Jack in the Pumpkin

I am a huge fan of meat, in fact there is not much I like better than a med-rare steak with all the trimmings ( I love horse radish and sour cream - healthy maybe not so much) but I DO try to find yummy vegetarian meals to incorporate into my family's diet so here's a yummy recipe perfect for the 'harvest season'

http://www.zonya.com/pdf/recipes/jack_in_the_pumpkin.pdf

It's called jack in the pumpkin, because you can actually cook this yummy black bean and BROWN rice dish inside a pumpkin!!! yuM!!

we all have our reasons....

DISNEYLAND WAS AWESOME!!!! There are few memories I treasure more than my honeymoon with my sweetheart to Disneyland nearly a decade ago, but bringing my young family back there and seeing them experience this magical place was a VERY close second!

I know most people I mentioned my plans to, thought I was crazy taking a 4 month old to the theme park along with my 3 year old and 6 year old. I got a lot of "What are you thinking?" and "You'll regret that decision" but I was determined and, Man, did it pay off! I had a blast!!! There is something so refueling about experiencing something new with your children - their energy's just intoxicating! Don't you wish you could bottle it?!?

My 6 year old had sooo much fun, he rode everything and kept his poor daddy running, while I wrangled the 2 youngest, their nap times and feedings. I definitely got a workout in, I never went anywhere without a kid strapped on or in my arms :) but as we drove home (a 9 hour drive - but we saved $1200 on airfare) all I could think about was the memories we were creating and how lucky we were to have the opportunity to go.

We are a humble family, and I stay at home now while the kids are young which makes this trip even more rare and wonderful. I have a renewed sense of why I want to live a healthier life, and who makes every denied dessert worth it..... why do you want to lose weight... get healthier? What is your motivation... or who? I know I want to have the energy to be there always with them, and I watched as other mothers sat back and didn't participate - not the life for me. I know exactly why I work out, why I try to eat better, sleep more etc. and that motivates a hundred times more than anything else I could imagine.

the pics above - a rare monemt of my and my hubby alone (this lasted like ten minutes and only occured once :) and the second pic me chasing down kids - any shot from behind is motivating... wouldn't you agree:)

anticipation + haste = mistakes ...oops!

Back from the park and just wanted to give a huge shout out to my guest posters... they were wonderful!!! But I was dissapointed to see that in my haste to leave I didn't give them all the spotlight they deserved (some links didn't work etc.) so please if you liked their posts check them out, they were carefully picked because of their upbeat attitude toward health and their inspirational stories... I'm sure you'll enjoy their blogs as much as I do!

Diane at http://www.fittothefinish.com
Steve at http://logmyloss.com
Josie at http://www.yumyucky.com

The Evil Last Cookie

this guest post provided by:Josie @ www.yumyucky.com

I didn't eat the first one or any in between, but oh no, it's the Last Cookie. The package was opened and closed, opened and closed, and now this is all that remains. Last Cookie is partially crumbled, most likely stale, and was touched by grimy kids' hands. Maybe dropped on the floor and put back?

I don't have a clue about Last Cookie's history, but it's calling me at a vulnerable time. I've got those after work hunger pangs and dinner isn't brewing yet.

I opened the package and stared at last cookie with the intention to talk myself down. Yes, I know all about eating small meals throughout the day, trading in empty calorie crap for fibrous fruit, and posing as a Water Gulping contestant; all in an effort to prevent this situation. But these techniques have no power over Last Cookie. Why can't Last Carrot or Last Yogurt have the same grip over me?

I analyzed this atrocity and had a profound revelation. The woo-ing effect of Last Cookie is a bunch of crap. It's a mirage that tells lies. Take a bite (because that's what I did) and it's not even good. It's nasty and stale because it's Last Cookie.

I need to get a grip. And so I will.
I need to stop buying Oreos. And so I might.

Josie has a witty blog full of great little nuggets of wisdom and fun, I always get a smile, a chortle, a laugh when I check out her blog - please do the same
http://www.yumyucky.com - thanks Josie! - natalie

Fear of Failure Destroys Success

Inspired by Steve's post I was reminded of a story, I wanted to relate it you because I think of it EVERY time I mess up a goal, weigh-loss related or lother wise:

TO ERR IS HUMAN
By Raymond Jones

If you were to take a long trip, say from Salt Lake City to Hawaii, aboard a 747 with several other people, you might be appalled if you knew who was flying the airplane. It is not the pilots; it is a couple of guys named Fred and George.

