Mother Nature $uck$



Well guess I was all too happy yesterday about the nice weather and Mother Nature just had to come crashing down on me this morning. I’m not talking about Mother Nature’s work outside, I’m talking about that ever so loving Mother Nature that hits most of us women once a month. Yes, I am going there (so men, you may want to skip this part…haha).

One time a month I truly hate being a woman! Bloat, cramp, heating pad, repeat. Why I’ve never gotten use to this monthly occurrence, is beyond me (* insert sarcasm here*)! It plays havoc with you and let me tell you that good old scale does me no favors either this time of the month. Ugh….really another weight gain! How does one gain 2 pounds of extra weight over night then magically lose them again. Makes no sense to me.

So yes, I do really think that being a woman sucks once a month and that Mother Nature needs to find another form of entertainment and kindly leave me alone!!

MEN…..you can pick up here again…haha

Okay, I’m done venting about that now.

So yesterday I said that I was making May the month “To Make It Count”. I’ve decided that every day this month I am going to challenge myself with something different. Whether it be something big or small, it has to challenge me and be something that I don’t usually do in my normal routine.

My weight loss has come to yet another stand still and I can not handle that any longer. Yeah, yeah, I know, if I would not of spent a good part of last month not exercising and not eating right, I would most likely be over this hurdle and would of lost more weight.

I actually did two challenges today. One was getting in my exercise this morning. When Mother Nature does her calling, I usually am not up for anything. But this morning, I remembered what I said about making it count and got my a$$ in gear and did it. Then for my walk early, I walked backwards for about 100 yards. Oh my, let me tell you that made my legs burn in places I did not think they could burn. Also made me work up a good sweat and we all knowing that will help with the weight loss.

So hubby has agreed to help me every day this month with a different challenge. Bring it on baby, I can handle it. If I repeat that enough, I just might believe it….haha. Actually I am a little scared cos my husband goes at full speed and never stops!! Then again, if you look at his picture, you’ll see there isn’t much to him. So it’s a bit easier for him to go like that. But I am up for the challenge. I know that he will push me just enough, but not to where it’ll hurt me. I will lose this weight one way or another.

So, are you up for this challenge too? Would love to hear what you do to challenge yourself everyday!!

Please do not mind the outfit....haha

Today’s challenge…..walked 100 yards backwards.


Till next time…..remember to eat healthy, get some exercise, and most of all, love yourself!!! Now go make it count!!

Finally A Walk

Starting out for our walk

                                                    
What a beautiful day it turned out to be for the first day of May. I  actually got to go for a walk this afternoon and I don’t think that the “cabin fever” will come to full surface now. Which is a relief cos I was not getting anywhere near excited only bummy with the crappy weather. So it is time to kick it into high gear and make the most out of May.

Me and Jem, the cat that should of been a dog

                                                    


I’ve decided that I’ve spent enough of this year already not staying on track completely with the whole weight loss. And have declared May to be the month of “making it count”. There will be no days to be lazy (except for Sunday’s which is just a walking day). I will exercise one way or another every day. No more of “I don’t feel like it”, “It won’t hurt if I miss one day”, or “I can eat that and be okay”. NO, NO, NO MORE OF THAT!!!

Just a little steep

Long a$$ hill

I mean come on who am I kidding but myself thinking that I can skip a day here and there (or more) and still lose weight. Dah, didn’t I already go over the fact that there is not a miracle pill out there to make all of this extra weight disappear? So how is taking a day or two off from getting the exercise that is needed helping me achieve my weight loss goal? It’s not and deep down I know that, which is probably why I usually end up feeling like sh!t when I do things like that.

Going down the other side

As you can see I had two followers today

I’m sure I am not alone in having days like that, but they do not do me or anyone else any good who is trying to lose weight. This is where I am so thankful for my hubby. He gives me that little push when I need it and just like today, all I had to do was ask if he’d go for a walk with me. Like that is really the first thing he

wants to do when he gets home from work, but he does it for me.

