good day gone bad

Today started out as a great day. I did fantastic on my points with weight watchers until dinner. We were supposed to meet my grandparents and have them follow us back to our house. I had planned what I was going to make for dinner and knew that it would fall within my weight watchers points for the day.

When we met up with them, they told us they wanted to take us out for dinner. I thought it was nice of them, so we decided to go to Cracker Barrel. Of course the whole way there I was trying to figure out what I would order, but I didn't decide before we got there (first mistake). I ordered a water instead of Soda (good). But then I ordered Chicken Fried Chicken and Macaroni and Cheese! (second BIG mistake). What was I thinking? And then they bring out those biscuits... man oh man.

After dinner, and the rest of the night, I've noticed that I have ZERO energy. I'm connecting that to eating the wrong types of food and too much of it.

So what have I learned from this experience? 1) That I have a lot more energy when I eat healthy foods. 2) That restaurants are not a good place for me to spend time at this point in my diet. It is far too easy for me to sway to something I want but shouldn't eat. But in case the situation comes up again, I have decided to make a decision here and now to order a chicken salad or something similar to that so that in the future I won't be tempted to order something I shouldn't eat.

I have not done the treadmill today, but I am tired and need a good nights sleep. However, I am still super motivated (if not more motivated than before) to lose weight and kick it into gear. If nothing else, today was a learning experience for me.

feeling...

HAPPY!

Today, I noticed that I have been feeling happier. So while I was on the treadmill tonight (45 minutes) I thought about why I was feeling happier. Before I continue with my thoughts, I will say this... I love being a wife and mother, but it has been a long time since I have really done something for me. I rarely wear makeup, I don't always do my hair, and recently I spend most all of my time taking care of my baby girl. All of this is fine, but what I've really needed is to take some time out for ME.

Spending this time the last few days on the treadmill has given me that break I needed mentally and as a bonus, it also improves me physically. I'm happy to be HAPPY! I think that it makes me a much better wife and mother.

Something else that makes me happy is making healthy meals for my family that actually taste great. Tonight we had chicken stir-fry and rice. It was delicious. I only used 26 of my 31 points today, but I can honestly tell you that I did not feel hungry today. I have been eating a lot healthier snacks (apple, carrot, etc.) and healthier meals... so I feel full, but I don't take as many calories in. So that is nice!

I'm hoping to throw some Yoga into my exercise routine here shortly. I used to love Yoga and really can't wait to start doing it again. For me, Yoga is such a relaxing exercise but it REALLY tones your body!

weight loss

Thursday is my weigh in day.... so here are the results.

I lost 1 pound. Not as good as I would have liked, but it is still weight loss! My Weight Watchers points were also adjusted today. I used to get 33 per day, and now I get 31. I am actually excited about the point reduction because I think it will help me to make healthier choices. Because I know that I don't have as many points as I used to I will choose better!

My goal this week is to lose 3 pounds! I will have to work super hard on watching what I eat and working out on the treadmill, but I know that I can do it! Wish me luck!!!

Success

Today went so well. I still have 1 point left for Weight Watchers (which I don't intend to use) and I spent some time on the treadmill. Normally on the treadmill I get to 20 minutes and I think that there is no way I can make it to 30 minutes. Today, however, when I got to 20 minutes I thought "I think I can make it to 35 minutes". Then at 30 minutes, I thought "Pretty sure I can go to 40 minutes". And to top it off, at 39 minutes, I thought "I can go to 45 minutes".... and I DID IT! I also walked with 3 lb. weights every 1/8th of a mile... which ended up being a total of over 1 mile. I feel proud of myself today and I feel happy (but tired).

One of my favorite types of food is chinese (YUM!)... but obviously being on a diet Panda Express's deep fried orange chicken is NOT an option. A couple weeks ago I spent some time in Utah and my aunt made some sweet and sour chicken (unfried) and it was really good and not bad for me either. So I made that tonight and I also found a recipe on weightwatchers.com for vegetable fried rice that was only 3 points per serving. Cooking is something that I generally really enjoy, so I will share the recipe!

You will need:

2 large eggs

1 cup finely chopped carrots

3/4 c. green onion, sliced

3 cups cooked white rice (1 cup unprepared)

1/2 cup frozen or canned peas

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1. spray frying pan. on medium heat, scramble the eggs. once cooked, remove and set aside

2. spray frying pan. combine carrots and all but 2 Tbs. of the green onions. Cook over medium heat until the carrots are crisp and tender

3. add rice, peas, and soy sauce. Allow to heat through - stirring every minute.

4. add eggs and remaining green onions and stir. heat until warm throughout.

5. Serve (makes 6 servings)

And you know the best part about dinner? It tasted delicious and I have been full all night... and we ate at 5:00.

As for yesterday... it was Oj's birthday, so I will admit up front that I did not have the best day as far as diet is concerned. However, I had spent 30 minutes on the treadmill and was showered and ready for the day by noon. That is a big deal for me, even on a day when I don't work out! ha ha! I spent the remainder of the day baking Pineapple upside down cake, lasagna, and peanut rice krispie treats for Oj's dinner. (he request the rice krispies or I probably wouldn't have made those... but they were good). Although I went over on my weight watcher points, I didn't want to be too hard on myself... the day was about Oj and not about me. But I did try to remind myself that the success or failure his birthday being a great day had nothing to do with how much food I put into my mouth. So I definitely tried to watch my portions!

