I have NOT given up....

I've just been very busy. I know, we ALL are very busy. But I haven't stopped trying to keep up with healthy eating and exercise. I have stayed on track with my eating, but my exercise has been spotty at best.
Earlier this month my husband went in for some out-paitent surgery that kept him over night unexpectedly. Thankfully, he is ok. There were no complications, it was just the severity of his injury made recovery lengthier than it normally would have been. He is still recovering and cannot do many things around the house that he normally would be doing, thus one reason why I have been very busy.
I also have been a bit stressed and that normally would end up with me eating poorly, but I didn't do that this time! In fact I barely ate (I know...a terrible thing to do), but when I did, I made sure that I was eating healthy food instead of the comfort food cravings. Ironically enough, I didn't crave the junk food I normally do. In the end I lost 5lbs.
So, that 5lbs coming off totally kick started me into more exercising. I have been walking a lot. There are a lot of hills around here so the walking has been good.
As I went out for my walk today I don't know what came over me, but I began to RUN!!! RUN...I tell you!!! This is ABSOLUTELY not something that I would voluntarily do unless I was being chased by zombies....THEN I would definitely run. But today, here I was thinking, "Ya know, I have these really good running sneakers on, maybe I should just run." and I ran 1/2 a mile. A MIRACLE....seriously. Those that have known me for some time know that I HATE to run. It's a long convoluted drama as to why, but suffice it to say it mostly comes down to my breathing. See, I am asthmatic and have been all my life. I don't need an inhaler, I'm not that bad, but I have a limited lung capacity and if I don't keep up with exercise, I have even less lung capacity. So, when I run, my body has the strength to go a lot farther than my lungs can. My lungs start to hurt, then burn, then the sharp pain begins. It's actually quite annoying, so I have to stop once I get the the sharp pain part. It's not life threatening. It's kinda like when you work a muscle to the point of exhaustion. It's that sort of pain but in my chest. Again...quite annoying. So today, I did it. I decided to run and start strengthening my lungs so they have more stamina. I felt pretty good while running and now I feel even better!! AND I'm really proud of myself. :)
Have a great day everyone!
~N

The Whole Summer is Gone!

And I know I haven't blogged this summer at all, so here is my update.

I have not stopped working toward health and wellness even in the midst of a crazy busy and quite hot summer. I have not lost any weight since my initial weight loss when I started this blog, but I haven't gained anything either, so I think that's good. I am a bit discouraged because I really haven't lost any more, but I know that I'm still on the right track to better health. 

One thing I have learned this summer is how my busy busy life is directly reflected in my eating habits and exercise routines. I Always, always, always put my health on the back burner. That is something I have been working on, and still need to desperately continue to work on. This habit is really hard for me to break. 

Another thing I have realized is that not just busyness affects my health routines, but also circumstances. I really need to stop focusing my mental energies on the things happening in my life and around me. For example, summer is over and I have to get all the kids ready to start school. I homeschool my 2 youngest and my oldest goes to our local high school. Her schedule came in the mail and it had some huge mistakes on it, so now I feel like I have to do someone else's job and get it worked out (a ripple in my very scheduled life). I did get it worked out over the phone, but we will see if we get the new schedule in time to know that it was really worked out. If not, I will have to get to the school the day before school starts to get the new schedule and if it STILL is not fixed, my daughter will have to talk to her guidance counselor on the first day of school. I have to get my reports faxed for my 2 youngest and in order to do that I literally have to move the printer/fax machine upstairs to plug it into the modem so I can fax (and there is always a degree of fiddling involved)....yet another ripple....agh....I know all these things seem little, but they definitely add up and fast. 

Also, circumstances affecting other people in my life affect me as well, and my attitude toward making the effort to take care of myself. It's weird but, I seem to get sad, not really depressed, but sad enough that I focus on helping/fixing/doing anything to make it better. Yesterday, one of my closest friends was having a really bad day and there was nothing I could really do, it had nothing to do with me, it was just sad and it made me sad to see how discouraged they were. Then this morning, my husband shares with me his day yesterday and it was just one of those days. He works 2 jobs and is being put between a rock and a hard place in one job and then has to go directly to the second job and yesterday was 'problem day' with both. So, here I sit blogging and wanting to do SOMETHING to fix the issues that came up for him. And it's not really the actual work (I really can't help there),  it's more like the attitudes flying around and believe you me, I can handle other people's 'tudes rather efficiently and ruthlessly especially when they are upsetting someone I care about. Not saying I'm right, just saying I'm almost salivating at the thought of getting the opportunity to 'take care of things'.  Must be that Italian blood in me. 

All these distractions...all this busyness, it keeps me from focusing on taking care of my health, watching what I put in my mouth or WHEN I eat. Sometimes I don't eat ALL day, that's the worst thing for me to do. Point is, I take these distractions in and I willingly focus on them and purposely NOT focus on my health. This is something that HAS TO CHANGE for me if I am ever going to get healthier. 

So, onward and upward today. Yes, I have a lot to do, yes I will be faced with other people's issues and attitudes as well as my own, but I WILL take the focus off of all that and I WILL purposely focus on what I need to do to be healthier. Yes, life will continue even if I don't get the chance to give someone a good tongue lashing, if I don't get all the dog hair off the floor, if I don't get those plants into the ground, if I don't get to the bank, if I don't get to the store, if I don't get the laundry done and if I don't get my teenager out of bed before noon. Two things that WILL be accomplished today is healthy eating and exercise.

OH MY!!!!!

