oofda

Well well well. I told you I'd blog my week so here goes. In all honesty, I seriously considered NOT telling you about my week, because {frankly} I didn't do so hot. I lost nothing. zilch. nada. zero. Not what I wanted - at all. But you know what? I know it was because I didn't stick to the program. I started the week off with a bang and then got "lost" somewhere amidst the donuts and cinnamon rolls of the weekend. I pulled it together on Tuesday but a little too late. That night at weigh-in, my leader said something to me that has been ringing in my head ever since. She said,

"What will it take?"

I've been pondering that since Tuesday night, still unable to come up with a definitive answer to that, but knowing I needed to get back on track. I don't want to find out what it'll take, I just want to do it. I want the results of living healthier.

So without further ado, my week.

1-18 Wednesday
Ate well all day, but then majorly tapped into my flex points in the evening. I didn't eat well before hitting the treadmill for 45min, and when I was done I was famished, so I ate and ate and ate to curb the weak shaky feeling. Mistake. Next time I'm going to load up on a protein before doing that. Cereal does not make for a high-protein, pre-walk meal.

1-19 Thursday
Tracked all day and had 9 points plus values left when dinner came around. It was DATE NIGHT, so I planned to use those and the remainder of my weekly points plus allowance that I had left {which was most of them} and eat carelessly. I also did 55 minutes on the treadmill earlier in the day while watching Glee. Time flies...

1-20 Friday
Tracked like a maniac and ended the day exactly at zero. Not tapping into flex points at all. I also walked for 35 min on the treadmill. Not as much as I planned, but given that I was going to take this day off, I considered it all good.

1-21 Saturday {here's where it starts getting ugly}
My tracker looks like this:
2 cinnamon rolls
coffee x 2
grapes
1 slice cheese pizza
candy bar
chocolate
diet soda {I was trying...}
cookie dough
cookie
carrots {again... an effort}
... and then I stopped tracking. I did get some shoveling in for about 10 min. and played Just Dance on the Wii for 15 minutes, but that was it.

1-22 Sunday
And then it got worse. No tracking. No exercise.


1-23 Monday
Started up tracking. Looked a LOT like Saturday. Then eventually gave up tracking before dinner hit.

1-24 Tuesday {weigh in day}
I tracked. I walked for 46 minutes. I played Just Dance for 20 min. Whew. Then came weigh in and the rest is history.

I'm tired of fluctuating within 2 #'s of where I've been at since Thanksgiving. Seriously. I'll never make my goal by Valentine's Day that way! Plus, I'll never ultimately reach my end goal. So I'm kicking into high gear and come what may, I will follow the program all week long. I think seeing myself get results will be the boost I need to catapult me into the weeks to come!

And one final note. Thank you for all the compliments. I've heard things like "Hey there skinny minny!" "You look great!" and "You're thin already." While it's hard to hear {because I don't fully own it}, keep it coming!

How do I sum up this week. Exercise. Yup. I got on my treadmill all but one day this past week. And what did I learn? Well, not only did I feel great for doing it, but I also learned that walking on the treadmill during an intense Packer game makes the time go by quite swiftly!

I started the week just trying to do 30 minutes on the treadmill. And by trying I don't mean that I'm physically incapable of going longer. I mean try because taking some me-time to walk often gets interrupted by little ones wanting their "turn" on the treadmill. I've worked up to 45 minutes {that was during the game Sunday} with intervals of running {like during commercials}. I know there are programs out there like Couch Potato to 5K that are set interval training programs, but I don't enjoy running so my system works for me. I run when I feel like I have the stamina, and push myself to make it through a commercial break. {insert laughter from runners here} I know those of you who can run miles at a time snickered a little. That's okay. I've never been a runner. Have never claimed to be a runner. And don't ever desire to be a runner. I only do it to push myself physically - just to see what I'm capable of and to get my heart rate up.

Next week I'm going to do the normal Wednesday blog post update, but with a twist. I'm going to take you inside my day to day life as I push ahead in my weight loss journey. That way, you can see that I'm not living on lettuce. That I do splurge. And that I'm trying.

Something new I also did this past week was post a picture from my Weight Watchers magazine on my fridge. It's of a lady to lost 133# on the program and it has her before and after picture. It's truly inspirational. The after looks NOTHING like the before. It gives me hope that by summer I can look trim and smokin' in those cute summer styles.

