Busy, Busy, Busy

Hello gang,

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy. Last week when it came to exercise and eating healthy everything sort of went down the drain. I've eaten bad food and only did half the workouts. I am back on track this week so far. I am tired and sore today but I am hoping to feel better soon. I am started week 8 last week and I will be doing measurements next Saturday on the 8th.

The kids started daycare again this week and they seem to enjoy it except for the little guy he just wants to cry all the time and my older guy loves it so much I can't get him to leave. I am hoping after next week that the battle of the kids v.s. daycare will be a little easier to win.


I also received a box of Clairol nice n' easy semi-permanent hair dye in mahogany black to try and review ( Complimentary product for reviewing purposes) from Bzzagent.com. I have reviewed other products from them but I they were deleted in the changing of the blog. I did review crest pro-health ( Toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash, Lavazza coffee ( delicious),  Herbal essences Naked line ( Shampoo, Conditioner and mousse). I will be dying my hair hopefully in the next couple of days so I can let you know how my experience went.

I finished my son's Oscar the grouch "costume" for Halloween he is excited for it. It did take me forever top finish this project because I lost my knitting bug half way through making it. He should remain nice and warm in this on Halloween.

My early costume party was enjoyable. I dressed up as a doll and the night was filled with drinks and friends. I had an old dress on, with a faux hawk and some doll make-up.

 

I am also participating in a make-up exchange. I don't have acces to a lot of stores around here that have make-up so I was allowed to knit something up for my partner which I am working on. I did start it but then I had to take it apart because it wasn't working out the way I wanted to.

That is all for today. Although I have still a lot to say I have little ones to go play with and more things to knit up. 

Measurements October

Hello muffins,

I hope you have all been doing well ( I know have). As I have previously told you guys ( and gals) that I am going to take my measurements and weight once a month. Today was that day. I cam currently taking part in a Fitocracy class that is for women using bodyweight.  I am really enjoying this program which consist of 5 workouts a week and to see results we are supposed to do a minimum of 3. I have been doing pretty good at staying at doing all 5 workouts a week. It is trying, sometimes after a day of work and doing all the things mom's do I am tired and do not want to do the workouts and it is really hard to get into the mood ( especially when I am sore).

There is a lot of obstacles that I found in trying ot be healthier but I am slowly finding ways to beat them.  The fight to get moving is actually one of the biggest. As much as my says  I should it also fights to say I shouldn't. I know that I need to exercises, it has many health benefits ( my brain lists a bunch of them), but I am tired and I can't see any physical results ( you don't look thinner my brain argues back). The on going fight is hard I deal with it every day but I fight it. Although part of my says that I am tired and what's the point because I can't really see any changes I have to remind myself why I am doing this.  I want to be healhty and be a good role model for my children. I don't want them to think that sitting on your behind getting physically unfit is good for them. I want them to live a healthy happy life. My life is happy but it is unhealthy which causes problems such as having trouble keeping up with my kids and not being sore all the time. I remind myself that I am doing it for them so they can have a mother that can run and play with them no matter how old they are, but most importantly I am doing this for myself ( plus who ever works out and then tells themselves they regret it).

Food is my second biggest obstacle ( this also needs a lot of fighting with my mind to get over). I am one of those people who crave food all the time for various reasons ( PMS, Boredom, Emotional, Just because). Eating healthy is just as important than the exercising that is why this is probably one of the most frustrating thing is eating. I am not starving myself and I am not eating copious amounts of food. In fact I try for the most part to stick to proper portions through the use of food scales and labels. My issue is the cravings, I have been doing great at not binge eating but I can still do better. Ever since I started to exercise I keep telling myself I can indulge myself a little more and I have to say I did eat a few more cookies and cupcakes then I should've this month. I need to remind myself from now on that the healthier the food I eat the bigger and better healthy result I will get. I am proud though that I haven't binged since this started. I have also learned to fight the cravings by eating small amounts of what I want. For example I crave chocolate all the time but instead of going to the grocery store and buy a ( many) chocolate bar(s) I eat a granola bar instead that has a bit of chocolate and this helps me fight my cravings and keeps me full. I also drink more water, when I have a craving I have a glass of water, I find that sometimes a glass of water is all I need to curb my cravings and make me realize that I don't need that particular item that I wanted to eat. I also don't completely stop eating what I want, I've found this to be a good thing for me because when I deprived myself of all my cravings I binged. I also started eating actual lunches. That was another problem for me, I ate breakfast and supper but lunch was always just putting bit and pieces of whatever food was going on the kids lunch plates. I found that since eating actual meals that my cravings have diminished and I have more energy throughout the day.

I started writing this post yesterday but was uinable to finish due to computer issues, my youngest decided to click a bunch of  buttons and deleted the first post I wrote about my weight loss journey and that is ok ( frustrating but ok). Below I have posted the pictures I took of the beginning of the journey and the measurements as well as this month measurements. I will be taking pictures again at the end of the 12 week period.