I know, I know...it's been quite a while since I blogged. Last week was incredibly busy. My in laws were here all week and I didn't get to exercise at all. However, I DID watch my food intake and made good choices. I ended up losing 3 pounds!!!
So today (yes, I know it's Thursday) I'm back on track with exercise (and blogging).
A friend of mine sent this video and challenged me to, and I quote, "See if you can do it." (Psst..the link is in the "See if you can do it" part).
So I did it...I didn't want to do it, but my friend is calling me later to see if I did it....lol I could only complete 2 out of the 4 reps, yes, it's THAT strenuous and it's only 9 minutes of my day believe it or not...so I did only about 6 minutes and my heart rate is up, upper and lower muscles are shaking and I think I drank about a gallon of water when I was finished.
Now, it's your turn to be challenged! Can you do all 4 reps? It's only 9 minutes. Give it a try and tell me how you did.
I'm going to do 2 more reps later today. I'll let you know how that goes!
Have a great day and do forget to comment below. I want to know how everyone made out with this exercise!!
OX~N

Non-Stop Day Yesterday!

Very busy but a really good busy. :) I didn't watch calories and I didn't do formal exercise. I'm thinking my weekends are going to be days off from exercise and counting, although I am always trying to make better food choices even without counting. Also, I am very active on the weekends and get a lot of physical work done Saturday. Then there's sailing on Sunday.
So yesterday was a sailing day and it was great!! I still don't know how we placed in the race, but it felt like we did a good job. We shall see. I got to helm the boat under sail for the first time in my life and I loved it! I love the technicality of it all. :)
Weight is a factor with the racing rules so I had to tell the Skipper how much weigh...lol...not my most shining moment, but I was honest and told him and his wife they could follow my weight progress on here...lol Let's hope that I will be weighing less soon. :)
This coming week my in laws are coming for a visit so I will be challenged as to how to get all my exercising in, but I think I will be able to make it work. Of course I will keeping an update on here.
Have a wonderful day!!!
OX~N

Busy, Busy, Busy...

So, it's going to be a short post today.
Yesterday I actually ate as many calories as I needed to. What I also love about the site is that it also gives you the daily recommended amounts of proteins, fats and carbs needed to lose weight and then shows you what you ate in relation to that. That's just what I need.
Today, I have a hair cut (haven't gone anywhere for that in a few years), then people coming over, neighbor's child's birthday party then a reunion that I have been asked to speak at.
So, I'm off to eat some breakfast and wrap a bunch of presents then getting ready to go to the salon.
Have a great day everyone!
OX~N

Oh Cheese!!! How I Have Missed Thee...

I'm REALLY loving this SparkPeople site. I realized that I still needed to eat at least 800 more calories yesterday. Of course I figured this out this morning so today I'm going to track my food even more diligently. When I looked at the menu options for breakfast today I saw :::::drum roll::::::: CHEESE!!!!!!! My eyes almost fell out of my HEAD!! I LOVE cheese and I have been totally NOT eating ANY since I started this journey. I literally almost cried when I saw that I could eat some cheese.  I know...it really is the little things....lol
Through this site I have learned that I really, really, really don't eat enough calories in the day to keep my metabolism going. It's really nailing it home for me. (I know, I'm saying 'really' a lot)
So, according to SparkPeople I need to eat between 1200 and 1550 calories every day and burn 217 daily. I WILL be doing my Zumba today because it tells me how many calories I burn with each session and lately I have been averaging 220 calories burned every time I do it.
I love that I now have some numbers to go by and a way to track it all. This is really helping me to stay motivated and change my life to a healthier way of eating and exercising.
So yesterday, I didn't eat enough but I did take a nice long walk with some good friends. I love walking with them because we don't stroll along...we definitely power walk. We figured we power walked for about 50 minutes over hill and dale...lol It was a really great time and it flew by. I can't wait for our next walk!
Have a wonderful day!!!
OX~N

Had A Bad Dream...

I really hate waking up in the morning from a bad dream, but here I am still kinda reeling from it. It didn't have anything to do with eating or exercising, but it does affect my mood for the day. I will have to move past the emotional owie that I have from it to enjoy this already beautiful day and get done the things I have to get done.
So this morning, I woke up and stepped on the scale. I know I shouldn't but I kinda needed a little assurance that I'm going in the right direction. I lost a pound, so that put me in a better mood.
The new website is really helping me to understand the amount of calories (good ones) and exercise I need to get my body into a healthy balance.
Yesterday I didn't get a chance to do formal exercise. I say 'formal' because I am very active in other ways. Laundry alone causes me to go up and down 2 flights of stairs several times carrying a heavy basket most of the time. Taking care of the dogs has me active in a lot of different ways. Playing with the kids outside gets my heart rate up pretty good. Then there's cleaning, cooking, some yard work...yadda, yadda.
I have a lot of household stuff to do today as well. My in laws are coming Tuesday and staying for a week here and so I have to get the house together for their visit. I know Tuesday is a ways off but I am very busy this weekend so I essentially have three days to get done what I need done.
I'm hoping to fit in some actual exercising. Taking a nice walk this evening is in the plans. :)
Have a great day peoples!!!!!
OX~N

Well, I did get the chance to bike ride yesterday. I road about 3 miles and I really liked it! I need to build up more stamina to get up the hills I have to deal with (lots of hills around here) and I only walked   three times. I made it up the hill as far as I could then I would walk until I could catch my breath and then I'd hop back on the bike. I enjoyed that workout. I don't think I will get the chance to do a bike ride today since it's raining very hard right now, but if it lets up a bit I'll get out there. I live in a really nice area to ride.
Today IS a new day and I have new meal plan from SparkPeople.com. Moriah suggested it and I'm so glad she did. As I look at this, it's obvious that I'm not eating enough calories. I was just looking at the breakfast options and I was like WHOAH...that's a LOT of food! I love that it gives me the amount of calories I need to eat in a day and the amount of calories I need to burn in a week to reach my goal weight. I think this is exactly what I needed, a way to keep track of my caloric intake and burn. :)
So, today i am much more optimistic than I was yesterday. Yes, I pushed over that mental hump and exercised and continued to eat right.
Have a great day everyone!!!
OX~N

Frustrated...

