Losing it all <3

Hi everyone!

Wow, it's been a while... :) I hope your holidays were wonderful and that you're enjoying the new year so far. My life has taken busy/hectic to a whole new meaning lately so recently I've taken to prioritizing more, enjoying life more and am making more time for my family and myself. I'm beginning to feel more relaxed and happy than I have in years. Success!

Like a lot of you, I'm sure, I've wanted to lose weight/inches for a long time now. After two kids, being an on again off again smoker the last 15 years, eating fast food at every turn (because it was easier, faster and more convenient), dealing with stress (eating my feelings) on a day to day basis for most of my adult life, I'd accumulated nearly 70lbs of 'extra' weight. Over the last three years, I'd catch myself looking in a mirror and find myself shedding a tear for the old me hidden below the layers. My wonderful husband who never saw me any differently from or loved me any less than the day we met, gained along side of me. Our lives became all about the kids, the house, work, money, etc. we just seemed to forget to take care of ourselves. Together, we had let go.

For the past 6 months, Cory and I have been working on getting our weight in check, toning up and building healthier immune systems, all while also working on our self esteem (guilty). And well, it's a new year! I have a new look and even though I'm still working on it, a great new body :) My heaviest weight (190lbs) was in 2010/2011 and as of today I have lost 40+ lbs! My husband has lost 35lbs and we couldn't be happier with our results! It's been a lot of hard work and sacrificing, but in the end, we feel like teenagers again :) I have 17 more lbs to go to be at my goal weight, and with staying on track every day, I should be there by my birthday in July. Getting back into my size 5 jeans from high school? BEST birthday present ever! Our children have been super supportive and my son has even said losing all this weight has made me like a kid again, lol It's amazing how insightful our kids can be when it comes to our moods ;)

 

Again, losing the weight has been hard work but trust me when I say, completely worth it! It takes time. Unfortunately, fat just doesn't leave the body as fast as it goes in (unless we're talking liposuction) If anyone tells you otherwise, I'm sorry, but they're wrong. Begin rant: It seems at least once a day, I see a new advertisement or offer for some miracle weight loss product and it makes me upset to see so many people being scammed and taken advantage of. This last year's biggest weight loss product fad would probably have to be the 'It Works! Wrap bands.' Let me save you some time and money: no, it doesn't. Not in the magical way that it promises and not in a long term way, at all. In fact, JUST using these wraps will NOT cause you to lose ANY weight. They are a scam. A scam directed at people who feel desperate to make scammers money. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I wish that they really did work. My belief is that as a human, it's in our nature to want to believe or to want to hope. To have a save all, cure all solution. To have and see immediate results. Life, just doesn't work that way. After seeing numerous scammer ads on Facebook and other social networking groups, I wrote up a brief post on all of this. I hadn't actually posted it yet because I have a handful of really good friends that are trying to earn a living selling this stuff. If they didn't need the money to support their household I know that I would have sooner. A few of them also really believe in what their selling, even though they have even yet to achieve the miracle results their product promises. So what to do with these words that keep making their way up, no matter how hard I try to suppress them? I figured I'd blog and throw them on here ;) P.s Make sure to check out the end of today's rant because I'm going to include a list of our personal weight loss tips!

Like anything else in life, losing weight/getting healthy takes work. Work and time. If you're ready/determined to change and to work hard, the sky is the limit. If I could "wrap" away my body fat or take a handful of "diet" pills and recieve the same results (fat loss, a tone build, healthier diet, stronger immune system), don't you think that I would? In order to lose 1 lb of fat you have to create a 3500 calorie deficit (work off 3500 calories). Wraps and pills do not/will not do this. Ask any rep. for these type of products and they will tell you "in order for the product to work, you have to drink a lot of water, you have to excercise, you have to eat healthier and overall it takes time if you want long lasting results, blah blah blah, etc.". Interesting... I'm pretty sure that all of those things are what in fact causes weight loss, lol So in conclusion, by buying into the fad (literally) you are allowing yourself to be scammed. You are helping someone else make money off YOUR hard work (if you are in fact losing inches/weight because you are following the directions above). I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I figured if I can even help just one person not waste their money and tears on a sham, I should. Because that's what they offer. A sham that takes your hard earned money and makes people like them, rich :/

