I just wanted to take a moment and own up to the fact that I've been LAZY. I haven't felt well and needed a few days off exercising, but that was no excuse for the crap I've been eating. So I'm back on the bandwagon. It feels better to exercise, eat well, and be productive. I've had years of bad habits, so it will take a long time to break them, I'm not going to freak out over one stumble! How is everyone else doing?
-Mel
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Yuck ;(
I just ate some Halloween candy and I feel gross. I write this down to help me remember that we are what we eat. I just ate some crap and now I feel like crap! It wasn't worth it!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Another question-I need your help/input!
Can I just say really quick how much I am loving this blog? It definitely is motivating me/keeping me accountable just knowing that I'm going to check in with you. Plus I feel like I'm getting to talk with you guys more than normal. I get so excited when I see your posts and comments.
So I did pretty good last week. Not perfect, but I'm not going to let that get me down. I exercised every day last week except for Saturday and I only ate when hungry, except I didn't do so great with that on the weekend. But tomorrow starts a new week and I'm determined to do better.
I do have one question though. I was not going to limit my sweets, but after I ate my meals last week (when hungry of course) I followed them up with a huge dessert. And the times this week that I ate when not hungry, I ate sweets. So today I was thinking maybe I should step up my game a little bit. There's no way I can do something like lean for life or weight watchers right now, it's too much, but I should maybe push myself a little harder right? Anything that is worth doing is usually hard right? So should I only give myself one day a week to eat sweets, or should I start with more baby steps and say one sweet a day? Part of me says to take baby steps and the other part of me says, there is no reason to eat that much sweets and I have over 100 pounds to loose. I need to do something more drastic if I want some results, yes?
By the way, I kept trying to leave comments on the last couple of posts and blogger kept kicking me off for some reason, so I want to tell you good job Mel for doing something hard, and good job Gretchen for inspiring her to do it. I enjoyed reading that post because Ian and I have been talking about making "we do hard things" our family motto lately. But I'm proud of you guys! Keep it up! We can do this.
I'm off to bed now. Instead of asking questions tomorrow, I'll post something inspirational instead.
So I did pretty good last week. Not perfect, but I'm not going to let that get me down. I exercised every day last week except for Saturday and I only ate when hungry, except I didn't do so great with that on the weekend. But tomorrow starts a new week and I'm determined to do better.
I do have one question though. I was not going to limit my sweets, but after I ate my meals last week (when hungry of course) I followed them up with a huge dessert. And the times this week that I ate when not hungry, I ate sweets. So today I was thinking maybe I should step up my game a little bit. There's no way I can do something like lean for life or weight watchers right now, it's too much, but I should maybe push myself a little harder right? Anything that is worth doing is usually hard right? So should I only give myself one day a week to eat sweets, or should I start with more baby steps and say one sweet a day? Part of me says to take baby steps and the other part of me says, there is no reason to eat that much sweets and I have over 100 pounds to loose. I need to do something more drastic if I want some results, yes?
By the way, I kept trying to leave comments on the last couple of posts and blogger kept kicking me off for some reason, so I want to tell you good job Mel for doing something hard, and good job Gretchen for inspiring her to do it. I enjoyed reading that post because Ian and I have been talking about making "we do hard things" our family motto lately. But I'm proud of you guys! Keep it up! We can do this.
I'm off to bed now. Instead of asking questions tomorrow, I'll post something inspirational instead.
Friday, October 28, 2011
It feels good to work hard!
I didn't really feel like exercising today at all. I admit it. I did drag myself to the gym for some volleyball, but just wasn't feeling like doing anything more. Thank you to Gretchen who helped get my butt to the treadmill for some interval running. It was great! It was challenging, we pushed ourselves, it really got my heart going, and I was so proud of us afterward! It reminded me that my workouts really need to go up a notch in intensity so I can enjoy better results! When Maxine tells me something is too hard to do (like cleaning her room), I always tell her, "We can do hard things!" So that was what I needed to be reminded of today. We CAN do hard things!
As for Friday weight-in, I'm down 2 pounds this week. Going the right direction!
-Mel
As for Friday weight-in, I'm down 2 pounds this week. Going the right direction!
-Mel
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Zucchini Parmesan
Here's a recipe that Heather made for the family. Everyone really liked it and it's meat-free, so it's cheap!
