I started this blog a long time ago to share pictures and stories of my girls with my friends and family, but then facebook got going and now I don't have a need to do that anymore. So I have this blog open, but haven't really decided what I wanted to do with it, if anything. I am not very good with words, I'm not all that interesting, and I don't really have anything profound to say. However I am dealing with my weight and so many people today are. Being healthy is important for me not only as a person, but as a mom to 3 little girls who I want to teach proper nutrition too. We are bombarded everyday with the "right" way to eat. Only eat organic, only buy locally grown food, become a vegan, eat low fat, stay away from carbs etc.... But what happens if you are a picky eater? Does that mean you can't still be healthy? What happens if your husband has a very high matabalism and needs to eat high levels of protein at each meal (my case?) What happens if you are packing lunch for 2 kids, and a husband, and following a "diet plan" and you are doing all of that on a budget? Do you use coupons.com to save, or follow e-mealz.com or just wing it? There are a million different plans programs, and books out there to tell us how to eat healthy in the right way.
So I've got all that bouncing around in my head as I try to decide what is best for my family. And it really comes down to the age old, eat less than you burn off. It's a mathmatecial thing, which for those of you who know me know I am horrible at math. ;) But I've learned in my getting healthy journey that it even goes beyond just eating less than I burn off. I can eat a cinnamon roll for breakfast (200 cal), and a candy bar for lunch (200 cal), and a small fast food burger for dinner (500 cal), and have rice cakes for a snack (130) and drink no calorie drinks throught out the day, and I've only reached 1030 calories for the day. I can burn that off by getting 30 minutes of exercise in and just moving throughout my day from point A to point B. But the problem with that is that I would be hungry or think I was hungry all day long. I would crave more sweets, and I would feel sluggish, and grouchy. Because even though I ate less than I burned off, I didn't eat well. And there is the key for me. It is simply a math thing, but it's also about feeding my body what it needs. The problem for me is that I AM a picky eater. I am not one of those people who has a wide variety of fruits and veggies that I just love. I try to like them, but I just don't. So somehow I have to figure out how to make what healthy food that I DO like to eat, work well for my body.
So my current goal right now is to lose about 15 more pounds, and maybe even more than that depending on how I am feeling. While running 20+ plus miles a week. I have a half marathon in about 3.5 weeks. After that I will drop my running down to at LEAST 10 miles a week, and add in some other kinds of exercise to keep it interesting, and to get me through the hot summer.
So this is what I am going to blog about. The ups and downs of my weight loss and eating healthy journey. Some days I may come on here and write about what I have learned and some days I may get on here and complain and feel sorry for myself. Because that's all part of the journey. There are good days, there are bad days, and everything in between. Read it if you want to, or don't if you don't want to. :) This is about me, and what I need to do to help me. If I can help someone along the way, great, if not than at least I have helped myself.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Friday, November 19, 2010
The ups and the downs
Since I am sharing some of my weight loss journey with you I thought I should share the not so great news right along with the great news. With Halloween, my daughters 8th birthday, soon Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. I need a new plan. In the past few weeks I have put on about 5lbs. That's not earth shattering or anything but for someone who has always struggled with my weight it is a red flag. It's just a reminder to me that I can't let my guard down. But at the same time I can't start into this Christmas season knowing that I will not eat any of those special once a year treats. So I thought I would share my plan to make it through the holidays.
For me the low carb thing seems to work the best. I have been unsucessful at other plans before. But the true of the matter is that I am addicted to carbs. They are my biggest weakness. So I found on things like Weight Watchers I would just eat all my points in "junk" because that's what I really wanted. But with low carb I really had to just say no to everything white/yellow and that did the trick for me. Now that I am done (for now) with the losing part I can add those back in on a small scale, but still avoid them when I can (ie don't keep them in the house). So my plan is that when I am home and cooking for myself and my family I will stick with a high protein, low carb (meaning only fruits and veggies, no breads, beans, or pasta....no matter what color it is) foods. Then at a holiday function or dinner I will allow myself protein as far as the food goes, and I will induldge in a treat. Notice I said a treat and not "all treats". With my running (I am aiming for at least 10 miles a week, with 1 long run a month). I should be able to keep things under control. That's going to be hard. That means when I bake something for the girls, I will remove it from my house ASAP. I won't make my treats days before I take is somewhere or I will want to eat it. I won't keep plates of it around the house. I will cook right before each holiday. If I am giving it as a gift I will make it the day before (or day of), giving it to that person.
