Pinterest

So I joined Pinterest. If you don't know what it is...it is a virtual bulletin board. People share their ideas such as decorating, recipes, style, crafts, kids activities, etc; if you like something then you can pin it to your board. I have found some great recipes there and been able to improvise them a little to keep them lower calorie. I have really enjoyed scanning the ideas and seeing other people's creativity. I'll post some recipes soon or you can just follow me there.

I leave for Boise in just a couple of days. Thankfully I have lost about half of what I had gained. I am weighing around 173 these days. Not where I want to be but maybe I can lose another pound before I leave. I just have to keep reminding myself that this journey is life long and that I just need to keep working at it. Making good decisions about what I eat, is so important to my success.

Sorry I have been out of touch lately. I have been so busy. With two trips to Idaho and CPR classes and my kids, etc..it has been crazy around here. More to come soon. :)

Edamame

My new favorite snack. Edamame. I personally like it cold but lots of people eat it hot. Either way it is good. I buy the bags of lightly salted edamame in the freezer section and just defrost. Then I mix up a little marinade and soak for a few minutes and enjoy. I personally like the pods. They take a little more work but are totally worth it.

Marinade

2 TBSP Soy sauce

2 TBSP Rice Vinegar

1 TBSP Honey

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp ginger (fresh would be best)

Joining the Gym

I think I am going to join the gym. They just built a new National Fitness Center in Maryville and I think that I would utilize it. Over the past year working out with Tammye I have gotten into the habit of working out and I enjoy it. Now that I am not working during the day I can actually have the luxury of going to the gym. So here is the scoop of why I am making this decision; and trust me it was a hard one to make.

1) When I go to the gym in the evenings, it leaves Travis with the kids at night for several hours because of the driving, workout, chatting with friends, driving. I am also away from home about one night a week for CPR class and usually one other night I have some sort of meeting, group activity or social planned. This means that 2-4 times a week I am not home at night.

2) Because I go to a private gym for my training we don't have a gym membership which means that I am the only one that gets to workout. Travis needs to workout too and would like to get back into a workout regime. I have been selfish about my goals and not concerned about his.

3) The gym that I go do does not have childcare. This makes it impossible for me to workout during the day unless I hire a babysitter which costs $25 which makes my one hour workout cost $30 instead of $5.

4) Joining the gym gives me an immediate workout partner...Travis.

5) I just cancelled my bodybugg membership and my weight watcher memberships. I know how to lose weight I just need to do it. This should allow me to be able to hopefully still workout with Tammye on Wednesdays and attend Weekend Warrior.

The bad part about all of this is that I won't be able to see Tammye as much. I have loved my time with her and she has been the best trainer that a girl could ask for. I have been working out with her for just over a year and I have gotten so much stronger! I still plan to workout with her but maybe not quite as often. I can only hope that I can put to use all of the things that she has taught me. If I could do both, I totally would. I am her #1 fan and hope that I can be a true testament of her hard work and dedication to me.

Hopefully I can even send her some new clients. I really do love my workout girls and I know that the current situation is probably absolutely the best for me but I am going to have to sacrifice my own desires for my family. Hopefully as the kids get older this might get easier.

Gluttony: One of the 7 deadly sins

I don't know what has been going on with me lately but I have seriously been gluttonous. I have totally been binging on sugar & snacks. I wake up every morning telling myself that today will be a new today....START today. I make it until like noon. Then I start hitting the snacks. The problem is that we shouldn't even have these snacks in the house but I do have them for my kids. I try to give them to them sparingly but I have to admit that I do have them. Travis is the worst. He starts seeing Halloween candy in August and starts throwing in bags of snickers to the shopping cart.

Oh, how I have sinned. In the last week I have had peanut butter crackers, mini Snickers, fruit snacks, pudding cups, cheese-its, trail mix, cookies and even a pop tart. You would think that right now I would be more motivated than ever. I am headed to Idaho in two weeks to sing at my cousins wedding. I am going to be standing in front of all those people. Have I mentioned that most of my family resemble super models? I feel like I am self sabotaging; yet I don't know why. I truly don't.

