Time for a Change!

Well, its been a while! About 2 months since I last posted. But here I am. I have been feeling very sluggish lately. I have noticed my kids having some acne on their faces. I have noticed my son going crazy after sugar. I have noticed my children asking for sweets all the time and me craving them myself.

So I started analyzing my diet. And their diets and realizing that we are full of processed foods, sugar and salt laden with very little nutritional value. That we lack the fresh fruits and veggies we shoudl be eating. Also that we are eating way too much hydrogenated oils, potatoes, white flour, and all around filler crap that isnt doing us any good.

A year ago I came to the same conclusion that we had too much of this stuff in our diets, but I wasnt able to keep up with it, since we moved twice and have had a lot of upheaval in our lives. But i feel once again that we need to get back to basics and a simpler more wholesome way of eating.

So I found this book that I think is absolutely fantastic!

It has everything in it that I have been looking for. I have found breakfast, snacks and lunch are our big problems. Dinner is pretty easy for me. So what I did is I told the girls to look through the book and see what they wanted to make for one breakfast, one lunch and one snack for the week and they could each take turns making thier special items this week. They loved the idea!

I also found this book:

Which I am going to use for cirriculum for the girls for this next year to teach them about nutrition. There is a workbook that goes along with it.

I have decided that the only way I am going to be able to change the way that I eat and eat less and better, is if i get everyone involoved. It is just too hard to make a meal for me and a meal for them. So it is time for a change! For all of us!

It's been 5 weeks!

Ok, so it has been 5 weeks and I have been working out for 35-40 minutes 3 to 4 times a week now. I feel great, better than I have in a really long time. I have more energy and I am happier with who I am.

Now I haven't seen a huge difference in my weight yet but I have seen a difference in how I feel about me! I have only lost 5 lbs in the last 2 months. But I am happy with the healthy changes I am making in my life. I am eating less, eating better and working out. I am sleeping better too and getting up earlier. So all of that is positive!

I am tryign very hard to wean my son, who is now 19 months, but he still wants Mama first thing in the morning and at night before bed and at nap time. At least he is finally sleeping through the night which is the worlds biggest blessing!

Well, that is about all the inspriation I have right now. I feel great, now I just need a haircut! I am Rapunzel over here! LOL! Maybe that shoudl be my treat for doing so well in the weight loss department!

I still ahve at least 15lbs. to go, so wish me luck!

Keeping My Eye on the Prize!

Well, apparently what I am doing is beginning to work! I ate within my points and exercised on the eliptical 4 times this last week and I lost 1 lb! I know, it doesnt seem like much but for someone like me who has been stuck in a holding pattern for 3 weeks it is a miracle! I also feel like I have burst through a physical and psychological barrier this last week. I am lower in weight than I have been in over 2 years. Which gives me the mental boost that I need to keep going. It is strange how 1 little pound can give you the mental empowerment you need to be able to keep moving.

It makes me want to try harder and work harder so that I can lose more. It also gives me that, light at the end of the tunnel feeling. Where I feel like there is a light, and it is my goal weight, and now I can see it. It might be Really Really far away, but it is there! And I can see it! That is a great feeling! I haven't had that in a long time! And I also find that I am looking at myself differently too. I am seeing myself thinner and I can envision myself running and being fit and feeling good about myself. And they say that that is what you need to do. You have to picture yourself the way that you want to be and that helps you to reach your goal.

So that is what I need to do. Just keep my eye on the prize and keep focused on my goal!

Gettin Back on Track.

So after I got on the scale yesterday and saw that I hadn't lsot any weight for the second week in a row I was bummed. But I went on a few support groups I belong to and got some support, some tips and some kicks in the rear, and I am back in the game!

I am finding that my pity parties aren't lasting as long as they used to and where they used to get me down and eating eating eating, they aren't anymore. I am hoping that that means the way I see food and myself is finally changing. Also that I am really beginning to see this as a way of life and not something that is open to negotiation. So eating more and not exercising, is not an option.

So even though I haven't seen a lose in 3 weeks, that is a good thing. That this is my new way of life and I think that in and of itself is a HUGE milestone in my life. I know that I didn't put the weight on in 1 day and that it is going to take time to get it off. I am an instant gratification kind of gal though and when I start something I like to see some results pretty quickly. So I need to get used to this thing taking time.

Keep movin!

Why is getting back in the saddle so hard?

Ok! So! Yesterday I was out of town all day. I ate terribly! And by the time I got home at 7:00 p.m. from my 12 hour journey I didnt feel like doing anything! Especially exercising! So I didn't! And now today I feel totally out of it! I feel like I did 3 weeks ago when I started exercising and eating right after a holiday hiatis! What the heck?
1 day off and I feel like I am all the way back at the begining again. The difference is that when I started up again a few weeks ago, I was really pumped and wanted to do this. I was ready to change, ready to journal everything, ready to exercise daily. And now I don't want to. I feel burnt out and tired.
Sigh... Why is it that 1 day can make such a difference in the way that I am trying to change my life. And I am trying to change my life. This isnt just a simple thing I am trying to do temorarily to lose some weight. I am trying to change who I am! The way I eat, and see food and the way that I treat my body.
Well, I guess this is a good learning lesson for me. That if I let my guard down for even a day, my old ways can come creeping back in and tempt me and look so good. You know, like the dozen doughnuts i bought yesterday because they smelled so good. I should have known that I would never be able to stop at just one. Well that is something new that I know now. I cannot resist a good box of fresh made doughnuts. So next time, instead of getting a dozen and insisting that I will only eat one and the rest are for my kids. I will only get enough for everyone to have one and that is all.
Well, here is to hoping that I didn't blow this whole week in 1 days worth of induglence and sloth!

