New Year's Resolutions!

I don't usually make resolutions, too many years of not sticking to them.  This year, I am so close to my 20lbs lost mark that I am so motivated!  This year is going to be great, fitness and health all the way.  I want to get under 200lbs!  And now it is totally possible, I never thought it would have been.  my husband and kids got me the fitness stuff I asked for a resistance ball, a 10lb fitness ball and the EA Active program for the Wii and I am so excited!!! Here's to a better, healthier life for me, my kids and my husband.  This year I am going to get skinny and pregnant and skinny again and I am going to LIVE IT UP!!!  Life is too short to stress, work it out and live the way you want to.  HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE~MAKE IT A GREAT ONE!

Feeling Better

I was sick right after Christmas and didn't eat for a couple of days.  I am finally feeling better today.  I got my husband's birthday cake in the oven and while it was baking for 20minutes, I used my new exercise equipment that I got for Christmas and did some workouts.  I used my resistance ball and my weighted fitness ball (10lbs) and did some crunches and stretches.  It felt wonderful.  Before that this morning, I got on my Wii Fit and weighed myself and I have lost about 2 more pounds since I was sick.  So, what better than to get back into the swing of the diet when you couldn't eat much anyways.  So, 17lbs gone and it's going to keep going.

A long time coming...

Over the past month, I swear I ate over half of all the goodies I made to distribute to other people.  There was always enough that there were left overs, but I was having major stress eating cravings.  I finally got back on my diet, the exercise is coming along, but I haven't been as diligent.  Shame on me.  I have also felt like crap because of it, so there ya go!  But things are looking up.  All the weight I thought I was for sure to have gained back, didn't end up being so bad.  It ended up that I did enough exercising in between all my sweet treats, that I only gained about 2lbs and maintained.  So even though I didn't lose it, I didn't gain any more than that either.  So, I am hovering around my 13lbs weight loss and working towards making it a total of 20lbs.  Today is the big day though, it is my doctor's appt where I get to stop my birth control.  I am very excited and motivated even more to keep up the health approach I have adapted so that I am healthier with the pending pregnancy.  I am ready for another baby and I am made a realistic type goal of being under 200lbs when I have the baby, after I get pregnant of course.  That is only 30 lbs away and I did 15 in a couple of months, so it should work out over the next year.  I really want to look great this time next year and things will be different this time around anyways.  Wish me luck! 

Vacations can be dangerous!

Vacations can be dangerous for your diet.  I am admitting that I took liberties while on vacation and didn't eat very well.  Thus gaining a couple pounds back, like about 4.  But I got right back on my diet today, exercise and all and it feels great.  It is funny how you start to feel after not exercising for a couple of weeks.  Last night I was feeling restless, like I needed to stretch or had too much energy.  You should have seen me yesterday, I was cooking like crazy, good for you cooking.  But I was in the kitchen for hours.  So I feel so much better after having worked out for 30 minutes and drinking my slim fast shake this morning.  I am looking forward to dropping those pounds again and then some! 

Thanksgiving and Vacation

So, I have now been off my diet for a week.  The vacation made it pretty hard to stay with it and I figured with Thanksgiving coming, I had better just wait until it is all over before I even think about weighing myself.  I might take a peek though, just to see where I'm at.  But I don't anticipate any problems getting back on, my goal is still in sight and I am still happy that I am losing weight.  I don't see it as a burden anymore because I feel good about it.  Here's to a great Thanksgiving and getting back on the weight loss wagon afterwards :)

Almost vacation time...

We are going on a little vacation next week and I have been looking forward to it.  I haven't been losing the weight for it, but it will be nice not being as heavy as I was, when we go.  I have officially hit my 15lbs mark!!!  I am so happy. If I can lose 15 lbs, nothing is impossible.  I am just glad I have figured this out.  I look forward to doing this after my third baby this time next year and losing the lbs faster than before.  I am so excited to walk into my doctor's office a little healthier and knowing that I did it myself.  Yeah!!!

Busy Weekend

This morning I feel like crap.  I feel kinda gross, I ate too much good food this weekend.  It was graduation weekend for my husband and we had a party afterwards.  I think I was stress eating but after the fact because it was all over when I was gorging myself.  I definitely didn't listen to my body very well this weekend.  So, I will be working out tomorrow.  I was feeling so yucky that I was worried about working out and puking, not a good combination.  So, I will let you all know tomorrow how I am doing with my weight.  So far 13lbs lost and I want to keep losing it.

