10 Minute Confession

I literally have 10 minutes to write this but I feel I MUST get this out in the open so here are bullet points. Short and sweet!

* Exercise has been excellent! I have completed all 24 days of exercise his month! I have exercised before doing anything else in my day! Meanig sometimes school starts at noon! But I am done with exercise for the day!!

* My food choices for the past week have pretty much SUCKED! I'm guessing it will show up on the scale tomorrow, too! Sunday ate enough calories for 2 days!

* That Other Kid learned to ride his bike Sunday and I'm hoping to get a bike later today so we can start bike riding together! I LOVE BIKE RIDING!!

* I'm starting to think about what kind of exercise program to start in February, cuz I will be done with the 30 Day Shred on the 31st!

ShrinYoSelf - Week 3

Here we are in week 3 of 2012 and it's Wednesday so that means it's time to weigh in with the ladies at ShrinkingJeans. So I'm just gonna go ahead and get right to it.

Starting weight for this challenge: 205.0

Last week's weight: 200.0

This morning's weight: 199.6

Ok...so it definitely wasn't what I had hoped for this week in the weight loss department but it is what it is! I'm UNDER 200 pounds and that made me happy! Honestly when I first got on the scale this morning it said 200 and I just couldn't accept that I hadn't lost ANY weight this week. I did have a couple of "off" meals but to go through the whole week exercising and eating less than my "alloted" calories and NO weight loss, I couldn't accept. So, I got on the scales again and it went down to 199.6! That is a number I could accept. Minimal loss but a loss regardless.

I have been doing pretty well on the 52 Small Changes challenges going on over at the 'hood. This week's challenge is to find little things to keep our body moving. I parked further at Target, used a different parking area for my car Monday night, helped carry My Marine's heavy sea-bags to the car and then into the airport Tuesday morning when he left. I have also been drinking my 100 oz+ of water so I go to the bathroom alot! All of these little things add up to extra movement, and extra calorie burn!

Ok..so yesterday I didn't get my Confessions posted, so you get to hear my excuses confessions for this week in this post, too! I know you are excited...so here they are in bullet points, since that's easy!

*I went to Schlotzsky's Friday night and ate a 880 calories cinnamon roll! Not exactly on my Low Glycemic Index diet plan!

*Sunday went out for a final "family meal" before My Marine left to go back to California for his next phase of the Marines. We went to the Texas Roadhouse because he loves their bread! I do too BUT I only ate 1 roll! It was a wonderful roll BUT it wasn't on the plan! But, I ate a SALAD AND GREEN BEANS instead of my usual salad and baked potato! Those were ON my plan! Yay me!

*Oh and I DID NOT drink a coke with my meal, like I usually do!

*I didn't go to sleep Monday night because I needed to take My Marine to the airport at 4:00 am. I decided it would be better to stay up and then go to sleep AFTER getting home from the airport. I DID NOT drink soda on the way home from the airport! Nor did I stop at the NUMEROUS DONUT shops that were on the way home from the airport like I normally would! Score for me!

*I came home from the airport and got in bed at 6:30 am and got up at 11:00 am. If I would have been able to sleep all the way through that time I would have been ok for the day, BUT I got interrupted by the hubs, That Other Kid and the cats numerous times! I figure I got 3 or maybe 4 hours of sleep!

*I was tired all day but DID my Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred dvd and my 10 minute ab work shortly after getting out of bed!

*I went to sleep shortly after 10 p.m. last night and slept till 9:30 this morning! I felt a bit sluggish from getting that much sleep!

*I skipped lunch today and was sooooo hungry this afternoon. I bought mozzarella cheese sticks from Sonic. Then for dinner I ate a huge cheeseburger, french fries and a COKE! I knew when I ordered all of this food I was making a huge error in judgement! I knew I should have gotten something MUCH better for my body but I didn't feel like going to another food place and I really didn't care at that point that it was not on the Low Glycemic Index plan!

