I just don't get it..

Today at the gym (hooray, i was so glad to be back!) a conversation got started about the new, upcoming season of Biggest Loser. Someone metioned about the "older" people being on there..in their 60's I think. Anyway, we got to talking about ages and this one guy who is in my classes started guessing our ages. (Stupid!--Very, very stupid thing for a guy to do!)
Anyway, he started out with one of my friends, Rene, who is only a few years older than me--and he guessed her to be about 45! If I'm not mistaken, she is 34...so that is 11 years OLDER! Then he looked at me...I could see the wheels turning...so I said, "whoah---wait a minute. If you're guessing Rene is 45...then you better shoot WAYYYY low for me because you're gonna be in BIG trouble if you say something like that about my age!" So, he hesitates for a second and says, okay to be on the safe side, I guess you're about 35.
Say what?
Now listen here girls...there is nothing wrong with being (or looking) 35...but I JUST turned 30 and I was hoping to give off the impression that I'm in my late 20's maybe..but not in my mid 30's! I know I should just brush it off and let it go...but ever since I left the gym I've been analyzing myself. How I dress, how I do my hair, do I have noticable wrinkles?, etc....
Sometimes I tend to dress a little too young, I think. I mean I shop at the same stores as all my teenage neices and wear some of the exact same clothes...so surely I am not dressing "old."
Anyway, I know I'm making way too big of a deal of this...but I keep thinking about that show on TLC called "10 years younger" and I just wonder....what would they do to me to make me look 25 instead of 35???
hmmm....
I already whiten my teeth, got laser eye surgery, get highlights, work out, wear "young" clothes, listen to "hip" music....
Ohhhh....maybe it's because I drive a MINI VAN?
ha ha ha ...dang that van...if it weren't paid off I'd go trade it in for something young and sporty...but no amount of "young" is worth a big ole car payment again.
Okay...I'm off to make Frosty Cupcakes for the kids Christmas parties at school....ta ta!

I knew it!

okay Kandy, Kate....if you haven't watched BL yet...close this screen down FAST!
But for those of you who have.....I just have to say YA-HOOO!!! I am so happy that M. won and that V. didn't win ANYTHING! It couldn't have turned out better. Well, okay, I guess I would have like it EVEN better if Heba hadn't won the at-home money and either one of the Amy's would have won it..but still...I'm thrilled with the outcome! And..how exciting, the next season is already about to start! (Jan. 6) I can't wait.
I also did the elliptal for 61 minutes while watching the show but I finally decided to get off because I was SO SICK of being on that thing and I wasn't putting hardly ANY effort into it at all. Plus, I already did a 30 minutes of Shoulders & Arms this morning and 30 minutes of Legs & Back as well as the whole Ab Ripper X video this morning.
In all today, I burned 814 calories. Not too bad for not getting to go to the gym.
Also,
I checked into buying some Zumba DVD's for at home. Turns out they're pretty expensive. Even from places like Amazon.com...still going for about $30 for one dvd. That's too pricey for me. Plus, I'm not even sure I'd like it. If its all the "old" songs that I've done a hundred times...then nah--no thanks. Not for $30 anyway. Maybe for like $8.
Anyhow, for now, I guess I'll just stick with going to Zumba at the gym. I even thought about becoming an instructor. As much as I love it...and love working out...it makes sense. But, I'm not quite confident in my coordination skills to do something like that, I don't think.
Anyway, everyone on BL looked awesome. I was most shocked with how Phil looked I think. He didn't even look like the same guy. Shellay also looked AWESOME!
What a blessing that show is to so many people! Everyone of them won really...they all won the opportunity to live their lives again--for real. No amount of money can give you that!

Tonight's the NIGHT!

Biggest Loser Finale! Can't wait to see MICHELE win (fingers crossed!)
Tune in tomorrow to hear what I thought!

Success is So Sweet!

Okay, I totally wanted to blog about this yesterday and had "rehearsed" what I was going to say all day...BUT...something came up last night (The Christmas Train--details on my other blog later) and I didn't get a chance. Anyway, it was a good day for me.
I went to the gym and did an hour of interval training, an hour of Zumba and then did a mile at 7.0 on the treadmill. When I took off my heart rate monitor and checked my calories, I was at 1034!!!!!! That alone made me so excited I wanted to head right back to the gym and do it again--but no can do--I had a hair appt. in an hour. Anyway, I rushed home, started the shower and then stepped on the scale. First it said 132 and I was SO EXCITED...then I (stupidly) got back on again and it said 133. Then again...133 and everytime after that...so I'm gonna say that I am at 133 right now but I'm on the heels of 132.
Now, I know...all this number stuff is dumb and that I shouldn't pay nearly this much attention to the numbers on the scale as how my body looks and feels...ya ya ya --but I have been trying to get to 130 for like YEARS it seems (although it's really only been about 8 months) and I am finally nearing that goal...so yes, I am obsessed with the numbers right now.
Okay before I end this post, I have to do my little dish on Biggest Loser. So who do ya'll want to get in the finale--Heba or Ed? If you're like me--WHO GIVES A CRAP? I mean...really....what's the difference? They both have plenty of weight to lose still...and they both want it like HECK...(although I think Heba has less willpower than Ed) but either of them could easily win it if given the chance...so I won't be voting cuz I don't care. All I really care about is that VICKY DOES NOT WIN. Of course, I would be ecstatic if Michelle wins...she CERTAINLY deserves it the most...(imo) but I will be happy if at least Icky Vicky doesn't win. I am trying to remind myself to pray for her becuase a person like that really needs Jesus.
Okay...I gotta get up from here and get busy with my day. It's gonna be BUSY and LONG.
Love you guys!
Work your butts off this weekend okay?! :o)

134--hooray!

