2014 Monthly Goals

Every year I set new year resolutions that I fully intend on following.  Every year I find myself bummed I do not succeed as well as I would have liked.  Last year I set 5 important resolutions:
1. Menu plan
2. More family activities that involve more moving.
3. Setting a schedule for my life so I dont miss important things I need to get done.
4. Accepting help and guidance from others
5. Tuning out negativity from others about my journey.

Overall I did VERY well!  I have menu planned all year although I have not been as consistent as I would like to be, we have been eating out at least 3 times a month :(  We have been doing more family fun days but they have slowly tapered off as the school year started again.  I would love to say we are just so busy with school and activities but really we have just been slacking 6 months out >.< My 3rd point is probably the least successful of them all....I have no schedule still.  I tried very hard a few months in but found myself getting lazy days here and there and finally started skipping scheduling at all.  I have found amazing people since starting my Facebook page Kat's losing it and this blog.  I love having accountability partners and sharing my struggles and successes :) My 5th point is and will probably always be a struggle for me.  I just can not get over my people pleasing and taking every comment to heart! I am trying very hard to continue to treat others kindly no matter how they treat me but I still find my mind saying "no screw them" lol.

This year I decided I would make monthly goals instead of resolutions.  Goals that are attainable for me to be successful with. They say it takes 21 days to create a habit, if that is true if I make my monthly goals and continue them over the course of the year my ultimate goal of loosing 130 lbs should be much closer.  So here are my small monthly goals for 2014:

January: Meet my 10,000 steps a day on my Fitbit.
February: Get up at 5 am on Weekdays and 7 am on Sundays
March: Start a workout tip jar $1.00 for every 60 minutes
April: Get in 60-80 grams of protein and only 2 servings of carbohydrates a day
May: Run the 10k at the River Bank Run Running for Jenny
June: Take the kids to the park to walk/ride bikes twice a week
July: No eating out all month!
August: Cook meatless Mondays
September: Complete the Warrior Dash!
October: Climb to the very top of the rock wall
November: Go no more than 2 days without a workout
December: Learn how to do a handstand

Why I am choosing the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

I wanted to answer many questions I have received over the last few weeks as my vertical sleeve gastrectomy is so close.  I have spent the last 12 months complying with physician supervised weight loss.  Those 12 months included monthly visits with a MD, a nutritionist and a behaviorist.  I have kept a detailed food/exercise log that was picked apart every month as well as undergoing EKG's, blood tests and ultrasounds.  Finally I am on my last visit waiting to here from insurance for my approval since I have followed everything they needed me to do.   It was a long 12 months but now that it is over it seemed to fast but I know I am prepared for surgery.  The vertical sleeve gastrectomy is a procedure where the surgeon removes about 85% of your stomach leaving you a smaller "sleeve".  The "repaired" stomach holds about 2 oz.  The portion of the stomach they remove contains "hunger hormone" cells so the feeling of hunger is drastically if not completely gone after surgery.  After researching all the different types of weight loss surgery's available the gastric sleeve is much more appealing to me...no foreign band for adjustments or ulcers :)

The VSG is an overnight stay at the hospital with about 4 weeks recovery time.  Since I am a SAHM and have already had 2 c-sections I feel a bit prepared for what it will be like although many I have spoke with in the WLS community have said the recovery is much easier than a c-section. 

So...onto the many questions I have had:
1. Are you afraid you won't be able to eat?
Nope....Honestly I am almost always UNDER calories for the day.  I have been on a 1200 calorie diet for a year and I am always at about 900 for the day.  My problem that I have been working SO hard on getting under control.....eating 3-5 small meals a day!  I have a horrible habit of skipping breakfast and lunch then I am starving at dinner and eat 2x's the portions I should.  Still under calories but as my nutritionist tells me I am making my body store fat because I am starving it all day :(  I am looking forward to eating every 2-3 hours in smaller amounts.  I will still be able to eat regular food in much smaller amounts...eventually.

