Life is moving fast!

Here we are again! A couple of interesting things are going on with me, so lets talk about them!

 First up, I'm becoming increasingly interested in these little crested geckos- which is bizarre to me given my lifelong fear of all things "critter". The more I check out little Izzy and hang out in the forums on Pangeareptile.com the more I want another little crestie baby! I need a bigger tank for Izzy first, but all in good time. They are really cute little guys and dolls! I'm thinking a dark based one similar to this guy pictured here <=== Look at their "eyelashes"! CUTE! So just thought I'd share that =).

 Next up- weight loss challenge. I haven't had a soda in TWO days!! Um that's a long time for me just in case you don't think that's a big deal. ;) So far I'm using sweet tea to ease the caffeine withdrawal, but with the way I make my Southern sweet tea I'm going to have to limit it a pretty good bit. I've tried Splenda and diet sugars, and I can't get past the taste. So the plan is to wean off cokes with tea, then work on drinking less tea... I've tried quitting sodas "cold turkey" before, but the headaches and irritability that follow make me cave in within a day. 

 I'm adopting the attitude that small changes lead to greater victories! The less deprived you feel, the more you feel like you are going to succeed. Now of course that doesn't mean I can sit all day eating oreos.... but a small indulgence here and there will let me have things I want, but I usually try to talk myself out of them.

Next item up for review- T-Minus 26 days and counting until MY first day of college! I'm getting more at ease and more anxious all at the same time! I'm feeling more confident in myself and my ability to do well at my schoolwork. I think I'll pick up the Math rather fast once the "refreshing" starts, History is always memorizing facts, I'm not sure what to expect from Human Geography, but we shall see! Oh and hopefully there's no Shakespeare in English 1101- otherwise I'm screwed lol. I don't understand Shakespeare one bit! I think I'd do ok reading his work for the sake of reading it, but when it comes time to "interpret what you think he meant in line 101" I'm completely lost. See you are asked for your opinion, yet your answer can be wrong, which baffles me. I mean sure if he was talking about a sunset and I said "I think he likes blue dogs" I see that's wrong, but anyway hopefully I can just opt out of any of that hehe. (Sorry to those that love him, I'm sure you are cringing at the thought of someone "skipping" Shakespeare... hehe)

At the same time that I'm being calmed about the actual classes and work involved, I'm getting more anxious about attending college as a mom of 3 kids, babysitter to another... How do you balance my homework, their homework, bath time, dinner, studying, getting enough sleep, going to the gym, making sure everyone has clean socks?!?! 

From an educational standpoint I think the timing is best for me now. I wouldn't have been worrying about how to really explain geometry to children when I was 19. I wouldn't have listened carefully to how to help a child that struggles with reading, or concerned myself with joining clubs at school. I would have been worried about silly things, boys, friends, and having fun. So I'm glad that I'm at the most receptive time in my life now. I think my willingness to learn and fully grasp everything told to me and actually soak up what the instructors are trying to tell me is at a peak right now. I actually understand what it means to be an adult, to keep a home for yourself, and I also understand the needs and differences in children. These things will help me.

From a stay at home mom perspective I worry about several things. I worry that the time I'm taking to do this is taking away from my family, even though I know it's better in the long run. The kids don't understand why they can't do sports this fall, but with Tuesday and Thursday evening classes I can't get them to practices this semester so they won't be able to do it. I'm disappointing them and making their lives better all at the same time. I know I'm making the right choice by far, but I guess I've never really honestly felt like I deserved things like this, so its easy to feel guilty for taking the time for me.

So what am I going to do? Here's my plan: SCHEDULE! I've decided the best thing I can do is get everything organized, make a schedule that accounts for school days for me, school days for the kids, and the weekends, cleaning schedule, workout times set... and try my hardest to stick to them! BE THE LIST! haha =D

Exercise! That used to be a four-letter-word where I come from.  Getting up and going to the gym takes a lot of effort, takes me away from my family... HURTS!! But like the pin I posted to Pinterest says "What fits your busy schedule better, exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day?" This is truth. If we don't take care of our bodies, our life will be shortened. The chance of disease and cancer rises the more the scale rises and the longer we sit and do nothing. 