I oh-so-lightly stepped on the scale this afternoon. That's not my favorite time to weigh--when I'm dressed and have already eaten breakfast...but still...it's been a looooooooong time and I figured I'd better see where I stood. And to my delight---it said 134! YIPPEE! That means that I didn't gain ANY weight over Thanksgiving and have actually dropped a pound! Now if I can just scare those pesky last 4 away!

Also, about Biggest Loser last night....I am so sick of the drama it ain't even funny. Vicky...God help her. That's about all I can say. I was very disappointed with the makeovers. No one looked much better, although I did like Renee's hair a lot. That Christian guy, whoever the heck he is, would make ANYONE look fat standing next to him!
I'm anxious for next week's show...Please God let Michelle stay in the game!!

God DOES work in mysterious ways...

Well, it's Sunday morning of my big FAMILY weekend. I've been surrounded by food for about 52 hours now and I've eaten hardly anything. Why?, you ask? I've been plauged with nausea since I woke up Friday morning. While most people would consider this a negative----I am actually giggling inside thinking "so God, is THIS your way of keeping me on track with my eating?" ha ha ha Whatever, I'll take it. It's been bad enough that when I'm not cooking or cleaning something, I'm laying in bed or on the couch...but not so bad that I've been bent over the toilet puking. I have sat-out from playing a few board games because of it where I'd normally be in the center of action...but with this many people around, I don't think anyone is really missing me. Let's see...we have mom dad me matt brook grant doug pudgy chantel paul teresa jessica kyen sidney kim craig anthony danielle melissa devin rita megan moses miles stephanie cody toni michael alexis---so that's 29 people total!!! 6 short of my 35 estimation--but of course, in my family, we never know for sure who all is coming until they do or don't show up.
Anyway, I just thought while I had a second, I'd let ya'll know that so far-so good on my eating. Guess I better get up from here and get my family ready for church. I don't know what the rest of the crew is going to do today, but I need to get out of this place for a few hours!

804

...is the number of calories I burned this morning! Oh ya baby! Even if I don't make it to my goal weight by next Thursday (which I won't unless a miracle happens)--I know it's not from being lazy. I've been working my booty off during my workouts these past couple of weeks. I think the most calories I've ever burned in one work out was 937 and that was the day I did 3 straight hours of Zumba. Today I burned 804 in 2 hours...so I'd consider that quite an accomplishment. I don't know why my body is holding onto this extra weight but whatever. All I can do is my best. I'm sure if I got super-strict with my diet (calorie intake) I'd see some better results...but it's just not. gonna. happen. My ginormous family is coming into town starting tonight and we'll be eating non-stop. My only salvation is that I am going to try to surround myself with healthy choices so I (hopefully) don't succumb to the pressure and eat all the JUNK that everyone else will be eating. Nothing against anyone in my family, I love them all...but they are NOT healthy eaters. I mean...not even close. It's funny because when I know everyone is coming to town, my grocery cart looks entirely different than normal. I have all different varieties of soda, chips, cookies, unhealthy lunch meats, white bread....etc. But hey, that's what they like and it's cheap. I figure there is no sense in feeding them all my expensive healthy stuff when they'd rather have the junk anyway, right? Although I do feel bad for the couple of family members who look to me as an example (for healthy eating) and see my house full of all this stuff. Hopefully they'll watch what I actually EAT and not just what I set out for everyone else to eat.
Okay...off to clean house...got lots of sheets to wash before all my beds are occupied!
Oh and by the way..whatever that "bug" was I had on Tuesday is completely gone now (with the exception of the nasty cough) but other than that, I feel great! YAY! I SOOOOO do NOT have time to be sick! :o)

The BL trash talk

Okay how many of you were asking yourselves this on Tuesday night: "WHAT was AMY smoking?" Can you BeLiEvE she voted Coleen off instead of Vicky? I mean..I was just completely and utterly flabbergasted. The ONLY explantion I can come up with is that maybe she thought her 8 pound weight loss was fueled by the tension going on with Vicky and she wanted to see if it would work another week....!!?????? I dont know--but nix the hug I was wanting to jump through the screen and give Amy for last weeks elimination--now I want to give her a big slap and say WAKE UP!! Vicky is nothing but evil and doesn't care about anyone as much as herself (not even her kids or her husband!) Grrrrr.....
Anyway, I had to get my 2 cents in. I feel better now! :o)

Stickin it out...

Man, I feel awful today. I got a flu shot and a tetanus shot yesterday and I don't know if that is what is making me feel so crummy or what but I just feel miserable. I expected the aching and soreness in my shoulders (at the shot site's) but I feel like I suddenly have a head cold and my neck hurts and I feel drowsy and dizzy and just BLAH. On top of that, I have a cough deep in my chest that makes it hard for me to get a good full breath.
Despite how I felt, I pushed through and went to the gym today for my weight lifting class and my cardio class. I actually did fairly well throughout the classes considering my lack of energy but now that I'm done and I've showered, I feel completely exhausted. I want to do NOTHING. I know I'm not feeling great when I don't even want to do something fun! I just want to lay on the couch and not move.
So I'm wondering, is it bad or wrong to go workout so vigorously and intensly when your body is not in tip-top shape? Am I compromising my healing/wellness by pushing myself so hard? I don't know. I do know that even when I am sick and I work out..I'm still SO GLAD I did it and I usually feel better afterwards--if nothing else at least mentally because I know I got my work out in.
This is just a side note...but one of my friends from the gym ran a marathon Saturday. She's in great shape and is a "runner" by nature but during this particular marathon, a fellow runner collapsed mid way and died!!! It turned out to be a 21 year old guy who'd been training for this marathon for a full year and was about to enter the Navy. No one is quite sure exactly what happened just yet, except it is assumed that he must have had a heart attack. Renee, my friend, said she saw him laying on the ground and his legs were jerking but she didn't know what was going on so she just kept running. She came to find out later that he had died. What a tradgedy. What a freak incident. I mean, who expects a young, in shape guy to just keel over mid-marathon? Crazy.
Anyhow, I can't decide what to do with myself for the rest of the day. As I said, I don't WANT to do anything---but my house is in dire need of some cleaning--at the very least the dishes and laundry need to get done. Why is it so hard for me to relax and just rest? I feel guilty and I can't shake the notion that I'm "wasting time". grrr.....
Guess I'll go fold the laundry and then "allow" myself to rest for 15 minutes or so. If I feel better, I'll get up and do more. If I don't---I'll try to make myself stay on the couch for a while longer. We'll see....