*Honestly the food didn't taste good and the coke just left me MORE thirsty! It didn't really satisfy my desire for salty food either!

***Yes, eating the right foods for me makes me feel better and I know that although eating "crap" food occasionally will happen I feel a lot better mentally and physically when I eat what my body NEEDS!

***Eating right and exercising at least 30 minutes a day helps me mentally and physically feel so much better! I'm glad I have finally figured that out!

***I completed Day 18 of the 30 Day Shred with additional ab work this morning and I'm beginning to be able to tell a difference in my body shape. My stomach does seem to be shrinking, although I haven't taken measurements. I'm going to wait till the end of the month to measure but it is noticable enough that my hubs can tell!

***I sent My Marine off to Camp Pendleton, CA yesterday morning and only shed a few tears. I probably won't hear from him till he is done with this phase of training in 3 weeks. Then he will head off to Ft. Mead, Maryland for his final phase of schooling for nearly 3 months. During his final phase he will have more freedom and I'm praying that I will have more contact with him. I don't know when he will get to come home again....and that makes this difficult BUT I am pretending to be strong! I have to be, I raised a Marine!!

I absolutely LOVE this quote! I got this card today from 'Lissa and it really hit home with me!

Ok..so there you have it. My confessions for the week as well as my weigh in post! Nothing like killing 2 birds with 1 stone, huh?!

Hello From 2013!!

ChristieO wants us to write a letter to ourself about the things that happen in 2012 from the point of view of it being 2013. Confused? Yeah, me too! But what a great exercise in goal setting! I did it last year and didn't have great success, but this year will be different! Read and enjoy the year that I'm about to embark on.

Good morning!

It's been a year since I talked you into taking a chance with yourself and convinced you that you are indeed worth living a healthy lifestyle! I'm so glad you listened and took the bull by the horns and stopped half-assing your workouts and your diet! I know you are too because you are so much happier now than you were at the beginning of 2012! This was a great year full of learning how to live without constantly thinking of the "what-ifs". You now concentrate on the "nows" and that makes life so much less stressful! Speaking of stress, yes there is still plenty of it but you have really learned how to keep yourself from freaking out about every little thing that doesn't go according to plan. See that Charlie Brown cartoon up there? You saw that cartoon and applied it to your life! What a great way to live 2012 (and beyond)!

The hubby had a great year...full of meeting some pretty significant goals. It was a wonderful thing to watch the transformation!

My Marine is doing better than you imagined as a Combat Photographer and is getting to see some pretty awesome sites! He emails and sends you pictures all the time. This helps you feel more connected and helps you not miss him so much. Yes, you still miss having that day to day connection with him but it is getting easier! He's been a Marine now for a little more than a year and it feels wonderful being able to tell people that your son is a Marine! You raised a good person!

That Other Kid is growing up and excelling in school. Not that that is a big surprise to you. He's always been a smart kid but it's good to know that as a homeschooling mom you are doing the right thing with him! He still knows how to push your buttons and make you want to throw him out to the windowdoor world but you know in your heart of hearts that you are his best teacher! He has learned that school comes first, then building all his wonderful lego creations can come next! You have learned how to keep him focused on his school stuff and it helps you as well!

How have you accomplished this wonderful feat? You both exercise every morning before starting school! Yes, you decided that if it was good enough for you to exercise in the morning then it was good enough for That Other Kid too! You get up and do your morning exercise routine then you both do some kind of exercise together! It's a great way to spend some quality time together doing something fun as well as good for you! Some mornings you play a Wii or XBox game, some mornings you go walking, biking, or playing catch with the football! And your favorite? Is using the punching bag you bought him for his birthday in 2011! It's a great cardio workout for both of you! And what's more...he loves spending this time with you! After this great workout you sit down and get some good book-learning done! You are both focused and ready to take on the day!

AND you have lost a ton (well not literally) of weight this year because of your constant exercise! It feels so good to finally be at a healthy weight and be able to do so much more because you have gotten the weight off! I'm so proud of you! You have learned how to balance eating right and exercise into your day to day life as well as tackling that ugly stress beast!