Zucchini Parmesan
1/2 cup flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
3 large zucchini, about 2 pounds, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup canola oil (we used olive oil)
1 jar (25 ounces) prepared marinara sauce (or you can make your own as we did)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup basic leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. lightly coat zucchini slices with flour. Dip in egg and coat with bread crumbs. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook zucchini 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Cook in three batches, adding more oil as needed.
4. Spoon 1/2 cup of sauce in bottom of prepared baking dish. Evenly place 1/3 of the zucchini in dish; top with 3/4 cup of sauce and 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering twice, adding basil between second and third layers.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top and loosely cover with nonstick foil. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes; remove foil and bak for an additional 10 minutes.
6. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve with a green salad if desired.
PER SERVING: 304 Cal; 15 g fat (5g SAT); 17 g Protein; 27 g CARB; 5 g fiber; 762 mg sodium; 100 mg CHOL
Zucchini Parmesan
1/2 cup flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
3 large zucchini, about 2 pounds, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup canola oil (we used olive oil)
1 jar (25 ounces) prepared marinara sauce (or you can make your own as we did)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup basic leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. lightly coat zucchini slices with flour. Dip in egg and coat with bread crumbs. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook zucchini 1-1/2 to 2 minutes per side until golden brown. Cook in three batches, adding more oil as needed.
4. Spoon 1/2 cup of sauce in bottom of prepared baking dish. Evenly place 1/3 of the zucchini in dish; top with 3/4 cup of sauce and 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layering twice, adding basil between second and third layers.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top and loosely cover with nonstick foil. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes; remove foil and bak for an additional 10 minutes.
6. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve with a green salad if desired.
PER SERVING: 304 Cal; 15 g fat (5g SAT); 17 g Protein; 27 g CARB; 5 g fiber; 762 mg sodium; 100 mg CHOL
"Skinny Ten"
Hello Ladies! Here are my "Skinny Ten" weight loss/self-improvement goals for the rest of 2011:
3. Limit sugar/sweets (if I have something unhealthy, add 1/2 hour of exercise that day) Let's face it, I'm going to want to have something sweet, but now there's a consequence.
4. Spend 1/2 hour each day cleaning something in the house. (Hopefully, this will help me feel calmer if my house is neater.)
5. Eat at least one serving of fruit and two servings of vegetables each day.
6. When watching T.V., lift hand weights, do balance ball exercises, and stretching exercises. (no more sedentary T.V. watching).
7. When fibro pain is high, make sure to do extra stretching exercises.
8. Go for a walk at least three evenings per week and try to take family members with me (and the fat dog).
9. Cook better, healthier meals at least four times per week. Take over the grocery shopping and buy healthier foods.
10. Read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.
Okay, these are my goals. I am inspired by you ladies! Let's stick together and accomplish all that we set out to and much more!
1. Lose 20 pounds by 1/1/12. Focus on losing 2-3 lbs. per week.
2. Exercise at least one hour six days per week (must be a fitness class or video). Make sure to sweat, sweat, sweat (that's sweat dripping of my nose sweating). If I'm going to spend the time exercising, I'm going to make it count.3. Limit sugar/sweets (if I have something unhealthy, add 1/2 hour of exercise that day) Let's face it, I'm going to want to have something sweet, but now there's a consequence.
4. Spend 1/2 hour each day cleaning something in the house. (Hopefully, this will help me feel calmer if my house is neater.)
5. Eat at least one serving of fruit and two servings of vegetables each day.
6. When watching T.V., lift hand weights, do balance ball exercises, and stretching exercises. (no more sedentary T.V. watching).
7. When fibro pain is high, make sure to do extra stretching exercises.
8. Go for a walk at least three evenings per week and try to take family members with me (and the fat dog).
9. Cook better, healthier meals at least four times per week. Take over the grocery shopping and buy healthier foods.
10. Read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.
Okay, these are my goals. I am inspired by you ladies! Let's stick together and accomplish all that we set out to and much more!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Daily Report & a question
I am happy to report I am able to check off all of my goals for the day. I got up at 6, exercised, only ate when hungry (I ate crap, but hey I ONLY DID IT WHEN HUNGRY which means no emotional eating!)I only had one soda and I'm about to head to bed here in a minute.
