BooYah!

Donna

Not Sucking Anything In!asdf,

I am one day shy of completing my first 30 days to a new improved healthier me!  I’d like to reflect on some accomplishments and challenges that I continue to face.  First, let’s talk weight.  I have to be honest folks, I am scared straight of my home scale…or any scale for that matter.  I fear seeing the same numbers on my scale and I don’t want to experience that sense of disappointment, even though I know I have put in the work and I’m feeling great.  I planned to go get my body analysis done this past week to see my progress on paper, but Aunt Flo showed up and made me have second thoughts.  So I dug out my home scale which was buried far under my bathroom sink (LOL), and I can report happily that it said 168.  I have since weighed every day for 3 days and it fluctuates from 171 to 168.  When I started my journey 4 weeks ago I weighed 178.  When I did my first body analysis 3 weeks ago I was already down 4 lbs., so on paper my journey started at 174.  From both points of view, the weight is coming off.  Slow and steady!! I’m hoping this is the trick to keeping it off once I reach my goal.  I am putting the home scale away, hitting the food and gym hard this week, and after Aunt Flo leaves I will definitely put on my big girl pants and get that body analysis done again! I don’t want to fear my weigh-ins but I tell ya, its nerve wracking!

On to exercise…my work outs have been great. I continue to go to the gym 3-4 times a week. I’ve also been running 3 or more times per week.  I’ve become a little manic in this department. If I eat something which I consider to be ‘bad’, I sometimes do a double work out just to make myself feel better. 

Swelfie

 I was talking to my super fit and fabulous friend Carmen at the gym yesterday and while discussing the changes I’ve made I realized there are still areas I can definitely improve upon.  I am taking this information and applying it to goals I’d like to meet immediately. I realize I have been drinking too much diet soda.  I started with one can a day but on the weekends I can sometimes have 2-3 coke zeros.  Immediately I am cutting that out.  I drink one cup of coffee every morning and that should be enough caffeine for me.  So no more coke zero!!  My other ‘cheat’ has been these super delicious Harvest Snap treats!! 

 They are my crack! I’m sure in moderation they are a great replacement for chips and other nasty goodies, but several times I have eaten the whole bag in one sitting!!!!  Oh yes, I just confessed to binging on Harvest Snaps!!  I love you dearly, but I am taking a break from you Harvest Snaps.  I’ve been really good about incorporating more carbs to my diet.  I do think I got a little carried away this week with what I cooked.  I am proud to say that I have continued to prep and cook all of my meals at home.  I traveled out of town for work this week and brought my food with me. I have not veered off that path at all.  I may have cooked a few ‘not so healthy’ meals to cater more to my children’s pallet but I’m really focused on pushing past this week and being more careful with the food I choose for the upcoming week.  Salmon is in the oven as we speak!

Yummy! Salmon!

I’ve definitely broken some really bad habits in the past 30 days and learned new healthy ones.  I can see a difference in my body, especially my face.  It feels wonderful when someone notices my efforts and throws a compliment my way.  Who doesn’t like a little flattery to keep them motivated?  I know what I’m doing works and I know I will meet my goals.  I feel stronger, I can run easier and my mental state has been more stable than in other times when I’m not living such a healthy lifestyle.  I’m excited to see where this leads.  I’m traveling next week for a conference and will not be able to bring all of my meals with  me, so this upcoming week is really my chance to punch it in the gut and lose another few lbs. before my trip!  This is not easy and anyone who says it is, is probably not a mother to 3 children and working a full time job!!!  I’m here to show you it’s possible.  Every effort, big or small, matters.  Everything you put in your body matters. Start by making small changes and the bigger stuff will come when you’re truly ready to commit to the process.

Here’s to another week….without soda and harvest snaps!! BooYah!!!

You lyin' girl!

