I'm a slacker

I was doing so good keeping up with this blog and now i feel like a huge slacker!! Oh well, I'll just have to pick up where i left off...

Total Weight Loss

I have lost 25lbs so far, which i am super proud of, but i thought i would be about 30-35 down by this point. You'd think i'd have learned my lesson about "life" getting in the way sometimes. That 2 week bout of the stomach flu really put a damper on things. Although i guess i definitely did not GAIN weight during that time!! Luckily, I maintained my 20 lb weight loss and lost about another 5lbs additionally. Great rewards!! I love shopping for clothes again and most of my former wardrobe, although just a pathetic selection of clothes, fits me again. So, YAY for that!

Working out; a distant memory...

I never did get back on the workout train after Josh lost his job and stress levels hit an all time high. And i can really notice the difference. I have gone for a few walks outside when the weather is sporadically "nice", and I am totally sore the next day. That is just sad! I REALLY want to get into running and pilates again. I love the way pilates defines and elongates my muscles without bulking them up. My body is just so different now that i have had 3 kids, even after losing all this weight, things just sort of sag ;) I think some moderate cardio and yoga/pilates is what i need right now.

Eating Habits

I am proud to say that ever since i did the 3 day clean eating detox, I really have established better eating habits as well as cutting out some of my worst ones. First off, I am not a sweets slut anymore! Long gone are the days of getting ice cream from McDonalds or the store. No more nibbling on the candy dish array at my mom's house. And I rarely crave sweets these days. Such a welcome change from my former habits, especially when i was pregnant and gulping down big Icee's and pints of ice cream on a daily basis (oops!!). No more cookie binges, or any binges for that matter. It's not like I have been perfect, trust me, i have had a few or more "off" days. But I am doing MUCH better than in the recent past.

Just by cutting down my portion size, I have really learned to give my body what it needs, not what it wants. Normally, if i was starving hungry, I'd sit down to a meal with sides and everything. I have found that doesn't work for me. It just makes me feel tired and full. I love to eat light dinners; fish or chicken with steamed veggies, salads, etc... One of my biggest "give-ups" was POTATOES!! I love them every way; mashed, fried, steamed...I have had little portions of potatoes here and there; but now it's all about balance. One negative of this is the effect it has on my kids diets. My mom will forever scold me for not serving up 3 square meals a day! I just HATE eating that way. I'm a grazer by nature and i think people, in general, ought to graze throughout the day. Think of fueling a fire; you need to slowly feed it to keep it going consistently. If you throw a big log on, the fire will have trouble burning that up! Just like our bodies have trouble burning off a 3 course meal! Anyways, back to the kids eating habits, i do believe that it is important for kids to eat "square meals" in a sense because they need to be exposed to a variety of foods. I WISH my kids would eat fish and veggies, but it ain't gonna happen at this point, so i (or WE) usually end up making our own meal and then cooking separately for the kids. One of my goals is to get the kids on the same track we are on. However, I am glad that we are good examples to them in regards to what we are eating.

Keeping the motivation

I think frequently weighing myself really helps me stay on track. If the scale starts to creep up a few pounds, it makes me reflect on what i've been eating. I don't like to go on how my clothes fit, because let's face it, clothes stretch! I have proof of that! I think numbers are sort of important. I really want to get down to my goal weight, not only for the way i look and fell but also to get my body fat percentage down to where it should be for my age and height.

Going shopping keeps me motivated as well. I love to reap the benefits of losing weight by trying on all of the cute clothes i haven't been able to wear for the last few years.

This is a weird motivation, but just knowing i'm done having kids?? I guess it's sort of a cop out because a person should be fit when they have kids also, but i was not a good pregnant person! I feel like it's my time to get my body and health back.

I hope i can find some new reasons to stay motivated, although just personal satisfaction is really all i need to keep me going. Maybe i will find something i really love to do in a workout. I am considering doing another 3 day clean eating detox to jump start myself again! AND keeping up with the blog again!!

