News Flash

I have lost 8 EIGHT pounds since I started my weight loss journey on January 9th. Eight pounds!!! I am so excited.

I have been trying not to eat so much and exercise more. Anna really makes that much easier than ever before. She is all about moving her body lol. She wants to exercise ALL the time. I am afraid she gets that from her father. I have never been addicted to working out. To be honest I don't know if I ever will. I do however think I could get addicted to feeling the after effects of working out. You know the soreness of your muscles letting you know that you are working them. My stomach muscles hurt for 2 days after doing an ab workout. They don't hurt today and I miss it lol. I have joined a free weight loss website! It is awesome. They have trackers for food and for exercise. They have videos for you to work out to. I have joined the boot camp forum and am doing those videos. They are short which makes it easier to say ok it is JUST 10 minutes! Even though most of the time those 10 minutes kick my butt! I haven't really done any real exercising since before Anna. I mean sure chasing after Anna and playing with her is some exercise but to work each individual muscle and work to tone and shape things. Umm well no hasn't happened in a LONG while! It feels good to start taking care of ME.

What are you doing to take care of you?

Weight Friday!

So this week I haven't done exceptionally well. It has been so cold most of our playdates have been inside. I haven't done very much exercising. However, I have lost 1.5 pounds. I guess maybe I have done something right. I tried to do a fairly healthy menu and I haven't had much junk. I did make some sweet tea but I make myself have a cup of water before I can have the tea. Next week I will try to do better but I think it is going to be cold again. I will just have to make my menu healthy and stay away from the sweet tea!

What about you? Have you had any successes or failures? Do you have any tips?

Let's get Physical!

Today I joined a group of ladies doing a 12 week fitness program. Humble Musings by Amy has created it and although I am a week behind I am going to give it a go! I hired a new fitness trainer and we got started today. She is the cutest, sweetest thing but boy does she crack that whip! We were walking along and all of a sudden I hear a horn honking. She had the nerve to honk her horn at me cause I wasn't going fast enough. She even had me running a little bit and well that NEVER happens! She wouldn't take any slack off of me. Although she did let me rest and even seemed to understand that I didn't really want to run when cars were coming by. She would always slow down for me at that point.

Doesn't she look like she gets great pleasure from torturing me! I figure if I keep going with her 5 - 6 days a week I should be able to loose at least a pound a week!

PS: I got my camera in the mail today! Yay!!!

South Heat Diet!!!

This is a new diet! It has been used for years and years but no one shares the secrets - UNTIL NOW!!!

• Live in the HOT south!
• Stay out doors almost all day, every day!
• Go swimming A LOT! (I don't mean hanging out - I mean treading water or slicing through the water really swimming. I like to put Anna in her tube and push her around the pool!)
• Chase after a 2 almost 3 year old! (age really doesn't matter as long as you run A LOT!)
• Work in the garden A LOT!
• Drink a ton of water every day!
• Get so tired you don't feel like cooking anything much less eating it!
• Don't worry about sweating! (We all know women don't sweat we perspire lol)
• Forget the mantra "Everything in moderation" Go with "If I am going to do it - I WILL do it right".

I will let ya'll know how this diet goes. I can already tell a little difference in my clothes. I am even getting into some of my old ones! YAY ME!

*Disclaimer~Don't forget sunscreen! Watch out for your child because they will get as tired as you and then they get cranky! On the brighter side of that Anna is napping and sleeping better then ever!

First Place Celebration

Last night we celebrated the end of our First Place Bible Study. It was a long hard road and I only lost like 10 pounds over the course of 10 weeks. The past 3 weeks I have been stuck. Anyway, our celebration was held at my favorite Mexican restaurant. We had a great time. It was wonderful getting out with the people that have struggled right along beside me and just celebrate making it to the other side. We are going to start back on May 14th.

Let me just tell you about some of our excitement. We had a birthday boy in the crowd. He turned umm 21 te he. They played really loud music and sang him happy birthday while we wore sombreros. It was hysterical and totally embarrassing!