So, it's been how many weeks since I started this? I have lost only 5 pounds. No, I haven't been able to formally exercise every day, but I have been exercising more regularly than before.
This is about the time I just feel like a failure and that I will NEVER get to a healthy weight. I'm so frustrated, discouraged and just plain annoyed.
I feel like a huge blob and that no matter what I do I will always be a huge blob.
This is the hump for me and if I don't get over it, I will give up again. I just don't know how to get over this.
Today I'm going to take a long bike ride. It's been a while since I road a bike and that is mostly due to the fact that I feel like a huge blob on a little skinny bike.
I kinda get mad at my body for not responding more acutely to the changes I have made and thus I don't take care of it. Like this morning I haven't eaten anything yet and I don't really feel like it either.
Since I have made the decision to bike ride, huge clouds have move in. Even mother nature is hating on me today....really??!?!?
Well, I hope everyone is having a better start to their day. I'll let you know what happens with me tomorrow.
OX~N

Skipped A Day...

Yes, I know I skipped a day of blogging. I was on the crew of a sail boat (I know, I've blogged this before) and the schedule was 9AM Saturday and 8:30 AM Sunday, so I missed one blog because of the schedule.
Speaking of the race...we won 1st place!!!!!!!  It was so exciting!! I love going out, I learn so much each time and this time I learned boat loads (hehe).
So, I didn't do any formal exercise this weekend, but I did get a pretty good workout on the boat. I am sore all over. I even have a couple of bruises and my knees are missing some skin. :) My hand faired well. It was good to move it a little bit.
Food intake was good until the chips and dip came out yesterday. One of these days I.WILL.RESIST.
Today I plan on sweating! And not just because it's going to be hot out, but because I'm going to hit Zumba!


Here's a picture of our trophy flag!!
Have a wonderful day today everyone!!
OX~N

Busy, Fun Weekend Ahead...

Today I'll be sailing in the HRYRA Regatta on the Hudson, ALL day. It's really good exercise and it's a lot of fun too. My hand is doing much better and I will be able to use it to crew. It's going to take some time to get back to normal, but it gets a little better every day.
Yesterday I did some Pilates!!!!! Yay! I finally took some time to exercise and I'm glad I did. I felt so much better after.
Food intake was really good yesterday, even at my Sister's. My Brother in law made a phenomenal dinner  and I don't think I ate so much protein at one time ever! We had filet mignon, lobster tails, shrimp and steamers. It was all SO yummy! My Brother in law is a wonderful cook and so all the food was extra special.
So, I am up early to get myself together for today. I have to be down at the marina by 9AM.
Have a wonderful day everyone!!
OX~N

The Week Went By Fast!

I can't believe it's Friday already. I guess I had more catching up to do around here than I thought I did.
So I weighed myself yesterday and I gained 3lbs over the weekend, probably more but just lost a few pounds due to my diet change. I weighed myself this morning and I lost one pound since yesterday. I guess that's good especially since I haven't done any exercising lately.
I know I haven't done any formal exercising this week, but I guess I'm quite active in my daily routines. I'm glad I live in a house with 2 floors and that my laundry room is in my basement. So, although it looks like I haven't done anything physically, I really have done something. Adding formal exercise to it ups my calorie burn.
Today I don't know if I will get any formal exercising in yet again. I have a lot to do today and I will try to get something in, I hope I can. I really would like to continue to lose the pounds and keep that momentum going.
This afternoon my family will be going to my sister's house for a little celebratory dinner and my brother in law's birthday. I'm really looking forward to relaxing and just enjoying good company.
Have a great day everyone!!!
ox~N

What A Week!

This week has been very busy..a good busy, but I haven't gotten the chance to Zumba. Food was good yesterday. Just went grocery shopping so I have a lot of really good fresh stuff. I will try, again to do some sort of exercise today although I do have more errands to run. I have been trying to get my errands done in the morning then exercise later, but I have been fighting a cold and by the time the afternoon hits, I am exhausted and yesterday I took like a 3 hour nap.
I feel tons better this morning. A good friend decided to take care of me :) and gave me some vitamins (thank you Krissy!). I think they really helped and hopefully I won't be so tired later.
My hand is much better today but not doing as well as I expected. I think I dislocated (or jammed) my pinky knuckle on my hand (not on the pinky) because it kinda feels like that. However, I am hesitant to do the quick yanking thing with it to pop it into place (something I used to do all the time with my fingers when I would jam them playing volleyball when I was MUCH younger). I just don't want to feel more pain...lol I'm such a baby sometimes...lol
Well, the day is gearing up already and I have much to do!!
Have a wonderful day, everyone!!!!
OX~N

It's Wednesday Already????

Yesterday was an ok food day, but I crapped out on exercising again. Since I have gotten home I have been catching up with everything around here. It's taking longer than usual because of my hand. This coupled with the fact that 4:30 hits and I am completely exhausted makes for no exercising.
I visited a friend who is very sick in the hospital. I had a nice time catching up with her and making plans for the next teen weekend she is directing. If this took the place of exercising yesterday, it was well worth it.
I have another busy day ahead of me today too, so I'm not sure I'll be exercising. My hand is getting a little better every day, but yesterday I didn't wear the ace bandage and I bumped it a few times. It was very painful and it swelled up again. I iced it and wrapped it when I had the time and it's feeling better today. I'm concerned about exercising with it as it seems that I bump it into everything when I'm moving around. This hand REALLY needs to heal. I have a big sailing weekend coming up and I need to use it!
I'm hopeful that today will be a better health day for me!!
Have a great day everyone!!
ox~N

Still Bouncing Back...

