Book Review - Size 2 for Life

How appropriate that this is a weight loss blog and I am reviewing a weight loss book. =) Size 2 for Life is really a misnomer. When you start reading the book, the first thing they tell you: depending on your frame size, will depend on whether you can reach a size 2 or not. If you are a medium frame, you will get to a size 4, a large frame – a size 6 (but you will LOOK like a size 2). I did enjoy reading this book. It was filled with helpful information and made me think about how I was eating and exercising. I will definitely keep this book. It has a great couple chapters on resistance training – at the gym, at home, and on a stability ball. All with pictures (I like pictures!). This would be a great resource for the first time person looking to start using weights and doing resistance training. As far as the daily meal plan and guide – eh. I will definitely read the daily action steps and answer the questions and/or reflect like it asked. I think that part is awesome as it helps you to deal with your emotions and why/how you are in this mess to begin with and how to help yourself get out. As far as the meal plan, no. I think it’s very dull and not very conducive to a plan that you would stick with. I don’t think anyone using their meal plan would last more than 3 – 5 days. But I plan on using their exercise and daily action steps to help spur me to a size 2! (I have a small body frame!)

So come back on Monday to see how I do - it's 21 days. They suggest exercising in the morning and in the evening (which I've wanted to start doing). Also, I'll share my action step that day and my thoughts!

Weight In

Morning!!! I'm feeling good today after my weekend of great exercise and a fabulous time with the family. I am up on the scale today but phooey on the scale. I had a great exercise weekend so I'm not even worried about it. I know why it's up. I'm not writing down what I'm eating. I'm not tracking it. So I'm probably eating more than I should. That can be fixed. That WILL be fixed. I would like to start losing 2 lbs a week but I won't if I don't control my eating. It's not out of control but it could be better. I need to start measuring. I need to be more diligent about portion control and portion sizes. That is what I am going to work on this week. =)

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: Hot Dogs

Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday: Chicken Pitas

Thursday: Ravioli w/ garlic bread

Friday: Skillet Lasagna

Saturday: Hamburgers

Sunday: Eat Out

Finished my 5K!

And I did better than my last! Woo Hoo!!! Here are the results:


Bib: 868
Name: Heather
Gender: F
Age: 33
Overall: 384 out of 408
Women: 158 out of 172
F 30-39: 34 out of 37
Age/Grade: 36.38% Place: 386
Finish: 40:53
Pace: 13:10
Tag Time: 40:53
Gun Time: 41:22

Almost a full min better than last time. And I would have finished faster if it hadn't been so hot. At the end on the final stretch, the sun was just beating down on us and there was no shade. So i have lots more to work to but I'm hoping to finish in under 40 mins on my next 5k!

5K Tomorrow!!!

Well, my 5K is tomorrow. It is supposed to 92 degrees tomorrow and the race doesn't start until 7:30am. Yikes! Oh well. I will take it slow. I was able to run last night even though I so did not want to. I was tired, I had a headache and I did not feel like going out. It was also 8 min runs last night. ugh. But I made it through and I felt SO good when I was done. =) Definitely worth it. I'm sure I'll feel the same way tomorrow when I am done. This will be my 3rd 5K. I have to go this afternoon and pick up my registration stuff - timer, shirt etc. So I'll be home late. But that's ok. The kids do pretty good running around playing before I get home so they should be ok.

Speaking of food - I know I didn't share my menu plan monday but I did menu plan! And I am happy to say we've eaten at home every day so far this week! Yeah!!! Tonight should be the same unless i pick something up on the way home from registering but I don't see that happening since we still have to do baths and get the kids to bed. But I do have to plan my meals for next week. Better get on that today or it won't happen!!!

Book Review - Man Overboard by Sandy Mason

I have to say Man Overboard was a very enjoyable sitting by the beach or pool read. It was an entertaining read that had mystery, intrigue and a little bit of romance all thrown in. I thoroughly enjoyed how Sandy Mason wrote the book in the first person. I can't remember that last time I read a book that was written like that. By doing that, he was able to throw in some witty comments and phrases his main character said so we got a feel for how we thought and felt at certain times. It was nice to get that sarcastic wit or happiness while reading the book. My only downside to the book was the beginning felt a little repetitious. At one point, he actually told us twice what he did for a living almost word for word. It was almost like he forgot he had already added that in the previous chapter or he was going for more pages in the book. But after that hiccup, the book read smoothly and was entertaining. I'm definitely interested in reading more Johnny Donohue Adventures books!!

Book Review - The Talking Baby by Jeremy & Karina Sweet

I was very interested in reading this book in the hopes that I would learn something to help me get my twins to talk. The Talking Baby talks about ways to help your little one (and I mean little - they say to start early - before one) to talk sooner. One of the most frustrating periods for parents is that span of time when the child knows what they want, but can't communicate what it is. The parent is left guessing and trying to figure out what it is while their child is screaming at the top of their lungs. This book is here to help eliminate (or at least make shorter) that time period.