2. How will you ever go 4 weeks on a liquid diet?
Well....there is no getting around it!  2 weeks pre-op my dr puts you on a full liquids diet to help shrink your liver.  You dont follow it you run the chance of much more complications during surgery.  As far as the 2 weeks post opp....we are retraining our stomachs how to eat not to mention the staples holding your new stomach closed.  Following the 4 weeks liquid and 2 weeks pureed diet is incredibly important to the healing process and I will do whatever is needed to avoid complications and ensure my surgery is the tool I intend it to be!

3. Don't you think weight loss surgery is cheating?
Well here is my opinion....if choosing to have a drastic procedure to repair the major damage I have done to my stomach is cheating so be it.  If changing my diet to 2 oz meals at a time is cheating...so be it.  Just because I am having VSG does not mean I will not being working my ass off in the gym to loose the weight.  The surgery helps you loose the weight by making your stomach small but you still have to follow a diet and exercise plan or even after major weight loss it can come back.  Studies have shown about 90% of people who loose weight without surgery gain their weight back while about 20% of WLS patients regain theirs back.  I have been up and down in weight for years!  I feel the VSG is a way for me to start "fresh" repair the over stretched, abused stomach I have with a smaller one :)

4.  What about all that skin from rapid weight loss....gross.
Yeah well here is my reality....I have had 3 children!!!  My stomach already looks like a road map of the USA and to think I won't have hanging skin is incredibly naive ;p  I will do all I can as far as exercise and toning to minimize it but there is no question there will be some no matter if I had the VSG or not.  My body is 138 lbs overweight...there will be deflated parts!  I figure better deflated than full of fat LOL there are these amazing contraptions called "shape wear" we have already been friends for years...I don't see that ending :D

I am completely confident in my decision.  I know it is the best way for me to help my journey be more successful and know it is not for everyone.  It is not a way of "cheating" at the weight loss game!  I will be putting in lots of hard work like others who are on their own weight loss journeys but I will have one huge advantage...a 2 oz tummy to help control over eating and hormonal hunger issues :) 

I recently came across an awesome article about WLS.  The author asked a great question: When did doing something the hard way become a morally superior option vs. being smart about it and using whatever tools are available to you?  Let's say you have two people who both love to garden. One of them uses gardening tools and even owns a tiller to help dig up the ground before planting. They use an electric hedge trimmer too. The other one does the whole garden using a teaspoon and a pair of scissors. Their results aren't as good as the first person, but, hey, at least they didn't "take the easy way out" by using power tools......My thoughts exactly!!!

Kat's choice: Flex VS. Up

In August I was introduced into the wonderful world of fitness trackers.  I was seeing them all over the women at the YMCA and had to research just what these "bracelets" were all about.  I spent the next few days online comparing and reading reviews of all the latest fitness goodies and decided the best fit for me was the Fitbit Flex.  It was more affordable than some of the other trackers and they carried them at my Verizon store so I could buy it on my account and pay for it with my monthly cell phone bill.  I completely fell in LOVE with the flex!  I loved seeing my steps and sleep mapped out and the nutrition tracker was very easy to use.  I found it very simple to use on my iphone and my laptop.

 The Flex has about a 5 day battery life so I would generally try and charge it on my lazy Sunday afternoons when I was mostly couch bound anyways lol.  The Flex is waterproof but I never wore it in the shower or swimming.  The package contained 2 flex bands (one large, one small)with clasp, USB charging cord, USB Dongle that syncs to your pc, and the fitbit tracker/computer piece that fits into the band.  The band was secure and comfortable my only complaint....it made my wrist stink ;p  Even if it was a rest day and I was not sweating, the band seemed to trap moisture under it very well and I started obsessing about cleaning my band every time I washed my hands because it was so irritating to my skin.

