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.

Day 2

10, 596 steps!

WOWZA!!

it's so easy getting my steps in when I work at setting up the rummage sale in the HOT gym. I'm hoping that I'm sweating off some pounds too while I'm in there lol
Tomorrow I'm taking a day off from setting things up so we'll see how I do...I plan on being lazy because my whole body hurts. Bending and picking things up have taken their toll on my back and legs. Not to mention my ankle has been swollen every day too...ugh.
Being fat and getting older sucks....

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!

The Struggle is REAL y'all ....

Not gonna lie. I totally want to go back home & sleep the day away...getting motivation is SOO stinking hard anymore. 

But I'm here. I'm sitting in my car, in the YMCA parking lot. I have about 40 minutes till Pilates & I can't seem to get out of the car. Seriously. 

I mean, I don't even have the heat on...so I'm COLD. 

I can do this, right?!? 

RIGHT.

------------

Well I did it. I walked slowly in, sat & text my Cub Scout parents in the locker room (lol) then slowly walked to the room for Pilates. 

And OH MY GOODNESS. I'm gonna be hurtin later. But I totally missed being there. Honestly, I didn't want it to be over. I wanted more bc I know when I leave the struggle begins again. 

It should get easier, right? Bc something has got to give...I don't remember it being so hard before....

11/300

The struggle...

It's real. Totally real this morning. 

WHY?!?!

And yes, this is my first time at the Y THIS YEAR...I could tell you all my excuses about being cold, tired, not enough sleep..blah blah blah....

I'm just honestly lacking motivation. PERIOD. 

Not a good way to start my New Year BUT! On positive side, I have room for improvement! :p

------------

Just finished up my first Pilates class! It was a little hard at moments but if I keep at it, it'll get easier. Thankful for Tish who helped decide what we were getting into this morning. We are def going back Thursday morning!! 

Oh & I even got a mile in before class on the track! 

4/300 

(Slow start....but at least I started!)

Before & after...

My friend Mary from school has invited me to water Zumba this morning. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE water Zumba but I DONT WANNA GO!! My body hurts already, I feel a headache coming on, I barely got sleep last night bc Ted coughing & Emma coming over & kicking me most of night....AAHHHHH!!! 

It's been WEEKS since I've been to the Y. It's been that long since I've been motivated to do ANYTHING toward my goal for the year. I've gained all my weight BACK that I lost....I'm just frustrated!!! 

Why is this so stinking hard?!

Why can't I loose weight easier?!

Why do I always feel judged by EVERYONE around me?! 

------------------------------------------

Ok so that is a little embarrassing to read, but it's real. Totally shows I'm not perfect. But it was EXACTLY how I felt this morning. It shows how stinking WHINY I am too lol 

BUT!!!! I went to water Zumba! And I even stayed for the toning class after!! 2 hours of being in the water was...just AWESOME. I love swimming. It reminded me of how young & engerized it makes me feel! And no it wasn't because of all the older (than me) ladies in the class with me ;) 

I am SOO thankful for Mary being my motivator today! I've got some amazingly awesome friends in my life :)

132.08

Day 1

I really started this on Saturday but Ted decided he wanted IHOP after church Sunday morning &...yeah.

So Day 1 w/no artificial food dyes. 

Breakfast - whole wheat toast w/chocolate peanut butter. Cody decided to add raspberries on his toast :)

And of course a glass of milk, vitamins & 1/2 tsp of fish oil.

Lunch - turkey sandwich w/strawberry lemonade. Yogurt for dessert 

Dinner - beef tenderized w/white bean hummus spread on top (looks kinda gross but tastes YUMMY!), corn & potato salad 

For dessert we got creative w/our banana :)

YUMMM!!! 

Snack - We made Strawberry Lemonade popsicles today :)

I'm hoping I can keep all this up this week! I almost learned too late that the kids normal easy-quick breakfast has Red 40 in it..no nutrigrain bars this week. 

Already this new challenge has opened my eyes to WHAT I am feeding my kids. And myself. 

So yeah, I'm going to be "that mom" that I always didn't want to be. lol

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.

5K

76.55/300

I'm a week late writing this post, but better late than never, right?!

I walked my first 5K last weekend! Well, I speed walked lol  I totally walk SLOW. I'm not in as good of shape as all the other people running/walking. It really affected me. I have told myself all week that I need to step it up. But I didn't go walking AT ALL this past week.
Here's my excuses,
My week started off with my ENTIRE body in pain from Saturday. I went to my chiropractor, she helped with my back pain, but everything just kept hurting. Plus my ankle, on the leg where I broke my leg, has (STILL IS) been bothering me. It just throbs if I don't elevate it and if I'm on it for too long. Totally sucks.

