Well maybe it depends on how much is leftover to be considered guilt-free, but you know what I mean. We mothers tend to prepare food for everyone else first, sometimes forgetting ourselves all together, and end up eating leftover, cold, half-eaten Mickey Chicken Nuggets or Mac and Cheese. Well if you don't want to eat that, why are your kids eating it? Convenience maybe? I hear ya on that! And don't think I'm preaching here because my son is not going to stop requesting Cars Spaghettios with meatballs, and I'm not going to stop giving them to him when I just don't have time or energy to make something healthier.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sorry for the Seizures
I want to punch Numbers in it's stupid face, if computer applications had a face. I can't figure out how to make the menu chart I made print-friendly. You don't need to tape like 4 pages together to have enough room to write. Plus I need to figure out how to upload it so YOU can download it. Grrrr....
So I am playing with free templates instead. If it keeps looking crazy and different every time you visit today, sorry about that! This is proving to be an equally annoying experience.
I sound a little negative today. Maybe it's because my favorite mom's cafe is closing this week called Me Too. Ok, off to take my kiddos there! Sunshine, butterflies, rainbows, puppies... better?
So I am playing with free templates instead. If it keeps looking crazy and different every time you visit today, sorry about that! This is proving to be an equally annoying experience.
I sound a little negative today. Maybe it's because my favorite mom's cafe is closing this week called Me Too. Ok, off to take my kiddos there! Sunshine, butterflies, rainbows, puppies... better?
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Screw Baby Steps
No really. If you are anything like me, you spend entirely too much energy focusing on how unhappy you are with yourself and how it just sucks so bad and wish you didn't look and feel like you did. So taking baby steps like workout once this week, or eat more veggies this week, are small potatoes and won't get you the fastest results. Which is what we all want right? So jump in! Lets do this!
Here's a quick start guide that may help you along. Again, I feel the need to put a disclaimer that I am NOT a certified trainer or counselor or anything like that. This is just my advice, take it or leave it. But please don't sue me ;)
So here are some tools to get you started:
1. Invest in a Scale-
Scary times, I know! No one wants to know the number, but you HAVE TO. Don't get hung up on numbers or goal weights or whatever, but you need something to keep track of. And you need accountability. So get a digital scale, and either have a spouse or friend be there to witness your weight (so you can't tell your brain to imediately forget the number), write it down in a log, or get a scale that saves the information. That way you can't lie to yourself, which we get very good at when we are in denial about the size we are. I recommend only weighing yourself weekly on the same day and same time each week. Don't obsess about daily fluctuation, that will make you crazy.
2. Buy a pedometer-
This is the easiest way to motivate yourself to get moving. Wear it ALL the time, not only when you are working out. I mean, only take it off for the shower. Seriously, you will be shocked how 5 more minutes walking with the dog or one lap around the playground adds up. A great workout is 10,000 steps a day, but that is difficult, so don't get hung up on it. Buy one that is flat enough to wear on your waistband under clothes, has a miles counter as well as calorie counter. Target has some great ones!
3. Think about how you eat and change it-
I'm working on a chart that you can download that will serve as a menu template. But to sum up what that will include is a good range for daily calorie consumption while losing weight is 1250-1500 cals a day. You also need to consider how to fit veggies, fruits, dairy and two snacks a day in there. So food journals are great, but since I'm a visual person, it's easier for me to see it broken down for me. Then you can hang a new one on your fridge each week and fill it out as you go! It is important to keep track or you will not remember what you're eating. I'll have it done soon, promise! :)
4. (Optional but helpful) Buy simple exercise equipment-
*Big Exercise Ball
*Set of Resistance Bands
*Set of 5lb weights
*Yoga mat
5. I forgot! Get a good water bottle. Something you will carry with you to the park or wherever. Mine has a straw and a water filter in it so I can refill it whenever.
