In A Funk.....

So, I'm totally in a funk right now. I was doing so well last week and then.....the weekend hit and I haven't been able to recover. I also decided that I would make homemade bread for the first time yesterday. Needless to say, all I've eaten since 8 last night is bread and raspberry jam.

I find myself asking if I will ever be slim and gorgeous again. Why is eating healthy such a huge challenge for me?

Tomorrow will be a better day. It has to be!

It's a Beautiful Day In My Neighborhood!

The sun is shining, I went walking this morning and I did fabulously well with my eating yesterday so there is reason to celebrate! We actually had a busy day with things to do and places to be and we ended up eating out for dinner. As we drove down Main Street, my mouth watered as I thought about french fries, deep fried chimichangas and ice cream! As I thought about what we would grab for dinner I reflected on my goals and decided that fried, fatty, calorie rich food didn't sound all that appetizing after all. We decided to go to Subway and I am so proud of my myself for not getting my all time favorite, The Spicy Italian, loaded with pepperoni and salami marbled with fat. Instead, I ate a delicious veggies sub with a modest amount of cheese and loaded with veggies and avocado. I satisfied my hunger with a wonderful meal and felt a sense of satisfcation for taking the time to listen to my body and making a conscious healthy choice.

Here's to another great day!

Making A Fresh Start

So....back in the summer, I decided that I would blog on a regular basis. I failed MISERABLY! I basically threw all of my goals out the window and enjoyed the summer. Well...now that the kids are back in school and I've had them write down their goals for the school year, I figured that I had better set the example or rather follow their example and do the same.

Here I sit on the first day of September, a little fatter, feeling a little lackadaisical and coming to the harsh realization that it is TIME for a change! Not just a temporary change but a total change in both body and spirit. It seems a little overwhelming but as a wise individual once said, "the only way to eat an elephant is one piece at a time". That is exactly what I am going to do.

I have been getting up Monday - Friday at 5:30 to go walking with a friend. We walk 3.3 miles and part our route includes two very steep hills. These hills are killers but it has been amazing to see the change in my endurance as we have climbed these hills day after day! Do I like doing it? Absolutely not! However, the sense of accomplishment that I feel as we reach the top of the last hill is really quite amazing. Just as I have conquered these hills and continue to do so day after day, I too will conquer other challenges in my life.

My 39th birthday is approaching and I plan to be better at 39 than I have been at 38. I am definitely overweight. Actually, I weigh more right now that I did when I was nine months pregnant with my baby girl who is now 4! I can be better, I must be better and I will be better! My first goal is to lose 10 pounds. I need to lose much more but I am going to tackle this problem 10 pounds at a time. I will celebrate as I achieve each goal and make changes in my life that will help me maintain a healthy weight.

My goal for today is to log everything I put into my mouth and to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I will also have healthy snacks if I am hungry. I can and will do this! =)

Onward & Upward!!!

You know, I've just decided that weekends suck for dieting. I seem to do really well during the week and when Friday night rolls around, I am ready for a "free" meal. Unfortunately, that "free" meal seems to last from Friday at about 7:00 till late Sunday evening. I really need to refocus and figure out how I can be just as motivated on the weekends as I am during the week. I seem to undo all the good I've done and gain back everything that I've lost during the weekend. I suppose that the positive thing is that I am not really gaining weight but I'm definitely not losing either. SOMETHING most be done! I think that I will "plan" for one free meal a week and I honestly think I would do best if that free meal was either mid week or Saturday night. I really think that I could maintain good eating standards on Sundays. It's Saturday that seems to be the hardest for me and after eating crappy food Friday night and then all day Saturday, by the time Sunday rolls around my thoughts are usually "screw it, I'll start fresh on Monday".
So, here is my new goal! The start of my week will be Sunday morning, my "free" meal will be Saturday evening provided that I have stayed on track all week. I think that will help! All I need to do is make eating out off limits until Saturday night.

I've been doing great on the exercise front. I walk just over 2 miles every day and I feel a little less winded than I used to. I am going to start adding a mile over the next two weeks.