You also raised the money necessary to walk your 2nd Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure! This definitely was one of the high points of the year. Finding a cure for breast cancer and helping bring awareness to others has become such a passion for you and you did a great job bringing it front and center this year! Not only did you walk but unlike last year you didn't gain a bunch of unnecessary weight while doing it! You were smart with your calorie intake and made it a wonderful experience without gaining weight!

At the beginning of the year you started reading and following the book 52 Small Changes with all your sisters over at the 'hood and I am happy to report that you made it through all 52 weeks and yes, you are happier because of it! You have made great changes to your life this year that you will carry through with you the rest of your life! Another wonderful thing you accomplished this year!

Another highlight from this past year is that you finally got a handle on your organization skills! You made organizing a priority for your household and family and it shows in every area of your life! What a great feeling!

It's been a great 2012 and I can't wait to see what 2013 brings your way!

Hugs to us!

Your 2013 self

ShrinkYoSelf 2012 - Week 2

Yes, it's already the 2nd week of the new year. And it's also Wednesday so that means it's time to do a weigh in for the Sisterhood. As I was watching The Biggest Loser last night I was thinking about how normally the 2nd week of any diet/exercise plan is a small weight loss week. I was also thinking about how to ensure that I wouldn't be disappointed if the scale reflected that this morning. I decided that I would look at it this way. If the men and women that are working out with Bob and Dolvett are only losing 4, 5, and 7 pounds I should keep my eyes focused on what I am doing and be happy with any loss this week. Regardless of the size of the loss as long as it is a loss I would be happy!

So I got on the scale this morning and I was indeed HAPPY!

Starting challenge weight: January 1, 2012 - 205.0
Last Wednesday's weight: January 4, 2012 - 201.8
Today's weight: January 11, 2012 - 200.0

So that means in 11 days I have lost 5 pounds! Yes, that's 5 pounds that I have shred from my body in just 10 days! Like the men and women on the Biggest Loser I wish I could have seen a number in Onederland BUT I did lose 1.8 pounds this week! I am going to be happy with that and continue working toward my goal of losing 10 pounds in the month of January and another 10 pounds in the month of February! Heck, I'm half way there for the month of January and I still have A LOT of month left!

So as far as the challenges for the week - we are supposed to be exercising a minimum of 20 minutes/3 times a week for vigorous exercise or 30 minutes/5 times a week for moderate exercise.

I am happy to report that I have done a minimum of 34 minutes of exercise for every day of this month! Yes, I have gotten up early (or not so early) and exercised! I am beginning to like exercising in the morning...shhhh, don't tell my head that! Yes, I still have a hard time actually making myself get started but once I do I like that it is over early in the day and I don't have to worry about it in the afternoon or evening!

I am following along with the 'hood groupthat Christy set up for 52 Small Changes. Last week was getting enough water! Clear, plain water! I do that one by drinking a minimum of 100 oz of water every day and was successful even on Saturday when I was out most of the day without access to extra water! This week's challenge - is getting between 7 & 8 hours of sleep a night! This is a HUGE challenge for me but so far I am doing it! Yay me! My goal is to go to sleep at 12 midnight and sleep till 8! Last night I got in bed at 12:03 and woke up at 5:34 but went back to sleep fairly quickly. I slept till my alarm went off at 8! Then I got up and got started exercising BEFORE 9!! Yay me! The night before I went to bed at 12:16 and slept THRU my alarm at 8 and woke up promptly at 9:01! Even though I got up an hour late I still exercised in the morning! Another Yay me! Normally I would have said "ugh I'm already an hour late, I will just do it later!" But the new me said "screw the schedule, exercising is more important!"

I'm running behind on my assignment for the year; my "Dear Me" letter. A letter written by the 2013 me telling me what great things my 2012 me did this year. I don't really have an excuse for why I haven't done it yet, I just haven't taken the time to do it yet. These letters take a lot of mental focus for me and I haven't had much of that lately! BUT...I am committed to doing it by Friday night! I will get this letter written and posted and linked up. I think it's a very important process to do this and it's kind of fun to think of what I want to do this year!

