Ramblings of a fat girl.

Here I sit......part 1.

2010-12-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, its been a while. Time sure flies when you're having, well umm.... I wouldn't really call it fun.

Let's see, where did I leave everyone hanging? Oh, training for the 3 Day and my first good size gain - that was my last real post in May. Gosh, SO much has happened since then.

To make a long story short, the end of 2010 was totally a year to remember but not for good reasons. I will touch quickly on the events, though each could easily take an entire blog post.

It got to the point where maintaining a house hold of nine (remember, my brother in law and kids were living with us) on one income was not feasible any longer and we became a statistic. Our house went into foreclosure in July and we moved in August. In the mean time, my brother in law gained custody of his kids, moved out on his own and got married. We were so happy and proud for him.

Shortly after moving into our new house, Mistee was let go from her job. She had been with the company for almost seven years and planned on retiring with the company.

September was the month of Doodle's second birthday. Through weeks of planning and discussions with his parents, it was decided he would go home after his second birthday. We had the baby and cared for him solely from the time he was 5 months old. It was a very very hard decision to make, though we felt it was the best decision for all involved. His parents came down from Va and we celebrated his birthday with his many friends and family. We then packed him up into their car and sent him on to his next journey.

The next couple of weeks were full of walking and training for the 3 Day walk, along with trying to find some type of normalcy in a new house with out Doodle.

On October 28th, I received the phone call that will forever change my life. My aunt, whom I had lost contact with, was calling to tell me that my mother had passed away early that morning. A couple of weeks prior, she had fallen and broke her ankle. She needed several screws to repair the damage. The day after having her cast removed, she became ill and passed the next morning. A blood clot had released from her leg which traveled to her lung, causing a pulmonary embolism. My mother and I had a rocky relationship for many years. However, we were both relieved that it was improving and were both excited for what the future would bring. October 28th was also my fathers birthday, who passed when I was young. It also was the day that one of my dearest friends had her first baby.

The very next day we found out that Mistee's father was ill. On November 2nd he became critical and Mistee left for Oklahoma. November 2 was also the day my mother was memorialized. November 2nd is also my birthday.

I was in the middle of a very large mental crunch regarding the 3 Day walk. I spent several months training physically and raising the needed funds. However, participating in the walk would prevent me from attending my mom's memorial. For many reasons, including financial and to honor my mother, I did the walk.

The 3 Day walk was AMAZING! Though honestly, I was mentally not there for most of the time. I physically was not able to complete the full 60 miles though I did do 48 of them. On the last day, November 7th, I had exactly 5 miles left to finish the weekend and Mistee called. Her father passed away just a few minutes prior. That led to a whole other level of emotions. Sadness that Skip passed, guilt for not being there to support Mistee and anger that all of these situations were happening to us all with in weeks of each other. I finished the walk with no one to cheer me on and with no one at the finish line or closing ceremonies. I know its not the fault of anyone involved. However, it was the best physical accomplishment of my life and also one of the saddest moments because no one was there to share it with me.

The next weekend, the boys and I packed up and headed to Oklahoma for Skip's memorial. When we returned home, we found that someone had broken into our house. The only thing that was missing was the boys' "Mickey Bucket", the change jar they save money in for our next Disney vacation. While I'm grateful they did not take more, I wish they had not taken something that belonged to my children.

Needless to say, these "issues" among others - refrigerator going out, unemployment issues, etc did more than set back my weight loss efforts. Nutrition and staying active all went to the way side. Honestly, on more than one occasion my boys had cereal or pop tarts for dinner. I just didn't have the mental capacity to do much more.

The scale this morning said 228.3 exactly 25 pounds higher than my lowest weight this year.

Am I disappointed in this? Yes. However, do I blame or judge myself for the weight gain? Uh, no. I'm actually pretty surprised that I didn't have more of an overall gain. I am still 32 pounds lighter than my highest weight.

New Blog and Tracee's Giveaway!!

2010-05-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

So much for me trying to maintain my weight loss blog and keep up with all my 3 Day stuff at the same time huh??

As far as weight loss goes - I'm still maintaining what Ive lost Im sitting firm at 213. Not great but at least Im not gaining. Working out has become non existent for me - that is hard core Jillian style work outs. However, through training for the 3 Day Im walking long distances at least three times a week. Sunday we did 5 miles and Ill go for 6 tonight. Ive bumped my calories up to between 1500 and 1600 vs the 1200-1300 I was doing before. That with the lack of hard work outs - Im sure that's why I'm not dropping weight more. Im totally ok with this. Of course, Id like to have it come off quicker but Im really trying to teach myself to have a better relationship with food. We all go through periods of time in our lives that are more stressful, we have things going on, etc. I want this to be a life long change. If I can have a large weight loss over a few months, then maintain for a few months Im totally good. I would hate to drop all the weight and then not know how to maintain it - only to gain it all back.
So, that's where Im sitting.

Ive decided to start a new blog. Im reading so many 3 Day blogs, Id like to write on that subject as well. However, I know the readers I have are here because of my weight loss journey. So, Ill spare you guys the talks about hydration (though we all know how important that is!), blisters, little pink tents and boobs! Im working on the layout and first post of the new blog now - Blisters for Sisters. Don't expect to not hear about breast cancer on Ramblings of a fat girl at all, cause its gonna happen. This is an important topic people. We should all be concerned. Think - really seriously think of eight women - give them names. Who did you think of? Your mother? Sister? Daughter? Best friend?

Here's my eight:
Mistee, my best friend, team mate and partner.
Jessica one of my closest friends and team mate.
Jennifer a team mate and also a good friend.
Buffy - my boys God mother, a great friend and team mate.
Cheryl - my soon to be sister in law and team mate.
Peggy - my mother.
MaKayla - my niece who's 7.
Ms. Jean - one of my gremlins who's 19 months old and a light in my eye.

There's my eight. They all have names and are all very close in my heart. What's the point to this, you ask? Statically, one of them will be personally diagnosed with breast cancer. You and I both know that my list and your list of women (or future women) could have been much much longer. Not only do I not want these women to be affected by this disease personally, I dont want them to be affected by it at all. Ms Jean is only a toddler and God willing, may never be diagnosed with breast cancer, but she may lose a mother, aunt, grand mother or close friend. I dont want to see Ms Jean hurt - physically or emotionally. Thats why I walk. And that's why I do my part to help find an end to this disease - for my list of eight, their list of eight and their list of eight and all the future lists of eight.

Who's your list of eight?

On a lighter note -- let me introduce all of you to Tracee. Tracee is a wonderful woman and parent. She is the only human on the planet I trusted to keep Monkey on a regular basis when I worked out side of my home. Some days I wish shed take him now! :)
She has a great blog, Mothering in a Shoe and posted a fantastic giveaway she today! She's giving away a DaVinci Bracelet and three beads. Ive never gotten hooked on Pandora beads however, I can so see these becoming an addiction! They're cute, customizable and wont cost a fortune! So, with or with out winning her give away - I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to ask for for my birthday (on top of the New Balance walking shoes Ive been drooling over).

Thats all for today folks! Toon in later - same bat time, same bat channel!

Weight loss updates.....

2010-05-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had my first gain - like 6 pounds in a matter of three days! I was pissed to say the least! However, I'm really thinking its mostly due to sodium/water. I haven't been drinking water like I should be and I can feel it.

Last weekend was our first team training session for our 3 Day walk in November. We got up early, rubbing our eyes. The coffee drinkers grabbed a cup and we were on our way! Right now were walking on the ACU trail. Its two miles around, paved and really pretty. We'll stay there for a couple of weeks, then move to other locations to acclimate ourselves to different walking areas, hills and curbs. Sunday, we walked 4 miles then went for breakfast. As we were eating, one of the other girls and I decided to go back and walk another 4 miles. Fun!
So far this week, Ive clocked in 17 miles.

Because Ive been so busy with fund raising, planning and researching for the team - my eating habits have been horrible! But totally not in the way you'd expect. Im not eating enough! For example, yesterday I ate 2 eggo waffles with syrup for breakfast. At 6:30 last night it occured to me I had ONLY eaten those two waffles - all day. We had Taco Bell for dinner. I didnt go over my calories for the day but of course went way over on sodium.

My 6 pound gain is gone and I'm back to where I was before. Im sitting at 213 as of this morning. I have two months to get down to onderland to make the goal I set for myself. I would really like to think that will happen. If it doesn't Im going to be not a happy camper! However, I am totally aware of how my priorities are shifted right now. I'm not putting EVERYTHING into getting this weight off. While it is still top on my list - I am team leader of 7 other girls (we got a new walker!). These girls are all looking forward to this walk and I want us to be successful. I will not let them down and I will not let myself down!

I figure the weight loss will come hand in hand with the training were doing. I just have to continue to watch what I put into my mouth. But isnt that the whole point of a life change?

I know I havent been around much and Im sorry - I appreciate all of the support from everyone!

Im still here!!

2010-04-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!! I received a comment from Jessica at CBGBlog a couple of days ago asking if I was ok.

First of all, how stinkin sweet is she??

Yes, I am still here! I'm trying to stay caught up on everyone's postings but it is becoming difficult for me. No, I haven't fallen off of the wagon. I'm still eating well and am working out - in my mind. Who am I kidding? Since we've been back from our vacation - I haven't worked out but maybe five times total.

As of Wednesday - I am clocking in at 215. A total of 45 pounds gone. I'm almost halfway to my goal! Whoot!

So, let me explain why I've been pulled into 15 different directions --

Ive talked some about my walk in this years Susan G Komen 3 Day for the Cure in Dallas this coming November. Well, my little adventure has since turned into a seven man team. And I'm talking to three other girls about walking with us too.
Each person who commits to walking this walk - also commits to raising $2,300. That's a total of $16,100 so far for the team to raise. These numbers are insane for a new team full of first time walkers.

Look what is happening here --- my little personal goal of losing weight, becoming healthy and walking 60 miles (as my own personal fitness goal) has turned into raising over SIXTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS for a fantastic cause!! I could not be more proud of what is happening here - right in front of my eyes.

I get phone calls and texts every day from team members who get donations. "I got $20!" "I just got one for $50!" This morning, one of my best friend IMd me saying "I just got at $200 donation!" The team is all so excited and encouraged by what we are going - its amazing.

Right now, my fund raising account sits at $475.91. That money has been raised in only TEN donations. I'm absolutely overwhelmed at the support we are getting from friends and family members. Ive also been absolutely overwhelmed by the information I have learned about my friends and family members. I have learned that some of them have lost friends, aunts, cousins, and sisters to this horrible disease. Ive also learned that a few have dealt with this disease themselves.

Do you guys know

Over 1.3 million women are diagnosed globally through out a year.
Somewhere in the world, a woman dies from breast cancer every 68 seconds.

These numbers are insane to me.

Susan G Komen died from this disease in 1980. She was 36 years old. She passed only 3 years after her diagnosis. In 1980, the five year survival rate for breast cancer was 78%. Since then, through the help and funding from the Susan G Komen Organization, that number is now 98%.

98%

Read it again - 98% and yet STILL someone dies every 68 seconds.

If that doesn't drive you to want to change things, nothing will. I know of four women who have personally been affected by this disease - one of which has had a double mastectomy. Another had a single mastectomy and is now having issues with her other breast. She will be having a biopsy next week. I have no doubt, none at all, that one if not all of these women would be dead now, if it weren't for this organization.

How would your children survive with out their mother? How would you survive with out your mother, best friend, sister? How would you survive if, God forbid, you had to bury your daughter.

ONE in EIGHT women will be diagnosed with this disease. Look around you. How many family members do you have? How many friends do you have? How many blogs do you follow? I follow 59 blogs. Statistically, at least 7 of the bloggers I follow will receive this diagnosis. Jack Sh*t, you are not immune - roughly 2,000 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone.

So, that's why Ive been missing the last week or so. I'm becoming passionate about this cause and I haven't even walked my first walk.

My first walk -- TOMORROW! The Komen Organization has 5Ks all over the country. If 60 miles is too much for you - find a 5K. I know there will be two in Dallas this year alone. Were getting up at 4:30 to drive the tree hours to attend this event. Bubba is so excited!

Speaking of Bubba - he has volunteered to do anything and everything the team needs to do to help the team raise money. With his birthday money he bought two spools of pink ribbon to make into the classic pink ribbon pins. He's walking the 5K and has even volunteered to wear a bra on the outside of his clothes and a pink wig during our fund raising events. He is disappointed he can not walk in the 3 Day but I have no doubt this will not be my only year to walk. He only has 6 years to wait.

We have several fund raisers planned - we dont have a Krispy Kreme down here so they sell like hot cakes. They have a great fund raising program so we'll do a few donut sales. We'll also be doing a few car washes, a flamingo flocking project and bake sales in front of Walmart. I have a meeting with my church's board to discuss a spaghetti dinner and pancake dinner. A friend of mine has offered her Scentsy business as a fund raiser. The team will get 25% of the profit sales for three weeks. We will start that next week. So, if you know of Scentsy and would like to place an order - just let me know. I'll pay for the shipping to save you money. And if you'd like to help us sell -- I can send you the order forms - and again, I will pay for the shipping to get the items to you. If you dont know what Scentsy is, you don't know what your missing!

If you'd like to help me by donating, please follow this link. All donations are completely tax deductible. If an individual or company donation is made in the amount of $500 or more, the name of the company or individual is printed on the back of our team shirts. Also, my personal dedication is that anyone who makes a donation of any dollar amount, who has a loved one lost or fighting this disease I will personally write their loved ones name on the shirt I will wear to walk my 60 miles.

Guess What I Got!!

2010-04-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

We have a local Yahoo! group named Abilene Garage Sales. The whole idea is if you have something to sell or looking to buy - you post an email to the group. If someone wants what your selling, they email you directly. Its like Craigs list - only on a smaller level and with out the rapes and murder. I dont know about you but to me, that's a good thing!

Anyway, a couple of days ago a guy posted that he was selling an Exerspy. I had no clue what it was and deleted the email. But for some reason, I went back and actually read the post. Holey personal trainer in a box!!

The armband records calories burned, moderate and intense physical activity, sleep times , sleep efficiency and steps taken. The software (you pay a monthly fee for this) gives you the ability to track calories in, weight and measurements. There are tons of resources available on information like performance, muscle gain, weight loss, women's health, pain relief, supplements etc

I bought the spy from the guy for $50. The online program is $10 a month. When I brought it home - it didn't work right out of the box. I received an error message when trying to connect it to the pc through the usb cord. That night I emailed tech support. Less than 24 hours later, I received an email back from Chad in the tech office. He knew exactly what the problem was and gave me great detailed info on how to fix it. Ten minutes later I was up and running! I also received a comment on a post I made on the companies Facebook. Wow! Customer service rocks!

So far, I love the program! The one and only small downfall is that I'm having to manually input almost all of my food. Their data base just doesn't have the amount of food as what Sparkpeople has. However, the small amount of time it takes to input the nutritional counts of the food I eat is WAY worth it. I love having the ability to plug the little gadget into the computer and look at all of my stats for the day. I can tell you that I burn more calories when I'm up cleaning my house vs sitting on my butt all day. Duh - I know, but its great to see it right in front of your face. I like being able to log into it and see the little graph go up after Ive done something like laundry or playing with the kids. I'm excited to see what its going to do when I get a real work out in. The armband is comfortable though if my arm were much bigger, Id need a bigger arm strap. Ive worn it to bed the last two nights and have had no problem sleeping with it on and it doesn't slip out of position. The only time the arm band can not be worn is when showing or in the pool. But the system tracks when the arm band is not on. You can however, input what you were doing at that time - so you're not out on burned calories for that time frame.

So far I love this program! I'm excited to see what all it has to offer as I learn more about it. I will definitely let you all know how it goes!

My first 5K!!

2010-04-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I saw a commercial for The Mayors 5K. Its a race here in Abilene, downtown. In several of your blogs, I read where you're training for one, are doing one or have done one. "What the hell? Why not?" I thought. I didn't know anyone who was doing it but was willing to even go by myself. However, I got the great idea to talk to Bubba about it. Im SO glad I did. He wanted to do it and was super excited. Saturday was his birthday - what a great way to start it!

We got up early that morning and headed down there. Wow! What fun! We found a couple of girls that go to our church and walked with them. We finished in just a little over 51 minutes. Our time could have been much better - but we were chit chatting and having fun with it. Bubba asked me to run several times but I just wasn't up for it. Not yet. Plus, I had a back pack on that was real floppy and not comfortable. I wouldn't have been able to run if I wanted to.

After the 5K there was a little 1 mile fun run. We were already there so we did that one too - just walked it though. Right before that started - look who we saw!

Melissa is not my favorite on the show but was really nice in person. You never know what someone is edited to be like on a reality show.

So, Bubba and I have a new hobby!! Our second one is this weekend - at the Ft Worth Zoo. I want our time to be at least 45 minutes, if not less. We also have one planned for the 24th - the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. YAY!! Who knows what other races we'll do. Weve also looked at a couple of half marathons. I think he's nuts but he says we can do it.

We also have a plan - Next year at the Mayors 5K - we will run. Not only will we run the entire race but we will metal. We have a year to train. We can do it!

Ive been registered to walk the Susan Komen 3 Day for the Cure for several months now but Bubba can not participate in that one. He's too young by their standards. Plus, I really feel that's a lot for him physically - 60 miles is a heck of a lot. And once you get started there's no turning back. Well, there IS but - I don't want to have to turn back with him.

