Failure!?

SO I completely failed at my hopes to work out for like 3 hours yesterday.

But in my defense, I wouldn't have traded my day/ evening for the entire universe, or for losing 50 pounds all at once!

Yesterday after my meeting, I came home and got the kids ready and we went straight to the beach. We had SUCH a fun time. I don't know what it is, but every time Deslin is submerged in water he is the most pleasant, happiest, most peaceful kid on this planet. He has been that way since birth, and it still holds true today.

We played at the beach until 5pm. I had plenty of time to relax and take in some rays, and plenty of time to play frisbee in the water with the kids, and to swim out in the 'deep' water with Deslin. Deep to him is up to just below his chest. We had a great time! He was so talkative, just telling me all his ideas about things, his theories about life, lol.. it was fun! We had some apple slices as a snack while we were out there.

When we got home and changed, they were ready for dinner. So we had hot dogs [on whole grain buns, if that makes it any healthier! ]  and baby carrots because it was quick and we needed to get to the school to sign Deslin up for flag football.

When we got back, the kids wanted to do 'bootcamp.' Boot camp is something I came up with, that they think of as a game, to get them some extra exercise. What we do is we go out in the front yard, and I give them challenges to accomplish. For example, they line up on the edge of the driveway, facing the grassy yard... I tell them to race back and forth across the yard twice, then hop back & forth across the yard twice. As long as they go their fastest [and I can tell...] and complete it, they win. It doesn't matter who is first. Otherwise, Deslin would win every single time because he's about twice the size of Silvana.

So, we did that outside for about an hour. They had their own individual challenges, and challenges that they did together. Jumping jacks, racing, hopping, skipping, etc, etc. They love it!

After that we went in the house and had school time. Almost immediately, Silvana expressed she was tired and I could tell she was just wiped out. So I gave her some ice water and got her ready for bed and she went right to sleep. It must have been about 7:00 at that point.

Then Deslin and I continued playing school for 2 hours. He read his word flash cards, he read 10 mini books, did money math for about half an hour, did some telling time for about half an hour, a little addition and subtraction, and about half an hour of writing sentences. I find this time very important, because they need to keep what they learn in school fresh in their minds through out the summer, and also it doesn't hurt a bit to learn some things ahead of time that he hasn't learned in school yet. I am going to continue doing this all throughout their schooling years as much as I can.

All during this time of doing his schoolwork, Deslin was really excited about it and having fun. He gets very excited about learning things he didn't previously know. I am so proud of him!!

Afterwards , it was about 9:00. Typically I'd be trying to get him to bed, but we played a game of Jenga, and we played Connect 4 up to whoever won 11 games first. I won...... haha.. but he was a great sport about it and helped pick everything up afterwards.

Needless to say, by the time I got him to bed it was around 10:00. I was pretty pooped out, which typically happens to me after a long day of being outside, and keeping super busy with other stuff. So I took the night to relax. Joe was home at 11pm and we chatted for a while then went to sleep.

Today, the kids and I are going to get some chores done around the house, [ we  are all a few days behind on our chore charts since we have been busy with other things], and then I am going to take them for a walk to the park if we have time, then work out. If it's pretty late by the time we're done, I'll just get them to bed and then work out. I have tomorrow off also, so we can spend a majority of the day tomorrow at the park. :) Actually, I'll probably just get some chores done and then work out before anything else, just to make it priority #1 today. Seeing as we don't have much else to do other than chores, I have no reason not to make sure I get in my workouts!!!!!!!!!


So far today I have had:

2 pieces of whole grain toast with coconut oil and peanut butter
1 cup of coffee


It's almost noon, I'm planning on having some veggies for lunch, and I still have to figure out what to give them for lunch. Probably toast, sausage, and fruit. Silvana had oatmeal this morning and Deslin had scrambled eggs.