So how are your goals going for the year? Honestly, my health and fitness goals are going great but the others not so much! I guess I can only focus on one thing at a time till I get the hang of it, so I'm not beating myself up over it. I'm just going to focus on the accomplishments that I have made and keep striving for improvements one day at a time!

Some Good Confessions

Today is 10 days into the new year...about the time I usually cave in on my resolutions or weight loss journey. Today is the day that I usually just decide I can't do this anymore. Today is usually a hard day to do the right things in my journey and then I figure if I can't do it longer than 10 days then I obviously can't do this. In other words I give up on myself.

HOWEVER, I am happy to say that today was a new day! It was a new year! Not only did I NOT give up on myself today but I had a major victory! If you've been around me long you know my love of ice cream! I passed this love on to "My Marine". Tonight after dinner (a new recipe yummy!) he said he wanted ice cream! I told him "we have chocolate ice cream in the freezer; help yourself." (Yes, chocolate ice cream has been in the freezer since the beginning of the year and I haven't had any!!) He said he didn't really want that. I had to go out to run an errand and was going to be near Braums so I asked him if he wanted that. He said, "yes." Then I asked the hubby if he wanted ice cream since he has been asking for junk food for the past week or so. He wanted it too! So I ran my errand and went through the Braums drive thru and ordered 2 (not 3) ice cream mixes!! Victory for ME!!

And in reality it wasn't even a temptation. I smelled it all the way home and wasn't tempted to even have a sample! Whooohoo!

In other confessions for the week...I have been doing really well following the low glycemic index plan. Basically if it's lower than 55 on the GI list I can eat it. If its higher than 55 I can't! And surprisingly it hasn't been too difficult while eating at home. BUT...Saturday I was out all day doing a fundraiser for the Komen 3 Day that I am gearing up for. So I went to Subway thinking that would be a great choice for food. It was, except the sandwich wasn't enough so instead of ordering the chips which is what I normally would do I ordered the yogurt parfait. It tasted great and added something to my sandwich to make me fuller. BUT...after I got home and logged it into MyFitnessPal I found out it was very high in SUGAR! UGH! Oh well, I moved on and just took it for what it was. The best choice for me at the time (best I could tell!)

Other than that flub up on Saturday I have had a really great week. I have been getting plenty of water! This weeks 52 Weeks Challenge is to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep! I can really tell a big difference when I don't get enough sleep and it's an area I really struggle in so I'm glad this challenge is pushing me to sleep more!

I'm really excited to get on the scale tomorrow morning! This is new for me...as I haven't looked forward to the scale in some time.

I'm also moving up to Level 2 on the 30 Day Shred tomorrow morning and although I know it will hurt I am looking forward to it! I have done Level 1 of the workout every morning and I'm feeling like I am getting my exercise groove back! My plan is to continue with the Shred this month along with the ab work that I have been doing, but I feel that maybe I should do something else too, so I'm trying to figure out what to add to it.

2012 is gonna be my year!! How is your year going so far??

ShrinkYoSelf2012 - Week 1

Well here we are at Wednesday! Over at the Sisterhood that is the day we weigh in and tell the world (or at least our hookersisters) how we are doing and get cheers or a kick in the booty if we need it! I was actually looking forward to hopping on the scale this morning BUT almost forgot! I have been exercising every MORNING (yes, ME EXERCISE IN THE MORNING and if you know me well you know it's hard for me to do anything in the morning!) So this morning I got up did my usual stuff, got dressed, etc and then right before I left the room to exercise I remembered "it's Wednesday! Time to weigh in!" so I went back into the bathroom, undressed and got on the scale! See how dedicated I am?