Me registering for the 3Day was the start of my transformation. I really felt the desire to do it but knew there was no way I could complete it in the condition I was in. That's when I broke out the treadmill and actually GOT ON IT. 40 pounds down and a whole lot more energy later -- I still am not ready to walk 60 miles. But I'm getting there.

I don't have breast cancer and can thankfully say I have no personal connections to it. But I STRONGLY believe that this 60 mile walk has saved my life - before I even walked it. I will walk it - EVERY. DAMN. MILE. Because I can. There are so many women who can't walk. They cant walk because of the chemo - others can't walk because they've lost their battle. So, I will because I can.

I started a team with some friends of mine. There are 5 of us total going to walk this walk. None of us have done it before.

In order to take the first step in this walk - we have to raise $2,300 each. No ifs, ands or buts. No fund raising - no walking.

There's a link on my side bar to my personal fund raising page. If you have it in you - $5, $10, $20, $100 or $500. What ever you can - Ill take it! For donations of $50 - Ill honor a loved one with their name on the shirt Ill wear or the flag Ill wave when I walk. Also, the adds on my page are all AdSense - I get paid when you follow the links. You don't have to buy a thing - just click, click, CLICK. All that I get from the AdSense goes directly to my walk fund.

If you want, and will - write a post on your blog about my walk - spread the word - link your friends to me - **Would LOVE if J*ck Sh*t got the word and spread it, hint hint. :) **

Let them all know what I'm doing, what the cause is and how they can help. If I have to hawk my youngest child to get the funds to walk this walk - I will. Though that would suck. So, PLEASE for the love of Monkey - help me!!

FOURTY pounds gone and photo comparison challenge

2010-04-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I weighed in at 220.6.

What does that mean???

2.2 pounds gone this week so far - my "official" weigh in day is Sunday

11.8 pounds gone in a month (from 3-9 to today)

FOURTY pounds gone total!!

Whoot!! You couldn't beat that with a sharp stick!

A couple of days ago I told you guys about Jessica's photo comparison challenge.

Here's the results of my challenge!

My Before pic, taken January of 2010:

And my After pic, taken Easter day 2010:

Look!! I have a neck!! I have one chin instead of three. You can see a defined jaw line and cheek bones. You probably don't know by just looking but my smile is very forced in the first picture. I was trying to be a good mom by riding the ride with Monkey but I was not happy about it. I was stuffed into the seat and very uncomfortable. Though we haven't been there since, I know that I will fit into the seat much better. The biggest difference? Notice I said in the before pic I was TRYING to be a good mom. In the after pic, I had just gotten done putting up the 20 ft pool for the boys - Ive never actually participated in putting up a pool before. Ive only watched. I'm not trying to be a good mom anymore - I AM a good mom!

Boobs

2010-04-07T09:59:00.001-07:00

Dear Boobs,

Why did you have to be the first to go? There were many who could have easily taken your place - butt, hips thighs, love handles, chin number 2, 3, or 4. But, while some are gone others still hang around where they are not wanted or needed. But you, YOU were loved and YOU were needed! I have always appreciated you and have shown you off **sometimes, shown more of you then I needed to - damn tequila** However, I understand that your leaving is for the greater good. No amount of stuffing or tube socks can fix you now. However, I have promised myself that once my goals are met I will find you again - even better than you were before!

Our last great night together.....

So, dear boobs - I will remember you fondly. Our good times were many and our bad times were few and far between.

Until we surgically meet again,

A couple of challenges and one of my own - are you in???

2010-04-07T07:50:00.001-07:00

I have been WAY behind on many items in my life since our vacation. I haven't worked out - not one stinkin time - since we got back, which was on the 22nd - that was TWO weeks ago. I made it a goal for the week to #1 get on track with working out, #2 get the rest of my trip pics edited (only 120 left to go, out of 1200!), #3 get my blog updated and #4 get caught up on my blog reading.

Yesterday, I accomplished #4 all in one day. Mind you, I follow 60 blogs, so three weeks worth of 60 blogs is ALOT of reading. In doing this, I discovered several dead blogs and some I just need to clean out of my list. Its not that I don't enjoy the blogs - I just don't have enough time to fit all of them in. Yall know how it goes, I'm sure.

Im SO glad I caught up on reading, instead of just punking out and start my reading at today. I found lots of encouragement, goals met, fallen bloggers who are now back on track and lots of fun challenges.

Here's a couple of the challenges I found that I decided to jump on - and a little ditty I came up with all on my own!

Tammy's Summer Challenge
Tammy (as the challenge name implies- duh), at From Fat to Fab, came up with this GREAT idea! She and the hubster are leaving on May 1st for a vacation to Panama Beach. The one and only goal for this challenge is to lose 10 pounds by April 30th. That's it. The prize - a souvenir from Panama Beach! How stinkin awesome is that?? She asks for everyone to check in and post how theyre doing every Friday. She doesn't care how its done or what other goals are linked to the 10 pounds. Just get the 10 pounds off and she'll send you a little trinket! She didn't say I couldn't cut my own arm off to get the 10 pound loss..... Hmmmm, something to ponder!

Seriously, I totally LOVE this idea! I really wish she would have come up with it sooner - I could have stolen the idea and brought everyone back a tacky set of Mickey ears for meeting their goal! Oh well, there's always next year!

Photo Comparison Challenge

This idea came from Jessica, at CBGBlog.
First of all, I totally <3 this chicka! She has a great heart and busts her hump to get her goals accomplished. So, here's her plan: Find a pic of yourself. Either a "before" pic or one from when you weren't as healthy as you are now. Take a pic of yourself today. Not from yesterday, or last week. Today - like NOW. **Ok, really Jessica, can I PLEASE shower first?? Pretty please?** She wants a blog post showing both pics and wants to see you compliment your changing body. Not on what the scale says, or how you were able to not eat the cookie last night **though those are both great as well** but on the physical changes that are taking place in your body. **Do my bat wings and shrinking boobs count?** Ok, POSITIVE changes that are taking place in your body! Once your post is posted, she then wants to know - so post a comment on her page linking your photo comparison. That way she and all of her readers can look, comment on and make comparisons of their own. FABULOUS idea!! Some people are fantastic about taking pictures of themselves for comparison **Keelie** but I just am not. I feel strange taking pics of myself. Do I smile, not smile? How do I stand? What do I do? BUT, in the pics I have of myself lately, I see a difference in my body. So, I do need to make a habit of taking more pics of myself. So, after my shower - I'm breaking out the Canon, baby! :)

Now, on to my idea--

Help Me Help You!

Ok, so this isn't really a challenge but more of an idea of another way we can help each other. I have the book, Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. This book is full of great information and I'd like to send it to someone, anyone. If you'd like to read it, just let me know and I'll send it out tomorrow. No challenge, no weigh in and no link to my blog **however, that would be great seeing as I only have 23 readers** I just want someone to get the information that I got.
BUT, there is one catch! Whoever gets the book is not allowed to keep it. When you're done with it, post that you have it and put it up for grabs for someone else. So, if you have alot going on and would take 6 months to read the book - maybe let someone else get it first, who can read it quicker. I plan on getting a few more things - books, dvds, cookbooks etc. Stuff that ships well and is fairly inexpensive to ship. The only "challenge" part to this is that I'd like to encourage everyone to pick up a few things to add to the Help Me Help You pot. There will be no governing agency making sure people pay the items forward. It will all be done using the honor method.
I think this will be a great way to pass on the things that we are using in our journey. With money being tight, I know Id love to be able to read a book or try out a work out dvd before I buy it. So, here's a way we can do that! Let me know what you guys think of the idea! If it blows, I wont put the effort into it. Also, if you know someone or are someone who can make a tag for this - Id love you long time! Something cute and bright would be awesome!

So, here's a run down of a couple of awesome challenges and my plan. Check em out!

Disney World Trip Report - part 1 finally!!

2010-04-06T08:59:00.003-07:00

My gosh! I didn't think this day would ever come! I just finished editing all of the tons and tons of pics I took. So, the first thing on the agenda now - to tell ya'll about the trip!

Friday afternoon before heading out, we had to make a stop by the bank first. The boys had been saving all of the change in the house in the Mickey bucket. It was time to cash it in! They made $227! We surprised them by letting them have all of the money for their own spending money. They were pretty stoked.
The drive was 21 hours and needless to say - sucked, with a capital S!
We stayed at the All Star Movies Resort, which was super cute. Here's a few pics of the hotel:
The first night we met a friend of mine who lives in Oklahoma and I hadn't seen since high school and her daughter for dinner at Mickeys Backyard BBQ. As we were walking into the BBQ area, Monkey fell. Not just a regular fall but a running down a gravel slope kind of fall. So the rest of the entire trip was filled with both a wrapped arm and knee. But, the BBQ was alot of fun.
The next morning was our breakfast reservation at Cinderella Castle. Our reservation was for 7:30 and wake up call was for 6:00. Early, but no big deal right? Wrong! Not only did I not take into consideration the time change from Texas to Florida but that night just happened to be Spring forward time change. Yea, our bodies were saying "It's 4am! Why are we getting up at 4am??" On the monorail headed to Magic Kingdom:
The first view of the castle looked like this: If you've never been there, the Castle is totally awe inspiring. Ive seen it many many times - different times of year and different times of day. At night, it changes colors - pics of that later. But, this was the most beautiful Ive ever seen it. I was so tickled to be there, I cried. Yes, I'm a bawl bag like that. Hey, a princess is allowed to cry when she sees her castle, right?
Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table was a highlight of the trip, to say the least. Monkey was more excited about having breakfast with his girlfriend than anything else. The inside of the castle is amazing. The staff and food were amazing. It was just a fun experience. During the meal, they do a wishing ceremony. Each kiddo is given a "wishing star" and either a sword or wand. During the ceremony, the kids wave their sword over their star and make a wish.

Then it was time for the princesses to come out!

After a couple of hours running around Magic Kingdom, we headed over to The Pirates League for the boys' makeovers. They actually had more fun with that than we though they would!

My sweet little boys before:

And the little pirates after:

Here's more pics of our first day at MK.

The next day - we had a character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. We met several characters including Alice, the Mad Hatter, Tigger and Pooh. After a great breakfast, we spent the day in Epcot. We were there during the International Flower and Garden Festival. The gardens and topiarys were amazing! Here's pics of the day:

During the trip Bubba and I had tons of fun looking for Hidden Mickeys. Here's a couple:

Don't see the last one? Look on the right door - the plates. Cool huh?

Couple of more pics from Epcot:

He didn't believe me when I said that Time Outs even happen at Disney World! :)

Ok guys - so this trip report is going to end up being at least three posts. I have at least one, maybe two posts to finish showing pics **cause this one only shows two days** and I plan on doing one full post of just food pics. It was all too good and too pretty not to share! I hope you like what you've seen so far!

Why didn't I do this years ago???

2010-03-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

First off - Im sorry!! I have not been around in forever (it feels like)! After we got back from our vacation, I just felt like I couldn't get caught up on anything. Laundry, sleep, getting the kitchen restocked, etc. I really felt like I needed a vacation from the vacation!!

I have every intention of writing a trip report - full of pics from our vacation. However, I took just shy of 1200 pics! Ive been working to get them edited and ready for posting, as well as printing for a scrapbook but gosh - 1200 pics take FOREVER to get edited! We got some scrapbook supplies while on our trip and several tons more this past weekend. I'm very crafty but have never done a scrapbook. Im kind of excited about it! It should be fun!

This past weekend, we didn't do much - just bee bopped around town, hit some garage sales and picked up bunches of stuff for the scrapbook. We stopped at Old Navy to see what they had for the boys. I love ON but rarely get anything for myself because I usually cant find anything to fit. BUT - oh, how this trip was different! I had arm loads of clothes to try on and was SO loving it! At one point Mistee said "Umm, this could be a problem!" I only walked away with a white summer time top and the cutest wrap around espadrilles! They both complimented perfectly with a pair of shorts Mistee bought me last week.

So, Sunday I put on my new outfit, did my hair and make up (which I never do - just to run around town). I felt FAN flippin TASTIC! The weather was great, I looked cute and felt wonderful. All I kept thinking to myself was "Damn, why didn't I do this years ago?" Ive lived my life feeling like crap for so many years - its a great change to feel confident. I will NEVER go back to where I came from.

This morning the scale said 242.6 - that's a SIX pound loss from last Monday! However, we had just gotten back from our trip last week Monday. I had a three pound loss over night - the scale last week Tuesday read 227.2 after saying 230.6 the day before. I know alot of it was because of water weight change. I posted before about how extremely bloated I was. But dang, SIX pounds? One week? And did I mention - no, I mean NO working out? I don't know why it happened (though it could be that my body is catching up to all the walking we did on the trip) but Ill take what ever I can get!

So, Im at a 36 pound loss now. In January, I was in a size 24 pants. At ON on Saturday I put on a size 16. They didn't look good and I didn't buy them. But I got them on, they buttoned and zipped with ease (Ok, maybe I had to suck in just a tad). Just too much muffin top for me to actually get them. BUT THEY WERE ON! A size 16! Can you believe it?

My next goal is to get into Onderland buy July 4th. I need 25 pounds off to be there. So, that's just a little over two pounds a week. I think I can... I think I can.... WAIT - no, I KNOW I can..... I KNOW I can!!!

Were home!!

2010-03-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

We are finally home from our trip. It was an amazingly good time! We laughed, played with Mickey Mouse, ate GREAT food and spent a lot of money. After a 21 hour drive, we made it home Sunday early evening.

Weight wise -- I posted before we left that I was very nervous at how I would handle myself with all of the wonderful food around all the time. In looking at the overall trip, I think I did very well! I made good choices, didn't feel deprived and even at desert at almost every meal! I tracked my food everyday in my notebook and logged it all into Sparkpeople.com yesterday. The first few days of the trip I ate between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. Towards the end, my calorie intake increased to just over 1500 a day.
I wore a pedometer on everyday to see what my mileage per day was. We walked anywhere from 9 to 12 miles a day! On average, it was a 1400 calorie burn a day! So, eating 1500 calories a day was really ok. Three days into the trip I started getting famished by every meal. I knew my body needed the calories and I was more than willing to find some! However, the majority of my calories came from protein, fruits and veggies. I did get desserts but would eat a bite or maybe two. Ok, maybe on the pineapple upside down cake, I ate almost the entire thing - but it was WONDERFUL!

During the trip I drank orange juice with breakfast, had 6 ounces of vanilla coke with lunch one day and one alcoholic drink. Other than that, water, only water, and LOTS of it. However, during the drives I couldn't drink much because I did not want to have to make pit stops. Because of that, I knew I would be dehydrated when we got home. But I didn't know how badly dehydrated I would be. My feet and hands were horribly swollen and I had a hard time wearing any button pants or shorts. So, I gave myself yesterday off to not only get rested and unpacked but to rehydrate as well.

Before I tell you what the scale said this morning - Ill let you know that of the clothes I bought for the trip - two pair of shorts and a pair of capri pants - the all fit great! Even the capris, that I really didn't think I would wear because of my love handles hanging over the sides, fit fairly well. While there, I bought a pair of shorts and several shirts. The shorts are an XL from the women department. This was the largest size they carried in that department. I would not have been able to get the shorts with out losing the weight first. They are SO cute! So, I was excited about that. I also got a hoodie sweatshirt that's a size L. There's no X or number in front of the L! I honestly can't remember the last time I was able to wear a Large anything!

Ok! Ok! Get to the point Lindsey - What did the scale say???

227.2

Yup! A 3.4 pound loss while on vacation!! :0)

I'm working on a post now with tons of pics from the trip. I took tons of pics! I also plan on spending the day getting caught up on everyone's blogs. I have several I follow, so this could take a while.

I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks so much for the encouragement and well wishes - you guys are amazing!

To quote Dora....

2010-03-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

Remember my goal of wanting to lose 30 pounds before we left for our trip??

I DID IT!!

Here's the scale just a few minutes ago!

Boy, that scale is dirty. Maybe I should take better care of him - so he'll be nice to me!

So, technically I still have .6 pounds to go to exactly reach my 30 pound loss. Yes, its more than a half of a pound. But - all I wanted was to see 230 on the scale before we left. And there it is! Am I going to stress over the .6? Uhhh - no.

Next goal????
I will NOT be over 235 when we get back from our trip. However, I'm really really reeeaaallllyyy wanting to maintain at 230 while were gone.

Regardless if I maintain or not on the trip. I want to hit Onderland by July 4th. I lost this first 30 in 10 weeks. July 4th is in 16 weeks, so I think this is an achievable goal.

Like Dora says " I did it! I did it! I did it! Horray!"

Twenty Questions

2010-03-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

Kenz, over at All the Weigh posted a list of twenty questions she answered about herself. She asked for others to answer the questions as well, so we can all know more about each other. Great idea! So, here's my twenty questions....

1. What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?
I love Saturdays in the spring time! After a good breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and fruit we like to all pack up and go search out good garage sales or go to the park for the afternoon to feed the ducks, walk or play on the playground!

2. List your three favorite tv shows.
I'm really not much of a tv watcher. My days are filled with the Disney Channel and Yo Gabba Gabba. My favorite show right now is Private Practice. I'm really looking forward to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.

3. Would you rather be in pictures or take them?
I actually wrote about this here. Normally, I wouldn't be caught dead in front of a camera, though I love photography and consider myself an amateur/professional photographer. However, this changed when I realized how few pictures there are of me and my kids together. I have more of myself from the last week than I have for the last two months combined!

