Full force

I'm still here.

I'm getting good and into our new school year schedule.

I'm working super hard at my at home business and plan to open my Etsy store this coming Monday!

Woo hoo!

On Sunday I did super meal prep.....

15 breakfast sandwiches (the kids are eating what Brian and I are too)

Oatmeal, apples, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, lunches (below), protein shakes.

Yep, covered all the bases I'm pretty sure.

The only thing missing was chicken salad (it was still in the slow cooker)

It was easy enough to stay on track and it takes all of 3 minutes to pack a lunch bag each evening.

Even I have one so I only eat from it and stay on track.

Works for us :)

I also have been walking 1/2 on my treadmill in the morning and then 1 hour walking the kids to school & coming back home.

So you can see super boring haha!

I'll update periodically and more so once I get past my super slow level of working out.

Hopefully in the next month or so.

Until then I need to stop talking about it and just do this thing! 

Meal Prep Sunday

Finally got off my lazy butt on Sunday and did some food prep for the week.

I have to do this in order to stay on track.

I'm a thought track jumper with no regard for safety.
I become very distracted at the smallest of things so when I have everything in order and ready to go it is so much easier for me.

Everyday's food is prepared enough to grab and go.
Even every dinner's meat (either its in meatball form, marinating or pre-cooked)

Me:  5 meals per day at less than 300 calories each with dinner 500 or less.
I make Brian's lunch each day so he eats this too.
The kids have breakfast and dinner the same (snacks/lunch are different)

120 ounces of water/day (including my morning coffee)

Sunday I made ahead:

24 breakfast burritos 

30 meatballs (Meatballs recipe--so easy!)

Homemade spaghetti sauce (Spaghetti sauce recipe)

4 Chicken salads 

4 chicken breasts marinated in teriyaki sauce & honey

PB & J rollups & frozen yogurt  for the kids after school snacks.

(Making banana bread, oatmeal, and mini donuts for more snacks today)
Now I know I can do a lot more bc I got the above done in under 2 hrs.
Next week will be insane.

Weekly Meal Plan

Monday: 

1.  Breakfast burrito (egg/turkey bacon)

2.  Ricotta cheese & apple
( I made my own ricotta once.....yah, not that fun and Trader Joe's brand is so much better)

3.  Chicken salad  (boiled chicken, cooled shredded--easy as that)

4.  Protein shake (EAS soy protein pre-mix--although I'm going to a recipe to kick out the chemicals and sugar)

5.  (Turns out we are going out to dinner so I'll choose a salad)

Tuesday:

1.  1/2 cup oatmeal, 2 egg whites

2.  Ricotta cheese & apple

3.  Tuna salad

4.  Protein shake

5.  Spaghetti & meatballs, cheesy broccoli

Wednesday:

1.  Breakfast burrito

2.  Ricotta cheese & apple

3.  Chicken salad

4.  Protein shake

5.  Grilled honey teriyaki chicken, brown rice, roasted cauliflower

Thursday:

1.  1/2 cup oatmeal, 2 egg whites

2.  Ricotta cheese & apple

3.  Tuna salad

4.  Protein shake

5.  Steaks, baked potato, corn

Friday:

1.  Breakfast burrito

2.  Ricotta cheese & apple

3.  Chicken salad

4.  Protein shake

5.  Cheeseburgers, sweet potato fries

So far today I've checked off meal 1 & 2.
I've had 20 ounces of my 120 ounces of water--better chug some more.

Walked 1 hour with Molly while blasting my Newsboys Pandora station.

"I hate you for dragging me along"

Now I am off to fall into my creative rabbit hole for some graphic designs :)

Meal 3 is locked and loaded and Meal 4 will be perfect for my afternoon break. 

Yay for organization!!
My Note to Self Motivational Monday Quote....

Day 10: Walking!

Now that everyone is back to school we are walking there each morning.

It's less than a mile but I plan on continuing the walk after that.
I would love to walk back and pick them up but Olivia's bus doesn't make it home in time for both of us to walk to meet them.