I just have one goal I'm thinking about tweaking and here's why...between homeschooling, my calling (& Ian's calling and him working longer hours lately) and just keeping up house and attending scouts etc. I'm feeling so stressed ALL THE TIME. I can't seem to get enough done in a day. Earlier today I had the thought that maybe I just need to start staying up late and trying to function on 6-7 hours sleep, but deep down I know that's not the answer. I'll always be grumpy and I won't be as productive during the daytime hours.
SO - I'm thinking maybe I'll try changing my schedule for a week and see how that goes and if maybe I'll get more done. It keeps me up later, but I get more quiet time. The trick is making sure I get things done at night since it's so tempting to just curl up on the couch at the end of the day. But here's what my new schedule would look like, tell me what you think-
7:00 am - wake up eat something, work out at 8:00 after I drop Morgan off at school. Normally I don't like exercising while kids are awake, but I think I can handle it if it since it is just for 1/2 hour. Then spend the morning doing things like phone calls, doctor appointments, library, errands, mail etc.
12:30-4:00 pm - school work
Then after putting the kids to bed at 8:00 I would stay up until 11:00 giving myself three hours to get things done. 1 hour to read scriptures, blog, read books "me time". Then 1 hour to work on my calling. And 1 hour to work on housework or prepping kids school work with out interruptions.
It will keep me up later, but maybe I'll get more done with kids sleeping. I just have to make myself do it, since usually I'm tired at night. I'm going to give that schedule a go starting tomorrow, I think. The most important thing is that I get 8 hours sleep right?
I can't believe I just rambled all of this to you, like you actually care about my life in that much detail. Oh well, I'm not erasing it now. And sometimes it's good to think out loud. Okay really enough rambling. AHHH.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox - Deb
I just have one goal I'm thinking about tweaking and here's why...between homeschooling, my calling (& Ian's calling and him working longer hours lately) and just keeping up house and attending scouts etc. I'm feeling so stressed ALL THE TIME. I can't seem to get enough done in a day. Earlier today I had the thought that maybe I just need to start staying up late and trying to function on 6-7 hours sleep, but deep down I know that's not the answer. I'll always be grumpy and I won't be as productive during the daytime hours.
SO - I'm thinking maybe I'll try changing my schedule for a week and see how that goes and if maybe I'll get more done. It keeps me up later, but I get more quiet time. The trick is making sure I get things done at night since it's so tempting to just curl up on the couch at the end of the day. But here's what my new schedule would look like, tell me what you think-
7:00 am - wake up eat something, work out at 8:00 after I drop Morgan off at school. Normally I don't like exercising while kids are awake, but I think I can handle it if it since it is just for 1/2 hour. Then spend the morning doing things like phone calls, doctor appointments, library, errands, mail etc.
12:30-4:00 pm - school work
Then after putting the kids to bed at 8:00 I would stay up until 11:00 giving myself three hours to get things done. 1 hour to read scriptures, blog, read books "me time". Then 1 hour to work on my calling. And 1 hour to work on housework or prepping kids school work with out interruptions.
It will keep me up later, but maybe I'll get more done with kids sleeping. I just have to make myself do it, since usually I'm tired at night. I'm going to give that schedule a go starting tomorrow, I think. The most important thing is that I get 8 hours sleep right?
I can't believe I just rambled all of this to you, like you actually care about my life in that much detail. Oh well, I'm not erasing it now. And sometimes it's good to think out loud. Okay really enough rambling. AHHH.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox - Deb
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
My Weight loss goals for 30 days (in baby steps)!
Okay all, here are my goals. They are little ones, but I'm focusing right now on changing some habits and doing it in little chunks. I weighed myself today and will do it again when my 30 days is over.
Goal #1 Only Eat When Hungry- I'm going to really really focus on waiting for a hungry feeling or a small growl before I eat ANY food. I'm not going to wait until I'm ravenous, but I need to listen to my body tell me that I'm hungry before I put food in my face. I'm not going to worry what that food is for now. If I'm hungry and I want to eat a doughnut, I'll eat a doughnut, or a hot dog or whatever. It doesn't have to be health food, but I do have to be hungry. I was going to set a limit to how many sweets I eat a day, but I think I will do that next month. For now, I'm just going to tell myself, if I want cake and ice cream that's fine, I just need to wait until I'm hungry to eat it. Next month I'll work on stopping when I'm full. If I can get rid of emotional eating then I'll get rid of probably 40% of what I eat in a day.