So yesterday, I didn't exercise at all. I think a hit a little wall physically. I had suddenly became extremely tired and I actually took a nap. There was a bit of running around that I had to do yesterday and then, when my husband came home he wanted to take me out to dinner. It has been a while since we were out together just the 2 of us and it was wonderful to talk without being interrupted. :) We went to Captain Jacks on the water front in Newburgh. They have this dinner special, 2 entrées and a bottle of wine for $32. Funny thing is I had dropped off our old washer and dryer at the local scrap yard earlier that day and they gave me $32 for them. :) It's little things like this that make me smile.
So, today I have more running around to do, and I am looking forward to it. I am visiting a good friend who is in the hospital and I can't wait to see her and tell her about my weekend. Then I have to go and get a birthday gift for my brother in law and a house warming gift for my sister and brother in law (I'm hoping my sister isn't reading this today).
I am not going to weigh myself today. I don't think I want to see what it says until I can get some sort of exercise in.
Food intake yesterday could have been better. I ate a protein filled breakfast and then macaroni salad for lunch (not good for my healthy eating thing, but it tasted really good). Then for dinner I had whole wheat pasta with snap peas, red peppers and blackened shrimp. That was REALLY good. I didn't finish it so I have some left for today. :)
Today I will again try to get myself together and do some exercising. My hand is a little better today and just keeps getting better everyday.
Have a great day everyone!!!
ox~N

I'm Baaaaaacccckkkkk....

I'm home and what an amazing weekend. I have never felt so loved, blessed, cared for and challenged in my life! I know that the friendships I have made will last for the rest of my life.
Let me tell you about the food! It was such a wonderful blessing to be served. I didn't have to cook or clean up and that alone is a blessing in itself. There were always a lot of veggies and fruit with healthy proteins. I ate a lot of good stuff, but I have to say, it was difficult for me to resist some of the food I have been staying away from. Primarily, I ate well.
There was not a lot of exercising that I could do, but I was happy to know that my room was on the third floor of the retreat center and that was an excellent source for some exercise. On Friday evening after dinner I decided to run up the stairs to my room. I was working my legs really well, but I miss judged the railing post when I rounded one of the turns. I smashed my pinky and ring finger knuckles on the metal post. I heard a crack and I figured I cracked my knuckles. Suffice it to say the pain didn't dissipate, but rather quickly increased as the seconds and minutes passed. I thought, "Oh great, I'm so embarrassed." I went to one of the ladies who was in charge of providing for needs of this kind...lol  I went to her and asked for ice and an ace bandage. She very quickly got me some ice. What I didn't realize at the time was that she gave me HER ice pack that she needed for her shoulder. It brings tears to my eyes now just typing this. She started asking around for an ace bandage. After a while I bumped into one of the pastors on our weekend. He asked what happened and then he started asking around for an ace bandage. There wasn't any in the facility. So, the pastor when to one of the Father's who serve there (this facility is Mt. Alvernia) and he said he would take care of it. That's all I know from that point because a talk was being given and I needed to get to the chapel. After the talk, someone appeared with an ace bandage that was clearly just purchased. I don't know what time it was by then, but I think it was pretty late and to know that someone ran out and bought that just for me was incredible to me. Again, my eyes can't seem to stop leaking. I can't accurately put into words how much love that I have experienced. There is just no way to explain it. It is truly something that must be experienced.
There were a few nurses and PTs on this weekend who took a look at my hand. It looked pretty bad and they all recommended that I get it looked at by a doctor when I get home. Several people prayed for my hand to heal quickly and prayed that it wasn't broken, as I have been continually praying! Today, my hand is doing really well. I'm typing with both hands right now. It's still swollen, but everyday it's a little less swollen than the day before. Also, the pain is less and less everyday.
So, today I will try to get my Zumba in! I have missed it! Also, my eating will be more on track as well. I am missing all the amazing women with whom I spent this wonderful weekend experience. But I know that they are part of my life now and I will see them again soon!
Have a beautiful day everyone!!
ox~N

Unplugging for a couple of days...

Tonight I'm leaving for a woman's retreat and I'll be back on Sunday. This will be my last post until Monday and I will miss blogging for a few days.
OK, now that my PSA is out of the way... :)
I got in a really good Zumba class and I ate very well yesterday. :)  Of course I am continually really busy and I have a lot to do before I leave tonight, but I am planning on another good Zumba class today.
So while I'm away, I'm going to have to get creative with my exercising to keep that going. Hopefully, I will have some good food choices this weekend (all the food is so wonderfully and graciously provided) so that I can stay on track with healthy eating.
With all that in mind I'm looking forward to 'unplugging' this weekend and just taking in everything that I will experience. Believe it or not, I'm REALLY looking forward to not knowing or needing to know what time it is. These past few weeks have been so packed (in a VERY good way) and I'm really ready to just sit back and enjoy the ride. I can't wait to see what's in store for all of us on this retreat! I love meeting new people and inviting more people into my life. I will only know probably one person who is going and I LOVE that!! That means that there are a whole bunch of new friends to get to know. :)
Ok, I have some laundry and packing to do plus some last minute cleaning.
Enjoy the rest of your week and enjoy this beautiful weekend!
See you Monday!!
ox~N

Better Day...

Yesterday was a better day food-wise than it had been all weekend. Exercise-wise, not so good. It was very hot and humid here and being that it's the start of the summer, I'm not use to it just yet. So, I didn't exercise yesterday unless you count going up and down 2 flights of stairs to do laundry. I swear I sweated 2 pounds of water.
I will again attempt to do some type of exercise today. It seems to be less humid right now than it was yesterday at this time. So, today is another new day!
Lately, I have been thinking about what is hindering my progress with my health and I have learned some things about myself. I have had a lot of things swimming around in my head and there have been circumstances with people that have caused me to become defensive, angry, sad and just plain untrusting. What I have learned is that when I have these things happening to me and around me I seem to not want to do anything for myself. It's strange, I know and I'm still not sure what it is exactly that makes me become this way.
I have told you in previous blogs that I crew on a friend's sail boat. When we get on the boat we need to remove all jewelry that we have on our hands, especially if we are pulling lines. So, they have this little duck basket in the cabin that holds all our valuables like cell phones, sun glasses, wedding rings and such. They call this duck basket the Lucky Duck. I was thinking of the Lucky Duck yesterday and how I should be more like a Lucky Duck. I need to let the unimportant things roll off my back and only hold the valuable things.
The thing is, there are always going to be circumstances, people, places and things that are going to be negative and offensive and disheartening, but I cannot allow it to always affect me in my daily life. So, today I'm going to be a Lucky Duck. I know it won't be that easy since I am a sensitive person, but I know that I can only do all this with God's help.
Be a Lucky Duck with me today! It will be fun! :)
Have a wonderful day!
ox~N

Holiday Flop...