                                 

Willow (on my right) has never went with me before today

Heading back home

So yes, I am so glad that I finally got to get back out there and go for another walk. I never thought the day would come that I would hear myself saying “I actually like to walk”. Isn’t it funny how we change as we get older? But I really do enjoy going for that walk each night with my husband. It not only gives us some quality time together, but I get to do a form of exercising and have fun doing it. And never once think that I am only walking to help me lose weight.

Guess they needed a break

           

My hubby picked me flowers....so sweet

      







  









Till next time…..remember to eat healthy, get some exercise, and most of all, love yourself!!! Now go make it count!!

Hubby & I

END OF APRIL


I guess it is time for me to take this blog to a more personal level now and let you get to know me better. So pull up a seat as I take you along with me on my weight loss journey.

First of all I have to say that I am glad this is the last day of April. I have been sick for most of it and “cabin fever” is finally hit home here. We did not have much of a winter here, but yet it has been cold enough or raining (with a few days of snow fall), to make it hard to go for a walk.

Even though I have still been able to do my normal exercising and watching what I eat, I miss going for a walk in the evening with my husband and cat. Yeah, my one cat goes for a walk with me ( I think she was to be a dog, not a cat…haha).

You will come to find out that I am just a down to earth, country girl (with a lot of Red Neck in me..hehe). I am also a  smarta$$ by nature and like to joke around a lot and usually at my own expense. But I think that is the norm for people that are over-weight.

Let’s face it, we all have demons that we have to battle and usually those that are over-weight have a lot more of those demons to battle, especially when we are trying to lose weight.

I know for me, those demons started at a young age. From feeling rejected by my parents to being bullied in school to spending way too many years in bad relationships. I’ve spent most of my life trying to get other people’s approval and acceptance of me and for what? It has never been anyone else other than myself that needed to approve and accept me for me.

Trying to please others and living up to what I thought they expected of me is what led me to becoming over-weight in the first place. Bouts of depression and dealing with panic attacks all of the time was not a good life to live. Depression led to binge eating and over eating also. And the panic attacks, well they used to come quite often and make me a total mess and of course I would turn to food to comfort myself. Why? Mainly because I felt that there was no one to understand and accept me.

All of that has changed now, thanks to my husband. The depression is still there, just not as severe anymore. I have mostly good days and when I do start to feel down, he is there to help pick me back up again and makes me realize that things could always be worse. I don’t take panic attacks like I used to either. I still don’t know how my husband does it, but he some how knows when I am about to take one and can usually talk me right out of them. I am so thankful that he can do all of this with me. I know that he accepts me for me and does not expect me to be anything else.

Having him in my life and knowing all of the support that I get from him makes sticking to losing weight so much easier. Hard to believe that at one point in time, I actually believed all of those people that said I was fat, ugly, stupid, etc, etc, etc…..you get the picture there. I may not be the prettiest, skinniest and far from the smartest; but I AM ME and would not change that for anything, no matter what others think of me. Ok, I lied there, the fat has to go!! So yeah, one day I just may be the skinniest. Fingers crossed, scale in hand, watch out world, cos I refuse to let this weight hold me down anymore. I will lose weight once and for all and I truly hope that you will be along side me in my journey, to make it “our” journey.

Till next time…..remember to eat healthy, get some exercise, and most of all, love yourself!!!

MY OTHER SECRET HELPERS:

Besides following Weight Watchers, I also finally found a few other things that are working for me. Now I can not promise that they will do the same for you, but I know what they have done for me so far while losing weight.

I love Pepsi and even though I gave it up, I was having a hard time getting away from my iced tea and yes it had to be sweet too, which only packed on more weight. I tried all of those artificial sweeteners, but could not handle the nasty after taste they left. I was told about 100% Coconut Palm Sugar, by Pure Palm, which looks like brown sugar but tastes like a mix of caramel and honey. So I bought it, tried it, and now am hooked on it. There is no after taste at all! And the best thing is I still get to drink my iced tea.

