Oh, My Crazy Life!

I am so sorry that I haven't posted anything yet this week.  It has been a very very busy week.  I did weigh in on Monday morning and had a good week.  I know I haven't really posted a whole lot about my actual number of weight loss, but since I am now 4 months in, I thought you might want to know where I am.  I have lost 41.8 pounds total in this 16 weeks.  I look at that number though and know that it is so much more than 41.8 pounds.  I have put on a lot of muscle.  I can watch my body in the mirror and watch those muscles WORK.  They aren't just moving weight around, they are LIFTING that weight and becoming stronger.  Each week, I am able to lift more weight that I did the week before, each mile gets a little faster, and each 500 split gets a little less scary.  Now, let me be clear.  I did not say it ever got EASIER.  I just get stronger.  I get more confident.  I get better.

Last week I answered a question I have been getting.  I have two others that I have been asked a lot and I think they are worth addressing.

"What are you doing? What diet are you following?"

First let me say this.  THERE IS NO MAGIC here people.  I'm not trying to sound harsh.  I used to think that there had to be a quick easy way to lose weight.  I would see commercials on TV for Hydroxycut or some weight loss aide of that type and think, "Could it really be that easy?" "Surely there has to be SOME truth to this claim!".  Unfortunately, it ISN'T that easy and there is NO truth to that claim (or VERY little).  I really wish it was though, I truly do.  As it is, it is HARD work and there is NO easy fix.  I have had to make a CHOICE to do what I am doing.  I have had to make my own magic to do what I am doing.

So, what am I doing?  Well, it is a simple formula.  I watch my calories and I work out.  Let's address the working out first.  I am at the gym 5-6 days each week.  I take a spin class 2-3 times each week, a rowing class twice each week, I lift 3-4 days each week, I walk, I use the elliptical machine, and I do core work.  I fit in other things when I can.  If it will be helpful, I will post my workout schedule and what I do on one of my blog pages.  The simple answer though is this: I work my ass off.  Not pretty, but it is the truth.  Hard Work.

"What diet are you following?"  I really dis-like this question.  I am not following a diet.  I try really hard not to even use that word.  Yes, I am watching what I eat.  Yes, I count my calories.  No, I do not starve myself.  I use the "Lose It" app on my phone (www.loseit.com) to track my calories. I do this partly to be in control of what goes in my mouth.  I also use it to make sure I am eating enough.  Starving myself is NOT going to work.  Eating too much crap is NOT going to work.  This works for me.  I am making this a life-style.  This is not a "diet".  This is my life and if I want to eat pizza I will.  If I want to eat chocolate, I will.  But, I will eat it in control and I will make decisions that are going to benefit me, not derail me.

I hope that helps put those questions to rest.  Hard work and smart decisions.  Those are the answers!

Tomorrow I will include you in a challenge I am starting.  I will be posting what is being done daily so you can join in if you would like.  I will also add a page with my workouts so you can see what I do on a daily basis.

Blessings!

Take The Time

One question I get asked a lot since I started my journey in this new life is this:

"How do you have the time to work out and do all of the things you are doing?"

The answer to that is simple.  I am making the time.  Yes, I am blessed to be a Stay At Home Mom, so my schedule is a little more flexible that some.  But, I still have 3 kids and a husband to wrangle and 2 of those kids in a soccer schedule that I have to keep straight.  That is not always an easy thing to do.  I also volunteer a lot at church, I am on the leadership team for my MOPS group, in a Bible Study, and I volunteer as much as I can at the girls' school.  I also am in a knitting group and am a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant.  I am on the go a lot.  I am also very blessed to have a husband who is EXTREMELY supportive of me and helps me make the time to do what I need to do.

But, again, the answer to the original question is simple.  I make the time.

I write my time in the gym into my calendar.  I write it in ink so it is a permanent part of my schedule.  When I see it there and I can't erase it, I know I need to go.  If it means that I go at 9 o'clock at night, that that is when I go.  If I absolutely can not get to the gym, then I work out at home.  I do a video, I find something on Pinterest to do, or I just make it up as I go.  But I do SOMETHING.