8/20~ Days Off

Yesterday was the last of 6 days in a row at work for me. Now I have 3 days off finally! :)  Last night I fully intended and yearned to work out but the kids were up until midnight, and I was trying to get them to sleep so it just didn't happen.

Today I have a meeting at work. I was planning on just not going to it last night, but this morning I decided to just go. Afterwards I am loading up the kids, a chair, towels, and a cooler of water & snacks and we are heading to the beach for the day!! It's high time we get some super hot, perfect beach weather again! :) Need to take full advantage of it while we can!

Later today Deslin has his Flag Football sign up, so we'll go to that quick and when we get home it'll be dinner time.

So far today::

2 apples
2 pieces of toast with coconut oil and peanut butter.

That's probably all I'll eat until dinner, other than some carrots if I get hungry.

I'm not sure what I'm making for dinner yet, probably chicken & mashed potatoes & steamed veggies.

Tonight after dinner I'm getting the kids right to bed, I'm sure they'll be pooped out after being up so late last night and spending the day at the beach today....

Then it's ON!
I'm going to do at LEAST an hour on the elliptical, pushing for 2 hours. lol.. we'll see...

Then my arm workouts, crunches, and WII Fit. I am just aching for a good workout. My body like literally craves it!!!!

I'll update tomorrow with how it all went and what I did. :)

8/16

Well, after posting last night about not working out, I was getting ready for bed and then suddenly got a burst of energy. I decided to utilize it, and  headed downstairs to the elliptical. I got my hour in while watching SNL on Hulu, and it felt great!!!!!!!!!!

This morning I woke up and had:

2 pieces of whole grain toast with coconut oil and peanut butter

Later I had a piece of fish and half a cup of asparagus for lunch.

A cup of veggies for a snack around 2pm with 2 oz of ranch.

2 glasses of green tea and 3 tall glasses of water.

and that is all so far today. I'm kinda hungry, but mostly tired.

My mom is coming over this evening and I don't think I'll be working out.... well maybe just some free weight stuff.  I'm so tired, and I work early tomorrow morning so I'll probably head to bed a bit earlier than usual and get caught up on sleep.


I know I will more than likely not be working out tomorrow on the elliptical either ... I'll probably do some WII fit ...but for sure on Sunday I'll be on the elliptical again.

As long as I don't skip 3 days in a row on the elliptical, I don't feel too horribly.... and as long as I don't skip working out altogether.


That's all for now! Going to go figure out dinner, then fold laundry and spend the evening with my mom & the kids.

8/ 15...... Work Mode!

The kids have been sharing a room for awhile now. We finally got the finishing touches in their room done, hung up their glow in the dark planets, and stars, etc... and Deslin just decided yesterday, at 7 pm, that he wanted to be back in his room. His sister talks a lot and keeps him up...... so, we had just enough time to get the beds moved, and some of their stuff, and then get them to bed. But a majority of their stuff was left in the living room over night. So, yesterday I skipped my workout.

To be fair, yesterday I was honestly super sore from working out the days before, and I ate super clean and light , and I was being productive and getting stuff done I needed to, so I was fine with skipping my workout.

I had full intentions of working out today.

Today when I got back from working 8-4, Thankfully Joe and the kids had finished putting a majority of their stuff in their rooms. I organized everything, organized our stuff, hung stuff up, etc, etc. Then we had just enough time to have dinner and walk down to the park for the music at the park night. We actually got down there late, it was almost 8:00 and it had been going on since 7.

The kids were happy to see some of their friends and had a blast running around.

When we got home, it was 9:30. We washed them up and got them to bed by 10:00 shockingly.

I am so pooped out. After they went to bed I washed up the raspberries we picked the other day, and while doing so it really hit me how tired I am.