Yesterday was a wonderful holiday and we got to hang out with good friends and some family. There was a lot of delicious food, as usual and I totally flopped when it came to eating. :/
I ate some things that were ok, but then the chips and dip got a hold of me. Oh and also, a yummy chocolate dessert. I didn't have a chance to work out either. I feel like I failed and I'm at a point were I need to just keep moving forward with my healthy plan.
I didn't Zumba or anything yesterday either. The only sweating I did was because of the heat and humidity.
SO I weighed myself this morning. I wasn't going to because I would rather stick my head in the sand than have to face my failure. But I digress, I haven't lost anything nor did I gain anything. I guess that's good and it sounds about right. When I did get Zumba in I killed myself so I guess that made up for the bad food intake.
Today is a new day! It's going to be a hot one, so I will try to get my workout in sooner than later.
Have a wonderful day!!!
ox~N

It's ALL about the sweat...

This one's going to be really short!
Ok, so I did Zumba yesterday YAY! I am really enjoying it and I sweat SO much, which is perfect for burning the fat.
Today I will be crewing on a sail boat after church, and that's a workout so I will not do Zumba unless I can find the time.
Have a great day everyone!!
ox~N

BUSY!!!

I was SO busy yesterday I didn't get a chance to blog! I won't run down my whole crazy schedule with you but I will say I have been helping my Sister move for 2 days. I guess that could be considered exercise, but I still feel like I should have done something. I really, literally had NO time at ALL.
Isn't it amazing how when we get so busy the first thing that gets put aside is our health? I REALLY need to change this! I HAVE to find it somewhere in my day to get my exercise in. Or maybe it's more like I need to MAKE the time in my day. I will do this today. I have another busy day, but I have made time to spend time with a good friend and just have some girly time today amidst of all the chaos this weekend. Tomorrow it's church and then I crew on a friend's sail boat for a race THEN it's a BBQ at another friend's house. Monday is another BBQ with more good friends and my Husbands co-workers. :)
Even though our weekend is VERY busy, I'm looking forward to everything we are doing.
I will continue to make better choices when it comes to food and I will be making time to exercise. I have to change what I'm doing going forward and not look back at the past 2 days. That's when I usually get into trouble thinking about the mistakes I made and then I give up. I'm putting a stake in the ground today and changing that!
Have a wonderful, blessed day everyone!
ox~N

Tried Something New...

Since my day started late yesterday, I decided to try a different workout. Zumba! I ended up doing it for 2 hours! I LOVED it even though it really kicked my butt. I was sweating so much I could wring out my shirt when I was done. I felt SO good though. It kept my heart rate up for 2 hours which is so good for burning fat.
Food intake was ok until I went to the mixer. There was nothing, I mean nothing that wasn't fried, swimming in BBQ sauce or stuffed between 2 giant pieces of bread. The only vegetable offered was breaded and deep fried and I'm not exaggerating. So I had 2 meatballs, a sandwich (I didn't eat the bread) piece of cheese and olive, a chicken penni and one BBQ wing (the BBQ sauce was REALLY good). All of it was small finger food. When I got home I had my usual snack before bed which made me feel like I ate something healthy before the day ended.
Today is moving day for my Sister and Brother in law! I'm not sure what kind of workout I will be able to get in besides moving furniture, but I will try to make the time for something.
Have a great day everyone!
ox~N

Late Start...

Today is already hectic! I have now gotten a late start to my day because I didn't sleep very well. So, here I am blogging way later than I usually do.
I am going to a mixer tonight with my Sister to promote my design business. I wish it was an actual business in the sense that I made a living doing it, but for now I have only had one 'real' client who was a nightmare to work with. Anyway, tonight my Sister invited me to the mixer so I can hand out some business cards and meet other people who own their own businesses. With that said I had to print out some business cards since I don't have any on hand. I have the template already made on the Mac but I had to get more cards to print and the layout is completely different. After about 2 hours of fiddling, I've got some business cards printing.
Yesterday was a really good exercise day. I did Jillian's for 10 mins and increased the intensity. Then I did 45 mins of Pilates. :) I'm sore all over, it's a good sore and I'm looking forward to doing it again today!
Food intake was good yesterday too! I made more ceviche and had that on lettuce for dinner. I had my usual breakfast and lunch with a healthy snack in between.
Starting today, the weekend is already creeping up! I have a hectic day today then the next 2 days I'll be helping my Sister move into her new home. Saturday my Husband is working a wedding at our church and I'll be in charge of taxing the kids all over. Sunday is church early then I crew on a friends sail boat. I love IT! It's so much fun and I learn a lot, never mind it's a great workout and now that I am feeling stronger I'm excited about the next race!  
Have a great day everyone!!
ox~N

It's one week today!

