Brain Dump

Again. That seems to be what I'm capable off lately!

First off, "hey, new followers!" I've noticed a few more of you pop up since the blog hop. If you haven't already, be sure to introduce yourself. I love to discover new, fun blogs to read! And thanks for sticking around. I hope I can keep you entertained.. but.. ughh.. no promises!

Speaking of new followers... I've tried to go through my reader and delete blogs that are kind of taking up space. You know.. the ones that I've just skimmed over for a year now and haven't found very interesting. We all have them. I know mine couldn't possibly be one just taking up space in your reader, right? RIGHT? Anywho.. I've tried to delete certain ones (calm down, mostly recipe and super mom blogs that I had the best intentions with, but never really did anything with them) and they KEEP. COMING. BACK. Whaaat am I supposed to do? Keep on skimming I guess!

Speaking of recipes... I've tried some really REALLY good ones lately. And good news? They have all been WW recipes. I feel selfish keeping them all to myself, so I may start posting some recipes periodically again. Those posts never seem to be too popular, but I just couldn't live with myself if I didn't pass these on. It's a big responsibility, but I'm up for it.

Speaking of WW... I've lost a little over 5 pounds now. Boooyahhhh! Do y'all know what 5 pounds of fat looks like? No? I'll show you!

Gross right? I almost threw up a little looking at that. But that's what I've lost so far. I'm motivated. I've found a website that is really helping me in regards to dinner - LaaLoosh. It's wonderful. A website full of WW friendly recipes and organized into categories. You should probably go check it out.

Speaking of being motivated... I've also started running. <--------- I use that term loosely. Very loosely. I've started Couch to 5K. AND I've actually got a 5K race that I'm signing up for. It's called Run For a Margarita. They give you a margarita at the end. How's that for something to push you through?

Speaking of pushing through (this speaking of is a reach and I may have to stop that now) - I've started reading 50 Shades. I wasn't going to. It usually takes me longer to jump on book bandwagons, but EVERYB-O-D-Y has been talking about these. And once I started I sure as hell wasn't going to admit I was reading them. But here we are. Shewww... those are not for the faint of heart. I'm blushing just typing about them. I haven't decided if I'll read the other two books, I mean, I'm not enthralled with it yet. But everyone says I'll have to read the other two. So we shall see.

I may be pretty domestic on the ol' blog for the rest of the week. I have an update on my quest to go au natural in the cleaning department to type up. Here's a little hint - all of my store bought cleaners are in a bag ready to be donated. Also, I'd like to share one of our favorite new recipes - a healthier twist on a classic Chinese favorite that is better tasting than the real stuff!

WW Monday

But really it's Sunday. I'm early.

I've been a failure at all things Weight Watchers lately! Not only have I not kept up with the Monday Link-ups (which, if you've been reading for any amount of time, shouldn't surprise you), but I haven't been keeping up with the diet period. At all. And honestly haven't been since we moved.. what a month ago?

In this past month, I can't tell you how many times I said, "I'll start counting points again on Saturday". Saturday would come around and we'd have a cookout. Who wants to count points during a cookout? Not this girl. "I'll just wait until Monday". Monday rolls around and it doesn't happen again, but for no good reason. Saturday. Monday.. blah blah blah. Too many careless girls nights and too many cookouts. Not enough cooking going on in the casa, too much going out to eat and ordering takeout (which clearly isn't good for the weight loss... and never mind the budget!).

Tomorrow this all changes back to point counting and healthier options! Why the conviction now, you ask? How am I so sure I'll magically and faithfully be tracking points tomorrow? I saw a picture of myself today. Standing next to my two wonderful, gorgeous, in shape friends, not only did I look like a midget, but I wasn't at all happy with the state my body was in. Honestly, I thought I looked better than that (I have a very healthy self-image, which sometimes fails me). I reminded myself of an oompa loompa. (no clue how to spell that).