So that's the plan. I don't want to come through this time of year with an extra 10lbs. I already want to lose another 10-15lbs once the holidays are over, if I add to that it will just be that much worse. So here is to a happy healthy Christmas season!
For me the low carb thing seems to work the best. I have been unsucessful at other plans before. But the true of the matter is that I am addicted to carbs. They are my biggest weakness. So I found on things like Weight Watchers I would just eat all my points in "junk" because that's what I really wanted. But with low carb I really had to just say no to everything white/yellow and that did the trick for me. Now that I am done (for now) with the losing part I can add those back in on a small scale, but still avoid them when I can (ie don't keep them in the house). So my plan is that when I am home and cooking for myself and my family I will stick with a high protein, low carb (meaning only fruits and veggies, no breads, beans, or pasta....no matter what color it is) foods. Then at a holiday function or dinner I will allow myself protein as far as the food goes, and I will induldge in a treat. Notice I said a treat and not "all treats". With my running (I am aiming for at least 10 miles a week, with 1 long run a month). I should be able to keep things under control. That's going to be hard. That means when I bake something for the girls, I will remove it from my house ASAP. I won't make my treats days before I take is somewhere or I will want to eat it. I won't keep plates of it around the house. I will cook right before each holiday. If I am giving it as a gift I will make it the day before (or day of), giving it to that person.
So that's the plan. I don't want to come through this time of year with an extra 10lbs. I already want to lose another 10-15lbs once the holidays are over, if I add to that it will just be that much worse. So here is to a happy healthy Christmas season!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Celebrating Christmas
Every year at this time I get just a tiny bit frustrated, and I know it's a silly thing to get frustrated about, but it still bothers me.
As a family Nick and I decided not to teach our kids that Santa is real.....he's not. I know some people don't think it's a "lie", but I don't tell my kids that Barney is real, or that The Beast (as in Beauty and the Beast)is real, so why would I tell them Santa is real? Why would I tell them that a big fat man sneaks into our house in the middle of the night? Why would I tell them that Santa brings them toys? I really don't get it. We have wonderful memory filled Christmas' with our kids. We give gifts to each other, we buy gifts for others, we buy gifts for those who don't get any other gifts. We put up a Christmas tree, we read Christmas books (including those about mythical Santa), we watch Christmas movies (inlucing those about Santa). We look at Christmas lights at night, we bake Christmas goodies etc.... The ONLY difference is that we just don't make Santa a part of it (other than the books and movies). In fact I go one step farther and we research how other countries around the world celebrate Christmas (they don't belive in Santa either). This year each week leading up to Christmas we are going to learn all about one country, bake their Christmas dishes, and desserts, make their tradisional Christmas crafts etc.....
During Christmas we put 100% of our focus on Jesus' birth. Yes I know that this wasn't really the date of his birth, but it is the time that the church has set aside to celebrate. We read the advent, we sing Christmas songs, we read from the bible, we talk about the birth of Jesus and the meaning that has for us. It's a very special time for our family. We give gifts to each other and others because the wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. We read the story of St. Nicholas and the impact that he had on others.
We make it about Jesus and giving, and love, and family, not about a big fat man who sneaks into our house at night. I know it sholdn't bother me what other people choose to do with their family, just like I hope they don't have options on what I do with my family. I just get sad when I here Christian families get so stressed because their kids are starting to not belive in Santa when we have a truly wonderful reason to celebrate apart from all of that. And I just find the statement "If you don't belive you won't receive" so very very sad. Belive in Jesus and receive his love, and his mercy, and his blessings, don't encourage your kids to belive in something false.
Off my soap box........