Funny things I noticed

So last night while relaxing with my husband, I had an itch on my leg.  So I pulled the itchy leg across on top of the other knee to scratch.  And while scratching I noticed that my legs seemed thinner.  Not like I had a lot of issues with my legs while I was 14 pounds heavier, but it was just funny.  I also have come to terms with the fact that while in my youth I gained the weight all over,  after having kids, it is now concentrated in one large area and that is going to be the hardest area to get back into shape.  I guess the good thing is that I am losing the weight so that I can gain a little with another baby.  While pregnant with my son, I didn't gain anything until the very end and that was only 12pounds.  So, my hope is that I will have lost a total of 20pounds by the date of my doctor's appt next month and will continue to lose it as my husband and I are trying to get pregnant again after that appt.  So getting completely in shape (flat belly,etc) isn't as important as losing enough weight to be better off and developing the self motivation to know that it won't be as hard to lose it next time.  After baby number 3 life will be busier but I will still find the time to exercise because I feel better when I do and I know I can lose the weight.  It would be great to get smaller faster after the next baby and maybe even look really hot before it is time to discuss baby number 4.  I think having taken most of my weight off will be great for my recovery this next time around too.  I can't wait to get pregnant and I am so happy to be losing the weight.  My clothes are fitting better and I am excited to think what another 5 lbs will do for that.  I have also noticed my boobs don't feel as full, guess where I lose the weight first..! Oh well, my husband loves me no matter what I look like, I just liked that I had a larger size, but I haven't lost so much that they are small, just decent.  Anyways, this weekend is super busy, my husband is graduating with his Bachelor's degree and because we are having a party, it makes me stick to my slim fast a little better.  I have been eating less in general and take smaller portions, sometimes I don't even finish that, but I feel great about it because I have lost so much weight.  Yay Me, feeling Great!

Keep Doin It and Doin It and Doin It Well!

Lost 3 more pounds.  Can't believe it.  The way I feel versus the way I look makes it hard to tell sometimes.  I haven't noticed a big change personally, but I have had multiple comments this past weekend which makes me feel good.  So, I am still working on it, but I have progressed pretty well I think.  My clothes do fit more loosely and with the holidays coming, I think I have finally figured out how to listen to my body and know when to eat or not to.  I think sometimes I get stuck in this mindset of "you have to finish everything on your plate."  I have given myself permission to not eat when not hungry and to only eat until I begin to feel full, which has been sooner rather than later recently.  So, I will keep this up and now that it is soooo nice outside, I am taking the kids for a bike ride, rather than staying in the house and doing the Wii Fit.  I still love the Wii Fit, but doing the bike rides gets the kids out of house and in the fresh air and I get some exercise doing it.  In Arizona we spend too much time indoors because of the incredible heat, so it's important to get outside as much as possible when it's cool enough to do so.

Keep Movin, movin

Another pound lost.  No actual workout done today, but lots of physical moving.  I have been cleaning and moving stuff around today and some of it was heavy.  So, still working out and listening to my body, not eating when I am not hungry, stuff like that.  Feeling great!

10 lbs GONE!

It has been a hard month and it's not even over.  I skipped exercise for about a week due to my kids being ill and I was a little sick one day.  Finally today I got back on the Wii Fit and it told me that it had been over a week since I had worked out, etc.  Anyways, I did my body test and found that I had lost 3 lbs since that week that I skipped.  3 lbs!!!  Woohoo!!! I told my kids that I did it and my lovely 3 yr old daughter said, "Good Job, Mommy! Give me hugs!"  Not only am I doing this for myself and that ability to have another baby, but for my kids.  They depend on me and I need to be healthy to take care of them and be ready when they need me for anything.  My goal is 20more pounds before I make a doctor's appointment in December.  Feeling really good right now!  I haven't noticed a whole lot about the way my clothes are fitting, but every now and then I realize that I am more comfortable in an item than I was before, like I have more room and I don't feel like it is too snug in certain places.  20 more pounds will do wonders though.  WooHoo!!!

The Results...

I maintained! WooHoo!  That means I neither gained nor lost.  Which means, I didn't gorge myself even though I feel like I did because of the difference in elevation and retention of water. My hands felt tight, the whole time we were in Utah.  But, that is fabulous, now I can continue on my weight loss without the small frustration of having to re-lose a pound or two.  2 more pounds and I will have lost my first 10.  YEAH!!!

Seriously feel yucky!

