No Loss, No Gain....

So I just finished another 2 day cleanse.
6:30 am...I weighed myself.

I didn't loose anything.
I didn't gain anything.

SIGH.

I started to cry when I went to lay back down in bed. My whole last week ran through my mind. What did I eat that I shouldn't have? Too much sweets? Not enough exercise?
Why can't I loose like these other girls on FB & Instagram who are posting flat belly pics and before/after pics in there bathing suits??
I have ALMOST changed my eating habits and I try to do at least 30 min workout a day. Even if it's just walking in place in my living room (because some days are just hard...).
Why do I have to struggle? Why can't my progress show the same?

I want To scream WHY?!?!

I really don't want the before/after pics. I just want this weight off.  I want my life back. I want to be able to move, have more energy, feel comfortable when someone wants to take my picture...

Today is a new day. I will not let last week worry me. I'm going to try harder... I got this.

Almost 2 months....

It's been almost 2 months since I started my health challenge.
I don't like to call it a "diet" because I'm not really on one. I'm making a lifestyle change. It's TOTALLY different.

To me, I starve when I diet and then I mess up & quit. I try really hard and get NO WHERE.

My health challenge has taught me SOOOO much. I have learned A LOT about myself.

Yes I've been made fun of and you all think I'm crazy when I tell you what I've been doing. BUT I've gotta go through the hard stuff to get where it CAN be easy for me.
And I'm getting there.

One thing I will say.... I have NOT starved myself. Just because I don't eat a meal one day and have a shake or I don't eat on my "cleanse days" .... I've never been hungry. I've never starved myself. I eat snacks.
I'm on an eating schedule.
It works for me.
It COULD work for you too, if you want to try/give it a chance.  But you have to WANT it.

I haven't weighed myself in over a week but I've lost 28 pounds. It may not seem like much to you but for me, since April 24...

I've had maybe 2 headaches*
No lower back pain**
More energy than before
I actually rode my bike for the 1st time in years!
I count calories and totally enjoy/appreciate my chocolate snacks lol
I've met a new friend who supports me and I can text/call her anytime
Some of my clothes are not "so tight" anymore :)
I'm gaining confidence in myself.

*I usually get a headache or migraine at least 1-2x a week...
**I almost ALWAYS wake up with low back pain. No matter how I sleep, it was always an Aleve/Ice my back every morning.

So more on my back pain... I started having more pain the past 2 days. I have been using my "stepper" in the living room and I found a step routine on YouTube I enjoy doing. So with doing that, I am using my muscles more and they aren't used to being used this much so now I'm going through process of building them back up and getting them used to being used...

It sucks trying to loose weight.
And honestly, it totally sucks trying to be healthy lol
Why can't this be easy?

It's been a YEAR?!

Wow.
It's already August 1. School is about to start again. Along with all the stress of morning routines, where uniforms & shoes are each morning, and juggling my ME time and time spent volunteering(mostly)/working at the school. And yes, I tend to put others/the schools needs b4 my own.

I'm hoping to get better with this. I need to find myself again. I have become a person I'm not so familiar with...emotionally & physically. There's going to be A LOT of changes coming and I'm hoping that I can keep them up.

Today, August 1, I walked 9,856. It was pretty easy because I'm setting up the school rummage sale this week.
So my goal is to walk 248,000 steps this month. Or 117 miles ;)
That's 8,000 steps a day if you break it down.

I've got to get moving. It's been really HOT this summer and I think I've gained weight from not doing much. It's embarrassing when people think you're pregnant and you have to embarrass them too by saying, OH NO! I've just gained a lot of belly weight recently. No chance of that happening. Sorry!!!
And I'm done not being able to fit in some of my clothes.

Sigh

So I'm getting back on my Plexus also. I tried to start it a few months ago but haven't been doing it daily. Well, it's back to it now. Starting my day with my PINK drink, Slim, and ending with my Pro Bio.
AND lots and lots of WATER!!