I am a firm believer that sleep is JUST as important as exercising. If I am feeling exhausted and tired, I do not force myself to work out because I know I'll only be more tired and hungry the following day. It never fails that when I'm tired my body seems to automatically walk towards the kitchen. LOL.. I guess subconsciously I'm trying to fuel my body to stay awake.While I was cleaning the raspberries earlier, I had a few tortilla chips, then I was like " What am I doing?!?! It's 10:00 at night!!" haha... So I make sure I catch myself, and get to sleep. Towards the beginning of my working out days, I napped quite a bit. I knew I needed it.


Tomorrow I work 8-4 again, then I have a ton of laundry to fold, and my mom is coming over tomorrow night and we are going to bake for my employee picnic I'm going to on Saturday. After we bake, I neeeed to get to sleep because I need to be up at 5:15 Saturday morning for work. So, Im not very confident in the idea of working out tomorrow either. But I do need to try to force myself to make the time! I'm sure she'll be supportive of that and hang with the kids for an hour or something so I can do that.

Then Saturday, is the picnic right after I get off of work, and up early again Sunday. So, I'm going to hit the hay tonight...... try to sneak in a workout tomorrow when my mom is here, and most likely skip Saturday and work out again on Sunday night.


That's the plan! I just really hope I am not pooped out tomorrow[ I'll need to drink lots of Green Tea! :)     ]  , so I can get in a workout... first step to that plan working out, is hitting the hay ASAP tonight... It's 11 now, so I better get on it!!

Good Night!! :)

New Ideas for New Beginnings

So, today after making my blog public, I have been doing a lot of thinking about what I want this blog to consist of. I mostly used it before to blog about little things, reminders for myself, workouts I've been doing, measurements, etc.

I want to keep doing those same things, blogging about what I eat, how much I work out, etc. But I will most likely blog about my day a little more in there too. My plan is that once I am to my goal weight, and where I want to be physically, I will probably change the blog name to something else rather than " Losing Weight; Gaining Life" . I love this name for now, because it's kind of a reminder for me, in essence, of what I am going to gain by losing this weight. I am going to gain YEARS of my life, with my children and future grand children. I am going to gain more and more confidence, which will open so many doors. I am a fairly confident person, but then again I know I do not fully take advantages of all of the opportunities life offers, because I don't feel quite adequate right now. I need to change that.

Also, I need to be a good example for the kids. I want to jog with them when they're older, I want us to focus on health as a family. We have raised them to love healthy foods, and to love being active. They understand the importance of it all, and often when offered a treat they decline. They are ahead of the game in that aspect. I want to encourage them further, and push them to being their optimal selves. I fully believe that the best way to do that is to lead by example in all that I do.

8/14/2013 - 30 pounds DOWN!

Well as of this morning I have OFFICIALLY LOST 30 POUNDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so so pumped about this!! Since slacking off in July, I have really been sticking to my goals the past couple of weeks! And it has paid off! Most of July I was stuck at 219 which was 26 pounds down... and I finally kicked the other 4 pounds out, and am at 215! :D Every single night I have been doing an hour on the elliptical [burning 800-1000 calories] and completely watching what I eat during the day. I don't feel like I've deprived myself at all, though. Yesterday for example, we had some homemade pizza and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. LOL.. I firmly believe that if you COMPLETELY deprive yourself, you're going to give up and say, " This isn't worth it!! I can't do this!!!" Everything in moderation. But other than my once a week cheat meal, I am eating very healthy, and small portions. It feels so good to not 'crave' sugar all the time like I once did. I can easily say no when the opportunity to eat some junk food presents itself. I just keep my goal of being in shape, in mind. Like the saying goes, " Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!" I totally believe in that!!! I have lost 30 pounds, yet have such a long way to go before I can refer to myself as skinny... but I'll get there! Even with being where I'm at now, I feel like a million bucks compared to how I used to feel.


