Right Wing Mom

Oh baby - feeling good!

Friday and Saturday were hard. I was struggling with cravings, but not physical cravings, mental. For example; Saturday I didn’t get much sleep. A certain 6 month old was extra fussy and has now decided that sleeping “next” to Mommy is not enough - he want’s to sleep ON me. I was so groggy and grouchy Saturday morning which, on any other day, would warrant a trip to my crack dealer local Starbucks. I didn’t go, thankfully, but I will tell you I sat on my couch a good 30 minutes trying to justify the trip.  “I’ll just start Monday” “I’ll just have something and continue the diet”

Man, it was hard… but I pushed through and was greatly rewarded Sunday.

I woke up with a little energy! The cloud or “brain fog” had dissipated a bit. I made breakfast for the family. Got a bunch of stuff done and at the end of the day felt good about what was accomplished.

Still not 100% yet. I’m dealing with a little bit of detox headache - need to up my water to help deal with that, I think. Still have a little “brain fog” and a little short on my temper - but nowhere near where I was just Friday.

What have I been eating?

Lets see - I’ll run down my menu for yesterday:

Breakfast: 3 eggs and 2 small zucchini sauteed in coconut oil

Lunch: 2 turkey burger patties with a big ole glop of guacamole

Dinner: roasted chicken, mashed cauliflower and roasted green beans

I snacked on an apple and a handful of cherries.

I need a little more veggies in my day, usually I like to have a big salad for lunch, but I was in the middle of blanching and freezing 13lbs of cauliflower.

So… there you have it! I’m pushing through and loving the results so far. I will update again in a few days - weigh in is on Friday.

Look at me - back again!

Funny how the last post I made was about the Paleo diet and its been almost 2 months… man, that’s sad.

I had great success after my last post, but this past month life got in the way, in a major way, and sadly I got back into eating anything and everything and I am really feeling the effects.

So, I am starting the 30 day Paleo challenge again and this time I wanted to encourage anyone one who was looking to make a change to follow along and join me!

This “diet” to me is not just about losing weight, its about staying sane and being a good wife and mother.

When I am eating the “standard American diet” or SAD I am just miserable… and so are those around me. High servings of grains and carbs coupled with low fat and protein servings as recommended by the USDA make me zombie-like. Serious. I walk around with no motivation or drive. I am tired. I am cranky. I have no patience, and for a mother to 5 - that ain’t a good thing, you know?

This past week I have been so grouchy and depressed. I am so tired and have no energy to really do much of anything - life is a chore. That may sound so extreme to most people, but if you struggle with food/carb addictions like I do - I know you can relate.

So without further delay - I am starting TODAY!

I plan on posting often and telling you how its going, what I am eating and the changes I am experiencing. I hope you enjoy this as much as I am looking forward to it.

Here is a post I found that really goes into the 30 day challenge and thsi chick minces no words - she tells it like it is. Take a sec and read it. What do you think?

My favorite part:
“It’s not that effing hard. (Yes, I wanted to throw an f-bomb in there.) Don’t you dare tell me this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Drinking your coffee black is. Not. Hard. Substituting Sunday morning French toast in favor of a giant omelet and side of crispy bacon is not hard. Eating fresh, delicious fruits and vegetables every day is not hard. So I don’t want to hear one single complaint. You won’t get any coddling from me on this one, you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles”, and you won’t get any second chances. Not in my house. It’s thirty days, and it’s for the most important cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime. So shut up and do it.”

There you have it - “Shut Up and Do It”

Part 7? Wow, a part of me is a little surprised that I am still hanging in there. But, every week I feel like I am becoming more and more dedicated to seeing this through!

Sadly, I am still trying to get over being sick. I had a little relapse yesterday, but feel so much better today! My nose is starting to clear up which makes me very happy. Now all I have to do is get my lungs un-gunked and I’ll be back in business!

Needless to say with my attempting to hack up a lung (or at least sounding like it) 20 times a day, my gym time has been non existent. I am so very bummed about this. I really miss the gym. I want nothing more than to work up a really good sweat! Hopefully If I continue to improve tonight, I am going to give it a shot tomorrow. Nothing to strenuous yet, but just getting back to the gym and moving a bit would feel really nice!

Food? Still nothing wonderful. My calories have been semi-sporadic. Some days I know I am not getting any more than 900-1000 calories, which isn’t good. Other days I know I am closer to my calorie range. My choices haven’t been great either, I need to clean it up some.