Here's a quick start guide that may help you along. Again, I feel the need to put a disclaimer that I am NOT a certified trainer or counselor or anything like that. This is just my advice, take it or leave it. But please don't sue me ;)
So here are some tools to get you started:
1. Invest in a Scale-
Scary times, I know! No one wants to know the number, but you HAVE TO. Don't get hung up on numbers or goal weights or whatever, but you need something to keep track of. And you need accountability. So get a digital scale, and either have a spouse or friend be there to witness your weight (so you can't tell your brain to imediately forget the number), write it down in a log, or get a scale that saves the information. That way you can't lie to yourself, which we get very good at when we are in denial about the size we are. I recommend only weighing yourself weekly on the same day and same time each week. Don't obsess about daily fluctuation, that will make you crazy.
2. Buy a pedometer-
This is the easiest way to motivate yourself to get moving. Wear it ALL the time, not only when you are working out. I mean, only take it off for the shower. Seriously, you will be shocked how 5 more minutes walking with the dog or one lap around the playground adds up. A great workout is 10,000 steps a day, but that is difficult, so don't get hung up on it. Buy one that is flat enough to wear on your waistband under clothes, has a miles counter as well as calorie counter. Target has some great ones!
3. Think about how you eat and change it-
I'm working on a chart that you can download that will serve as a menu template. But to sum up what that will include is a good range for daily calorie consumption while losing weight is 1250-1500 cals a day. You also need to consider how to fit veggies, fruits, dairy and two snacks a day in there. So food journals are great, but since I'm a visual person, it's easier for me to see it broken down for me. Then you can hang a new one on your fridge each week and fill it out as you go! It is important to keep track or you will not remember what you're eating. I'll have it done soon, promise! :)
4. (Optional but helpful) Buy simple exercise equipment-
*Big Exercise Ball
*Set of Resistance Bands
*Set of 5lb weights
*Yoga mat
5. I forgot! Get a good water bottle. Something you will carry with you to the park or wherever. Mine has a straw and a water filter in it so I can refill it whenever.
Friday, March 26, 2010
What's Your Goal?
Um, no, I'm not this delusional, don't worry.
I think the most important first step is to focus on a goal. I'm not talking some general statement like "I want to be healthy for me and my family", which is great, but you know... duh... I think we all want that. So think hard, and focus on something specific. Whether it's a High School reunion coming up this fall, a wedding you're going to be in, bathing suit season, find something. These may seem superficial, and of course there is a bigger picture as to why you should be leading a healthier lifestyle. But from my experience, with a realistic time-line, a goal can give you something to look forward to. "Keep your eye on the prize" sounds trite, but really there is truth to it. I'll share mine so it's in writing and you all can keep me accountable... maybe... no lol ok, here goes:
I want to take my kids to swim at our condos' pool in the Summer without being overly conscientious of what I look like in a bathing suit. I don't want to obsess about my ass or thighs; I just want to have fun and enjoy playing with my kids.
All that being said, the key word is REALISTIC. Don't think you are going to lose 30lbs in 2 months because you have a big event planned. That's just crazy talk. And don't beat yourself up if you fall short. If you lost weight, then I say that's a success. And goals like this can change. For instance, my former goal was to lose weight before my 10 year High School reunion. I did, and it wasn't as much as I would have liked by that time, but you know what? Who cares! I felt better than I did in the past, I had a great time anyway and didn't think twice about how I looked once I got there. So just relax and you'll find this journey much easier.
Step away from the sweatpants, and no one gets hurt.
First of all, welcome all one of you (Hi Mom)! So, I'm Courtney, I have 2 kidlets (Jackson is 3, Eliza is 1) and I have been married to my husband Kurt for 5 years now. This may be one of eleventybillion blogs about moms and fitness out there, but let me break it down to you why I'm doing this.
I'm a stay-at-home mom who gained a ginormous 50+ lbs in my first pregnancy, hated myself for 2 years while losing about 30 of it, got pregnant again, stayed super healthy to a point of never giving into cravings and exercising all the time... still gained 43 lbs. That felt like the ultimate failure to me. Here I am trying to stay healthy, doing everything right and I still gained a lot on a frame I wasn't happy with in the first place. Neither one of my children took to nursing, and I wanted to punch every person in the face that said "You should really breastfeed. It burns like 500 cals a day". People can make light of "baby weight" saying you'll lose it eventually, but at a certain point you find yourself with kids who are far from newborns and you still have the weight. This can seriously screw with your psyche, adding guilt about even thinking about yourself because we think we should focus all our energy on these new tiny people. Add sleep deprivation, stress of a completely different life, blah blah, we've all been there.