The fitness tracker seemed to be working fine tracking my steps but I couldn't help but feel short changed sometimes on what it considered "very active minutes" I went out for a very vigorous walk with the dog 2 miles in 30 minutes and when I got home and sync'd it would say I was very active for 9 minutes :( It has 5 dots that light up the closer you get to your 10k steps goal. It graphs out you steps and that seemed to be pretty accurate to me.

 The food tracker was very easy to use but since I mostly purchase Meijer brand items I had to add the nutrition information myself :/ It has a meter that lets you know if you are under, over or just right for your calorie intake.

The sleep tracker was probably my favorite part, mostly because I didn't realize how horribly I sleep!! It marks when you are restless and awake for how long and how many times.  I try to get at least 7 hours a night during the school year but it rarely happens.  This particular evening I am posting I forced myself into bed at 8:30 pm instead of the usual 10 pm. Luckily I did because I was restless 20 times and awake 8 times :(  I also loved the silent alarm you can set.  I set mine for 5:15 AM and woke up nicely to the vibration on my wrist instead a violent heart attack from whatever metal band was playing on the radio.

Overall I loved my Fitbit Flex but I found it had one major flaw....The battery life.  I never got 5 whole days of battery out of it and after 30 days my first Flex would not accept a charge.  I exchanged it for another and that Flex lasted me a little over 90 days before it again would be connected properly and not charge up.  Bringing it back for the second time my Verizon rep asked if I would like to try the Jawbone Up and at the cost of losing my Fitbit friends I enjoy I accepted the exchange.

The Jawbone Up is a one piece band with no clasp. The package contained the flexable up band and a USB charging cord.  The silver cap covers the sync port that plugs in directly into your phone so unlike the Flex you do not have to use a pc at all. The Up is sold in S, M and L.  I purchased the small and it fits very comfortably and has been sturdy despise not having a clasp.  It has two light up modes a pretty colorful flower for active times and a moon for sleep. The app is very simple to use and it more detailed. You can track your food, activity, sleep, and mood.  It also has fun little "did you know" facts everyday.  Unlike the Flex it has not given me the gross smelly wrist or irritation....we shall see if it continues to.

The activity tracker seems to be accurate to my account for the day.  My kiddos has a snow day so we did not venture out until afternoon, slept in and relaxed watching movies most of the Am.  I like that it tells min in % where I am for my goals. You can log your workouts as well like today I did 45 minutes of Yoga that was not tracked because I set my Up on the counter while I did dishes and forgot to put it back on.  While it is waterproof I remove it like my jewelry.

The food tracker is probably my favorite feature of the Up!  I got so tired of sitting at the computer entering all my nutrition info for my store brand items and the Up has a scan feature :D  You can scan the bar code and it brings it up for you, no fumbiling with packages trying to make sure you don't miss something. You can also snap a pic of your food to keep a image for future use.

Also when you track your food you can also track the exact time you ate it and where you were.  Besides having a list of foods and drinks you consumed it breaks them down on the main screen on where you are % wise for the day for the main food groups. My goal is within 1000-1200 calories a day and love seeing when I get it right!

The sleep tracker is a little more appealing to me. I spent the first hour in bed facebooking with a friend haha....couldnt hide that from Up >.<  Seeing this display of my sleep patterns just looks better to me I can see that I am getting plenty of deep sleep even if I am up and down all night from the 120 oz. of water I drink every day.

I have read other review that complained about the battery life of the Jawbone Up as well so we shall see if it withstands my needs.  It is supposed to have a 10 day battery life compared to the 5 days on the Flex.  My concern is that it will continue to take a charge.  I go crazy with a dead fitness tracker!  Since tracking my activity, food and sleep has become so important to my weight loss journey I can not imagine not having this amazing tool in my belt.  I know there are many more fitness trackers out there besides these two but my vote has to go with the Jawbone Up. The Up's biggest selling point for me....I don't HAVE to use my laptop to sync my data, since I always have my Up on my wrist and iphone in my pocket I am always able to sync them up and see where I am at instead of counting blinky lights ;p

Failure Inspires Winners!