I also have been taking SafSlim, by Re-Body. Even though it is a dietary supplement that has a whipped creamy texture and actually tastes good too, I take it for the other benefits it does. It is a clinically researched solution for specifically reducing belly fat, plus has other benefits as well that have shown to help improve blood sugar levels and help cholesterol levels. It’s easy to use too, you take 1 Tbsp. twice daily before meals ( I do breakfast and dinner), either by the spoonful or mixed into cold beverages, shakes or yogurt. I take it right off of the spoon, I’ve never tried mixing it in anything they suggest. I have only tried the Delicious Berry Cream Fusion, but they also have Delicious Tangerine Cream Fusion.

Along with doing everything else, I also use the Tummy Tuck Belt, which also has been proven to help reduce belly fat. You simply follow the 10 minute method twice per day. Which is putting the cream that comes with it on your belly, doing a 2 minute routine that they show you and then leave on for an additional 8 minutes. After the 10 minutes, you can take off the belt. You can use the Tummy Tuck Belt three ways, for an instant slimming look, use it and keep your current lifestyle or add exercise with it and burn up to 4 times more fat. I myself, use it while exercising in the morning then again when walking in the evening. Now, I haven’t seen dramatic results with this, but I have noticed that my belly is firmer and it also helps you keep your abs drawn in, which is a good thing to do to help tighten them up. Also the other day, while cuddling with my husband, as he ran his hand down my side, he says to me, “Your puffy spot is gone”. I got such a boost of confidence from that. Makes it all worth it when the one you love notices things like that!

Which leads me to my last secret helper, which is my husband, my biggest supporter in helping me lose weight. Again, you need at least one person that is really there to support you while you lose not only weight but all of the unwanted fat from your body. My husband told me last night that he has learned to watch what he says to me so he doesn’t make me get discouraged. That meant a lot to me to hear him say that and to know that he really is supporting me. I know that if this idiot of a woman can finally get it together and get on the right track to losing my fat, that you can too!!

EATING MY WAY THIN:

I love food and love cooking, and unfortunately both have gotten me where I am today, overweight! Yet there is a program out there that let’s me still have my love for food and lose weight while still eating all of the foods I enjoy. Yes, I still eat pasta, pizza and chocolate (my biggest weakness). I have learned to proportion what I eat and drink along with making healthier food choices.

If you don't have the knack for coming up with good healthy recipes on your own,
Paleo Recipe Book is a good book to start you out with. It takes you back to the way it use to be before they started adding all of the gunk to our foods.

I am by no means a spokes persons for Weight Watchers, but their program does indeed work. I myself follow more of their old program more than I do their newer one. Only because, I do not like their earn extra food points for doing certain exercises on their newer program. I do not see where that is beneficial for you in losing weight. For anyone that does not know about the Weight Watchers program, to make it simple, every food has a point value and you are given a certain number of points per day depending upon your age, weight, height and a few other factors.
But really, Weight Watchers does work. I know, I’ve lost 13 pounds since the beginning of this year. It is the most easiest plan that I have come across so far. This is where needing a food scale (along with a set of measuring cups and spoons) and food journal comes into play. Measuring all of your food may seem overwhelming at first, but it really opens your eyes up to the amount of extra food that you have been eating. It also helps you make healthier food choices.

You don’t have to join Weight Watchers to follow their plan. There are plenty of places on the internet to get the calculator and everything else you need to begin with their program. That’s what I did.

A food journal is also a great tool to get yourself on the right track. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, this is for your eyes only, so any old notebook will do the trick. Logging what you eat, when you eat it every day really plays an important role in losing weight. You eat it, you write it, you have to account for it. There is no point in trying to lie about what you eat in your journal, no one will know but you. But where is lying about what you ate going to get you, only more weight gain and not weight loss.

In my journal, I not only keep track of the foods that I eat and their point value but also the days exercise and my weight. I have found it easiest to start off in the morning and figure out what I am going to have for dinner, then I can go from there and know what I can or can not have for lunch.

