Motivational Monday

It has been a while since I've done my MM post.  A long while.  So, I think a progress report is due!

I'm pretty sure the last time I chimed in, my weight loss was at 19 pounds.  Then Disney.  Then the rest of Fall Break.  Then Halloween candy.  CURSES on that stupid Halloween candy.  

Despite all the candy life happening, I'm proud to report that this morning, my loss is at 24 pounds!  I'm still trudging away.  I still have great days and not so great days, but I'm determined to KEEP MOVING.  

The week after we got back from Disney, Eric and I started on this meal plan.  My sister-in-law shared it with me.  It seemed doable and I really don't mind it!    

Meal 1:

• 6-8 egg whites
• 1/2 cup oatmeal (measured dry) - no milk (add cinnamon and honey to flavor)
• 1 cup fruit or 1 med banana
• 1 oz almonds

Meal 2:

• 4-6 oz chicken breast or fish
• 4 oz red skinned potatoes
• 1 cup green veggies

Meal 3:

• 4-6 oz chicken breast or fish
• 4 oz sweet potato
• 1 cup green veggies

Meal 4:

• 4-6 oz fish or ground turkey breast
• 4 oz sweet potato
• 1 cup green veggies

Meal 5:

• 4 oz ground turkey breast
• 1 cup strawberries, mixed berries or an apple

(**I still haven't needed meal 5 yet.  Some days, I only do 3 meals, some days I do 4.  Depends on the day and if I have been to the gym.)

There are some rules to follow along with it.  Grill, bake or pan fry all your protein.  Stay consistent, drink lots of water, limit salt...that kind of stuff.  My favorite rule is "treat time"... 1 day per week, for 3 consecutive hours, you can cheat.  So, I can plan ahead and cheat on a Friday night from 7-10, or on a Sunday when we eat out with my family.  I have had a few days here and there where I haven't stuck to this, but for the most part, I'm staying with the plan and, ahem, liking it!  

My biggest obstacle was the oatmeal.  I'm a super picky eater and have never eaten oatmeal.  Ever.  But, I thought, if my brother could do it, then I could too!  He is W.A.Y. pickier than me!  Since we started this, Eric and I have almost gone through a whole large container of oats.  Yesterday, we picked this up from Sam's Club. 

Yes, my friends...that is 10 POUNDS of oats.  Oh sweet Jesus.  And, it's not the brown sugar and maple kind.  Or cinnamon roll.  Or any other of the numerous flavored oatmeal they have out there.  It's plain ol' simple oats.  Gag.

My favorite way {and the only way I can manage to get down a whole bowl of oatmeal} is to dice up an apple and add some cinnamon and a teaspoon of sugar.

I actually kind of crave it now.  SO WEIRD.

I'm eating a lot of things that look like this...more good-for-you stuff and less carbs.  Hard to get used to!

I'm happy with my progress!  It's slow, but steady.  I still enjoy special things I want to enjoy, but am getting used to a "cleaner" eating style.  And, the best part is that people are starting to notice.  The last two weeks at church, several people asked me if I was losing weight.  THAT makes me happy.  :-)

Gotta keep at it with the holidays quickly approaching because the other option is to give up and gain it all back and THAT'S NOT HAPPENING!!!! Happy Monday!

Zumba Glow and counting down...

Saturday night, I did something I've never done before.  I exercised for two hours.  TWO hours???!!  Yes.  There was a Zumba Glow down at the riverfront from 8-10.  Natalie asked if I wanted to go -- it was the finale to the free classes they offer all summer long -- and at first, my mind said, "HECK NO!"  But, the more I thought about it, it sounded fun!  It was going to be dark and there would be black lights, so you could dress as funky as you wanted.  I got pretty crazy.  A white t-shirt and a glow necklace.  Ha!  It was gorgeous out and the river made for a pretty view!

Natalie's oldest daughter, Hillary, helped with a routine up on stage.  I think that's pretty awesome because she is only 8 and can dance WAY better than most of the adults there!

It was super fun!  I was surprised with how easy it was to do two hours of exercise...I think I only sat down for one song during the end.  Woo hoo!!

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This week, Maggie has been my little errand buddy.  She is a great shopper and I love it!

It feels like we have been going non-stop, but I can finally say that WE ARE READY FOR VACATION!!  Bags are packed, snacks are ready to go, van got a new tire........ WHAT??