Fred and George are two black boxes, and they really are referred to as Fred and George. Fred is a gizmo called an Inerial Navigation System or INS. Fred knows at every moment exactly where the airplane is and where it is supposed to be. In the old days a human navigator took a look at his instruments and did some figuring, and by the time he had the position worked out the plane was long from that spot. Fred knows now where the plane is.

George is the autopilot. He moves the controls to guide the airplane this way and that, speed it up or slow it down. He and Fred talk to each other constantly. If their conversation were in English, it would sound something like this: Fred will say, “George, we’re off course two degrees to starboard.” And George will say, “O.K. Fred, I’ll fix it.”

“George, we’re off course three degrees to port.”
“O.K. Fred, I’ll fix it.”
“George, we’re forty knots below our airspeed.”
“O.K. Fred, I’ll fix it.”
“George, we’re three hundred feet too low.”
“O.K. Fred, I’ll fix it”

This conversation continues all the way to Hawaii, and George and Fred bring the giant plane within a thousand yards of the runway in Honolulu within five minutes of the scheduled time of arrival.

The incredible thing is not so much the accuracy of Fred and George, but the fact that the airplane has been in error 90% of the time of its flight. In error 90% of the time and still it lands on target and on schedule!

In weight loss, in life it is not wether we stay on a path 100% of the time that creates our sucess, I think we so often get obsesed with rules, goals, and numbers we miss the big picture. If we could see that we can get a 747 to Honolulu or a rocket to the moon even having been in error 90% of the time, we might be a little less uptight about being in error ourselves.

There’s nothing that kills performance like fear of failure, fear of being foolish, fear of being caught in error.

So next time you have a bad day, or feel like you've ruined your path by binging, slacking or other - just focus on the things you did right and hit it harder the next day to correct. You'll find that if you just keep working on getting to the goal, reguardless of how many steps "back" you might have along the way, you'll still get there!

lots of love to you all - natalie

Don't Let Your Guard Down

First of all, I want to thank Natalie for entrusting her audience to me for a day. I am honored and I truly appreciate it.

I have been blogging about my weight loss and fitness for over fifteen months now. During that fifteen months I have seen a lot. I have made new friends. I have read great stories. I have seen successes, and and I have seen failures. It's those successes and failures I want to tell about today.

I wondered from the beginning what separated those who succeed from those who fail. What is the difference? Early on in my weight loss journaling I made a couple of friends, both on a weight loss forum. We encouraged each other daily. It wasn't long until one disappeared. I wrote her a personal email, and she assured me that she just needed some time away from the stress of dieting. I haven't seen her since. The other fellow kept up with his program for a while. In fact, there was quite a long time that he was somewhat of my inspiration because I didn't want to see him succeed and me fail. Unfortunately, about June of this year he began to slip. Now he is no longer anywhere to be seen. Despite my personal emails to him, he cannot seem to get back on track. What happened here?

Many of us talk from week-to-week about falling off the wagon, binging, or blowing it. Many of us do this from time-to-time. I used to think that these one meal or one day indiscretions were potentially fatal to us. As I have matured some in my thinking, I realize that we can generally get through a mess up somewhat unscathed. The problem lies when messing up becomes our habit. That, my friends, is where I have seen many a dieter lose their ability to stick with it.

Sometimes this happens innocently enough. In fact, I can think of two examples off of the top of my head that happened lately. Two people I have been following for some time who took a week off for a vacation. Did they go hog wild? No. They just took a little time away, letting their guard down just a bit. They were both strong in their resolve, so there was no doubt they would come back from their vacation and get right back at it. Unfortunately, in both cases they found this much harder than they expected. While both seem to be back on track right now, I don't believe either one will tell you that it was easy.

The point of all this is that many of us need to realize what we are up against. We are fighting for our lives, in many cases literally. Most of us have had a number of years of very unhealthy living, and some of us have been doing it a lifetime. Those habits can remain there for the rest of our lives. Granted, while we are succeeding, they are dormant, but the moment we give them a crack to get through, they are back in our lives in full force. That means we have to remain diligent, even when we let our guards down in other areas of our lives. If we don't, we create an opportunity for those old habits to slip back in. If they do slip back in, they are much harder to break the second time around.

