Noticeable

This week, I have had more compliments on the way that I look than I have had in years. I have had multiple people tell me that I look like I have lost a lot of weight. I am sooooo excited! It took just about 20 lbs., but people are finally starting to notice!!

Other things I have noticed since eating better and working out? My face is clearer. I never really had acne, but the last year has been horrible. I was shocked that I was all of a sudden breaking out when I am 30 years old. Now, I truly believe it had to do with my eating habits and workout habits. Glad to see an end to that!

Also, today I found a picture of me from the Fall baseball season on the team's website. I was SHOCKED at the fat lady sitting on the bleachers cheering on my son. What a wakeup call! I am going to paste this picture of me somewhere where I can see it often and remind me of what happens if I eat junk. The good news is that I am now 20 lbs. lighter, but I am still shocked and outraged when I see pictures of me from the fall. It is majorly motivating for me. That being said, I am going to get off my computer and go do some crunches... and then maybe some arm workouts. If my muscles weren't so fatigued from the 5k I ran yesterday, I would go for a run. However, I think my body would me much better served if I wait until tomorrow.

Here is my official "before" picture that I found today, taken in October, 2011:

This is a picture of me in March of this year:

And, here is a picture of me and my kiddos at the zoo just a couple of weeks ago.

I've still got a ways to go, but the change is definitely noticeable. 

My First 5k

About a year and a half ago, a little girl named Grace passed away from a rare pediatric brain cancer. She attended the boys' elementary school and was in first grade when she passed away. In her memory, her family has started a foundation to raise funds for cancer research. It is a tremendously worthy cause in memory of an amazing little girl.

That being said, I have decided to walk/run in their first ever 5k this Saturday. It is also my first 5k since I have become an adult. I did one 5k when I was about 13 years old and have never done another. So, at 8 am on Saturday, I will be walking.

To support my fundraising efforts in this race, go here:

http://csn.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&eventID=621&participantID=3672

There is also a link to Grace's website for more information on her story.
www.soarwithgrace.org

I have just registered for this event and it is only a few days away. I am hopeful that I can reach my donation goal. Thanks!

Measurement Monday (or Tuesday...)

Yesterday was Memorial Day and my blogging schedule went out the window just like every other schedule does on a national holiday. We had a great time with some friends at our house, but of course that meant lots of delicious and not-so-healthy temptations.

My weight results are skewed because of all of the fabulous food that I consumed yesterday. I am fully confident, however, that next week's results will be much better. Lesson learned: don't ignore calorie counting on the day before your weigh-in.... or ever for that matter.

New this week: I lost my pedometer. It sure didn't take long. I think that it is hidden in the deep dark crevices of my couch cushions. I fell asleep there after my walk one night and haven't seen it since. I will have to go on a scavenger hunt today to see if I can locate it.

Weight: +2.5 lbs. (ouch!)
Number of days hit 10,000 steps: 5
Average steps per day: 11,367
Number of days eating 5 servings fruits/vegetables: 4
Number of days under calorie limit: 5
Number of days where I completely and totally blew it: 2 (including Memorial Day)

I also did horribly with my other goals that I set for the week. I snacked in the evenings more nights than I care to admit. I did not hit 15,000 steps on any days. I lost my pedometer....

Now to talk about the positives. I was over 10,000 steps on all days that I still had my pedometer. I am assuming that I hit about the same on all of the rest of the days since I easily average over 8,000 steps without doing anything special. I began an ab and arm workout routine. I also started adding running into my walking routine. Overall, not too bad.

Oh! And, for the first time in a year, I was able to get on my "goal" swimsuit. It wasn't attractive and definitely was not picture worthy, but I got it on! It is a bikini that I was what I wore after I lost the weight from the boys' pregnancy. I have kept it because I absolutely love it and feel that it can motivate me to try harder. Seeing the difference last night and realizing that I could actually get it on was an awesome feeling. I can and will do it!

Too far gone?

I often feel defeated. I feel like I can't conquer my bad eating habits and lose weight and that I just need to learn to be happy with who I am. But, I can't. I can't be happy being uncomfortable in my clothing. I can't be happy feeling like I have not taken care of myself. I can't be happy worrying about family history and potential health problems that could happen because I have gained weight. I know that I should love myself no matter what, but I can't make it happen. I feel like I am too far gone.

I read a blog today though that made me realize that I CAN do it. If someone else can do it, so can I. This lady lost over 200 lbs. without surgery. 200 lbs. makes my measly 50 look insignificant. I am amazed and motivated by this woman's ability to conquer everything and do it. Check it out!

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=4896689

Measurement Monday!

I am going to attempt to keep accountable by weighing in and recapping my week every Monday. With that being said, here we go!

Weekly Recap:

Weight: -3 lbs.!!! (Not bad for one week!)

