Archive for the ‘Health/Fitness/Nutrition’ Category
Losing It Challenge Week 2
Friday, March 5th, 2010
I’d have to say this past week was the hardest for me exercise wise. I was super busy and didn’t get on the elliptical until yesterday. I plan on getting on today, tomorrow and {hopefully} Sunday as well to make up for lost time! I also tended to “nibble” a bit more and not count it on my myfitnesspal.com tracker. I blame that on a certain unwanted, monthly visitor that just left. But, even after all that I still lost a pound! When I stepped on the scale this morning I didn’t even want to look because I assumed I had most likely stayed the same or even gained a couple of pounds back. I was thrilled to see I had lost a pound. I’ve now been seriously working on my fitness and weight loss for a month. So in the past month I’ve-
:: Lost 6 lbs
:: Lost 2.5 inches off my waist
I had taken measurements of my arms, thighs and hips a month ago but can’t find where I wrote those down. So, we’ll see next month how much I’ve lost in those areas. Let’s just say that my thighs are the same size as a some women’s waists. Just sayin’.
Yuck.
But since I started this Losing It challenge last week I’ve lost a pound. I don’t know if the previous five pounds should count since I had a head start!
So if you want to count all my six pounds I’ve lost 3% of my weight so far. If you don’t want to count my six pounds and just the one from this past week, I’ve lost .005%! I’ll leave that up to the wonderful ladies hosting this challenge: Mary from Giving Up On Perfect, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife and Ashleigh from Heart and Home.
I’m up for a busy few months ahead of me. I’m really going to have to manage my time well if I want to continue exercising. We’ve started going to the Financial Peace University class our church is offering and that’s every Tuesday night from 6:30 to 8:30. I have Awana and Bible study on Wed night’s from 6:30-8:00 and then I’m hosting a ladies Bible study at my house on Thursday nights from 6:30-8:30(ish). We’re doing Beth Moore’s study on Esther. I’m really excited about it. On those three days Katelyn goes to school from 11:30-1:55 so I”m gone from 11:00 to about 2:30 those days. That may not sound like a lot but it’s smack in the middle of the day so I don’t get much done before we leave and once we get back I try to get on the elliptical and also take care of my other housekeeping stuff, dinner and the kids. So that doesn’t leave me a lot of time to get much done before my other commitments on those nights. When I get real busy and stressed the first thing I usually let go is my exercise. I really don’t want to do that this time! I told Mike my exercise is not going to fall by the way side this time. I guess it will have to be the house!
So, how is everyone else doing? Write about your journey and link up to the challenge!
Keep up the good work!
The Chubby Mama’s Fitness Plan
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Although I posted this yesterday(2/25) the kind ladies who are hosting Losing It:Not Just Our Sanity are letting me link up today (2/26).
Losing It is a 10 week weight loss contest/challenge hosted by Mary, Jessie and Ashleigh. Click here for more info on the challenge. There will be prizes! But, of course, the biggest prize of all will be lost weight!! (Hopefully never to be found again!)
Check it out and join us!
My original post can be found below.
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I’ve recently stumbled on the will to actually stick with a weight loss goal recently. I haven’t been on it for long however but I feel good about it! I think part of it is because I feel like the proper diet and exercise will boost fertility but also because if I look pregnant I actually want to BE pregnant. That is not the case right now. I definitely look it. I weigh around the same a when I was nine months pregnant with both my girls! GROSS!!
So I wanted to share a couple of tips and what I’ve done in the past almost-two-months of trying to lose weight. Oh, in case you were wondering, I’ve lost five pounds. I’m not going for fast weight loss. I’m going for slow and steady.
The Daily Routine…
So, what I’ve been doing so far is trying to get on my elliptical 3-4 days a week for 25 minutes. I’m slowly upping my time by anywhere from 1 to 4 minutes every few weeks. I started out at 20 minutes and will try to get to about 35 minutes. Because I don’t want to be overwhelmed by the idea of exercise (which I hate), I will probably never be one of those people who gets on the elliptical for an hour 5 days a week. I will probably never go longer than 35 or 40 minutes. An hour just seems way too long to me! Half an hour is very doable in my mind. If I think of daily exercise in hour segments I get discouraged and think ” Ugh. I don’t have time for that every day. I guess I can’t do it”. Not to mention I’m beyond out of shape and an hour would kill me! But half an hour out of my day changes my mindset towards exercise. It’s weird but it works for me! I would, however, like to be able to fit it some form of exercise 5-6 days a week at some point in the future. Twenty minutes to half an hour is also very doable when you have small children in the house who are constantly trying to sabotage your exercise plans. I try to plan my time on the elliptical around a favorite t.v show that way I have something to look forward to. Right now I’m either watching “Yes, Dear” , “A Baby Story” or “Bringing Home Baby” during my workouts.