 

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/skinny-on-diet-scams?page=1

 

Our Personal Weight Loss Tips:

 

1. WATER.

 

As in drink as much of it that you can, all the time. Water is calorie free, it's SUPER good for you and it literally, unlike anything else, melts pounds away (by purifying your body of toxins). It really doesn't matter if you don't 'like' it. If you want to lose weight, DRINK it :) - My husband and I gave up all beverages but water 4 months ago and I have lost a total of 24 lbs in just the last 3 1/2 months ;)

 

2. Excercise when you can, be active as much as possible :)

 

As a mom to two little ones, who during the week, only get's to see my husband in the evenings after his 12-13 hour work day, I know how hard it can be to fit in time to (want to) work out, let alone clean my house. Baby steps. Set aside 20-30 minutes every day to work on you. I do sit ups, push ups, jumping jacks, jump rope, and use wii fit/just dance. After making my own excuses for so long, I know that I CAN make the time and now, I do :)

 

3. Get a good calorie tracker like Live Strong's: My Plate, to keep you from going over your calorie limit a day. We use it every day to track our calorie intake and it keeps us on track, accountable and on our way to our happy goal weight!

 

 

*Keep in mind that one pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. Therefore as a general rule of thumb, to lose 1 pound per week, you must take in a negative 500 calories a day or negative 3,500 calories per week. You can reduce the calories by a combination of eating less, eating healthier and exercising more to lose weight. So you see it’s pretty simple, if the total number of calories burned is more then the calories consumed it will lead to weight loss.

 

***To figure out how many calories you should be consuming to lose weight:

1. First you need to calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index).

Estimating your BMR:

Calculating your BMR can be a very scientific process, but here is a quick “back of the envelope” sort of calculation which gives a good estimate.

BMR = your body weight (in pounds) multiplied by 10.

Example: 186 pounds x 10 calories/pound = 1,860 calories

Another more accurate way of calculating your BMR is called the Harris-Benedict Formula This formula takes into consideration your gender and age along with your weight. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate for the formula.

 

2. Next factor in calories used in physical activity.

Multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity level factor, as follows:

Physical Activity Calories = (BMR x Activity Level):

Sedentary: 20% (Sitting most of the day)

Lightly Active: 37.5% (Walking here and there; daily chores)

Moderately Active: 40% (Constantly moving around; daily exercise)

Very Active: 50% (Heavy exercise for prolonged periods of time, such as training for a sport)

Example: 1,860 calories x 0.20 = 372 calories for a sedentary person.

 

3 . Next factor in the calories used during digestion.


Calories used during digestion, are estimated at 10% for the general population..

Digestion Calories = (BMR + activity level ) x 10%:

Example: (1860 + 372 calories) x 0.10 = 223 calories

 

4. Total Daily Caloric Expenditure = (BMR Calories + Physical Activity Calories + Digestion Calories)

* This how many calories your body should be burning every day. Now that you have this number, you understand by eating at or close to that amount of calories a day, you will either stay at the same weight or even gain weight. Unless of course, you are active enough to burn the extra calories. Remember, in order to lose 1 pound per week, you must take in a negative 500 calories a day or negative 3,500 calories per week.

I hope this information has been helpful in one way or another and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have, to the best of my ability :)




To anyone who is ready to challenge themselves to be at their most fit/active, I just want to say congratulations and good luck! I know personally how hard it is/can be and am still working at it every day but the results speak for themselves and now that I know how much better I feel/look than I did only a few short months ago, I will never go back! Fast food just isn't worth it anymore ;)

 

 

Sincerely Yours.