The before {above} and the after {below}. Seriously??

Here's what I look like this week {down another .8#'s} in some of my fabulous deals from Kohls! The jacket was on clearance and with my extra 20% off came to only $10 {normal price $62}.

{love}



Now I'm on the hunt for some skinny jeans to wear with boots {which I'm also on the prowl for. who knew buying boots with a 15+ calf circumference would be so difficult.}

And one last pic of a jacket I got while thrifting this fall. Again love!

To start you off, here's what my day today looked like so far:

Breakfast was stalled because I drank way too much coffee. oops. So after two enormous cups of java {with creamer and sugar}, I ate an orange mid morning to stave off lunch.

For lunch I sat down with the kids and had cheap cheese pizza. For 1/3 of the pizza it was only 7 points, and since I'd basically skipped breakfast, I had the points to use. I paired it with a greens salad - yummy!

Follow lunch with something sweet - milk duds - so tasty. *drool*

Another {unexpected} mug of joe when a friend stopped by for eggs.

Strawberries made for an early afternoon snack followed by a few more of those luscious milk duds. {i'm of the belief that you just need to eat them all and get them out of the house.} Yes I took the points for all this stuff.

For supper I'll be making an egg skillet with egg whites, leftover baked potato, onion and whatever else veg I have in the fridge, paired with another orange. {i'm in love with the oranges these days}

And then I always have a snack once the kiddos are tucked in. Popcorn and diet root beer is on the menu tonight, following 45 minutes on the treadmill while they're at Awana.

And that's my day! I got liquids in. Fruits and veggies in. And even had the points for chocolate! {they say eat your colors and brown is a color}

Next week's blog post will feature my days from Thursday - Tuesday's weigh in! Wish me luck!

you're not the boss of me!

ugh. How many times in a day do we, as parents, hear that sentence. Or maybe you did when your kids were little. Or maybe you're cringing at the thought of your little prince or princess spewing such ugliness. But it's inevitable. And it seems like the younger ones really want the control. Of their toys. Their clothing choices. What they want to do {or not do}. What happy meal options they'll get. Heaven forbid a friend tries to make a suggestion about what Barbie should do on her night out! One inclination other than that which they want and that peaceful playtime erupts into "No! You're not the boss of me!" They want as much control over their little worlds as possible - once they know there are choices that can be made.

I stood in the kitchen this snowy afternoon whipping up something fabulous, listening to the kids banter back and forth

"Yeah, well, only my Mom is the boss of me."
"Yeah! You're not the boss of me, only my mom is."
"You're not the boss of God."
"No, you're not the boss of God."

When did we get to the point of bossing Him around I wonder? And then it hit me {like most of these random blog posts do} that as an adult I still do that. Not audibly. Not quite with so much flair. But I still like to dig my heels in, in an effort to regain control. I still try to mute that voice in my heart telling me to take the 10 minutes as a quiet time instead of watching T.V. Am I not like the kids when I do that? It's the same thing as looking up and saying, "NO! I won't do that. You're not the boss of me!" eek. That was an eye opener.

I guess the next time I hear the conversation turn towards a battle of wills, I won't be so quick to misunderstand why they keep trying to be the "boss". I know why. I understand. I want to be the boss too. {laugh all you want mom & sisters} But fortunately, I have a Boss who can make MUCH better choices than I would ever make, and only has my best interest in mind. I suppose I should try and relinquish control, and be ready to do and go where He leads. And that is what I will teach my children. That being open to what God has in store for your life is far more glorious than trying to be the boss.

back on track

This week has gone much better than weeks before. I wrote down what I was eating, made sure I was getting in fruits and veggies, and even worked in some exercise. And it worked! I lost 1.2#'s this week. And although I don't look any different {being as I'm loosing what I gained in holiday splendiforous eating} I wanted to get back on track with taking weekly photos of myself as well. So, here is what I look like this week:

My clothes still fit. {yeah} So, my gain wasn't major, but it was enough to cause the scale to go the opposite direction I wanted. This minor loss this week is putting me back in the running to reaching my goals. And speaking of goals... I wanted to make a written goal here for you all to read.

By Valentine's Day, I want to be down a total of 25 lbs from where I started.

That's a total loss of about 7 lbs in the next 5 weeks. Attainable. Very do-able. And from there I'll only have another 20 #'s to go. Whew. And that, my friends, is why I break it into smaller goals!

