Week 4 - Just have to keep going!

I seem to have hit a little bit of a brick wall this week. It was supposed to be a "rest" week, whatever that means, because we still workout everyday. No strength training this week, just cardio and Yoga. Anyway, it was still hard. I was a little down this week thinking things are never going to get easier with this workout stuff. I didn't have the motivation to work out...at all. I still did it, but what really gets to me is that at times I feel imprisoned by having to work out every day. Example: I went to a fabulous dinner with the Auxillary and then had to leave at a decent time so I could get home to work out. I don't feel free to go out nights because I have to work out. Yoga takes an hour and a half to complete, it is very hard to go into a workout knowing you will be in pain for an hour and a half. So, I don't mean to be down, I think I am just hitting a brick wall and I have to push through it. It isn't forever that I will be working out everyday. When this is done I am going to go down to every other day.

The nice thing is that I got a treat and wen't to Cheesecake Factory this week. Not to eat, but I did have some appitizer and a bit of cheesecake. It was yummy and a nice escape. YUM! I am a little bit more relaxed with the meal plan now. I think I am just getting into a groove. I spent $170 on groceries this week. BLAH! Man I just keep hitting these numbers. You are all probably wonder what the heck I buy. Well, whole grain things just cost so much more as do low fat cheese, whole grain pasta, whole grain bagels, and so on. They don't ever seem to be on sale either. I did still buy all the nuts Nate and my kids seem to scarf down in a week. The thing is I bought little to no meat, since I did that last week. Just depressing, I am certainly NOT in budget yet. What to do...I have to think about a better strategy. To give myself a little credit I did purchase more because my parents are coming this week, YAY! Also, we don't eat out AT ALL. So, this is every meal every day for 5 people. It just seems pricey to me.

OK OK...so onto results: I put on a pair of pants that I alsmost gave to Goodwill because they were too small...and they FIT!! So, yay for losing inches! I can tell a difference in my body shape. I was able to have a turkey wrap this week and it was so so so good! Even with the whole grain tortilla, I loved it! If you ever dislike whole grain breads or pasta, go without carbs for 4 weeks and then try it. You will LOVE IT...he he.

Week 3 - Here we go again

So this week felt a bit like week 1. I am not as sore, but it seems I have run out of steam. I am exhausted!!! Not only that but my grocery trip racked up $199 today. I guess I ran out of a lot of the things I bought that first trip and now I am having to stock up again. I literally bought probably 2-3 canned goods in that trip, the rest is meat, fresh veggies(lots), nuts, meat, protein bars( yes I even attempted my own and they were gross), cheese, meat, whole grain tortillas, meat. Did I mention that I had to buy meat?Anyway, I told Nate some of the extras are just going to have to go. I know he loves the nuts for a snack and artichoke hearts on his salad. But that stuff really adds up. I used coupons today for what I could. But lets face it, they don't issue manufacturers coupons for lettuce and apples. Oh yeah, I also had to get the super mega toilet paper package. As much as I want to keep the budget down, buying in bulk just makes sense. I am confident I will not have to buy much meat next week, as #1 we are moving on to stage 2, lower protein, a little bit more carbs....YEAH! #2 I just bought a ton today. I buy large amounts of chicken, pork, turkey and freeze it in meal sized portions. Oh yeah, a note for any and all people turning to ground turkey. YOU MUST GET THE WHITE MEAT 93/7 Ground Turkey. The 85/15 ground turkey has even more fat than a lean ground beef. Ha, yeah I even bought a turkey sausage without looking and it packed a whopping 17g of fat per serving!!! Higher than the regular pork sausage!!! Anyway, just cause it says turkey doesn't mean it's the best. Like I said, I am learning...

Ummmmmmmmm....the workouts kicked my butt. My knee was on the mend until Yoga X and that tore it up again. The next day was legs and that killed it completely. Now I am back to icing it and resting. It doesn't help that I did all the yard work yesterday as well.

My addiction to soda has tempted me more this week then the previous two. I realized I associate it with cleaning, grocery shopping, and many other things. It was sort of my motivation to dig into house cleaning, like a little reward. I get soda and everyone else gets a clean house, booya! Now what do I get....a big glass of water...yippy...I mean Pepsi you were there for me. You thanked me for all of my hard work by being so sweet and gave me a pep to my walk. I even thought about trying a diet soda, ewww, but I think that is even worse. The problem is the sugar, artificial sweeter high that my body gets, then I crash and need calories. I think it is the same deal for both regular and diet sodas, both are probably no good so why get started on something that is bad for me again.

