Heather's Getting Healthy (once and for all!)

Weigh In - Week Three (Repeat)

2012-01-24T14:32:00.000-08:00

Ok. So I just had to weigh myself again this morning. I know the waking up later than normal last week sue to the holiday, screwed up my weigh in. So I weighed this morning:

Weigh In: 182.0

That's 3.4 lbs down from yesterday. YESTERDAY. Can you say what is wrong with this picture?? That would be 2 lbs down from a week ago. That's more like it. So I'm changing my weigh in day. I will weigh in on Tuesday's now. That way, if there is a holiday or I take a Monday off, I'm not worried about skewing my results. Most Tuesday's I'm at work and can weigh myself at the same time every week. :) So there you have it. Woo Hoo!!!

Weigh In - Week Three

2012-01-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

Weight: 185.4

That's UP 1.4 lbs from last week. :( But again, I weighed in later last week. Ugh. I need to start weighing in at the same time. So if I wake up late on Monday (because I'm off work etc), just weigh in on Tuesday. That's how it has to be. I weighed myself last night and I was at 184.4. So I gained a lb overnight?? I don't think so. I know I could have done better this weekend. Darn camping. And we went camping with new people so I didn't want to say no when they offered me a drink or food because I didn't want to seem stuck up. Know what I mean? Oh well. This is a lifestyle change so I know those types of weekend are going to happen. And you know what - that;s OK! But I have to keep telling myself that. :sigh: Doesn't help it's cold and rainy today. All I want to do is munch. I was able to get around it this morning by burying myself in work. Let's hope I can continue that this afternoon. :)

Weigh In - Week Two

2012-01-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

Drumroll - - -

Down 2.2 lbs!!!! YES!!! I so freakin' deserve that. :) Hee hee!!! I was really good last week. I made healthy choices. I still enjoyed myself but I made sure that I made good choices and those choices were able to fill me up. ;) I am VERY VERY happy!!

I did not work on today though. It is a holiday. I had planned to get up but it was just too cold and I hardly get to sleep in so you know what - I deserved that too. :) I'll make up for it on Friday when I'm off and can spend an hour at the gym :)

Plugging Along

2012-01-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

It was so hard to go to the gym this morning. :( I woke up at 3:43 (alarm goes off at 3:45) and was so tempted to turn it off. But instead, I stretched in bed (I am SO SORE!!!) and when the alarm went off I went to the gym. Plan was to do c25k and then stairmaster for 20 mins. But I was like I am so NOT in the mood to do all that I'm JUST doing c25k. Then as I was doing c25k I got in the groove. Even did two more runs than the week called for. :) I was even up to 6 Mph on the treadmill (10 min miles which is a goal of mine to run for 3 miles straight). Then instead of just going home, I decided to do the bike instead of the starimaster for something diferent. Then I went and did two arm weight machines. Man are my arms weak!! So it ended up being SUCCESSFUL! Yeah. And I get two days off now. :)

Monday is a holiday. I want to sleep in a little but I still want to do c25k also. So I think I'll sleep in a little. Then go to c25k around my neighborhood instaed of at the gym. That way I can use my new Garmin to it's full potentional. :) Yeah!!

Signed UP . . .

2012-01-11T11:49:00.000-08:00

for my first 5K of the 2012 year!! And guess what - it's on my birthday!!! =) What a great way to celebrate my 36th birthday (and be able to enjoy my cake too!).

Wow. I can't believe I actually signed up. Need to sign up for some more 5K's. Then I cannot back out!!!! LOL!!

Weigh In - Week One

2012-01-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

Drumroll -

186.2

That's a 0.2 lb loss. But I'm not upset. I'm totally cool with it. As I said, last week was weird. I woke up late on Monday because 1.) I was sick the weekend before and needed sleep and 2.) it was a holiday. Plus I hadn't eaten much the last two days except maybe 500 calories each day because my stomach was just not right. So it's balanced itself off. I'm pushing this week. I'm going to see a loss this week again. I feel better! That's the most important thing I think. Anyway, onto another week!!

Last Chance Workout Complete

2012-01-09T05:01:00.001-08:00

Woo hoo! I rocked it. 5 min warmup, C25K for 30 mins, stair master for 20 mins and now a 5 min cool down. Will be back later to post weigh in. :)

First Weigh In of the Year . . . Tomorrow

2012-01-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

So that means, last chance workout tomorrow morning!!! It's a good thing I don't have to go into work tomorrow. I have training close to home (and not until 10:30 woohoo!) so I can get a little longer workout out in tomorrow. Tomorrow will be my first day back at C25K. Except the app I use changed it to Ease into 5K. LOL. So I guess it's E25K. =D Anyway, after that I will do 20 mins on the stairmaster. So that should be a good 60 min workout. Yes. Not sure how this WI is going to go. I did better than I though some days. That's why it's always better to journal. Because sometimes, it's not as bad as you think it was. But also I weighed in later in the morning than I usually do. I also weighed myself at my "normal" time the following day I was up. Oh well. It is what it is. I am taking the steps needed to get healthier and I'm just going to continue.

It's time

2012-01-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

It's time:

To Get Serious
To Get Real
To Do This

2011 was NOT a good year weight loss wise. I actually gained weight. Well I just calculated it and I gained 2.8 lbs. Not bad I guess. I must have gained most of my weight in 2010 then since my low was 150 something in Novemeber of 2009. Wow. To be back there again. But that is water under the bridge. It's time to put my big girl boots on. I know what I have to do. I know what it takes. Now I just have to do it.

I just found out I'm going to Vegas in 14 weeks. Yeah! But who's counting?? LOL. I am! Why? Beacuse I know I can lose at least 20 lbs in 14 weeks. Right?? RIGHT! I just need to journal, choose healthy snacks and meals, and EXERCISE. And I need to realize that exercise doesn't just mean cardio. I need to get some weights in there too. And you'll notice I said choose healthy meals instead of eat healthy meals. I can eat healthy but I need to train my brain to CHOOSE healthy. If I don't I choose healthy I won't eat healthy.

Well, that's the beginning. So far. And I'll start with my current weight this year as the ending of this post:

186.4

It's going DOWN!!!

It's time

2011-12-19T17:09:00.001-08:00

It's time to resurrect this blog. Expect me to be back and fighting and kicking come 1-1-12. :)

Steps from 8/1

2011-08-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

Monday WI

2011-08-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well, Mandie from Fighting the Fat pushed me last week to get going and I did!! Thank you Mandie!! We have been texting each other and keeping each other accountable. And her enthusiam and never quit attitude is really helping me out!! And guess what? It showed:

WI: 186.0

That's a 4.2 lb loss!!!! And I wasn't horrible. Granted we stopped eating out last week! Yeah! So that shows too. But I was 100% spot on with my food for the last 4 days. Yippee!!! I am going to keep going. No stopping me now!! And this will definitely help me since we are going to Oktoberfest in October in Big Bear and I wanted to be 20 lbs down. Yeah!!!

Now to get more exercise in. . . one step at time though right! ;)

Steps for 7/30

2011-07-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

Steps for 7/30/11

2011-07-30T09:08:00.001-07:00

Going back to Monday WI's

2011-07-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

I just can't get my mind wrapped around anything other than a Monday WI. I know - it's strange - but that's just what I'm used to. So WI today . . .

190.2

Great. In the 190s again. :( I realized this weekend how out of shape I am. My son started riding his bike with no training wheels. I was trying to keep up. As in run/jog, yeah. right. And this is from the same person that has done 4 5ks I believe. Ugh. Need to get back into it. So I told him, any night he wants to ride his bike - I will run with him. He was so excited. He said - "we'll exercise together!". Yup. Exercise. Need. to. do. that.

Wednesday WI

2011-07-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

Drum Roll - 188.8

Well I have the 180's mastered. :sigh: That (if you are keeping track) is a 1.6 lb GAIN from two weeks ago since I ~~forgot~~ didn't weigh in last week. I have been bouncing all around the 180s all year long. I am tired of it. I want to get out of the 180s. I need to stop with the excuses. If like is crazy and busy it doesn't give me the right to eat whatever I want. If I'm having a bad day, I need to suck it up and do something to make it better. Food is not going to make it better! Well, hopefully I can keep those thoughts in my mind. :sigh: Easier said than done.

