You are what you eat...so don't eat crap!

OK, so I have the WORST blisters on my heels ever :( SUCKS! I haven't walked for my 30 minutes since Thursday night, but I have been doing other stuff instead, including swimming, which made me think about lap swimming when I'm back home.

I'm a little worried about being at cheer camp for a week with all the walking we have to do. I did buck hay this morning, just three tons, which only took two hours, and I did have shoes on, and I somehow survived! Boy, I was sweating like crazy, but that tends to happen when you have jeans, a long sleeve shirt on, and you are in and out of a barn, up at the top (heat DOES rise). That was definitely my workout for the day.

And, I ate some pizza. Honestly, 4 pieces :( BAD, bad, bad. Then I ate some birthday cake yesterday, and I did have two SMALL pieces, one white cake one chocolate cake. WELL, I woke up this morning with a NASTY headache. UGH. I have to think that it's a direct correlation to eating CRAP. Seriously. I am cool with having a piece of pizza or maybe two, but NOT four. SHEESH. I truly feel that the pizza and the cake made me feel like crapola today.

So, I'm back to eating CLEAN!!! I cut up a bunch of fruit and veggies, and I plan on bringing them with me to cheer camp. I will have access there to fruits and veggies and salads when we eat our meals, but I want to have snakcs available, too, so I don't feel any temptations.

I also will need to drink more water than I have been drinking because it will be hot in Ellensburg! Need to keep hydrated, and I want to drink as much am I am supposed to drink, so that will be my goal this week.

With me headed out to cheer camp, I most likely will not be blogging this upcoming week because we are crazy busy, and I won't have much time. As well, I won't be able to weigh until Saturday morning.

A loss is a loss!

This week's loss is not as big as I hoped...but, I keep reminding myself a loss is a loss, no matter how small! I am down 8 pounds in two weeks. And, really I did well with 5 days of camping, celebrating National Tequila Day, and TOM.

So, that's a 1.2 loss from last week and exactly 8 pounds in two weeks! And, really I did well with 5 days camping, celebrating National Tequila Day, and TOM!

I will beef it up this next week, though! The nice part is that I will be at cheer camp, so I will have access to some good fruit and veggies. We don't have access to extra snacks, unless we pack them, and I have already bought healthy stuff to take! And, we get LOTS of walking in, but I plan to get at least one extra walk a day in!!

I did it!

So, I went for my walk tonight, even though I didn't want to because of the blisters!! But, I did it, and I am glad I did!! I tweeted a pic of my walk; it was so pretty :) So calm and cool.

I'm excited for my weigh-in tomorrow!! My goal was to be at 256.8, so I will be down 10 total pounds in two weeks. We will see...

I could definitely drink more water in my day. I have been drinking water with lime and blueberries, but I truly haven't been drinking enough water, so that needs to be my goal for tomorrow!!

Wonderful Wednesday

So, since I didn't get my booty out of bed, I decided that I had to walk when I had free time, which was at 3 p.m., when it was scorching HOT!! But, that was the deal! I did it. I am pretty sure I melted, and even the tiny bit of water in the bottom of the bottle was warm. SHEESH.

I did wear my new shoes, which I love. But, I did also get nasty blisters :( Dang it! I went and bought some moleskin to try to deal with the blisters today when I walk. They were pretty sore in my muck boots when we were working with the sheep. I am not sure when I will walk today, but I will get it in!!

I am excited to weigh-in tomorrow morning! I hope it's good :)

I ate pretty great throughout the day, and we did go to El Portal with our best friends to celebrate National Tequila Day with a margarita. Everyone else decided to have dinner (that wasn't what we originally planned), but I decided to skip dinner, ate some chips and cabbage salsa, drank water, and my one blueberry margarita, and I felt pretty good!

Yesterday we made that super yummy angel food cake with pineapple! OHMYGAWSH! SCRUMPTIOUS! You just take a box of angel cake and add a can of crushed pineapple and mix them together. Then you bake for 30 minutes! WOW, super delish! I added a dollop of whip cream on top of mine :)

Wednesday was a good day :)

Coffee on the rocks, please

I am loving iced coffee! I bought a Keurig machine last March (best investment ever!), and when I started up eating healthy again, one of things I had to give up was my mochas from the coffee shop. Even though I would request FF and SF concoctions, I am trying to eat (and drink) natural food and things that are not processed, so out goes the frou frou drinks (as Rick calls them).