In the near future I would also like to start out doing Pilates 2 days a week and then progress to 3. I love Pilates because it strengthens your whole core with moves that incorporate your whole body. There are no sit ups or lunges or anything. And the beginners routine I have lasts 10 minutes and I can feel it at the end! The DVD I uses is very soothing and doesn’t go past 30 minutes at the highest level.
The Daily Mind Set..
What I’ve done is try to make getting on the elliptical as easy for myself as possible. I wake up in the morning with it already on my mind and the decision that I WILL get on that elliptical. I write it in my daily planner. I take my work out clothes down stairs along with my sneakers and tennis shoes so they’re right there when it’s time to use them. This to save precious minutes I may use to get sidetracked or to talk myself out of going upstairs to get that stuff. That may seem silly or trivial but every little bit helps me stay focused. I do this on the days that I take Katelyn to school in the middle of the day and know I won’t be exercising until later in the day. On days I don’t take Katelyn to school I go down stairs partially dressed in my work out clothes already. Then I pick a show I’m going to watch and set my work out time for then. Then, I keep a steady eye on the clock so I don’t miss it! Everybody goes potty, has a drink and a special toy to play with before I get on the elliptical. I told the girls they may NOT ask for anything while I’m on it. And I say this almost every time I’m on it- ” IF I….(gasp for breath) HAVE TO GET OFF… (gasp for breath) THIS THING …(gasp for breath)…. TO SEPARATE….(gasp for breath)…. YOU TWO…..(gasp for breath) … SOMEBODY IS GOING TO GET IT!!!!”. (heaving chest, gasping for breath). The girls are starting to understand that elliptical time is mommy time and they need to be good and quiet or there are consequences after mommy stops gasping and heaving.
The Daily Food Plan……
If you know me at all, I love to eat. And I hate being on any sort of “you can eat this but not this ” plan. I usually give up on any plan that requires me to drastically change my eating habits, requires extra work or special food. Right now I eat what I want and track it on www.myfitnesspal.com I started in the beginning using myfitnesspal.com strictly as a food diary. I wanted to see exactly what and how much I was eating every day. I’ll just say it was scary.
It will tell you how many calories you need to eat a day for your height and weight. You can log in and keep a record of what you’ve eaten and it will deduct the calories from your daily allotment. When you log in your exercise it will add calories to your daily allotment (yay!) You can also keep track of your exercise and any notes about how you feel about your eating and exercising that day. Right now, my daily allotment is 1500 calories. When I exercise I get 300 extra calories to eat.
If you remember I’ve been trying to move to a whole/ real food diet. While that kind of diet is healthy for you the foods that aren’t fruits and veggies tend to have higher calories because they aren’t diet foods. I eat a lot of full fat dairy. The whole grain breads I eat have 110 calories a slice! So my portions can’t be very large if I want to have any calories left for the end of the day. What I’ve found is that even though my portions are smaller I enjoy the flavor and they satisfy me longer because the food isn’t “diet or fake. I’ve had to learn balance in my eating. I usually don’t count fruits and veggies (unless they’re covered in some sort of sauce etc) a la Weight Watchers. My whole family has been more adventuresome as of late and my girls are eating fruits and veggies they refused to eat before. And Mike? He’s eating salad! Actual grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette! And steamed carrots with salt and butter! He’s found he likes spinach!
Ok…..you can pick yourself up off the floor now. For those of you who don’t know Mike, he’s an UBER DUBER (yep. It’s a word I just made up) picky eater. For years he wouldn’t touch fruits or vegetables other than an apple. He doesn’t eat any sauces or dips other than barbeque and ketchup and the boy still won’t eat macaroni and cheese. Who doesn’t like macaroni and cheese?!!! Anyhoo…I digress.
So, eating healthier as a family really helps.
