Why I've Become Obsessed

Zumba.  I love it.  I can't seem to stop talking about it.  There are so many reasons why I love it.  Zumba dance is a high calorie burn, and it helps sculpt and tone the body. Many of the dance moves involve twisting and crunching of the abs. The ab workout happens throughout the entire class.  I gotta tell you especially after today's workout my stomach is hurting!  I don't have abs yet but I can feel the muscles burning.  It's so awesome to be able to feel that you are doing the workout right!

The music is also amazing!  It's contagious.  It's almost all I listen to now.  When I hear good music, with a good beat, I just want to dance! In a Zumba class, you’ll hear all sorts of Latin music including Cumbia, Merengue, Salsa, and Cha Cha. Sometimes, hip-hop and R&B music is also included.  All the Zumba songs are upbeat and ‘happy’ sounding, so I always leave the workout room smiling, in pain from a great workout but smiling.  Whenever I do my DVD's or any of the live classes it puts me in such a good mood.  I woke up at 7:30am just so I could go to a class!  7:30am is unheard of for me, it's soooo early!

Zumba is fun, plain and simple. I've been making a lot of new friends, and I always know that people are always welcome. When I first started I didn't know anyone.  I just bit the bullet and went out of my comfort zone and gave it a try.  Now I am slowly starting to get to know people and every time I go to a live class I have so much fun!  There are never mistakes or ‘wrong moves’, as long as you're moving that's what counts! I absolutely love it.

The instructors play a very important part in my live Zumba classes.  They push me.  They are passionate about Zumba and passionate about their students.  In most Zumba classes, the instructor knows many of the members by name, and makes it a point to introduce herself to anyone who may be new. Instructors are passionate about Zumba and VERY energetic. I find yourself pushing just a little bit harder because of the encouragement I get as well as the desire to keep up with them.  I still can't because my stamina stinks but it's getting better!

I highly suggest doing Zumba.  The DVD's are a lot of fun but the classes are so much better!  Go to www.zumba.com to find a class!  Do it! Do it now!!!!!

What the wha????

Holy cow! I did my picture update and it's amazing what 3 months of being healthy can do for you!!!  I am amazed at that changes that have taken place!  I'm speechless.  I'm in no way where I want to be and I still have a long way to go.  However, this picture update once a month really helps.  I didn't really notice too much of a difference the second month but by the 3rd goodness it's obvious.  This is such a boost of confidence for me that I am doing something right!

I got to keep working out and eating right.  The weight will come off.  I will get healthy! I have proof that I am succeeding! This is so exciting!  Check out my progress by CLICKING HERE!!  So exciting!  You can also check out my actual weight loss progress by CLICKING HERE!  I'm amazed that I've stuck to it this long!  It's awesome!  I have no cravings, I don't feel deprived at all, and I'm being active! Did I mention that this is awesome? Awesome!

So Much to Write About!

First level of OWL is adding 5 more carbs of veggies!

So many things have happened in the last 24 hours.  I don't even know which thing to focus on...  Today was weigh day and I lost another 3 lbs.!  That totals 9 pounds in two weeks.  I want to lose 56 pounds total, so if my math is correct that means I've made 16% of that goal! Wow!  Can I just say W-O-W!  That's amazing.  This is the first time I've done Induction correctly and cleanly for the entire 2 weeks.  In the past I had tried to continue with Induction for a longer period of time but I always got bored and fell of the wagon.  This time around I'm going actually move to the next phase of Atkins: OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss).  I will start adding more options to my daily food intake slowly.  I will be doing this in order to figure out what foods cause me to gain, or have cravings, etc.  Because I am adding more variety this will slow the weight loss.  I'm ok with that.  Of course I would like my weight to come off really fast but that doesn't teach me good habits.  I need more time to aquire a taste for vegetables and to make better choices.  This is a lifestyle not a quick fix.  It takes time for it to stick.  It took time to gain the weight, it's going to take time (and determination) to lose it.  I'm excited for the next phase!  I can't wait until I can start eating pistachios and berries and all kinds of other stuff!



Yesterday the darling family had chinese for dinner while I was at work.  Thankfully I was at work because I LOVE LOVE LOVE chinese.  But it is oh so not legal for me right now.  My darling Husband wasn't sure what I was allowed to eat so he ordered me my usual order of fried dumplings.  Oh how I love those dumplings!  I found them in the fridge and all I could say was "uh oh".  It was so sweet of him to think of me but boy was that a big temptation for me.  I fought the temptation though.  I'm the only one in the house that likes the dumplings so I knew I had to get them out of my house.  I didn't want to throw them away, what a waste.  So I gave them to a buddy of mine who also loves chinese.  I call that a win!  I resisted one of my favorite foods.  I might add the resisting was actually pretty easy.  I just didn't want them.  This is a wonderful sign that I am really starting to kick my food addictions!

Yesterday I bought a pair of $50 Dr. Scholl's thingies.  After wearing them for a day and taking my walk my feet have felt about 98% better!  I was able to take my walk without a lot of pain.  I did slow my pace though so as not to stress my feet out too much.  When I woke up this morning my feet had very minimal pain.  I'm pretty excited about this.  To me, $50 dollar Dr. Scholl's is so much better then the amounts of money I would spend on a co-pay and any hospital and/or doctor's bills.  Hopefully this continues and I won't have to go to the doctor's.

Tomorrow is another picture update! Eeek!  I hate doing them but it must be done!  Maybe once I get to my goal weight I'll make a video of my progress and post it on YouTube.  Then it will go viral, then I will be rich! haha!  Probably not but how cool would that be??  Stay tuned for tomorrow!  I hope I notice some difference after a 9 lb. loss in two weeks!

Stupid Foot...

