Family, Food and Exercise

I've decided to make a specific blog for journaling about my weight loss maintenance. The new blog is called Family, Food and Exercise. I liked the title because it takes in account everything in my life. It's all wrapped up in one big crazy ball...bouncing out of control most days it seems like!

Recipes

This week's workouts

Mon: CrossFit (49 mins)
Tues: CrossFit  (41 mins)
Wed: Slept in
Thurs: Insanity (35 mins)
Fri: CrossFit (27 mins) Run (10 mins)
Sat: CrossFit (26 mins) Run (10 mins)

CrossFit on Monday and Tuesday were killer. The workouts felt like they lasted FOREVER! I was kind of sore but mostly just felt good once I could breath and walk again. Wednesday, when my alarm went off at 4:40 a.m. though, I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't get up. I thought I'd feel rested when I woke up but I didn't. Plus the rest of the day I had to really watch what I ate since I didn't work out that morning (and didn't have the extra activity points). Wednesday was a pretty stressful and busy work day and by the time evening came around I was exhausted, mentally and physically. Plus Leah and Kim had been sick for almost a week and neither had slept well; which in turn meant I hadn't slept well. So when I went to bed I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow. I slept straight until 5:00 a.m when my alarm went off. I jumped out of bed feeling more rested than I had in days. Which I needed since Insanity kicked my butt again! Next week it's Core Cardio and Balance...bring it on!

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Lately I've been trying to make recipes that are healthier.  Last Saturday night because everyone was sick or getting sick I made Chicken Pot Pie Soup. It was so good, very filling and full of veggies. Seriously, after 1 1/2 cup (which was the serving size) I was done. I was going to get more (I had enough pts for the day) but it was just so filling I couldn't. And that's saying a lot when it comes to me and food! One thing I did do different with the recipe is I doubled the amount of veggies. I ended up having to doubling the amount of chicken broth too. I thought it would be really watery (since I wasn't adding anymore milk) but it really wasn't. I really liked it-quite the keeper recipe.

The day before that I'd made one of my family's favorites Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili. I ended up adding an orange bell pepper I had that was going to go bad soon. It really was a good addition I thought. This is another really filling recipe; especially when you put it over rice. If I could cook brown rice (just can't seem to make it work) I think it would be great over that too and but it's wonderful just by itself. The rice just helps some of my growing boys fill up better.

I also made Zucchini Lasagana which turned out WAY better than I thought. One of my sons even told me he'd been prepared to not like it; to have to make himself a sandwich. Instead he had seconds. "Darn healthy recipes that taste good" he told me. Score one for mom! I wondered what it would be like to have zucchini instead of noodles and really I didn't miss the noodles at all. I'd been able to slice them in perfect slices too with the amazing mandolin Kim bought me for Christmas. And yes they are as sharp as you've heard they are. How I haven't cut myself yet is beyond me!

The last new (and healthy) recipe I made this last week was Easy Macaroni Casserole. It turned out better than I hoped it would. It had tons of veggies in it. Even the mushrooms were good in it and I hate mushrooms. They weren't the star of the dish though; the other flavors made it easy to ignore the mushrooms. Plus I chopped them up in small little pieces. If you like mushrooms you could leave them whole or big chunks and I think it would still work the same (as far as the dish goes). It was almost like a homemade Hamburger Helper but MUCH better for you!

Now to find some recipes for next week. Hmmmm...

Week One

I've been trying to figure out a way to get back on track better. I've done pretty well this last week but I know I could be better. I know when I was training for my run last summer, I kept a daily log of my food/exercise. It kept me somewhat accountable and it worked really well. So I think I'm going to give that a try again. This time though, I'm going to put it up here. Maybe workouts, new recipes, good days, bad days, what worked, what didn't, new things I've learned... Kind of like a log but with a little more detail. Plus on bad days I can go back and maybe see how far I've come. :-)

So here goes....

Exercise this week
Mon: Crossfit 26 mins, Run 10 mins
Tues: Crossfit 37 mins
Wed: Insanity DVD 40 mins
Thurs: Crossfit 27 mins, Yoga 30 mins
Fri: Crossfit 35 mins
Sat: Run 45 mins, Walk 2 mins (to warm up)

The workouts this week at the gym have been really hard. I've really had to push myself. Well, other than Friday...it was a 5 Rounder. I didn't push myself at all on that one; I wanted to quit the whole time.

The Insanity DVD was harder than I expected it to be. I was sweating like a pig before we even got halfway through! But it was a great workout. Kind of like Crossfit but not at the same time. Either way Dallin and I are going to try to do that once a week to shake things up and help with our cardio more (and boy was there a lot of that).

My Saturday run was great. It was SO nice to be outside running. I miss it so much! Although I changed things up a little and went a different way, that ended up having a hill. It really kicked my butt but it's something I need to do more of so it was good. The bad thing was I'd eaten a big lunch an hour before running (I hadn't planned on running) so I had heartburn pretty much the whole run. Yuck. A hand full of Tums afterwards helped somewhat. All in all it was a good run. It's such a difference running outside compared to running on the treadmill. I have such a hard time with the treadmill now, which is funny because a year ago I would have picked the treadmill over outside 100%.