I was thrilled to see that since Sunday I lost 3.2 pounds! After doing a little happy dance right there in my undies I got dressed and went out and let Jillian Shred my butt some more! It made it a little easier to workout this morning knowing that I lost 3.2 pounds in 3 days! Yes, I realize that most of that weight is probably detoxing the crap out of my system and water loss BUT STILL it looked mighty nice to see a nice loss on the scale! Especially since I baked chocolate chip cookies for my Marine last night (and didn't even want any for myself!) and there are still 3 left and I haven't eaten them! No cookies or crap for me! YAY!!!

I'm participating in the 52 Weeks for Healthy Living Challenge over at the 'hood! This week is easy...WATER! Drink 1/2 your weight in water, nice clear yummy water! Not a problem for me since I got into the habit of drinking water some time ago, I am accustomed to drinking somewhere in the range of 100 oz of water but NOW I am making a concerted effort at drinking that much and even more! I spend a lot of time in the bathroom, but I know I am getting enough water!

We are also supposed to get in 30 minutes of "moderate" exercise 5 days a week or 30 minutes of "vigorous" exercise 3 times a week. This fits in with my own personal goal for the month of at least 30 minutes of exercise every day! I am happy to say that I have been working out with Jillian's 30 Day Shred this week (planning to do it the whole month - every day!) and also adding some ab work to round out my 30 minutes. It feels great to get up in the morning and get it out of the way! This way in the evening if people want to watch tv or play video games I don't have an excuse!
I "think" it's getting easier although my knees were pretty sore this morning so my lunges certainly weren't deep enough, but I kept moving and that is the point!

Ok..so here are my goals for this challenge (and at this pace I should make them, PLEASE??):
Starting weight for challenge: 205.0
Today's weight: 201.8

My goal weight for this challenge: 185.0

Yes, that's a loss of 20 pounds in 8 weeks/2 months! I know that if I stick with the Low Glycemic Index Diet Plan I can do this! It's that big IF that always gets in the way!
How am I planning to reach this goal? I'm going to follow the plan exclusively for the month of January....that means 31 days of nothing but the foods on the plan. That means no soda. That means nothing fried. That means my choices for eating out will be limited but certainly not non-existent. That means I have to prepare healthy foods for myself and keep myself busy when I "think" I want something that doesn't follow the plan. That means I can't stress out when My Marine goes back to San Diego for his next stage of training, in less than 2 weeks. That means I have to focus on MY goals!

The next thing I will need to do is continue exercising. I actually like exercising and I love the way it makes me feel so the biggest problem I have is not making the excuses of why I don't have time! I really do have time! I'm a SAHM who homeschools! What the heck am I so busy doing that I don't have 30 minutes to workout? goofing off on my phone, playing #WordsWithFriends, checking emails 30 million times a day, checking facebook 1 million times a day Yeah, lots of really important stuff there! Yes, I do homeschool That Other Kid. Yes, I am responsible for a household. Yes, I constantly prepare meals, do laundry, run errands and everything else a mom does, but really can't a mom spare 30 minutes to take care of herself?! I think we all know the answer is YES! We just need to make that decision to do it!

Exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes EVERY day for the month of January, and then at least 5 days a week for the month of February. I would like to set the goal at every day for both January and February but I want to allow myself some leeway! For the month of January there is NO leeway! I gave myself a whole year of leeway! There is none left!

My next goal for this challenge is to follow along with the 52 Weeks of Healthy Living. I have the book coming and we have the group set up on the 'hood, so there is not a reason why I can't follow along with these.

I think that's all for this challenge. I want to change my life so much this year and this is the beginning of it! I can't wait to see the difference 2 months can make!

First Confession for 2012

Today is Tuesday and over at the Sisterhood that is when we confess the good, the bad and the ugly! Sooooooo here are my confessions for the first Tuesday of 2012.

Late last week I decided I was going to make 2012 my year of finally meeting my weight loss goals and not just talking about meeting my weight loss goals! I looked at what I would need to do to meet my goals and started formulating a plan. Almost 3 years ago when I started my journey of losing weight I weighed 226.8 pounds and the doctor told me some key things to do to lose weight and get my health under control.
Sunday morning I weighed 205.0 pounds....so I guess I can say I have lost and maintained 21 pounds but that's not the 75 pounds I should have lost and maintained by now!

