Kohls and weight issues :(

I had $20 Kohls cash given to me the other day.  It was expiring soon and I wasnt gonna waste it so last night I went into kohls, I also had a $10 off $30 coupon,, so more or less I had a free $30 to use. Very exciting.  I hardly ever buy myself any clothes so I went in with a purpose of buying something for myself.  I really need a new pair of jeans.  I tried on about 5 pairs,, nothing fit right,,, the shirts I tried on that I though might have been to big were to tight :(     All in all it sucked.  I almost cried right there in the dressing room.  I was doing so well with my weight loss I had gotten up to 50 pounds lost and something happened and now I'm only 35 pounds lost,, which means Ive gained 15 pounds,,,, actually Ive gained 3 more and havent logged it into mfp, so 18 in a matter of a couple months...thats not normal.   I have been eating more junk and snacking,,,, I've been depressed about money issues and I'm a emotional eater.  I NEED to get this under control and get back to where I was and lose more.  It depresses me Its like I have to be perfect all the time or the weight just creeps right back on me faster than ever.   Ugh,,, I know I'm whining, but this is a real issue for me.  I need to have this self control over food.  I will get this!!!  I will I will I will I will I will I will
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I did end up getting 2 shirts,, they totaled 50 but with my coupons and kohls cash I only had to pay 20. I used my kohls card.   So Ben says I ruined my no spending challenge.. Whatever..... I"m still doing it,,, necessity......

Home

So we've been home for a few days and obviously I still haven't updated my blog.  I've been trying to catch up on the laundry and the household stuff.  Being away from my house just throws me off.  I feel like I get behind.  Alas I will need to be getting used to it though because with Bens mom moving only 3 hours away instead of across the country we will be taking long weekends out there much more often.  I am happy about it all though.  I can't imagine not seeing my mom for so long and I hope the two(hubby and mom in law) can build there relationship. 
Being away from home not only makes me feel behind on my household duties but apparently in the fitness area also.  While the hotel we stayed in had a workout room and I did use the treadmill 2 of the 3 days we were there(yay) I still ate like crap!  Seriously when we returned home my scale was up 10 pounds!  :(   I thought the next day it would look better....Nope.  2 days later and I'm only down a few ounces.  I have got to get back on the right eating track and keep losing!   I feel awful and like a fat slob and I hate it.   I need to learn to make healthy choices outside the home as well as in.  I can do pretty well when I'm at home but get me out to a restaurant and its a free for all.  Good thing we dont go out to often! 

Hopefully I'll be back with some pictures soon!

30 Day Shred Results

Are you guys tired of hearing about the 30 Day Shred yet?  :)  Well its done so I shouldn't be talking about it for awhile. I'm going to report my progress on it though.  Not huge numbers but still losses so that's good.  I wish there was a way to measure strength cuz I know I'm stronger! I can actually do a real push up now when I couldnt when I started!  I did things on level 2 and 3 that I never thought I would ever be able to do so I would defiantly call that progress also!   So for the numbers...
In weight I went down almost 4 pounds....nothing superb but I guess if you talley it up that's a pound a week.   As far as body measurements goes
My neck stayed the same,,
My waist went down 3 inches! ( I was very happy about that,, i thought my pants were getting loose again!)
My hips went down 1 inch
My right arm,down 1/2 inch
My left arm, down 1/2 inch
Right leg,down 1/2 inch
Left leg,down 1 1/2 inches

I'm pretty happy with these results,, I know I gained muscle in my arms and legs, but I still have a lot of fat on them so I'm glad for the loss.

For exercise now I think I'm just gonna keep mixing it up with different circuit workouts, and dvds.  Next week we are going to take advantage of a free one week membership at a gym that my mom works out at.  That will be different and fun!

New Diet Plan

My husband and I started our "healthier living journey" 2012  probably around February.  While I have lost 48.4 pounds I still have 32.6 to go  before I THINK I am where I want to be.  I say THINK because I've never been this weight in my adult life.  I've always been heavy.  I'm the fat one in the family.   Although I don't think I would call myself that anymore.  But I'm still to heavy.  I'm not in my "healthy weight range".  I'm not comfortable naked (not sure I ever will be).  