I take my kids with me to the gym.  I am lucky to belong to a gym that has child-care so they can play while I work out.  I explain everything I am doing on this journey to my children.  They understand that Mommy wants to be healthy so I can do more things with them and be around for a very long time.  A healthier mommy means a healthier life for them and I am working very hard to make them see that.  I do not want any of them (especially my daughters) to think that I am doing this to be skinny or anything like that.  I want to be healthy, happy, and strong.  That is one of the best lessons I can teach them.

If I go to soccer practice, we take the bikes so the kids can ride their bikes and I can walk.  They get exercise and so do I.  Win Win.

I'm sure that there are people out there that think I am not being fair to my kids when I make them go play at the gym.  I know that there are Moms out there that feel a lot of guilt anytime they take the time to do something for themselves.  I'm going to say this simply.  Get over it.  What good are you doing anyone if you aren't taking care of yourself?  I ask that as someone who spent a long time not taking care of myself.

One day at MOPS, we had a speaker.  It was my sweet friend Natalie Snapp and you can read her wonderful writing at Embracing Life Just South Of Perfect.  Natalie was telling us why we needed to take care of ourselves.  It makes our lives at home much easier.  It makes us less angry and much more patient.  Sometimes just 5 minutes of peace and quiet and relaxation will make us a new woman.  I won't go into everything Natalie talked about, mainly because I think you should really listen to her speak it if you have the chance, but also because there is no way I can do her wonderful wisdom justice.  But, the main thing that I want to share with you that she spoke about that really struck a cord in me was this: Your body is a temple.

Have you heard that before?  I have.  I never truly understood what that phrase meant until Natalie explained it.  Again, her words are much more eloquent than my own, but I will do my best.  I have opened my heart to the Lord Jesus.  He resides in my heart.  Therefore, my earthly body which holds the heart that Jesus resides in is in fact a temple, as real a temple as any church.  It is my responsibility to treat this temple body with as much respect as I would a church.  I would never desecrate a church, why on earth would I do so to my body?  But, that is exactly what I was doing.  By filling my body with junk, by sitting on the couch and never trying to keep my body healthy, I was NOT honoring the temple God gave me.

I pray I am honoring Him now.

Blessings.

Easter Food Hangover

Yesterday was an amazingly wonderful Easter Sunday in which we celebrated our Risen Lord.  After a beautifully moving Holy Week, I had so anticipated this day. The Easter Mass was awesome and our family celebration afterwards was great!  It was wonderful to visit with everyone and watch my kids and their cousins play all afternoon.  It was a great and very blessed day! He is Alive!

I don't know what Easter dinner in your family is like, but in our family, it means ham, cheesy potatoes, corn pudding, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, rolls, ham/pickle rollups, and desserts. Oh the desserts!  I had given up sweets for Lent and had not had dessert in 40 days. I was wanting dessert people!  I'd love to say that not eating all the sugar during Lent got rid of all of the cravings, but unfortunately, that is not the case.  Since I started my life change, I had not really had a day in which I just ate what I wanted to eat and didn't stress too much about the calories (otherwise known as a splurge day!).  I decided that I needed to have one of those so I might as well make it a special day.  I tried not to go overboard, but I did enjoy the day.  I really enjoyed the desserts!

Yesterday morning I weighed myself just because I was curious where I was before my Splurge Day and then I weighed myself this morning to see the damage I did.  In the course of 24 hours, I "gained" 2.4 pounds!  Now, I know that I had ham and Ramen Noodle Coleslaw Salad, both of which are SUPER high in salt.  I also didn't get as much water yesterday as I would have liked.  I also know that there was no way I ate 8400 "Splurge" calories to cause a 2.4 pound gain (3500 calories per pound to help the math impaired.) so I know that although some of that gain may be legit most of it is probably water.  Today I have been flooding my body with water.  I have drank so much water, I feel like I'm floating a little.  I have to admit I have had a couple of non-healthy things today as well, but nothing like I did yesterday.  Let's be honest though, it is in the house staring me in the face, and I only have so much will power.  I will be glad when it is gone.  All of this explanation is to just say that sometimes a gain is a gain.  Sometimes a gain is bloat.  Sometimes you have to enjoy special days in your life.  Sometimes the chocolate is just really that good.  And sometimes, even with a 2.4 pound "gain", you still lose weight from the week before!  Not bad, and I will take it!