Water? Oh goodness… don’t ask. I am trying to get my intake back up again. Its been rather pathetic.

I did get on the scale today and it was (drumroll…..) 202. Which gives me a loss this past week of 2.6 lbs! Woo-Hoo!

My total weight loss is now 13.8 lbs! Yeah! I have 56.2 more to go

Sorry this seems to have turned into a weight loss blog. I will try to get something non-weight related up soon!

Remember to check out 2 Moms 20 Pounds over at Happy to be at Home for some more weight loss encouragement!

What a roller coaster of a week! I was really hoping for a great vacation with my family and instead got a week filled with germs, snot, coughing, aches, fevers and sitting/laying around doing a whole bunch of nothing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved visiting with my parents and brothers - but I hated having to rely on them to take care of us. Thankfully they did though and we survived!

Jake, Emma and I seem to be still dealing with it the most right now. I am most bummed about the fact that the sickness has moved to my chest which means cardio has to be out on hold for me.

So - here is my overview of the week:

Food - could have done much better. The past few days I haven’t been eating very well. Not sure where my calories are going. Not eating enough, maybe.

Water - have really slacked off here too. Its had to drink lots of water when you are sick, even though that’s one of the best things for you

Exercise - Oh I tried… I really did. I am glad I took it easy though. My body needs to fix itself not overstress itself right now.

Weight - this one is a little funny! I was not looking forward today, weigh-in day. I was thinking about skipping it. But for the sake of total accountability I weighed in. I was chanting “Under 210, under 210, anything as long as its not over 210.” I was 204.6 which really freaks me out. This would be a loss of 3.4lbs for the week. I should be excited, but I’m not sure how accurate this is. I’m not sure if I want to claim this. But, not having anything else to count - I will use this number. I just hope I dont freak out next week if I go up.

I am hopefully going to get a little Wii Fit in today. I need to get moving a bit. I am SOOOO looking forward to getting back to the gym! I miss it!

11.2 down - 58.8 to go!

Check out Happy to be at Home for more 2 Moms 20 Pounds weigh-ins

Well, I was doing a little better getting posts up last week that did not involve my weigh loss and excercise. But, life got in the way as it so often does.

Sunday the kids and I took off on a 900 mile journey to Tennessee. My paretns moved here about 2 years ago from Ohio. I kind of miss to being able to go back to where I grew up. But, looking at how much snow I am missing… I can live with Tennessee!

I am not able to weigh myself this week, but I jumped on the scale Sunday morning before leaving. I had lost another pound!! I was very excited!!! Woo-Hoo!

Driving up I was pretty good. Lots and lots of water. Stayed on plan Sunday and mostly Monday. I had a PB and J in the car. But, although I did not count my calories that day, I know, given what I ate the rest of the day, I wasnt that far off.

Exercise has been great! I have been getting my workouts in no problem. As a matter of fact, knowing that I was not going to be able to workout on Monday. I got up early Sunday and dragged my booty to the gym and got in a great workout before leaving on our road trip!

While here I have been working out in the garage. I brought an exercise band with me and have been usuing that for my strength training.

Today was cardio and I had brought a DVD to do. But, of course, I couldnt get the DVD player to work. I had a slight panic. But, instead of quitting or cheesing out, I ploppled my iPod on and went out into the garage. I did a little old school aerobics, step, dancing and calisthenics. I felt a little foolish at times. But, I go the heart pumping! I kept my heart rate up and burned alomst 400 calories in 30 min. I wished I did more time, but I got a late start and had to get the troops fed.

I am excited that I am doing well and sticking to it!

Of course, Kaitie and Mandy have been sicker than dogs! Fever, sore throats, caughing, runny nose. And guess what I feel sneaking up? I hate being sick. I am going to go slam some C and eat some homemade chicken soup. Sometimes its nice to be at “Mom’s house” even if you have never lived there before.

Check out 2 Moms 20 Lbs for some more weight loss motivation they can be found at Happy to be at Home

A little late getting this up today, but it has been a little crazy around here today.

I wish I had “bigger” but it just wasn’t meant to be this week. The biggest factor contributing to this was that wonderful visit from “our” little friend this week. Somedays I love being a woman… other days, not so much.

I was down .6lbs. I was hoping for at least one pound and am still al little upset that I didn’t make that, but I am getting over it

One thing I did notice this week was that I was getting a little sloppy with my food choices. I stayed within my calorie range ever day, but some of my food choices could have been better. Stuff like chips and chips and well, chips should not be in my diet on a regular basis. So a main goal this week will be cleaning up the diet and getting back to more natural and whole foods.