Oh...and on a completely different note, I must tell you that I've just started selling Scentsy! If you are interested, let me know.

The Journey Continues!

This is going to be quick because I have to leave the house for swimming lessons in 40 minutes and I haven't showered yet!

This has been a great week! I am down 4 pounds and I couldn't be happier!

I'll update more on my strengths and struggles his week later today.

Journey To A New Me!!!

Hooray! I'm super excited today! After doing some serious reflecting yesterday, I feel rejuvinated and am ready to face this up-hill battle..err I mean journey head on! I had a fantastic eating day yesterday! I ate perfectly and I didn't feel deprived one bit. I even had half a pan of brownies sitting on the counter all day and I didn't even feel tempted to have a taste. I can't even begin to tell you how victorious I feel for having had such a great day! There has to be something to taking this whole thing one day at a time that is empowering.

Here's to another great eating day!

Can I Just Start Over???

I honestly don't get it....how you can be super motivated one day and then totally lacking another?

Towards the end of last week, I didn't care one ounce whether or not I was fat. I tried to make healthy choices, when I made poor choices, I watched portion control and I walked almost every morning. When the weekend finally arrived, all I could think about was pizza and ice cream.

So here I sit, having eaten too much over the weekend, afraid to get on the scale and face the music and running out of fat clothes. This whole battle of the bulge is exactly that....a battle and it's one that has me feeling defeated.

Here is what I am going to do. I am going to take it one day at a time....one little obstacle at a time. On days when I am feeling super motivated, I'll be thankful and run with it. On days when I fall off the wagon and feel like eating the wagon, I will re-evaluate and find positive things to be thankful for, like elastic waisted pants. ;-) Honestly, on days when I feel defeated, I will find something good to focus on and move past the negative.

Here's hoping I have a better week. I have a long way to go on this journey and it's a journey that will continue for the rest of my life. Maybe just looking at it as a journey instead of a battle will help me do better.

Battle of the Bulge - Day 9

I have come to the conclusion that husbands and Burger King are EVIL! I did so well yesterday until dinner. I was prepared to have a lovely organic salad with a toasted low carb tortilla and some grilled chicken but nooooooo! My husband wanted to go to Burger King. It didn't even sound good to me but I went anyway. I decided on an A1 burger and I have to tell you....it soooo wasn't worth it! The A1 burger definitley isn't a whopper. No longer will I eat something full of crap and calories if it isn't absolutely delicious! On a positive note, I didn't get fries or ice cream....just the burger so that is a good thing.

I went on my walk this morning! I walked 2.1 miles at a really good pace! I feel geared up ready for a Burger King free day today!

Now...if anyone out there would like a teenager who knows how to stir the pot and creates all kinds of drama....let me know! I also have a whining 10 year old and an almost 4 year tattle tale looking for a home. Heaven help me! My kids are driving me completely nuts today. Heaven help them too because if truth be told, PMS has reared its ugly head and my patience has vanished.

I'm off to do a little deep breathing in between my pushup workout.

Battle of the Bulge - Day 8

I am so happy to be starting day 8 in my quest to win the battle of the bulge! I still feel very motivated to conquer this little issue of weight once and for all and make a change in my life for the better.

I'm still feeling a little weak from the stomach flu last week so I am going to rest a little today. I'm thinking that a nap this afternoon sounds perfect!

Here is an update on the exercise front. I completed day one of the pushup challenge yesterday. I decided to start fresh seeing as I didn't complete week one last week. I have also decided that I am not going to take the easy way out. I will be doing full pushups, women's pushups. It is soooo hard! I have to confess that I did "real" pushups on day one of last week and then decided that I would switch to women's pushups on the second day of the challenge. I have new motivation and have decided that this is called a challenge because it is supposed to be just that...challenging and I have decided that I am ready for the full challenge. I feel good this morning. I'm not as sore as I was after doing pushups last week which is a great thing!

