Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Weight Loss Wednesday: My Journey Week 1

Wow. This hurts to post this, maybe putting it out there for everyone to see will help me stay on track this coming week! I am also making a tab for my weight loss journey, I will be posting all of these stats on that page sometime this morning, so you can all track my progress along with me.

I guess first I should post my beginning stats so that everyone knows where I started from back on Christmas:

Weight: 167 lbs
BMI: 29.53
Waist: 36 ins.

  And since I never posted EXACTLY what my goals are in this department, I should go ahead and put those out there too:

Weight: 127 lbs.
BMI: 22.49
Waist: 28 ins.

Now that that's out there, here are my stats for this week:

Weight: 165 lbs.
BMI:  29.30 
Waist: 35 ins. 

Ugh, that is depressing to see, but a good motivator to me that I need to step it up big time! I've been trying to monitor my calories(using My Fitness Pal, a website that also has a *free* iPhone app and allows you to set calorie goals, as well as track your diet and exercise)


Some of you know what has been going on with my health, for those of you that don't, I'll give the short version(there is SO much more to it, but it would take forever to explain!):

 Since about 4 months post-partum(after 2 regular cycles), I have been having some MAJOR issues, and have ended up in bed for several days every month, due to painful and extremely heavy periods. I've seen a couple doctors, and they agreed that the first step is a D & C and hysteroscopy, which was originally scheduled for February 15th(hence, my initial deadline for the first 20 lbs). I switched doctors due to some issues with the first one(which I don't want to get into on here), and they had told me with the new doctor's surgical schedule, it would most likely be March before it would be done. I got a call Monday morning though and they have scheduled me for the 21st of this month, so only a week and a half away! I am SO happy this is going to be done and taken care of, so I can get back to my life.

That being said, I don't think my 20 lbs by February 15th goal is going to be possible due to the fact that I will not be allowed to exercise for 2 weeks after the surgery. I'm working this morning on revising that goal and will let you guys all know when I figure that out. However, my NEW mini-goal is to lose 6 lbs by next Friday, when I go in. I'm gonna need some major motivation to get there, so HELP ME OUT GIRLS! Comment on here, or my Facebook, text me, call me(if you have my number) whatever you can, but PLEASE help me stick to my workouts!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Rethinking my Strategy, Meal-Plan Monday, and Time Out Tuesday

Well apparently I am going to have to rethink my strategy for my Monday routine...as you can see, I never got around to blogging yesterday, as we were on the go from 8am on. But it feels so good to know that I got all of my errands done, Lane had his checkup, and we made it to our weekly playdate. Lane made a new friend! I am SO excited to have found another mom with a baby Lane's age(actually, born on his original due date!). Since I missed posting yesterday, I'm going to go ahead and post for both Meal-Plan Monday and Time Out Tuesday.

I don't usually "plan" our breakfasts, I just keep fruit, cereal, milk, and oatmeal on hand for weekdays, and I usually have some sausage and bacon for the weekends. I was buying lunchables, frozen lunches, and things like that for Rian to take, but his job is now providing lunch(Yay!!!) and I eat leftovers or fruit, cheese, and crackers most days when I'm at home, so that should cut down on our budget too! So, here is our dinner menu for this week:

Monday:
Leftovers

Tuesday:
Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry w/Steamed Rice

Wednesday:
Dinner and Game Night w/friends

Thursday:
Bertolli Skillet Meal w/Garlic Bread(Have you tried these? I LOVE them! They are SO easy and yummy, and the perfect amount of food for the 2 of us. And actually I found the Great Value(WalMart) brand version of these, and they are $2 cheaper!)

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:
We are going to California, so Friday and Sunday's dinners will be on the road, and Saturday will be eating at one of our families' homes.