The knee is feeling so much better now.  I was able to lift lower body today and do squats and lunges.  I was on the elliptical and did a good hard workout on the treadmill.  Tonight I am heading to spinning, which I am looking forward to since I haven't been on a bike in the week.  It will be a good night!

Leftovers for dinner tonight means some of that food from yesterday, but continuing to drink lots of water and managing my portion size will make a big difference.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter with your family.  I wish you all the blessings in the world today and every day!!

3rd Place Baby!

I finished my 500 Miles For Eli today!!  Woo Hoo!  I worked my arse off this morning and did 23 miles on the bike and 10 miles on the rower.  I came in 3rd place which is what I was working toward.  There was no way I was catching the people in 1st and 2nd, so I am THRILLED that I came in 3rd!!  Awesome Sauce!

I was a little worried about how the knee would hold up, but after riding 23 miles, my rear end couldn't take any more of the bike.  I was so close, there was NO way I was going to stop.  So, I got on the rower thinking if I couldn't do it, I could always finish the last 10 miles tomorrow.  But, YAY!  The knee felt really pretty great so I pushed through and finished out.  I was so excited that I could do it without a lot of pain.  Now, it is a little sore and tired now, but after all of that plus standing 90% of a 2 hour long mass tonight will probably do that to some roughed up knees.

I did have a pretty cool observation today.  I put on the pair of black knee-high stiletto boots that I bought right before Christmas.  I had to buy the wide-calf version because I couldn't get the regular size to zip over my calves.  Well, when I first purchased them, they fit PERFECTLY.  Today, I could stick my entire hand down the side of them.  I didn't realize that I was losing that much in my legs, but can we say awesome?!?!  I might have to buy some new boots before the fall, but it will SO be worth it.

Hope you have a blessed night!

A Hitch In The Plan

Today is my Monday check-in.  It was such a busy weekend, but it was only leading up to a busy week, so this is probably going to be a little short.  I have hit a snag in the plan, but I am determined that it is only going to be a small snag.

Saturday evening, I was giving 2 of the short people a bath.  When I went to stand up from kneeling on the floor, I heard a pop and had instant pain in my right knee.  For my readers that don't know, I have already had 2 surgeries on my right knee, so hearing a "pop" out of that same knee about made me throw up.  I stood up and walked around and the main pain went away, but it was still very sore.  Sunday was thankfully my day off from the gym so I could have a rest day.  It was very sore all throughout the day however, especially any time I made my leg go to the side.

E thought I might have something called Ilio-Tibial Band Syndrome, but is essentially Plantar Fasciitis, but in my knee (the hubs has a degree in Exercise Science...he is super smart!).  He said the only thing that will help is rest.  Well, that is all well and good, but the problem with that plan is that I am only 55 miles away from 500 Miles For Eli.  I am in 3rd place and I refuse to go down.  So, after seeing that I was visibly upset about this my sweet husband told me to relax and to rest Sunday and then I could spin on my own on Monday (today).  However, he gave me explicit instructions.  I was NOT allowed to ride with very much resistance.  I was NOT allowed to stand up and ride.  I was NOT allowed to go over 120 RPMs.  I was NOT to lift.  I assumed I was not supposed to do squats or lunges either (oh darn.).  But, I could ride.  So, today I went and rode pretty easy for an hour and a half.  I got in 21.5 miles.  It really felt pretty good.  Toward the end, my leg started getting pretty tired and I could tell the instant I wasn't keeping my legs straight when I was riding.   But, I was really proud of myself when I was finished.

In the past, anytime I attempted to really get into getting healthy, if I would get injured, that would be my downfall.  I REFUSE to let that happen this time.  I will work toward finishing the last of those 500 miles and then I will let it rest and go on with my journey.  I WILL NOT QUIT!  I WILL NOT FAIL.  I can do all things through HIM who strengthens me.

Blessings!

Dinner Choices

Man, it has been a week.  And I know that it is only going to get crazier with Holy Week coming up, but it will all be worth it.  Holy week is such an awesome experience and I love that I get to be a part of it through singing in the choir.  Anyway, I have been continuing to work hard and then work harder.  I knocked out a lot of Miles for Eli this week and only have 55 to go to the finish line.  The guy in fourth place is right on my tail though, so I am going to have to step it up!  I'm hoping to be done by Easter.  I should be finished several days prior to that though!  

