Motivational Monday

Can I just say last week.....EPIC FAILURE!  Man am I broken?  I don't know what my deal is but I just can't ever come here and report a good week.  I guess I need to focus on the positives of last week and move one.  My diet wasn't the best, but I did reach my goal of making it to the gym at least 5 times last week....so that's one good thing right?  I did have a few small victories that help me to continue, but over all, I didn't stick with my diet as well as I had  hoped.  Last week was an extremely bad week for me health and emotions wise so that didn't help the situation.  When you throw up everything you eat and feel so tired like your are going to pass out all day long it makes it really hard to have the motivation to cook dinner.  Plus I'm an emotional eater, and I had a lot going on with no outlet and unfortunately let that take over.  I let that get the best of me and we ended up eating out a few times... :( oh well!  This is one thing that lets me know this time is different.  I have tried diet after diet, and the reason they never worked is because I can do them really well for a few weeks and then I have a few bad days and then I would give up and go right into old habits.  Well this time is different and that's encouraging.  I still have days or weekends where I cheat or get off track, but then I know the very next day is all new and a perfect day to start again.  That's the great thing about this being a life style change and a long term goal.  I'm not trying to just get down to a certain weight and wham bam thank you ma'am.  I'm trying to be healthy and minimize side effects, that helps me to continue to do this and continue to watch what I eat.  It will be something that I will have to do the rest of my life, so I know that when I have bad days, it's just one bad day and it doesn't mean it's all over.

 

So I don't have any meals to report because the few I did cook, I forgot to take pictures of.  But here is the menu for this week.

 

Monday

Tacos

I promised Eric we could do Simons tacos because they are one of his favorites and a family tradition.  He hasn't  had them since Christmas and really wanted them.  I will just make him up all the fixings and then I'll make a taco salad.

 

Tuesday

Mango salsa salmon with roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes.

 

Wednesday

Spaghetti squash and zucchini pie.

 

Thursday

Turkey Meatballs in Spicy Marinara Sauce with Summer Squash

 

Friday

Date Night

 

Saturday

Balsamic steak and veggie rolls.  :) I'm super excited to make this one and can't wait to share the recipe with y'all.

 

Sunday

Cilantro lime chicken breast with a sweet potato and onion bake.

 

 

Well there you have it and I'm determined to stick to the menu this week, so hopefully next week I'm here with lots of recipes and photos and a good report! 

 

Goals for this week : 

 

*Lots of Water

*Eat breakfast everyday

*Get to gym at least 5 days

*No white carbs or sugars

 

 

I'm going to finish out June with the pretty good stuff I have been doing, but I'm starting a challenge in July.  I have my follow up doctors appointment on July 12th and we are going to Utah on July 19th.  So I figured I have been cheating enough that I can be strict for a few weeks and survive.  I really haven't been seeing the results I want and even though I have cut out a lot, made a ton of change, and am doing a lot of good things, there are a few more choices I can make to really push this weight loss over the edge hopefully.

 

Okay so here is what I'm going to try and do for July's challenge.  My main goal is to see a lot of weight loss so my doctor doesn't give me a hard time, and I would like to be feeling good and looking good when we go back to Utah and see people we haven't seen in a long time.

 

So even though I have been good and been drinking a lot of water, I still cheat and have those sips of soda every once and a while when Eric has it and temps me and sometimes I  have juice as well.  So for July and hopefully longer I will be doing NO SODA what so ever and only be drinking water for my beverages.  Well and almond milk with my smoothies and breakfast shakes will be allowed.

 

As I have struggled with seeing the weight drop I have stepped back and analyzed everything I am doing.  I got to a point where I literally could not think of one more thing I could cut out.....and then I realized cheese.  I LOVE cheese, seriously it is one of my true loves, and though I did cut down and try low fat or fat free, I have still been keeping a lot of cheese in my diet.  This is not something I can do permanently and I know that.  Unless you want to pay for therapy I could never give up cheese all together and be able to not go crazy.  But for this 31 day challenge I want to try and have zero cheese, and just see if it makes a big difference at all.

 

No processed white flour or white sugar.  This basically means for the most part I am really only eating my carbs and sugars from fruits and veggies.  No more cheats on weekends, I want to see what a difference it makes to have 31 straight days of no breads, baked goods, sugars, or anything like that.  Here is  hoping I can do it. 