And there I was, not knowing what to do, or where to start. I always thought I was a fairly healthy eater and went to the gym semi-regularly before kids. But I had never been in a size 16 body, and I felt like it wasn't really mine. I didn't want to look in the mirrors, avoiding them except for the 5-10 mins I would take on my makeup and hair a day. I stopped taking any time on myself, even if I did have a spare few minutes during overlapping naps. I lived in my 2 to 3 pairs of sweatpants and baggy shirts, not wanting to buy clothes unless there was an occasion I HAD to attend that did not include cotton lounge wear. We're talking someone had to die or get married occasion. Every time I thought about all this, I'd be racked with guilt for feeling sorry for myself when I was "suppose" to be worrying about my children and their lives. So stuck in this vicious cycle, dangerously close to some serious depression, I had to do SOMETHING.
So I did. And that is what I will be writing about for the most part. I went from a size 16 at my heaviest, to a 8 where I am now. I've lost probably 55 lbs total in this yo-yo coaster so far. It's still a journey for me, but I wanted to write it down for myself and hopefully for others to be inspired. I will tell you my own stories, share exercises that work into the mom at home lifestyle, give menu ideas and recipes I've found or created, but most of all hope to get you all involved. In this day and age, there seems to be no community foundation for encouragement and support. Everyone keeps to themselves and gone are the days of the neighborhood mentality. Sometimes it takes a village, and if you can't physically have that, I hope to facilitate that here. So I hope you come back and I look forward to chatting! I have to warn you though... I'm a smartass and have a little bit of a mouth, so I should just apologize ahead of time ;).
Before (MY EYES! OH GOD MY EYES!)
After (In Progress)
I'm a stay-at-home mom who gained a ginormous 50+ lbs in my first pregnancy, hated myself for 2 years while losing about 30 of it, got pregnant again, stayed super healthy to a point of never giving into cravings and exercising all the time... still gained 43 lbs. That felt like the ultimate failure to me. Here I am trying to stay healthy, doing everything right and I still gained a lot on a frame I wasn't happy with in the first place. Neither one of my children took to nursing, and I wanted to punch every person in the face that said "You should really breastfeed. It burns like 500 cals a day". People can make light of "baby weight" saying you'll lose it eventually, but at a certain point you find yourself with kids who are far from newborns and you still have the weight. This can seriously screw with your psyche, adding guilt about even thinking about yourself because we think we should focus all our energy on these new tiny people. Add sleep deprivation, stress of a completely different life, blah blah, we've all been there.
And there I was, not knowing what to do, or where to start. I always thought I was a fairly healthy eater and went to the gym semi-regularly before kids. But I had never been in a size 16 body, and I felt like it wasn't really mine. I didn't want to look in the mirrors, avoiding them except for the 5-10 mins I would take on my makeup and hair a day. I stopped taking any time on myself, even if I did have a spare few minutes during overlapping naps. I lived in my 2 to 3 pairs of sweatpants and baggy shirts, not wanting to buy clothes unless there was an occasion I HAD to attend that did not include cotton lounge wear. We're talking someone had to die or get married occasion. Every time I thought about all this, I'd be racked with guilt for feeling sorry for myself when I was "suppose" to be worrying about my children and their lives. So stuck in this vicious cycle, dangerously close to some serious depression, I had to do SOMETHING.
So I did. And that is what I will be writing about for the most part. I went from a size 16 at my heaviest, to a 8 where I am now. I've lost probably 55 lbs total in this yo-yo coaster so far. It's still a journey for me, but I wanted to write it down for myself and hopefully for others to be inspired. I will tell you my own stories, share exercises that work into the mom at home lifestyle, give menu ideas and recipes I've found or created, but most of all hope to get you all involved. In this day and age, there seems to be no community foundation for encouragement and support. Everyone keeps to themselves and gone are the days of the neighborhood mentality. Sometimes it takes a village, and if you can't physically have that, I hope to facilitate that here. So I hope you come back and I look forward to chatting! I have to warn you though... I'm a smartass and have a little bit of a mouth, so I should just apologize ahead of time ;).
Before (MY EYES! OH GOD MY EYES!)
After (In Progress)
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