So here we are, I'm starting a 90 day challenge, and my workouts are already planned out. No time for messing around, I've got a plan for 3 days resistance training, 3 days intense cardio, and one happy little rest day per week. I've already planned out what activity I'm doing each day, and put it on my desk calendar in PEN! And I DON'T do white out or cross outs lol. 

Wondering what exercises I'm going to be doing? Well a nice mix of several things. I'm hoping to starve off boredom, and keep my body guessing. I have a kettlebell dvd for resistance, a full body weight machine routine created by my own personal trainer (Rob! he really knows his stuff if you want any advice!), Zumba in class at the gym for cardio, a Zumba DVD for days I can't get to the gym, INsanity dvd's for some intense cardio.... IT'S ON! 

I've been working out some recently, but not consistently, so I'm not starting at zero and headed to 60, but this is going to be challenging. But that's where I'm at, I don't want to spend an hour a day on a mundane treadmill walk... BORING! Of course if I choose our gym has a pretty cool cardio cinema with surround sound, usually its a "man flick" playing like the Bourne series, Robin Hood type stuff, ya know those kinds of things, but hey I can check em out once in awhile for a bit. 

So part two of this lovely weight loss challenge? DIET! Well not "diet" per say... I have no desire to launch into some fad "grapefruit diet", "no carb diet", blah blah. I'm looking to do 4 things to start... 
 1. Eliminate all fast food except Subway
2. Eliminate soda ( I will still drink sweet tea some, one step at a time folks)
3. Drink water daily... in pretty big amounts!
4. Tailor almost all of our meals around lean meats, very little "spaghetti nights". 

Sure this is only a start, but it's a pretty big change in and of itself. Currently I might drink a 2 liter of coke a day- that's 840 CALORIES!! No wonder I'm not losing weight right? Before eating I've already maxed out half of my daily allotment of calories. No good! Add to that I was eating out two meals a day:

Lets do some math: McDonalds chicken biscuit meal with sweet tea for breakfast: 740 calories
McDonalds Quarter pounder with cheese combo with tea for lunch: 1080 calories... plus the coke I drink daily, lets add 840 calories- I'm at 2660 and we haven't even added in the carb loaded dinner I usually have, plus any snacking during the day... YIKES!!! I mean my suggested daily calories now for weight loss are at 1600, I'm probably hitting 3600 or more a day... 

I tell myself I don't eat that much.. and I don't. I don't sit here all day eating ho-hos.... but what I've failed to look at is the CALORIES in the foods I'm eating. I could eat fruits all day and never get close to that amount of calorie intake. This is where I've made the mistake of thinking because I didn't eat every hour of the day that I wasn't eating too much. I mean a chicken biscuit and a hash brown doesn't seem like lots of food, but the amount of un-fulfilling, nutrient lacking calories in that breakfast just added a third of a pound to my stomach, that lunch combo at whatever burger chain just added to my thighs and didn't help my body at all. DISGUSTING!


So it's time to change this. Boneless skinless chicken, lean pork chops, a lean steak or two... you will become my staple entrees. I'll be looking for new herb combinations, and other ways to make you not so boring. I think my hardest fight is going to be the lowering my carb intake fight. I love potatoes... and pasta... and rice. I will make a combination of any of those as BOTH of my sides at dinner, that's terrible. I mean sure it's ok sometimes, but every night I have no veggie and two carbs... not ideal for weight loss! (or health) So I will be working on that too. 


I'm not expecting an overnight change here, I will probably indulge in some home made mac and cheese a time or two, eat a rice that's a little calorie dense, but the main point is that I'm trying to shift in a new direction. I'm going to be tracking EVERYTHING that way I can really see what's going on. 


I'm waiting on my replacement bodybugg, so when it gets here I'll have more information to move forward, seeing what these workouts are doing, and watching the calories and exercise try to balance out and create a deficit. This will take time and effort, and I'm ready.


If anyone wants to join me I will be working out at my house, or at Just Fitness in Lawrenceville! 20 a month membership isn't too shabby! Already have a membership you aren't using? Don't know what machines to use? Let me know, Rob has all the knowledge any other personal trainer has. He knows what you need to do!