 

Work out 6 times a week.  I'm going to be realistic and say this might not happen, but since I only have a few weeks I need to do everything I can, and hitting the gym Monday - Saturday would hopefully help me get there.

 

My biggest goal will be to simplify.  If I try to get too creative or complex I end up adding more calories to my meals.   I need to simplify shopping trips, because if I only have good stuff in the house, I will only eat good stuff.  Simply meal planning, because as much as I love to cook, if I have something super easy and quick to prepare, I will still do it even on the busy or tired days.  Simplify my schedule so I have time to be at the gym and be home cooking and getting things done.  This hopefully will eliminate some of my excuses to just go out and grab dinner.  Lastly simplify my workouts.  Don't get me wrong, I really do need some complex workouts and I need to be switching up my routines to see more drastic results, but if looking at the complex workouts sometimes discourage me from even going to the gym, then they are no worth it.  I would rather be doing my same old boring cardio for 45 minutes everyday, then hitting the gym 2 or 3 times a week because I talk myself out of it.  So the main word I will repeat over and over during July will be SIMPLIFY.

 

So wish me luck....and say prayers.... lots and lots of prayers lol.  Or if you are ever talking to me give me some encouragement or reminders, I will need all the help I can get!  I'll be sure to keep you update throughout July!

 

 

Motivational Monday - I'm Back!

So you might be asking yourself “What happened to this whole blog everyday thing?”   Well frankly I’m a failure ha ha no but really!!!  Well actually it was a combination of the Internet being down for several days at our apartment and the realization that my life is boring and I was running out of things to update about.  Any who I think I did a pretty good job for a few weeks there and I’m satisfied with that.  So I’ll continue to keep my goal of blogging more, but I think I’m letting go of the everyday thing. 

Like most Mondays I come to you with my head hanging low. I call defeat in this whole weight loss game! I would love to have a Monday where I come to you and can say that I was flawless and that it went perfect!! Alas I have never been able to do that! I feel like every week I come here with such high hopes and then always fail. This week I did come close though…so progress maybe? I made it to the gym everyday of my goal except one and maintained a really good diet during the week! So that's something I suppose. Here is what I have been up to the last couple of weeks that I have missed updating you on.

 

We tried a new whole wheat pasta from HEB.....gotta say I still am not loving whole wheat pasta and it's still easier for me to avoid it in general, but this stuff wasn't horrible!  It was stuffed with spinach and cheese.  I topped it with some organic tomato sauce, shredded chicken and sauteed some yellow squash in a little bit of olive oil.  Even whole wheat stuff is high in carbs so I try to avoid it generally.

I did really well about pre packaging some healthy snacks to grab! It made it easier to pack lunches for me and Eric as well.  It's on my list to deep clean and organize my fridge and pantry and am hoping to come up with some cool ideas to keep my snacking even healthier and more organized.

Check out this girls kitchen organization!

http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-here-kitchen-cabinet-tour.html

I love her pantry and fridge

I freaking adore it and hope to be like her when I grow up lol.  Check out her whole house tour on her blog.

I know it looks gross, but it is actually delicious!  This is organic steel cut oats boiled in cinnamon and then I added ground flax seed and chia seeds.  After it's done cooking you add bananas and strawberries and a put a tiny bit of honey in it for sweetness.  It was the perfect thing to break up my breakfast routine. 

"Creamy" Chicken tomato soup!  This was super tasty and made a TON so we had some good leftovers for lunches.  Coconut milk is what makes it creamy and have such a rich flavor! It was so easy with big reward.  I topped mine with some greek yogurt and green onions.  Of course Eric drowned his in cheese and sour cream ;) silly boy!

We had some new friends come over a few Fridays ago and I made on of my favorite salads.  It has avocado, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, english cucumber, grilled corn, red onion, and a cilantro vinaigrette.

For dessert that night I made this delicious creation.  The bottom is a homemade graham cracker crust.  Then you put a layer of whipped cream and low fat cream cheese.  Then I put strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and peaches.  I didn't get a picture of it after completed this is just up to the middle step.  Then I poured sugar free vanilla pudding over the top and finished it off with the remaining fruit.  It probably is still not an everyday thing for a diet like mine, but it is a healthier option if you are going to make a treat!