That's what it's always taken for me to get back on track though. A little slap in the face. A slight nudge.
I don't remember when I started this journey, but whenever it was, I've lost 12.6 pounds since then. Which is great. Four pounds of it is due to the bug from last week, but that's neither here nor there.

I've been doing good with our morning walks, but will do better.
More fruit. Less crap. More veggies. Less laziness. More determination and self-discipline.

Back to weekly weigh-ins to share with you all. Lucky ducks. I'm not going to start the link-ups back up again. There just wasn't enough participation for me to make sure I have the post done in time. I do still love to read your weight loss posts though, so let me know how you're doing!

WW Mondays

Ahhh.. is there anything more relaxing than laying in bed blogging? Well, yes, I'm sure there is.. but I'm super relaxed right now. It's really Sunday night as I'm typing this, btw, and Trey has staff duty (he has to stay at work through the night.. be there in case anything happens.. perform checks around the barracks.. that sort of thing. They take turns doing it and it works out to where he does this about 2 or 3 times a month. Just a little FYI for non-military family and friends!) Anywho.. while I would much rather him be here with me (especially because I'm afraid of what lurks out there in the dark) I do find it nice to watch what I want, eat popcorn for dinner if I want, and blog in bed every now and then! I call it looking on the bright side.

Ohh.. you don't care about my rambling and just want me to get on with the WW stuff? Good, because I can't wait to share my progress with you this week :) :)

This week I lost 3.6 pounds!! Wooo-hooooo! And that's not even the best news. It gets better.
1. I've met my first goal, which was 5% of my body weight, which was 8 pounds. I'm down 8.8 total pounds now in just under a month! I can't tell you how good that feels. How good I feel. No turning back now!
2. While leisurely walking around Target one day this week with Trey, he randomly told me that my legs are looking great. Of course, as I cheesed, I asked him what exactly he meant by that. I needed to hear what about my legs looked so much better (I have short midget legs.. I have never, ever gotten a compliment on these gams). He was talking about the definition in muscle tone. Guess all of those walks are starting to pay off.
3. My pants are getting looser on me. (Is looser a word?). I comfortably wore a pair of shorts that just a week ago caused a little too much muffy top.
4. My wedding ring is loose.

How do you like that for a progress report?!?

Now for our subject of the week. Hopefully, y'all will be more help to me than I am to any of you. I suck at lunches, but most days I don't really care. I eat the same thing almost every single day and it doesn't bother me. Most of the time.
Ready for this excitement?
A turkey sandwich made with reduced-cal, whole wheat bread toasted just so.. not to crispy.. just enough to give it a little toasted texture. (2 points for 2 slices). Add 6 slices of some flavored turkey breast (Deli Fresh) (1 point). Pepper. Cilantro. Jalapenos. Lettuce. (all zero points). Then I'll have either a yogurt (Dannon Light Toasted Coconut flavor - 2points) or 16 red-fat Wheat Thins (3 points) or maybe just some fruit.
That is my go to.
I may throw a wrench in my day by making a little salad with shredded lettuce, above listed deli meat (1 point), cilantro (zero), and 2 Tablespoons of Light Ranch (2 points). With fruit on the side. Sounds boring, but I love it. I'm a simple kind of gal.

Clearly... I need help. Can't wait to hear all about your week!!

