Week Five...Injuries Suck

Welcome to the Fifth (completed) week of Extreme Makeover: ME Edition hosted by the incredible Amber Filkins!

Let's weigh-in...

Last week: 215 pounds
This week: 212pounds

LOST.....3 pounds

I'm disappointed. I was hoping that all of that 4 pound gain from last week was all water weight and I would be back to 211 today. I ate much better! How can all of this salad be turning to fat?

The Plan from last week:

I worked out 3 times. Still having issues with my stupid knee so I bought a Ace Brace for it but my knee is so fat that it cuts the circulation off to my leg. I totally understand that my knee is mad at me for putting so much weight and pressure on it but DOOD...I'm trying to do something about it! It's like a catch 22. I need to lose weight, but I can't move as much as I'd like so that I can lose weight. I'm getting really good at the Bend and Snap and we are eating a lot more veggies and salad. I did drink wine. But now it's gone and I'm not going to buy anymore. I did find out why my brother in law is losing 5 lbs a week. Check out his sample meal for a day.

Breakfast Whey Protein Shake 110 Calories
Snack 3 Kiwi's 108 Calories
Lunch Cabbage Soup 77 Calories
Snack Asparagus (2 Cups) 79 Calories
Dinner Whey Protein Shake 110 Calories

That's ONLY 484 calories!

The Plan for Week Six:

Exercise 4 times
Drink More Water
Drink less Soda
No Booze
More Veggies
Meditate for 10 minutes each day

I have a application on my iPhone for meditating and they have a couple choices...one helps you fall asleep, one for chilling out and one for emotional eating. I am going to test drive a couple of these and see if they can help me relax.

I am struggling to get my workouts done because of a recent development in our house. My little boy...has learned to climb out of his crib and is waking up at 6:30 am each day. I normally get up at 5:30am, exercise then shower and get dressed. He is messing up my routine because I am usually just finishing my work out when he wakes up and needs me. He also has decided that he doesn't need a nap and when I try to put him down...he climbs out. Nap time is when I relax, finish household chores and read. I am going to have to find a way to fit my exercise in this time too. I'll let you know how it goes...

Question of the Week: Share with us a healthy recipe.

I made this last week for Earth Day and it was a huge hit with hubby and the kids. We will be making this all summer! I used my new favorite dressing on the salad and it went great with the apples and pecans. Here are all of the recipes I have labeled HEALTHY on my Food Blog.


Grilled Chicken and Fruit Kabobs

1 cup lemon juice
2 (8 ounce) cans pineapple chunks, juice reserved
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
24 large strawberries

In a flat glass container mix together the lemon juice, juice from pineapple can, salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Add cubed chicken and marinate for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Preheat grill to medium heat.

In a bowl mix together the melted butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg.

Spray Pam on the grill grate. Using soaked wooden skewers arrange chicken, pineapple chunks and whole strawberries on each stick. Brush kabobs with butter mix and place on grill and cook, turning, until chicken is cooked through and strawberries are sizzling. Approximately 8 to 10 minutes.

Greens and Apple Salad

6 ounces pecans, coarsely chopped
1½ pounds mixed greens
3 Gala apples, coarsely chopped or sliced
1 red onion, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast pecans on baking sheet 5 minutes, until lightly toasted.

In large serving bowl combine greens, pecans, apples and red onion. Toss to combine.

recipes adapted from Kaboose.com


As promised...here is my *before* picture. I tired to pick an outfit that I could wear for every picture and I'm surprised at what I look like. When I look in the mirror...I don't think I look this big (do I have fatarexia) and I hope that isn't the expression that's on my face all the time....I thought I was smiling. And one of my legs is obviously shorter than the other.....

picture for my fridge

Have a great week!

The Elle Woods School of Fitness

I came across this video and thought it should be my Move of the Week. Oh what? I forgot to tell you? Instead of just a Yoga Move of the Week...I am going to do a MOVE of the week. I thought of it after I tripped on my exercise ball and thought it might be a way for me to learn to use the dang thing.

Please learn this move by Wednesday...there will be a quiz.

Stuck on a Slide & Sauce

Me and the kids went on a play date with my friend Monica and her kids today. We had a 1 yr old, a 2 yr old, a 3 year old and a 4 yr old! The kids were playing and Alex got upset and decided to sit in the middle of this structure with big kids running all around and I didn't want him to get hurt so I handed my iced coffee to Mallory (my 2 year old) and scaled this rock wall thing to rescue him. In the meantime, he got up and went down the slide. I had two choices....go down the stairs or go down the slide.

I decided to be wild and crazy and took the slide.....and my @ss got stuck. Right there in the middle....I was wedged into the slide. I was so embarrassed and my first thought was 'thank god this isn't happening when it would embarrass my children...I have got to do something!' So I'm going to blow up a couple copies of this slide and put them all over the house. Hips don't lie!