Yesterday I took a walk during my lunch break for the first time in like 3 weeks.  It was such a wonderful walk.  The weather was perfect with a nice breeze.  My left foot felt completely healed.  There was no more pain.  I could wake up in the morning and walk on my foot with no pain or stiffness.  I assumed this was because I hadn't been doing much exercising.  I thought it was safe to assume that I could start taking my walks again.  Mind you these are just walks.  I don't run, and I don't speed walk.  My walks are like one step up from a leisurely walk.  This morning when I got out of bed my left foot was so tense.  It hurt like heck.  After some walking around it felt a little bit better.

I'm so frustrated.  I want to really up my workouts and taking a walk everyday is one of those workouts I want to make sure I do.  Plus I really enjoy my walks.  It gives me a great boost of energy for the last half of my workday and it always puts me in a good mood.  I already use orthotics and they help.  I use the $10 orthotics, I wonder if I use the $50 it would be better.  I have started the stretching again.  It's just frustrating.  I don't want to give up on my walks, I really like them.  I've never had an issue like this before.  What to do, what to do.  If someone suggests going to the doctors, I think I might slap them... Obviously going to the Doctor's is an option to find a solution but I would rather save a little money and try some home remedies first.

Just An Update

Today I got back on track with my workouts.  I woke up at 8:30am (I did what?!?!) and actually did my workout (unheard of)!  I've been out of it for a lot longer than I should have allowed.  I was only able to do half an hour of an hour workout.  I lost some of the stamina I built up from last month, I need to regain it.  I am also back to taking my lovely walks during my lunch break.  It was so nice today and I am so glad I took my walk!

I am almost done with my two week Induction phase of Atkins.  I've lost 6 lbs. so far which is awesome!  Wednesday is my last day of Induction and also my weigh day.  I'll learn how much I've lost all together then.  I am going to amp up my workouts though.  I am losing weight by watching what I eat but I need to get my activity up even more.  My game plan is to do Zumba everyday (DVD's or live class) and to walk at least a mile everyday.  I really want to do Couch to 5k but at this point my schedule and my husband's schedule are making it very hard to figure out how to get that run in.  I don't have a jogger stroller so I can't take the kids.  Husband goes to work early so I would have to wake up very very early to get a run in.  This is an option but we'll see if it takes hold...

One of the problems I'm having with the workouts is what to eat pre-workout.  I used to drink an Atkins chocolate shake because it had fat, and protein in it so it would be a great thing to drink.  It gave me a lot of energy.  Being on Induction I'm not allowed to have those shakes.  I'm trying to figure out something else to give me that boost of energy that I need to complete my workout.  Today I had some cheese.  It was OK.  I felt kind of sick when I was done with the workout.  I don't think the cheese was enough.  Since I'm waking up earlier the last thing I want to do is cook.  I discovered that shake made with raw eggs and although it is good, I don't know if I want to drink that everyday...I make a lovely spinach quiche today so maybe I'll use that as my breakfast because it reheats easily and nicely.

I have to go to work everyday this week so it will definitely be a test to see if I can do everything that I plan on doing.  It's going to be rough but I think it'll be definitely doable.  I'm feeling great and energized.  I'm excited for the changes that are taking place in me and I'm excited to keep going and getting even better!

Healthy Habits Start Young

Looks like I'm not the only one who likes spinach in their breakfast!  I've mentioned this before but I think it's that important that I'm writing about it again.  I'm changing my life and what I eat and my activity level.  It's important for me.  It is even more important for my children.  They do what I do.  I'm their role model.  I need to teach them the importance of activity and making healthy food choices.  If I can teach them how important these choices are while they're young then that paves the way for good healthy choices their whole life.

If they understand how important it is to stay active then they will hopefully be active their whole life.  I'm excited to see what activities my kids will get into.  Sports, dance, band?  It's going to be awesome.  I was active in high school.  I played volleyball and I walked everywhere.  I had a couple of different jobs and they were both in walking distance.  I also have a bunch of siblings I would play with.  Since I was active I was able to eat whatever I wanted.  I loved being able to do this.  I never paid attention to what I weighed in high school, I didn't have to.  I was lucky.  As I got older the activity slowed down.  I wasn't playing sports anymore, and the walking was not as frequent as it used to be.  The eating didn't slow down though.  I kept eating whatever I wanted (my college had a 24/7 ice cream machine for crying out loud!).  This way of living resulted in complete lack of activity and horrible food choices, and voila that's how I got to where I am today.  

My parents did a great job at making sure I was eating right but once I was old enough to get food on my own I had a field day!  Some days if I got off of work early I would stop at the Burger King and eat a big old meal.  Other days if I was out running errands or something I would stop at Dairy Queen and eat a huge meal.  There was candy, chips, ice cream, everything.  My parents didn't know because whenever I came home I would still eat the nice big meals my mom served (minus the veggies) or sometimes I'd be really sneaky and buy my mom a blizzard to soften her up.  It was a terrible habit I got into.  Unlike me, my mother has gotten healthy and lost a lot of weight and looks amazing.  I should have followed her example long ago.

Well, I am learning from the past and my past mistakes.  I'm changing.  I'm taking control like my mother and father did.  I am getting healthier by the day.  I see the changes in myself and all the good choices I've been making these last 56 days (woah 56?!?! amazing).  I see the choices I'm making for my children.  I see my children embracing this new way of living.  That is what counts and it's awesome!

*Edited because I didn't know the full story, sorry mom.

Vegetables

I don't know what's more amazing...The fact that I gave up sugar or the fact that I am starting to enjoy my vegetables.  I have always disliked vegetables.  I didn't like the taste of the ones I actually tried.  I didn't like the texture of others.  For example,  I love the flavor of onions but I hated eating them because of the texture.  I've been such a big baby for so many years.  Half of the stuff I said I don't like I never even tried.