I’ve been having to eat lunch on the go lately because of Katelyn’s school schedule. I drop her off at 11:30 and then usually run errands for the two and a half hours she’s school since we live about 25 minutes from her school. I’ll admit… I hate packing a lunch for myself on those days so I don’t always do it. Nothing ever sounds good other than a couple of snack items. So, sometimes, I grab lunch at the two places close by. McDonald’s and Burger King!! But, I’ve managed to make it work for me. Madelyn loves chicken nuggets and fries as does Katelyn. I love McDonald’s chicken nuggets and fries! What I usually do is share chicken nuggets with the girls. I’ll get a 10 piece nugget and eat 8 pieces and give Maddy two (which is about all she wants to eat of the chicken anyway). If I eat 8 nuggets and a small fry that comes to 483 calories. Sometimes I treat myself to a sweet tea from there (which I LOVE) for 230 calories. I’m full and don’t feel deprived at all. At Burger King I eat a Whopper Jr with cheese and mayo for a total of 420 calories. I factor those things in to my daily eating habits and work accordingly. Some days I may go over and some days I stay under my calorie allotment. But I don’t over think it. If I eat unhealthier foods one week because of splurging eating out, I try to balance that out over the next few days with extra water, fruits and veggies. I’m trying to do what works for me so I don’t feel deprived and like I’m starving all the time.
I allow myself one “treat” every day. It’s usually after dinner when I’m really craving something sweet. And it’s usually Nutella on a piece of toast with a cup of milk. I look forward to that snack every day. I save calories for it every day. And, sometimes I still have it even when I don’t have any calories left over! It’s all about what works for you and what is going to help keep you heading towards your weight loss goal. Guilt and deprivation does not work for me.
Stuff I like……
Some healthy foods that I’ve discovered I like are Kashi Cereal. Especially Kashi Go Lean Crunch with honey, almonds and flax and Kashi Go Lean Crumble with blueberries and cranberries. I usually add about half a cup or so of frozen blueberries to that cereal and it’s a super filling and super healthy way to start my day.
I’ve also come up with a parfait snack that I love.
I take half a cup of Stonyfield Farm organic whole milk french vanilla yogurt and layer it with half a cup of frozen blueberries and half a cup of Grapenuts cereal. It’s delicious and nutritious. You could use whatever low fat or non fat yogurt you would like in place of the full fat type I use. It comes to 345 calories. I like it for breakfast too.
Have you heard of Sketchers Shape-ups? I bought a pair last November. They are pretty pricey but worth the money, in my opinion. I use these babies whenever I go grocery shopping or am going to be doing a lot of walking. First of all, they are super comfortable!!! I feel like I’m walking on a bouncy cloud! Secondly they really do work your glutes and thighs. If I wear them for half an hour or more of walking I feel it when I take them off. They are also good for posture and lower back pain. Am I burning a ton of calories and going to get in shape just by wearing these? No. But I feel like every extra lit bit counts. If I can turn grocery shopping or a trip to Wal-Mart into a toning session even better! I don’t wear them on the elliptical because of the wedge. They put me at a weird angle I don’t like while on it.
Another resource I turn to (not often enough!) is the book “Body By God” by Dr. Ben Lerner. Our Chiropractor lives by this book and gives copies away to his patients.That is how we came to own a copy!
There is a wealth of valuable exercise and nutrition information in this book. I highly suggest reading it! There are two things in his book that Ive been using lately.
1.Throw your scales away!
Ok, I haven’t thrown them away but I’m not completely depending on them as the gauge for my fitness success. His point is that our weight fluctuates and if we let our success be determined by the numbers on the scale we’re going to get discouraged and quit. He says to not even use scales and only go by your measurements and how your clothes fit. Muscle weighs more than fat. I hadn’t measured myself in ages and never used them as a guide. I now check my measurements once a month. I took my measurements late in the game so I’m due to check them for another week or so. For right now, I’m using the scale just to keep somewhat of a gauge on my progress here at the beginning.
2. Maximum heart rate and fat burning zones.
Each of us have fat utilization heart rates when we exercise. Usually that is 55% to 75% of our maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is defined as “the number of beats per minute your heart should not exceed during exercise”. That heart rate is dangerous and painful. He talks about three different rates you can exercise at and which ones are the best. The Fat-Utilization Rate (FUR) is appropriate and comfortable for people at all stages of life and exercise.
The second one is the Performance Enhancement Rate (PER) which is 75%-85% of your maximum heart rate is recommended for serious athletes who are looking to make gains in distance and speed as well as burn fat.