It's kinda blurry cause this guy moves constantly lol!

By the way he was one of our biggest losers!!! GO KEITH!

Then one of the ladies with us had never heard of a Margarita or Tequila for that matter. When we told her there was a worm in the bottom of the Tequila bottle she freaked out. I had to get our waiter to bring a bottle over to let her see the worm. Seeing is believing but then she was totally grossed out. Imagine her expression when she discovered that some people actually drink that thing down lol. Don't ask how we, a church group, got on the subject of liquor lol. I really don't know.

Lighten Up Friday

I wasn't going to do this today but then I got on the scales! lol I have lost 3 more pounds this week. My weight is so wacky let me tell you my weekly weight process. I weigh on Wednesday getting one number, then on Friday I weigh again and I have generally lost 1 or 2 lbs. Then if I way again at any other point during the week, which well I do a little to much lol, anyway any other point in the week my weight has gone up like 3 or 4 pounds from what it was on Wednesday. It is crazy, apparently I am my lightest on Friday lol!

This weekend I am going to be naughty though because I am going to enjoy a yummy Easter Dinner! Hopefully I won't gain it all back!

Lighten Up Friday

I haven't done this for about 3 weeks. I have had my ups and downs during that time. I pretty much have averaged a pound a week. I don't think that is to bad. In fact I am pleased with it considering I have had my ups and downs with my eating habits too.

I was very excited when I got on the scale this morning and saw that I had lost another pound. When I weighed for my class on Wednesday it said I had gained a pound. So that pound plus another one disappeared between Wednesday and this morning woo hoo! I tend to do that though I will lose a pound, gain it plus another one and then I will lose them again plus some. It is so crazy but as long as my end result is good I will take it lol.

Lighten Up Friday

OK, so I have succeeded in totally confusing myself lol. Between weighing in for my class on Wednesday and doing this on Friday I don't know if I am coming or going lol. I think that I will start doing this on Thursday so that I can have them together. So I don't know how much weight I have lost this week but my total to date is 8 lbs. I can't wait until I get to the 10 lb mark lol.

Anyway, overall everything is going pretty good. With the structure of my diet it is easier for me to keep myself in check. I have splurged here and there like last night I was naughty. I guess if I keep it in small doses it will be ok. We will have a party when I get to the 10 lbs!!!

Lighten Up Friday

I am so very excited to do this today! I have lost 2 POUNDS!!! YAY ME!!! I finally feel like I can take charge of this thing and beat the beast so to speak. I think I just need structure lol. I will forever be starting up First Place classes no matter what church I go to. I even resisted an urge to stop and get something yummy like a spicy chicken sandwich or something on the way home from being out and about today. That is HUGE for me because I have a hard time with that, which is why I either go out really early or not at all just so I don't have the temptation. Today we didn't get home as early as I like but resisted and instead came home and had some of our left over yummy chili! I love that stuff! I have to figure out what I will do for dinner tonight. I know I am going to make a yummy salad. Maybe we will have some grilled pork chops and wild rice to go with it. I need a good relatively healthy recipe for cole slaw that is what I really want so maybe I will look that up and do that instead of a salad.

Thanks for being with me through this rough journey. It helps just putting it all out there and getting support from you guys.

First Day!

My first day on First Place. It has been interesting so far. This morning I messed up because I hadn't been to the store so all I had was whole milk for my oatmeal. So between that and lunch I have 1 to many fats for the day. I have to eat some veggies too cause I haven't had nearly enough of those. It is all very complicated but basically whatever you eat is the equivalent of either ~ fruit, veggie, bread, meat, fat or milk. You have to have x amount of each in a day and also 8 glasses of water. Being on a 1200 calorie plan you would think I would be starving cause I am sure I was having way more than that before but I don't think I will get all of my points in for the day. This is why this plan works for me because it helps me stay balanced! Without it I tend to have more meats and starches. Well, I need to go eat a cucumber or something so let me scoot.

First Place Orientation!

