Sunday's Are Always Busy

For breakfast this morning I decided on oatmeal. It was fast and easy. The reason I decided on this was because I was going to church, and I didn't want the meal to take forever to prepare. In it I added a sliced banana, which I covered with oatmeal. I like to put the hot oatmeal over it to warm the banana up. Then I add a teaspoon or two of honey. I used to add tons of sugar to my oatmeal, but I found honey is a healthy alternative to that. If you don't add too much, anyway. I don't like too much honey in it. It tastes like pure honey then. You just want enough to give it a little sweetness.

I haven't decided what I am going to make for lunch, but I promise to post a picture with it. I believe I might make something out of my vegetarian cookbook. It's a meal my daughter picked out. I let her go through my vegetarian cookbook one day and she picked out pictures of things she thought looked good, and she promised to try them all, which is good for me because she's a picky eater. I like it when we find things that she really enjoys.

Also, I will be doing Fire 45 EZ and Abs 10 class today from the TurboFire workout program. I'm going to try and squeeze it in before my daughter's cheerleading game, but if I don't then I plan on doing it after I get back home.

Quote of the day: "Far away in the sunshine are my highest inspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead." – Louisa May Alcott

Beachbody Coach

I've taken on a new job or what I'm hoping will be a new job. I almost didn't take it because I was worried since I'm still overweight that I will be judged, but then I realized...I'm in it for the long haul just as much as everyone else that is signing up. I've got goals and ambitions that I plan on crushing! So...why not be a coach and hope that others will get inspired enough to join me?

That's why I signed up for the Beachbody Challenge. It's a 90 day challenge that I am going to focus my hardest on and do my best! I've got Shakeology now too, so the wheels have been put into motion. I want to be positive and supportive of others while I'm on this 90 day stretch as well.

If some of you don't know what Shakeology is you can check it out in the link I've provided. It's a shake you drink daily and gives you all the vitamins and nutrients needed. This is great for some of us that hate to eat vegetables!

Willpower - Do Not Fail Me Now

Today is my husband's birthday! Of course, his family wants to go to Chinese then come back to their place for cake. Oh, how I cringe!! Not am I going to have not one crutch placed in front of me, but two. The Chinese I can manage. I can stick with soup or find an all vegetable meal, but cake..*headdesk* Why can't people have a nice array of fruit for special occasions? That's what I'm going to tell them all I want for my birthday - a bowl of fruit!

Speaking of willpower, my husband went shopping Friday at Sam's Club. I can't send the man shopping. As I have said before he is a twig and eats anything he wants! Well, he returns with one of those big tubs of chocolate donuts. I could have killed him! Why did he need to buy that junk and set it on the counter for me to ogle over? So, I told him he is no longer allowed to buy that. It is far too tempting for me. I don't need someone helping me with my temptations. I need help alleviating them.

Well, that was my complaint for the day. It is his birthday, so I won't be too mad at him for bringing junk in the house, but next time it's going to be war!

Good Intentions

I had good intentions this morning. I took a picture of the meal I made for breakfast. It's one of my favorite meals and gives me a good boost of energy before I workout. The problem was that when I went to upload the picture from my camera I realized my SD card was not in it. What a bummer, huh? So, my picture got lost, but don't fret. I will be making it again tomorrow, and I found my card to put back into my camera, so all is right in the world now.

For now, I should tell you that I am a bit sleepy. My husband had to go into work early today to do the snow. He was not quiet about going through the house and woke my daughter up - who is excited about going outside in the snow today. I am about to make some coffee to sip before I workout. It always gives me a little boost of energy just before, but I don't add much to it. Actually, I found that sugar free French Vanilla by Coffee-Mate seems to work well. All I add is two tablespoons, and before you say "OMG that's a lot of creamer!" My coffee mugs aren't small. They are the tall ones as I do loooove my coffee.

Also, I'm a little sore from yesterday's workout, but wow...was it intense, and I loved it!! I did the Fire 45 EZ class along with Abs 10 class. The Abs 10 class is killer! For ten minutes she really makes you work it hard! It's what I love about her though. She really packs power to the punch.

Today I will be doing the HIIT 20 and Sculpt 30 classes, so it's going to be intense cardio along with strength training (using bands). I need to purchase weights soon though. I am on week 17 of Turbo Fire. Monday will be week 18, which means I will only have 3 weeks before I incorporate ChaLean Extreme into my workout schedule. I can't wait for that!!

I'm off to workout now! You all should do the same and join me!!

Waiting On Shakeology

My hubby and I both had the day off today. I've been up early doing chores and errands. One was us hitting the grocery store with my grocery list of all healthy things. It wasn't too much stuff, which is funny. If this had been 4 months ago I would have had a lot more things in my cart, and it would have mostly been junk food or carbs. While I have skimped out on the unhealthy foods and turned to the healthier alternative I have not noticed much of a price change, which makes me a little sad. It doesn't mean I'll go back to the cheap carb lifestyle though. It just means I'm going to have to watch for sales on certain vegetables and fruits.

Today I tried out a shake. It wasn't Shakeology as I am still waiting for my order to arrive, but my sister had given me a single helping of her whey protein powder, so I tossed it into my new Ninja blender with strawberries and a banana. It turned out really good! By the way, the Ninja blender is awesome!! It took like a minute and a half to blend everything into a smooth consistency - ice included. My previous blender took like five plus minutes of stopping to stir then blending yet again.