Average steps per day: 10,716

Number of days hit 10,000 steps: 5

Number of days exercised: 6

Number of days under calorie limit: 5

Number of days eating 5 servings of fruit/vegetables: 5 

The worst "step" day was the day after I only got 3 hours of sleep at night. I ended up taking a 2.5 hour nap in the middle of the morning and then with the boys' baseball game and grocery shopping didn't have time to make it up with a long walk. I still walked over 7,000 steps that day, but did not hit my goal. The other day that I didn't hit that goal, I was very close (within 500 steps) and the day before was my highest day of almost 15,000 steps. I am going to continue to strive to hit that 10,000 step goal every day.

I am also very proud of myself and the choices I made during a social event on Saturday. I normally make horrible decisions when I am at a social gathering and over-indulge with the excuse that it is only one day a month that I am at an event like this. This time, I didn't eat a single chip, ate mostly fruits and vegetables as the sides, and brought bbq chicken for me instead of the normal hotdog. I even ended up sharing my bbq chicken with one of my boys and didn't even touch the second piece that I brought along. I was craving one of the casseroles that were there, so I took 2 bites and then left the rest alone. I did have a single serving of dessert and 2 sodas, which is where I really need to work harder next time. I knew that was going to be the most difficult for me to resist since I love sugar and rarely have soda and there is an abundance of that at these events. 

Goals for the week:

1. Back off on nighttime snacking. I love eating popcorn or lowfat ice cream at night while relaxing and watching TV. Right now it is part of my wind-down routine. I usually save my calories so that I can have that snack, but I am hoping to cut those calories in half this week. I am going to try to make healthier choices like eating carrots with a tablespoon of light ranch dip or a piece of fruit. When I am craving something sweet, I will try a nonfat yogurt instead of ice cream.
2. 10,000 steps EVERY day and 15,000 steps at least twice this week. I have seen that 10,000 steps really isn't that difficult for me to achieve. I regularly hit 8,000 without even trying. So, I am stepping up the goal slightly to see if I can hit it. I need to try and make small changes in my lifestyle in order for me to lose weight, and this one seems reachable and doable for me.
3. Workout 7 days. I need to make time, even if it is for only 10-15 minutes. If I am super busy like I was on Sunday, or really tired, I can still do Wii Fit for 10 minutes or go for a quick walk up my street. The problem is remembering that when I am exhausted and just want to sit down and do nothing.
4. Remember that soda is NOT an option... PERIOD! I need to be proactive with bringing unsweetened iced tea or water with me wherever I go so that I am not tempted to go through a drive thru when I am thirsty.
5. Be in bed (and on my way to sleeping) at 11 pm every night. Not 11:15, not 11:30, not midnight. I am exhausted a lot and part of that is that I am only getting between 6 and 7 hours a night, if I have no interruptions from little ones having nightmares, needing cuddles, or needing a drink of water. My body does best at about 9 hours a night. I have more energy with eating more healthily, but still not enough to make it happily through my day.

The good news: I am at the lowest weight that I have been in a year! I still have a lot to go, but May of last year was when the eating really seemed to get out of control for me and the regular exercise went out the window. Now, I am back on track and off to a good start. 

Emotional Eating Good-bye

I am an emotional eater. I know that is one of my biggest problems.

Yesterday was a really tough day for me. I was very emotional and it has definitely transferred into this morning. I woke up wanting chocolate and monkey bread and pancakes and cookies. I have been working really hard to resist eating this crap, but I no longer cared. I just wanted to feel better. I knew that I had to get out of the funk, out of the house, and most importantly, out of the emotional eating cycle. So, I got up and put on my workout clothes and running shoes. My kids were upset that I was going for a walk so early in the morning, but Daddy was home, so I knew that they would get over it and be fine once they were fed. I almost stayed home... but, I knew that if I did, I would join them in eating and make tremendously unhealthy decisions.

I first walked through the woods. That seems to center me and makes me feel closer to God if only for a few minutes. I took some deep breaths, prayed, calmed down, and was just by myself. Then, I kicked it into a higher gear and walked/jogged a mile (half of which was uphill). The sadness turned to anger at the plights of my life. Soon, the anger turned to a feeling of calm and then I knew that I was once again in control. I was in control of myself and in control of my eating. I came home, did my morning weigh in as extra motivation, and then grabbed a nonfat yogurt with granola for my breakfast.

At least for this morning, good-bye emotional eating!

10,000 Steps a Day!

I purchased a pedometer. It's not the first one that I have owned and worn on a regular basis, but it is the nicest one that I have owned. It was on clearance at Target for 30% off and I was in the market for a new one, so I figured I should go ahead. It has a clock, step counter, mileage tracker, time spent exercising and average speed. I want to eventually purchase a Fit Bit, so I figured that this would be a good little precursor to make sure that I can stick with the wearing the pedometer without losing it or dropping it in the toilet.

