Ok, so I may not have multiple personalities….but right about now I feel like I am wearing many “hats”. At work I’m working about 2.5 jobs until a proper back fill can be found for my current desk while I transfer for 6 months to a project team. Then I’m part of another team that’s fixing a program we use to maintain customer orders. But, not to worry, I’ll get through it.
In my personal life, I’m working on a 21 day challenge to a healthier lifestyle. This includes eating nutritiously and getting back on track with exercising. Somehow, I’ve also convinced myself that I should also work on maintaining my blog more and finding how to drive traffic to my site.
As I’m typing this, I’m also wondering when I’ll have time to clean the house, make up meal plans, do laundry, shopping, cooking and dishes. Not to mention do the actual parenting of my two kids. Oh wait!…that’s why I do all the things listed in my personal life after the kids go to bed. 
My life theme seems to be “burning the candle at both ends”. I’ve been like this at least since high school from what I can remember.
I would probably be bored if life wasn’t this way. Good thing I have this blog to help me get through!
Tags: children, diet, exercise, kids, nutrition, parent, parenting, shopping, weight loss, work
Well it’s about the end of week 1 of my 21 day challenge. And so far it’s been pretty easy going. I’m pleased to announce that as of my last weight check this week I had lost 2-3 lbs. It’s difficult to tell exaclty how much because I have an analog scale and it is a bit difficult to tell exactly.
The benefits I’ve noticed so far is that I have much more energy during the day. Also, some of the “jiggle” seems to be fading a way.
The best thing I’ve done is go see the dietitian. The simplicity of the plan she provided me is so easy to follow. I’ve even gone out to eat several times this week and I was able to choose meals from the menus that conformed very closely to the 1/2 plate of vegetable, 1/4 of carbohydrates, and 1/4 of protein.
We’ve been so busy this week that I have not had a chance to exercise much. However, I have taken a few walks at lunch time at work.
I’m going to weigh myself on Sunday and see how well I did over the weekend. The weekends up at my mom’s are the most difficutl, because she makes so many of the dishes I LOVE so much from my childhood…I tend to over eat. This weekend we, in addition, we are having a cultisac potluck so there’s some added temptation.
My mini-goal for the next week is to get on my ellipitical at least twice.
How have you done this week?
Tags: challenge, diet, exercise, nutrition, weight loss
Traveling with the boys up to my parents today proved to be very interesting!
Let me start by saying that it wasn’t particularly a great day at work for my husband nor for myself. The one benefit for me was that I took the second half of the day off to spend time with my cousin who was visiting from out of state. It’s been very busy at work lately, actually somewhat overwhelming. However I think my 1/2 day vacation was just what the docotr ordered. My husband has had a couple of difficult day’s at work as well.
The plan was to meet my husband at home, pick up the kids, pick up some wood at his parents from the apple tree we had to cut down last week. Then we were going to make the 1.5 hour drive to my parents house.
In case you hadn’t guessed the afternoon didn’t go exactly as planned. Andy got home late, which made us late getting the kids from daycare. Then we had an extra stop at Aldi to pick up some milk for my mom, since it’s much less expensive down where I live. Only after that did we get to my in-laws parent’s to pick up the wood. We FINALLY got on the road an hour late.
The kids had a bottle of water and were supposed to drink it sparringly, however being 3 and 4, we all know that didn’t happen.
About 40 minutes from our destination, from the back of the car I hear, “Mommy, gotta go potty!”. It was my 3 year old who has only been potty trained about 2 months.
All Andy and I could do was look at eachother. We had just passed the last public place to stop on the way. So, what’s a parent to do. We had no choice but to pull off the road onto a side street and to let Ian out to go potty. Vincent decided to go too. So there we are, on the side of the road our boys going to the bathroom. I have to say, I was surprised when I looked and both boys looked like the little calvin sticker you see on the back of some trucks. What suprised me more was the height my 3 year old was getting. He was having lots of fun with it as well….swaying back and forth. However, he was too close to Vincent and I told him to be careful.
You know….I should have known better by now. Ian likes to do everything he’s not supposed to. SO……he turned just enough to pee on his brother!!!! Then he turned to me and gave me the sly grin he always uses when he knows he’s doing something he knows he shouldn’t.
Do you know how hard it is to scold your child when you’re laughing?
Tags: car, children, cute story, funny, kids, potty, training, trip
Just a little child humor tonight.