So let's do this!

Carrageenan.....

Has anyone ever heard of "Carrageenan?" It's used in a lot of milk products.


And you are wondering why I care and I'm sharing, right? Well, my mom brought it to my attention the other day on the back my kids FAVORITE milk boxes. Yes, the Horizon milk that you can now get a Sam's and it has 6, yes SIX, Box Tops on them!!! lol

 

 

And I also found it in Nestle products (milk mixes, Carnation breakfast.....) and in Yoplait & Dannon yogurts. (one or both also has the dyes in them)


Anyway, I didn't think much of it but when I was shopping for food with no dyes in them, I noticed a lot of juice and yogurt I normally buy for my kids has it in them. I came home and did some more research. I found this blog post written by a guy named Jonanthan Bechtel..... http://blog.healthkismet.com/carrageenan-cancer-health-inflammation


If you don't want to read it, that's ok. It pretty much says that Carrageenan is bad for you...
"Because carrageenan has a long and notable history of significant correlations to different types of cancer and acute-inflammatory responses which are not good for you, to say the least."  If you want more info, read the blog. He did his own research and proves it.

That terrifies me about....all of it. And I just bought the 15 pk of the Horizon Milk with the 6 Box Tops on it at Sam's! :/

So what's an alternative? We are drinking Silk Pure Almond. It even comes in DARK CHOCOLATE.....YUM! (Thanks Mom ;)

So yeah, both of these milks are kinda expensive and it's not our choice of drink everyday with every time we are thirsty. We do drink a lot of water around here. My kids love to drink water out of refillable water bottles. They love it because I will allow those to go in their rooms lol 

SO just in case you are thinking, "Really, there's stuff in all our food that's bad for you." Yes, I know this. I'm sure the Pizza Hut pizza we had the other night has all kinds of bad things for us, but we can indulge, right? I know I can't keep my kids from all bad things, but if I can keep my kids eating & drinking mostly healthy now, I will feel better about trying to be that good mom.
 

New Challenge

As if just walking and trying to eat healthier for myself isn't hard enough for me to do, I'm now faced with another challenge. This one involves my kids.

For those that don't know, I took Cody to a doctor this week to start the process of testing him for ADHD. He was super nice and asked lots of questions, Cody even answered some. He was nervous though. I had Emma crawling all over my lap which helped me hide my nervousness. SO when they dr mentioned MEDICATION, that's when I became super nervous. I'm not totally for meds (unless absolutely necessary) and he gave me that classic dr answer "these meds have over 20 years of being FDA approved as apposed to the only a few years of trying natural way to treat ADHD." My mom has done her research with books and online and has helped me find natural ways to treat ADHD. Honestly, it's all been overwhelming. SO much info to learn and read and to add to our lifestyle......

I'm not gonna lie, I was an emotional mess leaving there. Some may ask WHY?! Ummm, this is my BABY.  The dr mentioned tests....an EEG and an EKG.  I know now (after freaking out and calling the office 2 hours later to ask more questions) that the tests are nothing to worry about. The EEG can actually help find brain waves that show ADHD.

Again, not gonna lie, I'm STILL super emotional about this. We all want our kids healthy and have no problems, but that's in a perfect world. HA, I'm definitely not living in one of those. So I'm putting my trust in God and hoping I can get this all figured out.

SO my new challenge.....

Because I don't want to do meds, I'm trying some natural ways to help Cody. I'm starting SIMPLE. (at least I thought simple...lol)

My mom found some orange flavor fish oil. Yes.....orange flavor. My kids actually like it SO THAT is a blessing!! They take that every morning with their multivitamins and their probiotic, which we've already been taking those for the past year or so.