I am going to try the mapmywalk app. (http://www.mapmywalk.com/)
I'll post tomorrow my previous day stats with my nailed it or failed plan.

Per my fitbit (and only walking to school and back) my steps for the yesterday totaled over 11,000 so I am super excited to see my end steps for today.  I bought new headphones so I can blast my itunes radio. I feel hopeful for this day :)

 Yay!  I'm going to start with #1 on this list from Greatist.com 

It doesn't just spout out tips and pretty pictures, it actually has medical science to back up all their posts.

At the end of each post is a works cited link.

http://greatist.com/grow/how-to-be-happy-long-term

I'm ready to follow the sun.....

Vacation Hangover

That is definitely a thing.  

Not only recovering from being tired, I also had allergies that followed me home.

We had a great time :)

Mmmmm....the Cheese Store.  We got Swiss & Rye and Smoked Cheddar....

We did not get the Sex Olives but it was hilarious to walk by them and ponder why they are in existence :)

Brian's favorite part of the trip.  It was pretty amazing.

My favorite part of the trip :)  It rained the night before so it was cool.  It wasn't very busy AND we got tickets 1/2 price!  Score!

Good grief this day was soooo hot but fun :)

This evening we went swimming and Olivia even joined in!

Awe ya...the best dinner of the whole trip!  

We went there after we went to the pool and hung out with Brandon, Jessie, Austin, Andrew, and Owen.

So happy Tyler came to eat with us even if he did order the green beans and eat them in front of me....

Ewwww  >:P

So I did not do the best eating-wise, which is fine because now I'm super ready to start eating good again.

I'm looking forward to cooking homemade food this week!

The kids start school tomorrow and I will get a bunch of meal prep done (I hope).

Once we get this week in the bag and get good & going on a schedule,  I'll be able to be start full force.

Onward to Monday August 18th and being fully prepared :)

On vacation

Off to go packing.....Will write after vacation (maybe sooner if I get time)

Vacation Eating

It's vacation time!!

My plan for vacation eating.

I can already see this is going to be a problem 

(as evidence by my having pizza and breakfast out this past weekend--I know, I know) 

so I need to attack it head-on.

We'll be going on vacation for a week.

The place we are going to has breakfast every morning with healthy options so that won't be too hard.

I'll choose fruit or oatmeal.

Once we get there I plan on going to the grocery store to pick up a few things.

That will be our lunch and snacks.

We plan on going out for dinner each night.

Ding, ding, ding.....the danger.

Some ideas I have come up with to help with this vacation.

1.  Drink water, lots of it. (Everybody will have a water bottle)

2.  Eat a healthy breakfast to start the day off right. (Fruit/oatmeal/eggs)

3.  Prepare ahead of time. (Snacks prepackaged ahead of time to throw in backpack, bring 

      picnic lunches (If homemade, I can control type of food and portions)

4.  Dinners out (I will leave this as a choice of whatever sounds good but will share with Olivia

     that way I'll choose healthier)

5.  Try not to choose restaurants with "biggest ever" foods, fried, etc.  --Yeah--who's knows on

     this one :)

6.  Snacks (Again-prepackaged ahead of time, variety)

7.  Schedule of food ( I think if we plan on a schedule ahead of time we'll better stick to it)

8.  Have treats-one a day--(Don't deny or the eating healthy bandwagon will crash and go up in 

     flames)

9.  Know limits (Vacation is suppose to be fun but sometime I have the tendency to have to

     explore 

     EVERYTHING--good grief we might miss something you know!  This will help us not get so

     exhausted we end up not caring what we eat or skipping meals only to overeat the next time-

      -that's miserable!)

     Olivia helps us to slow down--we end up having the most fun when we ride the trains or are

      walking slowly on trail--so win for this one :)

10.  Eat when hungry (trying to listen when I'm actually hungry vs. when the time of day says I

      should be hungry.  That's where my snacks come in handy :)

   

For exercise, I'm leaving that up to all the walking and swimming I plan on doing.  