The third one is the Sugar-Utilization Rate (SUR)- This is at or near maximum heart rate and not recommended. It begins to burn sugar for energy instead of fat . There is high caloric output but also high amounts of dangerous stress being placed on your cardiovascular system.
Here is the formula for determining your maximum heart rate=
220 minus Your Age
So for me that would be 220-31= 189. That’s my MAX heart rate level. The level in which my heart should NOT be beating while exercising.
To figure out my FUR rate (55-75% of my max heart rate) I would take 189 x55%= 103. That’s the lowest my heart rate should go to still be burning fat. The highest fat burning rate would be 189×75%= 141. So my FUR is 103-142 BPR. When I’m on the elliptical I try to keep my heart rate between those to numbers.
I know this post was long but I hope I wanted to share what I’ve learned recently and what’s been working for me!
I’d love to hear how everyone else is doing with their fitness goals.
Everything AND the kitchen sink!
Monday, February 8th, 2010
If ever there ever was a post with a mish mash of stuff, this is it! The kitchen sink included!
Way back when we thought we were moving( you know, two weeks ago…) Mike put up a much needed back splash behind our stove and sink. He used left over tile from our bathroom when we renovated that. I thought that was a very smart and frugal move on his part. The tile is pretty and very neutral in color. I took some pictures so my mom could see how it came out. My mom knows how ugly my walls were behind the stove and sink so she’ll really appreciate how much better it looks. You’re welcome to appreciate Mike’s handiwork too.
As usual, I wish I had taken a “before” picture but didn’t think of doing that while Mike was working on this. This may not seem like a big deal but we threw away our ugly, moldy (yes! it was moldy on the bottom, unbeknown to us!) dish drainer and bought a smaller one. The old one used to be to the right of the sink, taking up a lot of that space and making it look cluttered and ugly. I also had a cookie cooling rack laying there too for an extra spot to air dry dishes. We cleaned that area out and I put a smaller, prettier, non-moldy dish drainer to the left of the sink. It looks much neater and nicer and creates extra counter space to the right of the sink. I also took my dish soap, hand soap and sponges out of an ugly, plastic Tupperware container and put them in a glass pie dish. ( I never make pies!) It’s amazing how you get accustomed to certain areas of clutter and don’t even notice them anymore. Then once you finally notice it and make a few simple changes it makes a world of difference!
This is the back splash behind the stove. The walls were hard to keep clean and because I’m a messy cook they were usually splattered with grease and oil etc. Before Mike put up the back splash I scrubbed the wall behind the stove and to the right. It looked much better just with the walls washed. The back splash actually seems to make the kitchen look bigger and “homey-er”
And one last little detail that my mom will appreciate….
I finally changed the kitchen valance. It had a green, satiny looking valance that wasn’t hideous but wasn’t super pretty either. It was dark green. I never changed the valance after we moved in and have been ignoring it for almost 6 1/2 years! I finally put a cheerier one up. The previous owners also painted over the beautiful dark wood work around the window and doorway. Maybe now that we have time, we can sand that paint off and re-stain it.
Now we move on to my health update:
My nurse practitioner called a couple of weeks ago and said they were having trouble with the machine that reads the results of the holter heart monitor. So, I have to wear it for 24 hrs again. They’ll call me…. (hmm..I should probably follow up on that since they haven’t called me yet.)
I’m still having the same dizziness as before but have kind of gotten used to it! I’ve been taking my vitamin D and prescription iron pills. Even if those don’t help my dizziness they’re still good for me.
*If you’re a man reading this you may want to stop reading here if you don’t want to read about women issues..*
My ultrasound results came back and I have a cyst on my right ovary. That’s all the nurse said when she called. She said that could create fertility problems but from what I understand those are pretty common. So, they want me to go through two monthly cycles and then come back in for another ultrasound to see if the cyst has gone away on it’s own.
Fun stuff, right? So, we’re on a new lead with that. Not sure what will come of it but I’ll keep everyone updated.
On a side note, Katelyn just had another UTI so she was on another round of antibiotics for it. The doctor thinks she’s not wiping correctly and that’s what is causing these infections.
Now, I’ll leave you with some cute pictures of Katelyn in her dance costume. She really wanted to wear it all the time when we first got it. I’ve put it away and she’ll forget about for a bit until her recital in May.
Guess That Drawing And An Update
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Guess That Drawing answer—
Madelyn’s picture is indeed d and Katelyn’s picture is of us, my parents and my inlaws eating Christmas dinner together.
Thanks for playing!
