunch: I was not hungry, so I decided to wait. Around 3:00, I got hungry but didn't want to eat too much as I knew we were going to the park around 5:00 and didn't want to get sick. So, at 3:00 I ate one serving (4 cups) of Skinny Pop natural popcorn. The stuff is only 39 calories per cup, which is AWESOME! I also had a glass of water and added one drop of the Kool-Aid water enhancer.
Dinner: 1 Steak Fajita (a spinach tortilla shell, about 4oz. steak cooked in olive oil, red and yellow peppers, and cheese). I also had one 16 oz glass of milk. I wanted more (as did Chris), but we decided to do it together and both resisted!
As for my activity:
Besides the pure craziness of just keeping up with a 2 year old all day, we planned to meet Chris at the park after work. His brother (David) and his girlfriend (Nicole) met us there to run with Chris. We all left the parking lot at the same time. My ankle has been almost debilitatingly sore the last few days, so it was a struggle to walk at all, but I forced myself to do it. I have NEVER ran, and I hate it. I told myself I was going to try though. During my approximately 1.5-2 mile walk around the park, I did 5 stents of jogging to the best of my ability. My ankle was on fire, but each time I would find a straight stretch, pick a focal point up ahead, and jog until I reached it. I know it's not much compared to the 2-3 miles the rest of them ran (or the 1.5 that Jameson ran with Chris), but it was a start! Not only did I do that, but I also came home and made dinner and then went outside and blew bubbles for a while before collapsing!
Overall, I am pretty proud of myself today! It was not easy, but I made myself move and stopped myself from eating a lot of things that would have been more delicious! Baby steps!
The Before Pictures
Well, I am going to spare you all the Biggest Loser type before pictures where we shove a large person into a tiny sports bra and spandex shorts... UGH! However, I think it's important to have some current pictures posted so that as my journey continues I can look back and see how far I've come. These are a few pictures taken on our family outings in the last few weeks (Memorial Day weekend at Purina Farms and just last Friday at the Botanical Gardens). While they supposed to be capturing our family moments, it makes me sad that this is what Jameson is going to see when he looks back on pictures of his childhood! :(
The side view is never good!
Wishing for a skinnier, healthy Mommy
Sitting on my butt... part of the problem
Making the leap of faith
The Rocky Road I've Traveled
For years, I have struggled with my weight. I have never been a small person. Even as a child, I was always one of the "fat kids." I was over 9 pounds when I was born! Although I have never been happy with my weight, I have always had excuses for why I didn't have time, money, etc. to do anything about it. I'm sure the only person buying my story was me!
In high school, I was not HUGE, but it was hard for me because a lot of my friends were very thin. I was always jealous of their figures and how they could eat whatever they wanted without gaining weight. My self-esteem was horrible! I felt like I was lucky to be friends with them because I didn't deserve to hang out with people who were so much more attractive than me. I dated a lot (mostly long-term relationships) in high school and early college years, but I think I put up with a lot of crap from guys because I didn't think I could do any better. Just like any teenage girl, I crushed after the hottest, most popular guys at school and in the media... but I never thought in a million years I was good enough for them.
I got very lucky in 2002 at the very end of my freshman year of college when I met a cute guy online. He sent me pictures of him, and I was so excited to see that he was a tall blonde with blue eyes and part of a fraternity. This was pretty much my dream guy during college. After talking for about 2 weeks, we decided to meet in person. I was not (and still am not) sure what attracted him to me, but I'm sure glad something did because I am still with him today and can't imagine my life without him and our beautiful son!
I tried very hard before my wedding back in 2005 to lose weight. At the time, I thought I was so fat! I worked out 3 times a week and gave up soda completely for 3 months, but I only managed to lose 8 pounds. I know looking back that it was my portion sizes that held me back. I would tell myself that because I ate a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a hamburger, I could eat ALL the fries. I would tell myself that since I had a salad for lunch, I could have a large ice cream concrete for dessert. Basically, I sabotaged myself!
In 2008, I started going to Zumba with a friend of mine. It was a blast, and I loved it! I sometimes went 2-3 times a week, and I lost 25 lbs. in 3 months. After 3 months though, I got really sick for 2 weeks and couldn't go. After getting out of the habit, I really struggled to make myself start going again and eventually stopped altogether. Over the past 5 years, I have gone off and on and always love it, but my motivation to get there has just not been there. I will go 2 times a week for about a month. Then I will miss one class and not go again for a year! It's an awful cycle!