I made it one week!! WWOOOHOOOO ::throwing confetti::
I have lost 5 pounds, so now I weigh 160. :) I would have LOVED to lose 10 pounds, but there I go again. I never appreciate what I accomplish. I always see what I did and try to figure out how to do it better. I guess that's not a bad practice as long as I can appreciate what I DID accomplish. So today, I'm proud of myself and my 5 pound loss accomplishment. :)
Like I said yesterday, I feel like my posture is better and I feel stronger. That makes me VERY happy. Also, my clothes are looser. My Sister mentioned that I looked a little thinner too! :)
Yesterday I did 10 mins of Jillian's masochistic workout and I was actually not totally dyeing at the end. That's an accomplishment in and of itself. Then I did another 20 min Pilates DVD that makes my whole body ache the next day. I'm starting to enjoy the Pilates more and more because I feel like it gives me a could stretching as well as strength and control. Don't worry, I'm not leaving Jillian out completely. I really like the cardio that I get with her workout and now that I can see that I have more endurance after just one week, I'm totally sticking with it.
I have not jumped rope for a few days because I spend more time tangled up in the thing than I do actually jumping. I'm hoping as my workouts progress, I will be able to master the jump rope and get a good workout with that too.
Mondays are family night so my Husband talked about ordering pizza. My first thought was to scream, "NO!!!!! I'm getting healthy and losing weight!!!!!!".  But I held that in and just said that I can't eat pizza, so if we get it I will just have to make a salad for myself. Then he mention that I 'could' pick something up if I wanted to while I was out picking up our oldest daughter from a friend's house. So I thought....hmmmm....what could I pick up that everyone would love and I could eat too? The answer....SUSHI!! I come to find out, our favorite sushi place closed (that's how long it's been since we had it). So, I'm with my Daughter and her and I are trying to figure out what to get then we both realize that there's a sushi place right where we were headed that was recommended to us. So we go, place the order then, while we wait we go the the pet shop right next to it. We buy 2 Comet gold fish, or giant gold fish (my Daughter has a fish tank in her room), really pretty fish, then we go to pick up the sushi. I tell you this because it was kind of ironic and my Daughter didn't want to walk into the sushi place with the Comets in a bag....lol. So we head home and I set up our coffee table in the middle of the living room with pillows around it and we all sat there with sushi and chopsticks and had a wonderful family dinner. :) Everyone was happy and we didn't eat junk!
Today is the start of a new week! I can't wait to see  how it goes. :)
Have a great and blessed day everyone!!
ox~N

Day #7...

It's been a week since I started this blog and my dedication to health and wellness. I feel healthier and I also think my posture is better. 
My husband came home last night (YAY) and I'm so glad he's home. He told me I looked like I lost some weight (lets hope that I did) and asked if I knew how much I lost. Well, I don't really know because I'm not going to weigh myself until tomorrow. :)
Like I have said before, weekends are tough for me so yesterday I worked out before church. I did a 20 min. Pilates DVD and today, I'm sore all over. 
Since I started this blog later than usual, it's going to be short because everyone is up. The morning shift has started! 
Today I plan on more Pilates and some of Jillian's workout. I'm hoping to knock out more cardio than usual. 
I have already eaten breakfast (I'm getting the hang of this morning eating thing).
If it doesn't rain today, I think I'm going to take the kids to a park where we all can rollerblade. Yes, my kids are home with me. Well, my 2 youngest are because I homeschool them. My oldest goes to high school. This is why I  don't have a lot of time for exercising. It's not the kids fault, it's because I put everything and everyone else before my health. This is not good for me (or the family as a whole) and my kids are very supportive of my exercise regimen. I have some great kids. :)
Have a great day everyone!!!!
ox~N

Last Day of a Beautiful Weekend...

Sunday is here and my Husband will be home tonight. :)
SO yesterday, not a good exercise day. I just did a little Yoga, nothing else. I had a pretty good food day, I guess. Like I had said before the weekends are tough.
I took my Son out for lunch just to two of us and it was really nice. I had a yummy salad, but I could have made a better choice. It had blue cheese and candied pecans on it, so not the best choice, but better than I usually would choose.
Then some great friends came over and I made a mango chutney, ceviche with flounder and a cheese platter. Everything I made was from scratch, nothing processed and I didn't add sugar like the recipes called for. All the cheese I have is really good quality (I'm a bit of a cheese snob too). Normally, I would bake some bread to go along with all this, but yesterday I didn't. My friends brought some yummy wine to go with all of that, and it was a lovely evening.
My downfall with the weekends is my food intake and when I eat as well as what I eat. Yesterday was a new day with that since I ate my breakfast within an hour of rising and then I ate a good lunch. Normally, I wouldn't eat all day knowing I was having people over and we would be eating later. That was SO bad for my body!
Another weekend downfall is lack of time. I usually have SO much to do on the weekends and I just don't have the time to exercise. I HAVE to change that, so I'm making this blog brief today so I can workout before going to church.
Have a beautiful, blessed day!!
ox~N

AHH...The Weekend...

So yesterday was crazy busy AND I was dead tired. However, I did my workout and even increased it a little. I did 2 minutes of jump rope this time (still quite uncoordinated though), increased my 'Jillian' time, did my Pilates and my Yoga. I have to say the Yoga does help me have better posture and makes me feel longer and taller, if that's possible for someone 5'2". 
My Sister and Brother in law have recently purchased a new house. They have been doing some cosmetic renovations and asked for my help. So, my Husband and I have helped with some painting and just giving a little 'home owners' advice with things here and there when asked. My Sister's new home has stairs that were carpeted when they bought it. I say 'were' because my Sister was skeeved out (for good reason) about it so my Husband removed it for her. The carpet on the stairs was really warn and quite disgusting. Anyway, she had asked me about what to do with the stairs once the carpet was removed and I threw out the idea of leaving them uncarpeted, which of course, requires work to make them ascetically pleasing to the eye. So, yesterday was the 'fill in the holes and sanding' day. Once the wood filler had dried, my Sister started to sand but was soon called away by my Brother in law to look at something in the next room (he COMPLETELY renovated the master bedroom and bath. It looks so beautiful now!). So naturally, I grabbed the sandpaper and continued sanding. Well, it was quite a workout and I insisted to continue after my Sister returned. I loved it!! I was getting something done and was really getting an extra little workout for my arms, core and legs...it was perfect. Now, the stairs were ready for the stain/sealer stuff that my Sister could do without me. :) It was a good day!
Later that day I had my Transformation Group (a small home group) that my Husband and I lead. With him away this weekend I had to lead it without him and although I was a little concerned that I would totally flop at it, it went really well. Our group is awesome and everyone who is in it is so wonderful to spend time with. It ended up being a really nice relaxing evening and that is totally due to all the wonderful people who were there. It was a perfect end to a very hectic day for me. 
Well, my Daughter put the video up that she made the other day and I'm going to try to put it in this blog. I have never done this before so please excuse me if it doesn't work the first time.  High School. There it is! Let me know if it works...or not.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!! :)     
ox~N

It's Friday!!