I feel like a HUGE slacker this week. I literally feel HUGE too because I haven't been counting my calories either. I'm going backwards, not forward and I feel like everyone who doubted me with my challenge is saying, HAHAHA told ya she couldn't do it!! Maybe its me saying it to myself too..........

I'm not perfect. I knew that this would be a hard journey for me. I just never believed that I would feel this low about getting off track. I started blogging because I thought it would help me, but I'm still failing.
ENOUGH negative.....

Monday starts a new week. I'm going to enjoy my family this weekend and eat all the good food! I'm not going to worry about my challenge or my calories. I'm going to enjoy myself.
Hopefully I can find my ankle brace and I can go walking Monday. I need to MOVE.

Who wants to get moving with me?!

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 :)

A little more about me :)

 I am sure you were just thinking you wished you knew more about me. So read up  and pick 2 to 5 bloggers and pass it on. I want to know more about my new friends. Starting this blog has opened up a whole new world of friendships for me and I'd love to know more :)

All you have to do is say who you received this Tag and who you’re Tagging.
 

I've been tagged by.... Cindy's Grand Adventures

Then answer the 25 questions by copying from here and pasting to your blog. 

1.    Where were you born?  West Virginia
 
2.    Were you named after someone? Not that I know of lol
 

3.    How many children do you have. I have 2, Cody and Emma

 

4.    How many pets do you have?  3, a turtle, Henry and 2 dogs, Rufus and Marki
 

 5.    Your worst injury. 7 years ago I fell and broke my right leg. I have no cool story to tell. It was just a 6 inch step and I guess I came down wrong....no fun.
 

 6.    Do you have a special talent? This one is really hard for me to answer. I honestly cannot think of any special talents I have. If you are reading this and know of any, please let me know lol
 

 7.    Favorite thing to bake? COOKIES :)
 

 8.    Favorite Fast Food. Fast Food is the DEVIL. It's the reason I have a hard time loosing weight, but I can never stay away from Dairy Queen. Chicken strips and ice cream in the same place....YUM

  

9.    Would you bungee jump? No way. if you would have asked me 7 years ago, I'd totally go for it though.
 

10. What is the first thing you notice about people? their smile/teeth lol
 

11. When was the last time you cried? Last week. It was a bad week.
 

12. Any current worries. Oh where do I start.... bills, my kids, figuring out what to wear tomorrow, paying tuition, wondering if ___ is mad at me bc she wont talk to me, where to have my sons bday party and can we afford it....I could go on....
 

13. Name 3 drinks you drink regularly. water, Pepsi Max, Moscato
 

  14. What’s your favorite book/Author? I don't have a favorite author, yet. I'm still exploring and reading anything interesting lol  My fav read so far has been the Sookie Stackhouse series.
 

 15. Would you like to be a pirate? YES. I want a parrot on my shoulder too
 

 16. Favorite smells.   Vanilla, fresh baked cookies, my husbands deodorant (seriously) lol
 

 17. Why do you blog? I blog because I want to motivate and be motivated to get myself healthy! I want to share my ups and downs and here others lifes stories
 

 18. What song do you want played at your funeral?  Goodbye by Avril Lavigne
 

19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? my weight

 20. Favorite hobby.  I love being crafty, I just never have the time. I also love to walk and swim
 

21. Name something you’ve done, you never thought you would do? Have 2 kids, 3 pets and drive a TRUCK lol

 22. What do you look for in a friend? 
 I look for someone who makes me laugh, laughs at my stupid jokes, honest, loyal, truthful. (I liked Cindy's answer so I'm leaving it)

 23. Favorite fun things to do? crafts with my kids, play soccer, jump on the trampoline, swim, take walks, have Girls Night Out

 24. Pet peeves. Kids who are old enough to talk with pacifiers still, people who talk bad about me behind my back &/or start rumors, liars

 25. What's the last thing that made you laugh? Looking up YouTube videos to answer the question about song played at my funeral LOL

 

I AM TAGGING...

 

 

 

DeBie Hive
 

 Giggles And Screams

i am mama lola

 

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 ;)

Outdoor walkin'

53.82/300

3.12 miles today outside! Its been a few weeks since I've walked outside bc its been COLD. It felt great. Love walking in the sunshine and enjoying nature.

Only bad this was the Sunday morning drivers coming home from church. Yeah. But it's ok lol

March 23 I will be walking a 5K in Huntington, WV at Ritter Park. It's for the Children's Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital. Anyone want to join me?
It starts at 10AM (reg at 9) Give me your email and I will send you the registration form.

It's a Beautiful day! Are you walking today?

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?