Results:
My calves are starting to get defined. I think I actually lost like 2 pounds. I am super duper hungry most of the time, so I must be burning the calories. So I think my clothes fit differently, so that is good. I did some crazy Yoga stuff I couldn't do before. Grilled shrimp marinaded in light Italian dressing is AWESOME! I learned that I like baked Tilapia with some parmesean cheese on it better than grilled Tilapia.

Week 2 - If it isn't one thing It's another.

Well this week has gone great, minimal soreness with more energy. But I seemed to have replaced that with tendonitis in my left knee. It hurts pretty much all the time, so much that I wear a knee brace to work out. It pains me to think that after all my hard work I will have to take a break and nurse my knee back to health...blah! If it isn't one thing it's always another.

On a better note, gorcery shopping landed me at $130 this week. We are getting closer!! I have even more new recipes and last weeks new ones were so delicious I even forgot I was on a diet! Well...almost...except the crazy amount of meat I am still eating. The good news is that I was able to eat out for lunch one day, had some delicious low carb foods, water and was completely satisfied. I am starting to be able to look at fast food places /fried foods and not want to eat them. I know how horrible they are and how bad bad bad they are for my body. It really helps that every meal is planned out a week in advance, no spur of the moment decisions to grab a quick bite. You have NO IDEA HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS! I can also just filter a food through my low carb/low calorie criteria and know if the answer is Yes or No, black and white.
Will I drink a soda again, or eat a Cheeseburger...you bet. Will I do it every week, NOPE.

So now who am I? That crazy health nut who scolds others for bad food choices. No! I am reinventing myself to practice what I preach. As we roll past a McDonalds, without fail I hear Kaden pipe up from the back seat "McDonalds is a treat just like Chuck-E-Cheese, because it's not good for our bodies." (or mommy's pocket book) Yes Kaden! That's right. Fun to do every once and a while but not every day. So, now I have to live that. Soda is not good for my body. Fun every once and a while but not everyday.( I am still working on this craving, 2 weeks clean and sober :) I realize it is my job to teach my kids what food is good for our bodies, and that it is yummy. And every once and a while we get a treat. I am a work in progress...

Results:
Kaden ate the low carb lasagna this week as well as broccoli, he actually ate it! They love turkey bacon too.
I have lost no weight, but Nate says my shoulders are better defined as well as my abs.
I can do these scissor things I couldn't do last week. And I no longer dread the workouts, and seem to get through them easier!
Fruit never tasted so good. I guess that is the lack of sugar from the soda my body usually gets.

Whah?

Nani (Her nickname, a weird morph from Juliana to Juli-nana to nana and now nani ) loves markers, pencils, crayons...anything that makes a big mess. Here she is in her glory after finding a black marker the boys left out. And if you call her name she turns and looks at you like this..and says "Whah?"

Week 1 - GIMME SOME PASTA!!

Ok so, all I want right now is a big bowl of pasta, any kind...but no meat please. I have eaten so much meat this week, I even despise eating steak (which is one of my favorites). Of course this should come as no surprise considering taking carbs almost completely out of my diet and doubling the protein. Good news is that in a week or two I get to put them back in!! So overall, I feel good. I have been sore everyday, the workouts kick my butt and I sweat more than I have in my life. I have gone an entire week without soda, I do miss it at times. But I know drinking it will set me back, I need to change that sugar intake anyway. On to new and better things!

A few days I was so sore could barely get up the steps, but I made it! So, this is day 7 a rest day...YAY! No workouts today so I went grocery shopping for this week. I decided to make my own menu to cut down on costs, a few where we can take leftovers for lunch. It was a grueling process to make the menu and count the calories, but I am proud of the end result. The food this past week was really good a few dud recipes, but for the most part pretty delicious. I have cooked dishes with ingredients I have never tried before, and that was super cool. I also have a few "keeper" sauces and recipes to add to my healthy list. I have to admit the cooking got a bit overwhelming at times, hence the revamp for week #2. My grocery bill was $160 including diapers/cleaning supplies and "family food" the kids can eat (they eat more than I do). So P90x food probably ran at around $100. Not too BAD... Still not where I want it to be, I need to be closer to $120 for the week. Those protein bars are pricey!

Results: I can fit into some pants that were too tight last week, but have not lost any weight. I can tell my legs are firming up and my "muffin top" (aka lovehandles) is getting smaller. A few days I felt drained of energy, but things have picked up. It is at those moments that I want to go out and get a soda, but I am glad to say I have had the will power to fight my urges and instead grab a glass of water. Mostly my legs kill me all the time everything else is decently sore.