Overall, I'd say the last two days have been a success! I got on the treadmill both days and I felt better about myself because of it. Tomorrow is weigh in day! I'm hoping that the birthday cake didn't mess me up too bad. :)

Birthday Week

So tomorrow is my husbands birthday, which naturally makes this his birthday week. Since today is his only day off until next Sunday, it was a great day to spend time as a family. He let me sleep in until 9 (heavenly) while he played with our daughter. Then they both came in at 9 and he said he really wanted to get breakfast at McDonalds and go on a drive down Route 66 - a way we have not been before. I thought it was a great idea, but told him he would have to help me remember to get on the treadmill later in the day... so he gladly agreed and out the door we went (after I checked weightwatchers.com to see what I could eat at McDonalds).

We had a great time on our little drive, and even got to go mudding in our Honda Civic. Good Times! We came home after a few hours and just laid around for a little while. Today was an overcast and chilly day... so it wasn't a great day for a walk. But I did get an inkling go trim down some of the plants in the front yard. So I spend about 30 minutes outside doing that. I didn't realize how much of a workout(?) squatting to trim the plants would be.

After some nudging from my hubby... I got on the treadmill for SEVEN minutes. I know, how lame right? Yes. I was wearing different shoes than I normally wear and I got a bit of a blister on my right foot. Not a very good excuse though. I should have switched my shoes and got back on. So I am I little discouraged with myself, but tomorrow is a new day and I WILL do 30 minutes on the treadmill with the proper shoes!

So by the end of the day I've eaten McDonalds (fruit parfait is really not that bad!) and Pizza.... and I barely worked out. BUT, I stayed within my weight watchers points and spent a fabulous day with my husband and baby. Did I mention that our baby took a 3 hour nap? That was great too!

Oh happy day...

Today was a great day. I went to church with my little family and something great happened. I was sitting in the last hour of class, and during the entire hour there was a bowl of candies on the front table. Of course when they do that they're going to give everyone some at the end of class, right? RIGHT!

So I had an hour to think about what I was going to do (and no I didn't think about it the entire hour! I'm not that desperate for sugar!). I was amazed that when the class got over I had no desire to walk up to the front with the rest of the class to get a treat. I simply gathered my babies things and we left the class. So simple! On the drive home I bragged to my husband about how good I was, and that felt GREAT!

If you know my husband, you know he loves Macaroni and Cheese... it is his weakness. I should consider myself lucky that all it takes to please my man is mixing noodles, butter, milk, and cheese mix together. But did you know that 1 cup of Kraft Mac N Cheese has as many Weight Watchers points as 1 small chicken breast, 1 cup of rice, 1/8 can of cream of mushroom, and 1/2 cup of peas? Holy Cow was I shocked. So he had mac and cheese and I had chicken, rice and peas. And I can tell you I was stuffed and I know I wouldn't have been full from eating 1 cup of mac n cheese.

So into yesterdays goals 1 day, I feel proud of myself for making a healthier choice. Today I also focused on drinking a lot of water and I did pretty well with that. Now tomorrow I need to get on the treadmill and take my baby for a walk in the stroller. I'm going to schedule time out in my day to get on the treadmill, otherwise I will put it off until the day is gone. So tomorrow I'm working out at 9:30 am.

7 weeks until we leave for our cruise! 15 pounds to go (at least)!

motivation...

Why is it that I can so easily be unmotivated? I get super excited about losing weight and I HONESTLY intend to do the things that I think in my head... example: eating less, eating healthier, working out, etc. Then one morning I wake up with a nasty head cold that lasts 4 days and suddenly doing anything seems completely out of reach. It makes me crazy.

Although I am still feeling under the weather, I need to get myself back together. So tomorrow is a new day and a the start of a new week. I think I will start with one thing and advance to the next. So tomorrow is my day that I will focus on eating smaller portions and making healthier choices. I will continue to keep track of this on weightwatchers.com. (what a great resource!) Then on Monday I'm going to add some cardio to them mix by hopping on the treadmill and, if weather permits, take my daughter on a walk.

And to add some motivating factors to the mix, here is a challenge to myself! In 7 weeks and 1 day my little family is going on a cruise! So here it is... I challenge myself to lose 15 pounds by April 11! That is a tiny bit more than 2 pounds per week... and I KNOW that I can do that easily with a little work. In fact, I can probably lose more than that! So now I have set a great goal. And I am looking forward to reporting tomorrow on my healthy choices and smaller portions!

Happy Dieting!

the first day of the rest of my life...

Tonight I am starting this blog for two reasons. Reason 1: I think that it will make me feel that I have someone/something to answer to each day. Reason 2: I think that it will be good to document my feelings and weight loss as time moves on... and in time I will be able to look back at how far I have come.

All of my life I have struggled with my weight, but NEVER has it been this out of control. When I was in high school (only 6 short years ago) I thought I was HUGE. Oh how I dream of being that "huge" again. In high school I fluctuated between sizes 10, 12 and 14. Now I wear a tight 24. I think the hardest part about being the size I am is that I can remember well what it felt like to be "skinny". I am ready to have that back.

When I met my husband, 4 years ago, I weighed 160 pounds. By the time we were married, one year later, I weighed 190 pounds. When I conceived my first child 17 months after our wedding, I weighed 220 pounds... and when she was born (partially due to pre-eclampsia) I weighed over 280 pounds! Within a week of her birth I had dropped 40 pounds of fluid, but I gained back 20 of those pounds within the first few months of her life. And that leaves me at a jaw-dropping 260 pounds 9 months after her birth! That is 100 pounds that I have gained in 4 years. That has got to be some kind of record.

Needless to say, I need to make some changes... and today is the first day of the rest of my life! I am ready to look in the mirror and feel pretty again. I am ready to walk out of the house and feel confident about how I look and how I feel inside! It is hard to be a positive when you feel uncomfortable in your own skin... but I am ready for it! I want to be the best mother that I can be for my daughter and I want to be a good example of being a healthy person so that as she grows up she has the best opportunities that she can possibly have! I am doing this for ME but I am also doing this for my beautiful baby girl!