Giving up sugar was hard at first but once the cravings stopped it's no big deal.  I have no desire for anything that has sugar.  When I would eat something that has sugar in it, it was so overwhelmingly sweet I could never eat the whole thing.  The only thing I have to watch is the amount of gum I chew because that can cause a trigger for my sugar cravings.

I have always enjoyed raw spinach salads.  Normally I would load them with toppings.  I have limited those toppings and had the spinach the actual focus of my salad.  Yesterday I was making scrambled eggs and they looked boring.  So I decided to try something wild and crazy!  I added fresh spinach to my scrambled eggs.  Lo and behold it was delicious!!!  I've always said I didn't like cooked spinach. Maybe I should have tried it first... My eggs were so good with the spinach in there.  It's definitely a keeper recipe.  It makes me wonder after all these years of saying I don't like spinach cooked and in fact it's quite delicious, how many other vegetables have I missed out on because I'm a big baby?

Hell must have frozen over and there have to pigs flying somewhere.  I never thought this day would come that I would actually say I enjoyed choosing veggies over sugary stuff or other stuff that is bad for me.  Oh yeah cream cheese and green pepper is also quite amazingly delicious!  I'm going to broaden m y horizons and try more veggies!  I know this post is silly but it's a big deal for me the anti-veggie.  I've been anti-veggies all my life and to see my tastes changing is awesome.

Getting Better

Why did I do this to myself?

The kiddos are slowly getting better.  They have broken the fevers that they were fighting and they are back to sleeping through the night and eating food again.  This is awesome.  The youngest's sores are getting better as well.  It was a rough 4 days.  I had a hard time staying on track.  I did not stray but believe me there were many times I wanted to.  All my kids could manage to stomach these last few days was ice cream.  Honestly I was fine with that, the poor things were so miserable.  So their diet consisted of ice cream, medicine, and fluids...sounds like a good time right?  There were so many times I wanted to eat some of that ice cream.  Shame on me for buying my favorite ice cream (cookies and cream).  I should have bought some kind of ice cream I don't like (pistachio maybe?).  It looked soooo good! I'm happy to announce that I did not eat any of it!  I would even refrain from licking my fingers!  You have no idea how much self control that took. 

I've been pretty run down.  I got very little sleep the last 4 days.  Also being pulled in four different directions can be exhausting.  I loved every minute of it.  It's my job as a mom and a wife.  They needed me and I happily gave them everything I got.  It tired me out especially because I either forgot to eat, or just didn't have time to eat.  Today I went back to work and during my break (4 days later) was the first time I actually had a full meal.  I had ham, and a lovely spinach salad.  It was so good and so filling.  I finally started feeling better myself.

I skipped the workout again today.  I didn't have the energy or the time.  I plan to get back into my workouts more seriously soon.  It's been a while since I've done my Zumba Exhilirate or my Zumba Ripped DVD's.  I miss them.  I love going to the live classes but I can only make it to one class a week.  It's up to me to make sure I get all my workouts in.  Hopefully my energy will come back soon.  I'm re-adjusting my source of energy as well.  I'm used to carb-load before a workout but not anymore. I need to eat some allowed food to get that energy and I'm still getting used to that.

Rough week but it's almost over.  I've lost weight and I still feel great (minus the whole sick thing).  I'm still focused and I'm excited with my progress.

Illness...

Yesterday I went to a Zumba class and I did terribly.  I was hot, I couldn't breathe, and my legs and arms felt like a million pounds.  A couple times I actually felt like I was going to black out...maybe.  I had to sit out 3 songs.  I was pretty upset with myself.  I look forward to this class all week and yesterday was just not good.  I think I didn't eat enough yesterday and that could be the main contributing factor.  I also think it could be more.  Sunday my youngest came down with a bad fever and it lasted until early Tuesday morning.  Tuesday night my other two kids got hit really hard with whatever this bug is.  I don't feel feverish, but I do feel achy.  Methinks that the reason why I did so terribly, and I mean terribly, at Zumba is because of lack of energy from not eating enough and possible flu-like symptoms...

So the kids are so sick today, poor things.  I'm off to take one of them to the doctor's.  I had to call off work, which I hate doing, but these kids need their mamma.  I'm exhausted as of now and still feeling achy.  I didn't get to bed until 5am last night.  I would take care of one kid and she would eventually  fall asleep, then the next would wake up, and so on.  One after the other kept waking up.  Husband needed his sleep because he had to be at work early, and he also threw his back out so he's pretty much out of commission.  These days can be hard but it's my job.  I love my kids and they need me.  It's amazing how I am still awake on such little sleep.

On another note, I lost 6 lbs.! BOOM!  That's really good after just one week on Atkins.  Got to stay focused and keep making good food choices.  I'm never hungry anymore but this leads to me forgetting to eat.  I have to remember to eat!  It's been a rough few days and today is going to be the roughest (at least that's how it seems now).  I am focused.  Exhausted, but focused.

Fun With Quotes

Dare to soar - how successful you are is

determined by your attitude.

My attitude has been great!  It's been 53 days since I started this journey and I have not strayed off the path.  My mind is still in the game. I've been winning all my mental battles.  This time around I've been more focused than ever.  I think one of the biggest changes with this journey that I made is that I'm not losing weight for a specific event or something like that.  My whole journey is to get healthy.  Losing weight is involved in that of course, but it's not just about that.  It's about changing my attitude and changing habits into good choices.  Slow and steady wins the race!

Have the courage to act on your dreams - leave behind you the internal forces that hold you back.