One night we shiskabobs and a fruit salad!

Eric had his in a bowl with some rice and terriyaki sauce!

I skipped the sauce and had it with some brown rice!

There was so much left it made a perfect dinner the next night when I didn't want to cook.  I just sauteed everything with a basil puree and gave it a new spin! YUM! 

what a typical lunch looks like!

I had been into greek yogurt for awhile, but it still had 11 g carbs, so I'm switching to this for a bit. Not bad!

I have done really well with working out I think!  Since I only missed one day this past week I have high hopes and I hope to improve on that and go EVERYDAY this week J I’m super stoked!  I hope you find me here next Monday reporting that I succeeded!  I even got Eric to start going with me again most days this past week!  It was awesome! 

I’m also feeling defeated because of results.  I have lost about 22 pounds and then I keep going up and down with about 5 pounds and can’t break past it.  I know I have days where I am not 100% on track, but for the most part I am doing SO good and it’s so hard to not see any progress weight wise!  I have to tell myself to not get discouraged because I AM seeing changes.  I can tell that I’m building muscle, I’m not as tired, I feel better, my clothes are fitting a little loose and Eric has made his “compliments” if you can call them that. “One of your rolls is smaller”, “You don’t hurt my back as much when I pick you up”, “You are not as moody”…..well thanks babe ha ha I’m glad you are seeing some changes!  It’s just hard to be happy with these when all my doctor looks at is the weight loss and if she doesn’t see a huge drop then I obviously haven’t been following the rules.  Ugh I’m discouraged! Oh well I just need to be comfortable with myself and if I know I’m doing what I should then that’s all that matters.  Do I still have room for improvement? Absolutely!  Do I still have a long way to go? Of course! But have I already come a far way?  Without a doubt!  I’m working out on a bad week at least 4 times a week, I have cut out so many foods, I really only drink water, I'm eating breakfast everyday, I'm counting calories, I mean these are all HUGE changes for me, so I need to just focus on these and know I am making changes for the good!  I know eventually I’ll lose the weight and that right now I am establishing a healthy lifestyle so I can maintain this.  It’s just hard to not feel in a rush to lose more weight faster when there is so much on the line and so many people counting on it and waiting to hear about it. 

Some goals for this week are:

Water water and more water

Sleep sleep sleep

Make it to the gym everyday

Eat three healthy balance meals a day and healthy snacks

Here’s to hoping that I’m here next Monday celebrating a flawless week!

Throw Back Thursday - Parental Unit

** Forgot to post this last night, so here it is just a little bit late.

 

 

Today is my parents 35th anniversary.... WOW I can't believe it!  I just wanted to take a second to celebrate it and to thank them!  I'm so proud and thankful to have two wonderful parents who love each other and made the choice 35 years ago to start an eternal family!  I feel so blessed to have been able to be apart of this family and to be sealed to them and my 5 siblings!  I'm so grateful for the lessons they have taught me, and for the people they are because I was learning a lot from just watching them when they didn't even think they were teaching me!  I'm blessed to have been taught correct principles and I try hard everyday to live up to what they taught me.  I only hope that Eric and I can continue to grow in our marriage like them.  We only have 33 years till we are caught up ;) haha hope we can make it!  Love you Mom and Dad and Happy Anniversary!

 

Wonderful Wednesday - Hot Hot Hot

There is a storm a blowing today, but I am actually quite grateful!!

 

 

 

These gray skies actually bring a smile to my face, and to my nostrils since they bring the smell of rain!  I'm really happy with anything as long as it's not another day like yesterday.

 

Bleh and we are only at the beginning of summer, heaven help us!

 

Oh yeah remember how I said I was going to start scrap booking??? Well....I think I underestimated how big the project was going to be! 

 

 I guess I know what I'm doing for the next few weeks! I actually have gotten quite a bit done, which I'm grateful for!  Hey Alias is finally on netflix, so give me some hubby time, some scrap booking and Alias and my evenings are set!