So what do we need to take away from this? First of all, even when we are taking some needed time away, we need to be sure and stick to some form of our program: some exercise and some restraint on what we eat. That way we are still following those habits that have brought us success thus far. If we take a cheat meal, we need to just make it one meal and get right back on track. Don't let the cheat meal turn into a cheat day, which then turns into a cheat week. Last of all, if you start feeling like you may have lost your stride, continue to surround yourself with those who are succeeding. You will garner strength from that. Strength that you need. Strength that we all need.

you can find steve's inspirational story at

water... beautiful water

As you all know one of my 100 goals is to increase my water intake. I've been doing a lot of research on this one, and here's what I've learned. Aside from making my skin glow and my headaches go away - there are some MAJOR benefits to your overall health and SERIOUS weight loss effects as well:

Let's talk about your metabolism -there are different kinds but I'm referring to the "get ride of excess fat" kind of metabolism. This is actually something that our sweet little liver does for us when it converts stored fat into energy.
Of course, the liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs. Unfortunately, another one of the liver's daily jobs is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of waterr to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their job along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you're also setting yourself up to store fat, unnecessary fat.

Another reason why your body might be storing excess fat is toxins. When your body encounters toxins that it can't metabolize or excrete as waste, it coats them - in fat. That's right fat, to protect your body from the toxins while they are "stored" until you can get rid of them. Well my friends, that means a cleanse is necessary, and what is the best way to cleanse your body? - water. We've really come full circle haven't we? ;)wink

And yeah, it's great for your skin, but did you know it also improves muscle tone? Oh yeah, you can lift weights till the cows come home, but if your muscles are suffering from a drought you won't get the tightening your looking for; AND since muscle require water for elasticity to contract more easily, your workouts are less effective.

Plus - (remember that great skin comment) hydrated skin remains more plump, elastic and less saggy. So as we lose our tummy's, thighs, and tushes all that loose skin has a better chance of being restored, tightened and smooth!

So my friends - I have discovered although I don't always like the hassle of chugging down half my body weight in ounces; I'm working harder to do it - because I'm learning it has just as much affect on my health as exercise and I feel so much better doing it :)

just a little food for thought :)

Big changes start small

since I am currently playing in Disneyland with my awesome hubby and 3 kids - here is Diane from http://www.fittothefinish.com/blog/ to come and guest post for me... she's always informative and ever encouraging - thanks diane

From the time I was small I always had some goal or achievement I was striving for. Whether it was being the class monitor in grade school, or winning a prize in high school, I was always trying to better myself. I didn’t always succeed in meeting my goals, but I always tried. Even as I got fatter and fatter, I still had many goals for myself. I wanted a large family. I wanted a good marriage. I wanted to be more commited to my faith. I wanted my family to not worry about material things. But in addition to all those family and faith related goals, I had one overriding goal: I wanted to lose weight! And believe me I did try.


As time marched on and the scale inched up, I continually set weight goals for myself. “Okay,” I’d tell myself. “I’ll lose 5 pounds this week, 4 pounds the next week and by Easter I’ll be down to 270.” When Easter rolled around and I hadn’t lost an ounce, I’d reset the finish date for the 10 pound weight loss in my head. “Okay, now I’ll weigh 270 by Mother’s Day,” I’d reassure myself. No matter what time of year it was, I always had a specific goal floating around in my head with regards to weight loss, but I never could seem to reach even the first week’s goal. Surprisingly, after ten years of never reaching the first weight loss goal I had set for myself, I still didn’t give up.

I think it is very important to set goals for yourself in every area of your life. When you aim for nothing that’s probably what you will get. What’s the best way to set goals for yourself with regards to your weight? Well, I was pretty unrealistic during my obese years as to how much weight I could actually lose during a given period of time. I just hoped that I could lose “x” number of pounds, but didn’t stop to examine whether that was an appropriate amount of weight to lose, or if it was even possible. When I finally developed my weight loss strategy, (www.fittothefinish.com) I acknowledged to myself that I had to set some realistic goals. No, I wouldn’t be able to lose 50 pounds in one month. No, I wouldn’t be running in the 5K for charity in two months.