I've, also, posted up a new photo today of my thirty pound weight loss. It might not be noticeable to some, but I can feel a difference, and as I compare my before and current photo I've noticed that I don't have as much baggage below the chin, which is awesome! Also, my arms look a little smaller to me. If you can't view the photo and are interested in the site, go ahead and join up. You won't be disappointed. Beachbody is a powerful site for losing weight, working out, and finding new and innovative ways to stay motivated.

If you have any questions about the site or need some help you can send me a message on there, Facebook, or Twitter. Whatever site is the easiest for you. At the top of my blog there are links to my accounts if you would like to contact me.

Pound by Freaking Pound

Weight loss can be a slow process. I would know. I've been dieting for years and years...since I was like twelve. I hate the up and downs, and I just want to find something that will keep me healthy and on track. Well, I'm hoping I have found it. I wouldn't have guessed that I wouldn't miss taking meat out of my everyday diet, but it seems to have settled in a lot easier than dropping carbs.

Then I got to thinking about it, and I recall as a child I didn't care for eating meat too much. I'm still like that. It takes one gritty bite of beef or a bite of fat on chicken for me to get grossed out. It's like a few weeks ago, before I began this transformation, I had eaten a piece of fish at a local restaurant. Well, I was sitting there pulling fish bones from my mouth after like the third bite. I was so grossed out that I couldn't finish it, so I guess that's probably why it was such an easy process for me to give up eating any meat products.

On another note, I weighed myself this morning after my workout and found I had lost three pounds! I was so excited! If I keep this up I'll be at my goal weight in no time.

I've got to think Neal D. Barnard. His book has really transformed my eating habits.

Also, today is my 11th anniversary. I can't believe it. We have made a reservation at a fancy Mexican restaurant in town, which works great for me. I've found Mexican food is the easiest dishes to accommodate my new eating habits. I'm already looking forward to it.

Womanly Woes

You all get it and understand what I am talking about. I have been so good with what I have been eating for the last three weeks. I've been committed and focused on eating tons of beans, veggies, and grains. I completely cut meat from my menu.

That was until the monthly monster decided to rear its head up. My mom has been over the last couple of days, which isn't helping, but it's been all about pop, chips, and sweets. I'm doing my best to avoid the kitchen, but I just realized that each time I pass I grab a chip or a cookie to munch and crunch on. Sweets are my killer.

So, here I am confessing my woes to the net, which is playing a good part to keep me away from the kitchen.

Tomorrow's a new day.

Also, I got an awesome recipe from my Arabic sister-in-law that's beans and veggies. Look for my next post which will include the recipe for it.

Too Many Diet Restrictions...

Is it just me or are there too many diet restrictions out there? I just read an article today that stated "High Protein, Low Carb Diet Causes Colon Cancer". Lovely. Another problem to add to my list of diet problems.. Or is it that the media finds something out and rips it apart? I believe the government might have a hand in some diets as well.

Currently I am reading a book called Breaking the Food Seduction: The Hidden Reasons Behind Food Cravings---And 7 Steps to End Them Naturally by Neal D. Barnard, M.D. He works out of D.C. He said you would be surprised the products added into fast food meals and sweets. It's all about making the consumer return. He's all about eating alternative foods to meat. He believes the best option is cutting meat out all together because of all the additives.

It's a real interesting book. I'm still reading through it, but Neal is real intelligent. He talks about studies and research done on food to break down what is added in our food. You would be surprised that some studies of the brain show that certain foods act as a drug, much like some illegal drugs taken for pleasure, which has us returning for more. I first saw him on public television while on vacationing in Florida, so I decided to give his book a try. If I could eat healthier not just for me, but for my family as well that would be a huge step for me. It's the reason I decided to read this book and hope to gain some knowledge from it.

The Jobless Opportunity

As a stay-at-home mother, one thing has become a problem... I have gained extra unneeded pounds that have become hard to shed. It started during my pregnancy I gained forty pounds while pregnant then I tacked on another thirty over the last six years.

I came to the realization that this is my own fault. At first, I would blame my job and losing it. I had myself believing that because I was no longer working that I had nothing better to do than eat, sleep, and watch television. It occurred to me that I was so very wrong. I had nobody to blame but myself. The excuses need to stop. I need to figure out why I do all of this emotional eating and get my life on track again. I used to be very healthy and work out all the time. Even now, I make excuses for knee injuries that happened from a car accident some ten years ago. Yes, my knees hurt all the time but, no, it doesn't mean I cannot workout. I have found that walking or using the elliptical trainer doesn't bother them as much. It's all about making sacrifices. I've also been told that I cannot receive knee surgery until I shed some weight.

I need and want to lose weight. I know in the long run it would be better for me and my family. So, I've begun a quest to do so. First though, I plan on reading some books to familiarize myself with losing weight. I'm not a doctor, so I can only take my doctor's advice. He has recommended The South Beach Diet, but I also own a couple of other diet books (that are collecting dust). I plan to read these and try each diet out, see which works best for me.

In my little weight loss adventure I decided to start a blog. I will link any information I run across in regards to dieting or if I find any information in the books I read I will give a little post on some quotes. It's not just for me to remember, but for others as well. I will, also, give updates on how I am feeling that day, whether it be from emotions or if it has to do with the diet I am following.