4. Why do you blog?
I started blogging as a way to journal my experiences. However, it has really turned into more than that for me. I don't hunt for more readers - probably why I don't have very many - but I love the ones I have! I love the little community of support we all have together.

5. Share five websites you visit everyday.
I'm a Facebook junkie. I can always be found there. Other than that - reading blogs, and looking for anything Disney World to help plan our trip. We leave tomorrow!!

6. If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list, who would it be?
Twitter is one thing I haven't really gotten into. I know! I know! tisk tisk
BUT - Jillian Micheals is on my twitter list - so obviously her!

7. List a few of your favorite snacks.....
I always grab a Special K granola bar or a Cutie clementine.

8. Do you have a pet? If so, what kind?
We have two dogs and two cats. This number is really good for us! We've been known to have a small zoo in our house, including ferrets, pet rats, we had four aquariums -two saltwater- at one point. The dogs we have now are Peaches, the basset hound and Peyton Manning, the weenie dog. Cats are Tinkerbelle and T-Bone. Here's Peaches, my old girl. She's the best dog on the planet.

9. Which three material possessions would you struggle to live with out?
My laptop, for sure!! It is my life line - I would DIE with out it! Yes, I'm taking it on vacation too. My cell would be another one. Mostly, because I use it to get online too. The third would be my camera. I am totally a camera whore. I take it everywhere and take tons and tons of pics!

10. What's your favorite drink?
Are we talking alcoholic or non? Non is sweet tea, though I haven't had any in probably a month! Its all about water - lots and lots of water these days! I know, boring right. Alcoholic, I love Jamaican Cowboy margaritas! Its a margarita with a sweet and tangy twist. Yum!

11. Do you enjoy cooking?
I LOVE to cook! And I'm damn good at it too! Hey, I've earned my butt!

12. Do you have children?
You obviously have not been paying attention to my blog! Since, other than my weight, that's all I talk about! I have three boys aged 22, 9 and 3. The 9 and 3 year old both have birthdays in April. We also have an 18 month old grand baby. And I do home child care for two other kiddos right now - one turned 2 this past November and the other is 16 months old. Ive kept both of them for over a year and love them like they were my own. I also have a 9 year old nephew and a 7 year old niece, who until recently lived with us too. AND - were planning on starting to try to have one more here in the next couple of months. Do I love kids? Uhh, what do you think? :)

13. What are your favorite hobbies?
Photography is my favorite. But I also love to read, cook, and sew, cross stitch etc.

14. Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing?
Uhhh - is both an answer? I'm pretty outgoing and love to laugh. But, I have a hard time making close friends because I have a real hard time opening up. I'm overall not very trusting and feel like people think I'm stupid, immature, a geek etc. (Though I know I'm not.) I was raised in an adult environment so was always considered mature for my age. However, as a result I had a very hard time relating with my peers. Now that I'm older and am supposed to be more mature - I find myself being silly. Its almost like I'm going backwards.

15. If you could change one thing about yourself what would you change?
Two things that kind of go hand in hand are my trust in people and the fact that I hold grudges. I try not too - but its always there in the back of my mind. I'm working on these though.

16. Who is your favorite actor/actress?
I think Kathy Bates is amazing. I haven't seen of her work that I haven't loved. I'm also a Tom Hanks and Robin Williams fan.

17. What is the silliest thing you've done this week?
Just this morning I ran away from a Vietnamese man who was chasing me with an electric drill! Seriously, I went to tan and parked in a parking spot labeled for the nail salon next door. I made a point to look and make sure the nail salon was not open - they didn't open for two more hours so I thought it would be OK. Well, when I went to leave, a Vietnamese man, who I'm assuming is the owner of the nail salon, was hanging a banner outside. He jumped down from his ladder and started chasing me, yelling and waving his electric drill in the air! I just smiled and waved, acting like I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I figure that's how he looks at me when he's doing my toes - now he knows how it feels. Guess I wont be having him do my toes anymore. Time to look for a new nail salon.....

18. Do you live near your family or far from them?
I have a very small family. My father passed when I was young. I have no contact with that side of my family. My mother lives in Anchorage, Ak and I have an aunt and two cousins in Oklahoma. So, yea - not so close.

19. List three of your talents....
Photography (have I mentioned I like photography?), Humor, and I can decorate a mean cake.
This one I made for Doodle's first birthday.

20. What is your greatest attribute?
Compassion. I am very compassionate and do not judge anyone. If I have not walked in someone's shoes or lived their life - I am in no position to make judgment calls on their life or the way they live it. The only exception I have to that rule is in the treatment of children. They are empty slates and are all perfect at birth. They deserve nothing less that to be treated fairly, with respect and love.

So, there you have it. My answers to the twenty questions. Who's next??

Pics - New hair and sweat!

2010-03-10T08:06:00.000-08:00

I'm really trying to follow in Keelie's footsteps some. She takes tons of pictures of herself so she can see her progress. I just feel silly taking pictures of myself in the mirror. Do I smile? Not smile? Pose or no? I dont know. Just strange to me.

First, I found a couple of before pics. These were taken at Mistee and I's 10th anniversary surprise party. Our friends are amazing and went to a lot of trouble to show us they care.

Ive had a couple of people ask about my new haircut. So, I decided to take some pics of it. I had kind of a hard time with these. The lights above my vanity are hot so I was sweating like a sinner in church. But you'll get the idea. I'm going to color it tonight. I'm naturally blond, dark but blond. I need to be blond. Some people need chocolate. I need my hair to be blond. Other colors just don't work for me.

Just a warning that these next pics are FUN-KEY! I decided to jump on the treadmill for a half an hour Monday night. But when my half hour was up - I decided to go for another. Boy was I pooped when I was done. If you haven't noticed - Ive kind of given up on my 4/1. I feel like I can get more done if I don't throw running into the mix. I can walk at an extremely fast pace and keep it up for ages but when you throw running into it - I can't keep at it for long. I know I should be pushing myself but I just feel like I get a better work out I don't run. Anyway, here's what I accomplished with my hour on the treadmill.

If you remember, Ive been really nervous about next weeks trip. I decided to be proactive about the situation and looked up the menus for all of the restaurants we have reservations for. I bought myself a notebook last week to log my meals in. So after looking up all of the menus I made notes on what my options could be. That way I wont feel like I'm scrambling around while sitting at the table - Ill already have a plan of action. I'm pretty excited about that. It really helped put my mind at ease some. I also made the deal with Mistee and Duppy that instead of stopping to eat while on the road, we would pack a small cooler. Its cheaper, saves time and saves me calories! Yay!
I'm still hoping to reach my goal Friday before we leave. I wanted 30 pounds gone before we left. Yesterday, the scale said 232.4 That means I have 2.4 pounds to go. I didn't weigh today. So, we'll just see what happens!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week! Thanks so much to everyone for your support on my last, kind of frumpy, post. Ive come to understand that we all have ups and downs with this journey. Ill have to take the good points with the bad both mental and physical. I want this - so I'm willing to take what ever I can get.
Oh, and I bought another pair of shorts and a pair of capris last night. Both size 18! The shorts are good but the capris have a pretty good muffin top. I can hide it with a new baggie shirt I got - also size 18. Ill take them on the trip - but I don't know if Ill wear them. It'll just depend on my mood at the time I guess!

Oh, and by the way -- I've renamed sweat. It will now be known as MELTED FAT! :)

Who am I now?

2010-03-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

Sundays are my official weigh in days, though I weigh every day.

Today the scale said 232.8. That makes a 4.6 pound loss for the week and a 28 pound total loss in nine weeks - averaging to be 3.1 pounds a week. Totally great numbers!!

AND.....

I started tanning yesterday, which is both great for me mentally (photo therapy has been shown to help increase serotonin levels thus decreasing depression) but physically as well - because tan fat is better looking than white fat! I also got a cute hair cut, new contacts (doc said I need to see a glaucoma specialist - ouch), went to see a movie with friends (Alice in Wonderland - cute) and got some new shorts that are a size 18. That's TWO, yes TWO sizes smaller than the last pair of non athletic shorts I bought. People are starting to notice my weight loss now and are making comments to not only me but Mistee as well. Oh, and I got on a scale at Duppy's office - (she works at the local ASPCA so they have a big walk on scale for the animals). I was nervous about getting on her scale, for fear it would show a 937 pound higher weight difference then what I have at home. It didn't. It showed me to be 230.4 - fully clothed. Granted, I'm not going to track numbers from that scale - but it was nice to see.

Seems like a GREAT weekend right??

Any normal person would be ecstatic with how the weekend went. A little makeover, new smaller clothes, a great weigh in for the week, good food choices, upcoming vacation, etc.

But I'm not.......

I have had an inner battle with myself this weekend. I just don't feel connected to the process. Actually, I really just don't feel connected to myself.
Ive made great food choices - choosing only a bottle of water as my movie snack and staying in the low end of my calorie goals. I worked out Friday, but not yesterday and haven't yet today - but will.
People say they see the change in me physically. But I don't. I see some, I guess. But not to the extreme of what people are saying.

When I was at my eye exam, Mistee and the boys were running around Walmart picking up odds and ends for the trip. When my appointment was over I met them in the store (my appt was with the eye dr in Walmart) She presented the new shorts to me - the size 18. Without even touching them, I said - "Did they not have a size 20?" She said no. There was an 18 and a 24. "They wont fit. Put them back." She bought them anyway, saying if they don't fit now - they soon will. So, when we got home - I took the shorts and went into the bathroom. She followed me in there and I asked her to leave. I was TERRIFIED to put them on. Actually, at first I didnt. I folded them and sat them on the vanity. And walked out of the bathroom telling Mistee I would try them on after I lost ten more pounds because they just would not fit now and I knew it. But, they are cute shorts and I wanted to wear them to the movie. So, I went back into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. I pulled them on in front of the mirror - they slid up my hips easily, buttoned and even zipped. I have a small muffin top when I wear them on my waist but am able to wear them a little higher and hide the muffin. I wore the shorts to the movie.

I couldn't believe I was in them! But, its strange - its not a "I didn't realize I was doing so well to lose two sizes already" - not believing it. Its more of a "I feel like I'm the same size - fat and gross" not believing it.

When friends say I look good and ask how much I've lost - I politely say thank you and tell them the numbers. But I quickly change the subject. I figure the only reason why people are commenting it to begin with is because they were set up to by Mistee, read my blog or my posts on Facebook. Mistee has actually gotten upset with me because I argue that you cant really see what I've lost. I have so much to lose - how can only 28 pounds make such a huge difference that she says there is?

My connection to the scale is different now too. I get on the scale every morning. But most of the time, I completely disregard what it says - tracking up to a pound more on my spreadsheet than what the scale actually said. I'm deathly afraid of it lying to me. Of it giving me a great number on Monday - only to say something higher on Tuesday. Though it has not happened, not once. I'm still afraid of it. However, when someone asks what I've lost - I give them the number that was truly on the scale. Everyone wants big numbers and I don't want to disappoint them.

Ive lost connections to a couple of my friends through this journey too. Friends I used to go eat with on a regular basis, either go without me or say they have other plans when I ask them. Eating habits are something that people share together. Its not fun to pig out on a plate of pasta and chocolate cake when the person sitting next to you is eating salmon and salad. You want someone to make bad choices with you - so you don't feel as guilty, ashamed etc But when its right in your face, sitting right next to you, that YOU COULD and SHOULD make better choices at the very same restaurant - its not fun.

Have you noticed too, that friends that are fat together lose their relationship when one of the friends is no longer fat - or in the process of becoming no longer fat? Is it because the still fat friend is jealous? Angry? But angry at who? The process of becoming no longer fat friend or at themselves because after all, they are still fat?

So, who am I now? People tell me I look great (at least better), but I don't believe them and I find myself losing my friends. The security of knowing what clothes fit and looked good is no longer there. Food is no longer my friend either. So, what do I have? What is mine? Who am I now?

You have to understand - I have been the "Big Girl" all of my life. I mean ALL of my life. Its even a running joke between a life long friend and I. When we talk about our elementary school days we refer to The Big Girl - me. My feelings were never hurt by the name. I accepted it. It was the reality I lived with for 32 years. But, who am I now?

I have no intention of discontinuing my journey. I like the way I feel physically. I LOVE that I have more energy and am teaching my kids lessons to live healthier and to make better choices on food.
But what do I do to make this better? I can't make my friends start a journey of their own. I'm not in a mental position to give up the scale. Most of you are strong enough for that. I wish I could. Ive even thought of packing it on the trip! **But I'm not gonna.** When I'm done writing this post, I'm going to shower and take some pics of myself - hoping some comparison pics will help get me connected to this process. Plus, I have friends that wanna see my hair cut. Other than that, any suggestions?? Maybe I need a shrink? Seriously, maybe I do. I do not want to see myself developing a dangerously crappy body self image. Or am I totally blowing stuff out of proportion? Are you reading this, thinking to yourself - Damn, this girl is nuts - she's only lost 28 pounds, she acts like she's lost 300! Should I just shut my pie hole and keep on keeping on? Uggg!

The original title of this post was "Weekend Weigh In and Emotional Stresses" But it seems to be obvious the "Weekend Weigh In" part of the topic has been taken over and "Emotional Stresses" part doesn't do it justice. So, I guess I'll change the title to - Am I Nuts?, Big Girl goes Batty, or What the Hell is Wrong with Me?

Sunshine Award!

2010-03-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

I got a blogger award! This is my first one! **I say first one, like I'm gonna get tons more - gah!)

Thanks so much Crystal at Fitness Journal! If she's not on your reading list, she should be! She's a great person, full of support and kindness.
*Crystal if you're reading this - I can't comment on your posts. When it goes to the word verification, it cuts off the box to type the word in. Help! And thanks so much for the award!

The rules for this award are simple - just pass on to 12 other bloggers who inspire you or need a little Sunshine.

I'm never one to follow the rules so I'm going to change this up a bit. I have only three girls I'm giving this award to.

Our personal journeys to being healthy or staying healthy are not easy, especially with the normal challenges of everyday life. However, these three strong, determined and inspiring women are going through personal stresses that would make any of us stop dead in our tracks - wither its becoming a newly single mother, dealing with the serious illness of a close family member, or dealing with a death of a loved one. These three women still manage to make healthy living a priority. They are truly an inspiration to me. Please keep them in your thoughts as they go through their individual journeys.

All of these women have been previously awarded this prize but I think we all need a little more Sunshine in our lives!

I am giving this award to:
MrsFatass at Did I Just Eat That Out Loud?
Buzzy & Breezelys Mama at http://thefatchickweigh.blogspot.com/
Jessica at CBGBlog

What are we doing to our kids?

2010-03-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

I realized something the last week or so. I am doing a HUGE injustice to my family, namely my boys. Just how fair is it for me to eat a grilled chicken breast and salad for dinner, while my kids eat McDonald's or pizza.

What exactly am I teaching them? Let me tell you - What I'm teaching them is that its OK to eat all the crap you want - until you are obese - THEN you make the changes in your life to become healthy and get the weight off. HOW INSANELY CRAZY IS THAT?

**FACT - almost 60% of children in America are obese
**FACT - in 2002, 22% of America's preschoolers were overweight. What do you think that number is for 2010? PRESCHOOLERS!
**FACT - 40% of obese children and 70% of obese adolescence become obese adults
**FACT- a child in America has an 80% chance of becoming obese if only one of their parents is obese.
**FACT - In 2008, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%
**FACT - American's spend $150 BILLION in obesity related health care costs

** For the first time in American history - our children are facing a shorter lifespan than what we have - many dieing BEFORE THEIR PARENTS.

What are we doing to our kids?

Something has to give. Something has to change.

Michelle Obama is working with the Let's Move program to 1. Give parents information they need to make healthier choices for their family 2. She is working to improve the meal options at our childrens' schools, which is vital 3. By making healthier food more widly available, especially in lower income areas, and 4. Get kids moving, both at school and at home.

Regardless of what political party you are associated with, she needs our support in this program. Our kids need our support in this program. Look at the website. Learn from it and make the changes necessary to help our kids.

Someone else working to change America's children -- Jamie Oliver. If you have 20 minutes to either work out or watch this video - WATCH THE VIDEO. I was changed by this...

If you don't know who Jamie Oliver is, he's a chef. He's a chef that believes we as a country are on a downward spiral when it comes to weight and obesity. Because of that, he has started the award winning, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Jamie's Food Revolution is all about replacing junk, snacks and processed food with freshly cooked nutritious meals – in schools and at home. After three months working in Huntington, WV, Jamie has seen how a little bit of confidence can change people's lives and their health prospects. He believes that American people have the power to halt the obesity epidemic. That needs to start now - with a Food Revolution. Look at his website. Learn what is happening to our kids - what WE are doing to our kids. Sign his petition.

***My own kids will no longer drink chocolate milk at school. And until something changes, they will no longer eat meals offered through the school district. They will eat home made lunches packed with whole foods including whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables.***

Not all children are overweight or obese. None of my three boys are overweight. BUT, just because a child is not obese does not mean they are healthy or have malnourishment issues. I believe regardless of a child's weight at one given point in their lives - they all deserve to be taught the lessons on healthy living, proper eating and exercise.

If you feel as strongly about this issue as I do, post about it, talk to your kids, and friends. Educate people.

If three of my blog readers vow to teach their children better habits and post about the Food Revolution in their own blogs - and three of each of their blog readers do the same and three of their blog readers do the same, and three of their blog readers do the same, etc that's 87 blog readers affected and potentially hundreds of kids (depending on the number of kiddos each blog reader has)who's lives will be changed.