We started our class tonight! It was a lot of information to pass out and try to explain. The truth about it is that the only way to learn it is by doing it, so teaching it was pretty hard. I just gave a few examples and covered the basics. We had 9 people there! I was really shocked I expected 6 maybe 7 but I am hoping next week we will even get a few more. Everyone hated the weighing part and didn't want to do a before picture. They did it though, well, most of them did. Next week we will start the actual Bible Study part of it and we will see how everything went for this week. Everyone is very excited and I think it will be great having a group of us doing it together. Being encouraged and understood is great.

Unusual Fact: One of the ladies told me that she heard somewhere that every pound you lose is 3 lbs off of your knees.

Naughty ~ Naughty

I was very naughty this weekend. I ate what I wanted and didn't give a second thought to my diet. It was a pretty stupid thing to do and I knew it at the time. I guess I felt like since I am starting my First Place diet this Wednesday it was like a last treat lol. Kind of like a drunk about to give up alcohol goes on a binge. Not that I have ever done that but I would imagine it would be about the same. Today, however, I am getting back on the wagon. I ate pretty healthy today and I am excited about getting going again. I think since I have not been doing so good over the past week really I felt like I didn't have anything to lose. Ha ha. It is so easy to get into the mindset of well I have already screwed up so lets just forget about it. The problem with that is I can't forget about it. I can't just give up. I have to start over for myself, for my daughter and for my hubby.

My goal for this week is to lose 1 maybe 2 lbs. I have to get off my butt and get moving! It is time to get serious and get the weight off!

Lighten Up Friday

As of last week I had lost 5 lbs. I was down to a number that I hadn't seen in a very long time. This week I got on the scale and it said I had lost another pound. That was until this morning. This morning I weighed in and I had gained that pound plus another one back. I am going to say it is water retention because it is, you know, that TIME. Hopefully by middle of next week I will be back down again.

Well I don't really have time for more I have to do more for the party while Anna is napping. Hope you all have a great weekend!

First Place

We have set a date for beginning our First Place Bible Study at church. We will begin class with an orientation and what not on Wednesday, February 6th @ 6:00pm. I will be the leader and I am very excited about starting. We will hopefully get a good group that can offer up encouragement and praise for weight loss. It is so important for us to take care of our bodies and God even tells us our body is a temple. My temple needs some major remodeling and I am working on it. With Gods help I know it will be done.

I will admit though that I am a little nervous cause I will be the leader. I will be expected to set an example and make this interesting for everyone. Pray for me whenever you think about it, that I will listen to God and know what he wants me to say and do. I want this to be a great experience for all of us.

Lighten Up Friday on Saturday

My weight loss partner MamaCheryl reminded me that I didn't do the Lighten Up Friday. I didn't want to do it this week because I really bombed this week. I mean I lost 1 lb but I didn't really put much effort into it. I didn't do my step. I didn't walk much. By that I mean I walked like 1 day. My exercise was keeping up with Anna and doing yard work which is really better than I did last year but not good enough for this year. My diet wasn't terrible but I didn't go out of my way to be overly nutritious. Meaning I had to many carbs and not enough veggies. I don't know why. I was just in a funk. I was feeling blah. I will blame it on the weather. It was bitterly cold (well cold for here anyway). It was windy and rainy and just yucky in general.

So I will pick up where I left off (5 lbs lighter than I started) and try to get back on track. I wish I had Cheryl's determination and will power, she has already lost 10 lbs. She rocks and I hope it rubs off on me soon lol.

On a lighter note: We are watching the Greatest Super Bowl Commercials. That is the only reason I will be tuned in to the Super Bowl tomorrow night. They crack me up! Whhhhhaaatttttssss Uuuuuppppppppppp!

Lighten Up Friday

Time for my weight update! It has been a better week for the most part. I mean I did fall of the wagon on Saturday pretty bad but the rest of the week I have managed to keep myself in check. I exercised and ate healthy and in smaller portions. It was a good week over all.

I lost 2 lbs this week putting me up at 4 or 4.5 if you go by that. I am pleased with that because the alternative is gaining or at best staying the same. So we will continue working and moving and eating correctly because we are off to a pretty good start.