Not an excuse but being on my period just doesn't motivate me to exercise.  Plus with all that extra "stuff", there was no way I wanted to weigh myself last week.  So, I didn't exercise, still did my diet because I didn't feel like eating much anyways and didn't weigh myself.  I did horribly on our little vacation this weekend but I am back on my diet.  I finally found my Diabetic Crock Pot cookbook and made a yummy scalloped chicken recipe today that only took 4 hours on Hi and then I found a Chocolate pudding cake recipe that took 4 hours on Hi.  So, I put the chicken in, did the preschool thing.  The chicken was done when we got home, put that in something else, washed out the crock pot and made the cake.  As my husband will each anything I make unless it is absolutely disgusting, we will see how good it really was after he tries them.  I liked the recipes and so did my son and obviously it is way healthier than say, pizza.  So, if I can keep up those recipes and maybe even make some and freeze them for later, I will be super stoked about how much more healthier we will be eating.  It's not like I give my family unbalanced meals but using recipes I know are better with less sugar and sodium, etc I feel excited to cook again.  So, tomorrow is the first day in over a week that I will be working out.  Wish me luck and I will let you know the results of the weigh in after I cry about it...LOL, hopefully it won't be that bad.  I am fully prepared to have gained a couple of pounds back but my goal is still in mind and it is my biggest motivator.

Being sick has it's advantages

As it has been over a week since I have actually done a full 30 minute work out on the Wii Fit, I still have lost a couple more pounds.  I attributed that to my head cold and lack of hunger therewith.  That and taking care of 2 kids who weren't feeling so great either, so Mommy had little time to actually worry about herself.  I was able to get some rest to recoop on Sunday and the kids seem to be doing much better.   I hope things will calm down a little by Friday so I can resume my workouts as I had been doing them.  I have missed doing them and a couple of nights during this past week, I have had to stretch before bed to get my legs to calm down.  I think I am beginning to like running.  I watched too much Law and Order when it was on...I am terrified of actually running outside, by myself for exercise, I worry that I will get abducted or something horrific like that and you get the picture.  So, being able to put on my own music, watch my kids dance around as I run in place is more fun to me, than going out after they are in bed or trying to get up before them since they are early risers and it is almost impossible to predict how early I would need to get up and have them still sleeping.

Last week before the cold hit, my daughter was helping me do our exercises and she asked me, " are you going to do running, Mommy?" I told her I was.  Then as I was doing it she commented again, "Almost done Mama!"  I have my own little cheerleader and it feels great to know that not only am I doing this to feel better for myself, but hopefully by "helping" me, it will instill in my children a positive desire to exercise and be healthy that wasn't really present for me growing up. I hated running, I felt dumb and awkward, but doesn't every teenager?!

Anyways, stuff happens, I am finding I miss my workouts which is a great thing, but I still have my goal in mind and am not getting discouraged.  That couple pound loss helped boost me a little though, I had expected to gain over the week but just goes to show not to make assumptions.  Stay Healthy!

Bad Day

It was not a great day.  I only had one shake left so that was breakfast. So, after I picked up my daughter from preschool, I decided to get the kids a "fun" lunch.  We stopped at Jack in the Box and I got some lunch too.  Although instead of getting the large, I got the medium sized meal, still not good, I know.  Finally got the kids to nap around 2pm, I also got to nap.  I woke up from my nap feeling totally disgusting!  I felt swollen and kinda gross.  Never again.  I am realizing as much as I might have a fleeting craving for something that tasted good once, it no longer does.  Then, to make matters worse, I didn't feel like cooking and everyone was hungry, so pizza got ordered. I have been finding that my eating habits are changing, I eat less than I once did.  Or maybe I am just finally paying attention to my stomach actually being full as opposed to the mental issues that may have once forced me to feel like I needed to eat.  I am finding it easier to ignore thoughts of hunger because that is all they are, thoughts.  I will have a snack in between meals if I am hungry but something small and not filling.  Water has also become my drink of choice. Today I also had too much soda and that easily attributed to my disgusting feeling after my nap.  My skin is much more hydrated because I have cut back on the soda.  My fingers and elbows were constantly dry and cracking, I hated this.  Now, I am surprised sometimes at how soft my skin feels, all from drinking more water.  Anyways,  that is my confession.  Today has been horrible, I am looking forward to working out tomorrow morning and getting back on track.  Family pictures are this weekend and I plan on this being the last one with my weight where it is.  One thing to remember, we all have bad days and it's okay, it's going to happen, just keep your goal in mind, allow yourself a "free" day and get right back on track the next day.  This kind of mindset will keep you motivated.  Good Luck and Happy Health!