Lots of new changes this week, Scott started at his new school and I put my meal plan from my dietician into action.  We struggled with the decision to move Scott to another school the last 2 years, Scott has a very difficult time retaining the information he is learning in class even with extra tutoring and help at home.  I take partial responsibility in the reason for the switch.  The end of 4th grade I had a meeting with the school social workers and teachers, they all agree'd Scott was doing so well they no longer felt he needed the extra help and wanted me to exit him from the special services program.  It was true Scott was doing amazing, he made friends, had good grades and seemed to be ok.  I signed off under a false hope that Scott was "cured" of any learning issues.  It became very clear the beginning of the next school year that we were horribly wrong!  Some issues like not wanting to do homework or study come with the pre-teen age but when we spent 3 evenings studying flash cards together for him to still fail a test made us both feel like failures.  I started to hear more of "I'm stupid, why study I'll fail anyways and etc."  His teachers tried to fight for him last year asking for a re-evaluation that they have never dealt with a child that had such a hard time and he needed more support but the district decided he was fine as long as I kept him medicated.  Scott skimmed the very edge of passing 5th grade in fact I received a letter asking to hold him back but I refused.  Over the summer I battled myself trying to decide if a charter school was the best choice for him, a school that would help accommodate the needs we were desperate for but decided against my better judgement to allow him to return to public school for another try.  Halfway through the school year and he is drowning again, failing all core classes despite our efforts and I was at a loss.  I could not get the special service department on my side, Scott was having issues with kids telling him he was stupid when he asked questions and most mornings he fought me tooth and nail to go to school.  Thursday I had enough! I called the charter schools told them the situation and by the grace of God they just happened to have a spot the opened up in his grade that morning.  There were 2 other families wanting it but they had not completed the application yet so I jumped on it.  They told me they would work with their social worker and Scott's physicians to make sure they got him the help he needs.  I was completely won over by their staff and have faith that Scott will do great there.  He was not thrilled about leaving his friends but explaining they were still close by and could have sleep overs helped him feel better about it.  Scott's first day was yesterday and he loved it!  He said his teachers were very kind, the kids welcomed him in very quickly and said they all "talk alot" LOL he should fit in just fine :)  I feel good about my choice, I may have been inpatient for the public school to help but a year and a half was too long for me. Best part is Austin gets to attend there in the fall as well :)  Now onto my food life change (I don't like to call it a diet).  It is pretty simple plan my dietician and I split up what I needed into meals and snacks and I have been following it to the T the last 4 days.  I track everything in the binder she provided and we go over my choices at our appointments every month.  I have been doing good besides the caffeine migraines but motrin 800's have helped me deal with them.  I fear I might be obsessing with my food program though. I have never followed anything so closely and felt so horrible about not meeting my goals. I am allowed 1225 calories, 60 protein, 30 fat and 130 carbs. I am always under calories but over by 5-10 in fats and proteins. My food choices are what was suggested, I have done no cheating no binging but I still feel like I am failing because I am not hitting my numbers right. Example from Yesterday: 
Breakfast:
1 cup of Cheerios
1 8oz. Fat Free Milk
1 Small Apple
Lunch:
2 Whole Wheat Light Bread
1 Tbsp. PB
1 6oz. Light Yogurt
1 Cup Carrots
Snack:
Light String Cheese
Dinner:
3 Oz. Chicken Breast Roasted
1 Small Baked Potato
1 Tbsp. Country Crock Light
1 Cup of Green Beans

I see no where to make cuts except my country crock but that was only 5 fat. I was still over 12 carbs :( Am I being crazy obsessing bout such a small amount of overstepping....I am proud I made such a huge change in my life so far but feel like its not good enough. I have had no pop, only Skim Milk, Water, and Crystal Lite :) I did not get any fitness in yesterday I kept getting distracted and next thing I knew it was 8pm and I was exhausted ready to head to bed LOL. This early bedtime is for the birds HAHA. Our children go to bed and I am too tired to stay up or even get any reading in...I'm blaming it on getting used to my lack of caffeine. Please let me know if you are seeing something I am not in my meal plan...or if I am really just crazy about it LOL