What I WAS doing to my kids - I am NO LONGER doing.

Today's food

2010-03-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

I ate some pretty food today! Mistee laughs at me when I make my plates now. If its something that's nice on the eyes, I arrange it all pretty - getting it ready for pictures. A couple of nights ago she said, "Damn, you act like your getting that plate ready for the prom!" Hehehe!

Anyway, here's breakfast this morning:

A scrambled egg with half a tablespoon of cream cheese and a quarter cup of fresh spinach. One piece of whole wheat toast with ICBINB spray and strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. YUM!

246 Calories, 10 Fat, 31 Carbs, 11 Protein and 290 grams of sodium.

Lunch:

A spinach salad with a quarter tablespoon Parmesan cheese and a tablespoon of Newman's Own Light Raspberry and Walnut dressing - with a half of a Lean Pocket Stuffed Quesadilla Grilled Chicken Fajita. Normally I don't eat boxed stuff like this but I love the Lean Pocket white chicken pizza. So, I was getting a box of those and saw this. It's not too bad!

248 Calories, 8 Fat, 33 Carbs, 11 Protein and 290 grams of sodium.

Dinner:
Sorry - no pics. My plan was for Salmon and salad but the kids were screaming for pizza. Ugg! How do I handle this one? I did pretty good! I ordered a pepperoni for Mistee and the boys and a small Spinach Alfredo for Mistee and I from Papa Johns.
I ate a salad of lettuce and spinach with Olive Garden dressing and two pieces of the spinach Alfredo pizza. I also drank 45 ounces of water to fill me up and help prevent me from eating any more pizza.

481 Calories, 22 Fat, 53 Carbs, 17 Protein and 16 grams of sodium
* I KNOW the sodium is not right. Its listed that the pizza has 0 grams of sodium. NOT!

Snack:
I had a snack between lunch and dinner. A Special K Strawberry bar.

Total Calories for the day 1066, 41 grams of Fat, 135 Carbs, and 42 grams of Protein.

Guess What!

2010-03-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

No really, guess!!

No ideas???

Ill give you a couple of hints!

What weighs 25 pounds??

This fish weighs 25 pounds!

This cat weighs 25 pounds!

This potato weighs 25 pounds!

TWENTY FIVE of these weighs 25 pounds!

Now, who DOESN'T have 25 pounds???

Yea, you guessed right!!

ME!!!

Pictures

2010-03-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

I read blog posts every day where you guys are posting great before, during and after pictures of yourselves.
I only have one picture of me and that's my profile pic. So, I guess its time to show you who I am. The good, bad, and super ugly. However, when looking through pics to find some of myself, I discovered - I have only a handful. None while pregnant with Monkey, none of me this past Christmas, none of me at soccer games or birthday parties.
I guess Ive used my love of photography as a crutch. Because if I'm the one taking the pictures, I can't be in the pictures.
No more.
I want to be able to share memories with my family. I want to be able to look at pictures of all of us together. I'm not where I want to be weight wise but I will not let that hold me back from preserving memories any more.
So, would you mind taking a picture of us?

*******
This first one is just a bigger version of my profile pic. Its a cute pic I think of Monkey and I.

This one was taken in summer of 07, I believe. I was probably around 230. I was tanning, had a cute haircut and was overall pretty ok with myself physically.

This is from this past Thanksgiving. Bubba, Monkey and I were modeling the turkey aprons we made that day. I was 260 pounds and the pants I have on are a size 22.

There's no real reason for this one, other than I think its funny. This was Halloween 09. 260 pounds and the pants I had on (not that you can see them) are a 22. I couldn't button them but you couldn't tell because the corset covers the waist of the pants.

Now here are the two whoa momma jommas. The pictures that say it all. They were both taken this past January, three days apart from each other. Typically, if I saw these pictures on the cameras memory card I would delete them. But for some reason, I didn't. Maybe it was part of the divine intervention.

The last one is the one I use as my "before" picture. The picture is supposed to be of Monkey sleeping. Obviously, Mistee does not know how to use the zoom button on the camera. This picture disgusts me. Its just gross. I cried when I first saw it. I had already started my healthy journey but by seeing this picture I was REALLY able to see the picture.

I will not post any more pictures of me looking like that. Because I no longer look like that!

Food for thought

2010-03-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

I've seen alot of you guys posting what you eat every day. I track everything I stuff into my face on sparkpeople so posting it here too would be kind of overkill. But every once in a while cant hurt and it gives you an idea of my day.

Breakfast:

Yoplait Delights Parfait - Cherry Cheesecake (This was new to me and I don't really care for it.)
1/4 cup Bear Naked Fit Vanilla Almond Crunch Granola
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
2 medium fresh strawberries
30 ounces of water

Total: 248 Calories, 42 carbs, 4 grams of fat, 8 grams of protein and sodium 97.

Wait!! What?? Sodium 97! How does a 4 ounce container of yogurt have 80 grams of sodium??!! The kind I usually eat, Greek Gods Honey Greek Yogurt, has more calories at 160 but has less sodium at 65 grams. Guess you have to pick and choose huh? But, I wont be eating the Yoplait again.

Lunch:

2 - Mission White Corn Tortillas
1/2 cup canned black beans
1/2 cup chopped Romain Lettuce
1/2 cup chopped Roma Tomatoes
1/4 Haas Avacado
1 Tbs light sour cream
1/8 cup 2% Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I just can't do fat free cheese - blech!)
2 Tbs Salsa
30 ounces of water

This is a pic of last nights dinner. Seriously, how good does that look? Darn good!

To be honest, I can't remember who posted it - Im sorry! But, I read a post showing tostadas for dinner. It looked like such a great idea! We did it for dinner last night with ground chicken. They were soo good! Misee and I each had two, Monkey had two and Bubba ate four!! I'm so lucky I have kids that like to try new things! So our lunch today will be left overs - with out the chicken or rice side.

Total: Calories 386, Carbs 53, Fat 14, Protein 15 and 672 grams of sodium.

The sodium is pretty high due to the beans. However, it could be worse with re fried beans - and I really think the actual number is lower because I drain and rinse canned beans before cooking them.

Dinner:

1 cup 15 bean mix, dried beans - cooked (this is actually two servings)
1/2 Eckrich Cheddar Smoked Sausage
1 cup fresh broccoli
2 Tbs salsa
30 ounces of water

Meal Total: 379 Calories, 49 carbs, 11 fat, 15 protein, and 608 grams of sodium.

How pretty! Before I rinsed these and started soaking them - I used them as a learning lesson for the kiddos. We talked about all the colors and sizes. I let them run their hands through them and pick out all the different kinds they could find. Fun with food!

Snacks through out the day:

1 Special K Strawberry Bar
1 Cutie Mandarin Orange
30 ounces of water

Snack total: 119 calories, 24 carbs, 2 fat, 2 protein, and 111 grams of sodium.

Totals for the day: 1131 Calories, 167 carbs, 31 fat, 49 protein, and 1488 grams of sodium.

So, there you have it! My numbers for the day. It is a tad low at the end of the day - but that gives me a little play room if I have the munchies. I could throw in another Cutie, Special K bar, or even another 1/2 cup serving of beans with dinner.

A quick note to my blogging buddies......

2010-03-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post real quick and say THANK YOU!

This little blogging group of wonderful, inspiring people is nothing short of amazing. I have come to realize how much you all affect me every day. We go through our cravings, hard days and tough times together. We also have the pleasure of going through our NSV, accomplishments and goals achieved together too. In my own hard times, I think about what you all will think of the eating choices I make or if I don't get on the stupid treadmill. You keep me on my toes.

I never would have imagined when starting this blog, that I would have become as attached to this little community as I have.

I look forward to reading posts everyday to see what new things everyone has to say, recipes you have to share and victories you have to celebrate!

So, thank you!

I have crabs!

2010-03-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

And they are SO tasty!! If you're a fan of crab and shrimp - this is so fun and so good. A good ol fashioned crab boil.

You need crab legs, shrimp (I get the already peeled small to medium size), corn on the cob, fingerling potatoes, an onion, a couple of lemons, Old Bay crab boil seasoning bag, a cheap plastic table cloth and of course butter and lots of paper towels! The amount of crab and shrimp to get really varies on the amount of people your serving. I bought 3 pounds of snow crab legs and 1 pound of shrimp. You can also add craw fish but we don't like them.

Cut the lemons and onion in half and put em in a stock pot 3/4 full of water. Throw in the seasoning bag. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes to the pot and let boil for ten or so minutes, depending on the size of the taters. Add the corn - if theyr'e fresh, let them boil for a 10 - 15 minutes. If frozen, they just need to be warmed. Add shrimp and crab legs. Boil 10 - 15 minutes.

The pot will look like this!

While the goodies are cooking - lay the table cloth over the table you plan to eat at. If were eating inside, I lay an old folded towel in the middle of the table. Put melted butter in a few different places on the table, so everyone can reach. Also, put out the paper towels, forks and crab crackers, if needed. When everything is done cooking, drain the water completely. Take out the lemons, onion and seasoning bag.

Then, starts the fun part! Dump the contents of the pot directly onto the middle of the table. Yup! You read that right!

Then - GET AFTER IT! Here's Monkey eating his shrimps!

Just throw your shells and trash right there on the table. When your done - you'll have something that looks like this:

When you're done, just wrap up all of the trash in the table cloth and throw in the dumpster or outside trash. Trust me, you don't want to leave crab shells and shrimp tails in the house - they get funky fast!

The kids think this is super fun because they can eat with their hands with no plates. Mommy thinks its fun because there is NO clean up!

I ate two racks of crab legs, 25 shrimp, two mini corn on the cobs and two and a half potatoes. The total calories were 778, 109 carbs, 9 grams of fat and 64 grams of protein. Now, I know that the calories and carbs seems high. BUT, take out the potatoes you get 503 calories and 44 carbs. You can also only eat one corn instead of two (I was in a pig out mood!) which will cut down on both the calories and carbs even more. Shrimp and crab are both low calorie, low fat and high in protein. Good to go!!

Weekend Recap

2010-03-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was uneventful and was GREAT! I still haven't completely gotten used to the fact that our house is back to normal. Its been a month since Uncle (Mistee's brother) and the kids moved into their own place.
I did have some drama late Friday afternoon. But nothing we didn't expect. Cps came knocking on the door because of a phone call that was made by Uncle's ex. It was a totally false call and the caseworker knows it. However, they have to investigate all calls made - its Texas state law. Is there anyone in your life you wish would just fall off of the planet? Cause boy, his ex is that one for me.

I did pretty good on sticking to my eating plans. But, boy I had some intense cravings! Im not one to crave sweets - but both Saturday and Sunday night I just couldn't stand it! I even got online and looked at the Dairy Queen menu and nutrition counts. BUT - I did NOT go for ice cream and did not cave on my craving Saturday night. Sunday, I ate a Little Debbie cupcake though. Thank God it was the last one - I could have eaten the whole box!! I had a total of 1856 calories on Sunday which is way high for me. But, I haven't had a day over 1400 since February 9th and not a day over 1600 since February 1st. So, Im pretty ok with having one 1800 calorie day a month.

Work out sessions this weekend weren't so great. Friday I did my 4/1. I was fully planning on doing more. I had some friends come over in the afternoon and then went to the movie with Buddie Pal that night. So, I just didn't get it done.
Saturday I woke up with a vengeance. I did my 4/1 but had problems getting through it. It was not fun - but is it ever? And again, I planned on doing more. I was going to let Jillian whoop on me for a bit and do a routine on fitlab. But, Mistee's been telling me for months that she's going to work out with me. I really want her to do 30 Day Shred. So, I waited for her, to get done with her nap, fold laundry, smoke, etc etc Needless to say, it didn't happen. I went to bed not only craving junk food but mad at myself for waiting for her. I wont wait for her to work out with me again.

Yesterday, we just had a lazy day. Monkey and I walked around the grocery store for a couple of hours. We read labels, talked about different produce and just hung out. I told him he could pick out anything he wanted out of the produce department. Anything - and we would try it. Our cart was SO full of produce people were laughing at us! But we got a pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas, grapefruit (yuk), tomatoes, avocado, broccoli, etc etc. The only thing we got that I have never tried was a plantain. Ill have to look up what to do with it.

**Funny story. As were exploring the produce department, Monkey points to a pile of fresh ginger and says "What's that?" I told him what it was and picked up a piece for him to smell and feel. If you've never seen it before, it is kind of odd looking. He asked if he could eat it and went to take a bite. I told him no, it has to be cooked (even though I know you can eat it raw, but its not for the faint of heart). I asked him if he wanted one and he said no. So, as I'm putting the ginger back in the bin - as loud as a three year old is capable of talking, my son says "Thank goodness, Mommy. I'm relieved. I thought it was POOP!" Needless to say, everyone in the produce department cracked up laughing.

When we got home we ate dinner and again I had a horrible craving for something sweet. That's when the cupcake came in. I haven't had one in months so I'm really not mad at myself for it. I went to bed early, after a "heated discussion" with Mistee. So, no workout at all. Not even my 4/1.

So, my weekend wasn't a total bust but it wasn't great either.

I did have one good point though. While at the grocery store, I was looking at ground chicken and ground turkey. I had a woman approach me asking questions about eating more healthy and what I thought of using ground turkey and chicken. Honestly, I haven't used ground chicken and told her so. But turkey is great. The texture is different but you get used to it. She said she has a problem trying new things but was willing to give it a shot. She bought the same thing I did - ground chicken breast and lean ground turkey. Out of curiosity, I asked why she chose me to talk to, as there were other people getting turkey. She said because she could tell by what was in my cart, I eat healthy. Wow! That really was a compliment to me. Even though I don't know this woman - she could see what I'm trying to do for myself and my family.

Oh, and my Sunday morning weigh in? 237.4 That's a 1.2 pound loss for the week. Not a great number in my opinion, but a loss is a loss. I've got 10 days 22 hours and 47 minutes till we leave for our trip. My goal was to be at 230 when we left. Its not looking good. But its not over till the fat lady sings ...... and I ain't singing!

Get up and MOVE!

2010-02-28T07:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I pulled out the trusty iPod. I haven't used it in a while but decided my 4/1 routine was the perfect time to plug in. However, I was disappointed to find everything was erased - "Pinkie" was blank.
So, I got up this morning and decided to find some new tunes for the Pod! Here are two great ones! If these songs don't motivate you or at least get your toes tappin - nothing will!

If you haven't seen Princess and the Frog - go see it. Its just too cute and has a great soundtrack. Its definitely a favorite of Monkey and I. This one, Dig a Little Deeper and Almost There are guaranteed to get us up and dance.

This next one is the most motivational song to me. This song is the official song for the Susan G Komen 3 Day Walk for a Cure. Its a 3 Day and 60 mile event to end breast cancer. Each walker must commit to raising at least $2,300 for the cause. My walk will be in Dallas the first weekend of November. More information can be found here. Feel free to go to the website, read my story and if you can - DONATE. Also, the adds in my side bar are there for a reason. If you click on the adds - I make money. The money goes to my Pink Warrior fund. So, click click click CLICK.
This walk was the start of my healthy journey. If I would not have committed myself to the walk - I would not have gotten on the treadmill that first time. I would not have started eating healthier and I would not be 23 pounds lighter. Obviously, it is very meaningful to me. Because of that, I will be posting TONS more about this walk after we get back from our vacation.

I believe in pink.
I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.
I believe in kissing, kissing alot.
I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.
I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.
I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.
Audrey Hepburn

Help!!

2010-02-27T18:40:00.001-08:00

I have an insane craving right now for ice cream!! I don't ever eat ice cream. What is my problem?? Ahhhhhhh!!!!

Small NSV!

2010-02-27T14:35:00.000-08:00

But a NSV non the less!

Last week, Buddie Pal asked if I wanted to go see Shutter Island this weekend, kid free. Who can resist that? ** The kid free part - duh!**
Here's the problem with that. I have a ritual at a movie theater. Soda - a big one just because its cheaper. Popcorn - a big one just because its cheaper. Candy - because you just cant have the popcorn without a sweet to counter balance the salt. Of course the popcorn has to have extra extra butter on it.

Do you know that a medium size popcorn can have as many as 1160 calories and 60 grams of fat?? Eating a medium size popcorn and soda can give you the same nutritional value as THREE quarter pounders with cheese AND 12 pats of butter. Holey canoli! ***Mmmmm canoli....****

I was really nervous about going. I didn't want to sit at the movie with nothing. But I was not going to pay $7000 to eat those calories and fat. Movies are so expensive these days. So, I made a plan. I ate dinner right before we left to go - later than normal - but I didnt want to be hungry while I was there. I popped a bag of microwave, non butter popcorn and stuffed it into my bag. Its against the rules, yes. But I don't really care.
When we got there - she asked if I was going to get something from the snack bar. Yup, I said. I walked to the counter, cut around some people that were waiting for popcorn and grabbed the biggest water I could get. I then went straight to the check out. I looked at the wall the entire time and never once looked at all the other yummies they had to offer. Yay!!

The movie was just ok. I wouldn't go see it again - and would only maybe rent it, so Mistee can watch it.

On another note -- I've done my 4/1 routine every day! Yay! Today, it was rough. I had a hard time getting through it. But, I went to bed late last night (that movie is long!), and didn't eat breakfast this morning. ** I know. I know. But YOU just posted a whole report on breakfast! Yes, I did. However, Mistee's parents were here. I didn't want to eat in front of them - but was starving!**
I found out too, that I was tracking it wrong on sparkpeople. So, my little 30 minute adventure is actually worth 317 calories. Not too shabby.