But, thankfully I have a Keurig machine Kevin in my life now (he makes the perfect coffee), and I have found that I LOVE just having plain coffee on the rocks. I find it just perfect in taste and it's refreshing. Probably now if I were to go have a frou frou drink, I wouldn't like it so much because it would taste way sweeter.

Dang it's been hot lately, too, so the iced coffee is perfect for this weather! I do have to admit that I didn't walk yesterday :( I did wrangle sheep all morning, as we gave them their baths, but I just didn't feel motivated to walk, even with my new shoes! I will DEFINITELY walk today, but for now, I gotta go drink my iced coffee and wrangle some more sheep! Keep it cool today :)

Feeling GOOD!

Tonight I decided with the heat, I wanted something refreshing for dinner. So, I made a delicious salad!! It included: spinach and other greens, bell peppers, onion, strawberries, grilled chicken, blueberries, hard boiled eggs, a little bit of shredded cheese, tomatoes. SCRUMPTIOUS!!!

I had a super fantastic time camping! I ate really healthy, other than two visits to the local store for some ice cream. I did get lots of working out, as we played Ladder Ball (not super calorie burning), badminton, and we went on LOTS of LONG walks (well, the little one rode her bike, but I hoofed it), so I was really active.

I also got lots of sleep! And, I drank TONS of water!!! It was a wonderful escape :) I even read two books!! We painted our nails. We just had tons of fun! I feel like we took care of ourselves, which sometimes doesn't feel like a priority in our busy lives, right?

Today I bought a new pair of shoes, too, so I'm looking forward to going for a walk. I am also looking forward to this week's weigh-in, for sure.

Wahoo...weigh-in time!

We are up camping in Conconully, which is tons of fun, and I had to come down for cheer practice, so I have some quick internet access.

Yesterday was a bit hectic, getting everything ready for the camping trip (prepping veggies and fruits and other food, packing and whatnot), so I didn't get my 30 minutes of official exercise--though I was CRAZY sweating and working hard and definitely burning calories, and I'm pretty sure I walked in and out of that trailer at least 30 times, and those stairs are high!

PLUS, I did the T-Arm drill, where you stand with your hands out, and don't drop them until you can't stand it any longer. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's hard. HECK! It's a punishment at basic training for the Marines! So, I'm feeling that today :)

Don't despair though, as I plan on going for an hour walk today to make it up!! That's what all of this has to be about...being real and being flexible. Stuff happens, and you gotta make things work.

The really exciting news...my weigh-in! I was going to weigh tomorrow, but we will be up camping, and I won't be back until Sunday, so I won't have access and all of that. BESIDES, who wants to take a scale camping?!

To recap...last week I weighed 266.8.

A week later 6 days later:

That's a loss of 6.8 pounds!! WAHOO :) I will take it!!! I definitely am starting to feel better. The swelling in my legs and feet has been gone ALL week! The heartburn has been gone, too, only one day of it. I have eaten hardly ANY PROCESSED foods!!! And, I've been walking, which feels AWESOME! I'm excited for this next weeek now :)

REALLY?!

Today was a REALLY LONG day. I should have known when it started out with our beautifully white and fluffy kitty rubbing and attaching to a fly strip. OMGAWSH! Chaos, let me tell ya!! Though REALLY entertaining...

This afternoon I had a meltdown (just one of those days), and what I REALLY wanted to do, well, eat something. Then I considered just going to bed (mid-afternoon), which my morning escapade and then the list of other things happening after made me think possibly I shouldn't have ever bothered getting out of bed, and in the end I went for a thirty minute walk in the heat of the afternoon. It was awesome! I had a super positive walking partner, she talked the entire time, and I could just feel the stress melt away!! THANK goodness. So, I have finished Day 5 of walking! And, I averted a possible calorie catastrophe!

In the end, I had a REALLY good eating day :) I did think this evening how I would really like a Blizzard, but I made a deal with myself that I could only have one if I earned it which meant I would have to walk there (3 miles one way) and back! In the end, I decided I didn't want one so bad!

I could have sidetracked myself after our walk because we headed to Grandma's Attic to get the kiddo some ice cream and a milkshake for Rick. I was VERY tempted, but I also knew that I didn't REALLY want it, so I got an ice tea instead. And, oddly enough, I did feel satisfied. It was cold and refreshing and just what I REALLY needed! It also helps that I LOVE love the owner! Visiting with her is ALWAYS a REALLY positive moment in my day!

