Day 2 and 3

Day 2, I lovingly dubbed "CHEAT DAY!!!"...I started attending a Bible study at First United Methodist Church in Washington for Young Moms.  It started last week but I had just found out about it that day so I wasn't able to attend so I got Little Man and I ready (with the help of daddy) and hit the road.  It started at 9:30 and ended at around 11:30.  The group is going through Colossians and it is intense.  Kinda makes me feel like I'm in college all over again!  But I'm hoping to make some new friends and learn more about Paul's letter to the church at Colosse.  Little Man did wonderful in the nursery and I overall had a good time.  There are several groups that meet and then everyone comes together for a little bit of food and fellowship and a devotion.  The leader of the devotion talked about putting God first in our lives and how Paul talks about in Colossians chapter 1 how God is the head of everything and every battle that we may face, there is no need to worry about because Jesus has already gone before us to fight that battle.  I kind of got my toes stepped on a bit with the whole worry thing and also how I prioritize my life.  I spend incredibly too much time watching TV and on the computer that I don't put God where he rightly deserves to be in my life.  Hmm, just some food for thought.  

So, I didn't do bad at all during the fellowship time.  I had a few strawberries, chunks of pineapple, and a few slices of apples and water to drink.  Hubby and I were doing really well about making a habit of eating together on Wednesdays since I had to come over that way anyway for church and praise team practice but the last month or so we haven't been doing very well, so since I was already in the area because of the Bible study, we decided to do lunch.  He let me pick and we went to The Plantation House in Washington and I had the BBQ Plantation burger...holy cow it was good....hamburger with bbq sauce and grilled onions and mushrooms....YUM-O!  And I had unsweet tea with sweet-n-low and a few sweet potato fries.  Bad, bad, bad....but then supper time came and I have an extremely hard time eating healthy at church, mainly because when a group cooks you have to eat that particular food.  I guess I could start eating before I come or making my meal ahead of time and bringing it with me.  They had fried chicken, cole slaw, and potato salad and then I had a piece of german chocolate cake.....OH MY GOODNESS!!!  Soooo bad!!!  And, to top it all off......I DIDN'T WORK OUT!!!!!!!!!  So not only was yesterday my cheat day, it was my rest day too! Grrrr.....

But, day 3 (Today!) I am back at it!   I had my coffee this morning and made bacon and eggs (no toast) and I just got done working out.  I did 3 rounds for time of: walk/run 1/4 mile and 50 air squats.  I am proud to say that I ran more than I walked but I feel soooo incredibly fat when I run on a treadmill...well run in general.  First of all, I am NOT a runner by any means and all this extra weight just kinda flaps in the wind....ick.  But I completed the workout in 21:50 and thought I might pass out or throw up.......and it was glorious!!!

Happy Thursday y'all!

-Suzanne-

Day 1

While I have been eating pretty decent the last week and a half, I haven't been exercising.  Quite frankly, coming off of this ankle injury, I have been scared to do much of anything for fear of hurting myself even more.  But I sucked it up and dealt with it.  I started doing CrossFit in 2009 (I think) and was gung-ho for it, but looking through my plethora of CrossFit workouts that I've done in the past, I was afraid to go all in.  So, I looked up some CrossFit at home workouts and found this blog:

http://cleaneatsinthezoo.com/index/30-day-at-home-crossfit-challenge-workouts/

He has a 30 day at home crossfit challenge going on with pretty much bodyweight exercises and if you can't or don't run outside, you can do the running on a treadmill or bike or swim (whichever you prefer). So I did day 1 today: 5 rounds for time of: 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 air squats and then I added in 10 10lb kettlebell swings.  I feel great but also feel like a fatty because I know I'm nowhere near where I was!  But, as long as I keep on keepin' on, I will do this and I will get back to where I was and hopefully surpass where I was.

So, I opened my Pandora "Hard Rock Strength Training" radio station and went to it. I completed these exercises in just under 10 minutes.  9:58 to be exact.  Not where I wanted to be, but I know I'll get there.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Sometimes I wish I was one of those people that could just change the way I eat and lose weight.  Although this works for me for a time, I just become "skinny fat" (look it up on Urban Dictionary--lol) and that is not what I want.  Like I stated in a post before, I want to be one of those women that people look at and say, "She had a baby?!" And right now, I know I am NOWHERE near there!