Libby

I have avoided the mirror from the neck down for at least two weeks as well as the scale.  It is part of the lies that I am telling myself since I began this journey almost a month ago. Every Sunday I decide that Monday is a fresh start, this is the week I am going to change my life forever.  Monday hits and I eat very well, but I am so exhausted from the weekend, I usually decide I have all week to exercise so I skip my well meaning Monday workout sesh.  That first missed workout is the start of a slippery slope one that turns into heavy hitting avalanche by Saturday around mid-afternoon. I feel food hangovers, serious muffin top, and completely irritable.  I am mad, mad at myself for falling for the lies that I tell myself, tomorrow, I'll workout tomorrow.  Ill eat better tomorrow.  Ill take my kids to the park tomorrow. Ill clean the house tomorrow.  Ill start that bible study tomorrow.   Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.  Frustration. frustration. frustration.  Lies. Lies. Lies.   I deserve a break, I am so tired.  Ill just have one or two pieces of candy.  Eating this piece of cake will not send me into a sugar spin.  And on and on and on.  Are any of these sounding familiar to you?  

I have tried to determine my issue with establishing a workout routine or any routines.  I know that my brain does not process consistency very well or at all really.  I am very motivated to lose weight but here are my mental blocks.  I am an impulsive, instant gratification, deal with it later type.  Meaning eat ice cream and pie now....feel physically and emotionally crappy later.  My motivation is there in full force, its like oooooooooh I can almost reach it, like that cup on the top shelf of the cabinet, you  are on your tippy toes, stretching but it just brushes your fingers.  It wasn't that you did not reach for it, it was just out of reach, either mentally or physically.  Here's a kicker, I KNOW how great I feel after I exercise there is no other rush in the world.  I want to experience it, but soImething holds me back.  I really want to understand this so I can finally kick this yo-yoing, back and forth fat/skinny weight thing.  

It has been an emotionally and physically draining weekend, one that makes you want to eat comfort foods all day on Sunday.  I did, I did, I did.  I felt like a failure, right here epic fail.  I started this blog hoping to motivate others and I am the one complaining of the lack of focus and priority.  I need the shoulder to cry on, the hand holding.  As trite as this sounds, tomorrow is in fact another day, a day that I am able to start committing to change instead of  running from it.  Why am I so reluctant to commit to this change?  I think it is a combination of priority, routine issues, and quite honestly drive.  Am I driven? 

My goal for next week:

I want to work out 3 days next week
I want to stick to a healthy eating plan.  

Keep it simple this week.  That is all this girl can handle.  

XOXO
Libby

Choose Daily to Commit to Your Health!

Chanon

Happy Saturday Everyone.  Checking in on the numbers for the week.... Weight: status Quo 223...no gain or loss for the week.
Which I am considering a great success.  Let me explain. I spent the past weekend traveling to Florida to visit my niece and take time for a reset.   I came home Monday evening and was thrown into a week long of crazy schedules.  I didn't take time to have meals planned or even make a true grocery store run.  I kept to the basics and did have a meal or two I wasn't proud of. However, the bigger picture is this... I didn't give up, I didn't make excuses to eat whatever I wanted, and I didn't eat my emotions.   I've already got meals planned for next week and have things planned out to make more progress in the next 7 days.

Exercise. I forgot it can actually be fun and I can actually look forward to it.   My sister, niece and I tried an aerial yoga class for the very first time Monday morning. We laughed so much and used muscles we forgot existed.  It was the perfect way to start my week.  I also made it to the gym for my orientation and took a hike. Next week I hope to report a consistent routine. For now, it feels good to be looking forward to getting my sweat on and following my workout routine.  Goal is a minimum of 3 workouts per week.

My Rewards. I used to reward myself with food and sugary beverages. My Sadness.  I used to comfort myself with food and sugary beverages. My Joy. I used to celebrate with food and sugary beverages.
I think you all get the point.
I am here to tell you that I have learned to enjoy an unsweetened tea and my surroundings more than my past sugary blended sweetness.
Not because it necessarily tastes better... But because I am making a choice to enjoy it more.  I'm making a choice to take my health serious. I am making a choice to reward myself with a healthy lifestyle. I know it sounds a bit repetitive .. But I need the reminder myself. I need to tell myself daily that I am worth the choice.   ( and so are you) ( I did have a broken moment and bought cookies at the store Thursday night, I ate 2) My husband said, uh oh You must be feeling really bad if your eating cookies. That really hit me hard. I didn't realize I was so obvious with my emotional eating.  It was a quick reality check that I needed to reset quickly and choose to pray about my emotions instead of drowning them in sugar.   Happy to report I didn't eat any more of those cookies.  And I reached out to two close friends and asked for prayer.