My dream is to be a better me.  My dream is to be able to run around with my kids on not get winded.  My dream is to be the hot wife my husband deserves (haha!).  My dream is to be in the best shape of my life.  My dream is to actually treat my body as the temple that God gave me.  My dream is to stop killing myself slowly with bad food and lazy habits.  My dream is the next time I'm pregnant I will be healthy.  My dream is to teach my children good healthy food choices and an active lifestyle.  My dream is to maybe actually enjoy clothes shopping.  I have a lot of internal battles that can cause these dreams to not come true.  I have to keep fighting!  I will not be held back!

Feeling healthy and feeling good about yourself is not a luxury - it's an absolute necessity.

I agree!  Nobody benefits from a sedentary lifestyle and bad food choices.  There is a whole crap load of scientific evidence of that.  I am proof of this.  Being healthy is so important.  I will be able to do a whole bunch of stuff that I haven't been able to do since high school.  I'm excited for the time when I can climb up and down the stairs without getting winded!  I look forward to the time when I can actually jump again.  I have been very unhappy with myself for a long time.  I've been in denial a long time.  Keeping the reality from myself caused me to get rather depressed and defeated.  I would go clothes shopping and end up hiding in the dressing room crying.  This is all my fault.  It just goes to show that I have to change myself.  It is absolutely necessary for me to make these changes in order to be happy with myself.

Nothing tastes as good as being healthy and

full of energy feels.

This is what I use to curb any crazy food cravings.  Fortunately I haven't had a lot of cravings but as we all know there are birthdays, and holidays.  I have a wedding to go to, a child of mine is having a birthday soon, there are live remotes I will be going to for work, and after all that in rush the holidays!  I'm in for a long haul of being surrounded by bad food constantly.  I will be constantly repeating this in my head to keep my mind in the game. I've worked to hard to ruin it all.  I love having this energy and I love that I am finally getting healthy!  I will not mess this up!

Gotta Get Back in the Game

As I updated my Workout Journal I noticed a pattern forming.  I am taking WAY too many rest days!  Grant it I started doing extra rest days because of my foot injury but come on now, 4-5 days in a row of not working out is unacceptable.  I am not completely without excuses.  They aren't the best excuses but it's what I got.  My work hired a new employee and I've been given the task to train said new guy.  This has been going on for about 2 weeks, and I have yet another 2 weeks until the new guy is done training.  I don't like to take my walks during my lunch break when I am training someone because I do not want to leave them hanging.  I just think it's better for me as his trainer to be present and show him a good example.  Not that taking my walks are not allowed, I just feel weird saying "ok I'm going to go take a walk go fend for yourself the next half hour"...I don't know if that makes sense but either way I have not been taking my beloved walks during my lunch breaks.  New guy will be done training in 2 weeks and I will be able to resume my walks!  Until then I need to find time to get a walk into my daily routine some other way.

I woke up this morning and didn't feel any pain in my left foot!  Better yet I have been able to put my full weight on my foot all day today and it doesn't hurt!  So I'm starting to think that my foot injury has heeled (haha get it?).  That's pretty exciting.  I haven't worn the expensive sneakers for quite some time now.  I've only worn my $20 Danskin Now Zumba shoes.  Methinks the expensive shoes are bad yet again.  I will be returning expensive shoes (again...).  I bought another set of Danskin Now shoes and have been very happy with them.  The Danskin don't have a lot of tread so they can be a little slippery but it's a lot less friction on my knees which is good.  Even though I haven't been taking my walks during my break, I'm pretty excited to start again and to hopefully have this heel injury gone.

I have not lost the desire to work out, that is definitely still there.  I get so frustrated when I sabotage myself by sleeping in or whatever keeps me from my workouts.  I hate not taking my walks.  I hate not waking up in time to workout for the day.  It is encouraging to know that I still have the desire and the passion to be active.  I need to act on it and return to having a rest day only once a week.  My eating has been great!  It's time to get back to my activity being great.  Put those two together and I will be unstoppable!

It Is Time...

...for some light reading!  As I've mentioned previously, I had started Atkins.  I am on day 5 of my two week Induction phase.  I've been doing really well!  I've been in Ketosis and feeling great.  I have curbed my appetite.  I'm not hungry constantly.  I've been making better food choices.  For example, when I want a snack instead of bad food or even food that I'm allowed but tend to binge on I would choose green peppers or something to that effect.  This is a huge deal!  I NEVER eat veggies.  I am trying very hard to make sure I get my vegetables in.  I've never eaten so many veggies willingly before.  Past attempts at Atkins I didn't even eat enough vegetables.  This time is different.  It's amazing.

Even though I have done this way of life many times, I tend to forget important details of the lifestyle.  So I searched in our numerous boxes of books and found my Atkins book and started re-reading it.  It's a good read and it's full of information that will help me succeed and do this correctly.  I do want to mention that I am reading the 2002 version of the book.  This was the last book that Dr. Atkins himself wrote before he passed away.  I find reading this version to be the best version to read.  Any versions of the book that have been released since Dr. Atkins passed are all about selling the products (bars, shakes, etc.).  Now those products aren't bad but they are misleading.  The website and current editions of the book say that all these products are good for any stage of Atkins, but that just isn't true.  For example, the bars are full of nuts.  Nuts aren't allowed until the next stage of Atkins (On Going Weight Loss Rung 3).  For me, I am going to do what Dr. Atkins originally wrote about.  Later on in Atkins I will start adding the shakes and bars (I LOVE the shakes, but I'm not allowed to have them yet).

The main differences between the 2002 edition and the more recent publications are rather large in my opinion: The Induction vegetable amount, the fluids that count as the daily water amount, the sodium intake thing, no Alcohol Rung in OWL Phase, a separate "milk rung" in OWL, a "juice rung" in OWL, Pre-Maintenance (just to name a few).  So for me, the 2002 version is working.  I don't know if I've lost any weight but I feel a whole heck of a lot better (weigh day is Wednesday).  I'm winning the battles!  I haven't had very bad cravings, and any cravings that I do have I have not given into them.  My aversion to veggies is slowly subsiding which is pretty awesome.  I never saw myself as someone who would like veggies.  This alone is pretty awesome. 