And then I came home and ate this....my leftover steak weighed 2 oz, so I only ate 4 oz last night. An amazing thing happened. While I was eating this...my kids were stealing veggies off my plate! AH HA MOMENT!


Here is the salad dressing that I just discovered! It is Ken's Steakhouse Fat Free Raspberry Pecan. It is soooo good! Here is the skinny...2 tablespoons have 50 calories, 12 grams of carbs, and 10 grams of sugar. Only bad thing...is that it has High Fructose Corn Syrup which I'm trying to avoid but if it helps me eat more SALAD which is totally good for me...then I will take the HFCS.

Week Four...Pissed!

Welcome to the Fourth (completed) week of Extreme Makeover: ME Edition hosted by the beautiful Amber Filkins!

Let's weigh-in...

Last week: 211 pounds
This week: 215 pounds

Gained...4 pounds

***hangs head in shame***

Crap! I'm hoping...that this is water weight or the the 6oz Ribeye I ate last night. I cut off all of the fat AND I didn't eat all of it. So I probably only ate 5 oz (note to self: weigh the leftover steak that is in my fridge). I am feeling a little bloaty today....AGH I'm just so pissed! I didn't eat the birthday cake or the ice cream. I threw out the Easter Candy! I did drink some wine on Monday...it was my son's 3rd birthday and he gave me the business all day long. Hubby brought me some Merlot. I also didn't get to work out as much. My knee was messed up and then I threw out my back and it took a few days to get better. That has to be it....

The Plan from last week:

I only exercised once because of my knee but I did plenty of walking and took the kids to the park, which winded me. I drank more water and a little less soda and ate more salad. I found a new salad dressing that I like! I didn't learn a new Yoga move.

The Plan for Week Five:

Exercise 4 times...
Drink MORE water
Drink NO Alcohol
More Salad...small servings
Learn ONE Yoga Move

Question of the Week:
Share some of the music that you work out to. What helps you rock it!? What gets your blood pumpin?

I start every single workout with this song. I do some light stretching while I listen to it and it lifts me up and gets me ready to start my workout and my day on a good note. Some of my other favorites are....

Stronger by Kanye West
When I Grow Up by The Pussycat Dolls
Womanizer by Britney
Beautiful Liar by Beyounce & Shakira
Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake
Rockstar by Nickleback
Love Story by Taylor Swift
Wanna Be Startin Somthin' by Michael Jackson

Then I end with New Soul by Yael Naim!

Still need to reveal my BEFORE picture....hopefully this week.

Snack Time: Sugar Snap Peas

I'm trying really hard to eat better. I want to eat more veggies and fruit but when I reach for a snack...I end up with popcorn, pretzels or chocolate.

Today instead of putting some chips on a plate with my sandwich I decided to have some Sugar Snap Peas instead. These come in a package ready to eat! 3 ozs (or a third of the bag) is only 40 calories and 7 carbs, 2 g of fiber and 2 g of protein. This is the perfect snack! You can cook these too but I love them straight out of the bag!

Give it a try!

P.S. I threw away all of the Easter candy and I didn't eat any of my son's birthday cake. I am so proud of me!

Week Three...Gluttony

Welcome to the THIRD (completed) week of Extreme Makeover: ME Edition!

Let's weigh-in....

Last Week: 211 pounds
This Week: 211 pounds

Lost? Nothing! But I didn't gain either!

***happy non beyonce style dance***

I was scared! I even dreamt last night that I gained 10 pounds! What a freakin miracle that I didn't gain. Here is what happened. My brother in law came to town....I flew him in so that my husband and I could go on a date and for his birthday. To read the whole fiasco click here. The short version of this story is that I had mexican food (and chips and salsa), a ribeye, a loaded baked potato, rolls, raspberry honey butter and 3 martinis. That doesn't even count what I made for Easter! I think the only thing that saved my @ss is that I didn't finish any of it. I ate exactly half of everything (except the rolls).

The Plan from last week:

I exercised 3 times in 7 days. My BIL being here messed me up because my home gym is in the basement right by the guest room. I was more active while he was here...shopping, cooking and cleaning the diaper creme from the floor! OY VEY! I did drink more water and I have set an alarm on my iPhone to go off at 10am and 3pm to remind me to drink more. I did not drink ANY wine this week. I did have three martini's but they were small and I drank them while I watched Twilight which scared the crap out of me. LOL! I can't believe I made a goal to not eat chocolate the week of Easter! LOL! I didn't eat ANY salad. I bought salad...but I didn't eat it. We are having Salad for dinner TONIGHT!

The Plan for week four:

Exercise 4 times...
Drink more water
Drink less soda (not quitting...just less)
More Salad...add a small salad to each meal
Learn ONE Yoga move

Question of the week:

What are you going to do this week to get yourself back on track??

