Losing It.

Confession

Forgive me Father for I have...

Wait, I'm not Catholic.

But I may need forgiveness. I have to confess... I just don't want to exercise today. My goal is to do every other day and Monday's workout was hard and great and I can still feel it in my legs. Last night, I got to sleep much too late and got woken up much too early and I'm paying for it today in sluggish crabbiness. And I don't feel like exercising. 

At all. 

Last night, I ate Milk Duds. I confess. I went to see Last Chance Harvey  and apparently I haven't gotten over my whole infatuation with Milk Duds at the movies. I don't really feel badly about that because I'm not silly enough to think I'll never eat Milk Duds again. The point is not to eat them all the time, and I won't. They actually fit into my points for the week, so I am not going to worry about them. They aren't exactly organic, but we're getting there.

So, while I want to sit here with my cup of coffee and avoid Billy Blanks like the plague, I think I'm going to have to get up and get moving. Despite the headache. God help me. I know I'll feel better when I'm done... but right now. Right at this moment...

I really don't FEEL like exercising.

A little update.

I just blogged last week on my normal blog about turning a corner. I feel like I finally have. I feel inspired and armed with a new understanding about my body and my attempts to lose weight. Part of what's helping me is this book:

 

My cover looks different, but I think it's just a newer version of the book. In it, she talks about being a good steward of your body. Huh? I never even thought of it that way. She talks about how God gives us food as fuel and never intended us to let our eating get out of control.

With this in mind, I headed to a baby shower Friday night. I ate two fruit kabobs (actually, I think it was three) and a spoonful of salad. I passed on the cake and the cookies. I had eaten homemade vegetable soup before I went.

I have never done that before. Usually, I just save all my points so I can eat whatever I want, but I wasn't hungry at all. At least not for junk. And the fruit was GOOD! I know this kind of motivation doesn't stick around forever, but I'm hoping this book will help me completely change my mindset, not offer a quick-fix. I'm not into the quick fix. I mean, sure I would love to drop 20 lbs. this week, but if I knew I would gain it back the next week, what's the point?

So, slow and steady, I inch my way to a healthier lifestyle. THis includes eating healthy but also exercising. This morning was especially tough because I've been up since 3:46, precisely the time Sam woke up  last night for no good reason. I just brought him in with me where he promptly fell back to sleep. On top of me. At one point, he hit me three times in the face, you know, in short bursts. Pow! Pow! Pow! You can imagine how well I slept.

Or didn't sleep.

Anyway, as part of my committment to getting healthy I am going organic. Through a friend, I found a somewhat local farm that delivers organics for $5. I mean, they will save me the trip to the grocery store and bring me FRESH fruits, veggies, eggs, dairy, meat... all organic. I cannot wait!

Secondly, I'm trying to cook more. Learning to cook. Failing a little here and there and putting up with my kids whining that they don't LIKE chicken/pork tenderloin/spaghetti. HUH? What kid doesn't like spaghetti?

Anyway, last week, I made this Weight Watchers recipe. I am posting it here because I found it before I rejoined WW, which means anyone could get it off their site.

Ingredients:

	1 spray(s) cooking spray
	2 tsp dried thyme, or 2 Tbsp freshly chopped thyme
	2 tsp dried oregano, or 2 Tbsp freshly chopped oregano
	1 tsp garlic powder
	1 tsp onion powder
	1 tsp table salt
	1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
	2 tsp olive oil
	2 pound(s) lean pork tenderloin

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.
  
  
• Combine thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl; set aside.
  
  
• Rub oil all over pork. Sprinkle thyme mixture all over pork and transfer to prepared pan.
  
  
• Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of pork reads 160ºF, about 30 minutes.
  
  
• Let stand 10 minutes before slicing crosswise into thin (about 1/2-inch thick) slices. Yields about 3 ounces per serving.