Weight Watchers Monday

Welp, I'm going to be real honest here. Another week, another disappointment. And I haven't the foggiest idea why. Unless the doctor's scale is different from WW's scale. I had a doc appointment Friday morning so considered that my weigh-in. I was planning on going in to WW to weigh in real quick that day anyways, but after stepping on the scale at the docs office and having it go UP *point* 4 pounds since last week? I couldn't do it. I've been debating about switching to online only anyways. So much cheaper and the etools program is very helpful for me. THAT  made the decision pretty easy for me!
I haven't the foggiest idea where I'm going wrong. I stayed within my daily points almost every day. I only used 5 weekly flex points. And yes, I'm choosing my points wisely. So unless it's the frozen breakfasts I'm eating in the morning (WW brand at that) or the Smart Ones desserts (that's not allowed to be the problem. I look forward to those all day) I'm having at night, I'm at a loss. I even walked 5 out of the 7 days for 45 minutes each time. I did have my blood drawn for labs while at the doc Friday morning. Not for this reason, but there is a history of low thyroid in my family. I guess it's good to rule something like that out.
All that being said, I'm NOT giving up! I know this works and I'm going to keep on truckin' on. Even though the scale isn't showing anything, I know I've gotta be doing good by cutting my portions way down anyways. Plus, I have to buy a new belt. I was already on the last hole... I noticed earlier this week that I either need to buy a new belt or poke a new hole! So, I guess there is an achievement after all :)

On to our topic.. what motivates me?

Most importantly, is my family. I want to be healthy and live a long and fun life with them. I never want to tell my son that I CAN'T run around with him. I don't want that to be a chore. I want to enjoy his childhood.
I want to set a good example for him. I can't very well tell him he can't have those french fries or cookies or ice cream if that's all I'm sitting around eating. And I can't expect him to be active if I'm not.

Also, I want to feel good about the way I look. When I look in the mirror, the reflection doesn't resemble a thing what the girl inside me feels like. Does that make sense to anyone? I'm self-conscience about the way I look right now. I'm always tugging at my clothes making sure they fit right and are covering up the "fatty parts". Always hiding the chub. I want to be able to throw something on and just feel good about myself. Not try on half a dozen items out of my closet and rip each thing off in disgust.

All in all.. I just want to be a better me. For myself and my family.

What about you? Link up and let us know!

Weight Watchers Mondays

Happy Memorial Day everyone! I know most of you are off spending some QT with families and friends, feel free to link up any day this week! I hope in the midst of all of the fun times, hamburgers, hot dogs, lakes and pools, that you've taken a moment or five to remember and pray for all of our fallen soldiers and humbly thank them for their ultimate sacrifice. I know we have.

This week our focus is going to be on breakfast ideas, but first, I want to share my.. errrmmm.. progress with you all. I was excited to jump on that scale, but also a little unsure. It was very anticlimactic. I lost .2 pounds this week. Not 2 pounds.. just wanted to make sure you saw that point before the two. Yeahhh. I think I snacked a little too much this week. I used a lot of my extra weekly points, but didn't go over which I guess is why there was a teeny tiny bit of loss. I went out to dinner with some girlfriends one night too. To Olive Garden. I thought I was choosing wisely by ordering off of the appetizer menu (got the Grilled Chicken Flatbread), but not so much. My meal was 29 points. And that's only because I didn't finish the whole thing. Would have been worse. I'm still not very comfortable with eating out.. clearly.
I did get 3 good walks in over the week, but I need to do better.

It was disappointing, but also motivating. I got a little slack with the extra points. Yes, I know they are there.. but that doesn't mean I need to use them quite as much. I used at least 1 or 2 every day. I need to drink more water (gosh that is so hard for me) and get at least a walk in every day. I've been thinking more and more about starting Couch to 5K in again as well. We'll see about that! And even less snacking. Hopefully I'll have a more exciting update next week!!

Breakfast ideas...
I'll admit something - I do a lot of frozen breakfasts. I have a baby that.. at the moment.. is not very happy when 100% of my attention is not focused on him. Yes, it's every bit as fun as it sounds. Some morning I could get away with making a nice breakfast, but most I can't. Yes, he's the boss around here. He's running things. Soo.. it's much much easier for me to throw something in the microwave. More expensive? Yes. Less time consumed? Yes. Very tasty? Yes.
I never use more than 6 points on breakfast. If I can get it in in 5.. even better. Jimmy Dean Delights are spectacular. Turkey sausage breakfast bowls.. yum. Canadian bacon sammies on a honey wheat english muffins.. delish. Both of those are 6 points. The bowls even have a few potatoes in them. Bonus. Smart Ones has a few tasty things that I've tried as well. Breakfast quesidillas (5 points and I LOVE them) and they have a breakfast skillet that is just alright. I don't know if I'll try that again.
When I do have time to make my own I either have a fried egg (just use Pam.. zero points) or scrambled with one whole egg and one egg white. Always, always add in a splash of hot sauce. Canadian bacon and a slice of white bread. I really love oatmeal and would love to find a way to fit that in to mix it up a bit, but I haven't found a way to make it without blowing points.

