The whole pan of brownies

It's been a rough week, and it's only Wednesday. One of those when you just want to stay in bed and eat the whole pan of brownies. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who has had this thought?) Don't worry, I don't have a whole pan of brownies to eat...but if I did.....it might not be pretty. Although I did just eat a whole giant cinnamon roll.

I've felt really overwhelmed this week and sometimes ready to give up. Cuz after all, it IS easier to just order take-out and not exercise (and stay in bed eating brownies).

I NEED to remember that I can do hard things! When I ran my marathon a few years ago, the last 6 miles were pure torture...I literally had to say to myself (out loud) "You can do this!" Maybe I need to adopt that same strategy. I can do this....I can do this....I CAN do this!

What do you do when you're ready to throw in the towel...or the fork into the brownie pan?

Pictures

I was hoping to wait until I was skinnier to take family pictures, but then every time I looked at the wall at our family picture without Zach in it, I felt like he really needed to be on the wall in our family picture. So even though I'm nowhere near where I want to be, this is my family now and I just need to accept myself the way I am right now. So I bit the bullet and we went and had family pictures done.

At least this chunk is cute!

Plus, my sister had planned her wedding for the end of March. I was hoping to be thinner by then and look really cute at her wedding. Well, she moved it up 2 months and is now getting married next week! So much for that plan. I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I'm at where I'm at.

Do you avoid pictures?

Week 9

WEIGH-IN
Current weight: 180 lbs.
Week's weight loss/gain: 0 lbs.
Total weight loss: -10 lbs.

No loss this week, but no gain either. I'm a tad disappointed, but then again I only exercised twice this week because of a painful ingrown toenail (sorry if that's TMI) and jumping around really hurt my toe. What do you do when you're injured or can't exercise because of pain?

GOAL REPORT  
Get caught up on my kids' baby books. I got all caught up except for printing the pictures, but I made a list of which ones to print. It's a good thing I did this because I'm already forgetting some of Zach's firsts, and I really want to document them before I forget.

NEW GOAL(s)
Make a new healthy recipe. The Superbowl party this weekend will be a great time to try this. I want to have yummy snacks for the party, but I am going to try to make healthy versions of them. Anyone have any good ones? I may tried these baked mozzarella sticks.

Green smoothies

I have always wanted to like green smoothies. I've tried them a few times, but I just couldn't handle them. (Granted, this was when I was first pregnant with Zach, and I couldn't keep much down anyway.) But I decided to give them another try. I made a big one for Emily and I this morning and it was actually quite tasty!

It had: a big handful of spinach, a banana, about 5 big frozen strawberries, about 5 chunks of frozen pineapple, milk, and flaxseed powder.

And like I said, it was really good! Even Emily liked it.

Maybe I'll start making these more often. Here are a few more recipes for green (or veggie-added) smoothies. Some of them look really good.

Do you like green smoothies? Any good recipes you'd recommend?

Exercising with Emmy

Emmy is working out with Jillian too!

Week 8

I finally hit the 10-pound mark!

WEIGH-IN
Current weight: 180 lbs.
Week's weight loss/gain: -1 lb.
Total weight loss: -10 lbs.

GOAL REPORT  
Plan what I am going to eat for each meal the next day every night. I did this most days, and I think it really helped. I do really well on the weekdays, but I really struggle on the weekends. Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions on how to keep up the healthy habits on the weekends? I NEED help with this!

NEW GOAL(s)
Get caught up on my kids' baby books. Part of one of my New Year's resolutions was to document  the cute/funny things my kids do so that I can remember the times when they did cute/funny things. My husband is out of town all week, and I think I'm going to really need something to help me remember the good times with them when I'm going crazy from being alone with them all week.

I think it's healthy to take time to create good memories with your family, and to document them so you can remember them during the tough times. Plus, it always makes me feel good to complete a project!

Brussel sprouts

Brussel sprouts...I know what you're thinking....EEEEWWWW!!! Yeah, that's what I thought too when I found a whole stinkin' bag of these babies in my Bountiful Basket this week. I don't think I've even had one in the past 15 years, and I certainly don't know how to cook them.

But, I figured I'd give them a try. All I did was cut them in half, sautee them in a little bit of olive oil (2 tsp), garlic and salt (for about 10 minutes). When they were almost done, I added 1 Tbsp of Brie cheese and let it melt.