Notes

• For variety, try seasoned oils (such as roasted red pepper olive oil or garlic olive oil) and a variety of herbs and spices (such as parsley, rosemary, onion powder and cumin).

POINTS® Value: 3
Servings:  8
Preparation Time:  10 min
Cooking Time:  30 min
Level of Difficulty:  Easy
Works with Simply Filling

Now, I will tell you that this recipe is YUMMY. But I can only tell you that because I have a good imagination. I have a meat thermometer, but it would NOT get to 160 degrees. I kept putting it back in and finally gave the kids something else because the dinner I started at like 4:45 wasn't getting done and it was already 6:45. They still needed baths before bedtime at 7:30.

Eventually, I realized the pork was OVER-cooked and I knew something was off with the thermometer because the meat got SO tough... but I ate a couple LESS tough pieces and they were really good. The rub that you put on it is TASTY!

Yum! :)

So, it's only 3 points per serving, and for someone who understands how to cook pork, it would be pretty easy.

I made it with WW cheddar fries. You basically cut potatoes into fry-type shapes, spray a cookie sheet, season with salt and pepper, bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Flip them, bake for another 20 min. Top with Fat Free cheddar, bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Also very tasty!

So, that's that. :) YUM!

Worked out this a.m. for 40 minutes with Billy Blanks, my hero. Have already drank 32 oz. of water so far. No soda. No mochas.

Have to go out later and it will be HARD not to get Starbucks, but it's part of my committment to this program. I can do it. I can tell myself NO! :)

Go me! Or as London Tipton would say "YAY me!" (Isn't that what she says? As soon as I typed it it sounded wrong!) lol

Off to eat something healthy for lunch... my hardest meal! If you have any ideas, let me know!

Overcoming temptation...

What do you do when, say, you send your wonderful hubby to the grocery store for baby food and he returns with this?

 

This weekend was a toughie for me. My sister was home and it was my mom's b'day, so there was a little more eating out than usual. A little more cake than usual. A lot less exercise than usual. Ok, not a lot, but I didn't exercise at all, which is not so good. Today, I stepped on the scale and I am up.

Then Adam brings this stuff home.

That crumb cake thing is especially hard to look at.

ugh.

So, I stuck it all away out of sight and left the kitchen. Anyone else have any good ways to avoid this sort of temptation? I'm still all about telling myself "no" but not in response to questions like:

"Should I work out today?" and

"Does it really matter if I go over my points by just a few so I can have a slice of pie?"

The thing is, for me, for the first time in my life, I don't want to lose weight solely for vanity's sake. I really, really, want to be healthy. And I want to raise healthy kids. A friend pointed me towards a local farmer who delivers organic meat and produce. I checked it out only to discover it's not even really that expensive! Especially since I hate to grocery shop... this is a huge perk! Fresh fruits and veggies all the time? Seriously. No more excuses. Plus, I'd be eating local, organic food, which is one of the really important things to me this year. Switching to a more 'green' lifestyle. I use that term loosely because I truly hate how 'trendy' it's gotten to 'go green.' I just want to be healthy. And I want healthy kids.

I guess it was all brought on by Sam who is my sickliest child. Sophia goes to school, brings in the germs and voila! Sam gets sick. It's a vicious cycle that I am going to do everything in my power to put an end to.

So, for me, this is about more than just fitting into my skinny jeans. I want to be healthy!

So, I decided to take baby steps. This week, I want to try one new recipe. I want to do at least one load of laundry at least four days and I want to exercise at least three days. This is all part of my simplification process. Anyone have any other small changes they're making? Would love to hear more tips!!

But right now, I have laundry to fold! :) Have a good week!!

Ah, Discipline

Adam and I had a pretty great conversation the other day about discipline. Not the 'should we spank our kids or use time outs' kind of discipline but the kind that involves telling yourself NO.