A first for me...

So today I went to the gym as usual and did my hour of "Pump" (weight lifting) and then did my Zumba (latin-dancing) class. But about 15 minutes before the Zumba class was over, I decided to walk out on it and go hop on the treadmill. The teacher of the class was OBVIOUSLY somewhere else mentally and she was totally messing up the whole class--missing steps and lacking any kind of attitude or zest for the class. It was really wearing on my energy...so I skipped out early. (even though I did do a solid 45 minutes of it).
Anyway, I got on the treadmill next to an accquaintance and we started chatting about Biggest Loser. As you all know, I can get really into talking about that show...AND...I just get really into talking. Period. When I talk and drive, I almost ALWAYS end up somewhere other than where I was going. I can't talk and do much of anything else--which is probably one reason I HATE talking on the phone. HATE!!! IT!!!!
If I talk while cooking, I ruin the food. If I talk while scrapbooking, I get NOTHING done. If someone tries to talk to me while I'm working out, I will either ignore you or whack at you and say SHUT UP!! because I am concentrating. So today when I got on the treadmill and started jogging and talking about Biggest Loser I was SHOCKED when I looked down and saw that I had been running for 25 minutes and had gone over 2 miles!!!!! That is a first for me. I (usually) hate running and especially hate running on treadmills. (which is why I got rid of my treadmill and got an ellipital machine instead)....but today....was a whole nother story. I LOVED IT! Even after that 25 minutes, I felt nothing. I wasn't tired, my legs didn't hurt, I wasn't breathing hard...it just felt comfortable--right---good~! I REALLLLLY wanted to keep going but I had to call it quits and get home so I could get Grant to school on time. Anyway, that was such a cool surprise--so I hope maybe next time I'm there, I can try that again! If that is what running is like for you girls who do it all the time...no wonder you love it! Apparently talking while running was the perfect distraction!! (although I will say when I upped my speed to 6.2, I was NOT talking anymore). :o)

Thanks Bob!

So on last night's BL show, Bob challenged his team to see who could run the farthest in 3 minutes. The winner got to have a banana fudge sundae with him. I knew there was a catch...just like they did. So anyway, it turns out it was the Jello Sugar-Free variety with cool whip on top. Well, I'm not a BIG pudding girl...but the thought of having something "naughty" and only spending 60-80 calories was very enticing for me. So, I went to Wal-Mart and got me some. I decided on the Dark Tuxedo Chocolate kind and I got the Lite Cool Whip.

Oh. My. Gosh!

I don't know if it was the build up of anticipation I had or the fact that I was SUPER hungry or what...but that was like HEAVEN in my mouth. Despite that I bought $128 worth of groceries, I came right in (before unloading the groceries!!) and opened one up, sprayed on my cool whip (which by the way only has 15 cal. / 2 tbsp.) and enjoyed every second of it. Thankfully Grant didn't notice the pudding all over my chin and nose from me trying to stick my tongue in the container to get every last lick!! ha ha

It's a bummer that this pudding is so expensive though. It was $2.78 for a 6-pack and then 1.98 for the Cool Whip. I figure that comes out to about 50-75 cents per serving depending on how much cool whip you use. I only used about 1 tbsp. on mine--but will probably put more next time. Anyway, just wanted to give my "2 thumbs up" on this little delicacy found in the refridgerated isle!!

Veering off course....

Gahhhh.....why is food so DANG YUMMY? I've got the working out thing down pat...2 hours a day for the past 2 1/2 weeks (minus Sunday's) but the eating part is totally sabotaging my goal.It seems like every day starts out the same--healthy breakfast, workout, good lunch, snack and them BAM! someone wants to go out for dinner or my mom brings over cupcakes or I bake a pound cake or the halloween candy grabs me by the neck and stuffs chocolate down my throat! I mean, what am I supposed to do? I can't be good ALL the time. :o)I went back through the early days of this blog and looked over what I was eating way back when---when I was ACTUALLY losing weight and WOW! I forgot how good I was then! One day I wrote "I ate perfectly all day except for 2 little doritos at lunch"! Man...where did that willpower go?
Okay and now to switch subjects and talk about something else...THE BIGGEST LOSER!WHAT is UP with that show? It's like they 've taken my absolutely favorite thing ever (working out and eating healthy) and mixed it with my absolutely LEAST favorite thing ever (junior-high drama). Gross! I am so disgusted with Vicki (and Brady) that I seriously have un-Godly feelings toward them! I have never disliked anyone on TV so much. I was SO FRIGGIN FRUSTRATED last night with all their snickering and hateful comments towards Phil that I could NOT sit still on the couch. I got up, took off all my clothes, put on my tennis shoes and did the elliptical machine for the remainder of the show in my bra and panties--on level TWELVE! I've never done level 12 on my ellipitcal before...but that is how much "ARUGHHHH!" I had inside. I had to do something to get it out! Boy is my butt sore today~! (which is a wonderful thing!)Anyway, I KNOW Kate and Kandy will be thinking the same thing as we all share a DISGUST for the blue team. But one thing I have to mention is WAY TO GO AMY!!!!!!! I was SO SO SO Proud of her for voting off Brady last night! I just wanted to jump in the screen and hug her (and pop Vicky in the nose).Another thing: I SO TOTALLY would have won that 1,000 step challenge if I had been on there. I'm a step-0-maniac at the gym. Plus, nothing in the WORLD would have stopped me if it meant keeping a blue team member off. But I do give PROPS to Stacy! What a hard-worker!~ I wanted to see her beat Ed SOOOO BAD!Okay, I've gotta quit rambling on and get the kids ready for school. Just wanted to take a second and spill my thoughts.