weight loss weeks 7&8/recapping

Over the past 2 weeks, I finally hit my first 2o pound weight loss goal! It feels great to be able to wear many of my old clothes that haven't fit me in the last couple of years. Even my shoes are bigger?? Weird. And this week, I am finally back on track with working out, last night i even did some sprints at the end of my 30 minute jog. I have started doing some ab work too, which is essential since anyone who has had a baby (or 3!) knows about stretched out belly skin, ew. It's amazing what a little weight loss can do for a person. I am so much more confident now. But as I am reflecting on the past 2 months of this journey, i have come to realize this is about WAY more than weight loss.
I have really come to terms with my emotional connection with food. And I think I really broke my need to heal wounds with food, which is huge for me. It wasn't just using food as a way to numb my boredom and stress, I realize I also used food as a reward. But in taking the time to think about why i was doing this, I came to the conclusion that food is not the answer to my problems. It's just a band-aid like any other addiction. I began to think of it terms of an addiction to drugs or alcohol. What if I were to pick up a drink every time I was happy, sad, or stressed about something? I do not want to live that way. I know I am not free of this bad habit, but I am definitely rising above it. Using any substance, even food, as a way to numb emotion is just a way of avoiding what is going on in your life, and I need to be better than that. For me and my family. I want to be able to teach my kids how to do directly with their problems and emotions; not mask it over with a temporary fix.
I think my biggest break though of this realization came to me just a couple of weeks ago when we were going through a very difficult transition of Josh losing his job. This would be my biggest test because I had to deal with one of my biggest fears. And I did fall off the wagon, I did cheat, and I completely stopped working out. That's was I used to do. When things get stressful, I seize up. But one day when I was struggling with eating to ease my stress, Josh just looked me clear in the eye and said, remember, food is not the answer. It was just so obvious at that moment, and to hear it from him, is to hear it from someone who fully understands food addiction and has overcome it. So we just talked through it everyday, that we will be ok, this is all for the better (not being stuck in a dead end job), and we can use this as a chance to jump on things that we really have been wanting to do for a long time.
The reality is, every person has to find a way to deal with what is in front of them in life. Whether it be losing a job, losing a relationship, unhappiness with something in your life, etc... I think just being open with my husband and family is what helped me get "it". Just being honest with what is going on and how i really am feeling about it instead of bottling it up and putting on a happy face. And I feel that I (we) are in a better place because of that. So this is not really about food. It's no wonder we get caught up in food addiction as it is so in-our-face and easy to access. It's not as bad as saying you went and drank or took drugs to deal with your problems, so it is a "safe" alternative in people's minds. Writing this blog has helped tremendously because it forces me to be honest with myself and with others.
But it doesn't stop here for me. have more weight i want to lose and more fitness goals i want to achieve. I think we are really out-of-touch with our ideal body weight in this country. Just watching the show, Heavy, on A&E really points this out. People are sent to the grocery store with a dietician to re-learn how to shop. It's almost laughable to see what people think a portion size is, or what a healthy food is. It's sad, really, to see how bad the obesity problem is in our country, because it's not just about food. It's a reflection of our mental state and it isn't good. Shedding weight for me is also shedding layers of many other things as well. I feel more free than i have in a long time and i really hope to continue doing well.

weight loss week 6

We got a real curve ball thrown at us last week; a MAJOR life change. And no i am NOT pregnant!! :) In spite of this and some slip-ups here and there, I still lost 2 lbs! I am so excited that I am on my way to 20lbs. However, workouts were non-existent. I know it probably would have helped reduce my stress level but i just didn't have it in me last week, not with all that is going on. I am just happy that I am keeping up by slowly losing and at least i didn't gain any, which could have easily happened considering the circumstances. I am still really struggling with figuring out that food does not fix things. Although I am obviously doing better by the results I am seeing, I still seem to immediately want to turn to food when things go awry...and this last week was definitely proof of that. Of course, it's hard to find any suitable way to deal with stress when you have 3 small kids to take care of. I normally have a hard time getting in my workout time, and then when life hands you a heap of crap to deal with...well things just get even more complicated. Let's just say, working out wasn't even on the back burner last week, i think it got pushed off the stove and fell onto the floor. I am not giving up on working out, but now I really need to start over and just even take a walk a few days this week. My mom always told me that life is 1 step forward and 2 steps back. She is one wise woman.

weight loss week 5

I went down another 2 lbs this week which puts me almost at 15lbs!! I am enjoying many of my old clothes fitting me again. Really, I can't wait until i can go on a little shopping spree, maybe when i hit the 25lbs mark. Then I will need new clothes for sure. I have actually been wearing a pair of Josh's jeans since mine are too saggy. I really like men's jeans, at least this pair. They are slim fit and really squeeze my hips in!!

I have to admit I have been straying a little from my diet. I don't think it's a big deal, per se, but if i want to keep losing weight at a good rate, i have to get back on track. Plus, i just feel a whole lot better when i eat well all day and every day. I haven't done anything extreme by any means, the worst was probably Super Bowl Sunday when i had a few snacks (but skipped the dinner). So at least I didn't go completely overboard or anything. But now with the holidays and football season out of the way and with spring looming just around the corner, I am ready to step it up a notch.

Working out has been a real challenge lately. Yesterday, I had an eye doctor appointment after Josh got home from work and it just totally threw off our whole schedule! We usually eat dinner really early, then workout, take showers, clean up the house, play with the kids, help ethan with homework, do baths/showers with the kids as necessary, bedtime snack and playtime/downtime and then put them to bed. We did not get to eat early as we like to, since i had my appointment, plus i had to stop at the store after my appointment which already took long enough. By the time we ate, cleaned up the mess, helped e with homework and got the kids settled i was way too tired and it was too late for me to work out. And starting tomorrow, Josh has a Wednesday evening class at UW-Waukesha from 6pm-9pm, so Wednesdays are totally out for workouts all together! This spring and summer are already gearing up to be VERY busy with all the kids birthday within a month of each other, our Florida trip, Josh's class, lots of annual appointments with dentists/doctors, Ethan's baseball, 2 weddings, showers (baby and wedding) WHEW! Adjustments will definitely need to be made to accomodate our workouts. Well, at least we can look forward to getting outside and running or just playing out with the kids for exercise Hurry up spring!!!!