New Week

2011-07-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

And a new outlook. I'm tired of being unhealthy and tired. :) I went grocery shopping yesterday and spend $300! Yikes. That's what happens when you don't shop for almost a month. YIKES!! But now I had a healthy breakfast and no excuse. I'm tired of all my clothes being frumpy and not fitting correctly. I'm tired of wearing jeans all the time because I don't want to wear shorts (well ok I don't have shorts that FIT me to wear). It all changes. NOW. This day. I'm going to take it one event at a time. One week, one day, one meal, one temptation, one second at a time. I can do this. . . . (And I will really weigh in on Wednesday this week - I promise!!! =) )

Working on it

2011-07-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm working on revamping my thinking and my mind. I started a list of things I need to do in order to get healthy. It's almost not about losing weight anymore (although yes, I ~~want~~ need to do that). It's about getting healthy. Eating donuts for breakfast and stuffing my face is not going to make me healthy. It's going to make this pain in my calf not go away. It's going to make these spider veins grow and multiply. It's going to make this pooch of a belly grow. I don't want that. It's going to make it impossible to play with my children. I'll be too tired to want to play. I'll get worn out fast. I don't want that. I don't want any of that. So it's back to the drawing board and I will get through this. This is just a bump in the road. I will get over it and I will surpass it. :)

Book Review - Surrogate

2011-07-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

Surrogate by F. Rober Lea was a very entertaining book! I have to say I really liked this book. The title caught my eye because my hubby and I had trouble getting pregnant (although we didn't have to go too far with getting help) so I thought this would be an interesting book. Well, it was to say the least!! There are two couples that are both having trouble having babies and the way they come up with to solve their problem is . . . well different! I don't want to ruin it for you! I really loved this story. There were places that the author could have expended on the story (it felt rushed in a few places) but the overall plot and storyline I thought were great. And it's a short read and very fast. I read it in a day. Very cute, entertaining book!

I'm linking this post to Heather's Book Club Friday.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

10 Week Summer Challenge - Week Three

2011-07-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

Ah well, Oops! I forgot to WI today. Although it's probably a good thing as I have been HORRIBLE lately. Ugh. Why can't I just get this through my thick skull???? On the up side - I have cooked at home the last three nights in a row. And the last two nights, the kids all said, "Mommy you make the best food." Ah. Yeah. I need to keep doing that. I will continue tonight as dh is going out with a friend so it's me and the kids. So it's Mac and Cheese night. :) I think I'll heat up a spicy sausage to go with mine. Yum. But I really REALLY need to go grocery shopping. I am BARE. My refrigerator is empty. I'm on my last inkling of milk. I have no eggs. I have no OJ. I had to throw out all my corn tortillas yesterday as there was mold on them (must have been too moist on the refrigerator. ugh). But I have no desire to go grocery shopping. :sigh: I will buck up. Especially since we are going camping next weekend so of course I have to get food. Now the question is - what are we going to eat. . .

Week One Results

2011-06-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Journal: 5/7

Exercise: 411/3500

Weight Loss: 0 lbs

Not a stellar week that's for sure. But I will do better this week!!

Week One

2011-06-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

Journal: 5/7
Exercise: 411/3500

Another Day

2011-06-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

Journal: 2/70
Exercise: 0/3500

Well I'm doing the journaling. :) Not doing the exercise. Baby steps right? I've also started eating breakfast at home. I have 30 mins between the time my hubby leaves and when I have to get the kids up now because I can't drop Connor off until 7:30. So I am going to start making eggs or something else with protein in the morning. It helped so much! When I got into work this morning I was full and didn't even feel the need to stop at the snackbar. Yeah!!!

Day One

2011-06-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

Still no picture. Sorry!!! I need to do that tonight. Things were crazy last night. But I wanted to come in and report:

Journaling: 1/70
Exercise: 0/3500

10 Week Summer Challenge - THE BEGINNING

2011-06-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

And so it begins TODAY! Woo Hoo!! I so need this. I need something to change my mindset. I am tired of being fat and gross - especially during the summer! I have lots of oppurtunities for exercise and eating right and I am going to TAKE it! If anyone wants to be an accountability partner, the more the merrier! Just hit me up!!
I will be changing my WIs to Wednesday to accomdate this challenge so look for my beginning weight tomorrow. =) I wll also have dh take a before shot of me. I would really like to make the next 10 weeks count. What can it hurt? NOTHING. Like Christine said - I can do anything for 10 weeks. It's "only" 10 weeks. I can do this!

What do I want to get out of these 10 weeks?

Define your Ultimate Goal: Journal 60/70 days. Lose 20 lbs

How many calories do YOU need to maintain your current weight? 1900

Define your exercise goals: Burn 3500 calories per week (not gonna do day because some days are harder then others!!)

Define your food/intake goals: 1400 per day.

I will be logging my food and exercise at myfitnesspal.com. If you are a member, I'm pinguinlvr. Friend me. =) I will post my pics tonight. I'm also going to limit my soda to ONCE per day. I know. That's hard for me. That is my caffeine. That is my addiction. I need to cut it out. I'm not sure that crystal light is any better (except no carbonation) but I'm going to try and drink more water but when I just need flavor - I'll use crystal light. Other than that, I just want to get into the exercising habit. Even if it's just a DVD in my bedroom. Or doing some lunges outside. Or just stretching. I don't want to be a couch potato. :( I want to get back into running and running some 5Ks. I can do this. Who is with me??

Ugh

2011-06-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Why can't I get my eating in check. It's not like it's that great of food either. :sigh:

Got to the gym today and finished Week One of the c25k plan. I LOVE the new app i found for my iPhone for the c25k program. It's so cool to use my own songs that I like. I did not go to the gym yesterday. Since i had to drive in, I figured the extra hour of sleep would be helpful for me NOT to fall asleep at the wheel! And I was right. I wasn't as tired as I was the day before. I know it will get better also as I get use to the new routine.

Journaling is eh. I did horrible yesterday and didn't journal at all. I'll journal today. My eating is still out of control and I feel gross but I will get back in control.

10 Week Calorie Counting Challenge

2011-06-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

I saw one of my favorite weight loss peeps (Christine) is having a challenge starting June 21st. It's a calorie counting (aka journaling) challenge. YES! Right up my alley and exactly what I need to work on!! So I'm in! Would you like to join?? Please do! The more that hold me accountable - the merrier! =D

It's going to run from June 21st - August 30th. 10 Weeks.

What do I want to get out of these 10 weeks?

Define your Ultimate Goal: Journal 60/70 days. Lose 20 lbs
How many calories do YOU need to maintain your current weight? 1900
Define your exercise goals: Burn 500 calories per day
Define your food/intake goals: 1400

So there you have it. =D If you'd like to join - go to THIS post and sign up!! We CAN do this!!

Time to begin . . . And FINISH

2011-05-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

I am freakin' serious this time. I weighed in this morning . . . it was NOT pretty.

192.2

I am BACK in the 190's. WTF?!? How did I let this happen?? I was in the 150's. I wasn't nearing the 140's yet but I was in the 150's. I have gained 30 lbs!! Now, that didn't happen overnight. And it's not going to fix itself overnight but I AM going to fix this.

I went back to the gym this morning. Step One. Started back on the C25K. I want to get back into running. I want to run 5ks. I want to run a 1/2 marathon. Eventually I would LOVE to do a triathlon. That is my ultimate goal. But continuing on as I am, is not gonna get there.

I started journaling again in myfitnesspal.com. I will check in there EVERY SINGLE DAY. I don't want to see a break. I want to see the automated posts that say Heather has checked in for x number of days. I want that number to go up into the triple digits. I want it to count the days that I have stuck to my plan. And I will stick to my plan!

I am tired of being in this rut. I am tired of my clothes not fitting. I am tired. And I am DONE being tired. It's time to get off my ass and get moving and start eating healthier!!

Quote

2011-05-27T11:42:00.001-07:00

A quote I just came across:

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing; that’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar.

I had to share.

I'll be back soon . . . =D

I'm coming back . . .

2011-05-24T15:13:00.001-07:00

Soon. I promise. =)

How Am I doing?

2011-04-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

I've been better. After that steller first week of exercising, I didn't do too hot on the eating front on the weekend and it showed on Monday with a GAIN on the scale. =( A ~~lot~~ little discouraging to say the least. I continued going to the gym all last week though! (except for Friday but I stayed up until 1 am on Thursday night because I was working from home). I pulled it back together and today I showed a 1.4 lb loss. I can do better. I will do better.