I enjoyed a nice walk this morning and I went a little further than I normally do. My goal is to eventually work my way up to walking about 4 miles a day. I also decided today that I am NOT going to run. After I'm in better shape, I may change my mind but for now, brisk walking works for me.

I'm off to start day one of the situp challenge! I'm not sure what it entails just yet but I'm hoping it isn't too hard on my body. lol

I'm really, really hoping to be down 2 pounds by Friday. I guess we'll see what we see!

Battle of the Bulge Days - 4 - 7

WOW! I haven't blogged because my whole family has been fighting the flu bug since about 12:30 am Friday. My almost 4 year old got it first and was throwing up 15 to 30 minutes. I was so tired Friday after being awake all night dealing with Megan. I spent the day doing laundry (I had three loads just from Megan's vomit-fest) and napping. By Friday night I was completely worn out and started feeling ill myself so I went to bed early and started my own puke-fest at about 4:30 in the morning Saturday. By Saturday afternoon, my 10 year old and 18 year old had joined in the fun and my husband, Keith, was doing his best to take care of everyone despite the fact that he was starting to feel sick himself.

I am SOOOOOO glad to be back to normal! My stomach still feels just a little upset but that is likely because I have eaten anything except for a handful of soda crackers over the last 48 hours.

Needless to say, the only exercise I have done has involved running loads of laundry down to the laundry room and running back and forth from the bathroom.

I am back on track today! I have a fridge full of grilled chicken that I made last week that I plan on eating for lunch and dinner tonight. I also have some beautiful organic greens for a salad which I am really looking forward to eating.

I'll also be starting over on the push-up challenge with day 1 today. My body just feels so weak so I'll see how it goes. I am also starting the situp challenge tomorrow and I will be walking 6 days this week.

I am anxiously waiting for a new book to arrive called the Ultimate New York Diet. I'm excited about the program! It sounds very realistic. I heard the creator of the program talk about it while listening to the Dr. Oz radio show and it sounds both promising and doable. We'll see! If anything, it will be another tool for me to use in creating a program tailored specifically for me.

Alright....I have a goal for today besides making healthy food choices and getting in my walking and pushups. I am going to try to add a weight loss tracker to my blog. I'll see if I can figure out how to do that kinda thing. I think it will help with my motivation.

Battle of the Bulge - Day 3

I'm still feeling pretty motivated today which is a good thing. We are having a big family BBQ tonight which might be a little challenging but I am giving myself permission to eat moderately and enjoy the food I eat.

I am not walking today. I have so much to do to get ready for tonight that I've decided that this will be my 1 day free from walking for the week. I will however do the 100 pushup challenge today and I am NOT looking forward to it! You are suppose to do it every other day. Tuesday I did my trial and made it to 10 pushups. I then did the daily workout which amounted to the following set: 6, 6, 4, 4, 5. I can't even begin to tell you how badly my body hurt yesterday! lol That tells you just how out of shape I am. I am still hurting but will be doing my set of pushups this morning.

That's it for now! I must run and get moving on all of the errands I need to run today. Hopefully I burn some calories!

Battle of the Bulge - Day 2

Yesterday was just okay as far as better eating goes. We had graduation for our 18 year old to go to and at 3:00 pm, we discovered we needed to leave our house an hour earlier than we had originally planned. That threw off our scheduled and at 4:00 pm, when I was still trying to get kids ready and hadn't made a thing for dinner, I ordered pizza. I wasn't horrible....I didn't eat a whole pizza our anything like that but I did eat things that I wasn't really craving and didn't really need just because I was horribly short on time and it was easier to eat pizza than prepare a salad. Here is what I learned yesterday: it would be helpful to have ready made or super easy to throw together food options in my refrigerator. I am grilling up a bunch of chicken later today and chopping it up so that I can use it in wraps and salads. I also need to do a little bit of shopping. I am craving asparagus and salad of all things.

