Feelings and Emotions = LOTS of RANDOMNESS

I don't know how to start this post...I've started, stopped, erased, back pedaled, and now I'm just going to write it in bullet points because I have so much I need to get off my chest it will be the easiest way...try to keep up and if you can't, no worries I'm not sure I'll be able to either...LOL

• We're trying to get into a house.  After 15 years of marriage, it's our gift to each other. 
• We've been pre-approved, we've been looking, and we are now learning what it's like to be on the house buying roller coaster.
• Rules are changing April 1st, so the lender is 'pushing' a little bit to get us to get into a contract before then so we can save money.
• The neighborhoods we REALLY wanted to be in don't have anymore houses in our price range.  They ALL seem to be purchased out from under us before we could even look at them all...
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• I put my foot in my mouth BIG time with someone I love, and it's ALWAYS hard to make ammends when you KNOW you're in the wrong.   But, I've done it and I will probably be continuing to make ammends to this person for a while. 
• We OWE taxes this year, which we thought was going to put a damper on getting the house, but it turns out it may not...why? Because our tax guy is AWESOME!!  
• My kids are precious, but they also drive me crazy sometimes. 
• In exactly 2 weeks from today, Gabe and I are going on another honeymoon for 4 days and 3 nights!
• We are SUPER excited and are COUNTING down the days.  Just the TWO of US, all alone reconnecting.
• I've currently lost 14 pounds and hope to lose the last 1 before our trip in 2 weeks...that would leave 5 pounds left to lose after our trip.
• I'm struggling to not buy anything impulsively, especially since I'm running out of clothes.
• I also used to be an emotional eater..I'm working on NOT becoming an emotional/stress buyer...it's VERY hard!
• I know there's more I want to say, but I'm watching Last Man Standing and I'm too distracted...
• Last Man Standing ALWAYS makes me laugh and smile...

Lifestyle change

So, my sister wants me to blog about how I've lost 13.4 lbs in 2 months, so here goes....

I started my journey to lose 21 lbs on Dec 19th.  I started logging my food and exercising.  Along the way, I've had some of my stomach issues flare up, so it was a good thing that I had started keeping a log to see if there were any connections...Here are a few more changes in my eating habits that I made:

• We started eating out LESS, but when we do, I'm SMART about the choices that I make.
• I switched from chips and guacamole to pita chips & hummus.
• I switched from regular cheese to 2% cheese.
• I switched from Regular Jiff Peanut Butter to Simply Jiff.
• I ONLY eat when I'm hungry and before I put food in my mouth, I drink some water to make sure that I'm really hungry and not just thirsty.  
• I stay within my allotted calorie budget according to Lose It.com.
• I don't eat past 7pm.
• When I snack, I make smart snack decisions...like 100 calorie snacks
• I'm keeping variety in my diet, so I don't get bored.
• I'm still eating candy, BUT I'm eating DOVE chocolates that are 5 pieces for 210 calories..I very RARELY eat all 5 pieces and I usually eat them throughout the day, not all at one time.

I've also switched workout routines...I was using P90X, but I was struggling with time...Each workout is between 60 - 90 minutes each, and I wasn't getting as much accomplished as I needed to before my kids came home from school.  So, I'm doing the 10-minute Trainer workouts from Beachbody.  Depending on my day I can do 1, 2, or 3 workouts every morning.  I usually do 2 workouts, it takes about 30 minutes due to a 2 min warm up 20 minutes for exercising, and then about 5 min for MY body to finally cool down.  I'm burning the same amount of calories as I was in P90X, but my time is being used more efficiently.  I LOVE IT!!  I did splurge and get the Accelerated Results add on, and I can tell a difference.

I'm still struggling to eat the calories that I'm burning off in my workouts, but I've learned that I'm not on a DIET, I'm learning a NEW LIFESTYLE.   So, as I continue on this journey, I'll try to keep a more updated report as to how I'm doing.  Until then, know that I'm loving the new habits that I am incorporating to my life and pray that they will continue with me for a long time to come.

P.S. I'm going to have to go to the Salvation Army store soon to get some new cheap clothes that will fit until I finish my 10 minute trainer 4 week regiment...

I was doing this wrong

Don't you love it when you start doing something and you think what you're doing is right, then have a friend that says, "umm...no that's not ok!".  Well that just happened with me.

Let me explain.  I thought the game of burn the calories, but see if I can still come in under my allotted calories from Lose It! was ok, and I AM WRONG!!  It has been brought to my attention that I AM WRONG!!   Trying to lose this way is VERY DANGEROUS to my health.  So here is the new game plan (AND THE CORRECT WAY) -

My allotted calorie intake is 1442 to lose 1.5 pounds per week OR 1192 calories to lose 2 pounds per week.  HOWEVER, I can NOT eat less than this EVER, otherwise I'm starving myself and THAT IS NOT OK.  I also was told that when I exercise, I need to replace at least those calories as well.   So if I burn 400 calories, I need to eat another 400 calories to STAY HEALTHY!!