This weekend I got to the point where I was sick of eating junk. So I chose differently. Did I choose great? Probably not. Was it better than it had been? Most definitely!

So I keep trucking along. Slowly, slowly slowly .. .

Ugh So tired

2011-04-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

I am so tired today. This week and waking up to work out and working out in the evening is catching up to me. I did not want to do the Shred last night. Thankfully, my lovely children, wanted to do it with me so they pushed me to put it in the DVD player and we all did it together. Well Taylor sat and watched ;) but Emily and Connor did a lot of it with me. Of course the first thing out of their mouth this morning - Can we do exercise DVD tonight? Emily is so entralled in me changing into my exercise clothes LOL!

This morning was a struggle. I've told Connor that if he is a rainbow all week long we can have donuts on Fridays before school. Since I knew this was going to happen, I ate a bagel/cream cheese this morning so I would't be tempted when we went to the donut shop. Ugh. Didn't help. I still got an apple fritter. :sigh: I can still pull out today. Plus I did go to the gym this morning even though I'm SO TIRED. I know this is just temporary and it will get better once I get into a routine but it's hard the first week or two. I'm sitting here drinking a 24 oz of Diet Pepsi hoping the caffeine will wake me. Thankfully I had 32 ozs of water this morning at the gym but after this soda, it's all water the rest of today. I'm just so tired . . . Ugh.

Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred

2011-04-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

I got this DVD for Christmas from the hubby (it was on my list ;) ). I FINALLY broke it out this past week and started supplementing my morning going to the gym with an evening of the Shred! Wow is all I can say. Yesterday was Day 4 and I so did not want to do it but I did. The first day felt so great! I was so sore and I felt it on Tuesday! I haven't had the feeling in a long time and it felt GREAT. Finally yesterday (thursday) the soreness had subsided. I'm planning on doing it every day that I possibly and and moving up a level after 10 days. It is definitely a GREAT workout for 25 mins!! I'll keep you updated!

Doing good so far

2011-03-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well Day one was a success. Day two is on track. It's the next days that are going to be rough. Always are. Once I get in a routine, I should be ok. Journaled and was under 1400 calories yesterday. =) Went to the gym in the morning AND did the Shred last night (boy did that kick my butt!!). Only one soda yesterday even though I almost forgot and was going to have one with dinner but changed to water. I may just limit myself to two a day. Will rethink that. I did not do the sit ups as the Shred has an ab part to it but I will start adding my own ab work in too once I get comfortable with the Shred. All in all I am HAPPY with yesterday. =)

20 in 7 - The Vegas Challenge

2011-03-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

So my bff and I are going to Vegas for my 35th birthday!! Yippee!! Now although I should have been to goal by then I will not be. But that's ok. I'm moving forward from here. ;) So my goal is to lose 20 lbs before we go in 7 weeks. Unfortunately, my birthday falls on Mother's Day weekend so can't go that weekend so we are going the following weekend. =) Yeah!!! I can't wait.

Here is what I am going to do to accomplish this goal:

1.) Journal
2.) Stay within 1200-1400 calories a day
3.) Drink 64 ozs of water a day minimum
4.) Only drink 1 soda a day
5.) Go to the gym in the morning before work Monday-Friday
6.) Do Jillian Michael's 30 day shred at night
7.) Do 100 sit ups a night (work up to 500???)

I'll keep updating as best I can!

Starting Weight: 189.0

Week One of Trying to Get Back on Track

2011-03-23T08:45:00.001-07:00

Ok, yesterday was ok. I journaled everything! Yeah! I drank 32 ozs of water. Not the 64 I was shooting for but better than zero! And i did not work out in the morning.

Today, I did not work out this morning. I think I'm going to scrap that this week and start fresh on Monday. Funny thing, I got woken up twice by Taylor and I felt more ready to wake up at 3:45 then the night before when I slept straight though. Go figure! I plan on journaling everything today (I didn't do half bad yesterday and I should realize that!) and I am going to get my full 64 ozs of water in today. :)

Baby Steps.

Reporting In

2011-03-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

So I said yesterday I would do three things. Well I'm on track to do two. I never woke up this morning and went to work out. :( I just couldn't get up. Ugh! And I didn't get woken up by the kids either so what the heck? Maybe I need to be woken up so I'm not deeply sleeping?? Who knows. I'll try again tomorrow.

I'm on my first 16 ozs of water.
I've journaled my breakfast and lunch (haven't eaten lunch yet) in myfitnesspal.

I even have dinner planned out tonight. :) Yeah! Now to just get my butt up and get exercising.

Plan for exercising tomorrow - Start C25K over again.

It's time

2011-03-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

It's time to get back to this. I've been slacking off BIG time. I am almost back in the 190's. I look like I'm pregnant. Eek!! I wouldn't be surprised if some of my coworkers thought I was pregnant!! This is ridiculous. What is worth more to me?? And the sad thing is, the food - isn't even that tasty half the time. Ugh!! So I begin. And the only way to begin is by baby steps - correct?? So here is the plan for this week:

1. Drink 64 ozs of water each day.
2. Go to the gym before work Tuesday - Friday
3. Write down everything I eat at myfitnesspal.com

That's is just three things. I can do this.

Starting weight today - 189.2 :(

Coming Out

2011-01-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

I'm coming out of hiding. It's not pretty. I need to revamp myself. I need to revamp my THINKING. I need to do something. I can't live like this. My clothes don't fit. I'm spending money on food (JUNKFOOD) when I should be saving. I'm being careless and I'm not being the person that I want to be or that I want people to see me as. This has got to change. And it will. Baby steps. One step at a time. One day at a time. I CAN do this. So stay tuned. I'll try not to stay away too long. ;)

Melanie's Week Three Point Challenge

2010-10-20T22:29:00.000-07:00

Since we went out to dinner together, I took a picture of Melanie's dinner and am posting it for her. =) It was a FUN night!!!

Melanie's Dinner 10-16-10

Week Three Point Challenge

2010-10-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Breakfast 10-16-10

Lunch 10-16-10

Dinner 10-16-10

Breakfast 10-17-10

Breakfast 10-18-10

Lunch 10-19-10

Overindulgence

2010-10-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

That is what I did this past weekend. But really - when are dh and I going to be able to go on a camping trip with no kids again? When will we be able to go away for the whole weekend without kids again? I totally get not making a camping trip a "special event" since we do that every month. I get that! I even get going out to dinner with the hubs not a "special event" anymore since we get to do that on a regular basis now it seems. But I think I deserved to sit there, eat junk and do NOTHING. Usually I'm up running around, playing with the kids, getting what they want, getting what dh wants, making food, running in and out of the motorhome. I'ts tiring!! I got to sit there and relax. It was AWESOME! Of course, now I'm having a hard time getting back in the groove I started last week. ugh. I did great last week. I need to continue it.

Went to spin class again last night. Sweated my butt off. =) Well not really but soon I will. ;) It was awesome. Loved it!

I have way too many "events" coming up. This weekend we have a birthday party. Next weekend we have a birthday party. The following weekend is Halloween. The following weekend - birthday party. The next weekend - the twins birthday party. The weekend after that - Connor's birthday party. Then it's Thanksgiving. :sigh: Doesn't look like i will partake in cake for awhile. I think I'll wait until Conoor's bday party. That way I can have what I want and it'll be worth it. =) So needless to say. I'll be a little busy the next few weeks!!!

Lunch 10-08-10

2010-10-08T12:21:00.001-07:00

GAG Week One Weigh In

2010-10-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for it? I am! I weighed in today at 173.8! That is a 3 lb loss from last week! Yee haw! For some reason I wasn't expecting to see that much of a loss this week. Have I been in my calorie range? Yes. Have I exercised? More than I have been! Do I deserve it? HELL YES!

Last night we went out to dinner for a fundraiser for Connor's school. I picked out what I was going to eat BEFORE we went. I stuck to it when we got there. I knew I would have chips and salsa, I mean that's the best part! So I made sure I ate lower calorie breakfast and lunch and tried not to snack too much yesterday. And it worked! I still have calories left to have some chips. And my twins decided they like the rice and ate all my rice. So I never even ate that part of my meal. =) Yeah!

We are going camping this weekend. It's just me and my hubby, no kids. I'm going to be enjoying myself. ;) Hopefully not too much though! I'll try to reign it in but no guarantees since I have no idea when the next time we'll get a WEEKEND to ourselves! LOL!