I did enjoy this book. There were lots of helpful hints and tricks to help your child start talking. Some of them were of course no brainers (repetition, repetition, repetition) but others were very helpful (word and phrases that are easiest for baby to say). Overall, I highly recommend this book to those with babies. It'll give you some fun and interesting ways to "play" with baby that will help to expand their vocabulary and hopefully, get them on the path to start talking early. I do not think this book is for those that have children over 1 or 1 1/2. By this time, the child is more older and set in their ways and may not be as open to some of the "tricks" and tips they spell out in the book. Don't get me wrong, you can still definitely use this book at any age. I think it's a great resource. I just think you'll get the MOST out of it, if you start using the tips before age 1.

Check out their web page at: http://www.thetalkingbaby.com. You can order the book directly from there!!

All Signed Up!

Well I did it. I signed up for my next 5K this Saturday. I was going back and forth on whether or not to sing up since I didn't get to run last week due to being sick. But I did it! Some friends talked me into it. ;) Who cares if I don't run the whole thing. The important thing is I DO it! =)

In other good news, I lost 3.6 lbs this week! WOO HOO!! I didn't even do that well. Well I take it back. I watched what I ate and ate in moderation. No mindless snacking. Being sick helped a little too. =)

Way to derail my efforts

I now have a cold. I'm all stuffed up and my nose is runny and I can't breathe and I want to go to bed. =( So needless to say, I will not be running tonight. I have a very good feeling I will not be doing the 5k next weekend. :sigh:

Dinner Plans

So what do you do when you plan dinner and then hubby says, I don't want that. So I say what do you want me to pick up and he says Carl's Jr? Well tonight I got a ranch Swiss bacon chicken sandwich. And it wasn't even that good. What am I going to do from now on. Get hubby food and make myself my plan. At least that way I'll still save 1/2 of what I would have spent. Ugh. It cost me $14 today! And it wasn't even that good!!! Did I mention, it wasn't good?!? :sigh: When will I learn?

In other news, I ran today. C25K Week Four Day One. FELT so good. I was mad at dh and it got my frustrations out. I didn't have to think about anything. That's what I like about running. I just let my mind float and it thinks about whatever it wants to think. I don't have to be serious, I don't have to worry about the kids, I don't have to worry about what's next, I just am. That is why I like running. Debating on if I will run tomorrow since I missed Sunday. Not totally my fault. Dh was sick and in bed all day so there was no way I was gonna get out of the house to run. He has the flu. Hope I don't get it - or the kids. Especially the kids. I'll probably run and then maybe take Wed off, run Thurs and Friday, take Sat off and then be back on track. That sounds like a great idea. Let's hope I can stick to it and no one gets sick to derail my plans! :crosses fingers:

Menu Plan Monday

It's time to start doing Menu Plan Monday again! I need to get back to menu planning. It's the only way I stop going out to eat and start saving money!!

Monday: Orange Chicken w/ Chicken Egg Rolls
Tuesday: Tacos w/ Rice
Wednesday: Spinach Ranch Pasta Salad
Thursday: Nachos
Friday: Sandwiches
Saturday: Hamburgers
Sunday: Eat Out

So there we have it. Hopefully I can stick to it this week. Wish me luck!!! Check out more menu plans at Orgjunkie!

Book Review - My Goodness: My Kids

Although My Goodness: My Kids by Nesta Aharoni , was a thought provoking book, I think it is more in tune with parents whose children are in elementary school and above. I really liked how the author separated each chapter by the differing attributes she feels you need in order to raise a good kid. Each chapter could be read separately or all together. This book does not need to be read in one sitting.

I believe the author raised good kids because they themselves were a good family with good morals and good traditions. Some parts of the book I found hard to believe. For instance, she maintained that as part of fear she would count to three to change one of her children’s behaviors. However, she never got to three (and wouldn’t know what she would do if she got there since that situation never arose for her). Now I know she is not talking about toddlers for sure. And I know my son (who is almost 4) loves to see how far he can get. This is not practical. Counting to three – yes; not having a follow through plan – no.

I also disagreed with her no curfew policy. While this worked well for her and her family, it may not work well for everyone. Not to mention, in some cities there are laws – curfew laws.

I also disagreed with her thought process when it came to the chapter on separation. I agree with the author on the fact that you should send your child to summer camp. I don’t agree that by having them go to summer camp, this will make them a better person and that it will allow them to either not “go wild” when they go to college, or run home homesick. I was sent to summer camp. Every summer as a child growing up I went to girl scout camp for two weeks at a time. Each and every year, I was home sick. Did I end up having fun? Absolutely. Am I glad I went and stuck it out? Yes. Was I still homesick when I went to college? YES! Going to summer camp did help me, but not in the ways it helped her children. Will I send my children to summer camp? Absolutely. I just have to realize that since they are like me, I will have to fight the homesickness and push through because in the end, it’s for their own good. And that is where I do agree with the author.

