Category Archives: weight loss

Quickly…TGIF!!!

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I’m on a roll this week…three posts, WOO HOO!!  Look out, imagine what can will happen when I get my laptop back!!  Or not..I take it as it comes, though I am really working on something for Valentine’s Day, just need to get it from my head to paper/computer and that, my friends, is often a LONG, LONG process!  Let’s wind this week up with the Quick Takes, usually @ Conversion Diary, but since Jen is busy finishing her book…..we’ll move it on over to Betty Beguiles

  1. Week 6 of my making strides towards my healthier goals.  This week came with lots of challenges to the exercise area and my lunch exercise routine wasn’t going to happen this week. at.  all.  Therefore, I did what I had to do.  I hit the gym at o’dark hundred (AKA 515 a.m. ISH) to get my strength work in.  And walks after work this week (2 so far) in addition to my gym time.  Next week will be back on track, but I am patting myself on the back for recognizing what was coming down the line for the week and planning for it. Like to see more of that, I would!
  2. Still no laptop.  You can go back the last couple posts and review whazzup with that, I’d prefer to just move on.  And there are STILL no pics, so carry on with your imagination and all.
  3. Today my phone fell out of my pocket while having lunch with our birthday girl.  Front screen, meet cement.   Screen is now spidery all the way down.  Taped together to keep the glass from slicing my face.  The phone works.  Phew.  That’s the good news.  Now to find a reasonable repair…which I believe my son has a friend who does that. or some guy in some kiosk in the mall.  Whatev.  I’m still pretty growly about it.  GRRRR!!
  4. Our youngest son had his official football weigh-in last night.  The night before our big girl’s 10th birthday!  Talk about a team effort with Hubby.  He and birthday girl had their “date night” and littlest girl and I made the birthday cake and took a walk together.  When they came home we made and ate dinner (minus the boys) and then I picked up Mr. Football from practice (with dinner in hand) and lugged him across town for an 8:30 p.m. weigh in.   Meanwhile, Hubby helped the girls make the school birthday snack and made sure Oldest son ate and everyone showered up.  Somehow at 9:30 we were ALL in bed.  WowZA !!  what a difference having Hubby home!
  5. Tonight we celebrated big girl’s birthday dinner with her choice of dinner:  chicken soft tacos and an appetizer of wings.  BOKKK!!  Followed by our homemade ice cream birthday cake.  See what watching too much Cake Boss will do?  Although, I am NOT ready for fondant yet…but ONE day…maybe just maybe and then look out, Buddy!
  6. Strep throat has been running through the house this week.  1 confirmed.  1 probable.  1 questionable.  1 still clean.  Have I mentioned how awesome Publix is with their FREE antibiotics?  Shout out.  Unpaid.  Grateful!  If I knew how to tweet there would be some ##hash mark thingies in there somewhere.
  7. The big birthday party this weekend is a Mystery party.  So fun.  My friend Lea gave me this idea last year and it was such a hit we hit up Dramatic Fanatic again for a new mystery.  It’s so fun.  We are kicking the boys out.  They  need hair cuts anyway.   Maybe they can go kayaking if it’s not too cold out.  Serving snack-ish foods and cake.  or cupcakes.  still to be determined.  Martha Stewart I am not.  And yet somehow my kids still end up having a good time.  Strange.  And there usually isn’t too much fussing about the lack of goodie bags. <gasp> what?  yes.  I.  HATE.  goodie.  bags.  Said it.  Out loud.  And I tell the kids, “thanks for coming, we don’t do goodie bags”.  Now, I usually DO have a great lollipop or some fun little something they may have made, but that’s it.  Who came up with that concept anyway???  I’d like a word.  Or the ability to pop ’em in the head.  JK,  that’s  not very nice.  maybe just a little pop?

Alrighty then.  That’s our week in a Quick Take.  All out-of-order, but that’s kind of how I roll.  Have a blessed weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!   (for the next few weeks @ Hallie Lord’s blog!)

Week 6! It’s here, it’s here!!