Unsweet tea, prayer, exercise, friends, resets, focus... All are things I am choosing for myself. And in giving to myself I can give to others.

That brings me to my final thoughts for the week, as promised I wanted to follow up from lasts week " profound thought" of encouraging wellness in one another instead of accepting and promoting unhealthy habits.  I tread lightly on this topic. I have decided to only focus on the positive piece of it.   Let's continue to encourage wellness in one another. Let's motivate one another by sharing our true struggles and successes. Let's not judge one another or measure ourselves up against the other women in our life. Let's realize that together we can accomplish great things.

Remember to give yourself some grace when you struggle and also remember you are worth the efforts you need to give for yourself.

Be Well

Getting creative, to put in my time! :)

Michelle

Starting weight:  210lbs
Current Weight:  168.0lbs
Height:  5'5"
GOALS:  My Goal is to lose 60lbs!! Gain strength and endurance!! 
Motivation and Support:  Myself, my husband, and my family and friends.  Watching and hearing about others on their own journeys to getting healthier and stronger give me great encouragement.

My husband and I 

Well here I am still at this...... and getting creative!! The weight is starting to get harder to get off.  And I am in the right mental mind to keep pushing forward to reach my goal!!  Good news, I lost 42lbs bad news it was starting to slow down my progress and what was working to melt this away as quickly as it was!!  It was time for me to get CREATIVE on what I was doing to burn more calories.  Life with 6 kids definitely doesn't always allow for a planned exercise for me.

My beautiful Children

Ways I found to be creative are adding just some extra body movements whenever I can throughout the days are helping me many ways.  I am using time when cooking something in the oven.  Finding that those 20-30 minutes is the perfect time to jog in place, do jumping jacks and or twist!!  While making the boys lunch yesterday.....approx. 10 min of shuffling my feet or shaking my hips while doing it.....any little extra helps!! I am still running 2-3 miles approximately 4-5 days per week.  

I find that with the stress of life, taking me time to run or exercise really has helped with stress and anxiety for me. Because if you know me I get stressed or anxiety very easily.

One thing I never took into consideration would be my posture.  One of the challenges for me lately is catching myself slouching quite frequently do to me losing my belly.  I no longer have much of a belly to support me when sitting.  You may find this odd for me to bring up.  But is something that I now need to be more mentally aware of with the changes happening with me.  Sit up straight!!  :)

I find it remarkable as I follow others journey they speak to me ......they are inspirational.....they say the right things at the right time.  And I thank everyone who is working to be a better you, have better health, and be more fit!!  You have truly touched my life!!  Also I am finding that my story is reaching many people too.  I have been messaged, and texted asking about what I have done to get this far.  That is a great feeling, to know I am impacting someone else's life as they read my story the same way others have impacted me.  One thing I do say is, listen to your body.  Know when it needs rest, or maybe just a little extra something today.  Not every day of mine is a story book. 

Well I did it!!  I reached my 40lbs lost!!  42lbs to be exact!!  Here is to the last 18lbs to reach my goal!!  I can do it, I will do it!!  And so can you!! :)