Throughout this whole thing I haven't really wanted to consider myself on a "diet".  Ive done that before and ended up gaining half the weight back that I lost.  I have really tried to not tell myself that I can't have any certain food, reason being then I'm constantly gonna want that food. That's just how I am.  But since I've been playing around at this back and forth 5 pounds for months now I think its time to stricken it up.  I've been trying to figure out how to do that without being miserable.  I Love food!  And I enjoy eating.  I normally stay within my calories too, but for some reason I' m not losing anymore so here is what I'm going to do for the time being.  No more crackers/chips for the next two weeks at least so I can see what the scale does.  If I really feel the need for something of that nature then I will pop some popcorn with coconut oil.  At least that is "clean".  I was getting a little crazy with the flavored peanut butter also so I'm going to limit myself to only "real" peanut butter or the PB2 for the next little while also.  Also I will be keeping trying to incorporate more veggies into the mix.  I'm finding a lot that I didn't even know I liked!  I am still going to allow myself one "cheat meal" for the week.

As far as exercise I have been rocking it better than ever with that.  I have 2 days left of Jillian Michaels the Shred and then I can move on with my life. LOL   Not stop exercising but just adding new and different things.  I really do enjoy the circuit type workouts though.  I'm defiantly gonna incorporate lots of those in the mix.     I'll keep Ya ll updated!  Here's hoping for big loses!

Keeping it Real

In reading through my last few post I notice I sound pretty darn happy. Happy, healthy, fit and active. What a great life I must have. Lol. No really my life is just fine but it is defiantly not all those things. Honestly in the last 4 days I have had two major meltdowns where I was bawling and feeling life life couldn't get much worse. I also get teary eyed quite often during my workouts. Sounds silly doesn't it? I don't know what it is but sometimes it just seems so hard and makes me wonder if I will ever look like what I want to look like. Idk but i keep pushing right through the tears because the only way I will ever find out is if I keep on going.

Ben and I the opposite of a perfect relationship, but we try, we push through all these roadblocks life keeps throwing at us. Some days I wonder why did I ever marry this man, he is so unlike me, but i did marry him and I had 3 kids with him. He provides the best he can for me and them. He tries. He would give me the moon if he was able so I have to keep looking past faults.

My kids, I love them so much. I would die for them. They are great, get great grades, but they arnt perfect either. They are just like any other kid. They are mouthy, tend to not listen. Gary keeps disobeying like crazy! For two years Ive told the kid do not get breakfast at school. I feed him here. I cant afford to buy school breakfasts. He continues to eat breakfast at school every chance he gets. SMH. I don't get it. We punish him. He still does it. I told him dont download anything on the ipod without asking me first. He still downloads stuff. We know cuz whatever he downloads automatically goes to Ben's phone. He knew this. But still did it anyways!!! I just dont get it!
I could go on and on with the woes thats is me, but I wont. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't giving anyone the wrong impression. Actually I dont even know if anyone is reading this!
I just keep going, doing the best I can with what I have. Im reading this book right now. Hoping I can learn a thing or two.

A fit family and our menu.

Another weekend come and gone,, almost half way through Feb!!  It really is true that as you get older life just moves on faster.  And the weekends sure do fly by.  Through the week our days are pretty much the same,, get up kids go to school Ben is at work, I babysit until 5:30 every night which then we have dinner, clean up dinner, workout, get kids ready for bed, watch a little TV, wait for 3rd shift babysitting girl to come and then go to bed to get up and do it all over again.  The weekends are always a little different and as of lately working out is part of those also.  I am really happy that fitness has taken over our household.  I cant believe I'm saying this but I am loving being active.  I really cant  wait until the weather warms up some I we can get outside more often and take walks and I"m dieing to go hiking somewhere.  Tennessee and all those hills are really calling my name.  I bet we could tackle them a lot better now than we did a few years ago! 

Jess and I right before doing The Shred.

 

We took a little sneak peak at level 3 of the Shred and since the mats were open Emma decided to do some of the stretches with Evil Jillian.

Saturday the sun was out and even though it wasn't really warm we took advantage of it and the whole family went for a walk. Gary wanted to ride his bike.  We went for 2 miles!  Our ears and cheeks were frozen but its all good.  I loved getting some fresh air. Emma was whining on the way home about being cold and tired but hopefully this summer when its not freezing she will be more into it. 

I really wasn't this far behind everyone, my shoe was untied so I stopped to tie it and snapped a pic while I was back there. 

 

Ive decided to start posting our menus again like I used to.  Keep in mind that lunches are always subject to change, just depends if we have leftovers or not and what the kids and I are in the mood for..I also don't always eat the same thing as the kids in the mornings and lunches,,if you want to see exactly what I eat find and add me at myfitnesspal.com  my user name is everydaymom. 

 

I also always have a veggie or two at dinner but dont always right then down on the menu plan because we just have whatever one sounds good that day. :)   More or less nothing is written in stone,I just like to have a basic plan.  This little markerboard came with a calander set my mom got me for Christmas,, I love it for posting our menus on the fridge. 