The next week or so is shaping up to be a big challenge for me. The kids and I are heading out on a road trip this weekend to go visit my family. My plan is to stick with food as best I can and find time and ways to workout while I am at my parents.

We plan on not eating at any restaurants during our travel and trip. Its hard to find food that is within Jake’s diet and it will be a lot healthier for me too!

I did great with my workouts this week. But, I am looking forward to the change up this trip offers. I’d love to do a little hiking or if all else fails, I’ll be bringing some exercise DVDs with us.

down .6 only 64.4 lbs to go !

Head on over to Happy to be at Home to see some other Mom’s losing weight this year in 2 Moms 20 Pounds

I swear I will get back to “regular” blogging soon… totally promise!

I was able to get my external hard drive this week and have gotten a couple of photo files transferred over. However, I am having some major anxiety over deleting these files from my main hard drive. What happens if the external drive crashes? AACK! Crud, I hate being anal sometimes.

Ok - on to the weight loss.This past week was a rollercoaster. I guess I will get right to the “low point” and go on from there.

Sunday afternoon we finally had a little birthday thing for Emma. (48 days late… but who’s counting, right?) We had a couple of friends over (HI Nancy!) and enjoyed some pizza and carrot cake. My plan was to chow on some salad, skipping the pizza altogether and “indulging” in one cupcake. ONE.The salad went fine, and so did the whole cupcake thing. But then, our friends left and I was left with leftover pizza and carrot cake. Did I mention I make a mean carrot cake and that it happens to be like, my favorite thing? I do… and it is.

I started adding up my calories and talked my way into being able to partake in “just one more” cupcake. Of course that one more piece turned into one more, plus extra frosting and half of Emma’s cake that was leftover… and 4 pieces of pizza.

I felt like a fat beached whale. I was sick to my stomach and felt a hint of failure. Praise God it was only fleeting. I had felt these “issues” of mine that I struggle with creeping up over the past week and had been praying about it. I felt like Sunday evening, God just scooped me up, gave me a whack on the rear and said “Get back in the game girl!” And so I did.I realized that if I wanted to make my weight loss goal for the week, I was going to need to step it up for my workout Monday and Tuesday. I knew it would stink - but that was what needed to be done. My goal was to burn 1000 calories on both days. I got to about 875 Monday. Tuesday my watch battery died! But, I worked about the same as I did on Monday.

The result?

Down 3lbs this morning! WOO-HOO!

Still not happy about bingeing. But I took responsibility for it and got the work done.5 down - 65 more to go

Check out Happy To Be At Home for more Weigh-In Wednesday!

I am now going to update on Wednesdays because I am joining in with the Ladies over at Happy to be at Home. They have started a “Weigh-In Wednesday” to go with their series of 2 Moms - 20lbs. So weather you looking to lose 20lbs like Kate and Joy or 70 like me you should take a look - its a great site!

Ok I am sure your big question is how is it going? In a word - Fan-Flippin-Tastic! Seriously!

I have weighed in a have lost a grand total of 2lbs! I am am excited about those 2lbs. I worked hard to get rid of them!

Its a little funny, I got on the scale and was really preparing myself for a 5lb loss, I figured it would be close. I will admit that my heart sank when I saw it was “only” 2. But then I realized… I LOST 2 LBS! Hello? Thats awesome! My goal is to lose 1.5lbs a week… I DID IT! Once I realized that I got super excited and happy!

The week went excellent with eating. Although, Saturday and Sunday were a little challenging. Kaitie and Mandy had a their last meet of the season and we spent the entire weekend their, either working, cheering or competing (well, they competed I did some more cheering!) I had to do some planning and packing of food, but I did ok. Went a little long between a few meals, but I stuck to it!

Workouts have been great too. The soreness is getting more manageable. Now its just enough to let me know that I worked hard enough. I missed my cardio session on Saturday, but got up extra early Sunday to get it in!

I have also been experimenting with some different food choices. If you know me, I’ll eat just about anything, but there are a few things I have never prepared at home that I whipped up last week. I cooked up both salmon and mussels - and they were YUMMY! Believe it or not I cooked both of the meals in the microwave with the Ziplock steamer bags. So quick and awesome.

