Keepin' on....

So this last month has been spent experimenting a bit and continuing on without candies and soda. 

It's been good in some aspects, and not in others. 


I've added back in coffee and creamer.  The victory here is that I haven't gone back to my favored chemical creamer, but a store bought one that is simply milk, cream, vanilla and sugar. 
I tried coconut milk with flavors and different sweeteners, coconut oil and ghee, and other combos I found online.  NOTHING was drinkable for more than a couple of sips. 
So it's a been a bit of  treat a few times a week. 
Tea is still my go to. 


Veggies are still not the favored thing. 
Salads are not doing much better. 


If we had the money, I would eat at Chipotle at least once a day.  It is the most satisfying salad and meal I eat right now.  I do add on a small scoop of pinto beans (not paleo), but the rest is great. 

I've been trying to duplicate it at home, but haven't been able to put it all together. 


Most days I'm not eating cheese or other dairy and I'm avoiding grains as well. 
I have had a full platter of rice, beans and meat a couple of times from my favorite Mexican place, but knowing it can't be a weekly thing. 

I've also had pizza, twice.  It was heavenly and then I felt crappy, so that sucks. 
I also noticed at music this week that my hands were achy this week after eating grains.  So that's something I'm not thrilled about. 

So after another month, I'm only down and addition 3 pounds,  but it's a loss. 

Bring on March!

Still moving along.....

It's been a couple of weeks since my Whole 30 ended and so far the switch to Paleo has been uneventful.
I made sure to be easy on myself last weekend during the home meet at gym.  Working on eating things that were clean, but not being hard on myself for trying the beans, rice and a few chips with amazing homemade salsa.
This past Friday was a bit of a cheat day as well, with a full Mexican lunch plate (minus the shells and no cheese on the taco fixings, but there was some cheese on the beans) and then stopping at Panda for Ty on the way home from gym (steamed veggies and Terriyaki chicken without the extra sauce). 

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that I've felt like I ate too much and was a bit bloaty by the end of the day.

Today is a cleaner day and am already feeling better for it. 

I've also made it through the Valentine's season without devouring bags (yes, plural) of candy hearts.  (Although there has been some lusting over them in the store aisles).
Now to move through the Easter season without jelly beans (not just regular jelly beans, Sweet Tart Jelly Beans).
It's a struggle.
A silly one, but hard when it tries to consume my thoughts.
Oh, and a root beer still sounds like heaven.  (Barq's, from the fountain at Jack in the Box) 

Phew, sugar demons are a bitch!


I still need to improve upon the same things I listed before:
Cook more meals ahead
Eat more veggies.
Make more sauces and dressings to enhance foods
Figure out a coffee creamer recipe that makes me swoon.  
Exercise

Whole 30

Months ago, my good friend Jen started the Whole 30 with success, then moved into a Paleo lifestyle.  She's had wonderful success, has lost weight and has found herself in the middle of an active life change for the good. 

It's inspiring to see something work. 

So at the beginning of January I decided to follow in her footsteps and give it a try. 

I read the book It Starts with Food, multiple times.   
I'm a Monday, start of the month, start of the year type of changer. 
Lots of Mondays past before I could give it a good effort.
As in all the Mondays of October, November & December.

But, I'm glad that I did finally leap.    

I've not had any sugar, grains, legumes (beans), dairy or processed crap for 30 days. 
I didn't go crazy.
I do feel better.
My skin is already looking better.
I've lost 11 lbs.
I feel like doing things and have had fewer TV days. 
Paleo seams like a good life choice. 

Things I've learned....
Cauliflower can make a decent rice and a good pizza crust.
Eggs.  The simple food powerhouse.
Chicken and Apple sausages are my new go to food.
Broccoli gets a bad wrap. 
Cooking full meals, planned ahead, always taste better.
Cherry Pie LaraBars are my new go to treat (dates, cashews and cherries)
Olives make me happy.
Cracklin' Chicken is beyond yummy.  
Roasted garlic solves flavor issues.

It's not without a fight within my own brain.
Daily.

Candy is still very appealing and will always be a struggle.
A soda sounds like heaven in a can.
I still don't really like vegetables.
I miss my morning coffee with chemical creamer, like a lot.
Tacos are sad without cheese. (and yummy corn tortillas)  
Flavored teas sounded like a good idea, but are kinda gross. 

To move forward, I'm looking to follow a Paleo "diet".
(Speaking of diet in the way to describe my daily food, not a temporary change)

I need to embrace the fact that to be successful I have to cook ahead. 
Veggies.  Yep, gonna eat more of the nasty things.  
Bacon will be a happy addition to my life.  Wrap all the things in bacon!
Cheese is missed and will be added again, in small doses, not daily. 
I will probably have a bean or two as well. 
Olive Oil Mayo needs to be made, so that other sauces can be consumed. 
Veggies.


Also on the list is to make myself move more.  Hopefully moving back to a run. 

So I'm going forth, eating lots of good food for a health.  

2014 Goals (Oh boy, that was a fail)

 So the post below was written in January of 2014 and never published.  I went through it today and crossed off the things accomplished.
The 1 thing.
Damn.

