Friday, September 25, 2009

My Baby Steps to Fitness or A Very Long Post

I wanted to post some things that have worked for me for weight loss. Plus, I should share my current weight. Public humiliation is a great way to boost motivation.

Starting Weight: 180 lbs
Current Weight: 162.2 lbs

That is right, ladies (I don't think any gentlemen read this.... very few ladies do at that), I have lost almost 18 lbs! My starting weight for the Biggest Loser Extravaganza was 166. It’s a little sad I can't count the first 14 pounds lost, but, well, I don't care that much. I am just glad I lost them. Let's hope they can't find their way back home. If you see them, and they beg for your help, please, give them false directions.

My goal weight is 130 lbs. I am 5'6'' so I think that is a healthy weight to shoot for. My friend Danielle keeps expressing concern about my goal weight. Just this morning she said, "I think I like you with a little meat on your bones." I retorted smartly, "No, you will like me without the weight too, because we are friends." She laughed and said that was true.

My custom, self-created guidelines are as follows:
-Water, water, and more water. Take your water bottle everywhere. I am really starting to prefer water, but I don’t deny myself if I want a soda, just have a small glass. I like Crystal Light, but I try to shy away from artificial sweeteners, because of the negative possibilities. Artificial sweeteners may actually cause the body to not metabolize foods correctly. Scary. Plus, some artificial coloring as associated with issues like ADHD. Something we have enough of in our house. I digress…

-Smaller Portions. Serve yourself half of your “normal” portion. This is great for me because I am a huge over eater. So my half portions are probably barely smaller than regular servings. Have snacks (yes, they should be healthy) between meals to curb hunger. When I first started the smaller portions I was so hungry, but after about a week I was fine.

-Eat when you are hungry. Once you adjust to the half portions then you will learn to listen to your body and the cues it gives for real hunger and how it feels to be satisfied and not over full. Drink a glass of water before diving into a big meal… I heard that sometimes your body will signal hunger when it may just need hydration… anyone heard otherwise?

-Exercise daily. Start small... take the stairs. I usually skip Sundays or sometimes, just go on a family walk. Get creative. Get out of the mind set that only going to the gym counts as exercise. Go for a walk. If the kids are playing in the yard do jumping jacks. If they are watching TV do crunches on a ball. My 2 year-old loves to jump around while I do jumping jacks and my 4 year-old gets to practice counting skills by counting them. Sometimes the kids and I race to the fence and back or we play chasing games. If you can change your lifestyle to being more active continuously throughout the day, rather than the once a day allotted time, it helps.

-Buy healthy snacks. If the junk food is around you are going to eat it. Some of my favorites. Apples and peanut butter, string cheese, almonds, yogurt, pretzels, etc.

-No Deprivation. If you need some chocolate, eat some. Just try to limit the portion. I grab a few chocolate chips. Try to satisfied with fewer and fewer. This helps me control the binging, and I am really starting to be satisfied with the small portion. It is strange. I also switched to buying my favorite chips (Ruffles Sour Cream and Cheddar) in the 99 cent bag. I had to do this, because I would eat the big bag in a day. Sad, but true. I have no control when it comes to chips. Oh, Doritos. Why do I love the cheesy kind best? Anyway, the point. Control is slowly building because I don’t deprive myself of anything. This way I am gaining better eating habits through baby steps. “It really works.”

-Acknowledge positive and be grateful. I have a friend that looks in the mirror daily and tells herself 10 positive things about her body. She does this in the buff…. It sounds like it would make you like your body less, but actually the few times I have done it I have walked away feeling better about my body and being grateful for it. So, find the positive about your body and recognize them. Start small. For example: “I have nice eyes.” (Heaven forbid I get rid of those…. “Jo, how could you, your one beauty!”) “I might be slow, but I have great endurance in my workouts.” “I have all my limbs.” “I have a full head of hair” “I might be struggling with adult acne, but at least my skin is mostly clear…..” and so on.

-Get adequate sleep. I am still working on this one.... I have trouble being motivated to sleep when the kids are asleep and I have a quiet house. Relax. Meditate. Turn off the radio once in a while. Clear your head.

If all else fails look at President Hinckley’s Be’s from a health perspective.

Be Clean. Be Still. Be True. Be Grateful. Be Motivated. Be Humble. Be Smart. Be Positive. Be Prayerful.


I feel like I am forgetting something.

Now, go and make your own list. What do you do? Any tricks you want to share?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Wisdom of Dickens

"There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate." — Charles Dickens
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"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." — Mark Twain

"Music melts all the separate parts of our bodies together." — Anais Nin

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." — Dr. Seuss

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." — Albert Einstein

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." — Mahatma Gandhi



Saturday, September 19, 2009

P90X-tra hard

Yesterday on Facebook I made a comment about wanting P90X the "extreme" home workout system DVD set. I have wanted to try it out before I save up to buy it.

I found a neighbor with the DVDs and convinced her to let me borrow them. (-Could I try them out? -Sure.) I woke up a little early today and made my first attempt. The manual isn't kidding when it says that this system is only for people in good shape looking for more. I had to modify often, and I only had time to do the first half. Boy, am I sore. It was a great work out, even for just the half hour I had to devote to it. At least the DVDs only target one area at a time, so only part of me is tired and sore (my legs- specifically all the thigh muscles.) I am excited to try more of the 13 discs. I think even if I just did a low modification of the hour long work outs eventually I would work up to be able to work up to full impact. It was a little sad, because I have been working out so much this summer, I guess I haven't been doing all over workouts, just running/jogging, cycling, etc.