Happy Health

So this past week was hard trying to keep my workout routine, a lot of stuff was going on during my normal workout time. But what I didn't get done on the Wii Fit I tried to do elsewhere.  Saturday was a Temple trip with my Activity Days girls and I took my son. So while the girls were with the other leaders watching the Joseph Smith story, I took my son and walked around the grounds for about a half hour.

Worked out really hard today. I got in 32minutes with only a couple times where I had to pause it to address an issue my children were having.  I have unlocked some new reps and new exercises.  I am feeling it now.  A little shaky but sipping some water.  I have found that I tire of the little pep talk phrases that are recycled during the Wii Fit exercises and their music is lame.  So, I have put together my own workout music on my computer and play that and turn the TV down super low.  It helps me a lot more by being upbeat.  Still hovering around 237 but almost at my goal of losing 2 lbs in 2 weeks.  Slow and steady wins the race so I am happy with where I am at.  Happy Health!

Un-Labor Day

So as this weekend was a "free" day for some, I did my best to stay on my diet during the Morning/Mid-day and kinda let myself have some fun food at the barbecue that afternoon.  I didn't do great. I said I TRIED.  On Monday I weighed in and had gained a little back from snacking too much over the weekend.  But, today I weighed in at the same 237.  Meaning I had lost the little I gained back.  I have learned over the years of dealing with weight that it is all about attitude.  And as I have an ultimate goal in mind, I have changed my mind about gaining back weight.  When in the middle of a regimen that you have set up yourself, it is important to realize that gaining back a small amount for a couple of days will happen and it is OK!  I only gained back one pound and like I said it was back off in no time.  I just need to keep it up and keep losing.  I am motivated and feeling great.  The motivation gets reinforced by how great I feel for working out.  Using the Wii Fit is fun because you get mini instant rewards by unlocking more reps on the exercise you are doing or unlocking a new exercise all together.  My Mother-in-law also gave me some strength stretches to do for my lower back and it has never felt better.  I still can't have anyone massage my lower back because it feels like a big bruise but I don't feel like a weakling anymore.  It helps me with my posture and engage my abdominal muscles much more.  There are times I catch myself slouching when I drive and then I re-engage my lower back and abs and sit straight again.  I didn't do the Wii Fit on Monday but I did get some good swimming in with the kids at the barbecue.  I am still at just 5lbs lost but not at all discouraged. It is slowly cooling down here and I mean slowly...it still gets to 100 degrees too quickly in the morning for us to take our walks yet but soon.  I am excited to do that because it will be a less interrupted exercise because the kids will be in the stroller not pulling at my legs.  I frequently have to pause my exercise to address a dirty diaper or something to that effect but that 's okay because I get right back to it.  This morning was a little frustrating but sometimes that is just what happens. 

Keep Losing It!

So, it is day 3 of my workout regimen and I have lost another couple of pounds. I am weighing in at 237. Now It may not be a big feat for all but it is a good thing for me. I just need to keep it up. It has been nice to get on the Wii Fit 3 days this week and get some good sweat going. It has also been nice seeing the numbers on their scale go down. I am starting to feel better about some of the exercises and trying new ones. The ultimate goal is in the forefront of my mind and I am hoping to make this a great habit.

A Never-Ending Journey

So this idea is more of a journal and a fun way for me to be accountable to myself for my personal health. Long intro, I know. I have had 2 beautiful children. My oldest is 3 and my youngest is 1. I am not a small woman by any means. Right now I weigh about what I did at the end of my last pregnancy. Not great, I know. My goal is to get on a healthy exercise routine and some type of diet that will help me lose some of this weight.

So, no holds barred here are my stats: I am 25, 5' 8" tall and weighed around 242. As I have already started my new diet and exercise regimen, I now weigh 239. Small Victories!

Luckily, I have 2 wonderful children who like to do "exercises" with me in the form of watching Mommy do the silly games on the Wii Fit. For now this will be my main focus of exercise, when it cools down enough outside, taking walks with the children will resume as we had started this before the summer.
This will be an experiment for me, so if you are reading this, no criticism please, I have enough of a nagging in my head already, just encouragement or your own victories. I plan to keep an update with my weight and feelings because as you all know, it's not an easy task tackling this much weight. I hope that maybe you gain some inspiration of your own or even just feel part of the victory with me. I won't post pictures until it starts being noticeable of my weight loss because I already have enough of me at my heaviest, then I can post some before and afters. Now you have a better understanding of the purpose of this blog, I am getting healthy for myself and my children and having more energy for my husband can't hurt either ;)