Goal setting for me became less specific about pounds lost during a period of time, and more about handling specific situations. You see, when I stopped being obsessed by the scale, and started focusing on bad habits and behaviors I had developed, I started having success. The actual weight on the scale was still very important to me, as that was my first tangible measurement I could see change. But other goals became important as well. Here are some examples of goals I wrote down for myself as I was starting to lose weight:

- Stop buying chocolate
- Don’t eat after dinner
- Walk 5 times a week
- Stop going through drive-thru restaurants
- Eat only one portion of a food at a time (ie: not the whole box of crackers, even if they were low-fat)
- Weigh every day
- Enjoy the food I was eating instead of inhaling it so fast I forgot what it tasted like in two seconds and had to have more to make sure I liked it

These were just some of the goals I set for myself that weren’t all about the number on the scale. Because I had some goals that weren’t just about pounds lost, I saw success on an hourly and on a daily basis. Even when my weight loss wasn’t quick, I could always look back at my list and know that I was slowly conquering my obsession with food in a healthy, practical way. Are there goals beyond the scale that you have set for yourself? If not, I’d encourage you to really think about your life goals. Be specific about your goals, and before long you will be succesful! Diane

A time to reap and a time to sew...in other words IT'S PLAY TIME!!!!

ok - so most of you have heard - we are going for a family vacation this week, and not just any vacation - but the FIRST one since our honeymoon 9 years ago! So what did we think would be an appropriate destination?
- why our honeymoon spot (of course) Disneyland!!!!!!

I know what you're thinking, Disneyland - for your honeymoon? Heck ya!!! I'm not one of those laze around the beach kinda gals, first off I HATE to wear a swim suit (seriously, can't we bring back the ankle-length one piece?) and if I wanted to lay around on a vacation, I'd just stay home and lay on my comfy couch. NO - I will go and experience something, try something new, or (in this case) ride every attraction in the park!!! YAY - Sorry for the outburst of elation, but we've been saving for this trip since 2005.... that's right no debt for us - every single thing is paid for before hand!!!

So I have already written some fun posts for this week; and I have some crazy awesome guest posters coming on to fill in the gaps - but don't you fret my friends out in blog land - when I return, I will read ALL of your blogs and reply to all comments!!!

But right now I'm just curious to know.... what's you ideal vacation? Family or Romantic, Adventure or Relaxation? If I gave you a blank check to get away ANYWHERE in the world... (heck lets think big) Universe - where would you go?
(oh and who would you take - my favorite part of a getaway is the company :)

tabata..... I think I hate... um I mean.... love you

so here's the new workout to keep things fresh.....

WARNING - THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peLFTePbfDQ

I used no weights and this killed me.....
(steve this one's for you)

try it - and tell me if you can have a good workout in just 4 minutes.... :)

focus on the goal and the path will present itself...

ok... um I have to share that the decision to share that most unflattering pic with all of you was a last minute decision last night. I really wavered back n' forth on that one. BUT I finally decided I had to be completely honest about where I am today in order to move forward.

I know I have mentioned this all before but I really have spent a lot of time contemplating who I want to be at the end of this whole experience... who is my ideal self?

Who is your ideal self? What do they do, think, say? How do they react to a dissapointment? How do they attack their goals? How do they interact with their family? What do they fill their time with? I could go on and on.....

I think this has given me a new energy, instead of focusing on what I should do or not do, I ask myself "what would my ideal self do?"

I promise I won't beat a dead horse with this, but I just want to share this amazing feeling with you guys, I want to shout from the roof tops ... I want you to feel it too!

the new me

Sorry about the hiatus, I have been fighting a killer staph infection (MRSA) since may and it just laid me out this weekend. I can feel the energy draining from me as it flares up again, (a little gift from the hospital when I delivered my daughter.)

However, on Sunday I took the most amazing stroll (about 3.4 miles)and re-connected with nature and myself. I realized that even though it has been increasingly difficult to workout, or stay on an eating schedule - sleep schedule etc. I HAVE to do this for my family, for myself!

Every family has a foundation and my husband and I make up the base for ours. I KNOW without a doubt that when I am not healthy, not focused, not in complete control of myself and my actions I jeopardize that foundation. I weaken my family, because I weaken myself.