Yes, Eric was rotating the tires last night and found a big gash in one of our tires.  {Thankfully, his first comment was that he thought he put the gash there the last time he was driving to the gun range!  Shew!  I dodged that one.}  We took the van to Honda this morning and found out our bill was a whopping $500!  We are lucky and have those special tires that keep going for 50 miles after they blow, pop, or whatever tires do.  Because of our special tires, we got a special bill for our new special tire.  Oy.  It's taken care of now, and we are RET TO GO!  Cannot wait!      

swingin' at the park, a little tea time, and a day trip to Indy

This weekend was a pretty fantastic weekend!  Something about this fall weather just makes me giddy and puts me in a good mood. :)  Friday morning, Natalie and I decided to take all the girls to the park and we all had such a good time together.  The girls loved being outside playing and Nat and I enjoyed chit chatting. ;)

YOU GUYS...these pictures just cracked me up!  There is something special about watching your child cackling when you swing her "high".  So, so precious!  Love my Maggie May!

Saturday, we did a whole lotta nuthin'.  I'm pretty sure I hit some sort of epic level of lazy that day.  Do you ever have those days where you cannot for the life of you remember what you did all day long?  No?  Well, I do!  It's like I have the early onset of dementia!  I know at some point I was probably pretty productive...maybe...??  I do remember that Levi spent the night with a friend, Maggie didn't nap and went to bed at 7pm, so Eric and I had a movie night.  O Happy Day!

My grandpa had surgery on Friday.  My parents actually took him to Indianapolis for the surgery.  He is doing pretty well, but will be in the hospital for a few more days.  We are used to my grandparents being about 10 minutes away, so it's weird that he is recovering in Indy!  Sunday morning, we loaded up to make the trek for a visit.  

The kids did extremely well and loved visiting with him!  He had some pretty crazy tubes and gadgets all around him, but they took it in stride.  Luckily, we had our own waiting room area and my parents had both of their iPads there. ;)  

My parents took us to lunch and I seriously think this sign is true:  

City BBQ - um, it was sooo good!  Great, great food!

And the company wasn't half bad...

Seriously, though, I know my parents were glad to see us...especially the kids.  Day in and day out at the hospital can make you a little batty.  

On the way home, Eric took us to the Russel Stover store.  Oh my.

I LOVE CARAMEL APPLES.  Like LOVE them!  They are one of my favorite fall treats.  Ever.  CARAMEL APPLES.  LOVE.  When I walked in the door and saw this sign, I did a little happy dance and said, "thank you, Jesus".

Because I am a FREAK now (and this will make Alicia sooo happy...ugh!), I looked up the calories on MyFitnessPal and it was 350 calories FOR HALF AN APPLE.  700 calories for a whole apple.  I stomped my feet, may have cried a little, and did not get an apple.  In the moment, I really wanted it.  But now, in hindsight, I'm very proud of myself. :)

The kids were in awe at everything they had in the store.  Can you believe they didn't want any candy?  Whaaa???  Levi wanted ice cream and Maggie wanted a stuffed doggie animal.  Ha!

Such a fun, fun day with my family.  I heart them.

It's Friday, it's in the 70's, and it's G & T time!!

There are two pretty awesome things about today: it's FRIDAY and the temperature is cooler!!  Woo hoo!!  

Several people have asked how my diet lifestyle change is going.  So, since it is the weekend and I haven't updated this week, I figured an update was due!

I'm still hanging in there, trying to make healthy choices a part of my everyday life.  Like this:

Besides Alicia, who goes to the store and gets all that?  It still kills me to pass up the cookies... sigh.

I've been loving the gym!  Some days, I go and walk/jog on the treadmill.  That is my absolute least favorite thing to do.  In fact, I hate the treadmill.  With a passion.  When I do the treadmill, I try to fit in a half hour of lifting.  My trainer is awesome and showed me very specific things she wants me doing.  I'll admit that it is intimidating to "lift" next to some of these guys that have muscles exploding out of their arms and shoulders.  But, I've caught onto some of their habits.  They load extremely heavy weights, sit on the bench and breathe really heavy, adjust their music on their iProduct, stand up and walk around their machine 5-8 times.  Then, they lift.  Sometimes 5-10 reps.  Then they moan and make sounds that would remind you of a dinosaur dying, and hop up and do more walking around their machine.  I'm not there.  I just do my quiet little lifts, sweat some, and try not to be noticed.  ;)

I've tried a few different classes.  I love Group Power and Zumba.  Then, it was time.  Time for me to try this stupid Spin class everyone is talking about.

The first time I did it, I hated it.  It was uber hard and I couldn't get past my bottom hurting!  Some people didn't care about my complaining:

Every single person told me to go back within three days.  They said the second time would be better and soon you wouldn't notice the butt pain.  I just knew that they were lying...every single one of them!  However, I went back, and it didn't hurt as bad.  I've been three times now and actually kind of like it.  Gasp!  ;)

Okay, so this Friday is special for one more reason!  I'm heading to BG for a much needed G & T weekend!!  I'M SO EXCITED!  So, this is the moment of truth -- how will I handle making "healthy" decisions on my weekend off?  