So, I am hoping I can stick with this for the next 30 days and then move onto the level 2 that Clean Eats in the Zoo has or go back to the workouts that I have in my notebooks!

As I stated above, I've been doing really well with eating.  Saturday night I broke out my Everyday Paleo Cookbook by Sarah Fragoso:

I made her "Spicy Speedy Stuffed Peppers" also found at http://everydaypaleo.com/?s=stuffed+peppers and they were delish!  Last night, I made her Hasta La Vista Pasta Lasagna where the "lasagna" is thinly sliced zucchini.  I loved the meat mixture, but wasn't too keen on the zucchini--it was bitter!  Bleck!  But, I'll still eat the leftovers!

Anyway, hope everyone has a happy Tuesday!

-Suzanne-

I'm actually doing it!!

So, for the past 3 days, I have actually stuck to my diet and I feel INCREDIBLE!  I am pretty much doing paleo, but not completely hardcore and still doing SOME dairy.  Two and a half weeks ago, while I was in Virginia Beach for my uncle's funeral, I sprained my ankle as we were leaving on Sunday.  I was only on crutches for a day (hey, mama's can't let a sprained ankle get in the way of taking care of their baby!).  It is finally getting better and I am getting a lot more movement out of it but still not sure that I want to take on CrossFit quite yet (what can I say, I'm scared!!!) I have to ease my way back into it.  Anyway, not a ton to update on.  I had lost like 8 pounds, but the week that I sprained my ankle was heck for me in the eating department because we were doing quick, freezer meals so hubby was able to come home and just throw it in the oven.  So, I've gained it all back.  But I will do this....slow and steady wins the race.  My parents have planned their next trip for the end of October so I'm trying really hard to stick to it so I can lose some weight for that and then also, we are trying to go to Kansas for Christmas and I don't want to look like a fatty.  Ultimately, I want people to look at me and say "She had a baby?!"  Haha, wishful thinking right?  Hubby and I have also made a conscious effort to start getting up earlier in the mornings, spending time in the word, and I am hopefully going to start using that as my workout time.  Anyway, love to you and yours!

Suzanne

Weekends

So, it's been a few days since I've blogged. My lovely 4 month old takes a lot of time away from me to be able to write everyday, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!  Love that little stinker!

So, weekends are awful for me food wise.  It seems like everything I've worked on during the week is completely null and void once Friday or Saturday rolls around and I throw all of the good food choices out the window!  I don't know why I do this to myself.  I haven't done terrible this week but made a whole day's worth of bad choices but got back on track the next day thanks to my wonderful, supportive hubby.  

I've finally decided that until baby boy gets older and can entertain himself for longer periods of time I am going to save myself my sanity and just focus on my eating, rather than trying to get a workout in too.  Because waking up early to get it all in before booger butt wakes up, isn't working out well at all.  I need to go to bed earlier to make that work, but that would mean that booger bear would need to be able to let me get stuff done during the day, and that hasn't happened.  And probably won't for quite some time...at least a month down the road.  So, I spend all my time attempting to get the things done during the day that I couldn't when daddy gets home and can take the little stinker so mommy can actually do some housework.

I wish there was some class that taught you how to juggle life with an infant and housework and being a wife and a good mother and being able to eat right and exercise more and still have your sanity at the end of the day...hmmm....anyone....Buelher.....anyone??

So today's lunch consisted of fried bologna and cheese with a slice of tomato, a smidge of mayo, on no bread, and sliced cucumbers and baby carrots.  It was delish!  And here's a picture!