I'm not going to waste any time having fun.

I think if I can nail this vacation down, I can do anything.

This week (vacation starts Wednesday) I'm going to post a nailed it/failed it update.

If I nailed it--it'll be a win, if I failed it I'll make a plan of action & learn from it :)

I will do all the above so when we go to the beach next year, I will have a better time than I did last year.

This mama wants to kick ass in an actual age appropriate swimsuit & not all covered up and ashamed.

I want to be the mama on the outside I feel on the inside.  

Full of energy and able to keep up with the kids.

Day 9: One good thing about being sick

It's the losing weight without trying.

Down 3 lbs baby. 

Woo hoo.

It may just be water weight but it's a loss and I'll count it.

I will check it in 2 weeks again.

I'm still on track with eating.

Although I did have a few drinks at Bunco Wednesday night.

It was wild, what was I going to do?  

Me and my party girl ways.  Haha.

I really like the idea of trying a detox program.

Maybe a few 21 day ones to weed out or introduce things that would be healthier.

(Stealing my cousins great idea!)

Because even though I (for the most part) stay on my plan during the day

the evening is it's own dimension.

I can do WAY better.

My very own detox program because I know what I need to cut out.

I'm going to give myself the weekend to come up with it.

Heck maybe I can get all these allergies under control 

because my body can focus on that instead of the crap I'm feeding it.

Or what if I'm allergic to some food and I just remain this way because I no longer listen to my body.

At any rate.....

Here's to a fresh start on Monday!

Day 8: Sick Day :(

I think I have a summer cold.  

Ugh, these are the worst.  I woke up this morning and feel like a truck came barreling through my room, jumped the foot-board and landed directly on my head. 

I thought no coffee yesterday was hard?

Pssssh, no coffee today is harder.

I have to get better soon.

Next week is vacation!!

I guess I can starting planning on how I'm going to stay on track for it.

That sounds way un-fun.

I need someone to sing to me...

Artist

I better go feed the kids and whatnot, being a mama doesn't allow sick days.

This happens still.  I wonder if they will ever stop knocking on the door.

I mean seriously, they can't wait 5 minutes? 

I need to go back to bed, whilst wearing my Grumpy Cat shirt because that's how I feel.

That sounds so nice :)

There is fighting sounds in the kitchen....

Awesome, onion dip and garlic hummus.

Great smells and mess.

Thanks Olivia :)

Day 7: No coffee bites!

Waaaahhhh.  No coffee makes me not want to move.

My artificial energy is missed oh so very much.

It's why I would like to cancel this morning and just go back to bed.

           

Me today.

Gigglingcaravan

It's been over a week (except that 1/4 cup I sneaked but didn't feel I needed so didn't finish.) 

I will say I haven't had near the amount of headaches I used to have which is awesome.

I guess I traded energy for way less headaches.

Pretty good trade :)

I also notice that with my morning workouts, I'm not nearly as tired in the afternoon.

I used to (going on over a week lol) take a nap while the kids would 

watch a movie or they would even nap because of a morning 

of swimming or being out and about.

I'm pretty sure I am on the verge of screwing my insulin balance forever.  I would get what I 

joked as "Carb comas".  Not cool.  Anytime I would eat my over-share of carbs I just wanted 

to crawl in a cave and sleep forever.  I would OD on coffee to get myself out.  It is bad cycle

of self food abuse.

One of my sisters posted this on one of our Pinterest boards we share.

Just Be Fit board

It is so true.  I admit I definitely abuse food.  

I do it based on my feelings of depression, anxiety, stress, etc.

I can even use it to soothe my day even if it was just extra busy.

I have many reasons why I'm stressed, oh goodness do I.

But don't we all?  

I won't list them all obviously but I do know it started when I had problems with fertility.  

I had three miscarriages (per the Dr), one more later on that I didn't go to the Dr. for.  