About our Biggest Loser adventure. The weigh in went fine, but I was missing a few lbs. Which is bittersweet news. I am glad to have discarded a few more pounds, but I had been pigging out for the two days prior to the weigh in and I weighed less than expected. Don't you want to weigh the most for the first weigh in? What is your opinion?

For our competition, there aren't really any rules. We weigh in every 2 weeks, Thursday nights. Take turns bringing healthy snacks and recipes. Final weigh in is Dec 17. Winner gets $100, 2nd $25, 3rd @15. So I will just continue to follow my made up guidelines/rules. I will post them next. I also should be posting something about how many days I can go without indulging in chips... they are the devil's snare. Goodbye, Ruffles Sour Cream and Cheddar or Doritos. I will only be seeing you once in a while or at parties. I have a 99 cent bag in my night stand. Let's see how long they survive. I want to go eat them right now, but, no, I will stare my temptation in the face and eat some raw carrots, because everyone knows if those carrots were cooked there is no way I would be eating them.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Biggest Loser?

Hopefully, I will be. Tonight I am supposed to go to a weigh-in. I haven't been to any kind of weigh-in before. A few days ago Sara sent a text invite to their upcoming Biggest Loser competition. Naturally I said, "I'm In!" and so "the pressure's on!" (If you can name the movie I will buy you a soda... I mean a bottle of water.) I need the incentive to really drop the rest of my weight. I am excited, and hopefully I can lose all the wieght I want. The great thing about this, is that even if I don't win the money, I am the winner because I get to be skinny me again!


We are meeting to start our own "biggest loser". I have never actually seen a full episode of the real show. I hate the unecessary "suspense" just say... "you lost 2 lbs." Do they really need to sit there while the scale pretends to take forever? Anyway, I am not a huge fan of most of the reality shows, but I can handle some once in a while.

I have about 30-40 pounds I want to need to lose. The bummer to all this... I can't count the 12 lbs I lost recently. I will tell you more about all this after I know more about it. . . .Plus, I will have posts about how I have lost the weight or changes I make to my existing guidelines.

Swashbucklers



I saw this commercial a while back and I love it. I saw it again because a friend had an 80's mormon commercial on her blog. Watch it below. Funny.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Light up a room with Sharpie

Check out this amazing lamp shade. Design done using a Sharpie! What a great idea if you are an artist, which I am not. Maybe Daniel or Jeanette could whip up something this spectacular.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The power of asking.


I once attended a workshop about finances and lessons taught by really rich guys... one of the keys the speaker taught. Asking, "Is that the best you can do?" I haven't been brave enough to use it much and I didn't use that wording today, but I did ask for a better price.

I just bartered with a website to get a better price. Well, sort of. I bartered with the chat guy. I have been needing to replace the silverware basket and rinse agent cap for our dishwasher. Somehow the basket was broken… well, I know how it happened but that is another story, involving someone (not me) getting angry at it. The cap was loosened by little hands and came out during a wash cycle. It unfortunately met it’s match- the heating coil thing at the bottom. It was smelly and melted when I found it.

I found the items I wanted and then found similar items that had lower prices online. I clicked the chat button and asked if he would match the lower prices. It must be my lucky day. I saved over $6. Not much, I guess, but $6 I can spend on something else!

Any of you have successful bargaining skills? Please share!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Service


Today my sweet neighbor stopped by unexpectedly with an offering of zucchini bread. She is one of the nicest women. She is upbeat and fun. Happy most of the time. She was fun and smiling all through church. She bore her testimony today about the atonement and it's ability to heal us and lead us to happiness. She is such a positive women and I am so blessed that I know her. She also recently found out she has to go in for surgery again, because her cancer is back. (And this fact was broadcast over the pulpit, and she still reacted positively.) As she handed over the treat I just kept thinking, "no, I can't accept this, I am supposed to be doing something nice for you." I actually was having that internal conversation you have with yourself about "don't you dare cry..." "oh, but I can feel the pressure behind my eyes.." "well, ignore it. You will not cry. Then you will be all embarrassed and splotchy." .... etc...
It is sometimes hard to accept things from others, but I guess that means it is my turn to pay it forward.

What a great example for me to follow. No matter what is ailing you, get out and share something with others.

Have any of you received gifts you felt like you didn't deserve?

Friday, September 4, 2009

Are you missing something?

Do you sometimes feel an emptiness inside that seems impossible to fill? Do you feel like there is something missing in your life? Do you find yourself in need of a snuggle? If you or someone you know are having these feelings please click here.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

I...

- Did all the laundry. I even folded it and put it away. A miracle.
- Steam cleaned the TV room carpet and stairs.... ugh. Take forever! My carpet gets dirty and stained so fast. It looks good today. I can't promise anything about tomorrow.
- Mowed the lawn. I actually did both the front and the back. I even trimmed the lawn first.
- Went to the Temple with Jeanette.... Thanks Jeanette!
- Made PB cookies for the first time. Corban helped. He loves using the mixer.
- Am excited to read Catching Fire... Sequel to The Hunger Games.
- Went jogging last night. Need to go more often. Have to stop and walk too much.

-& I love my family!!!