To follow up on the gum chewing post, I have really put an end to that issue.  I still chew gum every now and again but not as much as I have been.  It was causing major sugar cravings and because of that I knew I had to stop chewing so much gum.  Instead when I have the urge to chew gum or eat something when I'm not hungry, (still working on this habit...) I drink my water.  I drink a lot of water and this seems to help.  It helps in curbing the bad habit, any cravings, and it helps me from binging or over-eating.  I'm almost done with the 1st week of Induction, and I'm working out...I feel great!

Yargh! Wake Up!

So I'm still struggling with waking up on time.  Saturday I had a party to get to and then work.  I slept late and did not wake up in time to get my workout in.  I'm bummed about this, but it's nobody's fault but my own.  I'm just a little stuck for ideas on how to get my bum out of bed in the morning. 

My work day doesn't end until 2:00am, which means that by the time I get home and get to bed it's close to 3:00am.  So if I woke up between 7am and 8am that means I would have a total of maybe 4-5 hours of sleep.  My dream day would be for me to wake up that early and get my workout in before the kids are awake.  I am not succeeding at this though.  I've tried so many different things.  Praying, setting my alarm across the room so I have to stand up to turn it off, sleeping in the living room so I hear my husband leave for work, and so many more.  I just can't seem to get up.  I love my sleep, my body doesn't want to get out of the nice warm bed!

I've been so good at eating right and working out.  I hate missing my workouts, especially if it's because I'm being lazy and not waking up.  I don't drink caffeine so I don't know how to get things started in the morning.  How do other people do it?  How do they manage to get out of bed and do stuff on such little sleep?  I can't use the kids as an excuse to get up because they tend to sleep until 11am (I know right?!?!).  Argh, this is so frustrating to me.  How do I defeat this?  Seriously, I would love some input, ideas, advice, ANYTHING!  I can't miss another workout.  I need to start my day right.  If I get my workout in first thing in the morning then the rest of my day will be awesome.  It gives me energy and all those positive endorphins are awesome!  This game I play with myself has become the hardest one of all in this journey...help!

Yet Another Bad Habit Realized

So it has become incredibly apparent that I want to eat all the time.  When I'm bored all I want to do is eat.  When I'm at work and doing something that doesn't take a lot of concentration, I just want to eat.  When I'm at home with the kids, I want to eat.  When I'm sitting here typing, I want to eat.  When I'm driving, I want to eat.  When I'm cooking, I want to eat.  Get the picture?  The sad thing is that I'm not hungry!  It's just something I want to do.  It's almost like an addiction.  I don't need to eat anything, I just want to!  I'm not hungry.  What I've been eating daily keeps me full and satisfied.  It's just that I want food in my mouth.  It's weird.  So to curb my 'addiction', I have been chewing gum.  You would not believe how much gum I chewed yesterday!  At first I thought I found a solution to my problem, but in doing so another problem has come about.

Chewing all that gum that is full of aspartame or other sweeteners has really triggered my sugar cravings.  I have always had a big sweet tooth.  I've been doing pretty good in regards to avoiding sugar this whole time.  When I did eat something that has sugar in it (before I started Atkins), I could only eat a little bit of it because there's just too much sugar!  Well, I chewed at least 6 pieces yesterday (ugh!) and goodness did I want to eat a candy bar or something.  My cravings didn't win, but I was fighting them all day.  It shows that I still have strength to avoid danger.  I said no to all the cravings.  However, these mind games are exhausting!

I need to ditch the gum.  I haven't given into temptation yet but this gum is not making it any easier.  So now I will continue the mind games with myself without the "help" of gum.  I've been winning a lot of the mind games, I will win this one.  I need to fight the urge to eat whenever and wherever.  I'm not hungry so why do I need or even want food?  I have no answer to that, it's just what I do.  After years and years of eating whatever, whenever it's hard to kick that habit.  Maybe I should pick up smoking... JUST KIDDING!

Hello, Old Friend

Ketone Bodies
Makes me look smart huh?

Greetings Ketosis, it has been a long time since I've seen you.  I am officially in full swing of Atkins.  When you do Atkins, your body goes into Ketosis.  Ketosis is what your body goes through when you consume less carbs.  Ketosis means that my body is using fat for energy.  Ketones are molecules generated during fat metabolism (either by what you just ate or what you've been carrying around your middle...guilty!).  When you eat less carbs, your body will turn to fat for energy, and this is why ketones are generated.  Ketosis is a fat burning process and I have achieved it! Yay for peeing on a stick....sorry that was a little tmi...

Now just to cover all points, a lot of people think that Atkins is bad because they are confusing Ketosis with Ketoacidosis.  They are two different things.   Ketoacidosis is a condition which occurs when a person experiences a significant drop in insulin and a concomitant rise in glucose levels, usually above 250 mg/deciliter. Essentially exclusive to diabetics and alcoholics, ketoacidosis-- also referred to as diabetic acidosis, DKA, or simply acidosis-- is responsible for approximately 4-9% of diabetic patient hospital visits. Its onset can be triggered by an underlying infection, most often a urinary tract infection (UTI), missed insulin treatments, trauma, stress, and in the case of alcoholics, excessive alcohol consumption coupled with a starvation diet.  So there you go.

Say what you will oh naysayers!  I'm feeling great and I'm getting all my nessecary carbs from vegetables.  I'm not eating sugar, or white bread...how can that be bad for you?  Atkins can be hard, but so is every other diet.  I need to take it one day at a time and stay patient.  The weight will come off, and I will get healthier.  Stay focused!  Easier said than done, but this time I'm mentally prepared.  I welcome Ketosis with open arms, it means it's working!

