Right Wing Mom

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

So, just what I need. More proof that I have been severely lacking in the updating my blog department.

I totally neglected to tell you, I think, that we got a kitty on New Years Eve! She is a spunky little thing, which she really needed to be with all the chaos going down here at any given time

She is a black and orange tortis shell that we picked up from animal control near where we live. And just because we can’t ever seem to do anything “mild” around here - she went into heat two days after we got her. Good times.

She gets along well with the kids and surprisingly the dogs. Kaya still has her issues sometimes, but she is quite the spoiled brat and has issues with any other animal brought around here. Poor Buster does well, but every once in awhile his little Lab instincts kick in and he goes tearing after her. This usually results in a solid whack in his noes. I’m sure that one day he will learn, but then again… we are talking about a lab.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of Sheba.

with blogging, that is!

I saw this video this morning and it brought a few tears to me eyes. Take a look and tell me what you think.

Its not hard to figure out where I stand in regards to our new President. But no matter where our opinions lie - I think we all have to remember that our President, no matter who he is, is someone’s Father, Husband, Son.

Let’s try to forget criticizing the man. But, oh… I will continue to criticize his policies… of yes I will!

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!

Someday soon I will post something relevant and meaningful. You know, something of actual importance like… how the girl did in their last gymnastics meet of the season, an introduction to our cat, how the diet/exercise thing is going, how school is going, the fact that we may start repairs on our house soon, you know… stuff like that.

I could write about all that stuff now, but really, I just don’t feel like it.

Instead I leave you with this:

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!

What a great start to the New Year! I managed to drag my butt out of bed and to the gym for a 6am start. It was a great workout, but what a wake-up! I’ll hopefully talk a little more about that tomorrow.

But for now - its home school time!

2008 was a good year for us as far as school was concerned. We finished our English, Math and History books - what a relief! This year I am planning on buckling down a bit more and becoming a lot stricter in both our schedule and expectations.

There have been far too many weeks that we take a day off here and there. We always make the work up, but I am really starting to despise the inconsistent schedule and habits that I have been passing on to the kids. But, no more!

I have worked out a rough lesson plans that takes us into the summer. If followed, we will be able to complete our English, Math, History, Latin and Science books. What is awesome is that we just started new English, Math and History books today! We will need to follow a 5 day schedule, so if we take any “days off” or field trips, we will need to make it up on Saturday. The girls understand this and are excited about implementing the new schedule!

I am also giving the girls more independent study type activities. Take for instance, math. They are required to do a full lesson a week with 5 worksheets. I don’t care when they get done but they must work on math daily, doing flash cards at a minimum if they have finished their worksheets. They will have a test on Friday and not passing is not an option! Latin will be done in a similar manner.

As far as school with Jake goes, its pretty much more of the same - consistency. Another big change for him is that their is no computer, Wii or tv time till all his school work and chores are done. He is not too happy about that rule, but he managed to get everything done today with minimal whining and was quite proud of himself!

Time for bed… this fat chick needs to hit the gym bright and early!

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?