I still love food and love cooking, but I look at it in a different way now. I enjoy trying new recipes and even coming up with new ones of my own (some though have not been that good…ugh). It is all about making the right food choices, proportion sizes, and learning the point value of each food. If I can follow this simple program, trust me you can too.

Start your journal right now and list what you have eaten so far today. You’ll be thankful you did and will realize that losing weight has never been so easy.

                  LAZY WAY TO FITNESS:

I’ll be the first to admit that I am lazy and would rather curl up on the couch and just watch television then to get up and do some form of exercise. But going on 40, with a teenage son and a loving husband has made me want to take better care of myself.

It’s funny how once we get older and have a family that our focus goes towards taking care of them and we forget about taking care of ourselves. Well, that was my excuse for many years, but now this idiot of a woman has had enough of that and I am bound and determined to lose this extra weight once and for all that has somehow appeared on my body.

I used to cringe at the thought of doing any form of exercise. I can laugh at that now, but not long ago I made every excuse there was not to have to exercise. I thought I had to almost kill myself with doing the so called right form of exercise to be able to lose weight, only to find out now that is not true at all.

I used to love dancing and have come to love doing Zumba. Zumba fir the Wii was one of the things that I specifically asked for at Christmas. I love it!! And let me tell you, I have never once felt as though I am exercising while doing it. It’s become a part of my daily routine, which has changed since starting my weight loss journey here.

Yes, I have changed my routine and now take the time to focus on taking care of me and not just taking care of my family. I have found that by taking the time for me first thing in the morning is really a wonderful thing. Even on the weekends, my family supports what I now call “Me Time”. I not only am able to get in the exercise that I need, but it makes me feel good about myself and keeps me motivated all day long.

There are other forms of exercise on the Wii that I enjoy and not one of them feel like you are doing exercise at all. Yoga on the Wii Fit Plus is another one of my favorites. I have also come to enjoy the treadmill and the Bow flex. This is where the good music list comes in at. When I am listening to my ipod, the time flies right by and before I know it, I’ve gotten in 30 or more minutes of exercise that wasn’t bad at all.

I have also started walking in the evenings with my husband and son. A good walking partner makes this so easy and you don’t even realize how far you’ve walked when you aren’t focusing on it. I enjoy taking lots of photos and walking let’s you see nature at it’s best. There are many programs out there that will reward you for keeping track of your steps, such as “Walk With Walgreens”, which we have joined. And hey who doesn’t like to get free stuff now and then.

Keep changing it up. You body and muscles will get use to you doing the same thing every day and it won’t do you a bit of good. I like doing Zumba one day and then Yoga the next, with attempting the treadmill and or Bow flex at least once a week.

So you see there are many ways to make exercising and losing weight fun. Take the time each and every day to put yourself first and take some “Me Time” and focus on you. After all, you deserve it!

MY LIST OF MUST HAVE’S:

• First and foremost you need motivation - it can be hard, but it can be done. Look around and you’ll be amazed at what can actually give you the motivation that you need to stay on track while losing weight.

• At least one person who really supports you while losing weight - if you have this, you’ll find a lot of motivation and they will keep you going when you feel like giving up.

• A walking partner - someone to talk to while walking really makes it fun and not seem like you are even walking to lose weight and get healthy.

• At least one form of exercise  - don’t cringe on this one, there are many things out there to get your heat beat going that do not even seem like exercise.

• A good play list on your ipod - you have to have good music to make it fun.

• A scale to weigh yourself- it will become your friend and also give you that extra motivation to staying focused day by day while losing weight.

• A food scale - yes, you will need to weigh some of your foods. I don’t go anywhere without mine. And it looks kind of neat on the counter.

• Your own bottle for water - funny how something like this can make you feel special and also give you motivation.

• A journal for food - keeping track of what you eat really makes a difference and helps you make better food choices. It’s also fun and again gives you motivation.

• Set small weight loss goals - setting small and realistic goals makes it easier to do and you will be surprised once you get going how much motivation you get to keep reaching these goals.

• Lastly, get rid of “I Can’t” in your vocabulary - you really can, if I can, you can too!!