...And I have about a billion things to do today. This is where I can get into trouble with eating poorly and not exercising. But, I digress...
Yesterday I added to my Jillian workout, did my usual Pilates thing, did some Yoga, some extra cardio on the Wii fit game AND...drum roll please...I jumped rope out on my deck!!!! I really didn't want to. I really really really didn't want to. My husband and 2 youngest children were watching (hubby was timing me) and I jumped for about a minute. I looked more like I was fighting with the jump rope than jumping with it. I have gotten SO uncoordinated, but I just kept trying. I'll do it again today too and eventually, I won't look like the jump rope is attacking me. :)
Oh, and I TOTALLY forgot to tell you that the day before I took a nice power walk while I was waiting during my oldest daughter's ukulele lesson. I didn't plan it well though, and I power walked with flip flops and now have a blister on the bottom (you read it right, the BOTTOM) of each of my feet. That made jumping a bit interesting, but my feet are much better today.
So, my oldest is into photography and videography (as well as the ukulele) and she makes funny, cute videos and posts them. She is really quite talented and entertaining. Well, for a couple of days now her and I have been doing some funny role playing joking around, so of course her videographer lightbulb pops on. She tells me yesterday that she HAS to do a video with me. This is a huge deal for me because since I have gained this weight I do not want my picture taken and I especially don't want to be on any video. She said that she really needed me to do this with her so I asked if I actually had to be seen. With the first clip, it was just my voice, then it was just my hands, then all of a sudden I needed props, my hair up and makeup. She's such a good kid, telling me I looked FINE...lol So I did it, not because I'm happy with the way I look, but because I'm not going to stop my life and time with my kids because of my insecurities. I did it because, I'm NOT going to look like this again. This video will be the LAST video of me this size. Most importantly, I did it because my teenaged daughter wanted to have fun with ME...her Mom. How often does THAT happen with teenagers?!? So I gave it my all and although I haven't seen the finished product (she was editing last night....LOTS of editing because we just kept cracking up) I know that this is one awesome moment in time that has been captured. I do not have ONE regret! I'll add the link once she gets it up on YouTube.
Today is going to be interesting. I have been awake since about 3:30 this morning. My Husband is away for the weekend and left last night. I was sleeping FINE until our Mastiff realized that 'Daddy' wasn't in bed with me. Bear (that's our big boy's name) sleeps on a separate bed in our room every night, so when he woke up at 3ish and saw no Daddy, he started whining....for HOURS. That dog is REALLY lucky he's not dead. I could feed the kids for a week!! (just kidding, just kidding). I finally crawled out of bed a little after 6, cranky as ever. I made a cup of coffee. I know that's not the best thing to do and I have been staying away from coffee because is suppresses my appetite, but this morning was one of those exceptions. With my Husband away I will be pulled in a million different directions this weekend and I have quite a bit of juggling to do starting today. My plan will be to get my exercising in and juice some of my meals so I can get the right amount of good calories into me despite my busy schedule.
Well, I'm off for now! Have a wonderful day everyone!!
ox~N

A New Day...

Here it is, another day another blog. Yesterday was a good food and workout day. However, I did not get a chance to do any Yoga. I REALLY REALLY just need to force myself to make the time. 
Eating first thing in the morning seemed to up my metabolism and I seemed to be hungry more often throughout the day. This could be very bad, but I made it a point to eat lots of veggies and some good proteins and I think I did pretty well. What seems to help me is not having junk food in my pantry. So if I have a hankering for something crunchy I make popcorn, ya know, the old fashioned kind. Corn kernels on the stove with some olive oil, no butter added. Or I'll grab some walnuts, non salted, not candied, just naked walnuts. The walnut snack actually will kill the hunger with just a few so I usually gravitate toward those. If I'm looking for something sweet I will mix craisens in with the nuts. 
So today, I will attempt something I haven't done for years and is very difficult for me. I plan to jump rope out on my deck. This is a HUGE milestone for me. Not the jumping rope part, it's the outside on the deck part. See, many years ago when I was an instructor I LOVED working out with people and as an instructor they were watching me as I lead them all through the workout. I absolutely loved instructing and being part of a person's life change. As an instructor, that's what it's about. People who come to you have made themselves vulnerable to you so you can help them change their health for the better. It's really kinda emotional and that is the main reason I loved to teach and train. I could see the difference in a person's life and I was honored and privileged to be allowed into that part of their life. 
So, what does that have to do with me working out outside? I'm ashamed of the way I look and how weak and unsteady I am. Yup, it goes right back to that again. The disappointment. I have my little 'workout cave' in the basement of my house and no one....I mean NO ONE is allowed to even be downstairs when I'm working out...not even the dogs. I don't want to be talked to, looked at and most certainly...don't friggin watch me unless you plan on shortening your life. And this is how far I have gone from what I used to be. Now, I have known this about myself for a while, but for some reason typing out in this blog has given it more of a tangableness (I know that's not a word, but go with it for me). Because of how sad this sounds, I am going to to it today. I'm going to get my jump rope and put on my sneakers and jump outside on my deck. I'm not going to focus on how bad my fat looks bouncing around. I will do what's best for my health today and it won't matter who watches. 
I'll let you all know how it goes for me!
Have a great day!
ox~N

Good Morning...