Empty Nestor Syndrome

Panda Log 5-12-2016

One more week under my belt! My husband decided to join me on this journey and it has helped me that we are on the same page. In four days, we will be married for thirty years and in those thirty years we’ve ALWAYS lost and gained weight together. This is the one area that we have been 100% in sync with each other at all stages of our marriage. He’s fat, I'm fat. I’m thin, he's thin. I could care less how I'm eating, he could care less..you get the idea. This time around, it feels different, not just another diet, we are on a life transforming journey to create our better selves for ourselves and for each other. I can already see a difference in Kevin, my hubs, which it's both annoying and exciting. Annoying because he loses weight so much quicker than me and exciting because we are doing something new together. We got married young, I was 18 and he was 20. One year and three days after our first anniversary, I gave birth to our daughter, twenty two months later I gave birth to our son and six months after our son was born we bought our first home. The next 20 years brought  precious baby time, work, daycare, school, teens, programs, sports, events and life. We've now been empty nesters for 6 years. I see all my friends still very busy with their children and/or teens and I was making myself feeling very guilty about not having my crap together! I don't have that excuse of the “busy mom” life anymore, I should be in the best shape of my life! Yes, I work a full time job, still have house work and what life brings but, I had all that while raising kids. I was feeling like I've let myself down for not kicking into high gear and transforming my body as soon as I stopped the “raising kids” phase and entered into “empty nester” stage. The truth is, there was not a huge transformation for me. I missed my kids terribly, I got used to it being just Kevin and I, I enjoyed our time together, life just baby stepped it along just like it has been doing all my life. So, now, at age 48, I understand that it doesn't matter what life gives, if I'm not making the daily decisions, I won't see results or at least life time results. I refuse to be on another diet, I refuse to start a radical workout program! From now on, I will be kind to myself, make daily choices for better health, move my body because it makes me feel strong and know in my heart that these steps will create a happy healthy me for good, no matter where I'm at in my journey.

 Three weeks has passed since I started blogging. One of my main issues had been emotional eating. I've had one slip up in this area! Saturday ended up being a bad day and it started from the moment I got up and decided to get on my scale, my evil scale! It hadn't moved from my last weigh in and it messed with my head in a big way. Even though I did my mental exercises of asking myself if I was hungry or if there was an emotional reason that I wanted to eat, the negative thoughts would not leave me. I warded off the feeling of wanting to sabotage all my efforts until night time came. Kevin worked a night shift and I was left on my own. I bought a new grass fed butter that I wanted in the worst way! As I searched all the cupboards and refrigerator for something to slather that butter all over, I found nothing but a drawer full of white chocolate macadamia Cliff Bars, and let me tell ya, they taste great with grass fed butter on them, so good that I ate two! That's it though, so far, one bad day!

My exercising goal was to either walk, Kangoo or ride bikes every day and lift weights three times a week. I walked twice and my weight lifting routine consisted of three sets of curls one day, that's it!. I'm sure that the ugly weather all week had something to do with my lack of enthusiasm and I used it as an excuse.  This next week I am going to try and make exercise happen even if it rains, I don't have an excuse, I belong to the gym. Not only do I belong but, I have Healthways through my health insurance and belong to almost every gym around me!!

I made a Thai soup that I want to share because it tasted that good!!

 Here it is:

2 T. Olive oil

6 chicken thighs, salt and pepper

1 chopped onion

2 cups sliced mushrooms

3 t. Curry powder

½ t. Cayenne

1 t. Cinnamon

1 t. Turmeric

3 carrots, sliced

1 C. Broccoli ( I used frozen)

1 C. Green beans (I used frozen)

2 cups chicken broth

2 zucchini, spiraled

½ C fresh cilantro

Sour cream

Hot sauce

Heat oil. Salt and pepper chicken. Cook in skillet until golden brown. Remove to a plate. Stir in onions and mushrooms, cook til tender. Stir in spices, cook until they release their aroma. Add chicken stock, bring to simmer. Add veggies and put chicken back in. Cook on simmer 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Add cilantro.

Serve over spiraled zucchini. Top with sour cream and hot sauce to your taste.

If you like Thai food, I promise that this is restaurant worthy, and heathy to boot. I've made this twice and switched up the veggies each time, it tasted amazing with whatever vegetables you choose.

Peace,

Panda

Old Habits Die Hard!

 Amy

HEIGHT: 5'1"

WEIGHT:233 LBS 

Goals for this week: Get back on track and really commit to exercising everyday.

So I have to admit defeat this week. My husband was out of town for work this week and I just didn't feel like myself without my better half. He is always so supportive and it was just weird without him here. You know you never realize how much you need them until they are gone. I really struggled this week with exercising and eating as well as I should have been. 