I have found in the past that the pedometer really keeps me motivated. It is a constant little reminder that tells me to park a little farther, use the stairs instead of the elevator, and go for my nightly walk. I become obsessed with the little numbers, always striving to reach the recommended 10,000 steps.

I was doing some research on Google and found that the average American takes somewhere between 3,000-5,000 steps and that generally you are considered sedentary if you take less than 5,000 steps. 10,000 is the magic number for health benefits. I consistently hit at least 8,000 steps with just my normal, everyday stuff.

This leads me to my first publicly announced goal: To hit that 10,000 mark daily. No excuses, no whining, no complaining. If my normal, everyday activities of being a busy mom can get me to 8,000, then I can easily come up with 2,000 more. So, if you peek in my house and see me walking in circles around my kitchen and living room, you know what I am doing. If you see me shaking my pedometer to increase my step count, throw something at me.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated? Do you use a pedometer? What's your daily steps goal?

Which mouse do YOU want to be?

Check this out! A study was done with mice and yogurt. Can't hurt! So, I went and bought myself some yogurt to get some swagger.

Yogurt Makes Mice Slimmer, Sexier: Scientists studying the power of probiotics to fight obesity got more than they bargained for: Not only does yogurt make mice slimmer; it also makes them sexier. Studies in humans suggest eating yogurt may help stave off age-related weight gain. But Massa­chusetts Institute of Technology...

Where Did She Go?

I grew up skinny. I was so skinny that my doctors were concerned and put me on a "gain weight quick" diet which consisted of daily milkshakes. Even though I generally ate healthily, I never had to think twice about a second bowl of ice cream or eating whatever I wanted. I loved fruits and vegetables and was often found eating a tomato sprinkled with salt and pepper as an after school snack. I also loved fast food and was often found driving through Del Taco to get a quesadilla and two hard tacos. Basically, as a child and teenager, these habits were formed and have made making good choices much more difficult now that I have stopped playing sports, had children, and developed much slower metabolism.

17 years old and super-skinny.

At 22, my husband and I found out that I was pregnant.... not with just one baby, but 3! On one of my first appointments, my doctor told me that I was slightly underweight and had to gain enough weight for the babies to grow healthily. The goal was 60 lbs. by the time that I was 32 weeks pregnant. Well, they were born at 26 weeks and I had gained 45 lbs.. I was right on track according to what my doctor wanted me to gain, but all of a sudden I was thrown into a medical world of premature infants and had no free time to try and lose it. We also lost one of the babies. This led to depression and I honestly didn't really care about what I ate or did at that point.

Home comes the babies and I had to deal with an impossible preemie schedule that consisted of feeding 2 babies around the clock. I was also not supposed to take them out in public because of their compromised immune systems. I am not a homebody and am very much a people person, so this was particularly trying for me. Also, how was I supposed to work out regularly when I was only getting 30 minutes of sleep at a time around the clock for 6 months?  For the first time in my life, I started drinking large amounts of soda and became severely addicted to it. I needed the caffeine to get through my day and that was the easiest way for me to get it.

When my boys turned 2, I was finally back to a healthy weight. However, I hadn't dealt with a lot of the depression issues and was irritated with myself for not losing the last 15 lbs. to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I would try hard and then fail. I would exercise at 6 am before my boys (who at that point had been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy) woke up and try my hardest to watch my calorie intake. But, fast food still called to me and I was so exhausted that it seemed like an easy solution to me not having time or wanting to cook a meal.

My boys were 2. This is where I want to be again.

It was when the boys were 2 1/2 that I found out that I was expecting my daughter. While I was ecstatic at the prospect of having a little girl and a more normal pregnancy, I was also terrified about my weight. I was already heavier when I got pregnant with her than I was with the boys and I knew that my eating and exercise habits sucked. I had begun doing something about my depression at this point, but I still used eating as a crutch.

Fast forward 5 years. I now have two 7-year old boys with special needs and a typical 4-year old little girl. My days are very busy including homeschooling one of my sons and providing therapy for both boys on top of the normal mom activities. I have somehow gotten lost in the mix and I have somehow gotten lost in a foreign body. Where did that skinny girl go?

My "before" picture.

I am no longer at a healthy weight and I am embarrassed to say that I have let it get so out of hand. This blog is about me losing the weight and getting back to a point that I am healthy. 

I have already begun this weight loss journey. I have to date lost 17 lbs. and am working on losing much more. My goal is to be back to where I was when the boys were 2 years old. It was a healthy weight for me and I was overall happy with how I looked. I need to be there for my kids and to do that, I need to be the healthiest that I can be.