In 2010, I gave birth to my wonderful son, Jameson (who I am sure will be mentioned on a regular basis!), broke both of my legs, was working on my Master's Degree, and started my first year teaching kindergarten. To say the least, I was a very busy and overwhelmed person! This only made the problem worse! I had spent the last 3 months of my pregnancy in a wheelchair, unable to walk due to the broken legs. I also was so busy with a newborn (he was born in September), my homework for my Master's classes, and all the paperwork and planning of a first year teacher (plus getting things ready for a sub for my maternity leave) that my husband and I relied heavily on fast food restaurants to feed us for months. Unfortunately, I have always loved going out to eat, whether it be fast food or an elegant sit-down restaurant. This is still one of our biggest problems today!
In 2011, my mom and I decided to start Weight Watchers. We thought about doing it online, but we had heard that going to the meetings was much more helpful and held you accountable because of the weekly weigh-ins. We started on April 3rd. My birthday was April 5th, and we were getting together as a family to celebrate my little cousin and my birthday together. It was a Friday night and the entire family decided to get Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen ice cream cake for dinner. I somehow had managed to use barely any points earlier in the day, only at 2 pieces of pizza, and passed on my own birthday cake! I felt invincible! For the next 2 months, I lost 2-3 lbs. each week pretty steadily and also really enjoyed getting to spend a few hours of girl time with my mom every week! We have always been close and able to talk about anything, but I think doing this together really made us closer than ever! In June, my husband and I took a long overdue honeymoon trip to a Sandals resort in St. Lucia for a week! I told myself I was not going to go crazy, but I was going to eat what I wanted without counting points and enjoy myself. That was my downfall! I came back and had gained 5 lbs. that week! I didn't even think I had done that badly, but I guess I was only thinking about my food calories and not my drinks! This was the beginning of my downward spiral. Throughout the summer and fall, my mom and I continued to go together, and she continued to encourage me, but I was right back to my excuses of being too busy. My mom hit her goal and was able to maintain her weight! (I was very proud of her!) However, I continued to either hold steady or gain it back little by little. Around Christmas time, the expense of it just got to be too much for something that I wasn't really doing anyway, so we stopped going.
That was really the last time I actively did something to lose weight. I am constantly telling myself (and my husband) that I'm going to start working out, eating better, eating less, running, etc. However, I always have an excuse. I tell myself, "Well, I will start tomorrow. Today we are having dinner with so-and-so." or "I'll start next week. We really need to eat up all the junk food in the house first so it's not here to tempt me. Throwing it away would be wasting money we don't have." I can say for a fact that the only thing holding me back from my goal is me! My husband is very encouraging and is even trying to offer me incentives to help motivate me. (Last week, he said that we could put aside x number of $ for every pound I lose so that when I reach my goal we will be able to go to Disneyworld! The problem is we don't have enough money to put $30-40 aside for each pound! Disney is expensive!!!)
Today I woke up and said NO MORE! I have gained about 100 pounds since getting married 8 years ago. I also just turned 30, and I know it's just going to get harder to lose. Plus, I am a stressed out person who is very high-strung anyway, so the combination of that and my weight can only have a negative impact on my health. As I said, my son is my life! I have to make myself better so I can be around and healthy enough to enjoy him (and our future children) and teach him to take care of himself too.
So, I am going to do my best (like I said... busy person) to post as often as possible about what I have eaten each day and what type of activity I have done. If you see me making excuses or slacking off, CALL ME OUT! That's why I'm doing this blog!
In high school, I was not HUGE, but it was hard for me because a lot of my friends were very thin. I was always jealous of their figures and how they could eat whatever they wanted without gaining weight. My self-esteem was horrible! I felt like I was lucky to be friends with them because I didn't deserve to hang out with people who were so much more attractive than me. I dated a lot (mostly long-term relationships) in high school and early college years, but I think I put up with a lot of crap from guys because I didn't think I could do any better. Just like any teenage girl, I crushed after the hottest, most popular guys at school and in the media... but I never thought in a million years I was good enough for them.
I got very lucky in 2002 at the very end of my freshman year of college when I met a cute guy online. He sent me pictures of him, and I was so excited to see that he was a tall blonde with blue eyes and part of a fraternity. This was pretty much my dream guy during college. After talking for about 2 weeks, we decided to meet in person. I was not (and still am not) sure what attracted him to me, but I'm sure glad something did because I am still with him today and can't imagine my life without him and our beautiful son!