I woke this morning to a one pound loss. We'll see what numbers tomorrow brings. Its crazy cause I totally see a pattern on my spread sheet now. Its almost guaranteed that I have four days of dropping numbers on the scale, followed by four days of a stall, then another four days of dropping. Kinda strange huh? But, what ever pattern my body likes the weight to drop - is good by me!!

Have a great weekend everyone! I dont know about everywhere - but its pretty outside here. Go outside and get some fresh air!

Let's Talk Turkey.... Bacon, that is!

2010-02-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

So, we all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But do you know WHY?

Normally, when I find something worth sharing - I will post a link. However, in this case I think this is important enough to post the actual article. The link to the website is here.

Don’t Skip Breakfast to Cut Calories

When you’re trying to lose weight, cutting out breakfast may be tempting. You figure you’re saving yourself some calories and you get a couple extra minutes to snooze. But research has consistently shown that the people who successfully lose weight are the ones that wake up and eat! Furthermore, people who eat breakfast regularly have better vitamin and mineral status and eat fewer calories from fat. So it seems that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.

Eat Early, Weigh Less Later

Why does eating breakfast help people lose weight? It defies common sense that eating all those calories in the morning instead of simply skipping them would help.

Many studies, in both adults and children, have shown that breakfast eaters tend to weigh less than breakfast skippers.

Why? One theory suggests that eating a healthy breakfast can reduce hunger throughout the day and help people make better food choices at other meals. While it might seem as though you could save calories by skipping breakfast, this is not an effective strategy. Typically, hunger gets the best of people who skip breakfast, and they eat more at lunch and throughout the day.

Another theory behind the breakfast–weight control link implies that eating breakfast is part of a healthy lifestyle that includes making wise food choices and balancing calories with exercise. For example, consider the successful weight losers followed by the National Weight Control Registry, all of whom have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at least one year. Some 80% of the people in the Registry regularly eat breakfast (and also follow a calorie-controlled, low-fat diet).

It’s worth noting that most studies linking breakfast to weight control looked at a healthy breakfast containing protein and/or whole grains—not meals loaded with fat and calories.

Eating breakfast also gives you energy to do more physical activity and be more productive in everything you do, which is also vital to weight control. So make the effort to get up in the morning and fix yourself a healthy meal.

Maintaining Your Diet

Before you get too excited and go out for a Denny’s™ Grand Slam Breakfast, keep in mind that your breakfast should consist of healthy items that are in line with your current dietary weight-loss goals. Members of the National Weight Control Registry report eating cereal and fruit for breakfast. While these are certainly healthy options, eggs have also been shown to offer several benefits.

Eggs have a greater satiety value than cereal and white bread. This means that they are more satisfying in giving you that feeling of fullness, while you may actually be eating less. One of the reasons for this is that eggs are high in protein, which is known to increase satiety. Proteins also have a higher thermic effect, meaning that it takes more calories to digest them. Studies have compared an egg breakfast to a bagel breakfast of the same caloric value and weight. Researchers at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center discovered that people who ate the eggs for breakfast ate less at lunch and less throughout the rest of the day compared to people who ate the bagels, even though they had the same amount of calories for breakfast.

In the past, eggs have had a bad rap because of their high cholesterol content. However, eggs today have lower cholesterol counts than in the past due to the healthier feeds given to chickens. Additionally, research has shown that moderate egg consumption of about 1 per day does not increase the risk of coronary heart disease in healthy individuals. If the cholesterol count is a concern, then egg whites, which are free of cholesterol yet rich in protein, are a good alternative. Eggs are also a good source of essential nutrients riboflavin, vitamin B12, phosphorus, selenium and protein.

If you aren’t too keen on eggs, try low-fat or non-fat dairy products like yogurt, which are also high in protein. High-fiber complex carbohydrates like whole-grain breads and cereals will keep you satisfied. Fiber also increases that sensation of fullness. Overall, whether you choose eggs, cereal or fruit, your breakfast should fall in line with your dietary weight-loss goals. Choose foods that fit your lifestyle and that you will enjoy.

*****

Here's the deal - the bottom line is its all about blood sugar. Our blood sugar levels are incredibly important when it comes to our energy levels and helping to support our active lifestyles, workouts and overall metabolism.

Think about it - My last meal of the day is at 7:30 pm. I get up at 8am, rush out the front door to work and don't eat again until noon - that's a SIXTEEN hour fast! By that point, my body is running on fumes and am famished. I have no energy because my body wants to conserve all of the energy (or FAT people!) it has. So, by the time I eat - I eat anything and everything in sight - ANOTHER blood sugar problem. All of the sugars and refined carbs in my lunch causes my system to go on overload - trying to figure out what to do with all of the crap I just gave it (cause you know, being so flipping hungry, I'm not going to run for the most healthy option). My blood sugar goes nuts. But then plummets a few hours later - because I didn't eat healthy options ie whole grains and complex carbs. Then by the time I get home, I'm famished again - and pig out on crap for dinner. I then go to bed and start the cycle over again the next day.

Or let's look at this scenario instead. My last meal of the day is at 7:30. I get up the next morning at 6:30, eat a breakfast, drink some water, work out, shower, dress and then leave for work. I then eat a snack, ie fruit, granola bar etc at 10 ish - then go for lunch at noon. Even at this point you can see a total difference. My body is going to see fuel first thing in the day. I'll be adding wood to the fire of my metabolism first thing - and will continue to add logs through out the day. Another snack at 3 then home and dinner at 7:30. My body and metabolism are fueled through out the day - all starting with breakfast. My blood sugar stays consistent and my body is not confused and therefore can use the energy it was given to burn this big ol arse of mine - or FAT.

Now those of you that work outside of the home, are not morning people or just don't think you have the time to eat breakfast.

Here's the deal - MAKE TIME. Period. If you want to be healthy and or loose weight - you will do what needs to be done. Do you want to or don't you? Something simple as breakfast can make or break your entire day. Thirty minutes less sleep wont kill you.

Need something quick to throw together? Here's what I eat almost everyday for breakfast - yogurt, granola and fruit.

Its full of protein, complex carbs, antioxidants, tastes good and is just plain pretty to look at. This bowl was 405 calories, 54 carbs, 16 grams of fat and 10 grams of protein. This actually was a little high for me on the calorie end but I was trying a new yogurt. I didn't really care for it and will take my Greek Gods Honey Greek Yogurt, thanks - its lower in calories, higher protein and tastes better. I also LOVE Bear Naturals granola. Yummy goodness.

Something else to think of --- make breakfast ahead of time. Here's a breakfast bake I made for dinner last week:

I took a bag of thawed frozen hash browns and dumped them into a 9 by 11 glass baking dish. In a bowl, I scrambled 8 eggs with a cup of milk then poured the mix over the hash browns. Sixteen pieces of cooked, crumbled turkey bacon were layered over the top. Then I spread an entire bag of low fat cheddar cheese on the top. I threw it in the oven for 30 minutes, then cut it into eight servings. Each serving is 335 calories, 19 carbs, 31 grams of fat and 23 grams of protein. You make this, cut it into servings and put each serving in a ziplock - all you have to do is pull out a bag, throw it in the microwave for a minute or two, then eat it in the car on the way to work. Good to go!!

You've been told why breakfast is good and you've been given not one but two great ideas. So, now you don't have any more excuses - eat your breakfast!!

The Tittie-Do!

2010-02-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was pretty ok.

I got up off of my rump and did some serious working out. Yup, I did my 4/1 routine on the treadmill.

Time to run x 1 - "Here we go!" I thought to myself as I ran my big arse off................

Ok yea - you know what the rest of the story is. It was not pretty. But I did it. And I do think it was better than the day before. I knew what to expect and was mentally prepared for it.

I did make one realization while on the treadmill....

My "tittie-do" is gone. I know your thinking - Uh Linds, what exactly is a "tittie-do"? Lemme explain - See, when Monkey was a baby he was a chunky little man. Mistee made the joke one day that his belly stuck out further than his "weenie-do". So, I kind of adapted the name for my own belly, or "tittie-do" - for, well, obvious reasons. ** Hey, if Keelie can use "butt in the front" I can use "tittie-do", right?**

Anyway, so I look down while I'm walking - and what do I see? Boobs, then my feet. Ive always been able to see my feet but I always saw belly in between boobs and feet. So, somethings working here. The scale hasn't moved this week, which is a bummer but I'm trying to see the overall picture.

After finishing the 4/1 - and after catching my breath - I went right into letting Jillian whoop on my big arse for a while. **I figure while I'm down, I might as well get kicked! ** I gave myself a little bit of a break, about 20 minutes. Then did day 1 of the 30 day weight loss routine on Exercise Tv. That was long!

Jen over at Prior Fat Girl has a new thing with sweat pictures - or "sweaty splendor" as she calls it. I call it "I need a shower" Here's the pic I sent her for her collection:

Why is it that pictures can be worth a thousand words but never really tell the whole story? My skin and hair (what you can see of it) look nice and dry in this picture. When in actuality, my hair and face were dripping and my shirt could have been wrung out - it was so wet. Yuk.

But, I did my workout and felt accomplished for it. I put the workout info into Sparkpeople.com - it gave me the number of 994 calories burned! Holey guacamole! **Mmmm, guacamoooolllleee.....**

Today I'm sore but need to get off of my bootay and get the job done. **What Id really like to do is sit and veg on the couch all day.** Im thinking today of trying a FitLab routine. Kellie at Journey to a New Me discovered this and it seems pretty kinda cool!

Anyway, thats about all for now. 13 days, 23 hours, 55 minutes and 10- no, 7- no, 5 seconds left till vacation!

...Vacation...

2010-02-24T16:18:00.000-08:00

***This post is long. Really long. The beginning is more of a journal entry and has nothing to do with physical health or weight loss. However, closer to the end it does get into health issues. Fell free to skip to the end. :) ***

I've mentioned several times the vacation were getting ready go on. But lemme give y'all some of the details and talk about some of my worries and dilemmas.

The vacation -- Mickey Mouse - whooo hewww!!

I guess I should start with who all is going and why were going. Mistee, Monkey, Bubba and I, along with the boys' God mother, Duppy are the ones going on the trip.

This past year has been very rough on our family to say the least. Last year February, our little Doodle moved in with us. Doodle is our G-baby from Mistee's oldest son. **I'm 32 and refuse to use the word-grandmother.** We welcomed him with open arms and he's been a blessing to have. He's not an easy baby, but a blessing none the less. To add to our little family of five, because of some CPS issues - our niece , nephew and their younger sister, moved in as well. At that point, we had five kids aged 9, 9, 7, 3, 2 and 1. So, to help out the house and to work towards getting custody of his kiddos, Mistee's brother moved in - relocating from out of state. Our three bedroom house that used to home a family of four - in less than a years time, was housing a family of nine.

Diddy and Angel(our niece and nephew)came with nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because of that, and other factors, Monkey and Bubba's way of life was completely transformed. They were unfortunately, put into a position of having to not only share their possessions, but their parents, outings, holidays and personal space as well. This was very hard on them, to say the least.

Mistee's brother was not able to financially help us and his ex (the kids' mother) chose not to help us. Because of that - financially, it was a very rough time.

We felt we owed it to our boys to do something for them. Something where we could celebrate the core of our family. It needed to be about us for us. And it needed to be big.

That's where Mickey Mouse came into the picture. We've taken several long weekend trips out of town over the years, but have never taken a true family vacation.

Disney packages are very easy to book and are surprisingly not as costly as you'd think. I booked our trip this past July and have been able to pay on it, little by little, as time went on.

We're leaving noonish on the 12th of March and will return home on the 21st. Part of the adventure for us is that were driving - yes, driving - the 21 hours from here to Orlando. All of the adults love road trips and it was cheaper for the five of us to drive verses fly.

Mistee and I have both been to DW several times in our younger days but never together. This will be the first time for both of the boys. Their ages are perfect at almost 10 and almost 4 (both of their birthdays are in April). I know the fun that's waiting for them. I am unbelievably tickled with excitement for them because I know it will be the trip of a lifetime. There's nothing like your first experience with Mickey Mouse. Ive actually been caught crying a few times over the months because of excitement on watching their experience. ** Yes, Im one of THOSE moms**

Back in August, Monkey and I made a paper chain to count down the days we had left to go on the trip. There were 192 links on the chain-one for every day until our trip. Every night, before bed, he would cut a link of the chain off. This was the chain right after we hung it:

This is the chain today!

***
"So, what are your worries and dilemmas?" your probably asking.

If you've never been there - you have NO idea of the food available. Anything and everything your heart could ever imagine! Seriously, its insane. There are even message boards dedicated to the food at DW. Disboards has a thread dedicated to "food porn" - pictures of food taken there. Don't believe me? Look!

I researched almost all of the restaurants and booked our meal reservations months ago. Our meals are included in our trip package so I wanted to make sure we were getting our moneys worth. However, I booked all of our reservations based on yummyness of the food - not on my healthy mission. I actually booked everything before beginning my healthy mission.

On the subject of exercise - I found out that a person can walk on average of 10 to 14 miles a day there. That's a total of 80 miles, for our trip, figuring on the low end. If a person walks 10 miles a day at 30 minutes a mile - which is a very casual pace-- that's 1379 calories burned (per sparkpeople). That makes 11,032 calories burned for our 8 day trip. Holey cow! That's alot of burned calories. That would be a little over 3 pounds burned just by having a party with Mickey Mouse!

Knowing all of that still doesn't put my mind at ease. I am terrified of wasting all of my time busting my hump for these months, just to gain all of my 22 pound (so far) weight loss back on a 10 day trip.

How on earth am I going to be able to resist not snacking and eating all day? How am I going to be able to NOT eat everything that's served? What about my 4/1 walk mission I'm on? I wont have a treadmill. What about my water?

So far - I have a few plans. I'm just going to have to take a break from my 4/1 - but I figure with as much walking as were doing, it'll be ok. I'm not packing my Wii but I am taking my laptop. So - I can take Jillian with me for some 30 Day Shred. Also, on Exercise tv's website I found a great 30 day plan. Each day has a different work out, which is great now because I wont get bored. But since its online - I can do these while on the trip too. Yay! Now, I'm not saying I plan on walking 10 miles a day, doing 30 Day Shred AND the exercise tv 30 day plan. I just want to have options. I would LOVE to come home and say I did either Jillian or Etv everyday. So the fitness part doesn't seem to be my issue.

I'm not really worried about my water while we're there. I have always chosen water over other drinks offered and know with the amount of walking were doing, I'll drink gallons. But on the road trip, I don't want to have to stop and pee every hour, so I guess I wont be able to drink much - which means I'll feel like doo doo. I can start to feel dehydrated after just a couple of hours of no drinking

But the food - oh the food! How do I do it guys? How do I resist? I want to be able to have fun on the trip and not feel consumed by what I'm putting in my face but I want to stay on track too. I plan on taking a notebook with me everywhere, so I can write down all I'm eating. But actually tracking the calories consumed will be hard if there are no nutrition menus or websites with the information available.

So, if any of you have any advise or ideas that worked for you - or ones that didn't work for you, cause they may still work for me - please let me know!

If I break even, Ill be happy. But, I do NOT want to come back with a gain. I will be devastated.

**Mistee's brother has since been given full custody of his kiddos. He got his own place and they moved out three weeks ago. Their little sister went back to their mother. We still have Doodle.**

Today, I RAN!

2010-02-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

Do you guys remember this post, the one where I was so excited I ran 2 miles with the Wii?

Well, I hate to bust anyone's bubbles but lemme tell you what, girlfriends **only because I don't have any male followers yet! Come on guys, where you at?** it's NOT the same as really running! You guys that already knew that and are laughing - shuuush! :)

Let me paint the picture for you. I get lunch made and get the kids all fixed up at the table. While their eating, my plan was to hop on the treadmill. My treadmill used to be in my master bath but you know the saying, "Out of sight-out of mind". In the first year I owned it - I was on it twice. Because I wanted to use it more, I moved it into the living room. The living room works good for it because during nap time or lunch, I can keep an eye on my kiddos and go for a walk at the same time.

I open the window next to where the treadmill sits and hop on. After a couple of minutes I think "Maybe I should run some" and devise a plan. I wanted to be on the machine 30 minutes - any more than that, my kiddos would be done eating and restless. But any less than that, I wont feel like Ive really accomplished anything. I know! For every four minutes I walk, I'll run one minute. Great idea, I thought. Ill get five full minutes of running and 25 of a brisk walk. But I wont kill myself from running more than I can at one time. Even one minute is pushing it for me. Now I can walk for hours - but as soon as you step it up a notch to a light jog - I beg for death.

The first four minutes walking - I'm great. I'm getting myself pumped up for the first one minute run and am excited about my new adventure for the day!

Time to run! "Oh, I got this!" I'm thinking as I'm running my big arse off. "OK, this is hurting a little now." I look down at my watch - 30 seconds. "WTH?! BS! I can run for one damn minute!" I stare at one spot on a brick on the fire place and push through till the minute is up.

Second four minutes walking - It takes a minute to catch my breath but overall I recover fairly quickly. I'm excited and proud of myself for today's adventure! I feel like I'm ready to run before the four minutes is up but don't because I want to stay on the routine I set for today.