So yet another day begins and I will say this is a new day. Confession: I weighed and yesterday I saw 178, this is 10 pounds higher than my lowest weight this year. It is disgusting that I have let this happen. Maybe I can get good and shed 5 before the wedding. I must start now. I can't tell you how embarrassing it is to have a weight loss blog and be gaining weight. That is why I haven't been blogging. I know I need to go back to my accountability.

It is sad that it can take a month to get the weight off, yet it seems to come back in just days.

Dieting & Budgeting

There are lots of gimmick diets out there. Quit eating this and start eating that. Abstain for this, eat so much of that. They are not a lifestyle that you can maintain. While visiting Idaho I was having a conversation about diets and had to defend weight watchers though. I don't think it is a gimmick and this is why.

Do you balance your check book? Do you check your accounts regularly? Do you think that this is a gimmick to maintain a lifestyle of fiscal responsibility? Do you have a budget or plan for big expenses? Most people do. So what is my point?

Well, weight watchers is a lot like budgeting. It allows you to eat anything you want but to keep in check. It encourages you to write down what you eat just like most keep track of what they spend. It gives you a budget of what to eat allowing you to eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables more regularly while it discourages your from eating foods full of sugar and fats. It lets you budget more foods if they have more fiber because fiber is kind of like a coupon. It encourages you to create this way of eating as a lifestyle and it can be a lifestyle.

Nothing on weight watchers is extreme and it has been proven year after year that out of all the weight loss programs it is most effective in the long term. I agree that it has to be a lifestyle change but most of us can not make huge changes in our life with out a guide. Putting your money in envelopes for different items is kind of like putting your weight watcher points in check. The flex points and activity points are also like financial budgeting. The flex points allows you to spend food more for the special occasion. It is the rainy day fund so that you are prepared. Activity points are like a savings account. It is a way for you to make points and save them for later.

I agree that a lifestyle change is essential but just like having a plan or a budget to live with in your means I think that weight watchers is the best plan out there to help you budget your foods and teach you to live with in your food needs.

A great trip

We had a really great trip to Idaho. We celebrated my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary, we got family pictures taken, floated the dry bed, explored grand teton national park, went swimming/watersliding at the Jackson Hole Rec Center, Hiked in Yellowstone, etc...

I did do some exercise. Here is the real exercise that I did..and it's not much.
1) 3 mile bike ride
2) 1 hour zumba
3) Short strenous hike (328 stairs)
4) Swam 150 meters fast

Other than that it was just lots of walking, bowling, party set-up and daily activities. I had planned to do more but the time just got away from us.

I definitely did not drink enough water on this trip. Mostly because I love ice cold water and I had no access to ice for 90% of trip. We ate out a few too many times. Rigby, Idaho is famous for a little pizza pocket called the "Bambino", needless to say we had them a couple times. There were lots of yummy baked goods too.

I SCREWED UP! I didn't mean to but I have came home heavy. Back on the bandwagon I must go! I saw this picture and it made me gag. My cousin in law recently blogged about a new term "Bleg". It is when you but runs into your leg and has no definition. Think cankle but for your butt/thigh area. I have some serious bleg going on! Must get control.

1 step forward, 2 steps back

Sadly I am here to report that I have gained a lot of weight! This evening I weighed 175. I feel like this entire year has been me taking one step forward and two steps back. Why can't I seem to keep going forward. The food portion of this is killing me. I love yummy food and I am totally addicted to carbs. I just can't seem to kick it. I think I have lost my way though. I have not been telling myself that "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".

I did some self awareness during our trip and what I have discovered is that I have a lot of stress about my self worth, value and....I am not sure why. I think it is in my subconscious but it is there. I spend a lot of time focusing on how I look and how I look makes me feel a certain way. I am trying to take some steps to help correct this behavior.

One thing I am doing is similar to self hypnosis. I know it sounds crazy but really what it is...is stating your goals and stating how you feel and how you want to feel and listening to it every day. People that write their goals, say their goals, etc..meet their goals. I am going to try and rally Travis too. I need his help and support.