Anyway.. eggs everyday? I could use some other suggestions! How did you all do this week? Link up and let me know :)

Weight Watchers Mondays

Yeahhh.. I couldn't think of anything clever to go with Mondays, but there you have it.

I'm starting a weekly meme for any of you (the more the merrier) to contribute to. Weight loss is hard.. a lifestyle change is even more so. I know I can use all the motivation possible, so I'm sure you all could to. What better way for us all to get together and help each other out?? So, be sure to link up at the bottom of this post! (this is very new for me, so if it doesn't work, try not to be too annoyed! I'll figure it out)
I've decided to do Weight Watchers as you all know from last week, but feel free to add in tips that have worked for you even if you are taking a different approach!

This week, let's share how much you have lost since you started your journey, how much you have to go to meet your goal, and the biggest thing you have learned so far that you were doing all wrong.

On Friday, I did my first weigh-in (they will normally be on Saturday) and drumroll please.....
..... I LOST 5 POUNDS. Yay yay yay!! I'm so very proud of myself. I went in there only expecting to see a loss of 2 at the most, so you can imagine my surprise. A big "Are you kidding me????", was said and the sweet lady assured me that no, she was not in fact kidding. I gushed and gushed and she gave me two stickers. Which only added to my excitement. I'm a child still, I swear it.
My first goal is 5% of my weight, which is 8 pounds, so I am almost there. I have 31 pounds to go before I get to my ultimate goal. A long way to go, but I KNOW I can do it!

For me, this week.. I think the biggest thing I learned was portion control. Holy moly, does that make a difference! And I was eating wayyyy too much! It has really helped to measure everything out this week. Especially salad dressing. Two tablespoons is A LOT less than I thought it was! The second biggest thing I think would be... no mindless snacking. Before WW, I would get everything out to make a sandwich, and snack on an extra piece of cheese while I made it. And that can be applied to anything. Always munching on something. Those little extra things during the day really add up!

During this week, I will work on compiling a list of weekly topics so you can be more prepared (if this even works!) Please participate, y'all! Don't make me feel like the loser blogger that I probably really am that has no friends ;) And let your friends know about it as well! I'm telling you.. I'm really going to need the motivation!

I can't wait to hear from you all!

Weighty Issues

I did it. I done joined Weight Watchers.

I never imagined myself like this 8 months after having a baby. I don't know why. Actually, I do know why. I compared myself to other girls I knew that have had babies. Good friends, acquaintances. Some that bounced back with minimal to NO effort. Some that somehow found the time to exercise all hard core - all while caring for a newborn, keeping up house and home, and working full time. Talk about determination.. geesh!
You can't do that though. Compare yourself to people that aren't in your gene pool, that is. I should have known better. I've struggled with my weight my entire life. The majority of my time has been spent on the overweight side. One time I lost it in a very unhealthy way (aka pretty depressed and therefore not eating much of anything and working out excessively) and the other time being from.. duh duh duh.. you guessed it. Weight Watchers.
So after struggling for a few months now, trying to find the time to work out, going from diet to diet, I ended up being far more confused and frustrated than ever. What really works? Counting calories? But it has to be more than just that, right? The type of calories you eat have to matter. Do I get rid of all carbs, some carbs, sugar? That's not reasonable, for sure! I'm bound to fail with that (and I did). Is real sugar better, or fake? I need to choose all of the"light" options to stay in a respectable amount of calories a day, but if the bottle says "light", that just means the sugar has shot up. Gahhhh! These are the thoughts that have plagued me for months now. Multiple times, I couldn't take it and just gave up all together. Only to gain those 5 pounds back, get disgusted with myself and start some other diet.