At the end of a recent trip to Hawaii, I got a tattoo. When I got back into town I showed it to my kids, who thought it was kind of neat. Since I’ve been back, the tattoo has been covered….until today. I got a bit hot tiding up the house and opted to wear a halter-top style shirt out to dinner with some friends.
After I changed and came back down stairs I was gathering more clothes to put away and my 3 year old noticed my tattoo again. He looked at me and said, “Mommy your drawing is still on you!”
Ahhhh to live in the world of a toddler and preschooler where everything is marker and crayons and if you draw on yourself (or the wall) it (should) eventually go away! On busy work days like today I wish I could go back to those times!
This is the lovely artwork I had put on my back in Hawaii…
Tags: children, crayon on wall, dolphin, kid, marker on wall, tattoo
preface:
Wow! I’ve done it again! I’ve set such an aggressive goal that I may have made it unrealistic. For anyone who knows me, I am always, go, go, go. I often take on too many projects and things at home usually suffer for it.
I’ve set such an aggressive goal of blogging, exercising and eating nutritiously that I’m spending all my free time researching. Laundry and household cleaning are not getting done. Although I don’t mind not doing the work (who wouldn’t give that up), but since I’m not doing it it’s not getting done.
So I’ve taken a step back and I’m slightly modifying the challenge to myself.
- I will still be eating nutritiously for 21 days
- I will be exercising, not daily—it’s just not going to happen if I want to put time into my blog and keep the house respectable
- I will be blogging regularly, but I can’t promise daily, all I can promise is several times a week
OK hears the real article!
The good stuff that will get you eating nutritiously!
I went to see a nutritionist today!
Yep that’s right, called my insurance provider and found out dietitians (or dietician as some spell it) are covered. S
o I called and went. It was great to talk to someone about it wanting to get tips on healthy eating habits. Because, lets face it…when looking on the internet you will find one site that say xyz is good for you, while a second site you read says no xyz is not as good as people think.
What I got from my nutritionist was a few simple hand-outs to help me plan my day for meals. She knew with kids, work and everything else I wouldn’t have time for a food diary or for counting calories, so I received a guideline of what should be in each meal and approximately how much.
What I learned is that (using a 9″ plate) for lunch and dinner half the plate should be vegetable, 1/4 plate should contain your carbohydrates and 1/4 should contain your protein (with skin trimmed off). I also found out that Potato, corn, peas, squash, and baked beans are considered carbohydrates, NOT a vegetable in this meal format. You also should add a fresh fruit on the side and a glass of skim or 1% milk. You want to have at least 2 glasses of milk and servings of fresh fruit a day
Using the suggested format gives you about 450 calories per meal if you prepare the food with a little fat as possible.
Also, Breakfast is very important to eat, it gets the metabolism going. You would eat your 1/4 plate carbohydrates and your protein. Suggested on my hand-out is whole grain cereal with fat free or low fat milk or Whole grain toast (2 slices) maybe with some peanut butter. So my task this weekend is to get an idea of the meals I want to cook, for dinner as well as figure out what I need to add to my lunches to fit to the meal plan. I don’t mind, I have been trying to get better at evening meal planning so this just means I need to plan the whole day. According to the dietitian, I can have the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day if I want…it will simplify the meal plans.
Before I end today, I want to leave you with a few other things my dietitian told me.
- When snacking, make sure you are eating because you are hungry and not because you are bored or stressed, ect.
- Make a rule to always eat at the table…it may help you decide you really aren’t as hungry as you thought and it will help your body not to send hunger signals in times of stress or boredom
- To avoid snacking while cooking dinner pop a mint in your mouth or chew on sugar-free gum
Just as I was clearing out my exercise space and getting my water ready, my plan to exercise got foiled by tornado sirens. So, here I sit, writing, cramped in our basement bathroom with my formerly sleeping 3 year old, 4.5 year old and husband. 
There will be no exercising tonight, why not you ask? Well, the warning will not end until about 9 and I can’t exercise that late….I’ll never get to sleep if I exercise that late. But fear not I got some extra walking in today, out in the heat, when we went to the farmers market and that should count for at least something.
So far, I’m happy with the method I’ve chosen for losing those extra pounds by eating healthier instead of the typical diet where you cut calories dramatically, by cutting out many/most foods. I did have to count points, track calories or anything.
