Day #8-Update

It feels like these days are dragging!!! But I have some updates that makes me excited!
I have so far lost 4 pounds.
AND a  few inches around the waist

Current Weight 199 LBS                   Starting Weight 203
Measurements :                                  S Measurements:
Bust: 45.5                                          Bust: 45.5
Waist: 45                                           Waist: 49.5
Hips: 49                                             Hips: 50
Thighs: 27                                          Thighs: 28
Arms: 14.5                                         Arms 14.5

Not bad!

As this week has gone by, I have realized a lot of my bad habits. One of the biggest one is my "commission " I charge the kids. I usually take a bite or sip of whatever I make them, I call it my commission. It started as me checking the temperature, or if it was a Capri sun, to make sure they didn't spill it as they grabbed it. As I have been making their lunches, they don't eat the same things I eat during this diet, it has been so hard not to take a piece of cheese and eat it, or taking a bite of things. I don't think I would have ever noticed that before. That is a lot of hidden calories right there that I was consuming, things I didn't need to survive. It's just weird to notice these things.

For the remainder of this week, I'm going to try something new. I am going to make sure that after every meal I take at least two hours before I can sit down. It's something my mom used to tell me all the time. You make sure you sit down to eat, or else if you end up standing to eat, you will eat much faster, which you don't want to do that. As soon as you are done eating, find things to do that don't involve sitting. Now that I don't work at a desk anymore, I can actually do that. There is a lot I can do around the house that can help me do this.

I'm getting antsy and want to start the workouts now!!! Can't wait!

Day #4- Feeling Good

I'm starting to feel much better!!!

I feel energized and motivated. Although the scale hasn't moved much, I love how I feel. I always had in my head that eating healthy was, well. Let me let Cathy tell you:

The mentality of it is just crazy. When I get hungry, I do think of my favorite foods, which right now I will not ( and can't) have. It's sad to see now in full view what my relationship with food is like. I don't eat to fuel. I eat to satisfy. That is a bad black hole to be in. Mind you, I do believe to go ahead and partake of those cravings, but it definitely needs to be balanced.

The #1 thing I didn't realize, is how many calories I was eating. My life is on the go, all the time. It's really ridiculous. So, stopping to get a bite at a drive-thru happened a lot. I thought, oh just a small dollar menu item will do. Not that I correlate the price with the calories, but for some reason, I thought more of the size. Each (small) double burger is easily 400 calories. I sometimes ordered two of these. 800 calories. That didn't even include if I got a drink, or fries. YUCK!

The other trap I fell in, was : "If I made it myself, then it must be more healthy than a fast food meal." It WAS cheaper, but the health value was just as bad. Example: Frozen Pizza. Each slice is easily 300-350 calories each. I ate close to 3 (sometimes 4) slices, plus what ever drink i had. That's at least 1200 calories in this one meal!

I'm disappointed in my self for not caring at looking at labels. It really is an eye opener to see this now. I wish I cared sooner. But I am glad that I am doing something about this now.

I am feeling a big push to do this. I want to live as long as I can, but in good Health. There are so many theories on Cancer, and other Heart related diseases that are based purely on Nutrition and Physical Fitness. My mom, having died at such a young age, has instilled fear in me. My dad, having Heart related diseases has added onto that fear. I know what it is like to lose a parent, and I do not want my kids to go through that, at least not yet.

kicking UP a notch

I always have such a hard time starting out these posts. I have SOO much to say and I dont want to make it overwhelming when it doesnt need to be! So I will try to keep these short and sweet!

Thank you all who have emailed me or personally given me your input and your own success stories! I will be posting along a few ideas out there that I will be trying out!

So, I totally LOVE my results from the little things that I have changed. With that, I am going to kick it UP a notch because I want MORE! (who doesn't?)

So my weight update:

I have lost 9 pounds so far! I am one away from my first goal.

I haven't posted as of yet what my weight was when I started out....
I'm afraid to say it out loud, but I think that IF it is said, then MAYBE it wont be such a horrible number (at least it feels that way in my mind). But thats ALL it is. A number. IF numbers were truely scary, then most kids would not want to watch Sesame Street AND would cry horrified when they heard :"Brought to you by the number 9." Right? RIGHT????

Ok, here is the break down:

2004 (High School): 125 lbs

2005 End of 1st yr. College: 135 lbs

2006 Post Baby #1 weight: 185 lbs (ouch!)

2008 Post Baby #2 weight: 198 lbs (double ouch!)

2010 Post Baby #3 weight: 215 lbs (kaBOOM!)

(Technically that was new years day 2011 :D)

2011 Before this blog started: 205lbs

CURRENT WEIGHT: 196 lbs

Keep in mind, maybe thats not a BIG number. But for my stature, it is definately NOT healthy.
According to a BMI calculator I used, this current weight is still OBESE... with at LEAST 46 pounds to go to be borderline "overweight", and 76 pounds to be "NORMAL"

Reality check. After having kids, there is no way that weighing 120 pounds is "NORMAL" for my height. My body is NOT the same. I do not fall for the cookie cutter programs, and I dont think anyone else should either. BUT, it is a good standard to go by.