For those of you who are following my progress, understand that I thought what I was doing was ok, BUT since it was brought to my attention that it wasn't, then I WILL BE MAKING THE CHANGES TODAY.

Thanks, Brandi, for speaking the truth to me that the way I was calculating my intake and output of calories was wrong.  It's never easy to admit your wrong; however, in this situation, I am and I need to make it right, now.  I will still be working on NOT snacking if I'M NOT hungry and making better food choices, but I WILL start losing weight the healthy way, and not any other way.

Week 1 Day2 Rundown

Here's my plan.  According to Lose It! I can consume 1442 calories each day to lose the weight that I want to, so my goal is to see how many calories I can counteract with working out.  It's a game (I'm a bit competitive) I'm playing with myself.   I'm working out twice a day, in the morning I'm doing my P90X Lean Routines and then in the afternoons I walk or do my Couch to 5K running while my kids ride their new scooters.  I'm alternating them every other day.

So here are my totals for today:
Calories allowed: 1443
Calories consumed: 1278
Calories burned: 698*

Here's what I decided a few months back when I tried before to lose weight and kept getting frustrated.  Instead of having the goal to lose 20lbs, I'm taking them 5lbs at a time.  So my first goal is to go from 171.4lbs to 165lbs.  This way I'm feeling more success on the way.  Hope that makes sense.

*These are ONLY the calories that I am burning while doing exercise. 

Happy New Year!!! - Here's my Resolution

First off, I want to apologize for 'all' of you who follow my blog (I think there might be 2 of you) for NOT updating since March.  Life has flown by & gotten extremely busy.  I know have a Kindergartner AND a 2nd grader in our 1/2 Charter School, which we LOVE.  4 hours of school a day ROCKS.  My contract hours have been picking up, and therefore, this poor blog has been neglected.

First I want to wish you a happy New Year.  Second I want you to help keep me accountable.  I need to have a healthier lifestyle and I need some help.  This blog for the year of 2012 will be my journal as I journey to making better food choices, exercise choices, and over all life choices.

So today was the first day of my new workout regiment.  Today I went back to P90X, but instead of the traditional workout that I only got through 5 weeks on, I am doing the LEAN workout.  It is designed for those of us that want to shed some pounds.  I have between 20 & 25 I'd like to kick to the curb + my core muscles are like that of an old lady....I got flabby, pathetic, sissy ones...I also need to get my stomach to quit being so finicky about things & sporadically getting nauseous.

Since my kids had one more day off of school, I got up at 5:30AM (I know INSANE) and did my core synergistics workout from 6:00 - 7:00 AM. (I burned 482 cals). We had to take my husband to work this morning because he got called in, so I got him & the kids McDonald's as a treat, BUT NOT ME!! I came home & made me oatmeal (200cal) & drank my coffee(55cal).  The kids & I then ran LOTS of errands & I continued to drink LOTS of water & had a snack of a banana (1-5cals).  We went to lunch at Chili's where I ate 1/2 of the lunch portion of a cobb salad (178cal) witha 1/3of the lite Ranch dressing(27cal) on the side AND 1/2 a bowl of loaded baked potato soup (205cal).  Came home, rested, and then took my kids scootering.  I did week 3 day 1 of my Couch to 5K (burned 286cals), so in essence, I worked out twice today. (Which is what I'll be doing Mon - Fri) from now on.   We went to the park, ran one more errand and the kids got Chick-fil-A for supper.  I got ONLY a chicken tenders 3 pack and ONLY ate 2 (250cals).  I was going to heat up the other half of my loaded baked potato soup from lunch, but I'm not hungry so I put it back in the fridge.  I also chewed a piece of gum (5cals) and I'm currently trying to drink some Sleepytime Tea w/2 tsp of honey & 3 tsp on fat free milk in it, but I can't seem to get it down...

So here are the totals for my day:  I consumed 1,072 calories (my goal is 1,442) and I burned 768 calories.  I'm still UNDER my 'allotted' calories by 1,138, but I think they'll just disappear.  I'm weighing myself every Mon morning at 6 am.  Last week I was 168lbs, today I am 171.4...I'm not sure what happened other than maybe because I was up to late last night & drinking lots of water up until midnight....  Oh yeah, I using Lose It!  Android app and web page as my log.  

Here are my goals:  I would LOVE to weigh 155lbs by March 20th AT THE LATEST.  That's dropping approximately 15lbs in 3 months...I THINK I can do it.  I want to stop picking off my kids plates.  I want to stop OVEREATING, when I'm full or satisified, I want to STOP eating, put the food away.  I want to do better with my portion controls.

Right now I think my IBS is acting up, so I'm NOT drinking my sleepytime tea, but I am sleepy so that's a good thing.  Please help hold me accountable.  I will VERY hard to come here EVERY night to journal about my day.