 

Posted with Blogsy

The Pitter Patter of Tiny Feet and Rhino Squared

  Hi everyone! I hope your holidays have been amazing so far : ) Mine certainly have! My daughter Rory decided to start walking last Friday just in time for Christmas. Since she was almost 15 months, that means I got an extra 9-10 months out of her, not chasing her : ) That's right, by six months my son Nathen was not only walking and running but climbing as well! He was a good baby just super curious and wanted to do things on his own ; ) It has certainly been an exciting week as Rory has toddled, fallen, gotten back up, toddled, sprinted, fallen and gotten back up. It doesn't seem to faze her too much when she does fall down, she just stands right back up. What a trooper! The kids had a GREAT Christmas. Santa brought them everything they wanted, needed and more. They are so spoiled : ) Eventually when they're not good, that will stop... their pre-teen years maybe? Lol

  We had an amazing Christmas weekend, spending it with my husband Cory's family. We got to eat the best food, joke around, and enjoy each other's company : ) I love living so close to everybody on his side of the family tree since mine is so scattered. I did get to talk to my dad and step mum Debbie last Sat. for Christmas using FaceTime though on my new iPad 2. INCREDIBLE. I was so blown away with how seamless and flawless the whole experience was. No lag, no freezing. Nothing. It was like my dad was sitting two feet away instead of like he's halfway across the world from me. We're going to to try to talk every week now since we have such a neat way to stay in touch that costs NOTHING. He'll get to actually see the kids growing up as they grow up : ) Don't you just love technology?!

I'm sorry to say I haven't started my diet... but honestly what can you expect? It's not even the New Year yet ; ) I have yummy yummy Christmas cookies to eat before Monday, thanks to my amazing mother in law LuAnn! The poor woman has made like three batches of Christmas cookies just for me this Christmas...yes, I know... I have a problem. But they're sooo good... It's really not my fault. They're, like, evil good. But as I said, Monday, start of the new diet. I've got 25-35 lbs to lose before next Christmas's cookies come around. And I'm determined to lose them! So there! No more sinfully evil delicious cookies!!! No more.

  I purchased material to make each of the kids a blanket and ended up feeling a little jealous, so I picked some out for me too ; ) I'm making a Phineas and Ferb one for Nathen, a farm animals for Rory and a cheetah print for me : ) I had extra of Rory's, so I've decided to make her a matching pillow too. And I found a stuff it your self lamb stuffed animal to go with it, lol. Which meant I needed to get Nathen a Phineas and Ferb stuffed animal to go with his. Which means it's now turned into a birthday present, since we're going to be celebrating his 8th birthday in like 8 days. Anyway, I am super psyched to be making them these blankets and to be creating a memory we'll share forever. I can't believe my baby boy is going to be eight. Where does the time go? And how is it possible that in a few short years I will be thirty? I don't mind getting older (I plan on aging like a fine wine) and I look forward to even becoming a grandmother years into the future. But wasn't I eight myself only yesterday? Oh boy. I need a glass of Riesling... 

  We bought my son a hamster a couple of years ago which he named Rhino after the spunky hamster in the movie Bolt. We loved the little rodent dearly even when it pulled a Houdini and escaped time and time again so that it could make the trek across the living room to our far sofa, so that it could climb inside, yes you heard right, inside with the springs and stuffing. Yes we loved that little chunky rodent to pieces when we weren't flipping over our couch every other day to locate the missing turd...lol. Unfortunately after only having her for a few short months Rhino passed away, on of all days, Nathen's birthday two years ago. Nathen never saw her, thank god. I found her and it was extremely traumatizing : ( Cory took her and buried her outside and I waited till we were safely at Chuck E Cheese and having fun to break the news to Nathen, that although Rhino loved us very much, she missed her mother even more and decided to move to the farm to live with her. I only told him the truth a few short weeks ago because we were having THE discussion about death and I thought he was ready to hear it. Now to the point of telling you all of this, lol. 

Enter, Rhino Squared Weidenfeller. My good friend Sonda who lives in an efficiency made a decision, she'd soon regret, to buy a hamster (who oddly, resembles Rhino a great deal) when she realized she no longer gets to sleep because the hamster is nocturnal, lol. So happy birthday Nathen, you get a new hamster! Meet the newest edition to our family of 9 (Cory, Nathen, Rory, me, Ducky the Lop eared bunny, Michaelangelo the Russian tortoise, and now the Syrian hamster) Rhino the second or Rhino Squared if you will ; ) She's a cutie. She'll fit in well with this bunch!

Well till next year,

Have a safe, happy New Year and many Christmas cookies to you!

Sincerely Yours.

Resolutions and iPads...