I really need to thank my initial inspiration for starting all of this, Marilyn Ziebell. [ Click Here To See Marilyn's Blog!!! ]Following her blog really inspired me, and seeing her weight just falling off was so eye opening.Another person who is am immense inspiration is a girl I am friends with on Facebook, but who I don't completely know.. Jessica Dawn. She has given me some great advice, and is an immense inspiration as to where I'd LOVE to be some day fitness wise. I initially set this blog to private, for my own use. This is the first post I am making after publicizing it. So, if you refer to my prior blog posts, please forgive my grammar or rambling/ not making tons of sense moments. It made sense to me! LOL. Anyways I will be posting publicly from now on,and more frequently than in the past, to keep myself accountable.... and to hopefully inspire other people to jump on the bandwagon. :)

My short-ish term goal, is to drop the other 15 pounds so I can FINALLY be below 200 again. I haven't been below that since I was preg with Deslin, which was shocking for me, because prior to having kids I was typically around 120, with my heaviest EVER being 145. When I was preg with him, I gained 10-15 pounds a month most months... very unsure of how I let that happen, but it did. But now I am determined to get my health back, particularly because I want to be the best mom, have tons of energy, and be a good example for my babies. I KNOW I can do this, so.... I WILL do this. If anyone else can, I sure can. Once I set my mind to something it's on!! :)


Today I had:

2 pieces of whole grain toast, buttered with coconut oil , and some peanut butter.
1 hard boiled egg
1 cup of cantaloupe

4 cups of iced green tea

60+ Ounces of ice water

4 ounces of beef stir fry
1 cup of fresh broccoli/ cauliflower with fat free italian dressing

I have yet to eat dinner, but Joe threw some chicken breasts, potatoes, and italian dressing in the crock pot while I was at work. I'm going to have a little portion of that, with some fresh carrots from the fruit / veggie stand.

Plus, after each meal I take a Biotin vitamin, and Fish Oil. Then once a day, I take a multivitamin after I eat. I aim for drinking 6 of my tall plastic cups full of ice water or more, and 4-6 brewed green teas, which I pour over ice.

Then each day I get in my hour workout on the elliptical, followed by about 30 minutes of weights , and then each week I aim for doing 2+ days of my WII fit routine.

A lady I know is going to give us her Total Gym , so I am really excited to start using that! Ideally I'd love to get a bowflex and a bowflex treadclimber, but they are SO expensive!! The Elliptical and Total Gym will be enough to do what I need for the time being. I do want to invest in some more free weights, though. :)

That's all for now!

8/12/13

I don't even know off the top of my head when the last time was that I blogged! :S

Well, July was a challenging month in a sense. On the super hot days I felt so NOT motivated to do anything but hang out at the beach. I still watched what I ate for the most part, but we did have some BBQ's & ice creams. I did keep working out, but there was probably a week in there when I didn't, and the other weeks it was probably 1-3 times a week TOPS. I would say an average was 2 times a week. Thankfully during this time, I did not gain a single pound back. Being at -26 pounds has been a blessing! I feel like I have made some very positive and permanent lifestyle changes which are allowing me to stay at this weight.

For the past week I have been back on track, full force! I have been eating well, not starving but not eating crap. Mostly like chicken breast with veggies, some whole grain noodles with sauce and crushed red pepper, or brown rice with steak and veggies cut up and mixed in. All whole some , real food , low fat meals. I know steak has fat in it & what not, but I firmly believe it's fine in moderation! I even had an ice cream the other day with the kids, but it was a small one. :)

So, with my working out daily again, and watching what I eat, and sticking to my green tea and water, I have lost another 2 pounds!! As of yesterday I was at -28. I am so very excited for when the day comes when I can say that I have officially lost 30 pounds! And I am so determined and confident that it will be soon. I am also determined and confident that I will EASILY lose another 30 in the next 6 months as well. I know I can!! It will feel amazing if by mid February I have lost 60 pounds. I will be ecstatic!! Then of course my goal will be another 40. If I can stick to the pace that I'm at now, and keep motivated, I will SO be shorts ready by spring, and by the end of next summer I will be back to my ol' 20 year old self again!!! :D