The first thing he told me to do was EXERCISE! Simple enough - exercise at least 30 minutes a day to get a decent sweat and the heart rate up! (If I would have consistently done this 3 years ago I wouldn't be sitting here telling you how I need to lose weight still!) I started with Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred then and I didn't die 3 years ago, so I knew it would be a good place to start 2012 with!

I have been so inactive the past couple of months that I knew I would be basically starting over and let me tell you, Jillian is kicking my butt! In a good way of course! My muscles hurt and are screaming but I know it will work.
I also wanted to add in some additional abdominal work, so I found a nice short ab workout on Netflix Instant. It is off the 10 minute Toning for Beginners and I'm just doing the ab portion. That gives me a little more than 30 minutes with the warmup/cool down from the Shred and the 10 minutes of ab work!

The second thing he told me to do was to STOP DRINKING SODA! Another no brainer! Soda has no redeeming qualities (except it tastes good!) Again I managed to go 6 weeks without one soda 3 years ago...I can do it again!

So...Saturday evening I drank my last soda of 2011 and my last one for some time. Now in all honesty I know I will drink soda again. BUT....I can't make it my preferred drink. I need to make it a "special treat"! Not something I get when I'm thirsty or because it's "happy hour" at Sonic or because my hubby wants one.
My plan is go the entire month of January and February without soda. I'm determined to not drink ANY for the month of January. We'll see how things are going then! For these first 3 days of January I am having some pretty intense cravings for coke which means I was drinking WAY too much! Having it in the house isn't helping either but my will power is stronger! Right?? I'm doing great on the water challenge that is going on over at the 'hood! I'm supposed to drink 102 ounces a day and I have nailed it on both days so far. I am already at about 45 ounces today so I'm certainly on track for today, but I am spending a lot of time in the bathroom! lol


The third thing the doctor told me to do was to follow a low glycemic index diet plan. He gave me some guidelines and told me to look it up for more specifics so I went home and looked it up BUT I didn't really follow it! It looked too hard, but in reality I was just being stubborn! I didn't want to change my life completely. I still wanted to eat crap food. I still wanted to eat fried foods. I still wanted to eat sugar loaded desserts! So, although I did lose weight (quickly and a significant amount) I wasn't completely committed.

BUT....now that I've decided to really make this change and lose the weight for real I've started following the plan strictly. For the month of January, I have committed to ONLY eat what is on the low glycemic index diet plan. Really it's not that hard...and it's what I already know I need to properly fuel my body. Whole wheat grains, lean meats, moderate amounts of fruit, and lots of veggies. If you are interested in it feel free to use google to find out more about it. I'm a pretty picky eater so I just found the foods that were approved on it and wrote them down on a piece of paper and I'm only fixing foods that are on that list. 'Lissa told me last night it sounded a lot like South Beach Phase 2. I've followed the plan before and had great results...I just didn't stick with it long enough.

Ok...so now that y'all know what I'm doing I will tell you I am really struggling with getting myself together. I have been exercising shortly after I get up (which is hard enough for me!). Then I have been sitting down to record everything and eat some breakfast, and I have ended up sitting at the computer for at least an hour! That's gotta end. I can't be hitting the shower at noon! I need to be able to start school no later than 10:30. Today we are taking another day off since the kiddo is sick but he won't be sick for the whole year, ya know?! So time management is an area I need to work on!

I'm also having some serious junk food cravings. I know its normal to go through these withdrawals but still! Makes it harder for me that the hubs and kiddo are sick too! But, I know I can do it...it just takes will power and the determination to want it bad enough and I DO!!

I heard this quote about 6 weeks ago on the Biggest Loser and it really spoke to me! I think it's gonna be my mantra for this time in my journey.....

"If you believe you can achieve!"