When I first started WW after I had Sam (and after I had Ethan, really), I was so incredibly focused. Totally disciplined. And I told myself "NO" at least three times a day. More like five. Because this weight loss battle, it's really not a physical battle. It's a mental one. You walk into the kitchen and see the cookies you baked for the kids sitting there on the counter. You tell yourself you don't need that and start to turn around. Then this thought pops into your head.

"Well, you've hardly eaten anything today."

And you reach out and grab that thought, reeling it in like a wayward kite hopping around on the breeze.

"That's true," you think. "I've hardly eaten anything today."

So you eat one. No big deal.

Hours later, it's something else. You're out driving around--doing errands or picking up your kids from school. (I'm just going to be real on this one because this is my battle every.single.day.) And as you are driving, the baby is screaming and it's really grating your nerves. And this thought pops into your head.

"You've had a really hard day. You deserve to treat yourself."

Uh-huh. Sure you do. Or the thought might be.

"You've got to stay awake through the rest of the evening. You really should drive through Starbucks. You'll be happier if you do."

Now, as you head into the Starbucks drive-through you have a choice. Skinny Vanilla Latte for two points or Non-fat White Chocolate Mocha for more points than you care to admit (I'm estimating 6 at least.)

The truth is, you can't go into these battles unprepared. It's just like with any other fight. If you don't train, you won't win. You have to say "NO" to yourself in the little things to say "NO" in the big things. You'll never avoid your biggest temptation (chocolate brownies, Mochas, candy bars... whatever) if you don't first tell yourself "NO" on the little things like Mike and Ikes.

But don't expect to do it all at once.

We get these crazy resolutions in our head and think we have to change every aspect of our lives TODAY. We don't. Start with one. This week, perhaps your "little fight" is to avoid soda and drink more water. So do that one this week. Add one small change for the next couple weeks to get yourself prepared for the battles. And remember my mantra:

I WIN.

When you say no to the cookies or the Starbucks or the brownies. I WIN. Because ultimately, you do. You have to work this thing out... in your mind. And so do I.

So, let's silence those voices (some may even be coming from real live people who would like it better if you stayed unhappily heavy)... and do something to win this battle for ourselves.

There's a war going on in your mind... and you have the authority to win it.

But only if you practice.

One thing this week. One thing can turn it all around. What will your 'one thing' be?

My Virtual Self...

I haven't weighed in yet this morning, and honestly, I'm sort of dreading it. I haven't had the best week of tracking--have eaten a lot of things I had to guess at the points for. I hate that because even if I guess high, I don't know if I'm way off. My guesses are educated, but I wonder if they are also sort of censored. You know, I don't want Chewy Sprees to have points in them, but they do, doggone it.

Anyway, I'll have to post about the dreaded weigh in later. Now, I wanted to show you this cool thing I found online through The Biggest Loser. Now, I don't do The Biggest Loser Club because I already commit my vanity money to Weight Watchers. Ok, shouldn't call it vanity money. It really is about being healthy, but darn it'd be nice to get into my skinny jeans.

Wait, I've never had skinny jeans. I'm not talking about the skin tight "skinny jeans" either. I'm talking about the ones that are in a size low enough to make me feel skinny.

Anyway. I do watch The Biggest Loser and am seriously a huge fan of this show, although I think in some ways it can be really discouraging to the normal people out there who can't exercise for 6-8 hours a day. (And who can?)

I do like what they're doing this year, sending a bunch home to make them do it at home. That's good stuff. I was horrified as I was watching it, but knowing that they have to go figure out a way to do it just like the rest of America was a good thing. If it was me, I wouldn't tell anyone. I'd check into an Extended Stay and work out for 8 hours a day, but that's just me.

Anyway.

Yesterday, my friend Melissa emailed something from the Biggest Loser Club, which is their online program. They have meals they can send you and workout tips and all that jazz. But an ad on the side caught my eye. VIRTUAL BELLY FLATTENER. WATCH YOUR BELLY FLATTEN BEFORE YOUR EYES.