I did have a pretty awesome success this week...I am up to benching 105 pounds!  And I got all 12 reps at that weight AFTER doing 12 reps at 85 and 12 reps at 100!  That seriously felt incredible!!!  I love that I am feeling myself get stronger.  I was able to increase the weight on about half of my upper body lifting.

Right now, I want to talk about food.  I try not to talk about calories and such too much on here because I completely know how easy it is to become obsessed with counting calories and all of the zillion different things women are told about how many calories we should be eating and blah, blah, blah.  I have discussed this thoroughly with several different trainers and everyone is different.  Everyone has different caloric needs.  Now, remember, I am so NOT a trainer or a dietitian, anything I put on the blog here is information I have gathered from others (I will try to give credit where credit is due!) or just information that I have learned about myself through this journey.  I HIGHLY suggest talking with someone who knows what they are talking about before starting this kind of journey yourself!!  I use the Lose It App on my phone to help me keep track of what I am eating.  As of today according to the App, I should be eating 1739 calories per day.  That is a base number.  When I first started this journey, I was told I should eat close to 1900.  In the beginning, I had a really difficult time getting all of those calories.  I have spent so many years thinking I need to eat less to lose weight.  I know you all have heard the whole, "women should only eat 1200 calories each day".  Well, that may work for some people, but it wasn't going to work for me.  Discussions with one of the trainers at the gym taught me that I HAVE to eat AT LEAST 1600 calories each day MINIMUM and closer to 1800 would be even better!!  It has been really difficult to wrap my brain around that, but I am trying.  Exercise does give me more calories to eat if I need them, but I don't eat them too often.  Sometimes though (like yesterday), I get hungry, or I REALLY want an extra bowl of yummy soup, so I dig in to those extra calories.  But, the biggest lesson anyone starting a journey like this needs to know is that you can't starve yourself.  Your body will eventually go into starvation mode and you will NOT lose weight.  You won't build muscle.  You will NOT hit your goals.  Get what I'm saying?  Eat people!

That said, I was looking at some items on the Lose It App this afternoon and about DIED when I saw the calorie count for some things.  E said we could get Applebee's for dinner tonight.  So, I looked at how many calories I have eaten today and what I had left to eat to try and make my decision.  I LOVE to order from Applebee's because of their Under 550 calorie menu.  A lot of times the food on those types of menus are not very good.  But, I think the things on Applebee's tastes really good as well as being good for you.  Anyway, I was looking at the calorie count for some of the things I USED to eat.  Check this out!

Quesadilla Burger-I LOVE these but at 1400 calories, it is a no go, especially after I add the mayo I love on to it!

Riblet and Chicken Tender Platter (with fries and coleslaw)-1880.  Yeesh!

Appetizer Sampler-and YES, I would order and eat the entire thing myself, weighs in at 2340 calories.  Dude, that is more that I should eat all day and I would eat that in one sitting!  No wonder I gained weight!!

I'm not at all saying you should never splurge, because you absolutely should.  But, for me to have something like this again, it is going to take a LOT of understanding what I am eating up front and a lot of work in the gym BEFORE I even think about ordering one of these items.

My new favorites though have become:

Lemon Parmesean Shrimp

Signature Sirloin with Garlic Herb Shrimp and sides

Zesty Roma Chicken with Shrimp and sides

Each of these is under 500 calories and really they taste so good that I don't feel like I'm missing anything by ordering a healthier choice.  I think that is key in all of this.  You need to find foods that are a healthier choice, but do not make you feel like you are sacrificing taste.  I still LOVE Taco Bell (no comments please about that dangers of Fast Food...at least I am not eating McDonald's!).  Sometimes I splurge and get my favorite Grilled Chicken Burrito.  Sometimes I just get something from the Fresco menu (no cheese, but has pico de gallo instead).  You can find healthier choices just about anywhere, you just have to be willing to try them.  I promise, you just might surprise yourself!

So, for dinner tonight, I think I'm going with the Sirloin and Garlic Herb Shrimp.  What are you having?

Blessings!

PS...no, I get nothing from Applebee's or Taco Bell for any endorsements I gave today, however, if they would like to give me something, I'm good with that. :)

Monday Check-In!