I know I said I would 'see' you last night, but I have soon realized that mornings actually work out better for me to blog. It seems at night I have way too many people up and about and EVERYONE needs to say SOMETHING to me when I'm sitting here. So mornings it is!
Well, yesterday was a good food intake day and I suppose a good exercise day. Lets just say it's a good thing I didn't blog right after working out. I'm still struggling with how weak and out of shape I am. I know, I know I just have to keep going and my strength and endurance will get better. It's just SO discouraging to me every time I exercise. I really need to get over that.
Today I plan to push myself a little more than yesterday. I figure if I keep progressing a little each day that I will get somewhere with my workout. I've been doing this 10min. Pilates thing that's on Netflix and then I do a Jillian Michaels Wii game workout to burn fat. I usually do the game on light, but yesterday I increased it to medium and yes, it made a difference. I like the game because it has different workouts that do different things so that I don't have to navigate all that and try to figure out what exercises are best for me now. Eventually, I will get to the place where I will know what's best for me and the game has that option, but for now I'll just use the pre-set training.
Today I think I'll add a little Yoga that's on the Wii fit. I think I need to do more stretching and flexibility training. I actually really like flexibility training. It was always my favorite thing to do when I was training or teaching a class.
My least favorite exercise is running and, you guess it, that's the majority of the Jillian Michaels workout. God give me the mental strength...seriously. I really hate running. You may be wondering how I run with a Wii game, well it's jogging in place...agh. Just typing about it brings on a blanket of dread.
Well, I'm also trying to eat a healthy breakfast within an hour of rising. This is REALLY difficult for me. Many, many, many times throughout my life I have routinely skipped breakfast. This is the WORST thing  for me to do. It must be some hereditary thing, or it could be a learned thing? I'm not to sure. My Mom, Sister, and oldest Daughter have a VERY hard time eating anything for breakfast. Thing is, my Mom, Sister and Daughter are inherently thin, I was/am and never will be their body type so in addition to this practice being extremely unhealthy, it packs on the pounds for me. Couple this not eating breakfast thing with the fact that I'm an early riser and there you have it, the perfect storm. So this morning I woke up at 5:44 and it is now 6:39 and I still haven't eaten. Please excuse me for a moment. Ok, it's 6:44 and I am eating. I made oatmeal (plain rolled oats) 4Tbs with water, one small apple chopped and a little cinnamon. No milk, no sugar, no salt, no butter, no syrup and it's really good. It's also just enough that I'm not overwhelmed with a huge breakfast. This should get my metabolism going.
Today is a new day and I'm confident I will get a good workout in and I will push through my disappointment!
Everyone, have a wonderful day!!
ox~N

The first step...

So here it is, my first blog post. I'm really not sure how to ease into this so I'm just going to dive right in.
Over this past year I have gained 30lbs. Being 5'2", I blew up like a balloon. The worst part is that I'm not healthy, or physically strong and my self esteem is in the toilet. I'm super ashamed at how I have gotten this way in such a short time, so for now, I'm just sharing this blog with those I know love me for who I am and will support my journey. Hopefully, I will eventually be brave enough to share this with all the World on the internet.
I started getting back into exercise and better eating habits about a month ago. As of today I weigh 165. I figure I'll weigh myself about once a week and I'm going to try to blog daily to follow my eating and exercising everyday. Hopefully, this will keep me on more of schedule knowing that all of you could be reading this or looking for it everyday. 
Now, a little about me; although, most of you here for now may already know this I just think I want to put it all out there incase I eventually do make this public. 
I pretty much eat healthy food. No fast food, no processed foods that I can make fresh. So I think I narrowed my biggest weigh-gain issue down. I don't eat enough, so when I DO eat my body stores everything because it thinks it's starving. I truly believe that's how the 30lbs came on so suddenly. I was very depressed and just didn't eat....couldn't eat and so when I finally did put something in my mouth is was the 'comfort foods' that I clung to. My comfort foods are cheese, chocolate (REALLY good chocolate...I'm a bit of a chocolate snob) and wine with a side of bread. Yes, I buy locally grown organic wheat berries, mill it myself and bake it fresh with all the nutrients, but again, if that's ALL I'm eating, my body will (and did) hang on to it.
So, now I am eating more leafy greens and lots of veggies and fruits. My proteins are mainly beans, fish and very rarely white and red meats. Don't get me wrong, I'm really NOT a vegetarian, but if I'm going to get healthy I have to get more vitamins and minerals into my diet than I was before. 
Also, I have started juicing. One of my very best friends gave me a juicer for my birthday (<3 you Mo!) and although I'm not doing a cleansing juice regimen, I HAVE been getting more veggies and fruits into my daily diet than I did before. I still have to get the hang of juicing veggies to the point where I'm not choking it down. It's a learning curve, but I'm confident that I WILL get the hang of it and master the art of drinking veggies without holding my nose. :) 
Now onto the exercise topic...agh. Ok, when I was in my 20s I was an aerobics instructor, step class instructor, weight trainer and aerobics choreographer. Suffice it to say, I KNOW how to exercise, but I think that it's a double-edged sword for me now. I am SO disappointed in myself for not keeping up with it and so now when I do exercise I am mentally fighting this disappointment because of how weak and non-flexible I am now...never mind the amount of weight I'm lugging around. :/ Thus, another reason for this blog. If I know I have to tell you when/if/and how I exercised to day, I will have the mental capacity to push my own disappointment aside so that I don't disappoint you. I know, maybe that's not the healthiest way to go about it, but it will have to work for now. 
Well, if you have gotten through all this, thank you! And I will see you tonight. ;) 
~N