Atkinized

Yes, I did make up that word!  I have officially started Atkins and have successfully Atkinized my home.  I have stocked the fridge full of veggies, meats, and cheese.  I have a meal/snack plan for everyday.  Yesterday was my first day back on Atkins and it was successful.  I ate all my veggies! That is a huge accomplishment for me.  I do not like veggies.  I feel that they have no taste and are quite boring.  Usually if I eat a salad I load it with toppings (cheese, sunflower seeds, etc.).  This time around I am not doing that.  I'm not allowed to have nuts or seeds yet, and I need to limit my cheese intake because I tend to binge on it and that slows down the weight loss process.  So I choked down the veggies.  Hopefully with time and patience I can learn to like veggies.  Right now I find them lame.  Lame but edible.

One of the main things I love about Atkins is that because of the high protein and all the veggies you need to consume it is a great way to curve your appetite.  I never feel hungry when I'm eating properly. I could eat a whole bag of chips and within an hour I would be hungry again.  When I eat fresh and healthy I almost find it hard to eat because I'm not hungry.  I have to keep eating, under eating is dangerous.  It's a wonderful feeling being in control of your appetite.  Plus nothing kicks hunger like a couple of hard-boiled eggs.

So my biggest thing with Atkins is breakfast.  I have become accustom to eating a simple breakfast, an Atkins chocolate shake.  It's full of protein and other vitamins.  It has been a wonderful way to start my day because it gives me a great boost of energy.  However, I cannot have these shakes while I am in the early phases of this lifestyle.  The shakes have milk in them and milk is not allowed until a later phase.  So I went to this great website (Atkins Diet Bulletin Board) that is full of all sorts of awesome things.  There is advice, support, tricks to the trade, and a ton of recipes!  I found this recipe and was hesitant to try it.

Vanilla Shake
2 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Splenda
1 tbs cream
5 ice cubes


Whip eggs in blender until light and fluffy.  Add rest of ingredients, whip until ice cubes are no longer chunky, or until desired consistency.


The eggs are raw.  As you can imagine that doesn't sound good.  Who eats raw eggs?  Well I did!  I was scared to try it, but a lot of people on that website tried it and said it was good.  So I decided to give it a try.  I really missed having my shakes in the morning and I don't like to cook every morning.  So this sounded like a wonderful substitute.  Except...it has raw eggs...gross.  So I put the eggs into the blender and whipped them for a very very long time.  Then I added the rest of the ingredients and blended for a long time.  I waited until the ice cubes were no longer even slush.  They really just watered down the shake.  I bet if I added more ice cubes it would be more shake-like.  Anyway it tasted a lot like egg-nog.  The only thing I didn't like about it was the taste of the Splenda.  I've never been a big fan of splenda.  I was pleasantly surprised with the taste.  It really did taste like a vanilla shake.

I did my research because there are risks involved with eating raw eggs.  However, the statistics seemed in my favor.  I don't think I will have one of these every morning.  Mainly to cut down on the risks of getting salmonella or something.  I am happy that I have found a shake substitute.  It makes my mornings that much better.

Starting NOW!

I was gone for a couple of days.  I went out of town for my sister's high school graduation.  It was a very nice trip.  I got to visit with my family, get some rest, and ate my mom's wonderful cooking.  I decided to take it easy this vacation.  I had a thought process to it all.

I decided not to workout at all in hopes that my foot would get some healing.  It's still not at 100%.  I'm a little bummed about that.  I have to keep up on the stretching.  I haven't worn any shoes in the past five days (except for my flip flops) either.  Hopefully the lack of activity has helped the healing process.

I did not watch what I ate.  First of all, it is really hard to stick to a strict eating regime when you are traveling; if anything it's really just a hassle.  I didn't want to have to deal with it while driving 6 hours to our destination.  Also, my mom is an amazing cook.  I love her cooking and only get to eat it maybe once a year.  It was also a big celebration weekend so I knew the food was going to be goooood.  So I decided not to hold back.  The food was in fact amazing.  I did notice a few things though.  I couldn't eat very much of it.  My portions were small because I just can't eat a ton of food anymore.  Also I did have a piece of the carrot cake and the cake was delicious but there was so so so much sugar.  It gave me a bit of a stomach ache later because of all that sugar I am no longer used to ingesting.

Click to read rules of Atkins Induction!

I had a great weekend but my food choices opened the flood gates.  The rest of the weekend, the drive, and the Monday we were home I ate awful food!  I ate fast food, and (GASP) I had some soda pop.  In my mind it seemed ok because I was already eating bad why not add a little soda pop?  I have no excuse. I just did it.  Not by best decision, but it is what it is.

So that was then, this is now.  Today I am back on track.  I have started my workouts again (or at least tonight at Zumba I will start my workouts again, haha!).  I have also started Atkins.  I have this little notebook that tracks every little thing I eat.  I have my meals planned for the week.  I have my snacks planned for the week.  I went grocery shopping and my fridge is stocked.  I have started cooking.  The first two weeks of Atkins can be hard but I will succeed.  I have it planned down to the glass of water.

I'm back and better than ever.  My drive is still in full throttle.  Here we go!

Mind Games

I have discovered that the most struggles I have been experiencing and/or the reason I failed so many times are because of mind games.  I play a lot of mind games with myself.  I take different scenarios and play them over and over in head until I find one that justifies what I'm about to eat or if I'm not going to workout.  I've been very good so far at winning the mind games.  I don't skip my workouts, except to rest injured foot.  My eating has not been great but it could be a lot worse.  So anyway all it really is, is mind over matter; good decision vs. bad decision.