I am going to throw out half of the candy! Only keeping a small amount for the kids' to have as treats. I am going to stop the insanity! (anyone remember that gal?) I was going to say that I am going to ramp up my workouts but I hurt my knee scrubbing the dang carpet and I'm going to have to let it heal a little bit. I am not going to stop moving though...I am going to lift weights and keep doing sit ups.

Goal Check Up:

3 Wk Goal (denver trip)....7.5 lbs (205.5) 5.5 lbs to go
6 Wk Goal (swimming).....12 lbs (201) 10 lbs to go
14 Wk Goal (milwaukee)...24 lbs (189) 22 lbs to go

Last week I formed a March of Dimes team to march for Maddie Spohr. The 3 mile walk is in TWO WEEKS so I need to get ready. If you are in the Utah area and would like to join our team please click here. If you would like to help me out by sponsoring my walk please click here or on the cute little baby in my sidebar. Amanda (What's Going On?) made a big donation last night while I was crying my eyes out watching the video Maddie's parents played at her funeral yesterday. And Jen (Harried Mom of Four) make a very generous donation last week. Thanks again Amanda and Jen!

Okay...Let's get back on track here! We can do this!

Thoughts on Easter

I feel terrible about the weekend....and the amount of chocolate that is in my house right now.

We hid M&Ms and Kisses in plastic eggs. My sister sent chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. My in laws sent cookies (which the kids didn't like...but I did) and then there was the super delicious dessert that I made for my brother in law's birthday. I feel like I ate in small quantities. But we also went out to dinner twice and I ate more than I should have...feeling sick afterwards.

I DID turn down Ice Cream from the malt shop.

This got me thinking about how we could put Easter on a diet. I don't mind my kids having a treat once in a while but the amount of candy that is involved is ridiculous. Not to mention that Easter falls around my kids' birthdays so we also have cake twice in one month.

I suppose next year we will be ready to dye eggs and those can be hidden for the kids to find. And maybe the baskets can hold small toys and crayons and paint sets instead of chocolate bunnies.

Anyone have any more ideas?

Week Two...Accountability

Welcome to the second week of Extreme Makeover: ME Edition! Let's weigh-in....

Last week: 213 pounds
This week:211 pounds

LOST...2 Pounds!

***happy dance***

The Plan from last week:

I exercised 4 times in the last 7 days. Wait...of course I have an excuse....*that* time of the month. It was super bad. Migraines, cramps, wanting to kill my husband. But I got back on track and yesterday I was at the point where I was going to stop and decided to keep going....for a total of 38 minutes and 357 calories! I was so proud of myself!

I am eating smaller portions and I can't stand the Activia Yogurt but I'm trying to eat one every other day. I'm taking my Vitamin D and my friend Jessica even ordered more for me in the bigger dose. She is an expert on Vitamin D deficiency. Here is a blog post she wrote about it. Since I started taking it this week and exercising more....I have been more calm. The kids screaming hasn't bothered me as much and they have been behaving more. They probably feel the ZEN.

Goal Check Up:

5 Wk Goal (denver trip)....7.5 lbs (205.5) 5.5 lbs to go
8 Wk Goal (swimming).....12 lbs (201)
16 Wk Goal (milwaukee)...24 lbs (189)

Question of the Week: How are you keeping track of your achievements. How do you reward yourself when you achieve a goal?

Excellent question! I'm so glad you asked. This blog...for one is going to place where I keep tract. I am also writing about my workout on my calendar each day so that I can look back to see how many minutes and how many calories I burned. I am working on figuring out some goal items because I really have to have something I'm working towards. Things I am thinking of include...new workout clothes, a heart-rate monitoring watch and a facial!

I just opened a new twitter account for my workouts/food tweets. If you are on twitter please follow me and send me inspirations tweets when you can. Remember Jessica that I talked about earlier? She is in Central Time so she is sending me motivational text messages in the morning when I should be getting up to work out! What a great friend! Thanks Jessica!

The Plan for week three:

• Exercise 5 times..also sit ups and push ups
• Drink more water
• Drink less wine
• No more daily chocolate breaks
• More Salad
  

One thing I am going to change this week is eating more salad. I am going to start serving a small salad along with our meals in an attempt to get in more veggies and eat less. My husband is back to taking a second helping of food at dinner and this has to stop!

Check back this week when I will be revealing my BEFORE picture!

Have a great week!

Thanks Amber for getting this started!

8 Weeks....

I just signed my kids up for parent/child swim lessons. You know what this means right?

It means that I will be wearing a swimming suit in 8 weeks. OH MY HECK!

I guess this just might be the motivation that I need to really keep with this.

Luckily, I already have a lovely black suit with a built in skirt that I don't feel too terrible in...I would just like to not look like I'm a whale that needs rescued.

Check out my Mommy Blog to see the contest I am trying to win.