 

Terrific Tuesday - Scrapbooking

My big sister puts me to shame constantly and then some!  She has 3 boys and cancer and still does 3 times more than the average person.  So because I want to be here when I grow up, I decided to get my act together!  She has been working on getting caught up on scrap booking and she has inspired me to do the same!  So with some great sales, gift cards and coupons I headed to Hobby Lobby yesterday for some goodies!  I AM WAY behind on scrap booking, so I just grabbed a bunch of basics, plus a few specific pages I knew I would be doing!  Here is the hall I ended up with!

 

 

I'm super excited to get caught up, and hopefully can get it all done before we have children and multiply our picture taking by a million!  Thanks Mel for the inspiration and example!

Motivational Monday - Meals and New Menu

I'm giving myself a thumbs up for last week, because I feel like I did pretty good! I hit my 60 minutes of cardio everyday plus some, well at least the days I was at home I did!  Then my eating was really good as well!  Before we left for the weekend I weighed in and was down 2.3 more pounds!  It was hard to control my diet over the weekend, but I made some really good choices.  My exercising wasn't as good since I was out of town, so this morning when I weighed in I was up, but oh well, I just have to keep starting new everyday!

 

  I found a new system at the gym that I really like.  They have a 30 minute circuit at the gym that has you alternate between a weight machine and a stepper.  I love this because I can do my cardio first, and then head to the 30 minute workout and I can get all my weight lifting done, plus some more cardio.  It simplifies it too, because I can do a little bit of weights on all the areas in a time frame that is reasonable for me! 

 

Last weeks menu went pretty well, but as usual had some changes, but it was short week anyways.

 

Tuesday

Roasted chicken with steamed asparagus and twice baked cauliflower.

You boil the cauliflower first, then when it's tender drain it and put it in a baking dish.  I mixed in Greek yogurt, chopped up green onion, seasoning and a little bit of Parmesan cheese.  Then I topped it with a little bit of fat free cheddar cheese and bacon.  Then bake until it's crispy and cheese is melted!

 

Wednesday

I was going to do the taco bake, but got home late from the gym and wanted something a little quicker.  Instead I made Eric some tacos, and I did a taco salad.

I just prepared all the fixings, and Eric could put it on a tortilla, and I just put it over lettuce.

 

Thursday

We were trying to get everything done and put together before we left for Austin, so Thursday ended up being another quick meal and just throwing together a salad.

 

 

 

After that, the rest of the meals were either on the road, at a wedding, or someone else house.  I still tried to make really good choices with what I had.

 

Here is what I have planned for this weeks menu, I'm trying a few new things, so I'm excited to see how they turn out.

 

Tuesday

Grilled Chicken Ratatouille

recipe found here http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/recipecomdetail.jsp?recipeId=25131560

 I planned this because I like using summer veggies and the grill this time of year, and also because I blew a lot of calories at lunch today, so I'm looking for a lighter dinner to save on calories.

 

Wednesday

“Creamy” Crock pot chicken and tomato soup

recipe found here

http://rivernorthpaleo.blogspot.com/2012/03/creamy-crockpot-chicken-and-tomato-soup.html?m=1

This actually will qualify two of my goals for this week.  Since lately with switching medication and an irregular schedule and some other t hings that have been going on,  the exhaustion from PCOS has been hitting me pretty hard.  Because of this it has been hard to get up in the morning, and I have been working out after work.  With this switch I have been getting home a lot later.  So for this week I wanted to do a crock pot meal that I can throw together in the morning, and it is ready when I get home.  I also wanted to do a soup, because then I can package it and have it for lunches the rest of the week.   This recipe is nice because it kills both those goals with one stone!

 

Thursday

Spaghetti squash bake

recipe found here - http://www.fitsugar.com/Recipe-Gluten-Free-Cheesy-Veggie-Pasta-Bake-20317594

 This is one that I keep putting on the menu, and keep not making.  So this week I am DETERMINED to try it and see what it's like.

 

Friday

We have some new friends coming over for game night, so I'm going to cook dinner for them.  I haven't decided exactly what I will do, but I think I'm going to do what's called "Man Pleasing Chicken" and then my grilled corn and avocado salad.  I might change that up a bit, and will be doing more, but I'm still deciding

http://www.wittyinthecity.com/2011/08/man-pleasing-chicken/

http://authenticsuburbangourmet.blogspot.com/2011/05/avocado-and-grilled-corn-salad-with.html

 

Saturday

Grilled salmon with cherry tomatoes and asparagus

Sunday

 Oven roasted chicken with salad and red potatoes

 

Goals for this week include drinking two of these a day.