And let me tell you, they were amazing! I almost cooked up the rest of the bag later after dinner they were so good. I'm actually excited to make them again tonight!

Anyone else have a good recipe for brussel sprouts? Or other seemingly gross vegetables?

Chunk

If only my muffin top and double chin were this cute!

Happy 3-month birthday to my little Zach-man!

Splurges: Planned and Unplanned

So last week, I planned for a big splurge...a Cafe Rio salad. Yeah, they're a lot of calories/fat/etc, but I love them and so I ate very good the rest of the week so I could have one on Friday. I did without the chips and cheese on top, but I had the dressing AND the tortilla. Mmmmm. I think splurges are necessary for me. I need something to look forward to in order to keep me eating healthy the rest of the week. And I think it's ok to plan them into your diet.

Then on Saturday, we had the opportunity to go to Zupas. It wasn't planned, but I figured it was salads and sandwiches so I'd be ok. I picked something off the menu that didn't seem too bad...the Turkey Spinach Artichoke sandwich. Um WRONG! When I got home and looked up the nutrition info, it was like 800 calories and 35 grams of fat!!! Seriously? For a sandwich?

So, lesson learned. Look up the nutritional information BEFORE ordering something. Even if it's an unplanned splurge.

Week 7

It was a good week! Since I finished up the Shred, I have been alternating doing Jillian's Ripped in 30, Week 1 and the elliptical for exercise this week. I even did Cardio X (from P90X) one day this week.

WEIGH-IN
Current weight: 181 lbs.
Week's weight loss/gain: -3 lbs.
Total weight loss: -9 lbs.

GOAL REPORT  
1. I measured and weighed most of my food this week. There were some times that I didn't, like when we were eating somewhere other than home, but for the most part I did it. I need to continue to do this to help with portion control!


2. I started using my organization chart, and it's been going well.

NEW GOAL(s)
Plan what I am going to eat for each meal the next day every night. I heard a quote once that said, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I think it'll be easier to eat healthy if I plan something to look forward to and get everything ready to have it.

Yonanas

For Christmas, I got a Yonanas maker from my mother-in-law. It's basically a machine that makes an ice-cream like substance out of frozen bananas or other fruit. I LOVE ice cream, especially in the summer, so I am super excited about this.

You can even put bits of frozen chocolate, peanut butter, NUTELLA (Yum!), etc. in it so there's lots of different flavors you can make. I just looked on the Yonanas website and there are recipes for pie and other desserts on there too using the Yonanas machine. How cool is that?! I've only used it once so far...I just did bananas and a couple of those mini-Reese's PB cups. The texture was really like ice cream (homemade ice cream....mmmm....), but the taste was really banana-ey. (Obviously since it was mostly bananas.) It was still pretty good though, but I think I'll try to use some different fruits to make different flavors so it won't always be so banana-ey. And some of those recipes on the website looked really good!

I think this is going to be especially awesome come summertime!

30-Day Shred: A Review

I finished the 30-Day Shred. I gave it 6 weeks instead of 30 days because of the holidays and because I got sick twice. I only lost 6 pounds and 2 inches in the past 6 weeks, but at least I got back into exercising by doing it. I probably did it an average of 4 times a week during the 6 weeks, and I did all 3 levels multiple times.

Here's what I thought...

I thought it was a good way to get back into the habit of exercising because it was only 20 minutes a day. With a newborn and a toddler, that was about all I could handle. I liked that there was a variety of exercises so you weren't doing the same thing for more than 1 minute. I would recommend getting more than one size of hand weights. I used a range of 3 to 8-pound weights. Some of the exercises I was dying with the 3-pounders, and some I could push up to 8 pounds. There seemed to be a lot of exercises that were done from the plank position once you got to Level 2. Ouch! I could not stay in plank for that long. There were also a lot of squats/lunges and shoulder work. They did have some modified versions of the exercises for beginners, which I appreciated because some of them were just way too hard for my out-of-shape self. I kind of got sick of Jillian by the end, but I'm sure that's the way it is with any exercise video.

All in all though, I liked it, and I will still continue to use it for my workouts sometimes. (I may try her Ripped in 30 series next...it's harder than the Shred. I did it right before I got pregnant with Zach and it was hard, and I was in much better shape then.)

Week 6

I had a hard time getting back into the swing of things this week. And I didn't lose any pounds. Bummer. The best I can do is do better this week, right?