As a family Nick and I decided not to teach our kids that Santa is real.....he's not. I know some people don't think it's a "lie", but I don't tell my kids that Barney is real, or that The Beast (as in Beauty and the Beast)is real, so why would I tell them Santa is real? Why would I tell them that a big fat man sneaks into our house in the middle of the night? Why would I tell them that Santa brings them toys? I really don't get it. We have wonderful memory filled Christmas' with our kids. We give gifts to each other, we buy gifts for others, we buy gifts for those who don't get any other gifts. We put up a Christmas tree, we read Christmas books (including those about mythical Santa), we watch Christmas movies (inlucing those about Santa). We look at Christmas lights at night, we bake Christmas goodies etc.... The ONLY difference is that we just don't make Santa a part of it (other than the books and movies). In fact I go one step farther and we research how other countries around the world celebrate Christmas (they don't belive in Santa either). This year each week leading up to Christmas we are going to learn all about one country, bake their Christmas dishes, and desserts, make their tradisional Christmas crafts etc.....
During Christmas we put 100% of our focus on Jesus' birth. Yes I know that this wasn't really the date of his birth, but it is the time that the church has set aside to celebrate. We read the advent, we sing Christmas songs, we read from the bible, we talk about the birth of Jesus and the meaning that has for us. It's a very special time for our family. We give gifts to each other and others because the wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. We read the story of St. Nicholas and the impact that he had on others.
We make it about Jesus and giving, and love, and family, not about a big fat man who sneaks into our house at night. I know it sholdn't bother me what other people choose to do with their family, just like I hope they don't have options on what I do with my family. I just get sad when I here Christian families get so stressed because their kids are starting to not belive in Santa when we have a truly wonderful reason to celebrate apart from all of that. And I just find the statement "If you don't belive you won't receive" so very very sad. Belive in Jesus and receive his love, and his mercy, and his blessings, don't encourage your kids to belive in something false.
Off my soap box........
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
WOW Before/After
Today after looking back at some old journals I realized that from my highest weight to my current weight (lowest in over 8 yrs), I have lost 70lbs. 45lbs of that has been since Easter of this year. I don't know if this picture was taken at my highest or not, but the beach picture was taken about 5lbs above my current, so it's pretty close I'd say. I am AMAZED at the difference in how I look(ed). I never want to be that girl again. I feel so much better now that I ever did then. It's almost embarassing to post, but at the same time I hope maybe it offers some encouragment to anyone who is currently struggling. This change didn't take place overnight. It was something I struggled with for over 8 yrs, and even now at my lowest weight in a very long time it's still a daily, sometimes minute by minute struggle. I know I will be dealing with my weight for the rest of my life. So all I can do is lift of a prayer for anyone dealing with weight issues, and pray that God gives them the motivation to find success in their weight loss journey. God gets all the glory from me, because without him I wouldn't be where I am today.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Running
On Friday night I ran 8 miles without stopping, except to drink some water. I kind of had a "break through" as far as what I think about while I'm running and it was a huge help to me. Normally when I go run it's either getting dark, (because I run in the evening when it's a little bit cooler), or I have to get back because Nick needs to leave, or it's getting ready to storm ect... you ge the idea. There just seems to always be a reason that I can only go 4-5 miles before I need to stop. But Friday afternoon it was cooler, and Nick was home from work that day because his dad and brother were here. So I wasn't in a hurry to get back for anything, I could just run.
About 3 miles into my run I was trying to decide if I wanted to do 4 miles or 5 miles. 5 miles had been my longest up to that point, so that was still a big thing for me. So I took a personal check of myself. I was breathing okay, my legs were tired, but not too bad, I wasn't hot, I had water ...... So I decided to go for 5 miles, but while I was running that 5th mile I did that body check again, and thought I'd go ahead and go for 6 and beat my record. And I did that every mile after that. At mile 8 I briefly thought about doing 10, but I really was tired, and by that time the hamburgers that Nick and been grilling for us were done. So ended up stopping at 8 miles. But still I am AMAZED I was able to do it.