I also am learning that you must prove you can not just 'handle' what you currently have but excell where you are; before God, the universe, Karma (whatever you call it) can trust you to handle more. It's just the natural order to things. I think the reason why we have not been successful in moving on from this stage of life is because we haven't proven (not even to ourselves) that we are above it. That we have masterd this level and are ready for the next... I think this is true in all areas of our lives.

I know that I am getting better at all of this; and not because I'm focusing on the goals either, but because I'm seeing myself as more. As above it, and naturally am begining to shift over into a healthier more balanced life.

Sure I mess up, and yeah it's still hard to get my workouts and meals in - BUT the new me can handle it all. She is confident and possitive about her future and KNOWS that when the opportunity to move beyond this comes.... she'll be ready :)

well gotta go - the new me is getting to bed tonight before 10:30pm... no matter what! :)

new post tomorrow

hey guys... sorry I'm pretty sick, so I'll try to post again tomorrow. I'm hoping to get better before our first ever family vacation scheduled for next week. so hopefully we'll all be feeling better soon :)

lots of luv - natalie

another recipe.... not necessarily low in fat

So in an effort to be nice to my sweet hubby I made him a classic favorite today... but wished I knew how to make it lighter...any thoughts?

Brown Butter Pesto Ravioli's with marinara sauce

3-4 tbs of butter

3-4 tbs of pesto (fresh or store bought is fine)

1 lb bag of frozen ravioli's (I like the cheese filled)-anyone know of a good whole wheat one?

2 cups (or so) marinara sauce (fresh or store bought)

First Boil your water - in the meantime start browning your butter in a saute` pan

Put your marinara in a sauce pan on med heat to heat thoroughly

When your butter begins to get brown (a stainless steel is best for this) add in your pesto, salt, and finely ground pepper.
In the meantime your water should be ready for your raviolis - boil about 3 minutes

Remove the cooked pasta and drain. Add drained pasta directly to brown butter sauce cook on both sides for a minute, coating completely with brown butter sauce. pasta will brown slightly.

note - you will not fit them all at once, this has to be done a little at a time.

Plate your pasta as it is finished and top off with a little marinara sauce and some freshly grated Parmesan....yummy, not necessarily low in fat

this makes about 4 servings

my sweety loved it and so did my kids - and I have to admit, I had a tasting as well (only about 5 ravioli's so not too bad.) I really love that my whole family is healthy and fit and they don't have to worry about their food, but it does make it harder for me, I wish I could take the dishes I know they love and 'health 'em up' to make them suitable for all of us to eat together. I hate having a separate meal...

today update:

sleep: in by 11:30 about 6 hours - not too bad

exercise: not much just a walk , about a mile

water: at least 50 oz and still drinking :)

food: well today was a bad one for me in this area - but what I really wanted was a hot fudge sundae so I did ok... I guess

9am Kashi Go Lean crunch with Almonds

12pm 5 brown butter raviolis

3pm an apple (this is when the sweet tooth started)

6pm Taco soup and half a turkey sandwich on wheat

8pm 4 squares of dove dark chocolate (trying to curb the sweet tooth- didn't work)

8:30 baby sized frozen vanilla yogurt

9:30 pumpkin bars (3) with cream cheese frosting

yeah, needless to say my attempt to avoid a rich dessert just made me eat more I think, because the substitute wasn't 'enough'....hmmm, gonna have to watch that

Hot 100 friday check-in

I always think "I'll be better at ____ when ____" like now, for instance, I keep thinking, "when we have a bigger place, it will be easier to workout" "or sleep" etc. but I'm learning to find peace now - and work harder to be the person I expect... even though my enviroment isn't ideal I still need to up my game, improve, grow.

I have found that lately (maybe because of the serious lack of sleep) I'm more irritable than usual, and short tempered - but equally I have seen a downturn in my motivation... is sleep really this detrimental? I have got to find a way to slip it in more often, or deeper, with a newborn, a 3 year old, and a hubby on swings....any ideas?

I won't give up though - every goal or change comes slowly with ups and downs - so I will continue to look for answers and plug along... even if it feels like a snails pace at least it's still forward :)

In fact this week I've made some great changes, I am holding a 5 minute devotional (if you will) in the morning with my family before we send our oldest off to school - nothing impressive we just read 2 scriptures and say a little prayer - wow what a difference it has made, already I have seen my dispostion improve and my patience level increase. It's funny, I never realized how my desire to get healthier has really expanded in all other areas of my life.