Here is my goals for today. I will grill up my chicken and go through the fridge so that I can make a shopping list. I will have my husband lock the fridge tonight. I know, it sounds crazy but I have a horrible habit of eating in the middle of the night. Not because I am hungry, not because I feel deprived, just because it is a horrible habit that I have established throughout the yars. If I can rid myself of that habit, I know that I will sleep better throughout the night and will wake up feeling more refreshed and without a stomach ache.

On the exercise front, I completed day 1 of the pushup challenge yesterday and am feleing it today! I get a rest from pushups today but will start day 1 of the situp challenge. I got up and went walking this morning too which is awesome because I am so tired right now that I am barely functioning. =)

That's it for today. I'm looking forward to a healthy day with some light eating. I will listen to my body and eat what it needs.

Battle of the Bulge - Day 1

As I was shaving my legs last night, I discovered that I have a rather large dimple on the back of my knee. I came to the harsh realization that I indeed have fat legs which is a huge indicator that something's gotta give! I feel blessed that I have a very proportinate body. I'm not apple shaped or pear shaped. Everything is pretty well in proportion to everything else. My fat legs are a big indicator that there are other very fat areas on my body and I am about to do what I need to do in order to make changes in my life.

I plan on blogging on a daily basis as a way to track how I am doing and what I am feeling. Today is day 1 so there is reason to celebrate!

Here are my goals:

MOVE - I plan on moving more on a daily basis. I have no intentions of becoming a marathon runner or super star athlete. I will simply move more in ways that are enjoyable to me. I got up this morning and went for a brisk walk and I plan on walking later today with a friend. Walking this morning was a great way to start my day!

INCREASE STRENGTH - I am going to complete the 100 pushup challenge and the 200 situp challenge. This won't take more than a few minutes of day of training and it will help me increase my strength and build muscle.

EAT BETTER - I will still eat foods that I enjoy but my goal is to watch portion sizes and strive to make healthy food choices 90% of the time. There are so many healthy foods that I love eating! When faced with the challnge of a craving, I will first eat something good for me. If the craving is still there, then I will allow myself to satisfy the craving using moderation.

I am feeling super pumped and motivated today. These are easy things that I can do for myself that will help me inside and out. Striving to be healthier is a lifelong journey and I believe that I have just stumbled upon a path that will lead me to better health.

Is Exercise Really The Answer???

If you read my post entitled "The Belly Fat Cure", you already know that my husband and I have started following a new diet plan by Jorge Cruise. We finished up three weeks and are now into our fourth week. The most amazing thing is that neither have us have cheated once! Not even over Valentine's day when we had oodles of chocolate in the house! That is some kind of record for us! I even make crepes for the kids for dinner last night and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on them and I didn't even lick my fingers! I'm really quite impressed with our stamina and will power on this plan.

Despite a fantastic will to succeed and power to overcome things that we shouldn't eat, our weight loss has slowed down significantly. Keith has now lost a total of 18 pounds and I am at 11 and I find myself looking for ways to help speed up metabolism and for some reason, the word "exercise" keeps coming to mind. Gosh, just looking at the word makes me cringe and causes my muscles to ache. Is exercise really the answer? Isn't there some kind of magic pill I can take that would do the same thing without causing excessive sweating, heart palpitations and heavy breathing? Unfortunately, the more I think about it, the more I realize that there really isn't a better way to optimize our weight loss efforts and ultimately acheive better health then getting off of our butts, putting Jillian Michaels Shred DVD in and entering the depths of hell as we try to follow along.

I know what is coming and I can't believe that I'm about to embark on the journey of exercise once again. Will it be tough? YES! Will it be painful? YES! Will it be worth it? Gosh darnit, it had better be! =)

Liars & Drama Queens & Whiners Oh My!

My word! How does one survive issues like lying, drama, whining and attitude? We have four children, Morgan (a boy) 18, Madeline (estrogen) 14, Amanda (estrogen) 10, and Megan (estrogen) 3. Each has their very own little set of issues and struggles. Being a girl myself...I never ever thought that I would be pro boy but I have to tell you....after my many years of experience and as estrogen continues to flow through our home, I find myself wishing we had just a little more testosterone!