Shark Week

So I have been MIA for "Shark Week" :( I have been erratic, emotional, angry and STARVING all week. I bought those heating pads for cramps, thought they were a great idea then realized I am completely numb from 2 c-sections and couldn't even feel the darn things...hope they still helped HAHA. I lacked all ambition to make meals, workout or even move out of bed or the couch. This is a pretty common event since I declined hormone treatments from my physician.

So saying that, I managed to maintain my weight but did not loose any and made a mess of my nutrition. Today is my first day feeling myself and had my first dietician appointment. I loved her, she was so sweet and made sure I had all the tools to get things right. I have to meet with her once a month and bring food logs in...good thing I already got that in the works LOL. I think it may help having someone looking at what is going on instead of just myself. There are plenty of days I don't eat all day then 6pm I eat a massive dinner and hop into bed at 9pm :(

Saturday was our second family fun date and it went great despite my unstable behavior.  My husband and I took our 4 boys bowling and out for pizza.  We had a great time even though none of the boys knew what they were doing.  My oldest did good and helped so much with the little ones.  The middle 2 boys got bored at about the 8th frame and the baby was done on the 5th lol.  I spent the last 5 frames holding him and playing flash cards on my iphone LOL.

We got some pizza's from Papa Murphy's and headed home to eat as a family.  I was so proud of the kids, they were so well behaved and kind to each other.  I would like to think it was all because of our great parenting but I'm certain given it being "shark week" it was out of fear that mom might get "mad".  I may need to look into come pms medications.  I have not given up on my goals I merely got sidetracked for a week, but now that I am me again and not a ravenous shark eating everything and chewing up anyone that comes across my path I will be great:)

Jars of Hope

I have 4 jars I am using as tools with my weight loss journey.  First I put together my 2 jars for counting my pounds to loose and pounds I have lost.  I went to the Dollar store and bought a bag of colored accent gems then bought 2 jars to place them in.  With 116 pounds to loose total I was surprised one bag of accents was sufficient.  I took a few labels and wrote with a sharpie "Pounds to Loose" and "Pounds Lost".  I am planning on making some cuter labels soon, just wanted a starting point for now.  Here is my almost finished project minus the permanent labels :)

My next jar I put together was my workout tips jar.  I have put in 50 cents every time I workout 20 minutes.  I am only 4 days in and have almost 6 dollars.  I found a canning jar we had in our basement, cut a hole in the top and slapped on a temporary label.  I plan on using the money inside for a new wardrobe once I hit my goal weight and not 5 pounds before :)

My last jar is my workout jar.  I struggle with sticking to the same old routine and get bored easily.  I made a workout jar with 3 different types of workouts I like to do; Core, Cardio and Strength Training.  I found 10 different routines for each of them, some video's, some pins I have on my pinterest page under wellness. http://pinterest.com/kathieatkinson/  I purchased a bag of popsicle sticks and 3 different acrylic paints.  Painted 30 of them then used my sharpie to write the type of workout it is and the name. I have a binder of printed pictures from my pins in protective sheets so I can keep the non-video workouts organized and labeled those sticks by page number. I put them into a jar so I don't loose them and now everyday I will draw one at random so I get a nice variety of workouts :)

These are my jars of hope.  Having a visual aide to see my progress, something I can touch and count will help me keep focused and see my hard work even if I don't see it in the mirror.  I can't wait until I have my pounds to loose jar empty and my workout tip jar full.  I can not even imagine shopping at a real women's store instead of the plus size store....something I haven't done since I was 12!