I bring this up because on Monday I will be starting Atkins.  I've succeeded in getting workouts in everyday.  Now it is time to focus on my eating and food intake.  The thing with Atkins is that it is low-carb and you are supposed to get your main source of carbs from vegetables, lots and lots of vegetables.  Another reason why Atkins can't be bad for you.  You get rid of the processed junk and in turn eat lots and lots of vegetables.  So here's my predicament...I HATE VEGETABLES!  I've never liked veggies.  When I was a kid my mom would say "no dessert until you finished your vegetables".  I was the best at hiding my veggies.  I would put them in my mouth and then go to wipe my mouth with my napkin, and somehow the veggies ended up in the napkin.  Once my plate was empty and my napkin was full of veggies I would ask to be excused to use the restroom; I would take my napkin with me and dump out the veggies.  Yeah it was sneaky, it was wrong.  Sorry mom.....  

To this day I have a hard time choking down any kind of vegetables.  I know I'm actually just being a big baby.  If I want to do Atkins and do it properly I have to eat my veggies.  If I do Atkins and not get my main source of carbs from vegetables then I can cause damage to my liver and/or my kidneys.  So it is imperative that I eat the vegetables.  So it's going to be a mind game.  Lots of people like vegetables.  Heck there are people who only eat vegetables.  They can't be that bad, right?  I have been planning my menus down to the carb to make sure I am eating enough.  Most of those carbs are veggies.  I will be playing the mind game again when it comes to eating that many vegetables.  I will win.  Atkins works, and I want to succeed.  I will eat that salad, I will eat that broccoli, that salad will not consist of mostly toppings....Bring on the mind games, I am ready to win!

Numers Don't Lie

I weigh how much!?!?!

I did it.  I weighed myself.  Oh the horror! The horror!  Boy oh boy do I have a ways to go.  I'm not going to post how much I weigh because I just can't bring myself to do so publicly.  I have created a separate page to keep track of how much I need to lose and the mini goals.  I plan on posting the dates that I complete a mini-goal.

How much I weigh is pretty bad.  The good thing is at least it's not as bad as I thought.  I thought I weighed about 20 pounds more than I actually do.  So at least there isn't an extra 20 pounds I need to lose.  There's my positive spin on the situation.

In reality though I have quite a bit to lose to get to my goal.  It's going to take some time.  It's going to take a lot of patience.  As we all know in any weight loss regime or journey there are plateau days.  Those are the hardest days, weeks, months of all.  Those days can be so frustrating because you could be doing everything right; you're working out, you're eating right...but that weight is still not coming off.  This is normal though.

I have to prepare myself mentally for all of this.  It's all a mind game with me.  I have to play the game and I have to win it.  I am winning so far.  I work the overnight shift which means I don't normally get out of work until 2am.  For me when I'm leaving working nothings sounds better than a giant sized nugget meal from McDonald's.  Every night this week I have contemplated going to McDonald's to get one of those meals.  I played all the scenarios in my head in order to make it ok: "I don't start my diet until Monday", "I worked out", "Who cares just do it"...  I am glad to report that this time around, I listened to the good side of my mind.  I did NOT get that food and eat it.  I went home, had some water, and went to bed.

Now is the time to get serious.  I have reached a very unhealthy state of life.  My BMI is off the charts!  It has gotten bad.  I need to buckle down.  I need to prepare myself for the mind games I'm going to play with myself.    I need to fight to win.  Nobody said this was going to be easy.  This is going to be a battle and I need to be ready.  Numbers don't lie.

The Dreaded Scale!

It is time.  It is time for me to know exactly what I weigh.  I haven't had a scale in a while because the batteries died and I just haven't bought a new one.  I was ok with that.  First of all nobody who is overweight really wants to know what they actually weigh.  Another reason I was ok with not having a scale was because whenever I would try to lose weight in the past I would become obsessed with the scale.  I would weigh myself roughly 6-7 times a day.  No joke!  It was pretty ridiculous but I had to know how much water weight or whatever that I gained throughout the day.  This is something I need to keep tabs on and try to not do.  It can be rather upsetting.  

I learned from my mother the proper way to weigh yourself.  You pick a specific day and you weight yourself first thing in the morning on that day.  Only once a week should you be weighing yourself.  Weight fluctuates throughout the week depending on what you're eating, drinking, and whatever else could be going on at that time.  The best way to gauge if you're losing is by weekly comparisons not daily.  

Still it's nice to see if the number is dropping daily.  However that is not a reliable way to keep tabs on whether the numbers are going up or down.  Since I'm starting Atkins I will start watching the numbers.  I am going to go buy a scale *shudder* today.  I will at some point work up the courage to post what my current weight is...maybe.  It depends on how bad it is.  I might have to wait a couple of days to build up the courage...  The truth hurts sometimes but how can I fix it if I don't know?  

So About Waking Up Earlier....

Yeah totally didn't happen.  We all slept until 11am.  I set my alarm and everything.  Any guesses as to how many times I hit the snooze button??  I set my alarm for 8am, I hit snooze every 10 minutes until 11am.  That's how lame I am and how much I love my sleep.  Today is one of my low-impact workout days so I didn't have to wake up early to do my Zumba because I will be taking a walk during my lunch break at work.  So I managed to find an excuse to not wake up early.  I'm great at making excuses to avoid doing something I don't want to do (even though I should do it!!).  I frustrate myself.

My eldest is going to start school in the fall.  She is going to need to be at school at 8am everyday.  I need to learn to wake up early.  I need to teach the kids to wake up early.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post there are many benefits that will come if I actually wake up on time.  But also, as I think about it, I need to start training these kids to waking up earlier!  My eldest is going to need to be up early enough every morning to get a bath, a decent breakfast, and anything else she's going to need to do before school at 8am EVERYDAY!  Ugh.  She's not going to do this on her own, I have to do it and teach her how to do it.

So I will try again tomorrow.  No snooze button, no snooze button, no snooze button!  Anyone want to be my daily wake up call?