I loved the salad I made for dinner tonight: spinach, strawberries, blueberries, and cucumbers. REALLY YUMMY!

Not to sound like a Debby Downer, I did have some good highlights today :)

In the end...I'm REALLY glad this day is almost over.

Still going strong :)

     Today was day four in a row of walking :) I feel so much better since I have been walking again! It's crazy to me that in April of 2012 I walked/jogged a half-marathon, and now I feel like I might die walking a few miles. It's amazing how quickly one can lose her cardio stamina. BUT, I'm back at it, and that's all that matters.      I did walk tonight late...started at 9 p.m., but I still did my 30 minutes!! We wrangled the sheep, which was QUITE a cardio workout, my goodness! That's why I had to walk so late.      I read a couple of interesting studies about exercise during the past couple of weeks, and they were about the effect of the duration of exercise. One study kept track of a group of 100 men, who half exercised for 30 minutes a day, where the other half exercised for an hour. AND, the group that did the 30 minutes actually lost more weight over the study than the hour working out group.      Perhaps some people burn out of exercising an hour each day. Maybe it's easier to find an excuse to not exercise when it's for an hour. The authors of the study talked about how people who work out for an hour actually ate more (they had exercise and food journals).      In the end, I decided I can work out 30 minutes a day. I walk 30 minutes each day. I can do at least that. So, that's what I'm doing.      I'm kind of excited to weigh on Friday, though we will be camping, so I don't know if I will weigh on Friday or maybe Thursday morning instead...      I'm almost to that point where I'm not missing processed foods! I love all the fruit and veggies we have been consuming. TASTES SO YUMMY!!!!

Walking from my house to Safeway! #getit #sweaty #ripSteve

Truth Time

OK,truth time.

I am NOT PROUD of the number on this scale :*(

But, it is what it is. This is my start weight on Friday, July 12, 2013.

My goal weight will be 166 on July 12, 2014 (wedding day!)

Cankle this...

     Today I prepped and prepped and prepped! I did lots of cutting of veggies and fruits :) AND, what was super cool for me today...I purchased my FIRST fresh pineapple!!

     I wasn't even sure how to cut the thing! So, I researched on you tube, and actually found out some interesting info, like how to choose a fresh pineapple, and also that it's important to place the pineapple in your fridge UPSIDE DOWN for 30 minutes before cutting it. This allows for the natural sugar that settles in the bottom to travel back through the entire fruit, ensuring that all of it is sweet, not just the bottom!

     I think the craziest thing to me about this pineapple bit is that I couldn't stand it whatsoever for ever and ever and only recently (like the past few months) I have discovered that I LOVE pineapple!! I'm so excited that I just love love love it!

     I started walking again! It's crazy to think that I was walking and working out three times a week from November to June, and then I haven't done anything this month I have been out from school. I CAN'T believe how out of shape I feel in just ONE month!!! SHEESH. But, I already feel better walking again.

     I have been struggling with my thyroid since last summer, and at this point that have upped my medication FOUR times! And, by up, I mean doubling it each time. SIGH. With that I have also had crazy swelling in my legs and feet :(

     The good news is that just in two days of eating everything fresh, nothing processed (except a slice of bread), I have my ankles back!!! That's right, CANKLES be gone :)) YEAH! Just that makes me motivated to eat healthy, drink my water, and move my butt.

365

     365 days. What can I do in a year? How can I make my health better in one year? And, why one year?

     Well, I have never given myself a year before. I've started with such intentions and always quit a few months in. I have been successful and lost 50 pounds only to gain it all and some back :( Again and again and again.

     SO, what makes this time different? WELL, we have exciting news in our family :) My youngest son has proposed to his girlfriend (who we absolutely love and cherish), and they will be having a grand wedding next July 12.

     I have one year to take care of business. I REFUSE to be the fat mother of the groom. I am excited because my favorite photographer is going to be taking pics (Leeshy Lou) AND we will have the entire family in town, which means lots of family pics :)

      I feel super motivated about making this happen. I also feel lucky because I have some big supporters in this effort.

     I am also going to blog again. The times I have been most successful and most serious have been when I blogged about what I was doing.