We are really bored with our dinners still. We have run out of steam on the chicken and vegetable curry dishes and we NEED to find some new recipes and flavors. I really believe keeping healthy eating interesting and fun is super important to the success of eating well. I have been looking in some food magazines but i just don't see anything that looks good and healthy. I have found some interesting soup recipes and Josh really wants to try an Italian wedding soup so maybe we'll go that route for awhile! Another reason i can't wait for spring...so we can start using the grill again!! Need change NOW! :)

Weight Loss Week 4

In the mess of last week of me being sick AGAIN with a nasty respiratory virus and the kids getting over their ear infections i somehow managed to lose 2 lbs! Yay! Eating was fine, not as strict as I was the first 2 or 3 weeks but workouts sucked since a person can't run much when her lungs are on fire.

I have been getting back to running this week and then dealing with hacking up a lung afterwards :) Not much to report for week 4. Except we did make the "tilapia" tacos minus the tilapia. Since we had so many chicken breasts we substituted that for the fish. But it wasn't as good as i thought it would be. In fact, I don't think i would even make it again. The avocado was over ripe and it didn't go well with the black beans. It was like too much mushy stuff or something.

Hopefully I will get back on track with working out this week, as I did have two pretty good runs already.

Catching Up

I had another bummer week as far as workouts are concerned. I came down with some weird cough thing a couple of days ago and had the achy fatigue thing going on again! So last night i forced myself to just walk moderately on the treadmill for about 25 minutes and do some stretching. So much for kicking up the workout this week, that just did not happen. Oh well, i guess i have to make exceptions when they are necessary. I think i have a mild cold and i am feeling much better today. Also, my energy seems to be coming back so tonight's workout should at least be a jog/run.

Recipe Success

Well, we were in a pretty boring rut as far as lunches and dinners are concerned, and then i scored a Sendik's magazine from my mom's house today that has some really wonderful recipes in it. Tilapia Tacos with black beans and avocado and Turkey Lettuce wraps with peanut sauce and chili garlic sauce are just the tip of the iceberg! I also scanned over some great asparagus recipes, which i have been wanting to get into lately. I love asparagus, but it has to be cooked to perfection or it can be really nasty. I am really looking forward to trying these new recipes and I will post the results.

3 Foods You Must Learn to Love

Egg Whites

One of my main staples are egg whites. I love them cooked and topped with a spicy salsa. I eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I know some people gag at the thought of eating an egg white, but they are low calorie, high protein and a true "super food". Light, yet filling at the same time. And topped with anything you want, they make the perfect meal.

Mushrooms

There are so many wonderful varieties of mushrooms out there, from regular old white mushrooms, to portobellas and they are another one of my top foods. They are chocked full of vitamins and water so you feel full yet they are so light you don't ever feel stuffed or tired. Many people use them as a substitute for meat. I can't wait to get the grill fired up this spring so we can start grilling them, yum!

Fish

And NOT fried! A great fish is essential for eating healthy. I personally love tilapia fillets. It doesn't taste "fishy", it isn't very expensive and there are so many thing to do with fish. Anything you can do with chicken from salads to tacos!

Keeping the Motivation Going By Watching tv??

I am addicted to watching weight loss shows. Surprisingly, not "The Biggest Loser". There is a show on A&E called "Heavy" that follows 2 morbidly obese people as they are sent to a treatment facility for one month to pair up with nutrition experts, a trainer, doctors etc.. to learn how to workout and eat healthy. It is amazing! But the real inspiration is watching the trainers work with these people. It's rare that you see people who care so much about the happiness of other's. And the trainers not only help the client's workout, but also act as therapists, mentors, and friends. It gets me close to tears every time. Definitely worth watching, I guarantee you'll feel motivated after seeing this show.

Weight Loss Week 3

This week's weight loss total...1 lb! :( I blame it on the pms, haha! Somewhat disappointing after losing so much in the first 2 weeks but i know it has to even out at some point. Oh well, at least i didn't gain or maintain, i still lost a pound.

Running was awesome last night, my stamina is WAY up. I ran hard and it felt good. The dizziness told me it was time to stop running, lol! Maybe i pushed it a little too hard. But i still didn't do anything to really push it to the next level. Maybe i will try to do the OnDemand stuff this week since i obviously couldn't do it last??

It's a winner!
I've been thinking hard on new dinner ideas as we have been in a rut. One of our favorite meals that Josh makes are his cilantro lime chicken tacos; they are awesome. So to make it healthy, he made it into more of a salad. Instead of using a shell, he put shredded lettuce as a base and topped it with the yummy chicken, finely diced onion and tomato and then we added salsa and taco sauce at the end as a "dressing" It was SO good and i highly recommend this one. We took out the calories of the taco shells, sour cream, and shredded cheese. I also had planned a small side of black beans and corn which we forgot to do so maybe we can do that tonight as a main dish.

Week 4 goals
I NEED to add something to my workout this week!
Bring my weight loss up to 2-3 lbs this week.
Start a recipe log of our new healthy recipes. That way i won't get lost trying to think of stuff.