This morning, since Lane is sleeping SO well(for the moment, lol) I am going to go ahead and take advantage of some good "Me" time. For me, that means coloring my hair(WHY do I already have grays? I'm only 25!), and exfoliating my face and using a mask. I have some commercial ones that I use right now, because they were given to me as free samples from Sephora. If you're a beauty addict like me, you HAVE to join Sephora's Beauty Insider program. One of the only things I refuse to skimp on is my makeup. I wore Bare Minerals for years, and switched back to Clinique a few months ago, and the Clinique has made a huge difference for my skin. Anyway, you get points for each dollar you spend there, and can use those points for deluxe samples, in addition to all of the samples they give you with each purchase!

 If you don't have any commercial products, you can still easily do a mini-facial like this at home. There are tons of recipes out there for DIY facial products, and a lot of them over the years, but there are only a few that I really feel compete with the commercial ones, and these work for all skin types. So light some candles in your bathroom, put on some soothing music, and pamper yourself! I recommend exfoliating, then applying the mask, and letting it sit while you soak in a nice warm bubble bath. Don't forget to bring a bottle of water with you!

Exfoliate:
Mix a small amount of olive oil and sugar in a small bowl so that it forms a thick paste, then apply to your face and gently rub in small circles. Rinse off with warm water. This is my favorite substitute for my St. Ives Apricot Scrub(reminds me of my teenage years, but still my favorite ever!)

This one can be a little rough on skin, so if you have super sensitive skin, you can make some plain instant oatmeal, with less water so that it is very thick, and combine it with a small amount of olive oil and honey, then apply to face as above.

Mask:
Mix some honey and plain yogurt in a bowl, apply to face(avoiding eyes) and let sit for 10-15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water. I love this, the honey is VERY soothing to my stressed out skin, and the yogurt exfoliates and moisturizes. When I use a store bought mask, I use the Mint Julep Mask from Queen Helene. It's an old standby you can find at WalMart or any drugstore, and I love the how refreshing it is.


I'm off to pamper myself! Enjoy your Tuesday, and remember, happy mom=happy kids, so take TIME OUT to take care of yourself!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Ready, Set, Go! My new routine

I spent all week trying to come up with a daily schedule that I could reasonably stick to. Like I said before, blame it on my ADHD, but if it's not written where I'm going to see it, or set as a reminder that pops up on my phone, it's not going to get done! I searched so many different sites, and got a LOT of great ideas. Finally, I have decided to stick with FLYLady. The FLY part stands for Finally Loving Yourself. Her routines are easy to follow, easy to set up, and even better-you can sign up for a FLYLady Online Calendar with Cozi. They even have an iPhone app(costs $1.99, but SO worth it to me, since I am never without my phone). For all you non-Apple addicts, there's an Android app as well, and mobile access for all other phones. This morning I sat down and got my Cozi account all set up.  Obviously, this isn't a set-in-stone schedule, it will be subject to change based on things that come up throughout the day, but this is my goal for the way I would like our days to go. I also have Basic Weekly Plan set up on there that will hopefully help me achieve my goals for my house, this blog, and my Etsy shop.

If you'd like to see my daily routines, click  here, or on the top at the top of my page. Other than those routines, here's my basic schedule I've set up for my weeks:

Monday- Errand Day. I am going to try to get most of my appointments for this day. This is also my grocery shopping day.
 
Tuesdays and Fridays- My Weekly Home Blessing Hour days(otherwise known as deep cleaning days) Tuesdays will also be my Baby Food Day, since I do my grocery shopping the day before

Wednesdays and Thursdays-so far I have nothing specific scheduled for these days, I would like to be able to focus on my projects for my Etsy shop, as well as my projects that are just for my own enjoyment/learning

Friday is our Date Night, provided we have a sitter! If not, it's an easy dinner and movie night.

Saturday is Family Fun Day, we usually relax at home, or go see friends.

Sunday afternoons, I clip and organize my coupons for the week and make my menu plan. If it's an "off" week( I make my plan my menu 2 weeks at a time) I will check the menu, and make my short list of groceries I will need that week.

Sunday evenings Rian and I sit down and have our weekly Calendar and Budget Meeting to make sure we are on the same page and working towards our goals.


