H2O

 photo source: photobucket













If you are anything like me, you don't drink near enough water every day. It is hard for me to get it all in. I even carry a water bottle around all the time and still don't drink enough. It's essential for weight loss to drink around 1 gallon of water a day. Did you know that most of the time (not always) when you feel hungry you are actually thirsty? The signal for when you are hungry or thirsty are the same.

I learned a trick to make sure I get enough water from reading this book:

Every single time I take a drink of water I take 5-10 swallows. I go right in the middle at 7. Ten makes me feel too sloshy and 5 isn't enough. I find myself filling my water bottle much more frequently. Try it out, it works for me. Just make sure you have a fresh supply of toilet paper handy;)












Also, I wanted to share something with you about shin splints. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods to get some new running shoes and the guy helping me was a seasoned runner/running coach. I told him I had been suffering from shin splints for a long time and had done icing, heat, stretching, strengthening shin muscles, etc and it never really helped.

He smiled knowingly and said, "All you need is a shoe with more rubber on it because it will cushion the blow more. It would make it more like running on a track. More rubber, less gel."
Say what!?! That is seriously all I had to do? I was joyful, upset, ecstatic, and why did no one every say this before? Apparently it is a closely guarded secrete..... ooooorrrrr, no one knows about it. So, I HAD to share this with all ya'll because I have taken those bad boys out for a spin and they really are more cushiony. FYI I only use Asics. I have tried other shoes and for my foot these work and fit bets. My favorite shoe was

Asics Gel-1170 running shoe

I could literally feel the difference on impact when testing out different styles. More rubber was bouncier, a little heavier, but it softened the blow of ever step. My shins are thanking me....but mainly thanking the genius at Dick Sporting Goods who knows his running shoes.

Small Victory

I had a small victory after I tried to sabotage myself. I was at the mall getting new running shoes. My daughter and I decided to have lunch. I got a salad at Paradise Bakery and at the last minute got 2 cookies. They were buy one get one free. What was I suppose to do? Not buy them!?! So I decided I would have just a little bit of each and then save the rest for my kids.

Well, I ate the little bit and then handed the bag with the remaining cookies to my daughter. She ate a few bites then said she was done. By this time we are at the car and I think, if I was being honest with myself I will be eating the rest of these cookies after I put my daughter down for a nap. Then the bag "accidentally" tipped over and the cookies fell on the ground outside and I decided I better leave them there for the birds to eat.

So the score is 1 Me and 1 sabotage.

If you are looking for a cute St. Patty's Day decor check out this free printable I did last year.

A must Read

I read "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease." completely worth reading. It has a whole knew way of treating heart disease with diet alone. I give the writing 3 stars because it was repetitive, but 5 stars to the information. Although I am not ready to become vegan, I do see why his diet is so success. My favorite quote from the book was by Dean Ornish:

"I don't understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open."


Due to my son's allergy to milk, we have a no dairy diet already. It's easier to do it this way. I don't like the taste of red meat so we never eat it. So, my hang up is chicken, eggs, and no nuts except a few walnuts. So the almond milk we use is a no no. I am not ready to go vegan and 100% oil free, not sure if I ever will be. BUT I have tried some of the recipes in the back of the book.

I really liked this breakfast recipe because of how surprisingly tasty, easy, and filing it was. I was stuffed after eating it and stayed full until well into lunch time.

1. start with old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats) uncooked, either plain or topped with grape-nuts, Grainfield's Raisin Bran, or shredded wheat (with no sugar added).
2. Use oat, almond, or non fat soy milk. Apple juice, cider, and orange or grapefruit juice (include the sections are also delicious).
3. Top with raisins, sliced bananas, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or peaches.
4. If you don't have heart disease, add a few walnuts.

I was a little unsure of eating uncooked old fashioned oats like this, but I topped it off with shredded wheat, blueberries and strawberries, and almond milk and I was STUFFED. My children loved it too! Big plus, and my son said, "Few! I am full. There's no more room in my tummy. Except for a drink of water."

So there you have it people, hope you can get your hands on a copy and read it. It is very interesting and so far the recipes have been simple and tasty!

Staying Healthy

I decided to start talking more about loosing weight and staying healthy. Pretty much you are just going to get the thoughts floating around in my mind about my journey:)

I have been fighting something in my chest. It is heavy and makes me cough, but it's a very unproductive cough. My voice is horse. I decided to lay low for a few days because I also had a low grade fever. 4 days later and there is no improvement. I decided to just get my rear end to the gym. I was worried the exertion would make me cough, a lot. Surprisingly it actually seemed to quiet the cough. The rest of the day I was pretty much cough free.