It wasn't all bad. I still have not had one soda since this all started and I have been staying away from the sweets as well. I have also been good with still eating breakfast everyday so that is also a positive. 

But if I am going to be honest I have done little to no exercise.  So my big goal for the week is just to do some sort of exercise everyday. This journey is not just about eating right. I also need to exercise to be healthy.  So often we want to do one or the other but to be truly healthy we need to do both.

I have also learned some valuable lessons by maybe not eating so well this week. The biggest one is that maybe that food tastes good but it makes my body feel like crap and really isn't worth it. For mother's day we had ham, harvest potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and rolls and I had it all and boy did I pay for it later. I didn't feel good at all afterwards.  So maybe it was good I made that mistake because it reminded me about how bad I felt when I was eating like that. Mistakes aren't all bad if you make sure you learn from them. 

For mother's day my kids indulged me and took family pictures with me and as I look at those pictures I am reminded why I am doing this. I am doing this to be a good example to them and so I am healthy enough to be around for them for a long time. 

So I need to move one from what happened this week and keep chugging along. I can do it and so can you!

Habits are Hard to Break, but not Impossible.

Donna

Yummy Eats for the Week!

I’m in a weird place this week.  I’ve been working extremely hard at improving my lifestyle by eating everything prepped and cooked at home and also increasing my running and work outs.  I made the mistake of feeling too confident and got on my home scale, which did not show an improvement from my last weigh in.  Granted, it had only been 4 days but I felt so great I thought surely my scale would show a difference.  After that disappointment I decided to put the home scale away for good. This week I am not showing a loss because I have not officially weighed in anywhere. I will continue to weigh in at the body analysis place every 2 weeks, so stayed tuned next week for that.

This is usually where my mind starts to play tricks on me.  Like I said, I feel great; I can tell my clothes are getting looser.  My husband said my love handles aren’t as big! Haha…Scientifically this has to be working, I mean I expend way more energy than the amount of calories I’m consuming.  How can I not be losing, right?  I don’t want to over think this but I’ve hit the 22 day mark.  I’ve heard that breaking a habit takes 21 days.  I’ve accomplished that and have made significant changes and created new healthy habits.  I am not tempted by my family wanting fast food anymore.  I will not pick it up, but I don’t mind them eating it in front of me.  I also baked brownies this weekend, which I did not eat.  I feel that my mind is in the right place as far as knowing the only food I should be eating is something that will fuel my body for my work outs.  I also ate more healthy carbs this week, which again may be messing with my mind.  I ran over 15 miles this week and did weight training at the gym 4 times.  Something inside my brain is telling me to cut the carbs though.  I swear weight loss is such a mind game!! I just keep telling myself, this will all work itself out.  Keep drinking the water, keep eating the vegetables, healthy carbs are ok…this will all be worth it!! 

Something worth sharing is that so many people have reached out to me via FB or just in person about the changes I’ve made.  I’d like to think I have a slight influence on my friends who have been teetering on wanting to make changes but just haven’t done it yet.  I post my food on FB and many people have asked about my recipes and even tried them!  All of these things are helping me stay motivated and feel inspired.

Besides my usual crazy baseball schedule, the school district had a 5K this week to honor teacher appreciation. I met my friend V and her boys so we could run together.  I didn’t know but she later told me that this was her first 5K!!  I was so happy for her and honored to share that experience with her. 

V and her first 5K

 

The Kid's Race

Mother’s day was wonderful.  We laid low and stayed home.  I played with the kids most of the day and prepped food for the upcoming week. I’ll be traveling for work so I’ve found a hotel that has a microwave and fridge and plan to bring all my meals with me.  I’ve also informed my travel partners that I won’t be eating out so that temptation won’t even exist.  I’m eager and anxious to weigh in on Friday, but seriously scared that all this work will not show on the scale!! (Again, my crazy mind playing tricks on me)  I’m not quitting…I’m in this for the long haul!  Have a great week, y’all!