Lunch 10-07-10

2010-10-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

Spinning

2010-10-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

So I went to my first spinning class in . . . well a VERY long time. So let's just call it my first spinning class. =) It was freakin' AWESOME!! I felt good. I loved sweating. I loved breathing. I loved feeling hot! And i loved that feeling of accomplishment I got on my way home knowing I did it. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I can probably push myself harder next time. I just want to take it easy in the beginning so I don't over exert myself. Don't want to do that! So now my friend and I have a date every Tuesday at 7pm to take the spinning class! Woo hoo!!! =) By the way, my butt HURTS. Those seats are ridiculously uncomfortable!

Lunch 10-05-10

2010-10-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Vision Board

2010-10-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

Here is my Vision Board for the Week One Point challenge for the GAG challenge. =)

It says: "My Solution to a Healthy Lifestyle". It actually came out better than I though it would!

Lunch 10-04-10

2010-10-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

Monday, Monday

2010-10-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well it's the first week of GAG and how am I doing?? Not too bad! I didn't do so hot on Saturday. We had not one but TWO birthday parties to go to. I overindulged. But I drank a lot of water and only 2 diet Pepsi's that day. Sunday i did awesome and stayed within my calorie range. It was higher than I like but I still was withing my point range. YEAH!!

I attempted to wake up this morning and do the TurboJam DVD. Yeah um, that didn't work. It's just not feasible. I'll just have to squeeze exercise in in the evening. Ugh. I'm going to try and do the DVD tonight but my room needs to be picked up so I have room to do it. So I may just pick up tonight and forget the exercising. Tomorrow night my friend and i are going to start taking a spinning class on Tuesday nights. It's been YEARS since I've been. Hope I can hang! And at least I'll start using my gym membership again. LOL! Now to find my card so I can get in!

Lunch 10-01-10

2010-10-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

GAG 2010 Beginning Weigh In

2010-10-01T05:23:00.001-07:00

Well here is my beginning weigh in for the GAG 2010 challenge:

Weight: 176.8

I guess this means I'm going to start weighing in on Fridays. Maybe that will help me to keep going. I definitely need something to shake things up because what I have been doing is not working! And how sad. I am HIGHER than my beginning weight last year for the GAG 2009 challenge. :( Actually I'm exactly 3 lbs higher. I lost 20.4 lbs last year during the 16 week challenge (yes it was four week longer than this one) and I even wasn't doing that great the last four weeks so I can hopefully do the same if not BETTER this time. Good luck all you GAG participants!!!

GAG Challenge 2010

2010-09-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it's that time of year again. Ok so we started September 1st last year and this year we didn't start until October 1st. It's probably better that way! LOL! GAG is back! And better than ever. Why? Because I think I talked like six people into joining LOL! So there are way too many people that know what I am doing so I have to live up to it right? No slacking. No daydreaming. No quitting! Shoot. I won last year. I would like to make it two for two. =D Who is ready??

Goals for the 2010 GAG challenge:

Lose 30 lbs.
Journal journal journal!!
Drink 64 ozs of water daily
Eat more fruits and vegetables.
Exercise 150 mins a week (this equates to 30 mins 5 days a week).

I think these are basic doable activities. Why can't I do these? This is what I have been struggling with. I need to get into a routine. I need to get back to basics. I can do this.

Why and How To Create A Vision Board

2010-09-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

Why and How To Create A Vision Board

It is so not pretty

2010-09-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

Today's weigh in was so NOT pretty. :( That ticker at the top. Yep, it's been updated. Yup, I'm almost in the 180s. Yup, I'm disgusted with myself. Yes, I want to make a change. Something has to change. But I'm just not sure I can do it.

Dilemma One:

I need to start eating right. But eating bad is so good! But it doesn't make me feel good. :( It makes me feel fat and ugly and is just not good for me. But why does the bad food have to taste so good! And you know what, it's not just that it tastes good. Right now, it's all about convenience! I hate to say it but I'm getting tired of coming home at 5:30 when dh has been home for an hour and nothing has been done. And the first thing out of his mouth is what's for dinner. Ugh. I think I need to get him to start meal planning and cooking. He said he would cook if I had a meal plan but I don't know what he'll cook. If I plan something that he doesn't know he won't cook it. Ugh.

Dilemma Two:

Exercise. Enough said. I have no idea when to fit it in. I get up at 4:30am and I don't get to rest until 9pm. There is not time between those hours that I can fit it in. So I either don't get to sit down and rest or what??? I would like to watch tv at some point in time. I would like to start running again too but at 9pm at night? Or 4am. I think I'll have to wake up at 4am. But I don't think it would be wise to go running outside at that hour. So that means I have to do videos. Ugh. I'm just not a video exercise person. I guess I'm going to have to start to be.

Dilemma Three:

Out of control. I just feel like my life is out of control right now. With Connor starting Kindergarten and not doing very well at drop off, I'm at a loss and I can't control it. I can control my eating which is causing me to over eat. Don't ask me how that works. You'd think I'd want to control it and be limiting on my intake but I'm the opposite. Ugh. I need my world to stop spinning out of control and I don't see that happening anytime soon. Can I have the world stop so I can step off and take a break??

So those are just a few of the things I'm dealing with right now. I've got to stop it and fast. I'm disgusted with myself. I look like a big fat blob. My clothes don't fit. I'm wearing the same outfits every week because they are the only clothes that fit me. I had to buy XXL t-shirts yesterday at Target (granted they are tight fitting shirts that I wanted to be lose so maybe at the beginning of this year I would have bought a L instead but still!). Ugh. Baby steps. One day a time. I will get back to that healthy Heather that I once knew and loved.

Book Review - Friendship for Grown Ups

2010-09-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

Friendship for Grown Ups by Lisa Whelchel was actually pretty interesting. Especially if you grew up watching Facts of Life and know who Lisa Whelchel was. This book actually made me rethink how I approach my friendships. It made me re-evaluate how I am as a friend and how I can be a better friend. This book did include a lot of her past friendships and how they worked and/or didn't work. I would have liked to see this book a little more informational than biographical. But overall, it really made me think about my friendships and how I could be a better friend.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Geez

2010-09-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

I am such a slacker. SLACKER. Big fat (and I do mean FAT) slacker. Ugh. Life was hectic this past summer. With three kids, all three of them doing swimming one right after the other, then Connor also in t-ball, throw some camping in there and mix it all up and we have one busy busy summer. Not that it has slowed down now that it is the fall. Connor started Kindergarten and that has been stressful to say the least. He was fine the first couple days, then not so much. Now he is ok. I'm hoping next week will be even better. Keep your fingers crossed.

But all of that to say, I need to get back on the bandwagon. I have gained weight. Lots of weight. 20 lbs since Jan. 1st to be exact. Ugh. My clothes don't fit. I don't like how I look. This is NOT good. I was supposed to be close to my goal of 130. I should be within reach (if not there already). Instead, I have to get off my lazy ass and get my butt moving. I need to start eating healthier. I need to start cooking and not taking the easy way out and going to fast food and picking it up. I can do this. I will do this. Just bear with me. LOL!

Week Nine LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-07-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

June 30 - 15 min walk at work; 30 mins swim lessons with Taylor

July 1

July 2

July 3

July 4

July 5

July 6

Week Eight LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-06-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

June 23 - 30 mins swim lessons with Taylor;

June 24 - 30 mins swims lessons with Taylor

June 25- 30 mins swim lessons with Taylor

June 26 - 90 mins gymnastics

June 27 - Nothing

June 28 - 30 mins swim lessons with Taylor

June 29 - Nothing

Total: 210 Mins

7-11 Challenge (Week 1)

2010-06-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday

1.YES!!!
2. YES! (I am a healthy person and make good choices!)
3. Yes - I made guacamole with avocado and added lettuce to my burrito. ;)
4. Nope =(

Thursday

1. Nope
2. Yes. (I am a beautiful woman).
3. Nope
4. Nope

Friday

1. Nope
2. Yes (I am a good role model for my children. I'm teaching them healthy habits.)
3. Nope
4. Nope

Saturday

1. Nope
2. Nope
3. Nope
4. Nope

Sunday

1. Nope
2. Nope
3. Nope
4. Nope

Monday

1. Nope
2. Nope
3. Nope
4. Nope

Tuesday

1. Nope
2. Nope
3. Nope
4.Nope

LHA Week 7 WI

2010-06-23T01:17:00.000-07:00

So today's WI goes like this:

171.2

Sigh, it was less than last week but since I didn't report last week I am showing a gain of 1.8 lbs. On the exercise front it goes as follows: 90 mins gymnastics practice; 60 mins swim lessons; 30 mins wii; 30 min walk at work. Total of 210 mins. Thank you kids and the activities I signed you up for! =) Since they are parent and me I have to particpate too. ;) The following weeks are going to be much better. I just looked back at my starting weight and it's exactly what I weighed in this week! I think this is a sign. A sign I can start over and go go go!! And I will.