Til next time~K

I just finished the most inspirational, motivating book I've ever read! Any of you that need a jumpstart on life, I urge you to check out the book Believe It, Be It by Ali Vincent. (I looked in book stores and ended up ordering it on Kindle, so I could start right away as it was published in 2009 and isn't kept in stock at most stores.) She is an amazing woman. She was the first ever woman to win the Biggest Loser title, losing a total of 112 pounds! Her book is based on her journey, making it a great read for those that want to lose some weight themselves, but it also talks about changing your life no matter what change you are looking for. 

The following are the words she wrote that resonated most with me and my own personal set of goals.... 

The only battle to win is the battle within, that place where we realize that we deserve to have and create all that we want in our lives.

I have to be proud of the choices I make and forgive myself for the not-so-good ones. Making excuses is not going to get me any closer to my goals.

Don't surround yourself with people whose opinions make you feel bad about yourself.

When you feel so lost, it's hard to see that there is potential to have a better life one day, let alone understand that everything you need to create that life is already right inside of you.

The power to succeed or fail was up to me and only me.

In order to have any chance of success, I've learned that you have to accept yourself and let go of the past failures or weaknesses that have been holding you back. It's important to look forward, not backward-to get really clear on your future and what you want it to be.

When you don't set goals, you deny yourself opportunities to succeed and celebrate. It's important to set realistic goals for yourself and rejoice when you achieve them.

in order to truly give to others, you have to give to yourself first.

If you can focus on what you're going to create out of all your hard work, you can push through tough moments.

Chicken exits are self-sabotage. They give you a false explanation for why you don't have something you want. Up until this point in my life, I had never given anything all that I had to give. But I was going to now.

When did it become okay to give your time to everyone but yourself? Women tend to nurture on so many different levels for so many people that they often forget to take care of themselves.

Resistance is never the agent of change. You have to embrace the actions that are going to get you closer to your goal. Praise yourself for meeting each challenge on the way to that goal.

The longer you put it off, the harder it's going to be to walk through those gym doors again.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF-AGAIN OR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE

The bottom line was that I had to accept me. I had to love me. I had to know that I was worthy of having what I wanted in life. It was just knowing that I'm worth what I want for myself.

Once you understand where you've been, you can start to figure out where you want to go.

We're used to turning to food for comfort, so sometimes we may find ourselves reaching for a cookie or grabbing a slice of pizza we didn't budget for. Just don't take it to the next day. Wake up the next morning, go to the gym, and put it behind you. Keep moving forward.

So stop seeing the obstacles you face as reasons why you can't do something. See them as a reason why you can. And celebrate your accomplishments on a daily basis.

You have to take ownership of where you are right now and know where you want to go before you can get there.

Ali Vincent. Believe It, Be It: How Being the Biggest Loser Won Me Back My Life (Kindle Location 1405). Kindle Edition.

Life is too short to wait... That's going to be my mantra.

This is truth. We aren't promised a specific number of years, days or even hours. Why wouldn't I want to do everything in my power to add on to my time here and make it the most fulfilling life I can imagine? 

I'm reading a great book right now by Ali Vincent (She was the first female to win The Biggest Loser title!) She talks not only about weight loss but finding her passion in this life. Fixing the hurt she has kept bottled up inside during her life, and realizing that to truly be happy and accomplish your dreams, that you have to stop and drop some baggage off first. I am a couple of chapters in and have so many great things highlighted already. She's quite the inspiration. 

We only have one shot at life. ONE. You can make the most of it or you can let it pass you by- which one are YOU going to do? I'm going to LIVE. I've spent a good deal of my life being afraid. Afraid to try, afraid to fail, afraid to succeed. No more. I can do this. Repeat- I CAN DO THIS! 

I want to teach great things to small people (courtesy of Jessy Fielden's pinterest board title lol), share in their discovery of this great world we live in. Be a supporter of their dreams, and show them that they can do whatever they set their mind to. 

I want to show my kids that the world is their playground. I want to instill in them the desire to achieve greatness! I want them to see that you don't have to spend your life watching it pass you by, that you should get out there and really live. Find experiences that thrill you, travel and see the world!

I've been doing inventory of what I need and want out of this lifetime. I've got a list going, more general than a bucket list I'd say. But so far here is what I have: 1. Get a degree in something I really desire to do and pursue a fulfilling career; 2. Learn inner peace~ love myself, at my current weight, goal weight, or somewhere in between with all the flaws or good things I've got inside and out; 3. Travel somewhere magnificent and witness old world magic! and the most important: 4. Be passionate in everything I do.