Enter WW. I know it works. I've done it. It's realistic. It's changed over the years, and incorporates more of the lifestyle Trey and I have been trying to live. Instead of doing a calorie counting based point system, it's all based on high protein and fiber, low fat and carbs. Win win! Trey gets meals cooked that work for his weight loss efforts, and I can FOCUS on the low carb foods, but add in little bits here and there based on points. Make sense? I probably didn't explain it well enough, but it works in my head. I'm excited.

Here's the ugly truth. I weighed in today at 164.4 pounds. I'm 5'3. This isn't okay. I'm very unhappy with the way I look and feel. I dread going on walks with my little family.. isn't that horrible? So not how I pictured myself. But, I'm changing it. I'm doing something about it and that's what matters. I have a destructive relationship with food. My life revolves around it. Borderline obsessive. So, not only do I want to change the way I look and feel... I want to be able to think about daily life and how food mixes in without breaking out into a cold sweat. In fact, I want to think about my weekend plans without thinking about food at all. Food needs to hold less importance in my life.
I plan to surround myself with supportive, encouraging people. I know Trey will be so very supportive. I know I need to actually GO to the meetings. The online option wouldn't work for me. I need to be held accountable. So between supportive friends, a loving husband, weekly support and weigh-ins, seeing results and hopefully feeling better about myself, I have to be on to a winning combination!

I'll keep track of how I'm doing here. Are any other of you girls out there doing WW? If so, let me know! We can help each other along and share recipes. I know I'm going to need help with meal ideas for sure.

Day 18: Eating out!

I LOVE to eat. Really, it's one of my favorite past times. Which is why I'm joining Weight Watchers on Saturday. It's the only thing that works for me. I've tried multiple things since having Andrew, and really most of my adult life. Weight is something I always have, and I believe always will, struggle with. And WW... is my answer. I'll be going to meetings every Saturday morning for a while. After a few weeks maybe I'll just do the weigh-ins, but this girl needs the accountability. WW online would not work for me. I plan (you all know how that goes, so don't hold your breath) to do weekly updates... even starting by telling you my starting weight (eeeks... that will be embarrassing), but wish me luck.

Anywhoo... sorry! Got off on a little tangent.

Right now, I would have to say that my favorite place to eat is Taco Cabana. I really have simple taste. This place is cheap, but oh so amazing. I eat there at least once a week. I need to get that in in the next few days one more time... after that I'll have to look at the dreaded nutrition information. Lord, please tell me that the #2 meal, which consists of 2 beef tacos in a soft tortilla shell, plus chips and queso are only 2ish points! :)

Calm down mum, Andrew's 8-month post is coming soon!

Operation: Hot Mom

I don't think I've mentioned this over the past week, but on Monday, I started the South Beach diet. I didn't have enough time to make ONLY working out work for me. I was getting into Curves three times a week and still eating whatever the heck I wanted. Not very effective! I'm able to work out more now that I switched gyms and it helps that I'm getting more cardio, but the diet has been amazing.

I've never been a diet person. I don't think I've ever been successful with one, besides that one time out of like 50 that I did Weight Watchers. But this one? This has been great so far.

I'm sure everyone is familiar with South Beach, but just in case you're not, basically you are cutting out carbs and sugar. It's broken down into different phases (phase 1 being the more strict of the two where you can have NO carbs or sugar. Phase 2 is where you start gradually adding GOOD carbs back in).
I was terrified to start this! I live for bread, pastas, potatoes... all that good stuff! But I knew I had to do something, so I just made up my mind. I was doing it. I literally had to mentally prep myself. Tell myself over and over that food is for nourishment, not fun.
The first day was super easy. The second day was the worst. I was starving and grouchy. Every day since has been great.