I forgot to mention that I am aiming to exercise for 30 minutes every day. Hopefully within the next month I will be able to get that up to an hour a day, but for now, 30 minutes is enough for my panting, out of shape self!

Well, there you go! Hopefully you can all take something from this and maybe make some more sense of your daily life. My goal in all of this is to make me less frazzled, and make my house a happier place to be!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Blogging Goals for 2011

Well I know I said I would be posting these yesterday, unfortunately the stomach flu has hit our house so we were all in bed yesterday...so far it was just me and Rian(and my in-laws) who had it, but I am waiting for Lane to get sick like I'm sure he will...

Anyway, a day late, but here are my goals for this wonderful blog for this year:

1. Plan my blogs according to the day of the week:

  •  Meal-Plan Monday-Our menu for the week, plus Shopping Trip photos/cost breakdown, etc.
  •  Time-Out Tuesday- A new idea every week for a little pampering/"me time" ritual
  • Weigh-In Wednesday- My current weight loss stats, plus whatever I'm struggling the most with that week
  • Trial Run Thursday- I want to try one new craft project a week(possibly lowering this goal to 2 a month depending on how cheap I can find supplies
  • Free Family Fun Friday- Free(or very cheap) things to do around Vegas for the upcoming week(plus ideas of how to adapt these to wherever you live if you aren't in the Vegas area)
For right now, I am only going to commit to posting on weekdays, until I get my new routine (thanks, FLYLady!) down pat. Sundays are our family day, so at most, I may be adding a Saturday post in the future. I also may post more than once each day, if the urge hits me, or if I find a deal I just can't pass up!

2. Write out as many posts as I can at least a week in advance, so they are ready to go when the day comes(leaving me no excuse!)

3. Increase my readership. I need some constructive feedback from my loyal readers-what do you want to see? What can I do better?
 

Monday, January 3, 2011

New Year, New Goals

I hate New Year's Resolutions, they never stick. So this year I am making a set of GOALS for myself, and I am counting on all of you wonderful people to keep me going on them! Here are my top 4, I also have a separate set of goals for this blog, which I will be posting tomorrow.

* BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET* I am determined that this year we WILL get on top of our financial situation. I'm trying to get my husband on board with Dave Ramsey's "Zero-Based" system, it's completely different from anything he's ever known, and poor guy is *Very* resistant to change in his world!



* Lose 40 pounds by April 15* I know, EVERYONE says they want to lose weight every year. This isn't an entirely superficial goal. After all the drama with my pregnancy with Lane, I have been really worried about getting pregnant again(if I even can, which is a story for another day). After talking with my OB-GYN, the risk for developing severe preeclampsia again will be significantly reduced if I lower my BMI between pregnancies. I need to lose 20 lbs of my pregnancy weight, and my target for that is February 15th. After that, I need to lose an additional 20 lbs in order to get my BMI well in to the healthy range. I want to reach that in another 2 months, and maintain it until Lane's first birthday on June 3rd, then start trying for baby #2.



*Stick to a routine* I am HORRIBLE when it comes to routines, blame it on my ADHD, laziness, whatever, but it is nearly impossible for me to stick to one. Starting this week, I will get into a daily routine so that I don't feel so frazzled....I am going to try following FlyLady, they have recently released a FLYLady version of Cozi, and they have an iPhone app! I think of all my goals, this is the one that I am most excited about.

*Start my own Etsy shop* I really hope to be running my own Etsy Shop by Lane's first birthday. I have a few people that have asked me to make things for them already, hopefully the word of mouth can spread and I can get my own business going! I really enjoy being home with my little man, and really feel like that is where I'm supposed to be, I just have to find ways to make this work! What do you guys think? Would you buy one of these(custom made with your choice of fabric)
 
So there you have it! My top goals for myself for this year. I can't wait to share my blogging goals tomorrow! Happy New Year everyone, let's make 2011 AMAZING!!!!