It just made me so sad because, while I did have Olivia, I didn't think I could have anymore, and maybe I was disappointing my husband.

Selfish and naive, I know thinking back on it but when you have a child with severe special needs,

 you do dream of a child without them.  Also my husband is a rock star and very understanding but it was very early in our marriage so I internalized it.

Thankfully I had two more babies, completely healthy and all is complete with our family.

By that time I was so used to over eating and not caring about it I let it go.

WAY TOO FAR.

I suppressed it all, opting for my therapy through food and the calming effect it had on me.

Now I realize it was all a lie.  The effect was short-term calming and long-term damaging.

I have to just realize I need to 

From now on I'm going to give exercise a chance to replace the over eating.

It's way harder than it sounds.

Oh lord, the sounds of the kids screaming from upstairs is my first test of the day.

"Mom!!! She's slapping me with her towel"

"Mom!!! He deserves it, I want to play with his skeleton"

(Don't worry it's a puzzle)

Day 6: Going the wrong way.

I can only assume because of the weekend awesomeness that it is the reason I have gone up on the scale.  

Any loss I had--found me--because I am exactly where I started.

So my problem is the weekend.

Easy to solve?

Plan it out!

Although.....

Maybe I'm doing OK then ;)

A year or so ago my sister and I thought about 

Monthly Meal Planning so starting this weekend I am going to start this.

I am currently making out a monthly meal plan for all 5 meals a day.

I really only need to make breakfasts and dinners at monthly intervals.

Snacks & lunches are going to be fresh fruit, veggies, etc so I don't want to freeze those.

I'm am going to make my meals as clean as possible for as cheap as possible.

My plan is to do this for a complete year as I lose weight. 

My goal is to -->

And I leave this with my Motivational Tuesday Quote to myself.

(because I didn't think of it yesterday and I do what I want)

FitSugar

Day 5: First Annual Ronaboo

Small hiccup this weekend.  As in I used 2 free days instead of 1 kind of hiccup.  

In order to be successful with my Craft Me Project I have to take time for fun.

That I did this weekend.....that I did.

It was our first annual Ronaboo.

The generic Bonaroo.

We had Pandora's 80's station and glow sticks.

Because that's how we roll.  Be jealous, very jealous.

Uncle Tyler throwing the kids in the pool

Jumping them or gently putting some in :)

Austin photo-bombing or Owen ninja chopping the sprinklers.

Uncle Tyler terrifying Andrew (he didn't throw him in)

Uncle Brandon going spear fishing

Mauryn posing, Owen wondering why this family is so weird, 

and Andrew catching some air.

Now the party begins with our glow in the dark swim party.

 

A few beers later and glow paint is everywhere :)

It was a blast and we plan to do this every year.  Oh the plans I have for next year.

Today I am exhausted.  Friday night I only got 3 hours of sleep and it snowballed from there.  

I am back on track and going to make darn sure our family vacation starting

next Wednesday is super planned out.

Fun and healthy.....I can make those best friends right?   :)

Instead of a nap today I'm going to start my running program.  Got to start some time and even though I've only been working out 1 week I still have the memory of how great it feels to feel exhausted after a workout :)

I'm going to follow this running program (click on link).  

I'm bound to lose weight through this I hope :)

8-Week-Plan-Go-From-Walking-Running

Off to make this weeks meal plan and grocery list.

Tonight (since 24 is now over for the season--darn it!) I will do some meal prep.

I'll post pictures tomorrow :)

Day 4: Mentally prepare

I did a little extra working out in the pool yesterday so since I went from nothing to 2 workouts in one day I was exhausted.  This in turn created what I thought was a good nights rest.

My Fitbit said I had 93% sleep efficiency (It's an A) but woke up 18 times (probably just turning over).  I slept for a good 7 hours though.  Yay!