Another change is NO ARTIFICIAL DYES.  Like Red 10, Blue 1, Yellow 5.....and so on. I went to Walmart today to find some snacks for the kids to eat and OH MY....
I don't normally read labels. I look at Calories but that's the extent of it. A lot of their fav snacks....no more. It's amazing how many juices and cereal, and yogurt have those food colorings in them. And I thought it would be simple.....WRONG. It was hard saying NO to GOGURTS! Those are Cody's favorites :(

So now I'm going to be "THAT MOM" that is particular about what her kids eat. I'm not going to let my kids have food at birthday/school parties, the in laws, or anywhere else that I know has those dyes in them. I'm going to be picky. My kids will probably cry and be upset, but I want them HEALTHY!

HONESTLY....should I be so picky? Should I let it slide a couple times or should I put my foot down and say no? I hate the thought of making other people watch what they feed my kid, when I know it's stressful for myself. I know I deal with food allergies with my friend's kids and kids at school so this is no different, right? As long as I just bring my own food for them....so then I'll look like their food is not good enough.......

I'M TOTALLY WORRYING TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS, RIGHT?!
Just put me out of my misery and tell me already....I can take it.

It's been too long...

Wow. It's been 3 WEEKS since I walked last! SOO much has been keeping me from it. I feel like a complete failure in my challenge now because I'm WAY behind on my goal....BUT I did walk today!

2.2 miles on the treadmill 

91.86/300

I wasn't even on the treadmill 10 minutes & I started sweating like a pig!! I had it set to 1 incline & was only walking 3.1! I walked like that for 45 minutes.....I never know how fast I walk. I haven't used a treadmill in YEARS. I love that the Y has cardio room w/WINDOWS. I think I'll be using it a lot more now.

I JUST REGISTERED FOR ANOTHER 5K!!

Want to join me?!
https://www.tristateracer.com/RaceInfo.php?RaceID=1161
 

one mile

73.55/300

So I woke up this morning feeling MUCH better than yesterday. Decided to go walk at the Y. I felt fine till about 3 laps in.....it's 14 for a mile....about halfway I felt like I was going to pass out. Thankfully I remembered to grab a Gatorade this morning. It helped me finish my mile.

Yeah, major lesson learned this morning. Don't jump back into walking/exercising until you feel 100% better. I don't think I sweat so much just walking a mile before!

Last night I watched the Biggest Loser finale. I cried like a baby!! I have watched this season faithfully and Dani was my FAV since the beginning. I am SOO happy for her! She looked AMAZING! (besides her fake tan and hair...not a fan lol)
So this morning when I got up I totally felt like a failure. I thought about how awesome all the contestants did and how awful I look and feel still. That was my motivation this morning. But I should have ignored it because I'm just not over this sickness yet. Or maybe I'm just being a big baby?! idk. lol

I need ideas on some tummy exercises! I feel like my "mom belly" is just sticking out like a sore thumb these days and it's embarrassing. Esp when I walk in the room and that's what everyone looks at first instead of my face. I envy the moms that don't have this problem and can wear a regular bathing suit to the pool and wear cool designer jeans that don't have the Tummy Tuck Technology in them. SIGH

Tomorrow is another day. It will be an awesome day too!

Rough morning

+2 miles
72.55/300

Oh that was a rough 2 miles this morning. It's really hard when I forget my earbuds at home...rough, I know lol
But really, my body hates me right now.
I saw my chiropractor yesterday bc I started getting that pain down both legs...now...and my feet feel numb more often. Yes, I'm stretching! Thinking maybe my bulging disk may be bothering me again....

For those that don't know, 3 years(?) ago I had really, I mean REALLY bad lower back pain. It got to the point where I couldn't even go to bathroom alone w/o either crawling or having someone help me. It's was rough bc I couldn't even take care of my kids. Luckily my chiropractor got me in to see a dr that specializes in back pain. THANKFULLY he gave me my options and I chose the injections. THAT was Scarry but after the 3-4 of them, I felt A LOT better.
I don't want to go through all that again.