If you put a bowl of mashed potatoes in my face right now, I could easily turn it down. I'm never, ever starving. I feel healthier. Annddd....
I've lost somewhere between 5-7 pounds. In a week. (scale fluctuates.)

I'm being realistic about this. I know that it's impossible to say that I will never have a potato or a slice of pizza again. Ha! My goal is to make this a lifestyle change. Once I get to my goal weight, I plan to keep this up for the most part, but if I really want a good bad carb, I'll eat it and not beat myself up over it. It just won't be an every day thing. If I slip up, I'll jump right back on.
Of course, I want to feel good about myself and how I look, but mainly, I want to be healthy for my family. I want to run around with my son. I want to go on hikes with my husband and not have to quit halfway through. I want to live a long, healthy life and not worry about any preventable, weight related diseases.

Soooo.. wish me luck on this journey! I plan to do regular posts about this. I'll update with my progress and list some ideas for different foods to eat and ways to eat them.. ahem.. in the first two weeks eating eggs everyday gets old. You have to get creative! Stay tuned...

A New Journey

I'm completely fed up with this baby weight. But I can't complain too much if I'm not doing anything about it.

Something clicked in me about two weeks ago. I'd had enough. I drove my chubster self to Curves and signed up on the spot. Not for the year commitment though.. I know myself better than that! *SN: I'm already coming into conflict with this. Trey is part of a new BN now and they are much more strict with his hours. He actually has to be present during formations now (gasp) which means they only time I had to go to the gym (6:30 am when they open) won't work anymore. I can't go after he gets off work or else we won't eat until 8pm and we all know that isn't good. Time to reassess I guess! Anywho.. where was I... After two and some odd weeks of working out and not really changing my eating habits (re: eating whatever the hell I want), I've finally come to terms with the fact that I needed to change said eating habits.

I've started South Beach. I was going to do one of those detox things for 17 days. .you know.. because everyone is doing it. But I had no clue as to what I was supposed to do after those 17 days. I mean.. once those days are over there are no guidelines. I need guidelines or I'll consume 5 pounds of potatoes in a day and top it off with a gallon of ice cream.

When we picked Andrew up from our friends house Sunday morning, I noticed her South Beach book on the table, started asking questions, read a few pages in the book, and made up my mind.

I went to the grocery store and had a mini panic attack as I saw the cashier load up all of those veggies. No bread. No crackers. No noodles or potatoes. I just knew I was going to starve!!

But day one is gone and over with and I have to say... I did pretty well. I never really went hungry.

I'm pretty excited about this.. especially since Trey is doing it with me. I plan to be very strict with the first two phases. After that.. I know I'll have some of those delicious carbs.. just once and a while. Not every night.

Sadly, you know what the hardest part of this all is? No No.. silly.. not the part about going without wine for 2 weeks.. too easy. It's trying to get all of my water in!

Wish me luck.. I'm very motivated today, but it's just day one.

Holy Calorie Counting

I found an amazing website last night and thought I'd share.

http://www.caloriecount.about.com/

Go for it! You set up your profile. Enter in a bunch of scary info (height, weight, excersize habits) and it spits back out ever more scary information for you (bmi, tells you to what extent you are overweight, gives you a goal weight, and lets you know when you should be at your goal weight) Oh.. and tells you how many calories you should be eating a day.
It also has a daily food log and activity log. you can type in just about any food imaginable (including from restaurants) and it will tell you how many calories are in it. You add each thing you eat into your log and it tallies those pesky calories up for you throughout the day. And for each food, it grades it, tells you good and bad points about the food. You can pick a weigh in day if you'd like and post that on your page. It has a weight coach to let you know how well your doing.

I've started today and love it, so I just had to share my good find with yall!