Sounds like a lot of times to wake up but for me I feel well rested.  Got up at 6, got my glass of water, and walked on the treadmill for 30 min.  I'm half way to my 10,000 step goal already and it's only 7:30.  Maybe next week I'll up my step goal :)

During my treadmill workout I started reading 2 books. (Both on amazon--I downloaded to my Kindle app)

 

I've only done day one in each but they are short, to the point and easy to read.  I appreciate that since I have a short attention span.  

Like DUG short....

They help me mentally prepare for the day.  I'm believe that one's mind is so powerful we are incapable of finding it's limit.  The right mind-set for the day can make or break it.

I also absolutely LOVE this Anthem Lights mash-up song....

I'm off to go clean for company this weekend :)  I'm so excited to see them.  With all get together's I usually not only fall off the clean eating wagon, I freakin' jump off, break my ankles, and wait a month for them to heal before getting back on.  So this afternoon I will create a plan of action to get myself through.  Fun cleanER eating?  Let's see if it's possible :)  

*****Oh yeah, I have someone coming to help me in my quest to feel and look awesome on Monday ;) 

Day 3: Before and NO More

One good indicator that I'm making any progress is by photos.

I'm going to go out on a limb and rely on that, feedback, and how I feel versus what the scale says.

Of all the people I've noticed with long-lasting results, this is what they rely on more than a scale.

In previous attempts to lose weight I would use it daily and a gain or plateau drop kicked me off my path onto a pity path that I'd venture for a bit.

I'm going to use the scale once every 2 weeks so I know if I need to change my diet.

My  3 phf's

The tools and purpose:

Photos: Shot with my camera in front a full length mirror.  

*Once a week--I think it'd be fun to do one of those time-lapse video's when I'm done*

Feelings: I'm going to rely on if I'm feeling that I should cut out more than my plan or add.

I don't want to starve myself or super binge on my free day.

For exercise too--if I feel I can push myself more one day than another I will.

Feedback:  We'll see when it comes my way.  This is not limited to compliments by any means.

Advice, tools I can use, inspirational stories, etc.  anything to help (and I don't cry from negative feedback--its apart of it and sometimes pushes you more--at times)

Week 1--The Before and No More

(That's my "excited trying to hide the sadness of this picture" face haha)

Miss Bean wanted in on the picture taking....

Here is a Throwback Thursday.

Waaayyyy back almost 13 years to my wedding dress search.

Got to get back to this (minus the death stare).

Day 2: The Essentials

Sleep and Water

Two things I never get enough of.

My only 2 goals for the next month (besides staying on my schedule) are to:

1.  Get enough sleep

2.  Drink enough water.

I need about 9 hours of quality sleep to rock a full day to capacity.

It's super tiring hauling around what is essentially the weight of a second person.  That's stings just to say it out loud but it's not like I can hide it.  I just need to accept it and change it.

I also need Melatonin to get a deeper sleep so I don't toss and turn. 

I have a FitBit Flex

FitBit

I highly recommend it.  I've used mine off and on since February.  It records your movement while sleeping and when I take Melatonin I have sleep qualities in the high 90's (%).  I also feel way better.

Goal #1: Sleep enough for me.

*Go to bed @ 9pm and wake up at 6am

*Take 2 Melatonin 15-20 min. before bed

*Do not take phone or Ipad to bedroom

Sorry I'm not responding to texts or calls after 9 :)

Now on to water.  I filled this bad boy with water (2 gallons) add: 1 big cucumber sliced and 1 lemon sliced.

Goal #2: Drink a little under 1/2 of this each day.

1/2 = 1 gallon = 16 cups=128 ounces

1/2 my body weight is 125 (see another person blah!)

So that is drinking 1/2 my body weight in ounces.

(while taking into account what I get from food/sweating out while working out)

To accomplish this I must......

Oh I can't say it..........

I must stop drinking coffee.

Grumpy Cat Mug

But I can still drink tea from it.  Maybe convert my coffee maker into a green tea maker?

 

I'll just stick with my homemade Goonies water jar.....

Excuse me while I use the.....

Mikey: "Bethany, where're you going?"

Bethany Walsh :)  "This is the *(wo)men's* room."