Christine has started a side challenge for the next 4 weeks called the 7-11 challenge. We are to think of four goals for the next four weeks. Here are my four goals:

1. Journal my food NO MATTER WHAT every day!
2. Write out a positive affirmation every morning
3. Start incorporting veggies & fruits into dinner (SO hard for me to remember)
4. Drink only 1 soda a day

I think those are perfectly doable goals for the next 4 weeks. Wish me luck!!!

LHA Challenge Update

2010-06-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

I know tomorrow is Week Seven WI. What happened to my Week 6 WI you ask? I chose to forgo it. I did horrible. I hate that I'm back in the 170s. I did no form of exercise (which I need to update my exercise totals) and I just all around basically SUCKED. I am so sorry fellow team members that I only got around your blogs the first week. Now we are onto new teams and I hope to be a better bloggy friend because frankly. I've been a horrible bloggy friend. No excuses. I'm also changing my WI date back to Monday (so I already have my WI for this week). That Wednesday WI was just killing me. If I have a Monday WI I just start over better on Mondays and I need to be good on the weekend so I can have a good WI come Monday. =) So watch out. I may have sucked the first 7 weeks but I'm going to try and kick it into gear the next 9 weeks (right? I think it's a 16 week challenge LOL!). So LET'S GET IT ON!!

Time to Start AGAIN

2010-06-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

I am really really really tired of being fat. And you would think, that if I'm tired of being fat, that I would do something about it. Well hopefully the time has come. My clothes are getting tight again. :( I can barely fit into my shorts or jeans and I REFUSE to buy anything more. I need to do something to help me. I'm hoping over the course of the next few days to iron out what I need to do in order to get this weight OFF. It's not going to help that I am going to be EXTREMELY busy over the summer with swim lessons, tball, and gymnastics for the kids (WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!) but that should also help to minimize the extra eating I've been doing at night too. It is also FORCING me to plan. We have to plan what we are going to eat or we will not get to eat. So, I have figured out that if I lose 2 lbs a week I can actually make my goal by the twins 3rd birthday. Is that going to be hard? Yes. Can it be done? ABSOLUTELY! So here are my goals:

August 2nd - 160
September 6th - 150
October 11th - 140
November 15th - 130

How can I accomplish these goals? These are the main things I need to do EVERYDAY. Now I know Christine at ExquisiteChristine does a point type thing everyday. I think I'm going to try it. I need to try something right?? For what it's worth I'll probably be hitting up a lot of blogs to see what is working for some people and trying those out myself. ;) So what do I have to do?

1. JOURNAL
2. Stay around 1400 calories
3. Drink 64 ozs of water
4. Exercise for 20 mins

So that is what I have to do. Here is going to be how I'm grading myself.

Journal: 3 pts

Calories
1000-1200: 3 pts
1201-1400: 2 pts
1401-1600: 1 pt

Water:
64 ozs+: 1 pts
80 ozs+: 2 pts
100 ozs+: 3 pts

Exercise:
20 mins: 1 pt
40 mins: 2 pts
60+ mins: 3 pts

The most points I can get a day is 12. I will shoot to get around 50 pts a week. I'll keep you updated HERE. I am also planning on starting P90X again on Monday. I'm not going to be getting a lot of sleep since I have to do it in the morning but if I want to get this done, it's a sacrafice I have to make. I ordered the P90X drink supplement so I'm planning on having that for breakfast in the mornings. =) Hopefully that will stop my current practice of getting a donut at the snack bar each morning. Ugh. I really need to stop that.

Well, I think I've done all that I can for today. I'm going to keep this better updated. That's the ONLY way for me to get this weight off. No excuses. No butts. No nothing. As Nike says, Just Do It!

Week Seven LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-06-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

June 16 -

June 17

June 18 - 15 mins walk at work

June 19 - 90 mind gymnastics

June 20 - 30 mins Wii

June 21 - 15 mins walk at work; 30 mins swim class with Taylor

June 22 - 30 mins swim class with Taylor

Total Mins 210

Week Six LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-06-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

June 9 -

June 10

June 11

June 12

June 13

June 14

June 15

A big FAT ZERO!!!

Week Five LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-06-08T16:13:00.000-07:00

June 2 - 45 mins P90X; 5 min stairs

June 3 - 60 mins P90X; 5min stairs

June 4 - Nothing

June 5 - 30 min walk with kids

June 6 - 30 min walk with kids

June 7 - Nothing

June 8 - Nothing

175 Minutes

Can you tell . . .

2010-06-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

that I fell off the P90X wagon?? I could not wake up on Friday. Well I could but the kids were up at night and I was just tired so I said screw it. So that led to no workout on Saturday or Sunday either. Then I figured I can't do anything Thurs - Sun this week so I'll start fresh again on Monday with p90X. Why not. I really do like the DVDs. It was fun and gave me a great workout!!! I can't wait to start again. It just KILLS me I have to wake up at 4am to do it. If it was 5am, it would be a better pill to swallow. But in 2004 I was dedicated and went to the gym every morning for MONTHS at 4:30am (waking up at 4am so I could get there when they opened). I can do it again. Granted, I didn't have kids waking me up then but I'll just learn to deal! (And go to bed by 9pm every night!).

Day Three of P90X

2010-06-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

I woke up again this morning. Go me! I didn't go to bed until 11 pm last night because dh and I were watching The Hurt Locker but I still managed to get up at 4am and I didn't feel tired. (probably helped neither one of the girls woke me up last night!). Today was Shoulders & Arms. I only have 3 lb dumbbells at home but that was all I needed to start out with. For triceps and butterfly exercises that was PLENTY. I do need heavier weights for the biceps but I'm undecided what to do. Do I just buy some dumbbells here and there when I need them or do I just suck it up and buy the resistance bands instead? Any ideas, suggestions??

The diet is going eh. I did horrible yesterday since I was at training and home all day. =( Oh well. I'm trying to make today better! Although again, I started with a dang donut. Ugh. I have GOT to kill this sweet tooth. Still feeling sore today. It feels good though! I know I'm working out my muscles and it feels GREAT. I'm going to have to modify the workout days here. There is no way I can do Yoga on a workday. It's a 90 min DVD and I don't have that much time in the morning unless I want to wake up at 3:30 instead. I'll save that for Saturday. So instead of doing Yoga tomorrow I guess I will do Kenpo X. I'm going to try to make this fit into MY schedule. If I don't, it won't work and I'll quit and I am NOT QUITTING! K. =) I also know when I go to my parents next weekend I will have to skip Thursday - Sunday. No big deal. I'm going to try and go for some walks/runs while there and then I'll pick back up when I get home. I am NOT QUITTING. I am going to make this work with MY schedule so that I can and will succeed!!!

LHA Weigh In

2010-06-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

Weighed in today and I have a maintain. Considering this past weekend was Memorial Day with lots and lots of food I'll take it!!!

Day 2 of P90X was great too! I am sore and it feels WONDERFUL! Do I like getting up at 4am. No. Do I LOVE that I get it all over with first thing in the morning. YES!!! I will continue to do it until I die from exhaustion. LOL! I was in bed at 7:30 last night. Slept until 4 am and I was STILL tired today. Ugh. I know i'll get use to it but geez. It may take me a little while.

Week Four LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-06-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

May 26 - Nothing

May 27 - Nothing

May 28 - 30 min walking

May 29 - 30 min walking

May 30 - 30 min walking

May 31 - 30 min walking

June 1 - 60 min P90x; 5 min stairs

Day One of P90X

2010-06-01T08:40:00.001-07:00

I so did NOT want to wake up this morning but I forced myself to. After thinking about it last week, I knew I was starting P90x today. But the question was when do I do it? Morning, Evening? If I wait until the evening, I won't be starting it until like 9pm because the darn kids don't want to go to bed, argue, etc etc. So if I don't want to be interuppted I have to do it in the morning. No matter when I do it, dh will be watching me since i have to do it in the living room right now so take that out of the equation. So morning it was. Set my alarm for 3:50am so I could stay in bed for like 5 minutes but then I got my butt out of bed and turned the DVD on and sweated my butt off!! Felt so good!! I can see myself being pushed and really liking this! Yeah!!!