I have also been working harder to connect with my sweetheart, I have tried to do something nice for him each day - so even though my 'health' goals aren't so impressive - overall I still feel really good about my growth over the week - stand back I'm just getting started :)

this weeks goals:

sleep - major improvement needed - I'd like to average 7 hours

exercise - getting it in 3 times - I'd like to do it more though but we'll do that when I have mastered these othergoals

water - averaging about 50oz/day it should be more like 100

food - I need to watch this, I was doing well, but I have slipped back into old routeins where I only eat 2 times..big meals..not a good combo

mmmmm taco soup

Alright - how about a simple, fast healthy soup to warm up these chilly autumn days - I've got the perfect thing, it's simple, hearty and uses up those pantry items...

3 alarm Taco Soup

1 vidalia onion diced
2 cans corn (un-drained) or green beans, whatever you've got
2 cans black beans (drained) or whatever beans you like
2 can chili - you favorite kind
1 large can of crushed tomato's (I like organic)
1 cup of your favorite salsa
handful of taco seasoning (or 1 packet)

I usually saute the onions a bit with some olive oil and salt/pepper then when they're getting nicely browned add all the other ingredients.

optional add-ons:
a squeeze of honey (to cut the acid)
mole (careful it's hot)
green chili's
jalapenos
shredded chicken
spinach (don't laugh it's good)

then top it with sour cream, tortilla strips, cheese, cilantro, green onions .... and the kitchen sink :)

todays update:

sleep: almost 7 hours!!!

exercise: rest day

water: 50 oz

food:

8:30 peanut butter and honey sandwich
1:30 southwest chicken salad with jalapeno ranch

5:00 taco soup 2 bowls

8:00 1 more bowl of taco soup with a dollop of sour cream

I LOVE this on a night where we're thinking of ordering out - it's so easy and just tastes amazing no matter what we have to toss into it! Try it, you won't be disappointed!!!

Food porn

Oh Food Network - why do I love thee so? I think I should totally send the food network a bill for every gym membership I have ever had, not to mention every work out video :)

Whilst waiting for kashi hubby to come home last night, I surfed over to a channel I have been avoiding ever since the Hot 100 started - why? you ask... well I can't take it!

Truth be told, every time I watch one of those food shows (mostly triple D) I just want to run out and buy the biggest, greasiest plate of whatever they're featuring that episode. I swear it's porn for fat people. The worst part is I never get to watch tv until late at night when my kids are all in bed so my beloved Food Network works against me, luring me back into a life of plus sizes and broken patio furniture (oh yeah-there's a story there, maybe another time)

... curse you food network

today's goals:

Sleep: um only about 5 hours

BUT I snatched and 1 ish hour nap and man did I feel good:)

exercise: a little upper body routine (see workouts in older posts)

water: 50 oz

food:

8:30 2 silver dollar pancakes plain

11:30 spinach pasta

and 2 cups homemade salsa and 15 tortilla chips

7:00 Carls Jr - yikes this could've been bad but I got the teriyaki burger on lettuce (no bun) with jalapenos and only 10 bites of fries*

*I have this weird habit when I eat french fries, I will only take one bite and then discard the rest of the fry - it makes me eat a lot less and I still feel like I've had a bunch :)

comfort food

I think as the days get colder and the nights get longer I have the tendency to turn to comfort food to 'warm' me heart and soul... what comfort food do you guys like?

I grew up in Maine with big warm bowls of clam chowder and whoopie pies.

Then we moved to Utah and I enjoyed classic hearty meals of roast and funeral potatoes.

Now that I'm a mother and get to make my own meals we tend to lean toward mexican meals enchiladas and asada tacos...and salsa - mmm my favorite!

Because things have been kinda sucky lately (no house yet) I want some 'good for you' comfort food - any thoughts?

todays report:

sleep: 4 hours (don't ask)

exercise: rest day

water: about 80oz!!!!! getting there

food:

2:00pm Kashi Vegetable Bake

6:30 pm asada tacos with homemade salsa, salad, feta and yummy lime juice loads of cilantro

11:00 pm popcorn

hmmm... think I fell off the wagon, I guess I need to work harder on handling stress :)

bad news sends kashi girl over the edge

Let's just say, today was a rough one. But despite hearing some really terrible news (we lost the house we wanted to buy) I still managed to keep my emotional eating under control...well somewhat.