I guess in the end, you have to read this book and take from it what you can attribute for your family. Did I learn anything from reading this book? ABSOLUTELY. Will it change some of my ways of thinking of how to raise my children? I’m not sure. My children are still very young and I think parents of older children will get more out of this book. But I will definitely keep it on my shelf and refer to it as my kids get older for help and guidance on what worked for another mother and family.

Why does this have to be so hard??

I'm back at work today. My youngest daughter Emily had a fever on Wednesday so we took her to the doctor and she ended up having an ear infection. She was good yesterday but I stayed home with her. It was fun just being me and her but I was not on track. =( I have to be better at home. Bad me. And a better role model. How can I give the kids water and then drink a diet soda myself?? ugh.

I'm learning. And I'm learning the healthy things taste better than a lot of the junky things. Baby steps right? I did c25k last night! I couldn't the night before since dh didn't get home until almost 9pm with Emily since he took her to the doctor. But I have been swimming every night. Connor is in swim classes and I'm dragging him around the pool for a 1/2 hour while he kicks, moves and jumps. It's definitely a workout for my arms! LOL! Today is supposed to be a rest day for me but I may just run anyway since I missed Wed. We'll see.

Well . . .

Um. The 4th of July was fun! Did I follow any kind of eating better?? Not really. I did bring a lot of fruit to the potluck! I also ate a lot of celery (yes it was dunked in ranch though). I also ran around after the twins a lot. But I did not exercise and I had donuts for breakfast. ugh. But I got back on track. I ran last night. Week Two of the c25k program. My 5k is July 25th. No i won't go through the whole program before then but since I've done 2 5ks previously I'm ok with that. But I need to make sure I get my butt in gear or it's not gonna happen and that is NOT an option.

As of July 1st in the state of CA restaurants have to publish their calories on menus. Oh boy. Dh and I were off yesterday (preschool shopping for my son) and went to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch. I looked at their menu and was like, what the heck! The scary part. The Chicken Tequila Fetticini (we all know that SOUNDS fattening) is about 1300 calories. The scarier part. The BBQ Chicken Chopped salad i sometimes get is about 1300 calories! YIKES!!! Very eye opening. Will it get people to change their ways? Um, not sure. Some it will. Me it definitely will. Unless I'm celebrating a special occasion then it's ok. LOL!

So I'm back on track today. I'm down 0.8 lbs from last week. I'll take it. Gonna exercise the rest of this week and get my water in (having a hard time getting water in at home and that shouldn't be the case as I make the kids drink water. sigh). Need to work on.

Book Review - Too Too Many Tutus

I read Too Too Many Tutus by Suzanne Davis Marion. This was a VERY cute book. I read it to my 20 month old twins and even to my 3 1/2 year old son. They all enjoyed it and the twins even sat through it the third time I attempted to read to them (both times before they just wanted to flip through the book!). I highly suggest this book if you have a daughter that loves ballet. She will thoroughly enjoy reading this book. Even for those that don't, it basically goes through each color of tutu this little girl has. Very good tool to teach colors and reinforce what the different colors look like while getting an entertaining story about a little girl who can't choose which tutu to wear because she has "too too many tutus". =)

Book Review - The Noticer by Andy Andrews

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Noticer. The author, Andy Andrews, weaves a tale about an old man who changes people’s lives by changing “their perspective”. It was a beautifully woven story that enables the reader to read the life changing tales and bring the concepts home to help enlighten their lives. It will make you think about your own life and how you perceive it. Jones – who this story is about – helps everyone from couples to singles to suicidal to downtrodden. He is friends to everyone even though they might not know him until he first talks to them. Once he talks to them, he has everyone’s attention and they hang on his every word listening to the wisdom he doles out to anyone who needs it. He also seems to just be there at the right moment when someone needs to hear the wisdom he dispenses. And when he leaves for good, he leaves the town with a remembrance of himself so they will always remember his tales and how to lead a life with perspective.

Proud

I am very proud of myself. Last night was a hectic night (as will be the next few weeks too since it's swim lessons for the foreseeable future. :sigh:). I also had to get lotto for work so I said I'll just pick up dinner. Well dh wanted SuperMex. I'm not a big fan of SuperMex but he really wanted enchilada's. Why am I proud of myself?? Because instead of getting my usual enchilada and tamale (that's not always good anyway!) I ordered off their lite menu! Go me. Now I just have a bone to pick with SuperMex. a.) I can't find nutritional information for them (grr! - how do I know these are "lite"?) and b.) um, you call that lite?!?! I got the Lite Chicken Taco combo. It did come with the "liter" beans and rice (which by the way they also subbed for my hubby and that was NOT what I had requested. Oh well). But the taco had cheese and TWO corn tortillas. Not sure what else was in there because the cheese was sort of melted and making it stick together. Geez! Not to mention, on their "lite" menu they talk about things with guacamole. GUACAMOLE?!?! That is so NOT lite. So in the end, I counted it as if they were not lite and so I went over my calories yesterday. But I'm not bummed. I'm learning!!! =)