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Before I get into the boring exciting update of my “health” and our moving process I want to present TWO drawings to guess about.
One is Madelyn’s and one is Katelyn’s.
This picture is Madelyn’s (obviously!). I’ll make this one a multiple choice. Is this drawing about..
a) A butterfly?
b) Katelyn?
c)Our birdies Zoe and Chloe?
d) Nana, Papa, Uncle Bob, Daddy and Mommy?
This next drawing is Katelyn’s. What do you think it’s about?
Now on to my health and moving update……..
I got the results back from my blood tests two Friday’s ago. Everything came out fine. The only think my NP said was that my vitamin D levels were low and I’m anemic (which I already knew). So she’s prescribing a stronger Iron pill and wants me to take a vitamin D supplement.
I’m still having dizzy spells. I haven’t heard back about my holter moniter results. When I called last week they were having trouble with the print out so they said they would call as soon as they got the results.
I had an ultrasound last Wednesday to have a little look at my reproductive system. The technician said everything looked fine to her but that I would get a call from my doctor in a couple of days. So, I’m expecting that call any day now. I’ll most likely call today about my heart monitor results and my ultrasound results. I’m thinking that if everything comes back normal on my heart monitor results I’m going to keep taking my iron and vitamin supplements and see if my dizzy spells go away. As for my ultrasound results….I think if those come back fine I won’t pursue any more testing. When I had all the testing done when I was trying to conceive with Katelyn everything came back normal. I have a feeling the same thing is going to happen this time. I really don’t want to waste my time and money with all sorts of testing if everything is going to come back….normal. I’m really starting to think it’s a God thing. I’m trying to focus on packing and moving and keep my mind off the fact that that God is not allowing me to get pregnant right now.
As for our moving…
Our goal is to have our realtor come over this Saturday to look at our house , takes pictures and put it on the market. That’s our goal!! So, hopefully by the beginning of next week it will be on the market.
We found another house we love on Saturday. So now there are two. I love this house more than the other one. The only problem is…it’s also a short sale!!! We’ve found out that we can’t make an offer on a short sale house until we have accepted an offer on our house. The banks won’t accept any contingencies. One of ours would be that we need to sell our house before we can close on one. The banks want us to be ready to close at the drop of a hat although they want to be able to take up to six months to accept an offer. That is so dumb! So we can’t put an offer on the house we saw on Saturday until we have sold our house.
Just to make things easier I’ll name the two houses and compare them for you
H1= Dutch Gambrel, 1600 +sqf , 4 bedrooms 1.5 baths, 1 acre lot, nice deck, full basement with two more rooms,nice neighborhood, close to highway. NO garage. Bathrooms would need updating eventually. Needs new carpet in upstairs and new wall paint. Asking price is very reasonable and would save us a good amount of money each month on our mortgage.
H2= Ranch style house, 2900 + sqf, 4 bedrooms, 2 huge full baths, huge deck, about half an acre lot, full basement but not very high so Mike has to stoop to use it. Not usable for anything other than storage. Close to highway, nice neighborhood, close to highway, Katelyn’s school and elementary school. Needs all new appliances and new flooring in family room. No garage. Asking price is reasonable and would also save us money on our mortgage each month. This house has handicapped features which is why the bathrooms are so big. Bathrooms are newly renovated so they wouldn’t need anything. Some of the house would need repainting.
I like H2 better than H1. I love ranch style houses since everything is all one floor!! No more traipsing up and down two or three flights of stairs to do laundry. The floors are brand new in the whole house except the family room. They are beautiful hard wood. The room we would use for the girls is so big that it would be their bedroom AND playroom. We wouldn’t need a separate play area for them. When we were looking at this house we seriously got turned around and confused about how to get back to the front door or which part of the house we were in. I love that the house is that big.
Both houses have been on the market 3+ months and could end up foreclosing. That’s the only thing going in our favor right now. A lot of people don’t want to deal with short sales or foreclosures. I’m really hoping we get a chance to put an offer on the ranch.
So, there you have it!
Oh! Madelyn is doing well with her foot. She has a follow up appointment on Wednesday. She’s been walking around without her boot all morning today and seems to be fine. So, I’m hoping all is well and she can stop wearing the boot.
Please keep us in your prayers!
Whatever Happened To GONSH?