This morning we went to the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market where we picked up some Japanese Cucumbers, Green Beans, Grapes, Mangos and my big deal of the day Blueberries and Strawberries for $1 a container! I even picked up some mini doughnuts to share…I had two (2) and didn’t feel guilty at all, because in the past, I would have downed a dozen myself.
Then we brought the kids home, had lunch and put them to nap and I went and finished the rest of my shopping. I had pre-planned the meals for next week, so I was able to get it done pretty quickly. Between the two stores I went to I was able to pick up some pretty healthy snacks to round out my/our days, like yogurt, watermelon and pineapple. I have to say, I am feeling pretty good about eating for the next week. Short of the day I’ll be going to my favorite local Mexican Restaurant for a friend’s birthday.
Tonight at dinner I made my portions smaller by using the salad plate, instead of the dinner plate. I also had a salad on the side. Surprisingly I didn’t eat till I was stuffed, like normal. If I get the munchies tonight, I’m prepared with some healthy things to snack on.
I had planned on doing additional research regarding food and nutrition tonight and post a couple tips, but….the storm took our internet. I’ll be posting this as soon as we get internet tonight or early tomorrow morning. So I’ll reserve the tips for the next article.
Well, it’s said it takes 21 days to form a habit and I need to form some! I’m challenging myself for the next 21 days to eat healthier and exercise regularly. I have 10 lbs I want to ditch (I know I probably won’t loose all 10 in 21 days, but I’ll get a good start) and now is the time! As a bonus I will be creating my blogging habit because I’m going to report to you, my readers, daily!
I’m doing it on my own. No meal plans, no weight management centers. Why, well two reasons actually.
- I’m tired of giving my money to others – many programs that have weight management follow up are very costly. I’d rather teach myself how to eat nutritiously and not rely on others
- The last diet plan I went on worked, but restricted how much I could eat I wasn’t getting many of the nutrients my body needed and I believe that was one of the key things that led to my bout of depression
I also want to extend the challenge to anyone who wants to join me! I’ll be researching nutritional eating habits and sharing what I find. As well as researching other healthy habits. My main source of exercise will be my elliptical machine with my Jillian Michaels Ifit card, but I’ll be tossing in my aerobic stepper and maybe the WII at times.
The first thing I learned is that there are 3-4 main body type. I am going to post the 4 types, because the descriptions are easier to get an idea what type you are.
- Ovary body type- Yes ladies this is specifically for us. It deals with the hormones associated with ovaries and how it can affect weight gain if they are not working properly. Key observations are enlargement of the abdominal region, hips and buttox.
- Adrenal body type- exhaustion of the adrenal glands can lead to this body type. Hormones stimulate excess fat around vital organs and cause enlarged midsection
- Thyroid body type-A thyroid that’s not working properly (hypoactive or at least sluggish) can cause fat stores evenly distributed through the body
- Liver body type- The appearance here is the pot (or beer) belly. This is caused by an accumulation of fluid rather than fat.
To see full descriptions of these body types and a visual to go with each click here.
So what’s next?
Well tomorrow or Sunday I’m going to visit our local farmers market for some fresh fruits and vegetables and begin day 1 of my exercise. I’ll share my daily progress.
Here’s where you come in: Will you be joining me in a 21 days to a healthy lifestyle? Do you have any tips you’ve picked up along the way of your “battle of the bulge?”
Tags: body types, diet, exercise, health, nutrition, weight loss
Hi all,
I must apologize for being MIA for the last 2 months. I’ve been focusing on getting organized and spending time with the family. This post will be short, but I am hoping to post more often.
So specifically what have I been up to? Learning how to coupon (I’ll post something on this shortly), reorganizing the house, getting ready for a garage sale and all sorts of fun stuff.
I wanted to share with you today a few of the things I’ve done in the past couple months to help keep my house easier to clean and organize.
First thing I organized was my kids toys. We have shelves, book cases and a toy box, but I still couldn’t keep the kids toys from being all over the place all the time. What I’ve done to alleviate this is sort through the toys and pull some out for the recent garage sale I had. Then I went out and bought plastic see-through bins and put similar toys in each. Then I added a picture label to the box so the kids could “see” what should go in there since they can’t read.
I ended up with was: a box of games, a box of toy cars, a box to put the race track in when we’re not using it, a box that all the marble track pieces in, a box for all the lincon logs and I found a cute wicker picnic basket that I put the kids coloring items in. We still also have the toy box, which all other random toys go into.