I had told y'all in an earlier post all of the books that I was reading. I've really dove head first into A Course in Weight Loss and am loving it so far.  I've only done two chapters, but am really getting a lot out of it.  The first chapter was about tearing down the wall.  I love the imagery in the book. You walk up to a brick wall and there are words written on each brick, such as, shame, anger, fear unforgiveness, judgement, etc. Marianne Williamson, the author, then has you go through each word and write how it makes you feel and what each word represents: a thought, and emotional reality, or a character defect that pertains to you.  Then you take each word and allow yourself to identify the situations or circumstances that connects you to that word.  "Your fear has built the wall, and love will tear it down."  Then in the second chapter, "Thin You, Meet Not-Thin You" it is all about loving yourself, whether you're thin or pleasantly plump (I don't like the word fat).  And at the end of that chapter you write Thin You a letter from Not-Thin You, and then Not-Thin you respond to Thin You.  It is a pretty neat exercise....very cleansing if I do say so myself.  Anyway, there's my little book review thus far.  In a nutshell, the book is about getting your mind right when it comes to weight and once your mind is right and you turn that fear (generally why we overeat, etc.) into love, the pounds will start melting away!  We'll see if it works!

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Suzanne

Time flies and things change

On this day, 3 years ago, I put my foot down and made the decision to better myself. Overall I lost 50 pounds and felt fabulous but wanted to lose more. Then a few weeks later I quit my job, cold turkey, because I was completely miserable.  I was unemployed for 2 months and during that time, I started to get lazy and the yo-yoing continued. 

In October of 2009, I started working at a doctor's office where 4 days a week, lunch was catered by drug reps and our patients showed their love for us by baking cakes, pies, etc and if you know me, I find it extremely difficult to say no to sweets. (I wish I didn't have this problem).  

My weight was up and down and then in July of 2011 I got pregnant.  Thankfully I only gained about 20 lbs during the pregnancy, but unfortunately it is because I was sick the whole time.  I gave birth on April 10, 2012 to a 5 lb 15 oz handsome baby boy, but he came by an emergency cesarean section.  I lost most of my pregnancy weight within the first couple of weeks, but then pretty much gained everything back.

I was only a pound or two from my highest weight.  Now 4 months later, I am only 5 pounds below my highest weight, but I never ever want to see that number again!  I CAN do this and I WILL do this!

Here is to a new, healthier lifestyle change (I hate the word diet!)!!

-Suzanne-

Is it illegal to post twice in one day?

Sorry I am posting again but I have all of this stuff in my mind that I want to share!!

I am in the middle of reading several books (yes at the same time!!) and wanted to share those with you in case you can glean some insight from them as well!

The first book that I am reading is:

The Paleo Answer: 7 Days to Lose Weight, Feel Great, Stay Young by Loren Cordain

This book really digs deep into why you should eat paleo and breaks down a lot of the common questions people ask about why they can't eat certain things and gives Loren Cordain's take on it and the scientific reasoning behind it.

He also has another book that is more of an introduction into what paleo is called The Paleo Diet.

Next I am really wanting to get into running and have tried the Couch to 5K running program but always find myself soooooo incredibly sore after the first day that I haven't had much progress on it.  So I found a book by Jeff Galloway called Women's Complete Guide to Running:

This book is written with his wife Barbara and it goes into detail about some of the problems women face when running (hormones, taking care of the household, body issues, etc.)

I am also going to start reading 2 more books.  The first one I was introduced to by a patient at my former job that she had a lot of success with weight loss by using this book.  It is called A Course in Weight Loss by Marianne Williamson.

And finally, I started reading this book a couple of years ago with a friend to start an accountability group with and life just got in the way of reading and of the group so me and another friend are going to start reading this together (thanks Exie!).  It is called Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa Terkeurst. 

I am looking forward to finishing all of these books and hope they help me on my journey to becoming a better me!

Get me off this rollercoaster!!

I feel like I am up and down, up and down.  I want to put my foot down and lose this weight for good but I'm still holding on to something, but I don't know what it is.  I know what to do, and I know how to do it, but I'm still falling back into the trap.

I need support from others but I know I only need to do this for myself and my family, but I feel like I'm only successful when I have that support.  Will you follow me on this journey and support me in my efforts?

I want to do this.  I want to be successful.  I want to be motivating and motivated.  I want to inspire and be inspired.....but I need YOUR help!

I can't have anymore excuses.  I need to make my mind up and do it and stop the whining and complaining, because I am the only one that can change this.

For my sanity, I need to set small, realistic goals that are achievable, instead of saying I want to lose x amount of weight overall or be in a size x.

Please help me on my journey to become a better mother, wife, daughter, and sister to my family!