The best thing of all is that Nate and I have had time to spend together, seeing each others succeses and...well... fall-on-the-floor failures. Those are the things that bring a couple together and for that I am truly thankful. Now we get to be Beachbody Babes together too!!

Starting the P90x!

Nate and I have decided to embark on our journey with the P90x fitness program. Yes, I want to be a ripped mama!! Ok mainly I want to do this with Nate and to gain more confidence in myself, my physical abilities and to become a healthier and more active family.

So this is the first day. I have spend the past 2 weeks going over the meal plan and menu. I decided to give the menu they outlined a chance and stick with their meals 100% for the first week. I was hesitant because the recipes call for many ingredients, some are expensive. My first grocery trip cost $260 for all of the food. Some will last for 2 weeks and probably $80 of it were spices, cooking wines/vinegars and so on. Probably one time purchases for the 90 days. I have to admit that I need to do more research on less expensive fish and substitutes for some of the pricier veggies. I purchased herb plants to save some money. For the most part the plan looks good, and yummy. The main reason I want to try all of the recipes is because I want a good understanding of how to cook healthy, and eventually how to do it on a budget. Since this is not a weight loss program, there is SOOOO much food, I have yet to finish a meal. First 2 weeks is Fat Shredder, low low carb and high protein.

They also have a portion control plan where I can make my own meals/recipes as I choose as long as I portion out proteins/carbs/fat/veg... to what I am allowed during my day. I may go this direction to save some money if the meals get to out of control expensive.

Today I cooked the Red Pepper Soup to go with dinner and there is enough for this week and next, so I froze the portion for next week. Tonight is Salmon/wild rice/asparagus. I also have to make the shrimp stir-fry for lunch tomorrow so Nate can take it with him. LOTS of cooking, but I don't mind because I like it! Plus, the Shrimp stir-fry can be a future dinner menu item if we like it.

We did our fitness test yesterday and I broke a sweat doing that, so tonight I think I am going to die during the workout!! My muscles are sore from yesterday...

Stay tuned for more updates!!

Livin' in the Southwest!!

It has been a long great while since I have updated here. Now that I am so far away from family I should get back on the horse and start capturing these moments by blogging.

Right now I am waiting for the water heater to warm by shower water up. One more thing we need to fix on our LONG list of to-dos for this house. The pilot light seems to only go out when it is my turn to take a shower, go figure.

The past month has truly been a whirlwind. The movers came to to get our things May 10th, Followed by Nate's graduation from Medical School on the 15th...that included a trip to Kirksville. I loved to see Nate graduate, I am so proud of him. Really, he is truly amazing and totally smart.

Although, it took all of about 1 minute to realize that I truly do not miss that place. So many hard memories, so many I have worked through, and yet it hits me like a brick to go back. As we roll into the town the first word that pop out are..."Now what do we do, well I have to go to Walmart." HA!

One of the other highlights of that trip was seeing my good friend Tasheena, it seems that the emotion of being back in the 'ville all came forward when I finally got to hug her after 2 years. I never realized just how much I missed our friendship. She is a real life saver, a tride and true friend and I cherish the journey we shared together through 2 of the hardest years of my life. Thanks girl!

On the 17th of May we closed on our house in Normal, Il and headed up to the frozen tundra of Sheboygen, WI to spend a week visiting Nate's side of the family. We were officially homeless, with only an "estimated" closing date...which ended up being the worst nightmare of a closing experience we have ever had. We took 3 days and drove down to San Antonio fully expecting to close Friday the 28th. To make a long and stressful story short we were hung out to dry for another week by the bank. Spent the days hotel hopping not knowing if today will be the day we close...or NOT. We "unofficially" closed on Thursday June 3rd. Kaden got to spend the day before, his birthday, being toted all over San Antonio finally to end up at a Chuck-E-Cheese all hot and sweaty. Happy Birthday little dude, let me have a big scary mouse bring you a cake!

Even though we did not "officially" even own the house on Thursday....we moved in!! Technically we should not have because it was owned by the bank. So until Friday morning we "untechnically" owned the house. Main reason for moving in early, the movers were scheduled to arrive early Friday morning with all of our belongings. There was NO WAY I was going to reschedule that, it could push it back weeks!

YAY!!! Our long and tiring homeless experience was OVER!! I did not care that the air conditioning didn't work, I was living out of a cooler, and had no place to wash my clothes...I WAS FINALLY HOME!! Yes, the air was fixed, the washer and dryer arrived, as did my fridge a week later.

What a journey!