I am being so bad. =(

2010-05-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

And it's showing. Ugh. This is going to be a short blog. I need to gather my thoughts and put it all down, I just don't have time right now. But I need to make time. Anyway, weigh in this morning:

169.4

Ugh. That is UP 1.6. Ugh. Ugh Ugh! And this weekend is Memorial Day. We are going camping. I'm usually ok when we go camping. I'm usually so busy running after the kids that I don't gain weight. But I know I'm bringing snacks, my friends are bringing snacks and there will be a LOT of munching going on. I am going to work out though while I am there. There is no reason why I can't go for a good walk around the campground. No excuses! And starting June 1st, I am reading to bring it. I will be starting my p90x videos finally. I'm debating on doing the nurition part too. I haven't had a chance to read the books but plan to this weekend. Wish me luck!

Week Three LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-05-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

May 19 - 5 mins stairs; 46 mins run (4/1 run/walk intervals)

May 20 - 5 mins stairs;

May 21 - Nothing

May 22 - 30 min walk with the kids; 20 mins P90X

May 23 - 10 min walk with the family

May 24 - 5 min stairs;

May 25 - Nothing

Total minutes: 121 mins.

Weighing In - Wednesday

2010-05-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

It's so weird for me to be weighing in on Wednesdays. For so long, I have weighed in on Monday's. That's how it's been. Probably for 5 years now! Wow! Such a departure. LOL! So I almost forget to WI. LOL! But I did remember and I wasn't too dissapointed. Drum roll:

167.8

That would be a loss of 1.4. And again. I wasn't stellar this week. You'd think that would draw me into wanting to be stellar and eating healthier. But um, no. I had a donut for breakfast again. UGH! I really need to get AWAY from that. I think I will start walking to the 1st floor from now. That way I CAN NOT go by the snack bar. I cannot buy a donut. Work? I hope so.

I did 177 minutes of exercise last week. Should have and could have been much better but I'm working on it! I actually got out and ran yesterday! Go me! I did 4/1 run/walk intervals for 30 mins. Ended up doing about 3 miles in 45 mins. Not too bad since that included 10 mins of my cool down and warm up walking. =) I'll take it. And I'm getting out there and running again tonight. ;) Now to just start eating healthier. :sigh:

It's MONDAY!

2010-05-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

So why not be a good girl and get back in the groove of things? Sounds good to me! I'm ready to kick butt. I'm ready to lose this weight. And I'm tired of being tired. Well, I may be tired at first but it'll help me in the long run. And my dh was so awesome and text me today that I AM working out tonight. ;) Woo hoo!! That means I won't have to feel guilty for leaving even if the kids are still up. =) Well, I'll still feel guilty but hey. I'm going to go exercise!

Found out yesterday that my SIL is doing P90X. Has been for about 9 weeks now. Hmm. I'll have to catch up with her now. LOL! But I want to run too so I'll just have to switch off and on. She says she hasn't lost any weight but has lost inches so not bad I guess.

I'm also going to be doing the stairs at work every morning. Here's a picture:

Pretty bad picture but I think you get the idea. There are 105 stairs to walk up. Eek. But I feel it in my legs. =) I'm also taking a picture of everything I eat and posting at Tweet What You Eat. It's pretty cool so far and I'm hoping that if I have to post it for the world to see, it'll make me think twice about eating it. Probably not but it can't hurt right?? =D

I'm ready to start rocking and rolling. My pants are getting too tight and I sure do not want to go shopping. It's coming up on Summer time and I want to look decent. I don't want to look like a cow. I want to be able to play with my kids outside and not say mommy's tired let me rest. I want my son to start running with me. And I want the twins to also when they get older. I just need to keep these things in mind when I want to go off track. I am going to hold myself accountable. I am going to make it!!

Week Two LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-05-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

May 12 - Nothing

May 13 - 30 mins walking with kids

May 14 - Nothing

May 15 - 60 mins walking around Knott's (We were there for 4 hours so I'm sure this is an understatement)

May 16 - 20 mins playing with the kids at the park (We played for 2 hours but I didn't run after them the whole time LOL!)

May 17 - 5 min Stair

May 18 - 5 mins Stair; 10 min walk with family; 47 min run (4/1 run/walk intervals)

And Deb asked what my plan of attack was going to be since I didn't do so hot last week. Well, I'm just trying to get a little bit in each day but will start doing more as time allows.

177 Minutes

Wednesday WI

2010-05-12T11:04:00.001-07:00

Well today was my first WI for the LHA challenge. I guess I didn't do so bad. =) I WI'd at 169.2 lbs. That is a 2 lb loss. Yeah! And I didn't even do that much. Think of what I could do if i really really tried!!! So I have LOTS I can work on over the next 15 weeks. But the first week wasn't too bad. I didn't do that great with the exercise this week. I did not exercise last night. I just felt lazy. UGH! Oh well. I just need to figure out how to fit it all in.

Week One LHA Exercise Round Up

2010-05-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

May 5th - 40 mins Biggest Loser Wii workout; 10 min walk with the family

May 6th - 10 min walk at work

May 7th - 60 mins dancing

May 8th - Nothing

May 9th - 20 mins walking with the family

May 10th - 25 mins walk with Connor; 45 mins Biggest Loser Wii workout

May 11th - Nothing

Total Minutes: 210 mins

It's Monday

2010-05-10T08:44:00.001-07:00

And we are halfway through the LHA Week one challenge. =) How am I doing? Ok. I've gotten exercise in every day except for Saturday. And that's ok. Is it as much as i was hoping? No. But it's a start. I also went out and partied quite a bit this weekend so I'm sure I'll be paying for it. Although I was a little sick afterwards and couldn't eat so maybe that was a good thing? LOL! ;) Anyway, I'm finally ready. I'm really finally ready to do this.

LHA - Beginning Weigh In

2010-05-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

Oh My God! It is not pretty. How did I let myself get to this point again? Ugh. Here is the sad sad truth:

Beginning Weight: 171.2

Ugh. How. Well ok, I know how. Now how am I going to fix this? Journal, water, stay within my calories, and EXERCISE. So this challenge is exactly what I needed to get back on track. Watch out! I'm gonna win this thing!!! =)

My Long Hot Active Summer Challenge

2010-05-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! It starts tomorrow!! Am I ready for it? Not really LOL! I have been slacking off so bad! Bad Heather. But I need something to jumpstart me back into a healthy lifestyle again and why can't it be exercise right?? So here is a recap of my goals for the challenge.

1. Work out 6 out of 7 days a week. (So a total of 96 days. This does not have to be each week but I can't miss more than 16 days).

2. Have a total of 6,000 minutes of exercise. (That is roughly 54 mins of exercise PER day).

Stay tuned as I keep track of everything. And I switched my WI days to Wednesday to coincide with the LHA challenge. I figured I needed something different to get me back into the groove so why not. =) So follow me for the next 16 weeks and let's see my progress and how I do. =)

Tomorrow - Picture of WI and full body shot!!

By the way, it's not too late. Go over there and sign up NOW!!! Join me!!!!

An Exercise Challange - My Long Hot Active Summer Challenge

2010-04-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well since I did so good in the GAG challenge I thought why not join this challenge. I need something to keep me motivated and get me MOVING! So I am joining in and going to participate in "MY long Hot Active Summer Challenge". WOO HOO!! Since it is an exercise challenge I should make exercise goals for the challenge. So my goals for the challenge are two things:

1. Work out 6 out of 7 days a week. (So a total of 96 days. This does not have to be each week but I can't miss more than 16 days).

2. Have a total of 6,000 minutes of exercise. (That is roughly 54 mins of exercise PER day).

Are these lofty goals? Yes.

Can I complete them? YES!