I think (key word there is THINK) that I am starting to hit a turning point in my mind-set.  This morning I stepped on the scale just like I do every Monday morning.  I found I lost 0.6 pounds this week.  In the past, I would have been upset that I didn't even lose a whole pound.  I would have gotten sad and mad at myself that I didn't work hard enough and thought about all of the other things I should have done or what I shouldn't have eaten.  This morning though, I stepped off of the scale and my first thought was, "Man, I must have built a lot of muscle this week."  That is HUGE for me.  To not let a loss that I thought should have been bigger get me down and to see the good things that I have been doing makes me pretty proud of myself.  So much of what I am doing is mental and for me to make that change in my brain really makes me think that maybe my brain is starting to get the message!  I'm telling you, if the brain is not on board, the body is only going to do part of the work.  And let's be honest, doing part of the work is NOT going to get the job done!

I had a pretty good week this past week.  I was able to bench 100 pounds!  That felt pretty awesome!  I will hit that 135 before I know it.  I was able to log some pretty good miles for Eli too.  I lost a week with Spring Break, but I'm still in 3rd place.  I found out this morning though that the guy in 4th place is right on my tail, and that isn't cool.  So, hard work is in order this week!  I already logged 11 this morning on the bike and will go to spinning tonight to hopefully get another 15.

The hubs and I did something interesting this weekend.  The first Friday of the month at my son's school is Parent's Night Out.  They take the kiddos for 2 and a half hours which is awesome.  Usually we go out to dinner or do something fun.  This Friday however, we decided to take advantage of the fact that we didn't have kids to put more insulation in our attic.  I'm telling you what, this is a JOB!  We ended up blowing 15 26.5 pound blocks of insulation up into the attic.  When I saw "we", I mean that E stayed in the attic and held the hose aiming the insulation.  I did the heavy lifting, putting the insulation in the blower machine which then paddles it apart putting air in it and blowing it into the hose up to the attic.  We did another 5 blocks the next day and I was so sore the next 2 days.  It will be so worth it though when our air conditioning and heating bill goes down!

I have a question for any of my readers on my dear blog here.  How do you deal with compliments?  This is something I have always struggled with.  I don't want to blow off compliments as that is disrespectful to the person giving the compliment.  I don't want to be all full of myself when people give me compliments.   I know that I am working hard, and I know that it is starting to show.  I have had a lot of compliments about what I am doing and they help keep me motivated.  But, I really do not know how to respond when people compliment me.  I have the same issue when people compliment my singing, knitting, or anything else.  I simply do not know how to respond.  So, how do you respond to compliments?  What is the best way to be gracious, but still humble?  Please feel free to comment below (or on Facebook works too!)!!

Blessings!!

Re-do!

I much prefer to workout in T-shirts instead of the cute little fitted spandex shirts that a lot of women wear.  But, sometimes T-shirts are less than cute looking.  I'm also cheap, so I'm always on the lookout for super inexpensive T-shirts (if they are Nerdy, all the better!).  Right after St. Patrick's Day, I found 3 different shirts at Walmart for a buck each.  They were all XXL and XXXL size (and since now those are too big for me!), but I figured for a buck, I could do something with them.  So, I checked out PINTEREST and then I took scissors to them and am SO excited about the result.  I have 3 awesome workout tanks to wear to the gym that don't sit insanely tight on me.  They are all green and about beer or the Irish, but they are CUTE!  I also had a great Marvel Comic T-shirt that had a hole in the sleeve and since I didn't feel like busting out the sewing machine, I took scissors to it too.  If I can figure out somehow to get pics in them, I will post them for you.  But, until then, I did something similar to these:

Tied Side Tank

Criss Cross Back (but I didn't cut all the way up the back.  Only about half way down worked for me, I didn't want an open back since I will be at the gym!)

The other two are really just T's cut into tanks.  Nothing really special, but they look very cute!

Now, if I could just figure out how to post links with the pictures that they are with, we would be in good shape.  Again, I will try and get pics of what I did though, because they are darling!

I might be a little obsessed with re-purposing clothes though.  So, if you have any T's you are wanting to get rid of, feel free to send them my way!!

Blessings!