What else have I been up to?

-Trying to figure out if what I thought was a hen is really a rooster.

{oofda. I think "Charmin" will become "Prince Charming"}

-Helping some friends of ours decorate their nursery. {think earthy browns and pomegranates}
-Creating silhouettes of the girls for their bedroom.
-Staining and varnishing the woodwork for our remodel upstairs.
-Paperwork. Lots of paperwork with buying 3 acres of wooded land around us. {closing not set yet, but praising God for the extra work which = extra $}

I hope you're working hard to reach the goals you've set for 2012!

damage control

oofda! While I wasn't surprised by what the scale showed last night at weigh-in, I still didn't like seeing the increase in numbers. Over the last few weeks of holiday indulging, I gained 2.4#. I could loose this in a week or two if I can just manage to get back on track. Eating willy-nilly was a nice reprieve, but I must say that I feel bloated and just plain icky. Amazing what just a few pounds can do to you! So today I've gotten back on track and I'm writing down what I eat in my journal. Calculating points. Weighing my portions. Choosing fruits and veggies to snack on. Planning my day.

So far it feels good to be back at it. And it felt great to be at the meeting last night too. I will admit that part of me wanted to skip {again} because I knew I'd gained. I thought that maybe I should just wait a week till I lost some of what I gained so it didn't look so drastic, but I chose otherwise, and I'm glad I did. My leader said this last night:

On weeks you gain and don't want to come,
that's when you need the meeting.
On weeks you did great,
that's when the rest of the group needs YOU.

How true! And it reinforced that I need the accountability that comes with going to the meetings. I'm glad, too, that my membership is paid monthly - automatically out of my checking account. Knowing that I've already paid for the week makes it harder to stay home. Especially on these frigid nights.

So if the holiday smorgasbords got the best of you, it's not time to throw in the towel. Do what you need to do to get back on track. It's never too late to start {again}.

Wish me luck!

declutter

This impromptu blog post was inspired by a "Declutter Calendar" I found via Facebook. Seriously you need to check this out. It's broken down quite simply with easy to manage tasks each day. Things that will most likely take you 30 minutes to complete. Some may take longer, but it gives you TONS of ideas to get your house cleaned and decluttered. What I loved about it was it's suggestions of things I rarely think about doing {if ever!} It's a good reminder to to get to those areas of your house that maybe get forgotten. I'm excited to get crackin on this right away!

Prior to this calendar, I have been working on organizing and decluttering already. Things like the storage area in the bathroom. {this odd space that will someday be a half bath but for now serves as the storage of odd crap} I went through that over Christmas break and found new homes for things that were just taking up space. I also finally purchased a wrapping paper storage container {one of those vertical ones} and got my wrapping stuff more organized. It takes up much less space than how I had it before and it looks fantastic! {and only $7 on sale at Target} My husband, Jason, and I also tackled our basement. It's old. It's dark. It's cold. Not a cozy finished basement {someday...}. But it had to be done. That ordeal was prompted by the need to build walls down there for our new plumbing to run through... and the fact that we've recently found and become addicted to the show Hoarders. After watching just one episode I was freaked out that I could become a hoarder. {deep down I know that's not a reality, but it's really disturbing} I know I'm not currently at risk of becoming a Hoarder for a few reasons.

1 - crumbs on the counter irritate me
2 - I vacuum at least once a day
3 - my desk gets a regular cleaning to keep me sane
4 - I have an irrational desire to rearrange furniture regularly
5 - beds made make me smile

Those are just some of the reasons I couldn't let my house get the way they do on the show, but for someone without my OCD clutter-free personality, I can see how things can get out of hand rather quickly. Just one day of me being gone and the dishes pile up and toys are strewn everywhere. {nothing against my husband. he's a big help and a clean person, but the messes don't bother him like they do me. a good clean up at the end of the day would be fine with him. not me.}

So why not become a professional organizer? Well, for starters, do they have a degree for this? It seems like it is pretty self explanatory for someone like me, but maybe I'm missing something. Is there a market for it? Our area is near booming communities, but here in the Fox Valley... is there enough of a need to make it worthwhile?

Tell me about your home? Are you super-organized? Or weaving around the piles of stuff? Or somewhere in between? Where are your 'trouble spots' {for me it's the top of my desk} It's not a resolution, but I do plan to follow this calendar each day and see where I end up at the end of the year. Are you going to try it?