Unless you puke, faint or die keep going! ~Jillian Michaels

Planning life change #2 was easy, putting into action is another story.  Went through all my workout equipment, videos and clothes to find.....I pretty much have a whole gym in my house HA.  There are 2 pieces of equipment I want and do not have; a treadmill and a Bosu ball.  Thanks to all the great sales for the new year, I was able to purchase one at a nice discount :)

It took me and my 11 year old son over an hour to put this bad boy together....then my husband took it apart and put it together right so we wouldn't die HAHA.  I added the Bosu ball to my rewards list even though the sale price is making me want to run to the store, but I know I should work for it so I will use some self control LOL.  My son and I are registered for the Fifth Third River Bank Run May 13th so this treadmill will help get us ready.  We start c25k today so we will have more than enough time to prepare for our first ever 5k.  Did my official first weigh in this morning, I have 116.6 lbs to loose to be at a healthy BMI.  Starting small I have a goal of 30 lbs lost by May 1st to start, giving me 16 weeks to loose about 2 lbs a week.  Besides my 5k training I have strength training 3 times a week and cardio 6 days a week, taking Sundays off to rest.  I have my workout jar all ready with different 20 min workouts on purple, pink and turquoise popsicle sticks to choose from.  Purple for cardio, pink for strength, and turquoise for core workouts.  Today I drew Biggest Loser Cardio Max workout :) Time to shed some liquid awesome HA HA

Love Boxes

Today I planned the first life change on my list of goals: Loving More.  I found the idea for the date jars on Pinterest but since I already have 2 weight jars (one for pounds lost, ones pounds to loose) a workout tips jar (place $1.00 in every 30 min of exercise) and a workout jar (Popsicle sticks with workout routines to choose from) I thought....I have too many jars!  I stumbled upon a card box at me Meijer while buying Christmas tubs for storage and though they were perfect.  I grabbed one along with 20 large envelopes, a box of small envelopes and shipping labels.  I headed home and came up with 52 dates for me and my husband and 52 family fun dates.  I printed Months on the shipping labels and put them on my large envelopes.  Then I printed the 104 dates (Hubby dates in Red, Family dates in Blue) and put them on the small envelopes.  I went through and looked up the approximate cost for each event, the address, hours and phone number on index cards and placed them into each envelope.  I wanted my dates with my husband to be random, drawing an envelope every week but the family dates are planned because of what the activities are.  I place 4-5 small date envelopes into the larger dated envelopes and filed them in the card box 2 months per slot.  Then I placed the 4-5 dated family fun date enveloped behind the large envelopes so they don't get mixed together. Decorate top of box with your favorite scrap book papers and stickers. One entire year planned with weekly dates with my family, planned and budgeted out.  One great way I know I will love my family more by giving them every Monday or Tuesday evenings with my husband.

Here are my Date Ideas:
Hubby Date Nights:
January-
1. Play in the snow together
2. Dinner at local restaurant
3. Comedy movie at home with takeout
4. Bowling
5. Cosmo's Truth or Dare Game

February-
1. Dinner at local restaurant
2. Hotel over night (COSTLY DATE)
3. Wish List (you each write 3 things on a slips of paper that you want to do in the bedroom, fold them up, draw from the hat and have fun)
4. Go to movie theatres for a scary flick

March-
1. Dinner at a local restaurant
2. Romance movie at home with takeout
3. 4 star restaurant downtown (COSTLY DATE)
4. Art of kissing book (try all the many ways to kiss..who knew there was a whole book!)