Ahhh sleep...

Starting this week I am going to start waking up at 8 AM everyday.  I'm going to try and get my workout done before the kiddos wake up.  This task is going to be one of my hardest EVER!  I love my sleep.  I sleep a lot.  I was blessed with 3 kids that love to sleep.  Typically our days don't start until 10-11am!  How wonderful is that?  Although it is great...it's unproductive.  There will be numerous benefits to me actually waking up at a decent hour.

I will be doing my workout first thing in the morning.  This will help to energize me throughout the day.  It also helps to get it out of the way.  I don't have to worry about trying to fit it in somewhere into my day.  Also, it will be better for my routine if I do my workouts at the same time everyday.

The kids and I will eat more balanced regularly scheduled meals.  Right now we tend to snack throughout the day.  I cook/make them 3 meals a day but they would never be at a regular time.  This will help curb pointless eating for myself and my children.  If our meals are scheduled or at least more structured we will be healthier.  Otherwise we just mindlessly eat when we want to.

The TV will be on LESS!  This will happen because I will be too energized to sit around and waste time in front of the TV.  I will want to find something to keep myself and the kids busy.  In turn this will make my kids more active.

The number one benefit?? MORE TIME WITH MY CHILDREN!  MORE TIME WITH MY HUSBAND!!! These are the biggest benefits that can come from my lazy bum actually getting up in the morning.  So my new goal is to NOT hit the snooze button.  This is going to be hard and I know it.  I have to do it.  It will be worth it! How can I allow myself to pass up those benefits?? I have to do it. I will do it. This is my now!

Remember Those New Shoes?

Yeah I'm returning them!  They are absolutely aweful.  It's amazing how a shoe can really effect what you're doing.  As I've mentioned (it seems like a hundred times...),  I've been dealing with feet issues especially in my left foot.  My heel is very sensitive.  I think it's due to my achilles tendon but it most definately also has to do with my shoes.  After working out for about 3 weeks in really old shoes I decided to invest in some new shoes.  My old shoes caused me a lot of discomfort especially whenever I tried to do Zumba.  In order to do Zumba properly you really needed special shoes.  You don't want big heavy running shoes.  You want light shoes that preferably have a pivot point so spinning/turning comes easily.  If you don't, you will get a lot of resistence and that can cause a lot of discomfort especially for your knees.

So my old shoes were as old as sin, and I can't even remember where I got them.  They were old but they did not bother my feet nearly as much as my new running shoes that I got at Dick's.  They hurt but at least I was able to keep walking.  Whenever I wear my new shoes I can't walk normally because of how sensitive my feet are...it hurts like the dickens!  At first I thought my issues were strictly just my feet hurting.  But once I bought some special Zumba shoes I've been able to pinpoint that my new shoes hurt me feet.  It's not just an issue with my achilles.  It's the shoes!  Whenever I wear my flip-flops or my new Zumba shoes my feet don't hurt nearly as much.  The pain is much much less whenever I don't wear the new running shoes...

My Zumba shoes are wonderful.  I do have to use some Dr. Scholl's inserts.  When I add the inserts they are so comfortable!  I barely feel the pain.  The pain is still there but it's not too bad.  I can at least walk and better yet, work out!

So it's pretty upseting to find that my expensive new shoes hurt me worse than my cheap new shoes or my old old old old shoes.  Very frustrating.  I'm going to return them and hopefully find some shoes that don't make my injury worse than it already is.  I still have my injury but the new shoes either make it worse or last longer than it should be.  All I know is that my feet hurt the most whenever I wear those shoes versus any other shoe I own.



$70 expensive jerks...



$18 cheap Zumba shoes!! They're sparkly too!







Ruh Roh Raggy...!

Ruh Roh Raggy!!

I'm starting to notice I'm sliding down that slippery sloap...

I haven't been doing my workouts as vigorously as before.  I've taken some rest days to help heal my feet but the foot issue is now turning into an excuse to not workout.  I was waking up early to get stuff done.  Now I sleep as long as I can.  I was watching my portion sizes and choice of food.  Now I'm not...

It seems that my first month was a strong month, but now I'm starting to lose the fire.  The motivation is still there I just need to act on it.  I need to fix this before I stop everything completely.  I've made it far but if I continue down the road of laziness all my hard work will be undone.

I have a plan of action to combat the laziness and the bad choices.

First, I need to stick to my high impact workout one day, low impact the next day.  I do need to rest my feet though; they aren't fully healed.  So instead of doing nothing on the days that my feet need rest, I should lift weights while seated, and/or do Yoga.  So no matter what, I need to stay active.  I have to find some things that will keep me active even if I can't use my feet to their full strength.

Second,  I need to establish a new goal for myself everyday.  I need to wake up at a decent hour and workout first thing in the morning.  This will be beneficial for everybody in the house.  I will get more stuff done around the house and I will be in good spirits...exercise really boosts my mood!  What a great side effect :)

Thirdly,  I need to start eating correctly.  I already wrote about what eating lifestyle I want to do (Atkins).  Now I need to actually go shopping and stick to the decision I made.  Just because something is 100 calories doesn't mean it's good for you...  I've been eating a lot of those 100 calorie snacks they sell at the store.  Honestly though they have a lot of sugar and processed garbage in them.  I need to start eating fresh fresh fresh!  Get rid of the processed junk!

Finally, I need to act on everything that I've just said here.  My mind is still in the right place.  I haven't given up.  My body just needs to actually do what I'm thinking.  Mind over matter!  I can do this!  I need to refocus, recharge, and keep going forward!  I have been really feeling the benefits of this healthy lifestyle.  I don't want to go backwards.  It's up to me though.  I have to keep pushing myself forward.  The end results and benefits will be amazing.  Gotta re-focus!!