I'm thankful this morning for Lindsay being my motivation!! I got moving! Lol It wasn't as much as my normal but I did something :)

Proud of Myself

+4 miles at the Y this morning :)
70.55/300

I don't have a hard time GETTING to the Y. I don't have a hard time going in either. The first mile was....OK. But starting on mile 2 I started feeling like I wanted to stop. I did too. Only it was because I already drank a whole bottle of water and I had to go. I've got that "mom bladder" where if you don't go right then.....it's not good. lol
But that short break was pretty much what I needed though. It got me through the remaining 3 miles. Weird how that happens.

But I did it. And I'm proud of myself :)

15 pounds :)

I've been dealing with a sick baby girl and husband all weekend, but we did take a relaxing walk yesterday. We didn't go too far for fear that one of them would need the toilet, but it was nice to get out and enjoy that WARM weather we had!!!

+.73 miles takes me to 66.55/300 :)

I was sad to see our warm and dry weather leave us today. I had my morning all planned out, but Emma decided to get sick while eating breakfast. SO no walking for me today. That's ok though because after dropping Cody off at school, we can home and took a much needed nap! Then I got started on going through all of the kids clothes and toys. Planning on a rummage sale soon at my house.

SO I told myself that I wasn't going to worry about loosing weight. I just wanted to challenge myself with my 300 miles and trying to be healthier with my eating habits. Well, I've sneaked a peak a few times at my weight on the scale. I checked it Friday and................

I've lost 15 POUNDS since January 1!!!!!

How awesome is that?! So proud of myself.
I had to check it, because I kept getting comments on my weight and they way my clothes look on me now. Curiosity got the best of me. But now I'm hoping I don't obsess over it. It's not what I'm wanting to focus on right now. All other times that I have tried to loose weight, that was my main focus and it ALWAYS got me discouraged and I gave up. I didn't loose as fast as I thought I should've.
I'm not wanting to be that mom taking bikini pics and posting on facebook, I just want to be that mom that can play with her kids and not feel worn out after 5 minutes. I want to feel comfortable enough to just be me.  I haven't had that for a LONG time.
If you are truly wondering what my goal weight loss is for myself, I set it at 55 pounds. I'm 27% there :)

9 more miles!

I walked 2x this week and I forgot to blog about them!
Tuesday I walked 4 miles with my friend Jenn. First time we've walked together! :)
Thursday I walked a mile alone and then Crystal joined in for the other 4 miles with me.

65.82/300 :)

I totally enjoy walking with my friends. It's such a stress relief to talk and just let out....stuff.

This week has not been the best for me, BUT it was better than last week. That's a positive. I just hope my weeks just keep getting better. I need some more positive. Especially with all the sickness that keeps coming in our house.

So this week my motivation has been my friends. What motivates you?

Belated Post

I walked 3 miles at the Y last week.

56.82/300

It has been a ROUGH past 6-7 days. I feel like God is testing me to see how strong I am. All I am doing is asking WHY?!?! Why is all this happening to me? Why am I being punished? As if it was for me, Father Noe's sermon was on this topic of asking Why? when things seem to be going wrong. I feel like I am being punished. But I'm not.

Like my friend Jenn reminded me,
"He always knows what we can handle! Especially when we don't know what else to do. Like Father Noe said, there's always one more move in the game of life."

To be honest, it's REALLY hard to think that right now. I'm sure when it all blows over and it all gets right, then I will look back and see it.

Throughout all this, I only walked once and it was a miserable 3 miles. I literally just could not let go of all my negative energy and emotions. I usually leave everything at the Y door but it followed me in that day. Not even some Lady GaGa could cheer me up. It was a huge let down for me and since that Tuesday, it all went downhill :( I've also been eating bad too. Not counting my calories. And I feel miserable emotionally and physically.

I'm hoping to make this next week better. It HAS to get better.

I'm thankful for my few close friends and the family that I still have who love and care about me. I'm thankful for those that let me "vent" text...lol You know who you are and I LOVE YA!