April-
1. Video game time together
2. Dinner at a local restaurant
3. Go the movie theatres for a comedy
4. I.O.U Hot.....adult game
5. Sexy Stacker Game

May-
1. Horror movie at home with takeout
2. Dinner at local restaurant
3. Choose your pleasure...adult game
4. Tattoos (COSTLY DATE)...cause we have been wanting one LOL

June-
1. Carnival
2. Make dessert at home
3. Go to the movie theatre for a action movie
4. Sexy Stacker game

July-
1. Drive In
2. Ice cream shop
3. Local Band
4. Truth or Dare game
5. Dinner at local resturant

August-
1. Go to the movie theatre for a comedy
2. Twister
3. Concert
4. IOU Hot Game

September-
1. Mini Golf
2. Choose your pleasure game
3. Firing range
4. Dinner at local restaurant

October-
1. Weekend Getaway(COSTLY DATE for our anniversary we are going to Mackinaw for the weekend)
2. NONE BECAUSE OF WEEKEND GETAWAY
3. Dinner at local restaurant
4. IOU Hot Game
5. Haunted House

November-
1. Make pizza together and watch an Italian movie
2. NONE FOR THANKSGIVING WEEK
3. Comedy Club
4. Dinner at a local restaurant

December-
1. Laser Tag
2. Dinner at a local restaurant
3. Hot Tubing
4. Dinner at the Melting Pot (COSTLY DATE)
5. FAMILY DATE FOR NEW YEARS

Family Fun Dates:
January-
1. Play in the snow together
2. Children's Museum
3. Sledding
4. Chuck e Cheese

February-
1. Ice Skating
2. Hockey Game
3. Tubing
4. Sledding

March-
1. Java Gym
2. Bowling
3. Monster Truck Races
4. Great Wolf Lodge for weekend during spring break
5. Morning Movie

April-
1. Craig's Cruisers
2. Chuck e Cheese
3. Gymnastics center
4. Public Museum

May-
1. Nature Center
2. Riverbank run (me and my oldest are running)
3. Mini Golf
4. Baseball Game

June-
1. Drive In Movie
2. Frederick Meijer Gardens
3. Ice Cream Parlor
4. Zoo
5. Grand Haven Beach Day

July-
1. Fireworks/Camp in a tent in the backyard
2. AJ's Fun Park
3. Michigan's Adventures
4. Fishing

August-
1. Flashlight Tag
2. Millennium Park
3. Grand Haven Beach Day
4. Full Blast Indoor/Outdoor Water Park
5. Chuck e Cheese

September-
1. Art Prize
2. Kroc Center
3. Allegan County Fair
4. Robinettes Orchard

October-
1. Klackles Orchard
2. Children's Museum
3. Nature Walk
4. Cornmaze

November-
1. Chuck e Cheese
2. Play World
3. Bowling
4. Java Gym
5. NONE FOR THANKSGIVING WEEK

December-
1. Frederick Meijer Gardens for Christmas Around the World
2. Holiday Inn overnight with water park COSTLY DATE
3. Gymnastics
4. NONE FOR CHRISTMAS WEEK

                                                               Card Box $7.99 Meijer

          

                           

                                                   Large envelopes and Shipping labels

                                                                Printed Month Envelopes

                                                   Costly Preplanned Date Night Envelopes

                                                     January's date night envelope example

Conquerors of today

~In all things we are more than conquerors of through him who loved us~ Romans 8:37