I'm proud of me!

Although the scale hasn't showed any more weight loss for me...still at 135...I am proud to say that I worked out for a minimum of 1 1/2 hours EVERY day last week (with the exception of Saturday and Sunday--but I did clean the whole house over the weekend.) So far this week, I've kept up with my goals and have worked out every day for nearly 2 hours! Usually I'm bad about either taking Wednesday's or Friday's off....but I can't afford to do that anymore. It's crunch time (literally!!). Thanksgiving is only 3 weeks away! Even if I don't reach my 130 goal, I will be proud and satisfied if I can keep up with my workouts and (mostly) healthy eating (dang halloweeen candy!!). I'm going to Reeeeeealy try to get a work out in for the next 3 Saturday's to help boost my results. It's hard to think of working out EVERY Saturday...but if I tell myself it's only for the next THREE Saturday's--well then that just seems more attainable.
So, how are y'all doing? Hope you're not succumbing to all the pumpkiny-cinnamony goodness this season offers...??!? I'm doing my best to stay away from the desserts...of course, the 5 gallon bucket of halloween candy in my pantry is driving me nuts. Luckily, I've just about eaten all the good stuff up (read: chocolate) and now all that's left is suckers, gum and skittles...ha ha ha ha ha
Oh and I thought of something TOTALLY corny on the way home from the gym yesterday..and while I know it is totally dorky...there is some truth to it:
Snickers. Why do you think they call them that? Because the more SNICKERS you eat...the more SNICKERS you get!! (from other people watching your BUTT grow with every bite!)
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

It figures...I lose weight and it comes from my fingers instead of my butt!

Now that the weather has gotten colder and my hands are cold all the time, my wedding ring is just WAY too big. It actually falls off if I turn my hand down and shake it gently! So....off went the big diamond and on went the plain, solid gold band we bought almost 11 years ago (because I actually THOUGHT that is what I wanted as my wedding band!!! Crazy!) What's encouraging about this is that that band has always been small and even back then (11 years ago when I was skinny) it was very uncomfortable to wear because it was so snug. But yesterday when I slipped off my diamond ring and slipped it on...it just slid right on! It's never been this loose on my finger. Hooray. Just a small reminder that I AM shrinking my body, even if it IS from my fingers!! ha ha Of course, I will either get my real ring sized or buy a spacer thingy very soon so I can wear it again...but I just thought I'd share this small peice of "victory" with y'all.

Back at it

So...yes...Kate and Kandy...I promise, I am still working at my Thanksgiving Goal! As a matter of fact, the scale said 135.0 today! Hooray! That's 2 pounds down..just 5 more to go! I had gotten a little lazy for a while there...but I am back on track in a big way. I have a new-found inspiration in my life! My big brother (and when I say big I mean BIG) is on his way to a new life by losing weight and I am SO excited for him. He's only 40 and was up around 350 lbs. Because of all the extra weight...he'd pretty much given up on having any kind of life. He stays home from all the family activities now because he "can't walk that far, can't stand for that long, can't sit in normal chairs". In just the last couple of months, he has started exercising some (actually physical therapy because he has a bad back from all this extra weight) and has started watching what he eats. He is actually subsituting Weight Watchers shakes for Breakfast and Lunch and he's lost about 30 pounds so far! It's just the beginning of his journey, but I can see the spark in his eye. I know he's serious about it this time. He's also started watching The Biggest Loser this season (after mine and my mom's obsessive begging) and I know that is inspiring him as well. (who wouldn't be inspired by that show!?)
Anyhow, he came for a little visit this past weekend and we talked and I realized that this is something we can do together! Of course, I don't have nearly as far to go as he does...but really it's never ending for me either. I will always be working to stay healthy. As he left Sunday I said, "well, come Thanksgiving we're gonna both be looking thinner!"
So, that being said, I have decided to get back to P90X yet again. And not only the work outs...I'm mostly talking about the nutrition part. I started yesterday and had a very sucessful day. I did Chest & Back and Ab Ripper X and ate absolutely healthy ALL day!
Today already I've done an hour of "Pump" at the gym (weights) and then a 45 min. step aerobics class (burned 593 cal. total for both classes). I've been eating good and I feel great! I'm looking forward to accomplishing this goal and seeing my brother get his life back!
Thanks for all your encouragement all the time! You girls are the best!