I wasn't as good about food this last week as I was about exercise. Well, I was good up through lunch then I'd get home from work and eat everything in sight. The problem was I wasn't planning out my meals in advance or even bringing food to work. When I do that I make really bad decisions. Plus I wrestled with my willpower this week too. I think I'm finally winning. At the beginning of the week I would tell myself "You don't need that cookie" and then would eat 3. By Saturday I was telling myself "You really don't need that cookie" and passing it up for an apple instead. So man man lai as far as food goes.

I made 2 recipes the last few days that are so filling. I mean I'd eat the serving size I'm supposed to and I was so full! They were Chicken Taco Chili and Chicken Pot Pie Soup, both from the website skinnytaste.com. So Good! And my family loved them too. Well...my oldest wasn't in love with all the veggies I put in the Chicken Pot Pie Soup (I doubled the veggies) but for the most part they were loved.

I'm not sure how this will go. If it will end up being too long, or if I'll have time to write enough. I hope I keep it up because I can see it being a great way for me to get back on track. There's something about writing things down.

Day One (Again)

From about Thanksgiving until now things have been pretty crazy...for everyone I'm sure. I've been so busy; each night felt like it had something going on. Food was either treats people brought by or I made, followed by dinners of fast food. Add on a stressful December at work and it was all a bad recipe-especially for an emotional eater like me. 

Also in November and December I stopped exercising as much or as hard. The days became short and the weather became cold so I had to stop running outside. I use to be able to run on the treadmill for miles but the more I've run outside the harder it is to run on the treadmill. As time went on I became so stressed and full of junk food it became harder and harder to work out. I grew slower and tired out so easy. Because of all of this the amount I exercised got smaller and smaller. 

And I felt all of this. I felt it in my body. And it didn't feel good. Unfortunately I didn't listen to my body for a long time. Finally yesterday I listened. I was exhausted and I felt sick to my stomach. I actually thought about quitting in the middle of my exercise workout-something I've never done even when I first started. I finally realized I needed to stop. I needed to rethink what I was doing and get back to what had made me feel good; what had made my body feel good. 

So today I started over...again. I'm back to tracking everything I eat on my Weight Watchers food log. Back to eating more veggies and fruits and less treats. Back to taking exercise seriously...or seriously exercising. 

I'm writing this because I've heard if you write things down you're more apt to accomplish them. I also writing this because I'm sure I'm not the only one who's ever "fallen off the wagon." I'm sure there are others that have had the same problem I had during the holidays and feel like they just can't get back on track.

Man man lai. It's a Chinese phrase my husband learned while on his mission in Taiwan and it's one I've never forgotten. Literally I think it means slowly, slowly coming. But to me it means take it easy, no need to worry, let's take this step by step, little by little you'll make it. I love it. Man man lai. 

So that's what I'm doing. Going back to step one; day one. Man man lai...I'll get back to where I want to be again one of these days. I've done it before so I know I can do it again. And I know you can too. 

A different way of seeing things

Lately I've been seeing things a different way. I happier way. It's taken a long time for this to happen and frankly I'm surprised it ever happened. I mean I wanted it to happen and have been working hard for it to happen but I'm still surprised.

What happened you ask? Well lately when I see pictures of myself I don't cringe. Can you believe that? Maybe it's never been a problem with you but I can't remember the last time I didn't look at photo that I was in and didn't cringe; quietly or openly. I don't know many women who enjoy getting their photos taken. I'm one of those people for sure and that part hasn't changed. 

But now, when I look at myself I see something different. I see all the work I've done these last couple years. I see the mornings of getting up at 4:40 a.m. 4-5 times during the work week to exercise. I see the early morning Saturday runs. I see the modifying of recipes to add more whole wheat or low calorie/low fat items. I see more fruit and vegetables. I see the thinking ahead of what to eat so the best option can be picked. I see these things and I smile.

I also see the candy, cookies, whole personal pizzas plus bread sticks, the burgers and fries, the ice cream and the toppings...and I smile even more. 

Because all of these things have made up my last two years. Exercise and eating. I have to admit, sometimes the eating is healthier than other times. But you know what, that's all part of it. When I started my journey 2 years ago I knew it was going to be a long one because I wasn't going to do anything I couldn't stand doing the rest of my life. I wasn't going to cut out cake, or cookies, or hamburgers, or french fries, or pizza. Instead I was just going to make sure those things weren't the only things I ate. That in between those things I would eat more veggies and fruits, eat healthy items more and get some exercise. 

Did it work? I have to say it has. How do I know, you ask? Because now when I look at pictures of myself I don't cringe. That right there says whatever I'm doing is right for me. That making these changes in my life have made me happy. And that's why I started this. I wanted to be happy with myself. I tried so hard to love who I was then but I couldn't. I knew where my body wanted to be. I knew where I wanted to be.