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
So, you’re all probably wondering what happened to my GONSH(Green/ Organized/Natural/ Simple/Healthy) journey. I just wanted to assure you I’m still on it! I’ve backed off a bit and slowed things down more. I was getting a little overwhelmed and stressed trying to change everything at once so I decided to take it slower. Here’s what I’ve been doing
The Green Part- I’m passionate about recycling! I recycle anything and everything I can. I’m a member of the Freecycle community (www.freecycle.org) and I feel much better about “freecycling” things rather than just throwing them away. I’m big into reusable shopping bags. Unless I’m taking an unplanned stop at the grocery store I always take my canvas/reusable shopping bags to the store when I shop. I actually prefer this now. They can fit more groceries into one bag and the bag is sturdy enough to where it doesn’t rip while I”m lugging groceries into the house. And I feel like I’m doing my part in helping reduce the amount of plastic that is used. I’m in the process of finding reusable lunch items to send in Mike and Katelyn’s lunch, rather than using plastic baggies all the time. I send Katelyn to school with a real spoon, her juice cup, and many times Tupperware containers. I don’t send juice boxes or plastic spoons (usually).
I still have problems with “green” cleaning products. Especially in my tub and toilet! I haven’t found any yet that I feel clean those two very well. My tub( a large, jacuzzi tub) is a beast to clean! I’ve used all natural products to clean it before and I have to use a lot of physical force to do it. By the time I’m done I need a nap. I loathe cleaning my tub so I have been using bleach products to clean it.
I still wash and reuse my plastic baggies as much as possible! You can go ahead and laugh at me. It’s become a habit now. I have saved some money by doing that as I don’t got through boxes of plastic bags nearly as quickly as I used to. The only time I don’t wash and reuse is when there’s been raw meat in the bag. Then it goes right in to the trash.
The cloth diapers are put away for now, as Madelyn has begun potty training. Once we get back from our trip to TX we’re going right to underwear and training pants. We won’t be using Pull-Ups all that much.
The Organized Part- I’ve actually done really well with this part since the last time I wrote about this. We did a lot of work on our house this past summer that has helped us get organized. Now that we have a playroom our living room has stayed pretty clean and organized for the most part. Our new dining room(that used to be the playroom/office) looks good all the time now. There is very rarely piles of anything on it. I’ve really stayed on top of the girls and their toys. It’s been a chore but I keep track of what they are taking out and am constantly telling them to clean up and put something away that I noticed they aren’t playing with. There has been a lot of moaning and groaning and struggling over this. I had gotten to where I dreaded telling them to clean up their toys because it had gotten to be such a huge, long and drawn out process. They don’t get as overwhelmed now that I keep track of what they are taking out and thus are more willing to clean up.
My biggest struggle right now is coming up with a new, efficient and productive schedule now that we’ve added three days of school for Katelyn, Awana/Bible Study and dance. I’ve finally figured out what I need to do is come up with a daily schedule of events for each day and divvy up the major cleaning chores during those days. Dropping Katelyn off and picking her takes up a huge chunk of the day! I know that sounds like complaining but it’s not. I guess I just wasn’t expecting Katelyn going to school to be as much work as it is on my part. I’ve found that one thing that leads to organization is simplicity. That is starting to become my mantra. I used to think simplicity was boring and lazy. Now I know differently! Simplicity is the key to my sanity.
The Natural Living Part- I’m still working on this part. It’s a struggle. I’m still reading labels, trying to eat food as close to it’s natural state as possible(for our family!) and trying to eat…simply. Eating simply has actually helped in the organization part because I found that cooking dinner was taking a huge chunk of the evening each night and then the clean up was a pain. For four people! Most of who didn’t like or eat most of what I was making! I don’t buy all organic right now. I can’t afford it. Right now I stick with buying organic dairy items. Since we drink a lot of milk I want my girls to drink organic, hormone free milk. Once our food budget allows I’ll most likely move up to organic meat. I have given up on organic produce for right now. It’s sooo expensive and the offerings at my grocery store aren’t that great. I try to wash my fruits and vegetables as best as I can and then enjoy them for what they are.
As far as body products go, I don’t use all natural products with everything. I use Suave shampoo ( because it’s so inexpensive) and bar soap. I’ve found we like olive oil ba soap by Kiss My Face. I use that on the girls too. The bar isn’t cheap but since it’s so big it lasts awhile. I do use goat’s milk shampoo on the girls’ hair right now. Makeup, lotions etc are usually what I can find on sale or what I buy from my sister’s Mary Kay business. Again,as time and budget allows I’ll slowly start looking in to more natural body products but it will be a slow process.