My goal: to eventually weigh 140-150

What am I doing now? starting today:

I have come to the point where I need to mix things up. I have decided to double my daily water intake. This is ok for me, because I was NOT getting the recommended 8-12 glasses a day (Keep in mind that your water intake should be over an entire day and not all at once. Drinking large amounts of water in a short period of time can result in water intoxication thereby flushing out necessary electrolytes. So yes, it is possible to drink too much water too...)

Im waking up earlier in the day, and going to bed earlier at night. This may sound obvious, but I have kids that are sleepers like mom and dad and they do not get up early, so I get to sleep in, and they go to bed early so I stay up to get things done :) getting up earlier will help my metabloism, AND (crossing fingers!) I am hoping to do these 10 minute workouts I have on my instant queue on Netflix before starting the day. This, hopefully, will give me the energy I need and of course will help tone muscle!

One more thing: Im going to start recording everynight what I ate and keep track of it on http://www.sparkpeople.com/

It is free and it is a great tool where you can actually see what is bad for you (things you would never know were actually bad for you!) My Mother in law has been using this tool and has lost over 50 lbs. SuPeR AMAZING!

I think that anything is POSSIBLE one step at a time. I will get fit and healthy. I will NO longer feel that I'm ok the way things are.

My request to you: When you feel the need to change, change no more than 3 things at a time, and slowly add on another 3 things to change. It is too hard to do a HUGE revamp and turn your life upside down. I did that. And all it accomplished was anger and defeat. I just quit trying every time. If you can drop 10 lbs, then why not another 10lbs, your already did it? small quantities will give you HUGE results!

Happy pinching everyone! Keep sending me your feedback, I love hearing from you!

Health and Nutrition

I am NOT a dieter.

I LOOVE food.

Really. I love that I know that I can eat whatever I want, when I want it.

My physical appearance reflects this mentality...

This has made me feel pretty bad. Not only do I feel like I don't look good, but I also have little to no energy (that may also be because of my three little ones+working...)

Having a Pizza delivery place on your speed dial or saved on your favorites on your phone's browser is NOT the way to go.. It seems to be

obvious, BUT it is so easy to fall in that trap.

Take us for an example:

1. the kids love it

2. mom and dad love it

3. easy dinner ready made delivered to door hot (heavenly!)

4. did i mention how delicious it is?

5. it is overly marketed, T.V., online, radio...

and MOST importantly, we thought it was EASY...

Now, dont get me wrong. We did not eat pizza every day... However, this is just one vice out of many...

We have made small improvements since starting this blog, what a difference it has made! We have already been loosing weight and saved quite a bit of money!

The first thing I can tell you is that MENTALITY is everything. Dont think about being on a DIET. Think about those cute clothes you will be wearing soon because you are eating differently!

When I first sat down to see what menus to plan and shopping lists, it was a nightmare! I searched online for healthy menus. I found some that I was totally and willing to follow EVERY step of the way, but looking at it, I knew our kids would not have the same opinion... (I could just hear in my head "ewe, what is that mom?")

So, ok, I thought I will make them a separate meal for them.... I printed out calendars with Mom and dad's menu, and kids menus...Like I said, a total nightmare. I literally cried, and wanted to pull my hair out after staring for hours at my computer monitor and the ridiculous looking menu plan.

Guess what was running through my head at this point...

GIVE UP, MARIA..........................................

You CAN'T do this

After this, Justin walks in the kitchen. Saw my frustration and how ridiculously frustrating it was to me. He said: "It doesn't need to be this complicated".

I laughed, and said, yes it does, look at this. If we want to change, this is what needs to happen.

Well, hate to admit that he was absolutely right.

WHY does it need to be complicated?

So I threw the calendars away. I wrote out a grocery list of things we normally purchase. Then I crossed out things that we could live without. For example, soda pop (sniff sniff!), chips, those hostess cake snacks... you get the idea.

We replaced those things with crackers, granola bars, baby carrots, broccoli, string cheese and such.We eliminated the junk and brought in fresh snacks.

We also are testing out using ground turkey instead of ground beef, a healthier option. My opinion??? It is actually a great substitute! We have so far made delicious turkey burgers and hamburger helper, the only trick is you need to make sure it is well seasoned, since compared to beef, it is nearly tasteless. We will probably substitute 25% of our meals with ground turkey.

Since starting this blog, I have lost 7 pounds!!! And my secret? Was to do something different. I chose different and healthier foods to buy. I didn't even go crazy and get every thing low fat/ fat free, or "diet". I changed what I did and not what someone else did... And the best thing about it, I don't go hungry and I still eat what I want, without really going out of my way to make a huge effort!

It was simple and uncomplicated to just make a change. I truly believe, if you aren't happy with your results, its time to change your actions!

This is just the beginning of our journey of Pinching our Fat. As we try new things, we will update our success and failures!

If you have your own success stories, or have any word of caution about Health and Nutrition, send me your story at celesteandersen@gmail.com to be shared!