I'm 4.4 pounds down as of this morning! I have a super long way to go, but I'm headed in the right direction. I'm setting a mini goal for the first portion of 15 lbs. I think if I break it down in smaller increments and can actually see myself getting to them that's better than a daunting 85 lbs. I'm starting with tracking my calorie intake, and trying to switch from sodas to water. Drastic changes lead me to quit, so I'm working on it each day at a time. If I indulge in a cupcake... well I'll work harder on the next workout. No beating myself up. Of course I won't be keeping that stuff around daily, but you know what I mean. 

I'm waiting on my replacement BodybuggSP, (first one was defective darn it!) It's a device that you wear 23 hours of the day (you can wear it less, but the more you wear it the more data you get about your daily calorie burn). There is so much wiggle room in online "how much does {insert activity} burn in a hour", I looked up kayaking one time, and I know there are various levels of kayaking, class one and up, but I got numbers for "light kayaking" ranging from 232 calories/hr to 1200 calories/hr. Well..... how are you suppose to calculate your daily burn with a range of 100 give or take for some activities? 

Slap a bodybugg armband on! It calculates your daily burn by the minute based on several things, and uses all the information you put in to it's program like your age, gender, height, measurements and weight, therefore giving you an accurate count for YOU. As opposed to the 130 pound 25 year old female example off some website. It has lots of little visual bars and graphs that allow you to see how much you have eaten today (provided you accurately input this into the calories consumed part of the website or app). And what you still need to burn to maintain your needed deficit for the day. You don't think about things like mozzarella sticks until you tell them that you ate 5 of them, well guess what? that was a THIRD of your daily calorie allotment- sooo eat light the rest of the day? I think it's going to be a vital resource on my journey! 

If you'd like more info on the bodybugg let me know, I have a code that gets you a percentage off if I refer you thru the 24hourfitness.com website! and no I'm not selling them, and I don't get anything for getting you to get one, just thought I'd pass along the savings if anyone is interested!

Til next time ~K

Time for a Challenge!

Stage 1 Hypertension, persistent and worsening joint pain, daily back pain, headaches turning into migraines, constant fatigue, difficulty sleeping, depression, lack of "get up and go", low self esteem, no self confidence, nothing to wear, loathe shopping for clothes/ can't find things I like in my size, AND EVERYTHING IS GETTING WORSE....

And this is just the beginning- the list of what is to come is scary and lengthy. The truth is it's all happening to me. I've started making some changes this year, but not enough. I am not staying consistent on my workouts, and lets not even get started about my eating habits. In just a month I've gone from borderline high side of "ok" blood pressure to flat out stage one hypertension. Both times I was drawn to the blood pressure machine for some strange reason. My body is trying to tell me something. Fix this now, or it's going to react in a way that I'm not going to like.

I've watched relatives and friends have very adverse health problems due to the same things I do now- lack of exercise and eating like crap. I've seen friends and family die at age 50 from problems that were mostly caused by their lifestyle and failure to change their ways. You should have at least another 25-30 years after age 50...  I began to be concerned about my future, but I think until seeing today "stage 1 hypertension" I thought I had plenty of time to change. Apparently that isn't the case.

My body is screaming at me to listen up. Pulling me to look at my bp to tell me look- right now we are able to fix this without stacking up a prescription list a mile long. My body is still able to reverse these problems if I give it the tools needed to do so. 

Today I sat down and took my blood pressure and saw that I'm in stage 1 hypertension, around the same time I got a message from my um... what is Kevin? My uncle in law??? lol Whatever you know what I mean, asking me and Rob to join him and my aunt Jess in a friendly weight loss competition. (90 days~ based on each couple's percentage of weight loss- loser cooks the other couple a nice meal... oh yeah AND gets a meringue pie to the face!! hahahaha) Start date is in two weeks, July 23rd. So be looking for my posts on that.

It's time to take control of my body while I'm still able to do so the natural way. I have ZERO desire to take injections of insulin, or take a plethora of pills to do the things my body should be able to do itself. I want to watch my daughters get married, meet my son's children, who knows maybe meet some great grandchildren. It's possible, but not if I don't veer down a different path. 

If you see me with a cheeseburger do me a favor~ take it from me, throw it in the trash and tell me you are saving my life. <3 ~K