Time to run X 2! "Ok, I got this, I think!" Im thinking as I'm running my big arse off. "Ok, this is sucking - wait a minute, get yourself together!" I lengthen my stride and stop freaking out. Look down at my watch - 35 seconds. "Oh dear gawd!" I close my eyes and grit my teeth to finish the minute.

Third four minutes walking - It takes a couple minutes this time to catch my breath. I'm still proud of myself for today's adventure but feel like I might have bit more off than I can chew. "Oh, the blog readers are gonna LOVE this one!"

Time to run X 3! "Um, I think I can get this." I'm thinking as I'm running my big arse off. "Breathe, Breathe, Breathe" I think I'm going to puke. Look down at my watch - 37 seconds! "What the hell is wrong with this flipping watch? I KNOW I've been running more than that!" Again, I close my eyes and grit my teeth to finish the minute.

Fourth four minutes walking - Three minutes into the walk and I'm still trying to catch my breath. I'm glad I did half of what I said to do but I'm spent. I put my hand on the button to turn off the machine. "No. Absolutely not. What will the blog readers say?" I move my hand and keep walking.

Time to run X 4! "I don't want to!" I cry out loud as I'm running my big arse off. By this point - the kiddos are no longer eating. Everyone of them are watching me - three are laughing and the Monkey truly looks scared. "Mommy, are you OK?" He looks like he's going to cry. "Yes...honey....I'm....OK" I look down at my watch 42 seconds. "I swear, Ive got the slowest watch on the planet".

Fifth four minutes walking - At this point, I go into all out labor mode. Those of you that have given birth know the routine - and the sound. There's a deep down from the pit of your soul groan/grunt associated with every breath. The man that lives across the street went out to his front yard to see where the birthing cow sound was coming from.

Time to run X 5! "Oh dear God in Heaven - NO!" I cry out loud as I'm running my big arse off. I grab the arms of the treadmill and make "the face." Its the face we've all seen on the Biggest Loser when the contestant is running on the treadmill - about to quit. My teeth are about to break they're grit so tight. I put my hand on the stop button again. "Don't you dare...." I hear from inside my head. The voice was not my own. Jillian, is that you? **Oh great, now I'm hearing voices! See, exercise is EVIL!** But somehow I knew that if I quit, she would only make it worse for me. **I'm afraid of her, and Ive never met her.** I move my hands and look at my watch - 45 seconds! "Die watch, die!"

Sixth four minutes walking - After a minute of huffing and puffing - it occurs to me. I'm almost done. I'm doing this. I've only got one run left. There's no way in H.E. double hockey sticks I'm gonna quit now. "OK clock - speed up so I can get this over with."

Time to run X 6! "I GOT THIS!" I say out loud as I'm running my big arse off. I found my focal point on the fireplace bricks again and I RAN. I look down at my watch - 1 minute, 10 seconds. I went over time!

I walked for a couple of minutes to cool down so my heart didn't explode. "I did it. I did it." I kept thinking to myself.

As I was drinking my water, about three minutes later - I broke out in a nasty cold sweat and got a case of the Gotta Go, Gotta Go, Gotta Go, right NOWs! I know that walking and running are supposed to aid in moving the bowls - but that's crazy! I tried to think of what I could have eaten but can't put my finger on anything. And I feel fine now.

I just really truly think I'm allergic to running. Honestly, that has to be it - right?

No really. I know better. And even if the running is the reason for the, umm - "issues" I'm still going to do it. I've decided I will do this routine every day. Every day. I'm going to post a list in the side bar for everyone to see. And I know that it will get easier. **God, please let it get easier!**

I put my walking and running time into the sparkpeople tracker and it gave me a total of 223 calories burned. That seems really low to me. I don't have a heart rate monitor and the gauges on the treadmill don't work **hey, I bought the thing used for $50 -what are ya gonna expect?** I bought what I thought was a heart rate watch - but its not. It tracks calories burned based on info put in - but I can do that anywhere. It doesn't track heart rate at all. I'd like a real live heart rate monitor to see where my numbers are.

So, if any of you have a used one you'd like to donate to the cause - I'd love to take it off of your hands, give it a home and put it to good use!

Oh, on a side note. A word of advise. Always, Always - wear two items when you run. A bra and shoes. The rest are optional. Don't ask how I know this. Just trust me.....

Today, I RAN!

Exercise TV

2010-02-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

Remember earlier when I told you I was bored with my workouts?

Well, check this out!

Have any of you heard of Exercise Tv?

Jen, at Prior Fat Girl, one of my favorite blogs, has posted about it in the past. But tonight, I finally sat down and looked at it. Wow!

Lemme tell ya guys - this is a website that's cram packed with FULL LENGTH videos. There's workouts in beginner, intermediate and advanced categories. You can work out to any theme your little heart desires. Themes like Rock hard total body, Squat to Look Hot and the all famous - Bootilicious Buns.

With all of these options, I'll never be bored again!

So, check it out!

My give a damn is back!

2010-02-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

The last few days have sucked. Plain and simple. Suckage - and I have no idea why.

For the most part, Ive been on track food wise. I've stayed within my calorie ranges and have logged everything. However, on the workout end - its been horrible. I just have not had the oomph to get up and do it. The last time I worked out was Sunday **and that was just a quick walk to DG, less than a mile there and back** before that was Thursday, before THAT was the Sunday before. And our bottled water is out. The tap water tastes like caca, so I haven't been drinking much water either. I still haven't had any soda or tea - just nothing.
Ive been completely in a fog, exhausted and in a seriously sh*tty mood. For days. Several days.

Inside, I was telling myself to get up and do it - "You're sucking! Get your lazy ass off of the couch and get on that treadmill or turn on that Wii, you know you'll feel better if you do." But, I just couldn't. I was exhausted. I wasn't working out, blogging, doing house work - or even trying to do any of it.

I thought I would write a post on it - My Give a Damn is Busted, I would call it. I was pooped and just felt like crap. I really thought it was all pointless. All the work and sacrifice to feel like doo doo on a stick? That seems real fair, now doesn't it?

Then last night, while reading Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Micheal's - an Aha! moment. Because I wasn't working out, I didn't have the endorphins to keep me on the energy "high" we all love. And because I eat such a low amount of calories a day (roughly 1350) my metabolism has hit the deck!
It also doesn't help that the weather here has been so wishy washy. I love spring. I love to be able to open the windows, turn the music up and dance my way to a clean house. I had two days of that - now my back yard is covered in snow. Don't get me wrong, I love snow. But goodness gracious, Mother Nature, this is not Anchorage. I'm sure my mom would appreciate all this - but not me. Next Christmas would be great, thanks.
To make matters worse, we have exactly 16 days 22 hours and 35 minutes, until we leave for our vacation. It's close enough to start getting excited but not close enough to really start packing. We're in a "Count down till Mickey Mouse" rut.

When I got up this morning and started checking blogs, I found this- Down But Not Out. Keelie hit the nail on the head with this post. I too have read several bloggers writing that they were in a "funk". Or as Keelie says, "I am starting to lose the fire I began with."
For me, its not that the workouts are harder - I'm getting bored. I have a treadmill and a Wii. The games I have are great but its the same thing day after day. Unfortunately, I just can not afford a gym membership right now.
I know the pounds are coming off, but no one notices. No one, not one person has said anything to make me think they notice. The only time someone has talked about my weight loss, is if I bring it up. I've even purposely worn clothes, like shorts and a tank top ** remember, its SNOWING?** around people I haven't seen in a while, hoping they would say something positive so I could get the little confidence boost I need. Nope. Nada. Nuttin honey.

BUT - like Keelie said, "This is the crossroads we all come to and we have to make a choice. This time I say we make a different choice. We have to." I totally couldn't agree more. I know I've lost the weight. I know my clothes fit better. I know I have more energy now than I used to, to play with my kids. I know I'm doing this for me.

So, if you don't mind, I have a treadmill to get on and goals to reach......

Duck, Duck... MOOSE!!

2010-02-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

This weekend was pretty ok. I was nervous about getting on the scale for the "official" Sunday weigh in considering how last week went. However, it was pretty good. I was at 238.6, which was exactly the same as Saturday. So, all in all I had a 3.8 pound loss for the week. Yay! It was strange how it came off, but it came off none the less. Good thing! I've only got 3 more pounds to make it to my quarter way mark and 8 more pounds to make it to my vacation goal. I got this!

My mom, who lives in Anchorage, sent us a package a couple of weeks ago - a pound and a half of ground moose meat and about a two pounds of ground caribou. This weekend we decided to get adventurous and cook us some Moose!
I wanted to try a recipe that would give us an opportunity to really taste the flavor of the meat. I didn't want something where other ingredients would cover up or mask the flavor or texture. After chit chatting with my mom about it and looking around online for a bit, we decided on burgers.

I made the burger patties the same way I do with ground beef or turkey. Here's the recipe I use:

1 envelope Lipton French Onion soup mix
1 large egg
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 lb ground meat

Easy peasy! After I mixed up the meat and formed the patties, Mistee threw them on the grill. They worked really well on the grill. However, moose is very very lean. Because of that, she had an issue getting a good sear on the patties. While she worked on the grill - I threw together some baked zucchini fries. If you've never tried them, they're fantastic! Here's the recipe:

Zucchini Fries

2 medium zucchini, cut into 3 inch "sticks"
1 egg white
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 450 and spray non stick spray on a medium sized cookie sheet. Mix milk and egg white and whisk. In separate bowl, mix together bread crumbs, cheese and seasonings with a fork. Dip zucchini sticks into egg mixture then coat in bread crumb mix. Place coated zucchini sticks in a single layer on to cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes. Yum!

I fixed my burger on a whole wheat sandwich round, with spinach, sprouts, provolone cheese and olive oil mayo. They turned out beautiful! Take a look!

This plate was a total of 425 calories, 38 carbs, 13 grams of fat and 44 grams of protein. How awesome is that for a burger and fries?? The burger itself was so big, I could only eat half.

Sunday, I tried to come up with another great moosey idea where I could use the left over burgers without having burgers. Spaghetti!

Awesome! I crumbled up the leftover patties from the night before and added mushrooms, fresh spinach and my favorite Full Circle organic pasta sauce. Here's a pic of the pot:

We ate this yummy concoction with whole wheat pasta ** I actually didn't have spaghetti, so this should just be called Moosey Pasta, huh?** topped with parmasean cheese and served it with asparagus. If you haven't figured out by now, we LOVE asparagus. I buy about eight pounds at a time, which lasts us a little over a week. Here's my plate of Moosey Pasta:

This plate was 346 calories, 62 carbs, 7 grams of fat and 22 grams of protein. Again, you totally can't beat that with a stick! And this time, I ate my entire plate and darn near licked it clean.

Moose - it does a body good!!

Spinning rings, droopy drawers and a pork loin in the oven!

2010-02-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why my weight loss is happening the way it is. After spending eleven days at 242 (with some variance between .8 and .2) I am now at 238.0. Ive lost 4.4 pounds since Tuesday. While I don't know why its working that way - I'LL TAKE IT!

I'm really noticing a difference in the way my clothes feel. While working out on Thursday, I had a difficult time with my shorts - they kept falling down! Whoot!! Also, my rings that were once really tight on my sausage fingers, are now spinning! Double Whoot!!

That night, Thursday I cooked a fantabulous pork loin for dinner. I love to cook and am always trying new things so when I found this great recipe on a favorite blog, Our Best Bites, I knew it would be a hit!

Garlic Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

1 large or 2 medium or small pork tenderloins
2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 1/2 Tbsp. chopped rosemary leaves (strip them from the woody stem first)
2 1/2 Tbsp. coarse mustard
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
A few turns of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Rinse pork tenderloin in cool water and trim any excess fat or the silvery membrane on the meat. Pat dry and place on the prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, rosemary leaves, mustard, garlic, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Carefully rub all over pork roast, particularly on top. Place in heated oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160 degrees. When the meat is done, remove from oven and allow to stand 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Now, I gotta tell you, when you put this in the oven - be prepared. The smells that come from your kitchen will cause your face to drool and your stomach to growl!
Here's what it looked like when I pulled it from the oven:

I served it with herb roasted baby red potatoes topped with low fat Italian cheese blend and asparagus. I needed to make up a few calories and carbs for the day, so I also had a piece of whole wheat bread with ICBINB spray. Here's my plate:

One serving (4 ounces) of pork tenderloin is 120 calories, 1 carb, 3 grams of fat and 23 grams of protein. *Please remember that brands and packaging can vary in nutritional levels and counts do not include spices, seasonings or other flavor enhancers.*
The plate as pictured (6 ounces of meat) had the following breakdown: 572 calories, 77 carbs, 10 grams of fat and 50 grams of protein.

Total yummy goodness! The meat was moist and tender. Even my non meat eating Monkey ate all of his dinner.

Inspiration....

2010-02-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

The word "inspiration" was brought to my attention yesterday. Actually, it was "inspiring" but whats the difference, really?

While discussing this word with a friend of mine, she asked "Well, what do you want your blog to be?" That's really a good question. One I haven't thought of.

Here's the deal. I love to write and I've been told several times through out the years that I'm good at it. Why I haven't started this before I really don't know but I'm doing it now and that's what matters.
I never thought about the type of blog I wanted or what the content of the posts would be. My posts consist of whats going on in my life at the time. I sit down, open my laptop, write and hit publish. I don't think much of what I'll write before hand and I do very little, if any, editing after.

I honestly don't write my posts with the intention of being inspiring to others. I have spent most of my adult life putting myself on the back burner. I have made the commitment to myself to allow ME to be important again. Therefore, I write because its good for me and my journey. However, if people are guided by what works for me in my weight loss journey and are able to achieve a goal for themselves - bonus!

In starting this blog I have been exposed to tons of other blogs out there - specifically geared towards weight loss and learning to live a healthy lifestyle. There are so many different blog styles and writing styles. Some are very analytical and scientific on their presentation of information, with very little personal experiences or point of view. Others are nothing more than an online journal of someones personal life, including experiences and view points on family, relationships, their career, etc.

What makes one blog style or one blog specifically, more inspiring than another?

To me, inspiration is in the eye of the beholder. Where some may enjoy and look for the straight forward information on calorie counts, work out routines and why their body weighs more at different times of the day - others enjoy personal stories. I get bored reading blogs that don't use personal pronouns. I want to know what techniques the writer uses to count their calories, what work out routines have shown them results and maybe read a funny story on how they figured out, through personal experience, that our bodies weigh more at different times of the day. More importantly, I want to read how they set a goal for themselves, made that goal and how it makes them feel.

I hope that my blog posts are a combination of both, personal experiences and educational information. Its what I enjoy reading and therefore will be what I present to my readers, be it one post a week or three posts a day.

What inspires me?
I have four things that inspire me to be healthy. One is nine and at school in the fourth grade. Another is 3 and snuggling with me on the couch as I write this. The third is 17 months old and napping. The fourth isn't conceived yet but is already named and has a place in my heart and a waiting place in my arms. My kids inspire me to be the best mom ever. They inspire me to get off the couch and play outside with them. They inspire me to become healthy so I can watch them grow for many many years to come. While I'm not perfect, I try my hardest. That's all I ask of them in their adventures and I choose to lead by example. They deserve nothing less.

What inspires you?

My name is Lindsey and I'm a.......

2010-02-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

blogaholic! Everyone chime in together "Hiiii Lindsey!"

I've never done this before. I have no idea if there's any kind of blogging rules or etiquette. So, if its against some kind of code or commandment to post more than once a day - please let me know.

Yesterday, I was pissy. Yup. Sure was. I ate well and tracked everything but did not work out. That makes three days in a row of not working out. I wanted to. I had every intention of it. Just didn't get it done. I was so aggravated about this stall out issue that I spent most of my time (aside from time I spend with my kiddos) educating myself on weight loss plateaus and stall outs. What did I learn? Not much.
There really isn't any type of scientific evidence to show what really causes them. Well, crap. I could have been working out, folding clothes or plucking my eyebrows. But instead I was learning that there really isn't anything to learn.

Monday night, I made the meal from hell. I emailed Mistee earlier in the day and asked her what she wanted for dinner. "Don't think of my nutrition crusade, just pick anything you want for dinner." Mistake, Lindsey. Big mistake.
What she asked for is the favorite of everyone in this house and darn near all of our close friends. Chicken, broccoli, cheese and rice casserole. Its heaven on a plate with its ooie, gooie, cheesie goodness. No big deal. I got this. Ill just make a healthy alternative for me.

I tried. Oh, how I tried.

The original recipe calls for three, yes three, bags of shredded cheddar cheese, baked chicken, cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup, along with rice and broccoli. So, instead of the Uncle Ben's broccoli rice au gratin (which is so good) that goes into the mix, I got vegetable medley rice for myself. Into that I mixed in baked chicken, broccoli and fat free shredded cheddar. "See, just like the real thing" I thought to myself as I took the first bite. "Just who the hell are you trying to fool here?" I actually said out loud after I took the first bite.

I took the first bite while in the kitchen cooking for everyone else. I like to snack when I cook. So it works for me to make my dinner plate first so I have something to pick on while I'm cooking for everyone else. I then can finish my meal with everyone else but have not had extra bites or calories than what I planned for.

So, upon taking the first bite and realizing not only did my plate suck in comparison to what they were going to eat but I still needed to finish their meal and would have to stare at it and smell it until it was out of the house. Another problem. I'm so used to making this meal to feed tons of people, I knew there would be POUNDS of it left over.

I started to cry.

No one saw me crying and I wouldn't admit it if you offered me a million bucks. Wait, didn't I just admit it, three lines above? Move on people! Nothing to see here!