Was it all about losing weight? Not really. It's been about getting healthy. About being able to run around in the backyard with my new little daughter. About being able to climb up and slide down with her at the park. It was about showing her from the beginning that exercise wasn't something bad. That running around was fun. That it wasn't something you HAD to do, it was something you WANTED to do. That apples and bananas were great snacks. That eating healthy didn't mean carrot sticks and celery.

3 years ago I had a daughter. 3 years ago I realized that all of my issues with my body and food would be passed on to my daughter as I raised her because that's what she would see from me. I realized I didn't want to do that. I realized I needed to figure out what made me happy so I could live that way and show my daughter by example. 

And so today I don't cringe when I see photos of myself. Do I think I will always feel that way? Probably not. Everyone has their good and bad days (or weeks or months or years!) and I know I will too. But I know I can do this. I know I can. And I know I want to. 

Hip, Hip Hooray Leah's 2 today!!

Like I've said a million times I can't believe how fast time is flying by. It's hard to believe that Leah is 2 years old already! It seems like just yesterday she was this fragile little thing!

Now a days I don't think "fragile" is a word we use for Leah! She's still really tall for her age (just under 3 ft) and she runs, jumps and plays as much or more than my boys ever did. She falls all the time (most of the time on purpose) and we're all wondering how she hasn't had to have stitches yet! I'm sure it's coming.

She is so much fun though. She loves to help in the kitchen and does a great job for her age. She's very careful about pouring things and loves to lick the spoon at the end. 

She's really interested in movies and TV shows now. She loves Finding Nemo, Thomas the Train, Seasame Street, Ice Age and many others. She even laughs at parts that are funny. I'm always amazed at how much she actually understands about what she's watching...which is kind of bad too. We've had to be careful to make sure she's not watching something that may give her bad dreams later on.

She has this funny little personality that comes out during her "non-grumpy" times. She also makes the funniest faces that can make anyone laugh.

She really loves her brothers and interacts with them more and more. It so fun to see them with her. Even though she doesn't talk much she can get her point across to them and to us...and really to anyone. It would be nice if she could talk a little more though. She tends to get frustrated with us when we don't know what she wants. But I'm sure one of these days we'll be sorry we ever thought that!
She knows more sign language than actual words I think. Her speaking vocabulary is pretty basic: mommy, daddy, bye, yes, no, side (means in or out)...oh and the 2 most important words:
mine and shoes.
She's turned into a real girly-girl lately. She LOVES shoes. I mean loves. It's the first thing she asks for when she wakes up. She loves to help pick out her clothes and sometimes even what goes in her hair. She loves to wearing plastic rings & bracelets around too. We find them all over the house. Along with her toys & books.
But as much as she's girly she's still our crazy Leah.

 We had a little birthday party for her during a dinner at my mom's house the other night. She caught on pretty quick to the fact that if she unwraps the present she gets what's inside:

And I think she liked her cake too:

But she didn't like our singing!

All in all it's been an amazing, tiring, loving, frustrating, happy, and interesting 2 years.
Can't wait to see what the future holds!

Love you Leah! Happy Birthday!

I can’t believe it! She’s 1!!!

We took her to the doctor for her one year check up. She had to have a shot in each leg and each arm. Her dad had to leave the room...it was too much for him to watch. He hates seeing his little girl hurt. But she did great. Cried some but was more angry that we were holding her so tight she couldn’t move! She’s now 2 ½ feet tall and weighs 24lbs. I think the growing has eased up a bit...which is great since she’s in 24 month outfits at 12 months!

On her birthday I made her a cake.

She didn't eat much at all but had a good time squishing it to pieces!

Miss Leah - or Hurricane Leah as her name has become - is all over the place. She started walking around 11 months and has just become faster and faster every day. Although the scabs on her face the week of her birthday showed her legs aren’t as fast as her mind would like them to be.

She loves to read! She’ll give you the book and then try to sit on your lap

so you can read it over and over and over again. We all tire of it but know readings a good thing.

She absolutely loves animals. Dogs, cats, horses, sheep, cows, etc. She gets so excited when she sees them and everything else is forgotten.

She also loves to push things around. I tell people it’s like having a ghost in the house because you’ll leave a room and when you come back the chairs are all moved around!

She's eating all regular food and milk now. She loves yogurt, bread, pears, squash, pasta, french fries, watermelon, broccoli...the list goes on and on. She's a little finiky though, some days she'll eat it-some days she won't. She's very much her own little person already.

It has been amazing to watch her grow this last year. I forgot how much fun it is to have a little one around. I also forgot how tiring it is...but the fun wins 99% of the days. She has such a cute personality already. She scrunches up her nose and smiles at you. She gives kisses (when she wants) and hugs. When I pick her up in the morning or after a nap she'll lay her head on my shoulder and pat my back. It brings tears to my eyes every time. And no matter how angry or upset I am at the lack of sleep or her stubborn ways...all she has to do is look at me and give me her cute little smile and I melt.