If you need some dinner inspiration check outhttp://orgjunkie.com/ There are tons of menu plans there every Monday morning

Shred update and a date night

Yummy sushi oh how I love thee

Honestly I could eat it every single day!  Ben and I finally got out for a date night Saturday night...We went to Noa Noa, it was our first time there and I loved the atmosphere and the food was delish!  Plus we only had to pay less than $10 because I had a gift certificate from one of my childcare families!  yay!  It was nice to just be us.. Ben said it was nice and quiet,, no kids fighting, screaming, no one saying ewww that looks gross(something Emma has been saying quite often since I've been trying to cook healthier lately).  We just left the kids at home(something I feel blessed to be able to do now that Jess is older and can watch Emma).  We dont stay out long when we do that just in case and Jess had a phone to call us if she needs us. 

 

 

Here is sweaty old me after doing day 6 of the 30 Day shred!!

The soreness is getting better even though I feel like need a hand rail to get up and down off the toilet most days because my legs are so sore. LOL   Its so worth it though.  I'm feeling stronger everyday!  I feel so good and actually look forward to the workout!  I cant wait until the weather gets nicer here so I can get out and take more walks again.. I'm contemplating attempting to jog again this summer... It hasn't worked out before but I'm willing to try again.  I'm just happy,, happy to be taking better care of myself!  Oh and finally the initial gain after starting the program has came off,, I'm pretty positive it was my sore muscles retaining water.  So I've been drinking lots of it to keep it moving along,,, the only problem with doing that is I have to pee all the time!!!  ugh

2013

Jan 2, 2013!  Seems so strange,, I can't believe another year has come and gone.  So much happened last year, we prepared our house to sell, then at the last minute changed our minds because the 2 oldest kids ended up getting their braces....  Priorities right?  I quit smoking!  Yay!   I lost 50 pounds!  Over the holidays I gained a little back but its gonna go away fast,, this morning started me recommitting to healthier eating.   So right there were 2 resolutions from last year,, quiting smoking and losing weight.  I have more weight I want to lose but I'm heading in the right direction!! 

This year my main focus is going to be going strong on paying off our debt,, that is a goal every year, but Im going to try my hardest to make it work.  By the end of 2013 I will be debt free accept for my vehicles and home!  I know I can do it!  
I will also keep focusing on eating healthy and exercising and hopefully be down to where I want to be weight wise by the end of the year. 
I will continue to use my time wisely and be resourceful with the things we have.  I want to keep making as much homemade as I have been and learn even more!  I also want to try to do more freezer cooking to help out when I dont really feel like cooking. 

Here's to a new year!

Weekend recap and more

I had the most amazing weekend!  Last Wednesday at about 9pm my husband called me and said he was asked to bowl a state tournament in Richmond (which is about 3 hrs away).  The guy that was supposed to bowl ended up getting sick and hospitalized so he needed a replacement.  It was already paid for so he would just have to pay for a hotel room cause he would need to bowl Saturday morning at 10 and Sunday morning at 8:30am.  He said he really wanted to go and he wanted me to go with him.  At first I was very hesitant because I only had 2 days to find a babysitter for all 3 kids, plus the two older would have a soccer game Sat. morning,, and little Emma has only stayed away over night about 3 times total in her whole 3 in a half years.  He told me not to worry about it and just call my mom cause he really wanted me to go with him.  So the next morning I gave her a call and she said yes!  I booked us a room and told the kids(who were actually very excited). 
We left super early Saturday morning so we could drop the kids off and be there by 9am for check in to the bowling tournament.  The tournament went well and after that we couldnt check in to our hotel til 3 so we found a mall and walked around there for a little while.  Then we checked into our hotel and relaxed for a little while.  There was a Red Lobster right across the street so we ate there for dinner then went back to the hotel and just hung out, enjoyed a few drinks, and had a blast just being with each other alone without the kiddos.  It makes me so happy that after 13 years we can still have so much fun together.  When we are home we do tend to argue more than necessary.  I think its just the pressure of life, kids, work and all that other stuff cause when you get us away and alone we are like 2 kids just having fun.  The next morning we were up bright and early to be there by 8 and he bowled some more.   It totally reminded me of the first few years of our relationship when I used to go and watch him bowl.  It was just plain FUN!   After that ended it was time to head home and pick up the kiddos.  They had a great time at nana's house.  They made their own kites~   Then we had to go to Hacienda at 5:30 for my mom's birthday dinner.  That was a good time too. 