I tried very hard before my wedding back in 2005 to lose weight. At the time, I thought I was so fat! I worked out 3 times a week and gave up soda completely for 3 months, but I only managed to lose 8 pounds. I know looking back that it was my portion sizes that held me back. I would tell myself that because I ate a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a hamburger, I could eat ALL the fries. I would tell myself that since I had a salad for lunch, I could have a large ice cream concrete for dessert. Basically, I sabotaged myself!
In 2008, I started going to Zumba with a friend of mine. It was a blast, and I loved it! I sometimes went 2-3 times a week, and I lost 25 lbs. in 3 months. After 3 months though, I got really sick for 2 weeks and couldn't go. After getting out of the habit, I really struggled to make myself start going again and eventually stopped altogether. Over the past 5 years, I have gone off and on and always love it, but my motivation to get there has just not been there. I will go 2 times a week for about a month. Then I will miss one class and not go again for a year! It's an awful cycle!
In 2010, I gave birth to my wonderful son, Jameson (who I am sure will be mentioned on a regular basis!), broke both of my legs, was working on my Master's Degree, and started my first year teaching kindergarten. To say the least, I was a very busy and overwhelmed person! This only made the problem worse! I had spent the last 3 months of my pregnancy in a wheelchair, unable to walk due to the broken legs. I also was so busy with a newborn (he was born in September), my homework for my Master's classes, and all the paperwork and planning of a first year teacher (plus getting things ready for a sub for my maternity leave) that my husband and I relied heavily on fast food restaurants to feed us for months. Unfortunately, I have always loved going out to eat, whether it be fast food or an elegant sit-down restaurant. This is still one of our biggest problems today!
In 2011, my mom and I decided to start Weight Watchers. We thought about doing it online, but we had heard that going to the meetings was much more helpful and held you accountable because of the weekly weigh-ins. We started on April 3rd. My birthday was April 5th, and we were getting together as a family to celebrate my little cousin and my birthday together. It was a Friday night and the entire family decided to get Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen ice cream cake for dinner. I somehow had managed to use barely any points earlier in the day, only at 2 pieces of pizza, and passed on my own birthday cake! I felt invincible! For the next 2 months, I lost 2-3 lbs. each week pretty steadily and also really enjoyed getting to spend a few hours of girl time with my mom every week! We have always been close and able to talk about anything, but I think doing this together really made us closer than ever! In June, my husband and I took a long overdue honeymoon trip to a Sandals resort in St. Lucia for a week! I told myself I was not going to go crazy, but I was going to eat what I wanted without counting points and enjoy myself. That was my downfall! I came back and had gained 5 lbs. that week! I didn't even think I had done that badly, but I guess I was only thinking about my food calories and not my drinks! This was the beginning of my downward spiral. Throughout the summer and fall, my mom and I continued to go together, and she continued to encourage me, but I was right back to my excuses of being too busy. My mom hit her goal and was able to maintain her weight! (I was very proud of her!) However, I continued to either hold steady or gain it back little by little. Around Christmas time, the expense of it just got to be too much for something that I wasn't really doing anyway, so we stopped going.
That was really the last time I actively did something to lose weight. I am constantly telling myself (and my husband) that I'm going to start working out, eating better, eating less, running, etc. However, I always have an excuse. I tell myself, "Well, I will start tomorrow. Today we are having dinner with so-and-so." or "I'll start next week. We really need to eat up all the junk food in the house first so it's not here to tempt me. Throwing it away would be wasting money we don't have." I can say for a fact that the only thing holding me back from my goal is me! My husband is very encouraging and is even trying to offer me incentives to help motivate me. (Last week, he said that we could put aside x number of $ for every pound I lose so that when I reach my goal we will be able to go to Disneyworld! The problem is we don't have enough money to put $30-40 aside for each pound! Disney is expensive!!!)
Today I woke up and said NO MORE! I have gained about 100 pounds since getting married 8 years ago. I also just turned 30, and I know it's just going to get harder to lose. Plus, I am a stressed out person who is very high-strung anyway, so the combination of that and my weight can only have a negative impact on my health. As I said, my son is my life! I have to make myself better so I can be around and healthy enough to enjoy him (and our future children) and teach him to take care of himself too.
So, I am going to do my best (like I said... busy person) to post as often as possible about what I have eaten each day and what type of activity I have done. If you see me making excuses or slacking off, CALL ME OUT! That's why I'm doing this blog!
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