I am training for a half marathon in late Feburary. And I really never dreamed I would run the whole thing, but now I am thinking that I can. If I run 9 miles in October, 10 in November, 11 in December, and 12 in January, then I'll be ready for 13 in Feburary. So I will keep doing 5-6 miles 3-4 times a week, and once a month I will go for a "long run" with that mileage.
Who knew I would actually enjoy running? :)
About 3 miles into my run I was trying to decide if I wanted to do 4 miles or 5 miles. 5 miles had been my longest up to that point, so that was still a big thing for me. So I took a personal check of myself. I was breathing okay, my legs were tired, but not too bad, I wasn't hot, I had water ...... So I decided to go for 5 miles, but while I was running that 5th mile I did that body check again, and thought I'd go ahead and go for 6 and beat my record. And I did that every mile after that. At mile 8 I briefly thought about doing 10, but I really was tired, and by that time the hamburgers that Nick and been grilling for us were done. So ended up stopping at 8 miles. But still I am AMAZED I was able to do it.
I am training for a half marathon in late Feburary. And I really never dreamed I would run the whole thing, but now I am thinking that I can. If I run 9 miles in October, 10 in November, 11 in December, and 12 in January, then I'll be ready for 13 in Feburary. So I will keep doing 5-6 miles 3-4 times a week, and once a month I will go for a "long run" with that mileage.
Who knew I would actually enjoy running? :)
Friday, September 17, 2010
Weight loss
I haven't posted on here in a very long time. Life gets crazy. :) But I did want to come on here and announce that after 5.5 months of hard work I have reached my goal weight, with a total loss of 47lbs. I now have a BMI of 23.8 I started at 33.4. I have also lost 5 pants sizes. From my highest point I have lost 60lbs. I feel amazing!
Many people have asked "how" I lost my weight. Here is my short answer. I cut out processed carbs. I am now eating mostly lean proteins (with the occasional high fat protein), and fruits and veggies, with the occasional "healthy" carb. I dont eat potatoes, white rice, white bread, pasta...anymore I do on occasion treat myself to a small dessert, but it's rare. I have also started running and I am up to 4 miles without stopping 3 times a week. Now that it's starting to get cooler I will increase my mileage. My ultimate goal is to run a half marathon in the Spring.
Now that I am at my goal I really still want to lose another 5lbs or so, but I am not working super hard at it right now. I need a break, so I am just trying to maintain for awhile and be happy with where I am up. I still struggle with my body image. I still look in the mirror and see fat on my body and get discouraged and so I am working on my self image. I've had 3 kids, including a c-section, and I'm not on my 20's anymore. My body is not going to be perfect. I need to be happy with what God has given me.
So that's about it. It's been a long journey. I know I'm not done. I hear all the time "I lost weight and gained it back and then some", which gets discouraging sometimes. I am determined to not let that happen to me. I have changed my way of eating and I am not going back to the Carbs like I use to. This is my new lifestyle.
Many people have asked "how" I lost my weight. Here is my short answer. I cut out processed carbs. I am now eating mostly lean proteins (with the occasional high fat protein), and fruits and veggies, with the occasional "healthy" carb. I dont eat potatoes, white rice, white bread, pasta...anymore I do on occasion treat myself to a small dessert, but it's rare. I have also started running and I am up to 4 miles without stopping 3 times a week. Now that it's starting to get cooler I will increase my mileage. My ultimate goal is to run a half marathon in the Spring.
Now that I am at my goal I really still want to lose another 5lbs or so, but I am not working super hard at it right now. I need a break, so I am just trying to maintain for awhile and be happy with where I am up. I still struggle with my body image. I still look in the mirror and see fat on my body and get discouraged and so I am working on my self image. I've had 3 kids, including a c-section, and I'm not on my 20's anymore. My body is not going to be perfect. I need to be happy with what God has given me.
So that's about it. It's been a long journey. I know I'm not done. I hear all the time "I lost weight and gained it back and then some", which gets discouraging sometimes. I am determined to not let that happen to me. I have changed my way of eating and I am not going back to the Carbs like I use to. This is my new lifestyle.
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