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“Six weeks is a critical time to acclimate to any new exercise regimen so that you can set long-term fitness goals,” says exercise physiologist Dr. Robert Lampman, Ph.D.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/134939-6-week-work-out-plans/#ixzz1lmtIUjcf

My girlfriends and I have been keeping it fo’ realz ya’ll with our workouts and food choices (at work, anyway) and we have been looking forward to this:  WEEK 6.  Something about, HOLY COW!  Are you serious??? We’ve been doing this regularly for 6 WHOLE.  WEEKS?!?!  Methinks I see a  little muscle in my arm.  Oh, snap.  Lookout, Mama’s got guns.  Sorta.  C’mon, use your imagination here, K?

And this week, is a crazy week.  My normal lunch time workouts are challenged with our oldest daughter’s birthday at the end of this week and my mom in town at the beginning.  Life is getting in the way.  Move over bacon, here comes Sizzlean…I have a Plan!  That plan is:  I’ve had to resort to the dreaded 5 a.m. workouts.  Ugh.  Ugh.  Ugh.  Once I’m there it’s “fine”, but crawling out of my cozy bed?  Not so “fine”.  However, as I type, I’m all  jacked up on the adrenaline rush, so YAY 5 a.m.!!  Plus, what with all the “New Year’s Resolution” people—ahem, me, too….the crowds are huge in the afternoon.  Probably because they are all still sleeping at 5 a.m.  Either way…2 days down, 2 to go. And I’m getting my walks in also.  ShaZAM!!  (good thing since the Girl Scout cookies came yesterday…hey,  you’ve got to live right?)

Progress on other goals:

Finances:  going well.  ish.  on task, anyway.  baby steps, baby steps, baby steps.  The silver lining is it won’t always be this way and every step forward is just that…FORWARD!  Onward, ho!!

Quiet time.  If you read yesterday’s blog post you will see my laptop is currently out of commission, so my Quiet time has seriously improved this past week, although steady climb in the right direction over the past 6 weeks.  Yay, God! 

Time to wake the house and get this party started.  Blessings to you all for a “forward motion”  kind of day!

**Still no pictures due to laptop down and stubborn will joining forces..carry on with your imagination, but seriously, you wouldn’t want a picture of my 5 a.m. bedhead anyway.

On goals and progress..

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Week three is generally a pretty good waning time.  The thrill of new “goals” has subsided, the work portion is showing its necessity and the motivation is taking a vacation as the mind processes what in the world is involved in attaining goals.

True.  True.  True.  Sort of.  Though my “get healthier” goals are not showing progress as I would like–since I DO love instant gratification–I am finding my new groove and routine in regular gym attendance and walking.  And it feels GOOD!  I am sore.  Right where I should be.  And I am making better choices during the day as to what goes in my mouth and this week I started tracking to see where I can make improvements.  (yes, the brownies I made last night are one of those….but it’s all about moderation and living life, right?).  Today, again, I will pack my lunch and snacks for the day, my gym bag for lunch and my notebook for tracking.  (Sparkpeople is a good motivator, however, it requires online time and when I get home I just prefer to hang with my family, so time will tell where that goes….).  One day at a time.

Quiet time.  Today I added in some reading after my daily Readings.  5 Conversations you must have with your daughter by Vicki Courtney.  The first chapter is on body issues and how society has completely changed how women/girls have gone from worrying about virtue and inner beauty to vanity and Photoshop perfection.  Oh how timely a chapter.  Followed by todays Old Testament reading from 1 Samuel on David’s battle with Goliath.    Oh how timely a chapter.  I am beginning to see a pattern here.  There is nothing too big for God.  Personal body issues.  Societal expectations.  Food for thought.  I think I’ll be chewing on that all day.

Finally, finances.  Plugging along.  Cash is king.  blah, blah, blah.  With the exception of a major car repair last week, we are doing well.  Again with the baby steps.  Rome wasn’t built-in a day and with a goal in sight, we will get there.  It’s a marathon not a sprint.

Carry on, people.  Keep your eye on the prize!