Words of encouragement are always welcome :)

breathe!!!

I knew that I was out of shape. I knew that I was starting at the beginning but come on lol. I was freecycled a step and a cd. I got on it for the first time and I tell you I was winded after about 8 minutes. I kept going for a little longer until I got lost on the steps lol. Boy do I need help! I think while Anna naps today I will just do some walking on my step to make up for the louzy workout this morning. I keep telling myself that at least I am doing it. At least I am trying. At least I am doing more than I was before. Everybody has to start somewhere, right!

I am eating better this week than I did last week. Saturday I bombed but I will just have to make up for that this week. All I can do is keep going and not give up. I knew that this would be a challenge and I wouldn't be able to change on a dime. I will do this slow and steady because we all know that is the way to win the race!

We can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us!

Lighten Up Friday!

I have decided that Friday will be my day to focus on weight! I have had a so so week. I have managed to walk or at least be extra active with Anna most days. We really only missed one day so I guess it wasn't to bad. I managed to cook mostly healthy foods although we did do spaghetti last night. The starches are so my weakness. I did buy a new kind they have out that has 3x the fiber and as much calcium as an 8 oz cup of milk so I guess it wasn't so bad. I had a few cookies the other day too. *hanging my head in shame* On the bright side though I have cut back my portions and I am trying to make sure to drink more water. I am trying to make a conscious effort to buy healthier foods, which isn't always easy as they are usually more expensive. I am also trying to make sure that when I play with Anna I use as much energy as I can running around with her.

Having said all of that even with my set backs I have managed to lose 2.5 lbs and my pants are fitting a little nicer. I am hoping that next week I will be stronger and do even better.

Tonight I am going to the Olive Garden. I will try not to be to bad while there. I will have to do a little extra exercise today or something!

Back to the Farm Plus Ramblings

This morning I decided I would take Anna back to the Bamboo Farm so that we could enjoy the great outdoors and I could walk in a peaceful place. We were there for almost an hour and walked for about 90% of the time. Not always at a quick clip but we did pretty good. We got to see a grey heron that was beautiful. We spooked him out of his tree. Then we got to see some other type of bird floating in the water but I couldn't tell what kind he was. We scared him off too. Guess we were on the noisy side lol. Anna's favorite part was watching a tractor in motion. They were taking out a dead tree and it was fascinating let me tell you.

A few updates for my regular readers:

Anna has not wet the bed in over a week now. We get up every night around 1 or 2 am and she goes potty and we go right back to sleep. It really seems to be working for us. Last night we didn't get up until 3 and I think she would have been ok without getting up at all but better safe than sorry.

I am trying to start a group of ladies at church that would like to lose weight. We are going to possibly do the First Place plan. One of the other ladies is going to help with the start up and then I have for some reason volunteered to be the teacher or leader or whatever you want to call it. I am hoping if I take on that position it will give me even more motivation to set a good example and work harder.

Sunday Musings!

Well, we took our dog to the vet and they told us there was no medical reason to put him down. So the bottom line is that we have to watch him continue to deteriorate and continue having bladder issues until he is at a point were he can't get around at all and is doing even more pitiful than he is now. I really don't like watching him go through this it just breaks my heart that he hurts so much.

On a lighter note, we had a great day today. I taught a stellar lesson in Sunday School this morning. I had the kids answering questions and laughing and really interested in the word of God. That was really cool. Then this afternoon I had nursery with Chris and we had fun. We only had 3 kids so Anna and 2 others that we know very well. They danced and sang and read several books. It was fun watching the kids play together and communicate with each other. It is amazing how great they get along. We are all going on a play date probably on Wednesday.

We also met some of our friends at the Bamboo farm for just a short while. It was such a beautiful day today that the fresh air and sunshine just lifted my spirits! I ran and played with Anna for a while getting a little exercise. I missed my walk today not a very good record since I just started yesterday. I will walk in the morning and play with Anna some more too. I have to say playing with her seems to be more of a workout than walking most days lol.