 

  I have already done one today and will hopefully be able to finish the other one with the gym and through the night. 

 

 

Another goal is to try and stick to the menu as closely as possible.  I'm not very good at getting them all done through the week, and this week I really want to try and do everything and report it next week.

 

I plan on keeping with the 45-60 minutes of cardio and then doing the 30 minute circuit.  Right now I'm not so worried about gym time or when I'm going, my only goal for this week is to get to the gym EVERYDAY!

 

The last goal I want to try for this week is meal prep and and packaging early.  I want to go ahead and pre-package some snacks at some meals so that the serving size and calories is already set.  I think this will help me to keep goals through out the day, eat smaller meals every few hours, and keep portion size under control. This way I also will have healthy snacks already to go, so when I have a craving I grab something smart!

 

Wish me luck and I'll report back next week!

 

Sacred Sunday - Fun in the Sun

I wish I would have taken more pictures, because Sunday we had SOOO much fun!  I guess the lack of pictures proves it, because I was too busy to stop and grab a camera!  Everyone was heading home on Sunday and we were planning on doing the same!  We said goodbye to my parents, and planned on hitting the road soon after that!  Well with my Sister and nephews staying there for the week, they decided to hit the pool..... and Eric and I just couldn't pass that up! 

 

 

 We threw on our swimming suits and got some "quick" sun.  Well.......2 hours later, and a few really bad sunburns, we were finally getting dressed and ready to get on the road! 

We were just having WAY too much fun playing pirate ship with the boys!  I sure didn't want to leave, but it was time to get back on the road!  It was a lovely drive though, beautiful scenery and lots of good conversation!  Over all a wonderful weekend!

 

Sensational Saturday - Nephews are TOO Fun!

Down in Austin this weekend I got lots of play time with my nephews!  At the rental house my Grandma was staying at, they had beautiful oak trees in the back yard! 

Kyle, Ryan and Evan had fun running around in the grass and mud, and Kyle was loving spinning on the swing!

 

  After awhile the boys decided they wanted to climb the trees (Aunt Jules would be proud!)  It was so good to see them, and spend some much needed play time with my boys!

 

 

Funday Friday - Wedding

This past weekend we were able to go down to Austin and spend some time with family for my cousins wedding.  We got there Friday and went to the rehearsal dinner that night!  My parents came in, so we got to see them which was AWESOME!  It was also fun seeing a lot of Aunts and Uncles and family from California that I haven't seen in years!

My Mom with Uncle Larry!

 

Saturday was the wedding.  We were able to stay at my Aunt Terri and Uncle Danny's house which was awesome. We had a nice relaxing morning catching up and waited for the Coopers to arrive!  It was so nice to see my Sister and her family!  We visited with some family at their rental house and then headed back to get dressed for the wedding.  It was a beautiful wedding, but sure was hot!  We were all sweating up a storm!  The reception was beautiful, and the best part was the air conditioning!

Melodee, my cousin Michelle (the beautiful MOA) and me!

 

After the wedding we were able to enjoy some quality time in the pool and hot tub, and catch up with Mel and Stephen!  It was so fun to see everyone, and it was so nice to be able to participate and be there to see my cousin get married!

 

The beautiful bride and groom! Congrats!

 

Throw Back Thursday- Goodbye Marley

Last weekend our truck Marley officially kicked the bucket!  We have been keeping her alive as long as we could, and we decided it was time to pull the plug!  We actually had great luck with selling her!   Being a truck in an oil town certainly has its benefits, and there is great demand for you if you still have good bones.  So within 10 minutes on Craigslist she was sold!  We were super excited, but I have to admit driving away on our way to Austin this weekend and knowing it was the last time I would see the truck parked there, I got a little sad!  I know I know pathetic right?  It's just a car right?  Well all this is true, but I couldn't help but have a flood of memories rush in of all the good times in that truck.  I know I get to take my memories with  me, which is awesome, and why material things don't really matter, but it was still sad to see it go.  It carried me through most of my High School experience, through starting college, through our first year of marriage as our only car, moving us to Texas, and much much more!  You will be missed!