This challenge starts May 5th. The day before my birthday and the Wednesday after my trip from Vegas so I will have NO EXCUSES! NO EXCUSES!!! One of the things i want to get in the habit of is exercising when we go camping. This will MAKE me! We are going camping in May, June, July and August before this challenge is over with so I WILL make it a point to exercise. Come on baby! I won GAG and I don't plan on losing this one either. LOL! ;)

Book Review - Looking For Closure

2010-04-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

Looking for Closure by Maria Stewart was definitely an interesting read. Maria is the niece of Theresa Ferrara and also the last person that saw Theresa alive. This book is Maria's recount of her recollection of the events that led up to the disappearance of her aunt as well as the aftermath and her resolve to find out what really happened.

If you know a little bit about this story or were aware of this story when it happened and saw the newspaper articles, you will definitely like this book. I had no idea what this story was about but it intrigued me and I wanted to know what happened to Theresa Ferrara too. It kept me turning pages to see what would happen and what the outcome was.

Did it answer all the questions? No. But unfortunately, this is a true to life event that happened. Not just a story being told by some writer. Ms. Stewart couldn't weave a great ending as she was bound by the truth and only can report the actual facts and circumstances surrounding what she discovered. But overall, this was a great book that shed light on the suspicious circumstances that surrounded Ms. Ferrara's disappearance.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author Maria Stewart. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Starting over ... again

2010-04-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today is a new start. Why not. It's Monday. It's a new week and the first Monday of the month. I am going to Vegas for my birthday on the 30th. I would LOVE to be 150 by then but considering I weighed in this morning at 162.0 (which by the way is a 1.2 lb drop from last week) I don't think I can hold my breath. It's taken everything in me right now not to munch. I'm probably thirsty. I've gotten in the bad habit of having a soda when I get into work first thing. So that pushes back my water intake. Bad me.

Ok . . .I just opened up my water bottle and took a drink. =) Starting in the right direction now. I have lunch planned - a lean cuisine and some chips and salsa (trying the new quesadilla they have out). I have dinner planned, chicken fajitas. But I have to go to the grocery store tonight. Since we were gone all weekend visiting family I am at my bare bones in the cupboards. So I need to make a grocery list and plan my meals the rest of this week and shop tonight. Ugh. But that's after doing Connor's homework, making a quick craft for Grandma's birthday (it's next Monday) so I can get it mailed out and doing baths tonight. Oh yeah, and I have Connor's follow up dentist appt this afternoon at 4pm. Maybe that will actually help as I will be home earlier than normal. That is if the dentist is running behind schedule.

I just can't seem to get a consistent schedule going. Ugh. I just have to muddle through and figure it out I guess. Can someone please add another hour in the day???

Book Review - Is There a Monster Over There?

2010-04-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Is there a monster over there? by Sally O. Lee is a delight to read. My children LOVE this book and keep asking me to read it again and again. At first, I was apprehensive hoping this wouldn't scare my 2 year olds! But it does the exact opposite. It teaches them that monsters are not scary! They make look different but they are nothng to be afraid of. I think this would be a great book for any child that is afraid of the monsters under their bed or in their closet to realize, there really isn't anything to be afraid of.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author Sally O. Lee. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review - Travel Writing

2010-04-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Travel Writing by Peter Ferry was definitely an interesting book. It was a little slow in the beginning but picked up quite nicely. It kept me in suspense wanting to know who did what, how the characters were intertwined and what the whole story behind Lisa Kim was all about. I think this is a great book for aspiring writers to read. It gives a different perspective of how to write and almost gives tips based on the author’s class that he talks about in the book. But it was also an entertaining read. The only part of the book that I somewhat questioned was the last chapter. At first I really didn’t see the need for it until I got to the last sentence of the book . . . I won’t ruin if for you!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author Peter Ferry. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

It's Official

2010-03-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

I have gained 10 lbs exactly since the beginning of the year. I could be (should be) 10 lbs lighter! NOT heavier. Now I have to relose those 10 lbs and then keep going. UGH! And why do we do this to ourselves? I'm ready to kick it into gear. I was disgusted with how my clothes fit this past weekend. Yuck! I need to get on the weighloss bandwagon. I need to get on the exercise bandwagon. :sigh: This shouldn't be this hard. It's not this hard. I just have to work through this. I know you all are probably tired of hearing me go through this but unfortunately, this is my life right now. I'm hoping that if I write about it and talk about it, I'll work through this difficult time.

I was talking to dh yesterday and I said you need to help me get back on track. And he was like you need to tell me what to do because if I say something to you, you get mad and do the opposite. He is entirely right. =) What can I say. I guess I get defensive since it's not fair I have to work this hard and basically when i start doing better, he just falls in line and loses weight because he's a man. So unfair! It doesn't help that I sit at a desk all day and he is on his feet so I can't compare myself to him but its hard!

So anyway, I have my meals planned out this week. I am going to the grocery store tonight and I will succeed at this!!!!

I don't want to WI!

2010-03-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

I do not want to WI tomorrow. As much as I wanted to get back into the swing of things, it just didn't happen. But I am so disgusted with myself. I need to do something. I did figure out one of my problems. Breakfast. I am constantly buying a donut for breakfast from the snack bar and I finally figured out why. I want something that I can just start eating when I get to work. If I have oatmeal, I have to "fix" it. If I make egg beaters, I have to make it in the microwave. If I have toast with peanut butter, I have to get out the toaster and toast it. I need ready made will stay good in my bag from 5:30am when I put my stuff in my car until 8am when I make it to work. Or I need to eat when the kids eat (but I don't think that's feasible). Any good ideas???

So I guess that's my first step. Baby steps right?

Is it time for a new start???

2010-03-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Yes it is. But is tomorrow that day? I am tired of feeling like a fat blob again. I am tired of being tired. I want to start exercising again. I need to start eating better so I'm not so sluggish and tired. I want to. But there is always an excuse. The excuses need to stop. I know i have said this over and over and over again. But I really need to mean it now. I need to start fresh now. I have a feeling when I weigh in I am going to be in the 160s. :sigh: I could have been so close to the 139s it's not funny. It's really NOT funny. I almost want to cry. But I think I needed this. I needed to have fat feeling in my clothes to get back into the groove of losing weight again. I want people to start noticing again how great I look. It's gotten so nice to go to the store and try clothes on and not be upset because they didn't fit. I'm in a small top and size 8 or 10 pants. I LOVE it and I don't want to get any higher. I need to stay where I'm at. And there are key things I need to start doing in order to get back into my groove. Here they are:

1. Journal (i'm finding it tedious at this moment but it's the only thing that keeps me on track.)
2. Stay within 1200-1400 calories a day
3. Drink 64 ozs of water a day.
4. Eat healthy snacks (fruits are coming into season so this should start getting easy.)
5. PLAN my dinner meals. Actually I should plan all but I've gotten away from planning dinner. I need to get back to that.

So baby steps. I just need to take one step at a time. Change my mindset and I WILL overcome this downturn.

Book Review - Love Your Heart

2010-03-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

Love Your Heart by Tim McGraw & Tom Douglas is a wonderful children's book. In this Children's book, Katie is trying to figure out what talent to perform in her school's talent show. But in the end, it doesn't matter what talent she picked because she chooses to help her friend instead of perform. This book teaches children about helping others and putting others first. It is beautifully illustrated and wonderfully written. This book will teach children how to be unselfish. I love the message of this book and my two year olds and four year old love for me to read this book to them. I don't think the two years olds will get the concept for awhile but my four year old gets it and what Katie did. Very good book to teach good values to kids and wonderful pictures to look at as well!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Also, I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review - What Happy Working Mothers Know

2010-03-04T15:46:00.000-08:00

In the book What Happy Working Mothers Know, they talk with a lot of working mothers regarding what they do to make their life happy. What it boils down to, is finding a balance between work and home and in the end (according to the book) not feeling guilty for your choices. While I agree you shouldn't feel guilty for your choice to work (because I for one am NOT meant to be a stay at home mom!), I think I would be more happy if there were more hours in a day! I just can't find time to do everything that needs to get done. In the book, they do talk about prioritizing your time. Spend those 30 mins with the kids instead of vacuuming -vacuuming can be done later. While I do agree with prioritizing, there does come a point, when you can't push it off anymore.

The one thing I didn't like about this book was its entire chapter (it seemed) on divorce and how to get through it etc. I'm not quite sure how that is supposed to help working mothers be happy. One of the authors went through a divorce so I can only surmise that is the reason for such in depth inclusion regarding divorce and how to handle/get through it was included with the book.