So... #1 New years resolution? Lose weight. Best toy ever? iPad 2. No contest, for either, unfortunately ; )

 Every year for the past 10 years I've made the resolution to quit smoking. This year, like the year 2009, I'm starting the New Year right. Not smoking ; )  I'm especially proud of myself this year because I don't have trying to get pregnant as a reason I'm sticking to my guns. 4 weeks and counting... the pounds : ( Worst part about quitting smoking, other than the fact that it's one of the hardest things a smoker has ever had to do is the weight gain. No matter how hard you try to not over eat, you just can't seem to keep them off. This can lead to depression which usually foils your plans to quit smoking. I know, been there. Not this year though. The extra weight sucks, yes, but that doesn't mean I can't do this or that I can't help keep the weight gain down by exercising and making sure to eat right. Which bring me to the third topic I wanted to touch on. Food. I need recipe ideas that taste good and that are "good" for you. It's easy to Google, but I haven't had a lot of luck with finding recipes that either don't break the bank or that actually taste good. So any firsthand recommendations for meals, dressings, drinks or habits would be greatly appreciated! Time to get on this and time to start counting the pounds from weight loss rather than gain ; ) 

 There's this app I really like called Epicurious. It seems like the place to go for meal ideas. It's available to download for free on any android or apple devices that are compatible with downloading apps. Check it out, and please, if you try anything on there and have any positive or negative feedback, share? I'm currently trying to add a link so that you have a direct line to their website but I'm typing this from my new iPad 2 and I'm still learning and working out Blogsy's kinks, lol.

 Ah-ha! Got it. I LOVE Blogsy! Great blogging app. So my iPad 2 came in on Tuesday and I've been on it nonstop... It's amazing and does everything I wanted it for so I'm extremely happy : ) I'm still waiting on my orange gel cover but for now, it's decked out in purple. I call it my purplicious pad, lol.  I'm at around 40 apps and counting. Top 5 would probably have to be:

1. WordsWithFriends

2. IAWriter

3. Blogsy

4. Netflix

5. PlantsVsZombies

To wrap it all up: This year my New Years resolution will not only be kept but it's a new one which is is very exciting for me! iPad 2= greatest adult tech toy EVER. And I need recipes so have a care and share ; ) 

This Braised Paprika Chicken looks delish, think I will have to try! 

Well, sorry to cut it short but I should get off here. It's Princess Lorelei Peyton's nap time ; ) which means Mom gets to do dishes... I'd rather have a nap.

                                                         
                                                                   For Moms

   Happy holidays E&I followers ; ) Love you all!

      Sincerely Yours.

Say what? Reading...for pleasure?!

 Friday. My favorite day of the week has finally arrived. Time to mosey on over to Barnes and Noble's book club's Free Friday selection.
Ah, an adventure/historical tale. Not my cuppa.
Oh well, hit and miss ; ) Currently I'm in a state of chaos. I've got chicken defrosting on the stove that my golden retriever seems all too interested in, a to-do list that's growing by, what feels like, the minute, my basset hound howling in her sleep and my 14 month old daughter Rory trying to pull her pants off so that she can toddle around half naked while making faces at our Russian tortoise in his tank (not sure why she has to be sans pants while she does this, but o-kay). Anyway, what a sweet little girl helping her mommy with her Blog ; ) *Uh-oh, here come the naked pictures, lol.

Fridays. I love how crazy my Fridays can be. I love how crazy my life can be : ) The two cutest kids on the planet (well, of course I may be a little biased ; ), my ridiculously charming cute husband and I will be sitting down this evening to a delicious home cooked meal that I'll have slaved over for hours (so you better like it Cory!) as a family, laughing and joking about our day. Rory of course will try to join in by throwing corn or doing her fake, albeit, contagious laugh when she hears one of us laugh. Which will get Nathen (my 7yr old son) going with his insane noise that he considers to be laughing and not a duck honking desperately for it's life which will have us all in tears. From there we will more than likely watch Megamind.
 What's Megamind you say? Only the greatest animated movie, EVER. He's blue, he's evil, and he's predictable...  

Megamind:"PREDICTABLE? You call THIS predictable?"
If you haven't seen it, please do yourself a favor and sit down and watch it with your kids. If you don't have kids and you feel the need, borrow someone else's kids. You do not want to miss out on this movie.
Megamind: Could this be what I was destined for? A dream life filled with luxury?
[Metro Man's ship lands in a mansion, while Megamind's ship lands in a prison]   
Megamind: Apparently not! Even fate chooses its favorites...