Goal-Minded

Okay, so Kate pinned me down today and we decided to set a goal together. We are both GOING TO weigh 130 on Thanksgiving this year!! Since we're both sitting at the same weight right now (137) and there are 7 weeks until Thanksgiving...we have a very attainable journey and goal before us. I'm looking forward to achieving this goal (finally) and proving to myself once and for all that I am worth all this hard work and that I CAN get back to my pre-wedding weight. Plus, with another 7 pounds down, I will finally be WAY too small for all my clothes and will have a good excuse to go SHOPPING! Hooray! ha ha
(sorry Kate....but there is a good chance you'll have to do the same. I know that thought just totally depresses you! :o)

Okay...Feeling better about this whole work-out thing

I remember this t-shirt I saw a while back on an old guy at the gym. It said "This working out thing isn't working out for me!"
That is how I've been feeling for a while now....
BUT....
I made myself do Chest & Back last night along with Ab Ripper X and then today...I got up and went to one of the "sister" gyms of my gym. I had been telling myself all this time (while my gym is closed for renevations) that it was too far to travel and that I could just stay home and do P90X..BUT...I went today and I LOVED IT! I will DEFINITELY be incorporating that into my regular work outs again. At LEAST on Tuesdays & Thursdays and maybe Saturdays. I will still do my P90X weight-training work outs at home on the other days too.
And of course...gotta keep eating healthy if I want the pounds to stay off and keep coming off.

I have just definitely realized that group fitness is my forte. Without it, I have a HARD time keeping myself motivated...but with it..well, there's just no stopping me. I'm so pumped about it right now, I want to go EVERY day...but I know that is not realistic..plus, I probably won't be able to move tomorrow anyway after the 2 hours I did today that totally kicked my butt.

By the way...one last thing:
If you get a chance and can remember...pick up some HONEY CRISP apples in the produce section of your grocery store. They only sell them in October but they are the BEST apples EVER! I promise you...they are worth the extra $. If you don't trust me, buy just one and try it.

update

I am SO NOT into this anymore....

Days 15-35

Well....as you can see, I've been "away" for a while. So much has happened in the past 20 days, but since this blog focuses on my weight and health...I will just leave all the details for my other blog and tell YOU guys that over the past three weeks, I have packed back on a few pounds. I weighed in at 140 on Sunday of this week. Very depressing to see that number, but I'm not entirely surprised either. It's been a stressful time and to be completely honest...working out and worrying about nutrition has been the LEAST of my worries. It just didn't rank up there in priority...but I am glad to say that life is returning to "normal" again finally and I started P90X again yesterday. I am feeling especially encouraged after watching Biggest Loser tonight! How inspiring those people are!
Anyway, on our way home from San Antonio on Sept. 15th, I typed this post. Thought I'd go ahead and post it since I took the time to type it!

Vacation = calories
I tried, I really did. I actually didn’t “give in” and do something intentionally “bad” until this morning at breakfast right before we headed home. I caved and had a waffle at the hotel’s continental breakfast. I did use sugar free syrup though! It wasn’t even very good. Bummer! Most meals, I tried to order the healthiest options I could. At the Rain Forest Café, I ordered a bowl of veggie soup. At Sea World, I got baked chicken, fries and strawberries. At our Dinner with Shamu I had salad, baked chicken, brown rice, sautéed veggies and a tiny sliver of each dessert. The next day I got a turkey veggie wrap for lunch and ordered tortilla soup for dinner at Dave & Busters. I had raisin bran for breakfast one day, oatmeal the next day and the waffle today. I snacked on low fat yogurt cups and pistachios. I even got up yesterday morning before we headed to Sea World and worked out in the fitness room at the hotel. I was so proud of myself! I did 25 min on the elliptical machine and then a few shoulder, tricep and bicep work outs with the weights in there. It was actually really nice because I had the whole room to myself and it was totally state-of-the-art NICE equipment. I even got to catch a whole episode of Joel Osteen while I was on the elliptical.
Anyway, tomorrow will be back to normal eating and work outs—and hopefully back down to my 135 weight! (I’m sure I gained a few pounds this weekend!)

R2-Day 14

I'm awarding myself the Outstanding Achievement Award for today! I have accomplished SO much in the 14 hours that I have been awake--I'm sure I must have set some sort of record! ha ha
I got up at 6, pulled the sheets off my bed and stuck them in the washer. Came to my desk and did about 30 minutes worth of work for the dr. office before I headed to the kitchen to make our breakfast (egg white scramble, turkey bacon, WW toast) and Matt and Brooklyn's lunches. Next it was back to the office for another half hour to complete the file I had started earlier. Next I took Brooklyn to school and came home and then started on the 2nd file I had to do for the Dr. Office. Amazingly, Grant kept busy beside me the whole time coloring so I got #2 done. Then it was up for a bit to clean up the kitchen, make the bed and have lunch (mexi-salad and a left-over peice of pear cake!) Then gave Grant a quick bath and dropped him off at school. Got back home, scooped dog poop, cleaned up all million of the toys in the backyard and got out the pushmower. Push-mowed the front and back and side yards (had to dump the grass catch 8 times!!) Then I hopped on the riding mower and mowed the rest of the acreage. It was then 3:oo and time to go get the kids from school. Stopped off at the library and rented Mistaken Identity to read on our trip on Thursday and headed home to do a little more mowing and then inside to do another file for the Dr. office. I completed 3 files today for the Dr. office ...which is 3 days worth of work!! Yay! Now I am ALL caught up! After that, Matt got home from work and we did Cardio X before I ran off to the shower. Then it was time to cook dinner (baked tilapia, brown rice, veggies and salad). Cleaned up kitchen and then came in here to order another tub of the P90X Recovery Drink. I don't drink it but Matt does. Anyway...and now here I am! Whew! And crazy as it is, I actually don't feel tired at ALL! Next up is homework time with Brooklyn and then off to bed I shall go--tired or not. I am going to try to go into town tomorrow and do all our last minute running before we leave for vacation on Thursday. Hope ya'll are having a good week!
ONLY ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL BIGGEST LOSER STARTS AGAIN!!! TUE, SEPT 16!! YAY!