The Simple Part- Like I said above, simplicity is becoming my mantra and motto. What’s the easiest, most stream lined way to do this? What will make this task, this room or this job more streamlined and efficient? I used to love knick knacks and decorations around my house. The more the merrier. Ha! Not anymore. The knick knacks are being freecycled and I”m looking at everything I do with fresh eyes. Including relationships that are draining and past their prime. Yes, some relationships and people can be time and energy wasters.Time to move on.
The Healthy Part- We’ve been doing better at this! Or, should I say, Mike has been doing better at this. We recently got an elliptical and Mike has been using it very consistently! I’m so proud of him. He also gave a me a list of fruits and vegetables he likes and ones he’s willing to try. So far he’s started eating grapes, carrot sticks,spinach and celery with almond butter. I’ve been using the elliptical too but not nearly as much as I’d like to. Once we get back from Texas we won’t have any more huge commitments or upcoming events at our house. I plan on focusing my attention on the elliptical more. We started eating fish about 2 or 3 times a month. I make baked haddock and we all like it. I want to try some other types of fish although Mike isn’t crazy about the idea.I’ve been trying to eat my fruits and veggies consistently and offering them to the girls. Those foods are still not my first choice when I’m looking for something to snack on. I have to make myself eat them. I’ve found that if I cut them up(yes, as if I’m giving them to a child!) I eat them better. I have to prepare the fruit or veggie right along with my food. If I plan on eating it later I won’t get to it. I feel like I do throw a lot of veggies away but I feel like it’s worth it in the long run since the girls are being exposed to these healthy foods. I’ve tried to limit the amount of boxed snacks and desserts we keep in the house. The girls know there are certain foods we don’t eat anymore and they are used to it. It’s hard!
So, there you have it. Any comments or suggestions for me? Are you struggling with the same stuff?
A “Fit” Giveaway
Friday, September 18th, 2009
UPDATED: We have a winner! Here’s how a winner was chosen: I wrote all the entrants names on small slips of paper. Those who had two entries got their name put in twice. I then shook them all up and had Mike pull one name out. Our winner today is……
Steph!!!
Congratulations!
I’ll be mailing you a copy of “Fit Home Team” soon.
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Give away is now closed! Thanks to all who entered. Winner will be announced shortly.
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Meet my new friend Mr. Elliptical
Let’s look at him from a different angle,shall we?
Pretty sweet, huh? And sorry! This is not the giveaway. Mike and I got this elliptical on sale online with free shipping. This elliptical’s stride is long enough for my 6′7 hubby, yet, I’m still able to use it myself. We are hoping this elliptical will help us get fit. We want to be able to live a more energetic lifestyle and be able to set a good example for our kids on healthy eating and exercise. Which leads me to my giveaway!
I recently received a book to review called “Fit Home Team” by Jorge and Laura Posada. Jorge Posada is the catcher for the New York Yankees and obviously has to be fit to play the sport that he does. Him and his wife have written this fabulous book on nutrition and family fitness. It’s a quality, hard cover book that has a ton of healthy and fun recipes, health and nutrition information, and exercise tips and ideas for the whole family. I am really enjoying trying out the ideas and recipes in this book. And on top of all I mentioned above it has a ton of color photos of the Posada family doing the different activities they talk about. I really like this book because the Posadas actually incorporate what they talk about in their book into their own family lifestyle and they make exercise and eating right a family affair. Below you can watch a clip I got off youtube of Jorge and Laura talking about their book.
I have one extra copy of this book to send to one lucky reader. You can do two things to enter this giveaway
1)Leave me a comment. If you comment you are automatically entered to win this book. Unless you state that you don’t want it and are just leaving a comment because you want to. Which is fine as well!
2) For a second entry and chance to win you can also copy my blog badge/button into the sidebar of your blog. I’d much appreciate that! Scroll down to the bottom of my sidebar and you’ll see my “Simply Mel” blog button with the code underneath for pasting it into your sidebar. Just copy that code and follow the specific instructions for posting things in your sidebar for whatever blogging service you use.If you decide to do this as well let me know in a separate comment so I can check out your blog.
This giveaway will end tomorrow night, Sept. 19th at 9:00 pm my time(Eastern?). I’ll post the winner at the top of this post.
Now that I’m done writing this post I think I’ll go get on my new friend Mr. Elliptical.