I think I've seen this movie more times than it would be considered healthy so take my word for it, a must see, hilarious!!!
 Ipads are ordered and should be here Monday or Tuesday. I cannot wait! I've been researching and have a list of 50 apps to load up right away, lol. I think what I'm most excited about though is trying out the two way cameras so I can video skype with my dad (silly dad lives all the way in Australia, which is hard) and I'm happy that this means he can see his grandchildren a little more often. We'll even get to Christmas Skype! Wait, Christmas is in 9 days?! This cannot be right... 9 days??? Expletive, expletive. <sigh> I'm starting to really f-ing hate to-do lists.
 What I am loving, is my to-read list which has grown a ridonkulous amount in a very short time! If you're on Goodreads check out my page and see if we have any common reading interests ; ) I've rated 231 books that I've read, listed 71 I still need to get, 726 to read and 2 that I'm currently reading. If you couldn't tell already, I LOVE to read! I try to read at least a book a day if not 2 or 3. There is no wonder that I have zero time for anything else other than my family, home responsibilities and the reading that I can fit in. I'm going to do my best to at least be on here once a week but will try to be more often. I think having a place to laugh, rant and conspire will be good for me... therapeutic even ; ) Well, time to get back to what I should have been doing for the last hour, cleaning and getting dinner stuff together. Until next time...

Ciao!

Sincerely Yours.

A Blogging Virgin.

 Honestly, I cannot believe I've started this blog. For the last ten years I've been fighting the urge to spill my nonsensical thoughts and feelings to random strangers and loved ones. Maybe now, because I am in a better place, I can finally feel comfortable with being open and getting it all out there. You poor people! <Inserts evil laugh> Bahahaha!
 This is the worst time of the year for me. Which is a little ironic because it happens to be my favorite season and holiday. How is it you can feel so happy and together and yet so sad and alone at the same time? What does one do to feel content? Less anxious? Or at the very least, to feel like you're not going crazy? Answer= It's the holiday season. You can't.
 In a consumer driven world, I imagine most people feel their possessions make them who they are. Their cars, their homes, their jobs, their friends, their lovers. This is sad (sad but true). I've been told I have the "collecting" bug. I blame the OCD! I probably don't need close to half of what I own or buy, but that doesn't stop me from rationalizing my doing so.
 Christmas and the New Year should be about spending time with my family. Not pulling out my hair because I just can't seem to get it together enough to mail out Christmas cards this year. Not freaking out that we've blown through the Christmas money between 8 children to buy for (Our own 2 plus nieces and nephews), 5 birthdays, 2 anniversaries and are now counting down the days till we get our tax return so that we can be just barely scraping by again till next Christmas rolls around. Did I mention that this used to be my favorite holiday? On the upside, my husband got a nice surprise Christmas work bonus this week so we've decided to treat ourselves ; ) We're finally getting Ipads (refurbished). And it's okay because I've rationalized it. I will be using mine for my writing. Hubby will be using his for work trips. Tada! No seriously, last frivolous spend... of the year. <hangs head in shame> I can't help it! I've wanted one since the first Ipad came out! And I may be a girl but I don't spend money on shoes, purses, jewelry, clothes, brand items or beauty products like many I know of so I deserve this. See, rationalization at it's best ; )
 Sometimes I wish time could slow down just enough so that I could catch my breath. I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Is it possible to go through a mid life crisis at the age of 25? I'm terrible when it comes time to get my own head on straight but friends and family have always told me I know just the right thing to say to make someone feel better, or that I give great advice. Why can't I take my own? I'm such a cliche.
I have to admit, I really do like the feeling of having people come to me with their problems and being able to help them see things more clearly, boosting their feeling of self-worth or watching them walk away with a little perspective and just maybe a little skip to their step ; ) I think I'm going to look into volunteering for a help line and I'd love to have an advice column. Who knows, maybe that's what I'll end up doing!

Amazing. I seem to have figured out a plan of action. And it only took 20 minutes (well, plus 25 years and some odd days).

Blogger, I heart you.

Sincerely Yours.