WEIGH-IN
Current weight: 184 lbs.
Week's weight loss/gain: +/- 0 lbs.
Total weight loss: -6 lbs.

Even though I didn't lose this week, I had a major success...my wedding ring finally fits again!!! It's been probably 6 months since I've been able to wear it. Yay!

Also, at the beginning of each month, I'm going to be measuring to keep track of inches lost. Here's the stats for January's measurements. (The number in parentheses is the # of inches lost.)

Waist: 36" (-0)
Hips: 43" (-1)
Bust: 41" (-1)

Total inches lost = -2

GOAL REPORT  
I cleaned the house and started my food journal again. I also started exercising again. It took me most of the week, but by Friday I was back in the routine.

NEW GOAL(s)
1. Measure/weigh my food and include it in my food journal. Although I've been writing down what I eat, I have not been keeping track of how much I'm eating. I dusted off my food scale and got out the measuring cups. I need to be better about portions!

2. Use my organization chart. I finished it. You can't see it from the picture very well, but starting from the top and going left to right, these are the categories. 1) Weekly task list broken down by day. There are some things that are on every day like exercise/water/scriptures/etc. and some things that are only on some days of the week like laundry and certain cleaning tasks. 2) Tomorrow's menu plan. 3) To do this week. 4) To do this month. 5) Activity ideas to do with my kids. 6) Deep cleaning schedule. 7) Ideas for breakfasts.

 
I put it in a big picture frame and decorated it with wrapping paper so it matches my kitchen, where I hung it. I can use dry-erase markers to check off stuff.

Do you measure/weigh your food? How do you make sure you're eating healthy portion sizes?

New Year's Resolutions

Here are some things that I'd like to accomplish this year. Only one of them is fitness/nutrition related, but I think that the others will help me to have a more healthy lifestyle.

1. Get in shape. I resolve to keep up with this blog and be accountable for my choices regarding my health. I would also like to get back into triathlon and half-marathon shape.
 

2. Organize and stay on top of things. I made my organization chart to help me keep up with the daily/weekly/monthly and deep cleaning tasks and other things I want to accomplish each day/week (like scripture reading/temple/drinking water/etc). I especially want to clean and organize our desk, computer/laptop files, basement storage rooms, and linen closets this year.


3. Get our food storage and 72-Hour Kits together. Have at least a one-month supply by the end of the year and full 72-hour kits for the whole family.

4. Prepare. I want to take time to better prepare for church, FHE, date night, family activities, daily activities with the kids, etc. so that they will be more meaningful instead of just a rush at the last minute. Not sure how I'm going to do this, but I've got a year to figure it out.


5. Sleep train Zach and potty train Emmy. Sleep training is the first priority, and January will be devoted to that. Once we have Zach sleeping through the night and on a solid schedule, we'll start potty training with Emily. This means that I probably won't be leaving the house much in the next few months. But it will be worth it!


6. Spend quality time each day with Emmy and Zach. Maybe it will only be reading a few stories or (in Zach's case) holding him for 10 minutes, and other times it might be a more elaborate activity, but I want them to each have some individual, quality time with their Mommy every day. And I want to create memories for me of doing these things with them. I also resolve to take more pictures or write about them so I can remember these memories I'm creating.


7. Be on time to church. I don't know why this is so hard! But there are no excuses this year since we have 1:00 church.


Do you make New Year's resolutions? What are yours this year?

Week 5

This is when I have to admit the ugly. I gained 2 pounds this week. :(  Everything totally went out the window this week with Christmas, New Years and my brother's mission farewell & entering the MTC. I have such a hard time staying on track when my routine is interrupted. But I did have a really great holiday!

WEIGH-IN
Current weight: 184 lbs.
Week's weight loss/gain: +2 lbs.
Total weight loss: -6 lbs.

Plus, it was extra discouraging because I saw several people over the holidays who all had babies around the same time as me and they were all looking good and fit back in their pants. I wanted to cry. I try not to compare myself to other people but sometimes it's really hard not to.

GOAL REPORT  
1. I put away the maternity clothes.
2. My organization chart is almost done. I'll post a picture of it when I'm finished with it. I'm going to start using it Monday.

NEW GOAL(s)
Get myself back on track with my food journal and exercising. Also, clean the house and get back into my regular routine.

How were your holidays?