I'm thinking I need to try a bit harder this year. 

Written in 2014:
I'm not really sure that this is a resolution type thing, but the beginning of the year always makes you think of things that you want to accomplish in the year to come.

Obvious:

• Lose weight 50+
• Drop pants sizes (4-5 to be exact)
• Be more active
• Replace bread with lettuce
• Run, do a bunch of 5ks to earn those cool shirts 
• Become stronger.  

House

• Re-paint the living room, goodbye to the red!
• Hang more pictures around the house, fill up the frames that are bought and pick a few more
• Re-do entry way
• De-clutter every room and closet, let go of a few things.
• Keep the house cleaner.
• Fix Kitchen Window
• Find new window coverings for sliding door in living room, dining window and kitchen valance.  

Health and Welfare

• Figure out a shampoo that will keep my head from itching after a day.
• Clear face of blemishes (soap or better eating?)
• Pay off some debt
• 52 week savings plan
• Be an awesome president that's loved by all! 

Crafty

• Quilt at least once a week
• Stay on top of the BOM blocks, not paying for any this year and assembling the filler blocks as the year progresses.  
• Finish wall quilts for the living room.
• Sort through and scan the old family pictures.  

Family Fun

• Hike with the boys for fun
• Go on more bike rides
• Paddle the lake
• Enjoy playing games

End of 2014 post.

2015 Additions:

• Give the time needed to be successful with Orchestra.  
• Work on more exciting school days 

Woman's Fitness Festival 5K

After 7 weeks of training, I was ready to do a 5k.  By ready I mean, physically able to make through the whole thing without dying.  

It was a fun race, can't wait to do it again and hopefully do it faster!

 Official finish time was 55.04 (my watch had a slight malfunction and started late)

Average pace 17.46 per mile.  

It's a good start considering I'm still 80+ pounds overweight and haven't been very active since last summer.  

Next goal is getting down to a 15 min mile.  

1st week officially down of counting calories and it's worked.  Down 4.2 lbs.  Not too shabby.  I've not figured out how to motivate myself into exercise, but it I did walk around the pool last night as the boys were swimming.  Baby steps.....

2013

Another year has started and I'm still just as fat (fatter actually) than ever.
It's gross and uncomfortable for starters.  My body is not enjoying all this extra it has to carry around and it's making everyday things even harder to do. 

For now, I'm back to tracking my food on Loseit.com which syncs my computer with my phone, so no excuses!  What's cool is that it has a bar code scanner, so I don't even have to enter in foods not on their list, just scan and enter how much I ate.

I'm trying to move more, slowly but surely.  Pinterest will hopefully help me get smaller, finding exercises and recipes to try.

Before photos are coming, that's going to suck and be awful, but hopefully motivating. 

Yesterday was a good start.  

Running in the morning, followed by some abs and push-ups. 
Hula hooping and the daily tone up from The Sisterhood of the Shrinking pants.

Food was within reason.  After dinner I ate a bowl of strawberries and some tea that put me over my daily budget by 50 calories, but didn't exceed my exercise calories.  I was a bit hungry at bed time though. 


Today I already went on a run, slightly quicker than yesterday with much more running.  Still about as fast as a snail, but it's not painful, so we're going with it.  Once home, did some abs and then picked up the weights for a short curicut of upper body. 

If I cans still move tonight, I'll do the Sisterhood daily tone up and a bit of hooping. 

To save myself a few calories, I've shrunk down the smoothies just a bit. 
Now to figure out what's for dinner so as not to blow out the day. 

Holy shit did I fall off the wagon! 

So I'm not able to pin point the falling, but it happened and with it brought way too much food, candies and sodas. 

FML. 

Today I've put my foot down and have made a conscious decision to do better. 
It also is a kick in the pants to look at the calendar and see that it's a short 2 months until soccer season starts and if I'm going to coach, I need to get active. 

I ran today for the first time in a month and can honestly say it went okay. 
1.89 miles averaging about 16 min miles. 
The good thing was that I did more jogging than walking.  I'm not following any programs at this point, just going out there and doing it, with my fancy watch to track it and my music to keep me sane. 

I downloaded a food and exercise tracker on my Nook to help keep track of what I'm eating.  So far today, I'm doing well.  I know what's for dinner and how much I have left in the calorie bank. 

So for now, it's back to finding my proper weight, not this 60+ lb inflated version. 

Food tracking, exercise (even when it hurts) and not eating my exercise at night. 

hold me....

Well, I've kinda fallen off the wagon the last couple of days. 

I've smoothied 3 times per day, but then in the evenings I've had 3-4 crunchy tacos with a smear of beans, cheese and a ton of salsa. 

I'm taking tomorrow more seriously in hopes of salvaging the week.  I was up after the weekend and had gotten back down as of yesterday morning.  I'm a bit scared to step on the scale the next couple of days.  Bike ride is a must tomorrow. 


My fat girl brain kicked in and won this round, but hopefully a cooler head will prevail tomorrow. 


Urg.