Now that all that is said here are my measurements from the beginning of this all

Weight : 178lbs

Neck: 14 1/2

Shoulders; 46 1/2

Chest: 43

Waist: 40

Hips: 41

Biceps: 14

Thighs: 26

Calf: 16

This month measurements ( October)

Weight: 175 lbs

Neck: 14 1/2

Shoulders: 46 ( lost half an inch)

Chest:42 ( lost 1 inch)

Waist: 39 ( lost 1 inch)

Hips: 40 1/2  ( I retook my measurement and it's accurate)

Biceps 14

Thighs: 25 ( lost 1 inch on each side)

Calf: 16 

In total I have lost 5 inches in total and 3 pounds. I have also gained muscles, in my arms even though there is no changes in the inches. 

Now onto the household news. We have figured out the bed time routine for monkey. There is a lot less fighting now to get him in bed and most nights he is now asleep by 8-9 pm instead of 9-10 pm so I am happy about that for sure. BB ( which will stand for BIG BOY for my youngest) is doing good he is walking all over the house now.

BB eats a lot and now we have the fight with Monkey to eat. He rarely eats supper and when he does it is usually later. I am not the kind of parent to force my child to eat and I know that when monkey is hungry he will eat. It is just frustrating as a parent that your child doesn't want to eat at the same time as everyone else. The way I see it though is I don't force myself to eat when I am not hungry so I will not force the same on my child even if that means that he eats at 7 instead of 5 with the rest us. 

The hubby has been busy a lot the past few weeks  because of town elections for council and mayor. I am practically a single mom right now for about 3-4 nights a week until these elections are over on October 27th and I can't wait to have the hubby back home at night every night. 

That's all for now. 

Have a good day. 

Hello lovelies,

So I told you that I was going to weigh in and do measurements today but after some discussions with a group that I am on I decided I will only do it once a month. Therefore, my measurement and weigh ins will be on the 8th of every month.

So far I have kept up with working out 5 days a week and will continue on this path. I still have to do today's workout so this blog will be short and sweet. I still haven't added yoga back into my routine yet because I have been getting my sleep instead which is just as important. I have been eating a half decent healthy diet but I still need to do a lot to clean it up.

I am enjoying the program that I am on right now and I am hoping to continue enjoying it. I will also be continuing to add recipes and hopefully add more boxes to the list.

That's all for tonight.

Pat

Bell pepper spinach soup

Bell Pepper and Spinach soup

This is yet another recipe that was created because I had food that was about to spoil in the fridge. I like to buy the packs of mini bell peppers at the grocery but often I don't eat them all on time. We also tend to throw out a lot of spinach ( We try to eat healthy but a lot of time we don't eat enough of the produce on time). 

I decided to make soup because it was a chillier day and I though a good soup would make for a good warm-up. 

Ingredients

360g of Bell peppers( I used Red, Orange and Yellow peppers) 

( Once you weigh them, de-seed them)

1/2 of a large onion ( chopped)

3 tablespoons Olive oil 

1 1/2 Chopped Garlic ( I use already chopped jarred Garlic) 

1 teaspoon  Oregano( fresh or dry )  

1 teaspoon Thyme ( Fresh or dry) 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

900 ml vegetable broth

1/2 cup of rice ( White or Brown)

4 cups of baby spinach 

In a pot cook the onions and peppers together with the garlic, oregano, thyme and cinnamon. Cook until the onions turn clear.

Add the broth and rice into the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. 

In a blender pour 2 cups of the contents of the pot with two cups of spinach ( the whole pot should yield about 4 cups) hit the liquefy button and voilà it is ready to eat.

Kiwi orange bread

Kiwi Orange Bread

Ingredients

3 Cups Flour

1 tablespoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 cup of butter ( I use salted butter and melt a bit)

1 cup white granulated sugar

5 kiwis ( Peeled and mashed yields approximately 2 cups)

The juices and skin of one orange ( grated yields about 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup of water

1 Tablespoon of chia seeds ( I used the ground up type)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix the chia seeds and the water together in a small bowl let set.

In a bowl mix the first three ingredients ( flour, baking soda and baking powder). Set aside. 

Mix the butter and the sugar together in a separate bowl until well blended. ( I do it by hand but by all means use an electric beater if you have one)

Once the sugar and butter are combined add the fruits and chia seed mix and  blend everything  together. 

Make a hole ( or a well) in the middle of the flour mix. Pout the fruit mixture in the middle and mix all the ingredients until well blended ( try not to mix it for to long as it will make your bread harder)

Grease some baking pans. I used a 4" by 8" pan and a multi-sectional pan ( 2" by 4" there is 8 section in the pan) Fill each pan about half way with batter. 