And of course I gotta give a shout out to my new "bloggy mom" friends. Thanks for cheering me up on Twitter ;)

Mom Confession in this one ;)

No walking today, but I did play some basketball w/the kids & Ted!
Oh and I helped one of my best friends pack stuff to move today. Didn't do a lot of lifting but hey, I was moving! lol

Last year, Well lets say before January 1, 2013, I was LAZY. Not kidding.
MOM CONFESSION: All summer I would make excuses NOT to take my kids outside. If we did go outside, I would carry a chair w/me & sit. My kids would ask me to play & I would say no. I would say I'm tired, my back hurts.

I'M DONE DOING THAT!

I haven't lost much weight since I started my challenge, but I have noticed I have a lot more energy. I've noticed I don't sit around like I did. Yes, my back still hurts, but I play & do what I can.

It has been a BIG challenge with eating healthier. I love my Pepsi Max. I live for snacking....and CHOCOLATE!!

Know what I mean?!

I'm totally not saying that I'm all perfect go getter momma now. I don't walk everyday. I don't count my calories everyday. I still sit & watch tv & be lazy, but not like I was. I'm on a mission to organize my life and my house lol
(I'll keep yal updated on that one lol)

I want to know what motivates you!
Comment, FaceBook me, Tweet me & let me know! :)

PLUS 7 MILES TODAY :)

Yep, you read the title correctly lol
I am soo proud of myself. I feel AMAZING! I didn't even need motivation this morning. I was actually looking forward to walking! SOO weird for me!

49/300 miles ;)

I've been over stressed with things and I kept trying to plan to walk but things just kept me from going. Let me tell ya, blaring some Three Days Grace Pandora Radio while walking is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I recommend it, but try NOT to sing outloud...lol  Yeah, I did this morning hahaha I'm sure the old ladies didn't mind but I didn't plan it!

HAVE YOU WALKED TODAY?

Failed?

OK. It has now been A WEEK since I have been able to walk. It seems like life is throwing everything at me. I have all these excuses (too cold, Book Fair, sick kid, soccer) and I literally feel like CRAP. Its amazing how much you can actually MISS working out.

Anyone else feel this way?

I WAS starting to feel a difference in my jeans. I got real excited. But then today, I noticed they are getting tight again. Sigh :(

I'm feeling defeated. I'm feeling like a failure. Maybe I should have tried harder?
Mentally beating myself up has caused me to eat eAT EAT!!
I don't want to be THAT person who goes back on their New Year's resolution. I don't want to quit. I want to finish my 300 miles and MORE. I want to be that motivation for myself and my friends and family and whoever else reads my blogs.

I'm sorry for those of you who read my blog and expect me to help motivate you but I'm not perfect. I will tell you, after this week (after Book Fair) I WILL get back into walking.

I have been doing some simple exercises before bed every night. I'll share...

Squats! I have a hard time doing them, BUT I'll get better. I have to, right? haha

Not sure what to call the other one, but I either stand or sit straight, turn(twist) my upper body side to side. While doing this, I breathe out real quick (when I'm turned to the side.) When I first started I didn't feel a thing. The next morning I woke up and I could totally feel it in my stomach!

I've also started STRETCHING every morning when I wake up. It wakes me up and I actually feel better. I move around a lot easier too.

What are some simple exercises you do at home when you can't work out?

HAVE YOU BEEN WALKING?

No miles today...

Today was my day to walk at the Y. I didn't go :(
I feel like I've walked though. I set up book fair at school all day then worked in After School w/my little kiddos. My feet are killing me!

I'm still bummed I didn't get to walk. I really look forward to my "me time" lol It's so stress relieving walking. At the Y, they are doing a walk/run challenge. I'm goin to sign up for it! I know I won't win, BUT I want to keep my challenge going! Plus get a tshirt LOL


HAVE YOU BEEN WALKING?