For the first time ever, I've packed exercise clothes!  YES.  G and I are going to workout in the morning at her gym.  Whaaa??? 

And, I've packed my chai tea in hopes that this will satisfy better than a cupcake.  A cupcake...I can't...

I've also packed some hard candy, gum and an apple for the trip down.  What is this world coming to?

And, instead of stopping for my traditional diet coke from heaven on earth, I packed a water.  WHO AM I??????  

 So, stay tuned, or follow me on IG (dietcokeluvr) to see updates on how horrible life is without splurging and indulging in buckets of chips and queso.....

Motivational Monday

I think I can narrow this post down to three main points:

The good news, the great news, and the bad news.

Bad - As of last Monday, I hadn't lost any weight.
Good - I am meeting with a personal trainer.
Great - I can jog for three minutes (and it sucks!)

That's the short of it!  Because these posts are about my "get healthy" journey, sometimes they are just an extension of what is in my head.  I'm sure they can seem like a lot of blabbering.  If you continue reading for more details, bless your heart.  If you stop, I honestly don't blame you! ha!

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Since I like to end on a jolly note, I will start off with the bad news.  As of last Monday, and a week of getting back on track with my eating habits, I had not lost any weight.  NONE.  NADA.  ZILCH.  I was pretty frustrated, but what I've learned is that it is going to take more than a week or two to be at my goal.  Ha!  So, at the advice of G, I put my scale up.  Decided I am not going to obsess about weighing.  Blah.

On to the good news.  On Friday, I met with a personal trainer.  I MET WITH A PERSONAL TRAINER.  FROM THE GYM.  A TRAINER FROM THE GYM.  Seriously??!  Does that not sound insane to you??  It does to me.  She is a friend of mine from CBS and has offered to train me.  Now, before you get too crazy with your thoughts, this isn't like Bob or Jillian from The Biggest Loser!  She isn't going to yell at me and make me workout for 9 hours a day!  She is simply training me on some of the machines there and showing me what she wants me doing with free weights.  I will continue doing cardio and add in some weight training.  I'm pretty excited about it minus the guys at the gym who workout along side me and look like they have been eating steroids for breakfast.

And, the great news??  On Friday evening, I was on the treadmill and jogged for three minutes three different times!  That is the longest that I have been able to jog without stopping.  My goal is to be able to jog an entire song, but I can't do that yet.

And, that's the long of it!  I've been back to eating right and exercising for two weeks and even though I want to cheat all of the time, I'm trying to remain diligent.  It is an hour by hour decision to make good choices.  If my neighbor asks me to go to the gym, I try to think of a dozen good excuses why I can't go.  Then, I suck it up and head to the gym.  If I see cookies, chips, yummy bread, etc., sometimes I pass on them.  Sometimes, I eat some, subtract them from my calories and try to make healthier choices at my next meal.  Sigh...

So, here is where I am:

Oh, and I got some new kickers to go along with my new gym membership!

One last one -- this is perfectly me! ;)

the gym...again! and some park time

I know that is an incredibly boring title!  I apologize.  I'm just trying to keep track of little things I do at the gym...just for my records.  :-) 

I did it!  Yesterday morning, after getting Levi on the bus, Mags and I headed to the gym and did back to back classes.  I did Group Power and then headed to Zumba.  {I could only do 30 minutes of Zumba because the child care room has a time limit and it was time to pick Maggie up. :-)}  It was actually nice to have a little bit of a cool down after torturing my body doing the strength training.  Though it's only been a few days, I feel like I'm settling into a routine at the gym.  They have so much to offer and I'm excited to try it all...or most of it! Ha!

After the gym, Jami and I took the littles to the park.  I know everyone is talking about it -- THIS WEATHER HAS BEEN AMAZING!  I can't get enough of it!!  Before heading out, the littles wanted to see the fish.  Adorbs!

Did I mention that Jami showed up looking all cute?  She always does!

And then there was me.  Looking all HAWT straight up from the gym, barely able to walk.

Love these little people.

One more thing: Did I mention I'm on countdown??  YUP! ;)  I'm heading to Bowling Green for a weekend with no kids in just 27 short days.  Woo hoooo!  I'm sure you are already anxiously awaiting an exciting G & T post!  Oh, the anticipation...!!!

Motivational Monday aka I NEED YOUR MOTIVATION. Please. And thank you.

I've been working on this post for 4 days.  I type, delete, type some more, try and change the wording, leave it alone for a few hours only to come back to it and it says the same thing.  There is no way around it, so here is my Motivational Monday post in all its glory...