Goal #2 Exercise 30 minutes a day / 6 days a week - That's all I have time for and it's better than nothing. I'm just going to do weights videos for now because my feet are really bothering me these days and any jumping around aerobic type activity really hurts my feet, and discourages me from exercise.
Goal #3 1 Diet Soda per day - Eventually I'll get rid of it all together.
Goal #4 Go to bed between 9-10 pm & rise between 5-6 am - I am a much nicer person and I function so much better during the day when I get 7-8 hours of sleep. I know I'll get more accomplished during the day if I get the rest my body needs. And I'll be better able to focus on my goals too.
Goal #5 "Return and Report - I made a chart that has these 5 goals listed and a place where I can mark off that I did each goal, each day, for 30 days. I'm going to return to this chart every night before I go to bed to report how my day was. I'm also going to do a quick post each night before bed to let you guys know if I was able to mark each one off. This makes me accountable to you for my actions and if you could just leave a little comment each night or morning saying, "good job, you did it" or "tomorrow's another day, you'll get it then" etc. That will help encourage me on the way! Thanks so much.
I know it took me a whole week to post, but lets use this blog up and make it really work for our motivation and for helping each other out.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Love ya
Deb
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Goal #1 Only Eat When Hungry- I'm going to really really focus on waiting for a hungry feeling or a small growl before I eat ANY food. I'm not going to wait until I'm ravenous, but I need to listen to my body tell me that I'm hungry before I put food in my face. I'm not going to worry what that food is for now. If I'm hungry and I want to eat a doughnut, I'll eat a doughnut, or a hot dog or whatever. It doesn't have to be health food, but I do have to be hungry. I was going to set a limit to how many sweets I eat a day, but I think I will do that next month. For now, I'm just going to tell myself, if I want cake and ice cream that's fine, I just need to wait until I'm hungry to eat it. Next month I'll work on stopping when I'm full. If I can get rid of emotional eating then I'll get rid of probably 40% of what I eat in a day.
Goal #2 Exercise 30 minutes a day / 6 days a week - That's all I have time for and it's better than nothing. I'm just going to do weights videos for now because my feet are really bothering me these days and any jumping around aerobic type activity really hurts my feet, and discourages me from exercise.
Goal #3 1 Diet Soda per day - Eventually I'll get rid of it all together.
Goal #4 Go to bed between 9-10 pm & rise between 5-6 am - I am a much nicer person and I function so much better during the day when I get 7-8 hours of sleep. I know I'll get more accomplished during the day if I get the rest my body needs. And I'll be better able to focus on my goals too.
Goal #5 "Return and Report - I made a chart that has these 5 goals listed and a place where I can mark off that I did each goal, each day, for 30 days. I'm going to return to this chart every night before I go to bed to report how my day was. I'm also going to do a quick post each night before bed to let you guys know if I was able to mark each one off. This makes me accountable to you for my actions and if you could just leave a little comment each night or morning saying, "good job, you did it" or "tomorrow's another day, you'll get it then" etc. That will help encourage me on the way! Thanks so much.
I know it took me a whole week to post, but lets use this blog up and make it really work for our motivation and for helping each other out.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Love ya
Deb
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Monday, October 24, 2011
Food Stuff
Well,
I've been doing okay in my eating. I'm not super-strict and that's okay for now. I've been trying to focus on getting lots of good things in, rather than just keeping bad stuff out. My 5-a-day goal went well today. I was low on the veggie count so I added steamed asparagus and cold cucumbers to my lunch. Dinner was lasagna with layers of both meat and veggies (spinach, onion, broccoli, mushroom).
Yummy surprise of the night was a tomato salad made with:
Also, I will take a moment to talk about my new friend, Greek yogurt. I recently learned that Greek yogurt has TWICE the protein of regular and so I've been plopping a spoonful in my family smoothies. I also made a dipping sauce for some baked tilapia by adding lemon juice, lemon zest, and garlic to Greek yogurt. The recipe called for dill, but I was out. It was tangy and I only needed a spoonful.
Happy Eating!
-Mel
I've been doing okay in my eating. I'm not super-strict and that's okay for now. I've been trying to focus on getting lots of good things in, rather than just keeping bad stuff out. My 5-a-day goal went well today. I was low on the veggie count so I added steamed asparagus and cold cucumbers to my lunch. Dinner was lasagna with layers of both meat and veggies (spinach, onion, broccoli, mushroom).