This has really helped. When we clean up, the kids know right where everything goes. The kids area still gets messy, but less messy and it’s easier and faster to clean now.
The next thing I’ve done deals with laundry. Let’s face it, laundry is never ending so why fight it? I try to dry a load and wash a load every day. It doesn’t always happen every day, but close to it. When the kids go to bed, I spray water inside the drier (I’ve already dried this stuff the previous day, but didn’t get to remove it) and “fluff those clothes. At the same time I throw a load in the washer.
When I’m done “fluffing” the dryer load, I hang up and put away the clothes. After doing that the washer is done and can move over to the drier. If there’s enough time I just keep the rotation going. If I run out of time, I pick up where I left off the day before. Just make sure not to leave anything in the washer longer than over night or it gets a funk to it and you have to re-wash it.
The last thing I’ve been doing is running the dishwasher every or every other night. With a family of 4 it’s easy to fill up the dishwasher on the weekends. On the week day’s it tends to get run every other day, since it fills slower. If it’s run, I try to clean it out while I’m making dinner, that way we can just put the dinner dishes right in the dishwasher when we’re finished and I don’t have to scrub them off later in the evening to load the dishwasher. If we fill the dishwasher after dinner, I run it right away and put them away before bed, so it’s clean for the next time I need it.
To some these may seem like common sense types of tips. But for someone like me they weren’t exactly common sense…they were tasks I didn’t like doing….but making it a habit has made it less of a chore and more of a quick job.
If you’re not already doing these things, try to do it for a month. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit, so if you work really hard at it for a month, it will become part of your routine and won’t seem like much work at all in the time to come.
Now, I still need to work on getting a routine for bathrooms and kitchen/bathroom floors so if I come up with anything I’ll share. If you have some tips, I’d love to hear them!
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. Ok, so you may say is that a good thing or a bad thing. Well, It’s been a good thing for me. I’ve struggled with the uncomfortableness of “me” for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I tried so hard to adapt to how I thought others would like me. I had a few friends growing up, but not really many. I always seemed to either get along better with those younger or older than my age. I struggled to find a group my own age that I could make a good connection with.
In high school I had a few more friends. I found a good group of friends to hang around with. But I still always had the issue with not really knowing “who” I was. I still felt like I wasn’t the true me. I’ve always struggled with how I look. Never really thought I was all that pretty, then I gained a bit of weight. It started in 9th grade, as I started maturing more, my hips expanded and I went from a size 4 to a size 9. Then after that is when I gained more. I fluctuated between size 10 and 12 most of my high school and college years. I know it’s not all that big, but you have to remember up until 9th grade I was stick thin and I couldn’t gain weight if I wanted to, so along with all my other feelings of inadequacies it didn’t help.
In the last 4 years since my oldest was born, I have had some successes loosing some weight but now I feel it was for a cost. I was following a program – to which I won’t name. The program is very successful and is a valid program, but to stick to it. I had to really watch what I was eating. I had to give up most of the things I really liked to eat and I do believe that following the “diet” perse helped contribute to my recent depression.
I lay no blame on the program. The way you watch your food intake probably doesn’t affect everyone’s nutrition intake as it did mine. I believe because I was restricting myself so much, I was depriving my body of nutrients I needed. I was not, at the time, taking any vitamins to supplement and that was something I probably should have thought about. The lack of nutrients probably lead to my hormonal imbalance which caused my depression. Now I’m on medication which has a side effect of weight gain, I’ve gained a bit, but I’ve decided I’m fine with it.
I have decided I am fine with how I look overall. I’m done killing myself to conform to how the advertisements depict the perfect woman. I’m not going to starve myself anymore….I’m happier when I’m eating the foods I like, when I’m baking (which I had pretty much given up so I wouldn’t eat it and gain weight). I’m happier when I’m not worrying about being how everyone is perceiving me. I am fine with me!
I hope everyone struggling with their looks, weight, or any aspect of who they are joins me in making the decision to be satisfied with who you are. To quote an old Saturday Night Live skit-Repeat after me- “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and doggon it, people like me.”
Tags: depression, finding yourself, nutrition
Working hard to improve traffic!
I’m very new at this blogging thing. I have enjoyed my experience so far, but am hoping to improve the site and gain more traffic. I’m open to comments or suggestions. If there’s a topic as a parent you would like to hear about, please let me know and I’ll do my best to research and find out about your topic of preference.
Tags: blogging, child, comment, Family Fun, increase traffic, parent