Of course when my sweet friend heard the news (she knows how long we've been waiting for this) she rushed over with a sweet card and my favorite treat, a mint chocolate truffle bar. SOOO GOOD. I put it aside, but later when my usual comfort food of chips and salsa didn't perk me up, I indulged and ate the whole bar (they're 3 inches long). Even though I know I shouldn't have eaten it, I am happy to see that I nursed it for a good half hour instead of eating the whole thing in 4 great, big, gooey, bites. I guess that's a step in the right direction... right:)?

Things are a little chaotic here, we have a 5 people in a 600sq.ft. apartment including 1 very demanding newborn. The whole country has cheap houses for sale EXCEPT in the one town we're looking, there are bidding wars! yesh
However, I am a deeply religious person and I DO believe this didn't work out for a reason, I just wish that we could finally settle down somewhere and move past this crazy transitional stage... oh well, onward and upward. :)

So here's the breakdown:
Sleep:
6 hours got to bed at 2pm (my hubby had a really hard day at work and needed me when he got off his swing shift)
exercise:
I did the 500 calorie burn workout from sunday - wasn't dying this time...good sign
water:
honestly I don't know - it's been a rough day... at least 30 oz
food:
9am Kashi Autumn Harvest cereal
12pm Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake with jalapenos mmmm.
2 pm cheese stick and 3 sunsweet prunes
3:20pm a little comfort food snacking including 2 cups homemade salsa and who knows how many totilla chips
4:00 mint truffle bar
6:00pm Kashi Pesto Pasta Primavera
8:00 pm 2 sunsweet pitted prunes

eh - could've been worse, could've been better

a little caloric meltdown

In light of my new goals of working out better I thought it was time for another video...

as usual I've been scouring the net for a new workout to change up the routine and I found a good one for ya, it claims to burn 500 calories in just one circuit workout... and I have to say I was spent (I hate... I mean love mountain climbers)

check it out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIOVx4MS8oU#watch-main-area

the best calorie burning workout! try and tell me if you were dying too - if not then I guess I'd better work on that whole endurance thing...

my first week update...The Hot 100 - Going out with a BANG!!!

My first week (or so) update:

Sleep: Only went to bed once this week past midnight (trust me - this was a feat!)

Exercise: ok, I suck! this week's workouts were a bit unorthodox - but this will be my new focus next week, an area for growth

Water: around 50 oz average/day (there's room for growth there)

Food: pretty good actually, not only am I eating every 3 hours, but I am not eating late... feeling good about that one. So all in all I'm getting there.

... and as an added bonus I have started taking muti-vitamins for the first time in my whole life, I think they will be a possitive bonus to my whole new health outlook :)

kids make you young, or old...depends on the day :)

I think a pre-requisite for having kids is being a bit 'out of your mind'. Let's be honest, why would anyone give up disposable income, sleeping in late, afternoon quickies, and setting your own schedule (we won't even discuss the damage to your body - that's a whole other post:) to be ruled by a midget who usually doesn't appreciate your sacrifice?

I DO love my kids but after waiting 1 hour in line to get into the zoo today, and then another 2 hours waiting in lines for Halloween games and prizes - you start to wonder "where did my sanity go?" You'd NEVER have done that for yourself; but here you are, surrounded by other, equally crazy, parents all trudging around for the fleeting satisfaction of your your little ones, the elusive "thank you, mom."

Whether it's the macho tough guy coochie cooing his newborn daughter, dad's jello wrestling in blond wigs for Hannah Montana tickets (don't laugh I saw it with my own eyes), or the busy working mom staying up till the wee hours of the dawn sewing a costume for their tot...

I ask you, why do we do things, buy things, say things, make complete 'you know what's' of ourselves, all for the sake of our kids?

today's update:

sleep: 8 hours (in bed by 11:15)

exercise: hiking around the zoo - and an ab set

water: 50 oz (I have got to find a way to up this!)

food:

8:45 am - Banana

11:30am - homemade potato soup

1:45pm - apple juice
5:15 - Green salad with honey mustard, 4oz steak, small baked pot. with 1/8 cup ranch (went to dinner after the zoo)
8:15pm - apple and 3 mini peanut butter reeses (no - make that 4)