Yummy surprise of the night was a tomato salad made with:
- Chopped tomatoes (I used romas)
- Fresh, cut up basil (have a small, potted plant of it on my kitchen table-YUMMY!)
- 1 stick of light string cheese mozzarella chopped
Also, I will take a moment to talk about my new friend, Greek yogurt. I recently learned that Greek yogurt has TWICE the protein of regular and so I've been plopping a spoonful in my family smoothies. I also made a dipping sauce for some baked tilapia by adding lemon juice, lemon zest, and garlic to Greek yogurt. The recipe called for dill, but I was out. It was tangy and I only needed a spoonful.
Happy Eating!
-Mel
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Mel's Goals
Okay Ladies! Time to get some goals up on here!
Since Gretchen and I are both doing weight loss we decided to weigh ourselves every Friday in front of each other. We're not putting our starting weights on the blog, but will report our progress as pounds lost.
My goals are:
That's where I'm starting! I share this long list so you can all help hold me accountable. You can see I have more than just weight loss goals. More like working on my overall health and making positive changes. I will reevaluate at the New Year and likely tweak things a bit. I thought about having a bedtime goal, but the grieving process does not allow for that right now as most of my emotions surface at night. For my overall health I'm not putting any restrictions on grief related things. That just needs to flow naturally.
So here's to the courage to change the things we can!!!
I'm excited to hear about all your goals no matter how big or small! And let's get some healthy/yummy/easy recipes up on here!
-Mel
Since Gretchen and I are both doing weight loss we decided to weigh ourselves every Friday in front of each other. We're not putting our starting weights on the blog, but will report our progress as pounds lost.
My goals are:
- 20 lbs down by the end of the year.
- Get in my 5-a-day (fruits and veggies)
- One completely "free" meal a week. It will probably often happen on Saturday and will often involve Mexican food!
- Exercise at least 3 times a week. Volleyball will not count. There is too much rest time.
- Go to bed with a clean kitchen every night so I wake up less stressed.
- Cook dinner at least 4 times a week.
- Complete a Sprint Triathalon in the Spring. I already looked it up and there is one in March on a Saturday that looks reasonable.
- Spend at least 1 hour a day on my spiritual health. This will include scripture time, journal writing, Ensign reading, etc. Book reading will not count even if it's a church related book because even though they are good, nothing brings the Spirit into our lives like reading the scriptures. I will, of course, continue to read a variety of things as I enjoy it.
- Do at least one thing a day that I've been putting off or that I don't enjoy doing. It doesn't have to take a long time. Changing a lightbulb that's been out for a month, or cleaning off my desk, going through the mail, responding to a letter, etc. I know I'll be very satisfied if I get these things done on a more regular basis and stop being annoyed every time I think of them.
That's where I'm starting! I share this long list so you can all help hold me accountable. You can see I have more than just weight loss goals. More like working on my overall health and making positive changes. I will reevaluate at the New Year and likely tweak things a bit. I thought about having a bedtime goal, but the grieving process does not allow for that right now as most of my emotions surface at night. For my overall health I'm not putting any restrictions on grief related things. That just needs to flow naturally.
So here's to the courage to change the things we can!!!
I'm excited to hear about all your goals no matter how big or small! And let's get some healthy/yummy/easy recipes up on here!
-Mel
Monday, October 17, 2011
A New Beginning!!!
Hello to All!
I've decided to create this blog to help motivate me on my journey to better overall health. This will include eating better, exercising more, nourishing my mind, body and soul. It's October and I don't want to wait until the New Year to start improving myself. I'm still fine-tuning my list of specific goals. I'm sure my goals will evolve as this journey goes on. Feel free to post your journey moments as well. I know that life is not always happy sunshine and roses, but I do want to keep this blog uplifting and motivating, so try to stay positive! Love to all my buddies and good luck achieving all your worthy goals.
-Mel
I've decided to create this blog to help motivate me on my journey to better overall health. This will include eating better, exercising more, nourishing my mind, body and soul. It's October and I don't want to wait until the New Year to start improving myself. I'm still fine-tuning my list of specific goals. I'm sure my goals will evolve as this journey goes on. Feel free to post your journey moments as well. I know that life is not always happy sunshine and roses, but I do want to keep this blog uplifting and motivating, so try to stay positive! Love to all my buddies and good luck achieving all your worthy goals.
-Mel
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