Overall, I thought this was a good book. I will go back and do/re-do some of the exercises they talked about in the book to kind of let you figure out what will make you happy and how to get to that point. They were definitely thought provoking and a great way to try to get you to your happy point. However, in the end, only you can make yourself happy. No book can do it for you!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the authors Cathy L. Greenberg Ph.D (Author), Barrett S. Avigdor J. D. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Month of February

2010-03-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

5.2 lbs. That is what I GAINED last month. :sigh: It's my own fault. What do I expect? You eat crap, you become crap, and then you weigh like crap. Right? I have to thank Kyle for the inspiring words he wrote on my last blog on Friday. It really did give me words to thing about. You are truly right. It is me and me alone that can conquer and address my issues with weight loss. I hope I'm ready. I really do but I think I'm not. And I'm afraid I'm just going to keep gaining weight until I hit that point. But I need to stop this. One step at a time right.

I had goals for last week they were:

Weekly Goals for 2/22/10:

1. Journal Did for 2 1/2 days

2. Drink 64 ozs of water a day Did for 2 1/2 days

3. Exercise 1 time Nope

4. Meal Plan Yes. But I haven't this week.

So I didn't do real good. I think I need to look back and see why I stopped on Wednesday. Why did I stop and not journal anymore or finish drinking my water. What was my trigger? I don't know if I remember what if anything occured that day. My mind is going for me to remember stuff. LOL!

I really can't believe it's March 1st already. Two months of the year have come and gone. What do I have to show for it? Absolutely NOTHING. I am at my all time high this year (ok it's only been two months but still) AND I'm knocking on the door of the 160s again. UGH! I so do not want to see the 160s. Don't want to. Not going to. I want my clothes to fit looser. I want them falling off me. I want to look strong and toned! Of course that means I need to start exercising. My unnamed reward (well now it's named since i'm writing it here) is if I can CONSISTENTLY exercise for 6 months I can purchase a working out wardrobe. Whenever I go to Kohls I see the exercise clothes and I just want to purchase them thinking it'll make me work out if I have the "proper" clothes. YEAH RIGHT! I know me. It'll just turn out to be a waste of money. Now if I can get my butt back into exercising and doing it regularly, I can justify the expense!

So anyway, this is a lot of rambling etc. That's what happens when I start to reflect and what better way to reflect and figure out where/what I doing/going then the first of the month! So I'm hoping for March to be a MUCH better month than February!

Need to do something

2010-02-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

This whole weight loss thing just isn't working right now. And I'm not sure why. Is it the weather? It seems I do some much better in the summer/fall time losing weight. Is it the kids? It's hard to lose weight when I'm not sleeping at night because they keep waking up. Is it the hubby? Its hard to focus when you are just irritated with the lack of help and the hypocriticalness of some people. Or is it me? It's probably just me. I need a new mind set. Can someone give me theirs? I'd really appreciate it. Until I find that right mind set - I have a feeling I'm going to be spinning my wheels.

Let's take this past week. Starting out great. Was journaling, drinking my water. But then dh went to bed early. And what did i do? Proceeded to stuff my face. For some reason, I feel the need to binge when he is not around. Why? I think i feel like he is watching me and accounting for what is going in my mouth when he really isn't. But when he isn't around, I feel like I can have a free for all. What should i have done the TWO nights he went to bed early? I should have started the Wii and popped in those games i wanted so bad for Christmas that i got and have not even OPENED. Not even OPENED. ugh. I will learn. It takes time. It takes time to change my mental attitude. It takes time to change my habits that got ingrained in me. But I'm working at it. Slowly . . . .

Book Review - The Mystery of the Third Lucretia

2010-02-23T14:16:00.000-08:00

The Mystery of the Third Lucretia was a FABULOUS book. The book is about two friends who go on an adventure. When they travel to London with Kari's mom, they didn't look for an adventure but it found them! They get wrapped up in mystery and mayhem and are drawn in by the quest to find out what is going on! This is the perfect book for any teenager who loves a good mystery to read. Or even an adult that is a teenager at heart. This book had mystery, intrigue and lots of great writing all rolled into one. This was definnitely a page turner for me. I kept want to read more and find out what happened. The author Susan Runholt is fabulous and I can't wait to read more of her work!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author Susan Runholt. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Weigh In Monday

2010-02-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

Well Since I've been really bad this month I can't really say that I'm surprised. I can only say that I'm surprised it wasn't worse!! Stepped on the scale today and it said

156.6

That is up 0.6 lbs. Not bad. But it's gotta end. I'm no longer in the low 150's knocking on the 140s door. But that is where I want to be. No I want to be in the 140s. A place I haven't been since high school. And I will get there. It may not be before my birthday like I had hoped but that's ok. I calculated it out and if I lose 1 lb a week I will lose these last 26 lbs by 8/22. That's right before Connor starts Kindergarten! I can be the M.I.L.F. I can be the Hot Mama!! =) Hee hee! So I'm working on my goals for this week that I posted last week. I will acheive them! Plus I am adding one more. No more BLTs. No more Bites, Licks, and Tastes. I'm getting into the really bad habit of finishing off the kids plates. I HATE to waste food but I need to be healthy more than I need to be free of wasting food. We went to McD's for dinner on Friday and I had a Big Mac (yes cane me now!). Then I finished off Connor's 2 Chicken Nuggets he didn't finish. Did I need them? NO! Absolutely not. :sigh: So no more! No more BLTs!!!

Time to Get SERIOUS

2010-02-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

Really Heather. There is no reason for you to be slacking off like this. Your clothes are starting to get tight again (thank god I moved down to an 8 -10 or I'd really be in trouble!). Your stomach isn't right because you aren't eating healthy. Your skin is dry and you are breaking out because you haven't been drinking your water or eating healthy. Your kids are starting to pick up on your bad habits!! Is this how you want to be? Is this how you want to live? No it's not.

So it's time to get serious. I NEED to get serious. Had I been serious. I could have gotten to my goal by my birthday. Now. not possible. I can get darn close though!!! I WILL get darn close. So my friend Mandie has weekly goals so I'm going to start doing that. Here they are:

Weekly Goals for 2/22/10:

1. Journal
2. Drink 64 ozs of water a day
3. Exercise 1 time
4. Meal Plan

Ok, I think that's enough for my first week. LOL! Don't want to overdue it and then not want to continue. That is what I seem to do a lot. I try to do too much too quick. Well, let's see how next week goes!

Starting Over

2010-02-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

Again. :sigh: I can't complain with my weight this week. I had no gain and no loss. Considering we went camping this weekend and indulged in red vines and ice cream cake, I think I did pretty good! But I do need to get back to losing. I'm just so stressed and have so much to do, it's the last thing I want to do. KWIM? Oh well. I'll get over this hump shortly! I hope.

Book Review - Messy Tessy

2010-02-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

Messy Tessy by Leah Orr is a cute book for girls to read. Tessy plays while the babysitter sleeps! Of course, it could also give your darling child some not so good ideas of what to do. Ha-ha. My only complaint about this book is the wording. It doesn't really flow. The author attempts to rhyme but sometimes the pentameter is off and so the rhyming is off and doesn't flow. Otherwise a very cute book. LOVE the illustrations. The pictures are a delight to see. And the proceeds from the sale of her books goes to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I would be interested to read the other two books this author has written if not just for the pictures. I really did like the illustrations!

Book Review - Cracking the $$ Code

2010-02-09T12:16:00.000-08:00

Cracking the $$ Code by Patricia M. Annino seems like it would only be for working women. I don't think. The subtitle of this book is "What successful men know and you don't (yet)". I think this book can be used by any woman whether working or not. In it, she explains certain things that men just seem inherently driven to do while we as women are not. They would seem to be things that would come naturally but being a woman and being driven by the wanting everyone to love me feelings, they don't. It's something that I need to work on. This book gives women the tools to do just that. Whether you are a working woman or a non-working woman, i think you will come away from this book learning something about yourself and learning some tactics you can do to make your life easier. This will definitely be a book that I will read over and over to refresh my memory of what I need to do in order to make my life more productive.

Book Review - Kill Me Twice

2010-02-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

Kill Me Twice by Jerry Bayne was definitely a page turner. From the beginning, his storyline swept me in and made me want to keep reading. When someone kills the Senator and is doing it out of revenge, you want to find out why. Jerry Bayne tells you just enough to keep you interested but wanting to know more. This thriller was a great book all the way through. I definitely want to check out more books by this author!