All that eating out did me in though cause somehow over the weekend I managed to gain 7 pounds!!  Makes me so mad, but it also goes to prove eating healthy and at home and not all that over processed junk is the right thing to do!  Hopefully most of the weight is from all the sodium cause I dont think I really gained that much...hope not anyways.    One thing about not eating so much processed stuff is it leaves little room for snacks.  So I'm on a quest to make my own.  Over the next week I have plans to make a homemade goldfish type cracker, granola bars, and mini chocolate chip muffins made from whole wheat flour.    I'm having issues finding a store bought bread that we actually like to, so right now I've got some dough working for me in the bread maker and am hoping this turns out to be a recipe we enjoy and that it can replace our store bought bread.   I'll keep you all informed on how these new recipes turn out!

Weekly weigh in and my new way of thinking

I'm very excited this morning!  I don't know if anyone has been paying attention but every Friday I've been updating my weight losses on the side bar.  I've been lucky enough to loose at least a little every week.  So far my total loss is 13.4 pounds, I lost 3.4 just this week.  And guess what??  I didn't count my points for weight watchers.  gasp.....    I actually haven't counted any points for about a week and a half.  I wanted to see what would happen.  So what did I do to lose you ask.  Well I ate healthy, whole foods.  After lots of research, reading and watching a few documentaries, I have decided this is the way to go.  Our bodies want natural foods, not the processed junk that I've been feeding my family for,,,well pretty much thier whole lives.  I have not given up all processed foods but I'm trying my hardest to really lessen the amount that we eat.  I've also learned that all the fat free/low fat stuff really is not that good for us.  yeah they remove the fat but then they usually add all artificial sweeteners and other junk that isnt really all that good for us.  Fat is not the enemy and our body needs some healthy fat in our foods.  When we eat regular food our body feels fuller so we can eat less and feel satisfied.  I lot of my own personal issue has been learning when my body is satisfied and to not over stuff myself.    A lot of my issue has been the cost of things, organic mainly.  But after all the research I've done I've decided that we are worth the little extra cost, and honestly if we cut out buying all the extra junk then the whole thing will problay balance itself out in the grocery department.  
The biggest change for me I think is in the meat department.  I WILL NOT be buying just any type of meat or eggs from the grocery any more.  There is a family farm that I guess is not to far from me and I am going to hopefully start buying from there.  It is horrible and sicking what goes on in our mass food production in this country and after watching horrible videos I can not participate in the cruelty ever again.  The last one I watched was around 13 minutes long and I could only watch about 4 before I had to shut it off.  I will never be a vegetarian but I will not give my money to those people anymore.    I am not trying to change anyone elses views.  People have the knowledge and resources to see and judge on their own.   I can't control what we eat when we are not home and I will still eat whatever food I am served at others homes, I am not purchasing that stuff so in my mind that makes it a little better.      I'm having a hard time getting my husband on board with the whole thing but I Think he understands now that my mind is made up and there is not a whole lot he can do about it.  He still loves me so its all good.  He just says he doesnt want to hear about it. 

Like I said I am not trying to sway anyones views, but I will post a couple of links just in case you are interested:

the movie Food Inc is a great one,,, its streaming on netflix for those that have that
another good one is King Corn
another is Food Matters,,I think all of these movies are on Netflix.
A  good blog is 100 days of real food

I'm not even gonna link to the horrible video that changed my life forever as far as meat is concerned....if you really wanna watch it though let me know and I'll tell ya where to find it. 

Have a great Easter weekend everyone.

Weight watchers

I almost didn't post this because I know of at least one reader here who does not like "diets".  But I just thought I'd let you all know once and then I won't be discussing it much anymore.  Last Friday I joined weight watchers online.  I was getting tired of being tired all the time and feeling like a big icky blob.  My body was starting to hurt more often and I just felt like my overall health was off.  I want to be a healthy mom, I want to be around a long time for my kids and have energy to play with them.  I did weight watchers once before before I had Emma and it worked wonders for me.  I lost 118 pounds!  While my number is still no where close to where it was before I was feeling like it was creeping back up.  I bought a scale and was disappointed by the number standing before me,,,, I was right, I had gained some more back, plus I never really lost the weight I had gained 3 years ago when I got preggo with Emma. 

While its not about the number on the scale, I want to feel good about myself again.  I know mentally what to do but obviously just wasn't doing it so my hope is that rejoining the program will give me the motivation that I was lacking.   The program has changed a lot since the last time I did it.  All the points values on foods are higher, but I also get more daily points.  The other thing I want to do different this time is exercise.  I didnt do much of that last time and I know how important exercising and moving is.  I haven't started yet but hopefully within the next couple weeks I'll set up a plan for myself. 

So there you have it, I won't bore you with the info anymore.  If you want to check-in on my progress though you can check the sidebar and every Friday I will update my losses.