I've gained and I hate it.  My last MM post was over a month ago.  In fact, it was over five weeks ago!  And, for over a month, I've been on a free fall.  A lot of my old habits have kicked into gear and the scale is proof positive!  I've still been exercising three to four days a week, but my eating...PEOPLE, I've been eating whatever I want, whenever I want.  (Ladies,) you know those few days a month when you crave anything and everything and you will kill any human or animal who tries to get in your way of eating?  That was me, only for FIVE WEEKS.  Sigh.  

I weighed this morning and I am up five pounds.  No way around it.  No softening it up.  No making it look better.  I opened MyFitnessPal on my phone and logged in my gain.  THAT is a real kick in the rear.  After logging, it told me something like "if you continue at this rate, you will be up 15 pounds in two weeks".  Nice, right?!!  

So, yesterday, I got back on track.  I don't want to say I'm starting over, because I am still down 13.9 pounds - and that's awesome, too!!  I haven't quit...just been a little side tracked!

  

And, isn't this true?  When you watch what you eat for ONE day, you feel like you should be down 20 pounds!

I know this is a process.  It just stinks!!  I wish I could channel this feeling today and remember it any time I want to go on an eating binge.  

I could go on and on about how life isn't fair, eating clean is hard, dieting is stupid, working out sucks, but it all boils down to one thing: you are what you eat.  The scale doesn't lie and whatever you eat in private shows in public.  Gasp!  SO...that's all I've got today!  I won't say "here's to starting over," but here's to getting re-energized!!!  One day at a time!

Levi swam, biked, and ran; I cried

Sometimes, there are these precious moments in life, and you want to capture EVERY SECOND and bottle them up.  This morning was one of those moments.

This has been a big week for both of my kids!  Maggie got a new big girl room {blog post about that tomorrow, hopefully!} and Levi went to his first Tri-Camp and completed his first kid triathlon!

Here's how it went down:

Camp was great, and then it wasn't.  After the first two days, Levi didn't want to participate in the swim portion.  Griffin had swimmer's ear and couldn't swim, so Levi didn't want to, either.  He doesn't like for people to watch him and was extremely anxious {gets that from his momma!}.  There was the fine line of forcing your child to follow through with his commitment and not forcing him to do something he was scared of.  Those are the moments of parenting that I don't like!  There were tears, there was a lot of praying, there was yelling, and there were the moments you wish you could take back.  Griffin was going to swim this morning, but we didn't know if Levi would.

We woke up early, got everyone ready and Levi seemed excited.  In my gut, I was worried that he would bust out crying at any moment...but he never did.  We got there to sign in at 7:20.  There was one parent allowed in the transition area with him, so Eric helped him get everything set up.

7:45 - Stretching

7:50 - Following in line with his Wave to swim; smiling

8:00 - Triathlon starts

Levi was in the 8th Wave, which means there were quite a few to go before him.  It went by age, older kids first.  He looked like he was going to cry or throw up.  I tried to stay out of his view because I was afraid if he saw me, he would chicken out.  My dad and Eric were behind him and I heard my dad yell, "Levi, DO THIS!  You got this, Buddy!" and I saw Levi smile and look more confident.  The horn blew and he took off.  No looking back.

Maggie and I ran to the end of the pool where he exited and we were yelling for him.  He was ALL SMILES!  This is him fresh out of the pool and running to the bike transition.  {By the way, how adorbs are the little ankle monitors??!}

Eric was waiting in the transition area to help him gear up.  OH, did I mention I had already cried 4 times by this point??!  It's true.  I'm a wimp.

Biking was his strong point.  It seems like it didn't take him very long!  They crossed the parking lot, went out on the main road, rode through Perrin Park and came back.  

Next up was to park his bike and take off on the run.  I think I may have cried a few more times by this point.  He seemed so proud of himself!

This was the only activity where one adult could join each child.  Eric promised Levi that if he did the swim portion, he would run with him.  PRESH!  Levi was thrilled that Eric ran along side him.  

THE FINISH LINE...a pretty awesome water slide!

I was screaming and crying!  I went over to hug him and told him how proud I was that he finished.  He said, "I know, Mom.  You are crying."  ;)

SO PROUD OF THESE KIDDOS!

Stats: 25 yard swim; 1 mile bike ride; .25 mile run

Levi's time was 14:30

After the event, the Aquatic Center opened up for two hours of free time for all the kids and their families.  Heaven for this little three year old!!!

And, Levi had ANOTHER first: jumping off the high dive!!!  So awesome!

I cannot tell you how incredible this day was for us!  It was a learning lesson and a bonding experience.  It gave a little boy some much needed confidence.  It made these parents take a huge chill pill and realize we can't fix everything.  It made a little girl adore her brother even more.  I'm so thankful for these two little people.