R2-Day 12 & 13

Okay yesterday was day 12. Other than the fact that I jumped down and did a couple of rounds of push ups and most of Ab Ripper X before we headed off to the lake, I didn't get any exercise. I also didn't eat very well. I took healthy snacks, ordered a fruit & yogurt salad at McDonald's when everyone else was getting nuggets and fries and drank only water and 1 cherry coke zero (when everyone else was drinking HIGH calorie drinks). But for dinner I went over to my SIL's house and she had prepared Frito Chili pie for everyone. I tried to get only a little bit of fritos and a LOT of lettuce...but still, I'm pretty sure I over did it. Then after that we all went to Marble Slab. Me, being the good girl that I am, didn't order ANYthing...but then I ended up sharing Matt's with him....so that was not good either. I felt like a pig all day though and I tried to keep my swimsuit coverup on as much as possible since I just felt plump. Yuk!

Today--Day 13. Had a headache all day--that has been escalating with every passing moment. Despite the ache, I did shoulders and arms and Ab Ripper X just now and as soon as I get done typing this post, I am going to bed. It's been a CRAZY-BUSY day. I did like 8 loads of laundry, 2 big loads of dishes, washed my van, vacummed and CLEANed it all out, sold my treadmill on Craig's list, cooked a huge dinner....etc....I am so tired right now that I actually just fell asleep while typing this! Yeek! I think I'm gonna end for now and hit the sack. Be back bright and early at the crack of dawn to get my work done for the dr. office that I didn't get finished with today. G'night y'all!

R2-Day 11

Oh! My! Gosh!
Today I had the FUNNEST day of exercise I have EVER had!! One of the "local" (took me 45 min. to get there) YMCA's had a Zumbathon. It was $10 per person and the money was going to benefit The Little Lighthouse, a non-profit preschool for children with disabilities. It was 1 1/2 hours of SOLID (no breaks) hard-core Zumba! There were about 200 women all together in a huge gym all dancing our booties off to songs like "Low" "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "I love Rock-n-Roll". It was a BLAST! Since I didn't know a SOUL there...I danced my little heart out and really got into it. There weren't any mirrors so I have no idea how ridiculous I looked...but I didn't care. My kicks were sky-high, my squats were Waaaaaay low and my shimmy was groovin! I knew I was burning some major calories but I never imagined I'd burn 859!!! Yep! That's what my HRM said when I checked it afterwards!
Brooklyn actually went with me and thought she'd take a stab at Zumba...but it was way too complicated for her. These instructors were the best of the best. There was some serious choreography involved and a lot of hip thrusting, booty-bouncing and ta-ta shakin' going on. She opted to just sit on the bleachers and draw. Thankfully (I had suspected that it might be too hard for her) I had brought her a little bag full of paper, crayons, pens, stickers and one of her American Girl magazines). It kept her busy for the full 2 hours. Since we both paid $10, we both got to put our names in the bucket for the door prizes and wouldn'tcha know it...she won one of the first prizes--a $10 gift certicate to Panera Bread!! I actually won a 3 month membership to the YMCA...but I opted to give it to someone else since there is no way I am going to drive 45 minutes to go work out somewhere. I also got a really cute Zumba embroidered towel and a cute Zumba bracelet. There wasn't an inch on my entire body that wasn't SOAKED in sweat by the time it was over. Even my hair was dripping. I literally looked like I had just stepped out of the pool with my clothes on! I LOVE that feeling!
Anyway, eating today was NOT good...but hey...it couldn't have been helped.
I met a friend for lunch at Red Robin. I ordered the turkey crossant sandwhich and then traded out my fries for a salad. I only ate half and then took the other half home. (which I ate at about 4 pm.)
Then tonight I took the kids to a birthday party where they were serving pizza. At about 7:30 pm I ended up having 2 small slices of pizza with a large salad and then I had a piece of birthday cake. YUM! It was so sinful..but so delicious.
Tomorrow won't probably be much better either. We are going down to the city (2 hours away) to go to the lake with my neice Rachael on her new boat. I'm sure we'll just be eating whatever.....
I am going to pack healthy snacks for us and I will bring us each 1 sandwich from home...but other than that, we'll just have to take what we get.
It may not be the best for my diet...but this is life. This is what it's all about and I don't regret a minute of it! I'll just make the healthiest choices I can and get in exercise when I can. Like Tony would say...Do your best and forget the rest! Hope you're all having a good weekend!!

R2-Day 10

I woke up with my motivation tank on E. I tried REEEEEEEEaly hard to get there...but just couldn't muster up any enthusiasm about exercise today. After a busy morning and with only a few minutes to spare, I MADE myself get on the elliptical. My intentions were to do what I'd done the day before (20 minutes doing 1 min. intervals) but it was the most miserable thing. I was HATING every minute of it and I was thinking thoughts like "I DESPISE exercise. I resent it...It's taking me away from my life. I'm so busy either 1)exercising 2)preparing food 3)thinking about exercising or preparing food or 4) showering from exercising that I don't have time for anything else." I decided that I was just self-destructing with all those negative thoughts...so I got off and did Ab Ripper and called it a day.
Eating was not much better either.
I had Kashi Go Lean cereal (major fiber and protien) with a banana and skim milk for breakfast.
I went out to lunch with my buddy Teya and had a small bowl of tortilla soup with 1/2 a chicken panini sandwich and 1 bread stick.
For a snack I had 1 small apple with 1 tbsp. peanut butter
For dinner we grilled LEAN top sirloin steaks, had a small baked potato with NO butter, 1 mini-ear of corn and a salad.
For dessert we had a (big ) bowl of light banana pudding (made with sugar free pudding, skim milk, light cool whip, reduced fat vanilla wafers and bananas)
I felt like a bloated pig when I went to bed and I HATED it. Here's hoping tomorrow is WAY better!