Thankful for the Y

Brrrrrrrrrrr it's a COLD one today!
I walked 3 miles at the Y this morning. I'm SOO Thankful that we can afford for me to be here.
I'm hoping to start some water classes soon. Anyone want to join me? ;)
26/300!

ARE YOU WALKING TODAY?

I hope this is motivating you :)

+4 miles today for 22/300!

My morning was rough. THANKFULLY a fellow mom at school decided to go walk with me at the Y. I honestly do not think I would have went if it wasn't for her. We were slow walkers today too. 2 miles in 2 hours. We talked A LOT haha
But that is what I needed! Walking and venting...multitasking!

Afterwards, I decided to go to the park. I WAS planning on taking a nap (no joke) but I got my booty out of the car and walked. My mom and dad joined me also.

This challenge is harder than I thought and I'm sure it's going to get harder. I have book fair coming up and I'm starting to work in the After School Program at school more. Both I am going to enjoy doing, but I'm going to be exhausted. I am going to prove to myself and all who don't think I can do it, that I CAN. I may not get the miles I need every week, but at least I can say that I tried.

One last thing. The past 2 days I have told 2 complete strangers about my challenge. I don't know if they really will or not, but BOTH told me that they are going to start their own challenges too! I was so excited to actually hear that. I just hope that I am being a motivator to my friends and family too :)

HAVE YOU WALKED TODAY?

Bad Morning But Awesome Workout :)

Oh it was a rough morning in the Willhelm household. I dressed to walk, but I was so aggravated with my kids, I just wanted to shop for my therapy. Honestly. I was going to head to walmart and go crazy. I was even planning on buying CANDY! Seriously. That would have totally messed up my calories for the day. I don't want to go back to the old me. I don't want to feel bloated after devouring a whole bag of....anything.
Both ladies I walk with sometimes, were unable to go with me, so that didn't help my motivation either. But when I pulled away from the school, without even thinking about it, I found myself heading to the Y. Funny, huh. It had to be God being my motivator this morning. I was almost in tears as I finally got Emma in the school, I was an emotional mess this morning. Oh wait, that's almost daily. lol

I decided to just go in the Y and just walk a mile. I got my first mile in, then before I knew it, I was counting laps toward my 2nd mile. I felt great. I was hurting though. My legs were sore and my neck was hurting. (I pulled a muscle yesterday, no idea how)
I got a tweet from a lady I have met online. I fellow mom, and just her saying, "you can do it" totally gave me a bump of motivation. I think the other walkers thought I was looney because I just had a big smile on my face. AND one of my fav workout songs came across my Pandora.

I got my 3 miles walking in this morning :)

But there's more. haha I got on the elliptical for 10 minutes. I did a mile!! Why can't I walk that fast? lol  I was a red faced, sweaty mess and I honestly loved it. I love the feeling of working hard.

So adding my 4 miles gives me 19.15/300!

HAVE YOU WALKED TODAY?

A new week :)

 

Today was rough. I didn't realize it had been since Thursday I walked last! I had the motivation, but once I started, my legs just felt really weak. But I pushed myself to walk 1.31 miles.  At least I walked that much today! It's a start to my week. ;)

 

15.15/300!

 

 

 

 

Today is the last day of warmer weather also.  I heard on the news, it's supposed to start getting COLD tomorrow. I'm kinda happy about that, I like walking in colder air, but that also means, snow and ICE on the ground. I don't do well with those.

If you remember my first blog post, I am accident prone. lol  Need more proof? I stepped on the deck last week to walk to garage one morning and about fell! There was ICE from where it had rained the previous evening. Ted didn't believe me because he said it wasn't there when he got home...(at 4am) LOL  But I KNOW it was there and walking on ice/snow in my sneakers makes me nervous.

 

Speaking of sneakers, I need a new pair. Any suggestions on what brand/style to get? I need a lot of support. I like a lot of cushion too.  Any help would be appreciated!

 

HAVE YOU WALKED TODAY??