Always curious about ways to flatten my belly without surgery, I clicked on it and it led me to this website.

So, I uploaded my most recent picture:

 

And it's not the best because it's not taken outside, blah blah. I had no idea what would happen. Then, today, I open my mail to get my new improved self rendered 40 pounds lighter. (You can put in how much less you want to weigh.) I actually want to lose 25 lbs, but I figured if I'm going for it, I might as well go big.

Check this out:

 

And here they are side by side:

 

On the one hand, I feel incredibly huge looking at what I could look like. On the other hand, that's a pretty good piece of motivation to keep on trying. I mean, seriously.

I should add that the tip Melissa sent me talked about finding 15 minutes here and 10 minutes there to go ahead and get physical, to get moving. It's not easy... but as they say, nothing worthwhile ever is.

Time for a weigh in. A reality check. And then, time for a change.

Doing it from home.

I've found that I have LOTS of excuses NOT to exercise.

Come on, I know you have them too. "I can't do it while the baby is awake." and "I just don't have time." and "I don't have money for a gym membership." and "I'm so exhausted by the end of the day."

True? Yep. Well, mostly true. So I'm setting out to see if I can add exercise to my Weight Watchers plan effectively FROM HOME. Now, I have an elliptical trainer, but since it's currently in the garage with no spot in my new house, I'm going to say, I have no traditional way to work out here. I have thought about running up and down the stairs a bunch of times, but who am I kidding? How boring would that be? Plus, I don't want to loathe my stairs.

So, I'm turning to DVDs. Jane Fonda... thank you so much for starting this workout from home revolution. There are SO many out there, and I think I have most of them. :)

So, I figured I'd let you know what I think of them as I try new ones. I've decided not to get down on myself if I can't stick with one DVD all week long. The truth is, I like a little variety, so if I do Tae Bo one day and Jillian Michaels the next, that's fine. Right?

A couple of weeks ago after the Christmas binge, I was online checking out different workouts when I stumbled upon this one:

 

Actually, the one I got has this funky purple resistance band with it for upper body strength training. But before I move on, when I stumbled upon the website, I was skeptical. I mean, seriously, walking in place? Is that really going to get my heart rate up? I should stick with Tae Bo.

But as I thought about doing Tae Bo again, I got discouraged. Truthfully, I didn't want to jump around. Maybe I'm getting old, but I don't know... for me, at this moment, it wasn't inspiring.

So, I headed out to KMart and found a dvd with a 3 mile and 4 mile walk, plus the resistance band for $14.99. Now, maybe you can't afford a treadmill or a gym membership, but I bet you can skip McDonald's twice next week and find $15. No?

I have had my DVD for a week and the thing I love about it is, if I'm pressed for time, I can do 2 miles. I can do 2 miles then skip forward for the resistance band workout. I can do it at home and as of this morning I discovered, with Sam awake. In fact, he seemed to really enjoy it and even lifted his hands up and down with me.

The Walk Away the Pounds Website has lots of samples of the DVDs and even a 15 minute workout so you can get a good idea of what you're buying before you buy it. I love that. Plus, Leslie Sansone is a Christian, which makes me even happier. Love to support that!

*Especially important... if you are really wanting to lose a chunk of weight or have been pretty inactive for awhile, this workout is for you. Easy to follow, no pressure, no jumping around. If you can walk, you can do it... and I know you can walk! :) Honestly, start off slow and go at your own pace. What I'm really discovering is that you don't have to work out an hour everyday to start with. Move a little more everyday and you're making progress! Do something active everyday! You can do it!!

We can do it.

So, my goals for this week (My weigh ins are on Thursdays, so my Weight Loss week starts on Friday) is to drink LOTS of water, less coffee and workout at least three times. Hopefully four.) I also want to do yoga at least twice.

What about you? Goals? How are you doing? Any DVDs for me to try?

Have a good weekend! The weekends are always the hardest! But we can do it!

:)