R2-Day 9

Okay, I'm trying to find something GOOD to say about this day.....
Not that it was a "bad" day or anything...but as far as my eating and exercise go...not the best.
I started it out good by having an egg-white scramble for breakfast with 2 light WW toasts and 1 turkey bacon (250 cal). For some quick exercise before I took a shower, I did 20 minutes on the elliptical. I did 1 minute going so hard and fast I was breathless and my HR was up around 170 and then 1 minute of "recovery" where I was still working hard but not so hard I couldn't breathe and on and on. So in all, I did 10 minutes of the HARD stuff and 10 minutes of the less hard stuff. According to my HR monitor, I burned 153 calories. Then at lunchtime I had a hair appointment and had to just grab something quickly, so I grabbed a Mojo mountain mix trail bar (180 cal--protien bar) and a small banana and a water. When I got home from that at 3:30, I was pretty hungry so I had a bowl of my weight watchers soup (42 cal)
For appetizer (while I was getting dinner ready) I made a small bowl of guacamole and we split that.
For dinner, Matt and I had a bowl of the WW soup (2 cups--84 cal). Each of us also had 2 Rosemary Kashi Go Lean crackers with a peice of turkey and pepperjack cheese on top.
Then here is where the Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad part comes in. After all that we were still hungry. I knew my mom had this wonderful strawberry cream cake at her house and I was wanting a piece SO Bad....but instead, I tried to satisfy my craving with a sugar free fudgsicle (60 cal)....Blah! Then I tried a 100 cal pack of chips-ahoy crips---Blah! Then off to my moms I went for a slice of cake! Yep, after all that I had a slice of cake. If it's any consolation, I didn't eat ANY of the icing. I scraped it all off and just ate the cake with the fresh strawberries in the middle. YUM! Believe me when I say..I needed this cake. I was having a tough night with 2 screamng kids and a grouchy husband and I needed an escape. Yes, I'm aware that a work out would have been a MUCH better choice...but for a quick (and delicious) fix the cake did it! :o)
Hey, I can't be good all the time! :o)

R2-Day 8

What a wet Wednesday! It's been raining since I woke up this morning and all I've felt like doing is sleeping! Ugh! I hate those kinds of days. I mean..I love the rain and the sound of it tip-tapping on the roof is so peaceful...but I hate the way I feel---drowsy and very low-energy. Anyway, you know me. How I feel does NOT dictate what I do...so...on went the sports bra and tennis shoes and I knocked out 58 minutes of Kenpo X. (bye, bye 316 calories!) I just sat down to have my lunch (eeek! how'd it get to be 2:15 pm already?) and now I'm gonna spend the next 45 minutes doing work for the dr. office. Then it'll be off to get kids from school, home to shower and then off to eat........................MEXICAN for dinner again!! AUGHHHH!!!!
What can I say? The whole (extended) fam is going...and I don't want to be a party pooper and say "no thanks, I'll just stay home and have my diet soup instead." All I can think of is to try to eat some healthy snacks before I go and then maybe I won't do badly while we're there!
So far today, I've done great. I had a bowl of cereal with banana and skim milk again for breakfast (approx. 400 cal) and then I had a bowl of my soup just now (84 cal.). I'm gulping down water at every chance I get....hoping that will help keep my tummy full.
Anyway...I hope you all will try that recipe I posted for the soup. It really is delicious!

BONUS:
So...Matt got home from work and said "AWW man..you already worked out? I was going to do it with you tonight." so I replied, "well babe--put on your tennis shoes and I'll just work out again!" So...in addition to Kenpo X earlier..I also just did Chest & Back (bye, bye another 244 calories!) YIPPEE! Now I won't feel SO bad about the Mexican food for dinner!

Losing weight just got easier!

Thanks to my buddy Joyce for supplying me this recipe...I think I may have a fighting chance to drop this last 10 pounds! For those of you who have done Weight Watchers...I'm sure you've seen this one before...but for those of you (like me) who haven't...it might just be our saving grace!
This wonderful tasting soup only has 42 calories per 1-cup servng and has NO fat and has 2 grams of fiber. It just doesn't get much healthier than this girls!

I made it this morning and it has been simmering in my kitchen all day...and now I am finally sitting down to have a bowl and YUMMO!

Weight Watchers Garden Vegetable Soup (o points!)
2/3 c. sliced carrot
1/2 c. diced onion
2 garlic cloves
3 c. fat-free broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)
1 1/2 c. diced green cabbage
1/2 c. green beans
1 T. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4. tsp. salt
1/2 c. diced zucchini

I doubled it since I wanted to be able to eat this for lunch every day this week!

Saute the carrot, onion and garlic over lower heat for about 5 minutes. (I used a teensy drip of EVOO for this). Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano and salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes or until beans are tender. Stir in zucchini and heat 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

I feel good-na na na na na na na. I knew that I would...(R2-Day 7)

Man it feels good to be working out again and eating right. Not just physically..but also mentally. I know that I am taking good care of my body and that is just so motivating!
Today I ate a small bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal with a banana and skim milk for breakfast.
For lunch I had a small bowl of salad (just lettuce)
For snack I had one (homemade) banana nut muffin
For dinner I had 1 small serving of turkey spagetti, salad and cauliflower.
For snack/dessert I had a small (8 oz) protien shake/smoothie
I also did Legs & Back with Ab Ripper X this afternoon. I'd really like to get in a good 20-30 min. on the elliptical tonight...but we'll see. I know this is dumb...but I took a shower earlier and did my hair and make up which is a big process and I HATE to throw it all away for a few minutes on the elliptical. (I'd need a shower again!) How do you guys handle that? Do you take a shower after you work out every time or do you just freshen up somehow?