GOALS: Week Two and counting

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Second week of January.  Typically “resolutions” wax and wane about 3-4 wks in and by mid-February the gym is back to its regular clientele.  Since adopting the “GOAL” method rather than resolutions, my mental outlook is far less stressed and overwhelmed.  I don’t feel the need to do it all at once, but rather slowly and methodically approach my goals in a fashion that I can reasonably and realistically weave into my life routine.

And thus far, here’s the update:

  • Finances.  Moving along nicely.  Paid bills the other day without all the general anxiety that accompanies that task.  Hubby and I are going to look into Yodlee or Mint to have everything in one place and have a snapshot “real-time” look-at-a-glance rather than update the Excel sheet monthly.
  • Quiet time in prayer.  Continuing with my Daily Readings, however, that’s a several-years-old habit; more attention to working toward picking which spiritual book I’d like to work on in addition to my Reading time in the morning.  This week I have an interview with Pat Gohn on Among Women and have some retrospective digging to do prior to the interview; THAT will be some intense mediation time!!   So this week is covered.  Moving on.  One day at a time.
  • Healthy eating/exercise.  I’ve hit the gym twice this week.  Hard.  So sore.  Walked twice.  Pilates video for an hour with sore core following.  Incorporating oatmeal and fruit (working on protein) for breakfast, and additional fruit/vegs during the day.  (Taking this Clean Eating slowly…)  Not rocket science and I’m not dropping lbs like crazy, however, these are good solid habits that I can live with and that’s really the important thing.  If I can see some progress over the next few weeks and definitely by my annual check-up in February that will be motivating.  Baby steps.  One day at a time.

Last night we went to 6 p.m. Mass followed by a concert by Steve Angrisano with the kids.  What a tremendous family time.  Even our “very-14”, 14 year old was enjoying himself within 15 minutes much to his surprise.  (The only downside was, in hindsight, perhaps we should have either left the girls home or saved Mass for this morning…they were absolutely melting down by the end…WAY too tired.  Wish I could say I was gracious about it, but not so much……) Either way.  Great show and bed time was a breeze!

Off to take the girls to church and their Faith Formation class and I’ll be walking, catching up on podcasts, and praying.

***images from the web

December goal: SANITY!

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We’re a little over the half-way mark for the month, finishing up an amazing year of “FIRSTS” and looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for us.  With my recent blog posts of December mayhem and “busy-ness” it’s been a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other kind of month, and I’m not alone.

commiserating with friends the other day on the runaway-train called “December” we decided as a group to come up with a plan of action to get us through the last few weeks with some semblance of sanity intact.  Collectively, we realized that NONE of us were really getting any good exercise, a.k.a. endorphin release, in and THAT was a HUGE problem.  Agreeing that a realistic goal of a MINIMUM of three days a week for the remainder of the month for some type of exercise in our schedules, we now have one whole week under our belt.

For myself, it’s been a great stress reliever.  Last night, I realized that a walk was an absolute necessity for my sanity and general peace in the household (meaning, me not stressing on everyone in the house) and at 8:42 p.m., I laced up and hit the streets for 25 minutes.  It felt good. My head felt clearer.  My heart calmed down. My body thanked me.  I was nicer to my husband.  I was able to peacefully tuck in my children.

This morning, I accomplished the goal of DAY 3 by hitting the gym with my good friend (because you REALLY have to like someone to agree to meet them at o’dark hundred to work out), and I’m feeling good going into Friday.  Now, truth be told:

  • the kids are out of school and my mornings just got WAAAAAAAY easier for the next 19 days
  • softball and flag football are finished which means my nights just opened up
  • the majority of my Christmas shopping is done
  • Christmas cards are sent out…..with all SIX of us present and accounted for….God is so good!
  • we have only 2 functions this weekend, both fun!
SO.  As long as the Christmas treats continue to taunt my complete and total lack of self-control and things like this (show up)………
I’ll just keep on keepin’ on with our December goal and come January…..well, let’s just continue to take this one-day-at-a-time.  No need to get all crazy with resolutions, it’s WAY to early for that, but let’s just say we already have the beginning of a sanity plan with added health benefits come January….wink, wink!