This morning I debated about whether or not I wanted to go to the gym. I realized, obviously I don't WANT to go to the gym, but I have to. My goal is to loose at least another 10 lbs before I go home for Christmas. Honestly, the scale hasn't budged for over a month. Hubby suggested I measure my waist. It was pretty fun to see that I had lost 3 inches off my waist! My cloths were fitting better, some even became to loose to wear! So, I had an extra boost to keep me going.

Confession time, I ate A LOT, and I mean A LOT of candy over Halloween. Bad news. I didn't gain any weight because that's pretty much all I ate:) I stayed within my daily caloric in take. That's good right!?!

So, I am getting my eating back on track. I have been very aware of what I am eating and how much. I just need to get this weight off because it is a lot of mental baggage to be caring around. I am just sick and tired of not fitting into a closet full of really great clothing any more. So, the moral of this story is, I am going to the gym this morning.

Clean Eating

I just wanted to share something with you that has been changing my energy level, way of eating, and most importantly, my waist line. Look at my weight loss tracker. I started shedding pounds when I made a few simple and 1 not so simple changes. 1 was hard for me, but other's in my class found it was very easy to do, but those same individuals struggled with things that I found very easy to do. So keep that in mind when you are reading this post.

First: Read THIS book! It has been so empowering to recognize how food affects me mentally and physically. It is really easy to be healthy with this new knowledge. Just being aware of how I am feeling has been a huge eye opener. I have struggled so long with depression and this book has helped me gain some major ground (along with my AMAZING counselor Helen Bair. You can read more about her HERE).

I took a class from the author of this book and learned a few things I wanted to share with you.

Make sure you are getting enough protein in every meal. I am WAAAAAYYY under and it has been a stretch to get myself up to the right amount. This was one change that wasn't really easy for me, but has made the biggest impact on my weight loss. I am fuller longer and eat less.

To calculate how much protein you should be consuming The equation is to take your weight in pounds..let's use 180 as an example.

Then you divide that by half so you would get 90 as the total number of grams of protein you want to have each day.

You will want to have about 1/3 of that at each meal or about 30 grams.

In the class she recommended eating HARD CORE proteins. That means eating items with denser protein per serving. (ex: a cup of yogurt has 8 grams of protein, a cup of cottage cheese has 28. Cottage cheese is more dense)
To find a list of proteins go HERE. Click on the W on protein for the list.


We also talked about eating within 1 hour of waking up and eating breakfast EVERY day. It jump starts your metabolize for the day. Don't eat breakfast and your body goes into starvation mode and actually hangs onto fat instead. Did you know sumo wrestlers do this to bulk up quickly? It's true. NEVER skip breakfast. This wasn't an issue for me because I always wake up hungry and ready for breakfast.

Lastly, we talked about getting enough complex carbs. Whole grains, brown rice, oats, etc.  per meal. So, the bowl of cold cereal isn't going to work well for breakfast anymore because it doesn't help me reach any of these goals.

All in all, I have learned that my usual easy bowl of cereal is not working for my health goals. I have been planning ahead for breakfast because in the mornings I want what ever is easiest. So, I started making breakfast items in advance. Here is my FAVORITE breakfast item that is easy, loaded with protein and healthy:) I found this recipe in the Clean Eating magazine


Make-ahead breakfast quiche

2 cups chopped mushrooms (I don't like mushrooms, but you can't tell they are there in this recipe)
3/4 chopped roasted red peppers (from jar) squeezed of liquid
1/2 cup chopped artichoke hearts (in water not marinated) squeezed of liquid
1/2 cup finally chopped green onions
1 tbsp. olive oil
liberal sprinkle of herbes de Provence
cooking spray
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 oz goat cheese
1/2 oz grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 350*F
Saute mushrooms, red peppers, artichoke hearts, and onions in olive oil and herbs de Provence until softened and warmed through. Prepare pan by spraying with cooking spray. Then Place mixture in a round cake pan, or divided among 4 large ramekin. Cover with eggs and small drops of goat cheese. Sprinkle with parmesan. ( I actually mix everything together and put in a large muffin tin then put cheese on top! Also, I just add what ever veggies I have on hand. No bottled or canned stuff for me because I don't like the taste of most canned items.)
Cook in oven for 25 minutes or until set. Cover and store in fridge.

You can use what ever veggies you have on hand. I am KNOW it is still quite tasty.