So, I made Mistee promise to take ALL of the leftovers to work with her. "But thats enough to feed an army!" "Yup, and youre gonna either take it and feed that army you work with or Peaches(our basset hound) is gonna have a great breakfast!" Some how, I'm guessing by the look on my face, she knew I wasn't kidding. "Ok, Ill take it." Good. Whew, I dont have to deal with that tomorrow.

She forgot.

Remember yesterday's post? The one where I was complaining about not losing weight and was bummed, heartbroken, confused and down right mad? Oh, yea. That one.

Yesterday was NOT a good day to have that in my fridge. I knew I was going to eat it. There was no denying it or trying to hide it. It was destiny. The casserole and I were meant to be one. As I pulled it out of the fridge, along with a plate and a spoon - I stopped. I then went to my handy dandy lil laptop and typed in recipes.sparkpeople.com. This is an off site of sparkpeople, hence the name connection. There's great recipes on its own but there's a fantastic feature where you can put in your own recipe and it'll give you the nutrition breakdown of the meal per serving.
By gosh, if I was going to eat the heaven on a plate - I was going to know exactly what I was getting into first. **If only Adam and Eve would have had the luxury of the internet. Maybe they would have made healthier snacking choices. Not saying apples aren't healthy - I'm just saying. Oh, never mind.**

I approximated there to be 12 servings in the dish based on how many it fed the night before and how much was left. 430 calories per servings. Holey cow.
Did I eat it? Oh, you bet my cholesterol laden heart, I did. I savored every bite and almost licked the plate clean. But, at least I did it educated. I knew the numbers and what I had to work with for the rest of the day.

Last night, we had a left over night. Or "fend for yourself" night. Those are the nights where Mommy doesn't feel like cooking. If you wanna eat - go get it yourself. I planned that for a reason - to get that devil food out of my fridge. And it worked. Its all gone!

Moral of the story? I will not cook devil food when I'm in an emotional or mental slump. It puts me in too hard of a position. One I'm not comfortable dealing with.

This morning, I woke up in a great mood. I went to the bathroom, like I did three times in the middle of the night - a GALLON of water a day, remember? There it sat, staring at me. "The thing" I really just did not want to get on it. I just didn't. I'm so sick of putting in the hard work and getting 242 back. "You're in a great mood", I told myself. "Regardless of what it says we are not going to have another day like yesterday."

240.6

What! I get off and get back on. 240.6 No way! Off and back on, and stand in a different position. 240.8 "Ha! That's better - I TOLD you, stupid scale! Now let's just do this - give me the 242 I'm expecting already!" Off, move the scale and STOMP back on....

240.6

OK, at this point I cant help but to laugh hysterically. Not like a "holey cow, that's funny" kind of laugh but more like a "crazy lady that sits out side of Wal-mart that rocks and laughs to herself while petting her stuffed animal monkey" kind of laugh. **Wow, where did I get that from? I don't know.**

So, let me make sure I understand this completely -- If I INCREASE my calorie intake, DON'T work out, drink LESS water, DO eat the devil food heaven on a plate and complain my brains out on my blog - I'll loose the weight?? **Insert crazy mad lady laugh here.**

Bad wine saves calories.....

2010-02-17T08:40:00.001-08:00

Yesterday's post was nothing more than my rant at the results of "the thing". I never really updated on the last few days. So, I'm gonna get that taken care of now. Does anyone care? Yea, didn't think so.

Saturday, Mistee packed the boys up and went running around with Buddy Pal. It was super nice for me - dead quiet in the house. Only me and my Wii. I had a great work out and was just ready to shower when she got back home, two boys short. Bubba and Monkey stayed with Buddy Pal to play with her kiddo. We decided to do some running around and go on a wheatgrass hunt. Before showering is when I had my encounter with "the thing". Don't remember? See "Blue toenails and lopsided love handles."

My wheatgrass hunt didn't result in exactly what I wanted but I'm still happy with it.

We had a nice time running around, really just doing nothing, with Doodle Bug(our 17 month old grand baby). He really is a fun little guy.

Later that evening we, along with Buddy Pal decided to go get something to eat. Boy, were we stupid. Saturday night is normally not easy to get a seat with out waiting. But add the fact that its February 13th and your doomed to wait. We had four kids, people. Waiting was not an option. We ended up at Famous Dave's and only waited about 10 minutes.
I was really proud of myself at the restaurant. When the waitress came out to take our drink order - I asked for a nutritional count menu. I had never had the cahonies to do this before as I always felt strange. I didn't want to direct any more attention to myself - the fat lady at the table trying to be healthy. But I did it. Only to be told a few minutes later - they don't have one. "But, I'm sure you can get on your phone and look it up" the waitress says. First of all, not everyone has an internet capable phone. *No, not everyone owns an iPhone.* Second, my phone was at home. Luckily, Buddy Pal had her phone so I looked up what my better options were. I chose catfish, mashed potatoes and coleslaw. I'm not sure why I ordered the catfish - I don't like it. Not just theirs. I don't like catfish. So I traded Mistee for her chopped pork sandwich and ate half. That, on top of the sides, salad and four large glasses of water and I was stuffed. All for right around 650 calories. Good day.

Sunday - Happy Valentine's Day! Because were saving for our vacation **Mickey Mouse, here we come!** we've been taking all holidays easy financially. Mistee made me a great dinner of crab legs, lobster and asparagus. For dessert, she made a great yogurt parfait with Greek yogurt, strawberries and granola. **That's actually what Ive had for breakfast every day since then.**

I was totally impressed with what she did for the meal. She was so very considerate of my healthy eating plan. I'm loved and I appreciate her for that. We ate picnic style on the living room floor in front of the fire. No tv. No kids. Did you hear that? Yea, I said no kids. Mistee's brother and Buddy Pal kept the boys for a couple of hours for us. Thanks so much!!

You can see in the picture, I was also served a glass of wine. I love wine and would rather drink it than any other alcoholic beverage. I usually choose a red - Lambrusco being my favorite. However, Mistee said she was told this was a great choice with seafood - so lets try it. Gack! No thanks! She was very apologetic about the yuk wine. Hey, harm no foul! Bad wine saves calories! We didn't eat the lobster either. It must have been over cooked - she had it steamed in the store - because it was tough and rubbery. Funny thing is Im not a big lobster fan anyway but I can eat my weight in crab legs. That's a hella lot of crab legs!

** Funny story real quick, when I was preggo with Monkey, I craved crab legs constantly. One night, Mistee surprised me by bringing some home for just me. There I sat, big as a whale, on the living room floor with two mixing bowls in front of me. One for legs, the other for shells. While I was in my own little crabby bliss - Bubba, who was five at the time, comes up and goes for a crab leg. He's a big fan too. Could out crack anyone at four years old. Without even looking at him - I stabbed him with my fork! Yea, STABBED him. He starts crying, so I start crying - full on hormonal mess and just cant believe I STABBED my own child over a crab leg! He didn't bleed but his hand was red with little fork tooth marks for the next couple of hours. He's still nervous to eat legs around me and that was four years ago. **

So, Valentine's day was great fun. We talked, ate, and I got a massage. It was a nice few hours to ourselves. The world goes by real fast, people. In my house, believe me, I know this. Take time to remember who you love, Valentine's Day or not. Take the time to reconnect even if just for a couple of hours. It balances you and makes you remember what the hard work is for.

Wheatgrass -drink, drink, pass.....

2010-02-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

Last week, a virtual friend of mine **I say virtual because I've never actually met her in person. We met on a web board, gosh years ago. She's a great person, full of support and encouragement. Shout out to Patty and the LGs! :)** posted that she had taken a shot of wheat grass juice at her local smoothie bar. I've read about wheat grass before but not extensively. Because of her face book post I decided to do some more research on it.

Here's just a smidgen of what Ive found:

1.Wheatgrass lowers blood pressure
2.Wheatgrass helps the digestive system by flushing toxins from the system
3.Wheatgrass slows the graying of hair and removes dandruff
4.Wheatgrass suppresses appetite, curves cravings, and stimulates metabolism and circulation
5.Wheatgrass protects the body from outside pollutants by building up the white blood cells
6.Wheatgrass has anti-inflammatory effects on arthritis, ulcers and insect bites
7.Wheatgrass builds blood by building red blood cells quickly
8.Wheatgrass energizes and reduces fatigue
9.Wheatgrass promotes regularity and helps fight constipation
10.Wheatgrass reduces or eliminates offensive body and breath odors
11.Wheatgrass' antibacterial properties reduce symptoms of a sore throat when used to gargle
12.Wheatgrass topical antibacterial use for skin wounds (burns and sunburns)
13.Wheatgrass aids in stopping tooth decay
14.Chewing of wheatgrass may banish sleepiness and bring a new alertness
15.Wheatgrass juice helps cleanse the liver
16.Wheatgrass calms the nervous system
17.Presence of chlorophyll in wheatgrass stabilizes blood sugar levels
18.Wheatgrass reduces fever & irritability in children
19.Wheatgrass applied regularly onto the skin will eventually fade blemishes and sunspots by stimulating the growth of healthy new skin and “tightening” older skin
20.When inhaled through the nose, wheatgrass is effective in clearing sinus congestion.

Seems pretty amazing right? Now of course, there are also tons of websites out there that say its all bunk. Here's my thinking - its GRASS - a plant, that is ground and squeezed. You drink the juice or heck, some people just chew on the plant itself and spit out the pulp. This is not a man made chemical. Now, just because it is a plant does not make it good for you. Some plants are poisonous and will kill you if juiced of chewed on. However, I have found very little negative side effects of wheat grass. The main one being a detox effect, which includes "purging" or throwing up and diarrhea. Supposedly, this is only an issue in the beginning while toxins are being flushed from your system. A little puke and poop never hurt anyone. So, I decided to give it a shot - pun actually intended.

Problem. There are no and I repeat NO smoothie bars in this town that carry the stuff - fresh that is. There are no health food stores that carry it fresh or frozen, or even in pill form. My only option is powder. Not quite what I was looking for but what the heck?

I was eager to try it out the first day but I gotta tell ya, it was really hard to get it down. I actually didn't get it down on the first try. The instructions say to mix two teaspoons with 8 ounces of water. Imagine putting frozen spinach in a blender and then mixing it into 8 ounces of water. Not a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine? Could you be mine? **Back on track Lindsey**
After a little tweaking, Ive figured out that two teaspoons in about 4 ounces of V8 works good. It ends up as two big shots or three comfortable drinks. Chased by a big swig of water and Im good to go. The texture is thick but V8 is to begin with and it does smell. Not like fresh cut grass like some say - but probably because what I'm drinking is not fresh cut.

Lemme tell ya - I don't know if there's a connection or if its totally a coincidence but about 20 minutes after taking the stuff I feel different. Awake and refreshed are two words to describe the feeling. You know those days when you wake up and the weather is great, you feel great, you can concentrate and don't feel in a fog? The days you feel light on your feet and just wanna roll down the windows in the car and turn up the music and dance? That's really how it feels. At least for me.

Like I said I don't know if its truly because of just the wheat grass, a combination of the wheat grass, weight loss, exercise and increased water or just totally a coincidence. BUT I had the weight loss, exercise and increased water and did not feel like that before. Is it a little difficult to get down in powder form? Yes. But am I going to stop taking it - not on your life!

On that note - I say, It's 4:20 somewhere - go drink some grass!

** This post is edited to say - I'm not a pot smoker. Sure, Ive "tried" it in the past - OK, Ive smoked maybe three times in my life. But I'm not encouraging anyone to partake in the activity. I was just making some "grass" inspired jokes - Gah!**

Blue toenails and lopsided lovehandles.....

2010-02-15T06:39:00.000-08:00

Ok people, here's the deal. Saturday I got up, got to moving around and got on the scale. Here's what it read:

Yes, my toenails are blue, white and silver. It's left over from the Super Bowl. I'm sure you can figure out by now, with the blue and white painted faces on Super Bowl Sunday, my blue and white toes and a puppy named Peyton Manning - were huge Colts fans. Go Blue!
*Anyway*

"HONEEYYY!!" I screamed across the house. I hear her slam her coffee cup down on the table and start running towards the bathroom, where I'm at.Here's how the conversation went when she got in there: "What's wrong?!" "Nothing, look!" "Holey, sh*it! Is that for real?" "Yup, Ive gotten on and off the scale like five times." *High fives and happy dance*

Problem. The next morning - which is actually my weigh in day, Sunday. I get on the scale. I'm expecting right around the same number, give or take a pound or so. Nope. Back up to 242. So, Ive been 242 for TEN days now - with the exception of Saturday. I'm really feeling my scale was confused on the date. "The thing" (which it will now be known as) really must have felt Saturday was April 1st and not February 13th. I could actually hear it laughing at me while it screamed "April fools!!!" Yea, not funny.

So, I'm sitting here, mad. Nope, I'm not just discouraged. I'm pissed.
I'm not in agonizing pain here. I'm not hungry and overall don't feel deprived (with the exception of last night - more on that later). The workouts are fun and I'm really enjoying how I can do more now than when I first started. BUT - all of this is heard work. There's a lot involved in thinking of healthy meals, measuring portion sizes, logging calories eaten, working out, logging calories burned and making sure to drink all the water I need. All of that PLUS caring for my family. I feel like I should have more to show for the work I'm putting in. Plus, I just don't get it. I don't understand what my body is doing. I fully expected at some point, my body would get to the point where it would find a homeostasis with the number of calories coming in and going out. A point where everything would just balance out and I would be at a maintenance level. I fully expected at that point I would need to change things up a bit - to continue my journey to my overall goal. HOWEVER, that point should not be NOW. There is no way my body can be telling me that its at a happy balance of between 1200-1300 calories in and roughly 500 calories burned a day - at 242 pounds! No way. No flippin way. Not with only a 1200 calorie input a day.

No, I'm not giving up. I'm not quitting. I didn't eat a box of Twinkies or even so much as a candy bar - Bubba is selling candy bars for a school fundraiser. Were down to two boxes left - out of ten. There were 400 candy bars in this house, people! Ive only eaten one - and took a full week to eat the whole thing. *Back on track, Lindsey*
However, I need to figure out what the problem is.

I've been reading the last two days - anything and everything I can find. According to Sparkpeople, I'm not bringing in enough calories. But according to Jillianmichaels' website I'm eating right where I should be. Iv'e read that maybe I need to increase my water (I drink right around 96 ounces a day) but gosh, if I do that - I'll float away. I really haven't gotten much help from my two days of reading. I've studied my BMR chart and have asked on message boards.

According to sparkpeople and a couple of other things I've read, a person's metabolism is like a campfire. If you leave the same two pieces of wood on the fire it will burn and eventually burn itself out. If you replace a piece of wood one at a time as the fire gets low - it will continue to burn but not at a large rate. However, if you add several pieces of wood and stir it up a bit, soon you'll get a raging inferno! The theory is that if your "mixing up" the fire by working out and exercising, you must add more calories (or wood) in order to get the raging inferno of a metabolism. By working out and not adding extra calories to maintain the calories burned - the fire will burn out. Or a person's metabolism will come to a stand still. Make sense??

Here's the game plan - I'm going to continue working out, because I like it not because I'm seeing great results from it. I'm going to continue eating healthy. However, I am going to increase my overall calorie intake by a couple of hundred calories. My plan is right around 1400 calories. Its not a lot, but may be what my body needs to be happy with burning this fat. I'm also going to increase my water intake to 128 ounces. For you non math happy people, that's a gallon a day. Its only 34 ounces more than Ive been drinking or basically one more cup **I drink my water out of a BIG cup** so its not that much more really.

I'm also going to invest in a 45 cent **Hey, has anyone else noticed there's not a "cent" sign on a keyboard? You know, a C with a line through it? Am I stupid, that I never knew that?** tape measure. In this journey, I have not taken my measurements. While talking to Mistee today about my "issues", she made a good point. I can't see the overall me like everyone else can. She can see that my body is changing. My core is getting flatter and my waist is slimming down - at least the left side is. **Why on earth does my body feel its necessary to loose one love handle at a time? The left side is almost non existent but the right side still hangs on. Seriously, not cool.** My cloths are fitting looser and I'm wearing some clothes I haven't worn in months. I actually have a couple of bras I wear now that Ive never been able to wear. She feels like I'm setting myself up for disappointment by not looking at the overall picture. Makes sense. Hopefully, by tracking inches lost as well as looking at the way my clothes fit and the scale, Ill be able to see more of the positive results I'm looking for.

Overall, I feel better now. I really am doing a good thing here. Even if "the thing" thinks its funny to tease me.

But, right now I have to pee **remember, the whole drink a GALLON of water thing?**.....

Sore

2010-02-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Before I get today's post started - I'd like to take a minute to say - I have my first follower!! Yay!! Ok, so who cares if he's one of my bestest friends. He's still following me! Thanks Gav! :)

You may now continue on to today's post..... :p

OMG!! I woke up this morning so unbelievably sore. When I sat down to pee, my quads were on fire. "Good workout" I thought to myself. Then I tried to get up. If you've never experienced the sensation of feeling trapped on your own toilet - its totally not a pretty picture. I have a good size master bathroom and the toilet sits on its own. There's nothing that could be used for leverage with in arms length. I had nothing to help heave me off of my toilet death trap. So,after a few minutes of grunting and groaning (and internally crying) I was able to get myself up. Whew, that was close. I thought I was a gonner there for a minute!

