Week... {what week am I on now?}

I set myself up this past week for a 1.5# loss.  I did a lot of things right, but I also made some not-so-fantastic choices along the way that led me to a big fat ZERO pounds lost.  The good news in all of this??  I didn't GAIN anything either.  I stayed exactly the same.  So, I count that as a success, considering my week looked a little like this:

COOKOUT

COOKIE BARS

NEED TO GO SHOPPING

I'll take that zero loss/gain and raise you a 1+ pound loss this week.  Just watch me do it. ;)

whoops!

The title does NOT indicate a failure to stay on track with my weight loss, rather, it's my failure to post my results last week.  It can be easily explained... my one and only craft show of the season becomes a reality in T-4 days and I have been feverishly crafting my heart out!

My apologies if you sought my blog out for encouragement for the week and I let you down.  Hopefully you experienced your own successes over the past 2 weeks!  Please share!

To recap, last week, I lost a whopping .8#  To say I was getting frustrated would be an understatement.  So, I ramped it up this past week and made these key changes in my daily routine:

• I tracked.  Every.  Single.  Day.
• I planned ahead for my {hungry time} by cutting up a huge fruit salad after lunch to have ready to go mid-afternoon.
• I planned to get as many activity points as I would need to cover my "overage" in points plus values for the day.
• I moved.  More.  I made sure to hit my goal of activity each and every day - and even surpassed it many days.
• And finally - I didn't weigh myself each day.  I waited until right before I left for the meeting!

All these  {minor} changes lead me to a 3.4# loss this week!  Hello encouragement!

So, over the last 2 weeks, my total weight loss was 4.2#.

A gallon of Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) weighs 4.23 lbs.

One word.

I've been asked from time to time what this silly little blog is all about.  Is it about design?  Is it about DIY crafts?  Is it about gardening?  Is it about God?  Is it about raising kids?  Or chickens?  And if you're a loyal reader, you know I, too, have 'struggled' with this notion that my blog didn't have any clear cut borders.  No specific target audience.  Basically without definition. 

And then it hit me.  Like the flu bug that suddenly reared its ugly head in my joints late yesterday, I realized that my blog does have a focus.

It's about my life.  It's about a normal girl, living in average digs, trying to be the best wife & mother she can be while using her God-given talents to try and make a buck or two.  Throw in trying to get healthy & enjoy some hobbies and you have life.  My life.  And I'm probably not too far off to assume that it represents a lot of your lives too.  That's why you read!  It feels good to be in good company.

Thanks for reading, and for letting me share my life with you.

diet, schmiet

 It's a LIFESTYLE.  Studies over and over have confirmed that the way to loose weight {and keep it off} is through good ole fashioned consistent diet and exercise.  Not a pill.  Not a surgery. {although sometimes necessary}  Not starvation.

Eat your colors.

Eat the rainbow.

You've all heard it.... and it's true!  Making sure you eat foods that are unprocessed and straight from the earth is both beneficial and the way God intended it to be.  Now, I like Cheetos just as much as the next person, but I also live by two mantras:

and

I've figured out that if I eat healthy the majority of the time, an occassional treat will not totally disrupt my weight loss and overall health.  It's when I over indulge again and again and again that things start going south.

This week I worked on changing my activity habits when I was typically inactive.  I posted notes around my house to remind me of things I could do when I found myself doing nothing.  Thankfully, after my ActiveLink assessment, I found I was actually reaching my baseline {activity needed to just exist} early in the afternoon and accruing Activity Points each day!  And that's just with my normal day to day life stuff.  A pleasant suprise that explained why I've been able to eat my full points every day PLUS all my Weekly Points Plus Allowance, too, and still loose some weight.

But I can do better and there's always room for improvement.  So I busted out the exercise ball this week, threw the ball for the dog while dinner cooked, and wrote down everything I ate {well, almost}

This week I lost .8 pounds. 

The US Dept. Of Agriculture estimates that the average person in the United States eats .8 lbs of fruits each day.

DRAB to FAB - Pillows!

Ok, so this is an easy one.  Simple project.  Inexpensive.  But oh so beautiful!

I turned some tired {blah} couch pillows into something trendy and spring ready.

From DRAB:

To FAB:

1 1/4 yds of fabric {duck cloth} at 50% off $6.24
2 packages of coordinating piping {reg. price} $1.99 each

I didn't set up a sewing station in my kitchen just to let it sit... did I? 

Looking ahead...

Spring is such a time of anticipation in and of itself.  Loosing weight in the spring brings on the anticipation of cute sundresses and flowy tops.  Of walks with warm breezes and days in your swimsuit without hesitation.   Ahhhhhh.  Bliss.

Those are long-term things I anticipate, but this week, I spent my time anticipating the results of my ActiveLink assessment.  {let me be clear that i do not get paid by weight watchers to endorse their program or their products.  i do it because i truly believe in it.}  I wore the little monitor all week and plugged it in each night.  It did it's job of recording my movements so it would know the best way to challenge me to move more.  And that's what I anticipate.  The challenge!

This is an example of what the ActiveLink shows for a day's worth of activity during the assessment time period.

Until these temps warm up, this spring-ready Wisconsinite has been taking many-a-walk in the woods to get moving and spend time with my husband and kids.  We have been lov-ing it!

This week I lost .6 pounds.

.6 is about the weight of hair extensions