Cook for 15-30 minutes depending on the size of your pans or until a toothpick comes clean after poking it into the center of the bread.

Let cool take out of pans and enjoy.

I came up with this recipe when I had kiwis and an orange becoming a a little too ripe. I decided this year that I wanted to stop wasting food in the house. I used to throw out a lot of vegetables and fruits out every week which adds up to a lot of money. Now I buy flour and butter on sale so I can always bake cookies and breads and good knows what more recipes I can come up with. 

This bread is just a right amount of sweet and really moist. You will mostly taste the orange over the kiwi. 

Another member

Hello Munchkins, 

I hope everyone is doing great. 

My little family has grown by one. We added a pet fish into our lives and his name is Orange. My monkey ( as I decided will be my eldest official name for the post) decided to name him that and that is fine. I did learn one thing with this pet and that is do your research. I know to do research when I choose to get a cat or a dog or other pets but I didn't think about researching about a fish and I should have. I have now found out a lot about how to take care of a fish and hopefully he will live a long and happy life.

There has been a few changes with the boys as well. Monkey is continuing to have tantrums that we are dealing with every night when we try to put him to sleep. We have tried watching a bit of tv  (I know bright lights and all) that works sometimes, if that doesn't work we move on to books, and the lastly we have the we will put you in bed and lay with him and sing ( that's the one that usually works). As for my other little monkey he is starting to stand up for several seconds if not minutes on his own, I am trying to encourage him to walk but he isn't quiet ready to do it yet and that is fine. I know he will walk on his own time.

I've also kept exercising although this week I did miss a few days, between work and my mother-in-law visiting I fell off the wagon for the week ( insert sad face). I did totally pig out this week-end and the last few days. I have been craving lots of unhealthy foods and I have given in to the cravings. I do have to get back on track with my eating habits.  I still try to do yoga everyday ( if I can't every second day) I find more then 2 days without yoga I start feeling achy and sore all over.  I also try to jog three days a week and if I don't jog on a planned day  I try to add some kind of cardiovascular exercise that day.

I am great on the exercise plan not so great on the food plan but that is ok. I am still learning what to eat and what not eat, what keeps me full and what doesn't I am planning on keeping a diary of what I eat and keep notes so I know how I feel that day. I am hoping that it will help me figure out what to stick with and what will sustain my energy for the day without binging on bad foods. This hasn't been an easy journey and it won't be for a long time but I truly believe that my determination will get me through this and on to a healthy a life. 

Any ways it is late my friends and I must go work out before it's time for me to sleep. 

Me

Another week gone.

Hello muffins,

I hope that your week has been a good one. My week went pretty good. I worked a lot which is a good thing since I have to pay bills and all ( at the moment we are tightening the belt a little).  I am still looking for another part-time work ( or full-time) which for once in my life seems practically impossible to do. I enjoy were I work and the increase in hours is really good. One of the girls at work left her full-time and another is going back to school come September which will also help in increasing the hours. I don't know how long this will last since they will have to hire another person eventually to cover some of the shifts.

Exercise wise I haven't done any jogging this week. It's been constantly raining the only day it didn't rain was my rest day which we all know is crucial to improving our fitness level. I've been a bit more tired then usual but that is probably due to the fact that I am getting into a routine of going to bed a bit earlier ( more like falling asleep with my 3 old)  and getting up at 6 to do some yoga. I find that this has helped me stay in a good mood, my chronic pain makes me a bit ( or a lot) cranky sometimes and I find yoga has helped me with this. I am also thinking of starting to do some exercising in the house ( workout videos) when I cannot go outside jogging because of the weather to keep myself active. I find that being house bound ( besides work) makes me lazy and takes out all the motivation out of me to get into shape.

In other news ( insert smiley face). I got to enjoy a date night with my hubby ( more like a belated birthday present but still some kind of adult time without the kids was good). He took me out to The dish which is a small restaurant. Their menus change from day to day so you never know what is going to be on the menu. For appetizers we both had compressed sushi, this was a fun experience as we tried ( and succeeded) to eat with chopsticks. For the entrées he had a 6 oz steak on a bed of blue and Asiago cheese ( I think it was Asiago) rissotto and I tried ( for the first time) duck as I ordered the duck leg on a bed of bean and  rice ( made me think of burrito fillings) . Dessert was amazing ( really sweet) I had three ( just a bit bigger then bite sized) pieces of flour-less chocolate cake with caramel sauce underneath and some sort of caramel icing on top. My hubby had toffee pudding cake ( the cake was really gingery which cut the sweetness down a bit ). As for the boys they are growing and pushing all the boundaries. My oldest is whiny and had quiet the temper ( so does my youngest) so trying to stay cool and collected is hard at times but I am doing we are doing our best. Also my youngest is starting to stand without holding on to anything so we all know what comes next walking.

I am hoping that this week goes on to be a good week not only for me but for all of you's

P