Like I said yesterday - I have so much to blog about. I have not been doing it because there are a lot of pictures I want to show off with those posts and my hard drive is now home to over 9000 pictures. Yes I know I have a problem. I will be getting an external hard drive (if all goes well) this week(end) and will try to get things organized a bit Then I will inundate you with post after post with all kinds of pictures and you will all be sick of me. I know, you can’t wait!

Today is day 5 for me on this journey of weight loss and getting fit. Want to know how its going? I hope so! But if you don’t want to know you can quit reading now… cause I’m going to tell you!

First, let me tell you what I am doing.

I signed up with Jillian Michaels online. I had tried her program once before with really good results, but got some kind of nasty sickness that just wouldn’t go away and had a lot of trouble getting back on program once I was better. I love her program! Its a little tough - just like her - but it rocks! She follows a basic “calorie in - calorie out” school of thought. You know, the more you eat the more you need to burn. No gimmicks, no forbidden food just hard work. I like it. It works.

The workouts are based on a circuit course with an upper body exercise, a lower body or abs exercise then 1 minute of cardio to keep your heart rate in that fat burning mode. You will break a sweat.

Let me tell you a little about that first day.

I was nervous walking to the gym. I am not a gym “newbie” by any means. But looking at me now, you wouldn’t know it. I go to a very small gym thats right around the corner of my house and it is not uncommon for the place to be deserted. I was hoping for deserted that first day. But, on the first Monday after the start of the New Year - deserted is not what I got. There were 5 other people there plus a trainer and for a place that small - it was crowded!

No problem - I can do this. Deep breath, pick a weight and do something.

I started my workout and sometimes during my second set I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and felt a wave of horror wash over me. Who was I kidding? I didn’t belong here. Look at me - I look ridiculous. I thought to myself “If I saw myself across the room I would wonder what that fat chick was doing.” But then, I took a second look and something dawned on me. Fat? Yep. Ridiculous looking? A little. But I DO belong here. I need to be here. I deserve to be here. I realized that if I really did see myself across the room I would think “OK, she is out of shape, but she obviously knows what she is doing.” OK, deep breath - just like riding a bike.

Days 2, 3, and 4 went fantastic! This morning was a little tough though. My body just did not want to get up and get moving. I hit a wall. I wanted to quit. I bummed around the house for 30 minutes and finally threw my hands up in the air and went. You know what? I’m glad I did. I didn’t quit on myself and it was my best workout all week.

My eating has been going quite well too. I have been staying within my calorie range and really haven’t had any cravings, except for a tiny lingering craving for some super dark chocolate.

Another big accomplishment for me this week has been staying off the scale. I am a daily weigher. I try not to be, but its like an addiction… I can’t help it! But this week I have successfully stayed off. I have come close; very, very close. But I have not succumbed! I will let you know, in the spirit of full discloser that I weighed in on Monday at 215.6 Another deep breath! Not my heaviest (praise God!) but nowhere near where I want nor need to be - obviously.

I am going to keep trucking and will let you know on Monday where I am! Good luck to anyone else who is tackling weight and fitness this year!

I am claiming 2009 as the Year of Me

The Year of Alicia

What exactly does that mean?

I am vowing to myself and my husband and family, that I am going to be taking care of myself this year. I will be putting myself first, on occasion, this year. I will not be selfish. I will not forsake my family or their needs for my own. But… I will be thinking of myself and taking care of myself a whole lot more than I have done in the past.

I have made my list of what I want to accomplish this year. I am excited about what this year holds for me. The seas I will cross, the mountains I will climb, the marathons I will finish. All these being “proverbial” things, mind you. This fat chick aint climbing any mountains or running a marathon anytime soon!

Instead of posting all of my list in one day, I thought I would break it up over the course of the week or so. That way we can discuss a little more and share our goals. Sounds like fun, right!?!

First up - the dreaded WEIGHT issue. Everyone’s favorite right? Ok, I know the answer, not really. But it really seems like the obvious choice for discussing first.

My main goal for this year is to lose about 45lbs. I will be working out 5-6 days a week. 4 days doing a circuit course with weights and cardio and 1-2 days just cardio. I will be counting calories and keeping a very close eye on my carbs.

This goal is very attainable for me. The workouts can be added to my day with no problem… I just need to dedicate myself to getting up about 30 minutes earlier and NOT getting on the computer till after lunch! (thats going to be a little hard!)

Food may be a little trickier, just because I really like food - but who doesn’t? Right? Again, dedication and persistence will come into play here.

I know I can do this.

Who’s with me?