I was up late last night making the Valentine's Day fortune cookies for Bubba's class. They turned out pretty cute, I think!

We packed them up in these cute little boxes I found.

On top of being up late last night, I got up early to make Bubba's teachers pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then to make matters worse, I didn't sleep well last night. My legs were very restless - probably from fatigue. So, needless to say, I'm sore, tired and not in the best of moods. Normally I would have already worked out by now but haven't yet. Even though I'm sore, I need to do something. I'll probably find an upper body work out since my issues are mainly in my legs today.

Oh - I got on the scale this morning - after prying myself off of the toilet and after moving around for a little bit. I've figured out that for me the best time to get on the scale is not right after I wake up. I usually wait until I've been up an hour or two. For what ever reason, when I first get up I feel bloated and heavy. But once I move around for a bit, I feel better and the scale shows better numbers(sometimes up to two pounds!). Because of this, I consistently weigh in at about 9 am.

Anyway, this morning showed 242.4!! Yay! Back to where I was before my alter ego, "The Slacker" came to town. I'm still two pounds from where I wanted to be this week but who knows, the week isn't over yet. My official weigh in day is Sunday. Speaking of weigh in, look at this cute little ditty I found -

The Weigh In Process

1. Strip naked and get into the shower.
2. Exfoliate every inch of your body.
3. Shave whatever can be shaved.
4. Exfoliate again.
5. Get out of shower and completely dry off. Make sure to absorb every drop of water on your body.
6. Pee.
7. Cut your toe and fingernails and be sure to remove any nail polish.
8. Tweeze eyebrows and any other tweezable facial hair.
9. Brush and floss your teeth. Rinse WELL. Do not leave any paste on your teeth or mouth.
10. Pee.
11. Blow your nose.
12. Clean your ears with a q-tip.
13. Rub your belly in circular motions, firmly.
14. Pee.
15. Place the scale EXACTLY where you had it last week.
16. Eye it carefully. Sternly. Pleadingly. All in one look. Takes practice, but can be done.
17. Pee.
18. Take a deeeeeep breath for a count of 4 and release for a count of 4.
19. Repeat.
20. Pee.
21. Slowly, carefully, step on to the scale as you exhale, letting all your muscles hang loose.
22. Assume "the position" - you know the one, where you hang your heals off of the back of the scale, bend your knees and hold your hands on your stomach.
23. Stare straight ahead for digital scales, for analog..i dunno. Get a new scale.
24. When it beeps to tell you its Final Judgment, look down with one eye open.
25. Inhale, before you pass out.
26. Step off and repeat several times until you get the desired result - or at least the best one the scale is willing to give.
27. Go on with your day as though nothing had happened. Remember, its a tin box and only reflects ONE of the many aspects of the healthy lifestyle you are now giving yourself:)

Did I miss anything?

....Comparison....

2010-02-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

I did a little experiment last night. I normally do not make myself separate meals - different from what the family is eating. It makes for double cook time in the kitchen and can leave me feeling deprived when faced with what everyone else is eating. However, I will make variations to my meal to make it more Linds friendly.

On the menu last night was spaghetti. The kids love it and its easy. But with ground beef and pasta - I could be headed for the danger zone. So, I did a little comparison. Exactly what difference does it make to switch some ingredients around? Will I feel satisfied with my plate over theirs or will I feel left out?

Here's option A:

These are the ingredients of option A plate-
1 cup white spaghetti pasta
4 ounces ground beef
1/2 cup Traditional Ragu sauce
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
2 slices white bread (only one is pictured)
1 Tbs Country Crock Plus Calcium

Plate A contains the following:
Calories: 914
Carbs: 77
Fat: 48
Protein: 40

Here's option B:

These are the ingredients of the option B plate:
1 cup spaghetti squash
4 ounces ground turkey
1/2 cup Full Circle Organic Pasta Sauce
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms
1 stick mozzarella string cheese
8 medium spears of Asparagus
1 Oroweat English Muffin
10 sprays I Cant Believe Its Not Butter Buttery Spray

Plate B contains the following:
Calories: 509
Carbs: 53
Fat: 13
Protein:41

Holey canoli!! Look at the differences in plates! On plate option B, there were 405 less calories, 24 less carbs, 35 less grams of fat and 1 more gram of protein - all on a plate that was overflowing with food, to say the least! I was completely stuffed when I was done. I actually had a hard time finishing it.

I was very skeptical on using the spaghetti squash in place of the pasta. Wev'e all seen where nutritionists and weight loss idols have said to do it. Seriously, it was good. The texture was a little different, more crunchy. But I bet this could be solved by simply steaming the squash longer.

Overall, this experiment proved that by making wiser choices, we can be more satisfied and have better results on the scale. Who can go wrong with that??

Bits and Pieces

2010-02-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

Monday night Mistee came home with probably THE cutest thing on the planet!

One of the guys she works with had puppies (well, HE didn't have puppies, but you get the idea. Every one of the puppies died except for this little guy. Mistee's friend knew she was a fan of dachshunds so he saved him for her. His name is Peyton Manning. I just wonder if the human Peyton Manning was as stinkin cute as this when he was little.

This morning, I woke up to this!!

How awesome is that to wake up to? Its still going strong and those pics were taken about 5 hours ago.

So, yesterday ended up pretty good. I had a calorie consumption of just under 1300 and a burn of 572. All figures accounted for, I had an overall deficit of 1583. I know! I know! You guys that have read into forming a calorie deficit are screaming "that's too high!" But here's the deal: 1.I have more body fat to lose than the "average person" 2.I'm staying well within a healthy calorie range for input - thus preventing my body from stalling out, hitting a plateau or going into "starvation mode" 3. I vary my calories in, calories out, and overall deficit every day to confuse my metabolism to again help prevent a stall out.
So, I was happy with yesterday - now Ive just gotta wait to see the numbers on the scale. Hopefully in the next day or two Ill see some good droppage in numbers.

Bubba (our nine year old) has a Valentine's Day party tomorrow at school. I found a cute little treat recipe on a favorite blog, Our Best Bites, last night and thought it would be perfect for his class!

I only hope ours turn out as cute as these!!

OH! I almost forgot! While working out today I ran 2 miles! Granted I was running in place with the Wii - but it was still 2 miles! When I started this adventure I couldn't run (in place) a quarter of the way around the track on Wii Active. Today, I ran 2.5 laps - twice plus a short run that was only 1.5 laps. I then went on to do the medium run on Wii Fit twice, which unlocked the Island Lap. So, I did that one twice too!! The Island Lap took about 12 minutes each and from what Ive found online, is approximately .9 miles. All in all - I ran over 2 miles. But all of it was start/stop except for the Island Laps. Yay! Go me!
Here's a pic of Monkey in his work out attire:

This is actually the resistance band that comes with the Wii Active. Its kind of flimsy, so I let him use it during workouts when he plays along. Today he thought the best place for it was on his head, kung foo style! :)

Last thing for today -- A friend of mine linked this on her Face book page - Warrior Dash. I am SOO doing it! I've already talked to a couple of friends who said they wanna go too. How much fun does this look like?? Maybe back in the day I would have said anyone was pure D crazay to even think of doing this. But, I totally wanna do it. I don't have a desire to win a prize. I just want to say I completed it - and get a t shirt and viking helmet! Bonus!!

....Slacker....

2010-02-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

I dont know exactly when it started or how for that matter. Maybe Sunday's Super Bowl get together got it started. Maybe because I'm at the couple of days in my cycle where I normally eat everything that's not nailed down. Maybe cause Ive been sick, stressed etc. It really doesn't matter how or why or even when the bottom line is that Ive been slacking.

Saturday I woke up, did some running around with a friend to get ready for Sundays party. By the time we realized it, it was late and we were getting phone calls that the natives were restless and hungry. What to do and where to go? We had six kids and three adults to feed, so it needed to be cheap. Off to Cici's we went. I had eaten very little that day (mistake, big mistake) and was starving. Because of the amount of working out Ive been doing and the type of food Ive been eating - I have to eat every three or four hours. If not I get shaky and just feel overall lousy. Anyway, we go to Cici's and ate. For the first time, I did not check nutritional counts online before going (another big mistake). I used my best judgment -really? who am I kidding here. No I didnt. I did eat a salad first and was light on the dressing. But, I chose what I ate based on flavor and just because I flat out wanted it. Yes, I could have done better - but could have done much worse.
When I got home and tracked the results on sparkpeople I was supprised. Not too bad. Then it was time to work out. Working out in the evening is not good for me. By then Im tired and just dont feel like it. But I did it and was glad.

So, when Super Bowl Sunday came around - I was excited about my choices and was happy with how I ate. However, I didnt work out. No biggie. One day off a week is not a bad thing. If anything, for recovery, youre supposed to take two days off right?

I guess because of HOW I ate (as apposed to WHAT I ate) Sunday is what got me on my downward spiral. Instead of sitting down for meals, I snacked here and there. As a result, Monday - all day Monday, I ate. And I ate. And I ate some more. Not huge portions of food at a time but little bites of this and little bites of that. Just like I had done on Sunday. Those little bites here and there really add up. Oh, and I did not work out. What was I thinking?? Oh, I wasnt.

Yesterday I woke up horribly sick. Stomach cramps to no end and hours (Im not kidding) in the bathroom. The only thing I have to use as a reason, was how I had eaten the day before. Soda, chips, sweets, white bread, butter - all stuff I had not eaten at all or much of in over a month. My entire day was spent on the couch or in the bathroom in intense pain. However, at about 3:30 I started to feel better. So, at that point it started again. See, once again I hadnt eaten all day and was starving. Before I knew it I found myself in the kitchen with a glass of Strawberry Fanta and my hand in a bag of powdered donuts. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? I was screaming internally to myself. At one point - out loud - I replied with "Eating a powdered donut is what Im doing, duh." "No, Lindsey - get rid of them, before you eat all of them. And you know you will." So, I did. I dumped the rest of the bag down the garbage disposal and threw the one I was eating down too - for good measure. After my binge, I again, felt like doo doo on a stick as my mom used to say. So again, I did not work out.

This morning I woke up with a vengeance. I took the appetite suppressant pill Ive been prescribed and got dressed. I dont take the pill everyday but if I know its going to be a difficult day I will. I have no shame in saying sometimes I need help. I poured the rest of the Fanta down the drain and the Dr Pepper too. Then, I got on the scale. 243. Overall not bad considering. Its less than a pound gain. But I'm really disappointed. I wanted to hit my 20 pound lost mark today. I blew it.

Normally, this would cause someone - OK me - to say screw it. Its not gonna work. And go eat. Nope. Not this time. I got dressed, made a jug of water for the day, hooked up the Wii and worked out. I burned 572 calories in 46 minutes.

Can I just say that I totally thought I was gonna die while working out. I cant believe that going three days with out working out will get me out of whack that bad. I'm thinking it was due to dehydration. In my slacking I had four days of drinking hardly any water plus losing a lot yesterday in my illness. That has to be the reason my workout was so difficult today. Maybe Ill research it and see if I can find more specific reasons.

For breakfast today a Fiber One 90 calorie bar - yum. Lunch was a half of spaghetti squash with butter and sugar. Again, yum. Not sure what will come about for dinner yet but Ive come to the understanding that Im back.

Im back. I can not let a few days get me down. I cant let a half of a pound gain get in the way of my goal. Like one of my favorite sayings goes - Time to put my big girl panties on and deal with it. This is going to be a long journey for me to get where I need to be. I will have hills to climb and bumps in the road. This was my first hill. I could have done better but I could have done much worse.

Weight

2010-02-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

I wanted to touch on a big topic in my life right now - my weight. Ive been a big girl for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is my mom holding me while at the grocery store. I remember the clerk saying how cute and chunky I was. She made a point to comment on my hands. I didn't have knuckles - I had dimples where the knuckles should be. I, over the years, have thought of this memory and always looked at my hands as a reminder of my weight. To this day, Ive never had knuckles.

When Mistee and I met, in 1999, I was 185 pounds and a size 12 - 10 if I held my breath. Of my teenage or early adult years that was the period of time I felt the most healthy, physically speaking. I had just moved to Texas from Florida, was exercising daily and aware of what I put in my mouth.

Over the years- kids, family, stresses, and struggles caused me to put myself on the back burner and caused the pounds to slowly but surly creep back on.

I did not make a New Year's resolution this year. My weight loss journey has nothing to do with that. I just woke up one day and said to myself "Im done. No more." That day was Sunday January 3rd. Nothing really happened. No defining "Aha!" moment. I just realized I'm not a good example for my kids. I want to be able to get up off of the couch and play with them with out gasping for breath. I want them to know I will be there for them for a long time. I want them to learn positive healthy habits from me and continue on to teach their kids how to live a healthy lifestyle. I'm not looking to be in a triathlon - though I will be walking 60 miles in this years Susan G Komen Three Day for the Cure - but more on that later. I'm not looking for washboard abs or to dead lift 100 pounds. I just wanna be the best mom I can be for as long as I can be. I don't think that's too much to ask of myself. I don't think my kids deserve any less from me.

In the last 5 weeks, Ive lost 18 pounds - Going from 260 on the dot to 242.

I track all of my food eaten and exercise completed in sparkpeople.com. I absolutely LOVE this website. There's tons of nutrition and fitness information as well as teams you can join. In the teams you meet other people and share stories on your goals and struggles with each other. The best part - its totally free! You can't even beat that with a stick!

Most of my workout sessions are by using the Wii. I really have a good time with the new EA Sports Active games. There are two games - Active and Active More Workouts. Right now, my favorite is More Workouts. I like how it is interactive - if you don't do the moves correctly or stay in correct position - the game stops until you catch up or correct yourself. There's cardio and weight training (through resistance bands) together so it makes for a great circuit training session. There's not a dvd on the planet that does that.

I also have a treadmill that I get on occasionally but to be honest, I get bored. Plus, I get a higher caloric burn with the Wii.

I own one workout dvd. Yup, just one. Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I totally love this workout. It is an ass kicker to say the least. In 20 minutes, she'll either have you crying, puking or ready to slap your mama! But, I promise - if you stick with it, you will see a difference. Sure, in the beginning you may not be able to do the whole thing but after a week, you'll see how you can do more and more. Sometimes, on a day I'm feeling extra bold - Ill do the Wii Active More Workouts AND the 30 Day Shred.

Another thing Ive been looking into is the theory of staying in a calorie deficit. The overall concept is simple math. Calories in < Calories burned = overall weight loss. You first find your BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) by either figuring the equation yourself or finding a calculator to do it for you - Ill take the calculator please! The numbers are based on your age, weight, sex and basic daily activity level not including workout sessions. Your BMR is the amount of calories your body uses to complete a day of basic, everyday functions. With this number, you can develop a deficit either by consuming less calories than your BMR, by burning more calories a day or by a combination of both. By creating a deficit, your body is then forced to "feed off of the land" or burn body fat to make up the difference of the deficit. Hopefully, I havent made this all sound more confusing than it actually is! More info can be found here and here.
Overall, this concept makes perfect sense to me. I was given a spreadsheet by a fellow sparker that calculates daily calorie deficit level. I have been able to see the weight loss before the scale shows it. For me the numbers have been almost dead on. Remember, a pound equals 3500 calories. If I have a calorie deficit of 1000 calories a day - in a week, I can see a two pound weight loss on the scale. For me, the spreadsheet is a great tool to see the numbers and track my progress. If your'e interested in the spreadsheet, just let me know!

Please, please - if you have any input on the methods I'm using to become more healthy or suggestions - share!!

Its Done!

2010-02-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Well, its done finally. By "it" I mean the blog. After two days of feeling like I was going to drown in HTML codes, I finally got it finished. Hope you like it! :)

So, the Super Bowl get together was great. I had a goal of not setting anything on the table that wasn't a healthy choice. It turned out well! Our menu included, Hungry Girl Southwestern Egg Rolls, a fruit and veggie tray, black bean and corn dip to go with veggie chips, hot and bbq chicken, bacon wrapped shrimp and pineapple kabobs and turkey taco soup. The chicken was a take off on traditional hot wings. Mistee grilled a few boneless skinless chicken breasts and topped them with either bbq or hot wing sauce. I then cut into bite size pieces. Same concept and flavor in a piece of non fried white meat. Jackpot!
Here's Buba getting his grub on during the game:

So the kids didnt feel left out, I included a couple of other things,like blue and white M & Ms and hot dogs. Overall,I was able to feel like I snacked right along with the rest of the bunch, had a great time and still stayed within my calorie guidelines for the day - Bonus!

Turkey Taco Soup before adding the water. I always love all the colors! And an overall shot of the goodies!

The first Ramble.....

2010-02-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Ive thought for a while now of starting a blog. I have several friends that do it and several others that I follow. But I never really thought I had anything important enough to say. Why would anyone care what I think?
I started reading the blog of a fellow sparker last week. For those that dont know, Im referring to sparkpeople.com - its a great website that gives tons of info on health and nutrition. More on that later. So, Ive been reading this blog and totally connecting to it. Where we don't share all of the same habits or strategies in our weight loss journey, I love the fact she is so brutally honest in her writings. I think that is a fantastic characteristic. That's what Im striving for. Brutal honesty. However, I don't intent for this blog to be only weight or nutrition based. Those are very important aspects of my life right now. But, I deal with other things, very important things, as well. My family, our upcoming vacation :), my career goals, my walk in this years Susan G Komen 3 Day for the Cure, photography, recipes, etc.

Hey, maybe I DO have important things to say. Well, at least theyr'e important to me.