BTW...did you see a trend in my eating habits today? I limited myself to a SMALL serving of everything today! It was tough because I wasn't necessarily full or even satisfied when I got done..but every time I waited a few minutes and before I knew it I was just fine and didn't need anything else. Now if only I can keep it up!

So that's why they did it!

Remember back in the olden days..women used to wear hankerchief's on their heads??? Well, I just always figured it was a kind of fashion statement. You know...like the beehive hair do or something. Well, I've recently discovered that wearing a hankerchief on your head is a WONDERFUL way to keep the sweat out of your eyes! Who'da thunk it?

It all makes perfect sense now...since those women back then had to do a lot of hard work and there wasn't air conditioning like there is today!

Anyway, I've been wearing one here latey and I LOVE it. No, it's not the cutest thing in the world...but hey...no more burning, stinging eyes! Gotta love that!!

Lose the Last 10 Pounds!

Thanks to Kate over at http://www.missgotwings.blogspot.com/ I read a great article today on http://www.msn.com/ called Lose the Last 10 Pounds! Although there wasn't anything amazingly profound in there that I hadn't heard before...there were a lot of great pointers that made me feel encouraged again that I CAN do this! I know reading a whole article takes time...so I thought I'd just post a few of the points they made that I thought were the most helpful:

You've cleaned up your diet, sweated off countless calories, and watched pounds melt away. But now the scale has come to a screeching halt. What gives? It's an unfortunate law of weight loss: The last 10 pounds are harder to shed than the first 30. That's because the slimmer you become, the fewer calories you burn just going about your day. For every pound you lose, your metabolism slows by up to 20 calories a day. But we do have some good news: Easy tweaks to the good habits you've already established can push you past your plateau and help you reach your final weight loss goal.

1. Cardio melts calories, but to keep seeing results, ramp up your intensity, too. "Interval training can trigger a boost in metabolism so you burn more fat during low- and moderate-intensity activity, and even at rest." Alternate between a moderate effort that makes you slightly breathless and a vigorous pace that makes speaking more than a couple of words difficult. In a 30-minute interval workout, you'll burn 20 percent more calories than if you maintained a steady pace—and you'll keep burning more fat afterward.

2. It's one of the dirtiest tricks your body can play: The more you exercise, the less you're inclined to stand, walk around, twiddle your thumbs, and generally burn calories during the 23 hours you're not working out. Standing for an hour more a day will burn 100 more calories than if you were sitting

3. Get a more time-efficient workout and burn a third more calories by doing strength and cardio in one shot. Cardio blasts calories immediately, while strength-training increases metabolism over time, so combining the two gives you the ultimate bang for your buck. At home, do one minute of jumping jacks or easy rope jumping between every strength exercise.

4. Eating less meat is a proven way to lighten up on the scale.

5. An apple a day could keep the pounds away. Diners who had an apple 15 minutes before an all-you-can-eat pasta lunch ate 187 fewer calories than those who skipped the snack. At 65 calories per cup, the apple fills you up.

6. Dieters who jotted down what they ate lost twice as much weight as those who didn't keep a record.

R2-Day 4, 5 & 6

Saturday, Sunday and Monday (today). Woops! Didn't mean to forget to blog for the past few days...but just haven't had time to sit down at the computer!
Saturday Matt and I spent almost the entire day outside putting the metal on the walls of his shop building. Then I got out the push mower and did the front and back yard--so that was my exercise for that day.
Sunday we taught the 3 year old class at church and then came home and grilled turkey burgers. Then it was outside again for a quick dip in the pool before we had to come in and start getting ready for a labor day cook out at some of our friends' house. So...didn't get any specific exercise that day. Bummer!!
Monday--today--Labor Day I got up and cleaned the whole house including shampooing all the carpet. Then I threw on my swim suit and went out to help Matt some more. But, it turned out he didn't really need me so instead I cleaned out our gutters! ha ha...but really...I did. Lately I've been noticing that when it rains, the water just pours out of the gutters and doesn't come out the down-spouts...so I figured they were clogged. And I was right...they were full of gunk. Anyway after that I got in the pool with the kids for a bit and then came in and showered and then cooked turkey spagetti for dinner. Brooklyn had a big project to do for her homework and by the time we got done with that, it was already 8:30 pm. Then I got the kids in the bathroom and did their nails. I've never seen Grant's fingernails so long! YICK!! Also, Brooklyn's nails needed to be cleaned off and re-painted so we did that. Now, finally, it's 10 pm and I just got them to bed. I decided its too late to do a P90X work out video now, so instead I just did 20 staggered push ups and half of Ab Ripper. It's not much...but at least I did SOMEthing, right? :o)
Tomorrow will be back to normal and will be a lot easier for me to get my work outs done. I think if I am being realistic....there is NO way I am going to reach my goal of getting to 130 by next Friday (the 12th). I am actually stuck at 136 right now and can't seem to get the scale to budge. To lose 6 pounds by then, I'd have to lose half a pound EVERY day. That's next to impossible...unless I starve myself. Hmmm......I wonder if I could do that? :o)
Okay..well, I think I'll end this for now and maybe go blog-surfing for a bit before I conk out. g'night ya'll!