Today, after a morning that consisted of lying, major attitude, a bunch of "gosh...this is the worst family ever" outbursts and a melt down because someone had to do a "chore" of all things....I am ready to find a new family. My tubes have literally tied themselves in triple knots this morning.

I will continuously repeat this mantra in my mind this morning as I try to unclench my grinding teeth: "I love my children, I love my children....REALLY, I love my children!"

To all of you who have a house full of estrogen.....my prayers are with you! =)

The Best Thing Ever!

There is this awesome site called Swag Bucks where you earn points simply for searching the web through their search engine. How amazing is that? Actually, the truly amazing part is that you can then cash these points in for great prizes like Amazon Gift Cards. I actually know people who have earned so many points throughout the year that they literally paid for Christmas using the Amazon Gift Cards they received by cashing in the Swag Bucks. I joined about 3 weeks ago and I already have enough points to purchase two $5.00 Amazon Gift Cards. Very, very cool! It's completely free and totally awesome! Join today by clicking the Swag Bucks Banner below.

Make Money For Shopping Online!

I'm not usually into internet deals that sound too good to be true but I have to tell you about a discovery I've made! There is a great site called Big Crumbs that pays you for shopping online. It sounds too good to be true but it is 100% for real and it's completely free to join! When you make a purchase, simply log into Big Crumbs first and then choose the store you are going to shop from using their links. You earn a percentage based on the total amount of your order before taxes and shipping. Depending on how much I shop, I earn an average of about $15.00 a month just for using their site to navigate to my favorite stores like The Children's Place, Aeropostale, Gap, Crocs, Old Navy, etc. My highest payout amount so far has been $39.11 in one month. There are no strings attached! All you have to do is remember to log into Big Crumbs and choose your store of choice from their links. It's as easy as that! If you are interested in joining, simply click the link below. It is totally amazing!

The Belly Fat Cure

So...my husband and I don't exactly look as fantastic as we do in the picture that adornes this blog. There's really no kind way to say this....we are fat. Marriage and take out cuisine have been a little too good to us and it shows! I have come to the harsh realization that it's not my clothes making me look fat...it's simply the fat making me look fat. We've tried many different diets which eventually wound up leading us to a corner, curled up in fetal position with a pint of Ben & Jerry's.

Nothing has made a permanent dent in the extra inches of fat that surround our waistlines until now! I found a miracle diet book called The Belly Fat Cure. It is AMAZING! We've had pita pizzas, bacon, sausauge, breakfast burritos, Tacos, delicious grilled chicken salad with cheese and full fat dressing and we've lost weight! We started this program on February 1st and both weighed in this morning. In 9 days I have lost a total of 10 pounds and Keith has lost 15 pounds!!! I honestly feel like doing a little happy dance!

Apparently….Teenagers Know Everything

I am 38 years old and the mother of four…two of whom happen to be teenagers. I honestly thought that I was quite clever. I realize I’m not a brilliant Einstein but I do have a good idea now and then and I must say that I would do quite well if I were ever a contestant on the television show Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader.

Well, despite all of these fantastic facts, I had forgotten something very important! I had forgotten that age, experience, and intelligence do not hold a candle to the so called knowledge of teenagers. They know it all and have figured out the conspiracy plan that all parents have…the conspiracy plan to ruin their lives.

Now, if you just so happen to be a parent to one of these brilliant, all knowing teenagers, you might ask yourself…”is there anything I can do to appear a little wiser to my children?” The answer is a resounding NO. Don’t even try to fight it. Honestly, the harder you fight it, the brighter they become.

If you happen to be in a daze, shaking your head, wondering how to deal with these all knowing creatures, I offer a few words of advice….not wisdom because apparently, now that I have teenagers, all of my wisdom has left my body….but rather advice. Learn to smile and nod in agreement. My favorite saying is this; “yes, I know….or rather don’t know…I know nothing but I’m okay with that and you are still grounded.” The ability to take away fun privileges from all-knowing teenagers really has helped me deal with the fact I know nothing.