Nutrients per serving (quarter of quiche with 1/2 cup vegetables) calories: 168, total fat: 8g, sat. fat: 3 g, carbs: 7 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 2 g, Protein: 17 g, sodium: 367 mg, cholesterol: 8mg

Weight Loss

I made a printable to keep track of your weight loss. When I was doing "Win Loose, or Blog" I had measured my waist right before and then after. I was shocked to realize my waist had shrunk 4 inches. I think it is important to do because I haven't lost any weight recently, but my waist, arms, and hips have shrunk. It's nice to see something going down:) I only get on the scale once a week and measure once a week. Keeps my head in the game and prevents me from being obsessive.

Download the printable HERE!

Loosing Weight, Again.

So, I am loosing weight all over again. Remember the 14 lbs I lost. Well, I have gained 6 lbs of it back. Wanna know what I did? I am keeping all my bad habits:) I have seriously got to stop eating at night. Usually, after we put the kids to bed I get this urge to snack on something. I read in Bob Greene's book "The Best Life Diet" it is because your body is ready to use the fat storage in your body. Instead of letting it use the fat storage, I feed it so it uses the food I just ate instead of loosing fat. DRAT! So, I am going to push myself to stop eating after 7:30pm. That is my cut off time. He said if you did that, you would wake up hungry in the morning for breakfast. This is the only thing I am going to change. Let's see what happens shall we. I am expecting to be accountable to you. I think this will give me the results I am looking for. You would think with the amount of time I am putting in at the gym, I would see bigger results. BUT I haven't. I am stronger and toner, but no weight has come off. My face still looks chubby. So, it is time to kick it into gear and get going.

Still Loosing

I have been having a lot of success with loosing weight. I have been really motivated and excited about the changes I have seen. It's easier to see measure my success when I have a before picture, base weight, and waste size to compare to.

Here is a picture of me at Halloween.

Here is a picture of my today 13 lbs lighter. The biggest difference I have seen is in my waste. BUT comparing pictures made me see it in my face. I still have a long ways to go, but I have been seeing the scale steadily go down.















I did a lot of work on myself emotionally and it was time to work on myself physically.  Things I have learned, I can't deprive myself of sweets. I get them once and week and it makes it so I can look forward to Monday, but I can stay on track knowing I get to eat something sweet once a week. I have tried to go without eating any sweets and I do good for a while, but then I binge. So, I found something that works for me. 1 serving size once a week and I can control my urge the rest of the week.
Also, I really enjoy cycling class. I wish there were more at my gym because I can push myself harder, but it isn't hard on my body.
If you would like to read more about my weight loss strategy, goals, and anything else, you can read about it HERE.

Weight Loss Journey

I am still in the competition for Win Loose or Blog. So far I have lost 12 lbs. I am feeling really great about that. It is really motivating to see the numbers on the scale moving down. I for a while I thought the scale might be broken because it only showed 1 number every time I stepped on it;)

I watched "Eat Pray Love" the other day. I really loved Julia Roberts character. Mainly, I loved the way she spoke. Her language was so poetic and inspiring. One particular scene I loved was in a pizza parlor in Italy. (I will not say this nearly as inspiring or eloquently as the movie did, but I will try)
Julia Robert was eating pizza with a friend. She noticed her friend was not eating. So Julia asked her what was wrong. The girl said she had gained 10 lbs.
Julia then went into this amazing speech "I am sick of depriving myself.(can't remember exactly what she said, but it was about appreciating her herself) I have no interest in being obese. I just want to be healthy and enjoy my life. So I am going to eat this amazing pizza, and then I am going to go buy bigger jeans."

I have been thinking a lot lately. Especially as I look at my 2 year old daughter with her perfect curly hair and long eye lashes. Our nation is obsessed with the perfect body. Models have to be stick thin (many are anorexic, bolemic, take laxatives, or work out like crazy to achieve it), movie stars are unhealthily skinny. Every where we look there is some woman's body with perfectly sculpted abs that were air brushed on to make her look better. I judge my self worth by the number on the scale. WHY!?!?!?! Because to be honest, I the only person to blame for the number on that scale, but that's not the point. I have plenty of talents and blessings in my life. I have a lot to offer as a person, a mother, spouse, and friend.

My point is this, I want my perfect little 2 year old to feel completely comfortable in her skin no matter her size. I want her to know it's okay to be healthy and you don't have to be extremely thin to be beautiful. I don't want her to judge her self worth the way I have. It has to stop with me. I have to teach myself to be more respectful of my body. I have to be the example for her young mind. Starting today, I am trying to be comfortable in my skin so my daughter will learn to do the same. The madness stops here, in my home, in my mind, in my heart.