I tried, But the Scale won!

Hey ladies! Well... after all that hard work this week, I lost a total of...NADA! Nothin! Sigh... It is depressing to see that, but I don't feel too bad becuase I know I did my best and I worked out 4 times and ate my points. So, I feel really proud of myself despite the fact that i didn't lose anything.
I think part of the problem might be that I am nursing, sort of. My son only nurses a tiny bit anymore. It isn't like I am nursing a lot, but I kept my nursing points. It is time to wean him anyway, so I am going to switch to my no nursing daily point value and see if that make a difference.
Ok, well I am off to do my eliptical for 10 mintues this morning. And then again for 25 tonight. But I want to start getting used to doing it a little in the morning. My goal this week is for 10 minutes in the morning and 25 at night for 4 days.
I heard this great quote this week:
" You can't control where the scales go, you can only control your actions!!"
I thought that was great! As long as you are trying to make yourself better and you feel better. Forget the scale for the week!
Take care!

I ate and ate and ate and ate TOOOOOO Much!

Ok, so yesterday I was STARVING all day long! I was hungry every 30 minutes and I couldn't figure out why! So at dinner, what did I do? I over ate of course! Spaghetti and meatballs, with WAAAYYYYYY too many meatballs! I at all the rest of my daily, wekly and activity points all in one sitting :( YUCK! I sure didn't feel hungry anymore though! That is for sure!
Then I got on the boards and figured out that I had eaten little to no protein yesterday! Yeah, that would cause me to be hungry!
I did exercise twice yesterday! WOOHOO! So that made me happy!
I guess I just need to watch it these next couple of days and exercise again tonight and then Hopefully, I will have a loss on Monday for weight in.
Pray for me!

I can do it if I set my mind to it! The question is, Will I?

Ok, so I want to be a runner. My whole life I have hated to run. HATED! That fire in my lungs? I hate it. I have never been one for speed. I can walk forever, but speed isn't my thing. I was never athletic or coordinated as a child. And P.E. was my less than least favorite hour of school.
Having said all that, I have always envied those who get out there and run. They look great, they have great energy and personality and seem to have thier lives in control.
So I have decided to do the Couch to 5k challenge in 9 weeks. Right now we live in a very nice gated community with security, so if I am ever going to start, this would be the place. It is beautiful here and I love going for walks.
However, everytime I think about getting out there and doing it, I find an excuse not to and say, oh I'll start next week, and then I get on the eliptical instead.
About a week ago when I decided to start, I couldn't because I needed shoes. Then I realized I can't afford the prices they are wanting for new running shoes, so I will use the ones I have, and start. I am a little worried since the shoes aren't the greatest and I am worried that I will end up with an injury, but I will have to see.
I feel great for having started to workout again on a regular basis. But I really need to just commit to doing it and get out there and try. You never know what you can do if you don't try right?

I won't give in! I have the willpower to succeed!

So yesterday was a bad day! A really bad day! One of those days that is so bad that all of a sudden everything else that you are going through suddenly seems to pile on top of the bad day stuff and crush you. It feels like everything is ten times worse than it actually all is and that you are going to die from the weight of it all.
That was my day yesterday. And days like that are usually followed by lots of treats and eating and more eating and more eating, did I mention eating?
Yes! I am sure you ahev guessed it by now, I am an emotional eater! Especially a stress eater. I feel like it is the only thing that i can control so, I eat.
And yesterday, while feeling like a totaly failure in life and as a mom and like I wanted to crawl into my bed and die, I thought, well, you might as well crawl into that bed with a box of cookies.
And for the first time EVER, I did something different. I came on this site. I sat down and went onto one fo the boards I am now frequenting and I typed out all of my feelings. And when I was done, I felt so tired, but emotionally fulfilled as well. And I no longer had a desire to eat anything. So, I didn't! I went to bed instead and got a good nights rest. And when I woke up this morning, It was so amazing! I felt no guilt over what I had done, I didn't get down on myself of beat myself up over it. I just had a normal morning! It was so nice!
I am so glad that I have finally decided to do this and to lose the weight and to commit to it. I hope this will change my life forever, not jsut in losing the weight but also the way I live my life!

I've got Fititude!

Got on the scale today and I lost 2 lbs. That is huge for me since I haven't lost in a while. Of course I havent really tried in a while, or stuck with it, but this last week I did! And I exercised last week too! I feel great. I am so excited! I already exercised for 30 minutes today and my goal is to do it 2 more times this week. I am so stoked. Stoked! ROFL! How old is that word?
Anyway, I feel great and I am so proud of myself and I know that I have it in me to now meet my goal of starting running 3 times a week and getting off the next 25 lbs :)

Do or Do Not.. There is no Try!

That was a quote given to me today, by Yoda. And I love it! For years I have been complaining about my weight, my healthy, my eating habits and not being in control. But today is a new day! And today when I heard that quote it hit me. That there is no trying to workout, trying to eat healthy, trying to eat less, there is only doing and not doing. I either do it or i don't do it.
It is my choice and everyday I make choices to not do it, for one reason or another. But now I will begin to choose to do it.
Today is my first day! And I feel great!
Do or Do not... There is no try!