Food has been there for me my entire life.  It has been a comforter when I am depressed or upset, it has been apart of celebration for birthdays and holidays, it has been a tool I use when I am bored to occupy myself with something to do.  I have held food to a much higher standard than it could possibly provide me.  Instead of using it to sustain my body filing it with nourishment I have managed to over fill it with salt, fats and sweets that it does not need to help keep me functioning.  Now I am not in delusion that my world will change with me, I do not expect to deprive myself from the very foods that have caused me to be in the place I am in.  But moderation is the name of the game, a tool I have rarely used in my belt.  I know what I need to do to be successful at weight loss, I have been dieting since I was young and dieting is my problem.  I restrict myself from the foods I enjoy cutting them out of my life completely replacing them with foods that are better choices but lack in fulfilling the needs I expect them too.  I spend my days weighting my portions and putting my meals in Tupperware tubs marked by the meal so I don't stray from my plan.  While those things work for weight loss it is not life changing for me.  I follow the plan for a few weeks, maybe a month until something triggers my emotional eating habits so I binge and tell myself "I've ruined my diet and I can't live like this, I will just be happy the way I am."  I live in a lie, that this body I have over stuffed is ok.  That I feel good about myself and am comfortable the way I am and I am not.  I am not wanting to be stick thin, I never have been.  I want to be a healthy example for my family, someone they can look to for support and knowledge.  I want to feel good in my skin and not be weighted down by insecurities that have plagued me since grade school.  This year I am not dieting....I am changing my life!  I have a plan to bring healthy food choices to our table and still enjoy the snacks and treats we all love....in moderation.  So no I will not pass on birthday cake, chicken n dumplins or Nana's Christmas peanut butter bars!  I will eat what I enjoy but in proper portions and remember what I put in must be put out in physical activity.  No more eating till I feel sick then napping on the couch till I feel like I can move again.  No more overeating at fast food cause it is easier than preparing my family food because they have better choices that I always passed by for the chicken nuggets and fries.  No more drinking a 2 liter of cherry coke because I use the excuse there is nothing else in the fridge that's cold.  I have every excuse in the book used twice but they are behind me now.  With the support of my family and friends I know I can make this life change I so desperately need. So whats my plan:
1.  Menu planning breakfast lunch and dinner.  Adding more vegetables and cutting down on carbs and meat portions.  Following the guidelines I have been reading about on how our meal plates should look.
2.  Get my family involved in more activities needing movement.  Game night around the kitchen table is great but we're still sitting in one place.  More sledding, ice skating and snowball fights will be taking place in our yard.
3.  Setting a schedule for myself to keep everything I need to do at a certain time so I don't make excuses.  I know there are always things that pop up, but generally my life is pretty timed out.  I plan most of my day out anyway, there is no reason I can not set time aside for working out to get where I want to be.
4.  Accept help!  While I hate asking for it, I know I can not do it alone.  I do need my very own cheerleaders at my side letting me know what a good job I am doing....don't we all?  I'm not saying I need someone following me all day saying "Your eating a healthy breakfast GREAT JOB, lunch too FANTASTIC" HAHA but acknowledgment for my hard work when it pays off. 
5.  And last but not least: Stop listening to the naysayers!  There is always someone in your life that doubts you can do what you want to accomplish.  I have failed so many times before, I dread even mentioning a life change to others but I am human.  I fall on my face but get back up and if others see my attempt as weakness they are the ones with a problem.  I will not listen to the "how long will this time last" or "you don't finish anything you start"  because believe me I already have those thoughts in my own head but I know I have power and strength over them.  I will not let negative words and thoughts stop me from taking control over my life.  It is indeed my life, the only one I have.

~I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me~Philippians 4:13

A New Year!

I can not believe how quickly 2012 flew by.  Lots of life changes for us from moving, to adding another fur baby to our family. Never a dull moment!  I have plenty of goals for 2013, no "New Year Resolutions" since I always disappoint myself when I don't follow through.  My goals are realistic and a work in progress.

So here we go:
1.  Spend more time loving!
We get so caught up in the busyness of life's to do list that sometimes we forget to slow down and give time to the ones we love.  I happen to have 5 people I love and lack in giving them all the proper love the deserve.  Honestly after the craziness of the day with 2 little ones when my oldest and husband get home I am spent and want to do nothing but finish my dinner/homework/bathes routine and crawl into bed with a good book for some me time.  Not fair to them, not fair to me!  I am missing precious time with them both and the older my son gets the more time he doesn't want to spend with his old mom and in exchange wants to hang out with friends :(  So this year I am setting aside special time with each of my family members everyday and bringing back date nights with my husband to get to know each other again since we sometimes loose ourselves in the roles of mom and dad.

                                                                           DS11
2.  Get active!
I have gained and maintained an unhealthy weight for 11 years...yep that's right 11 YEARS of fat.  Sure I have yo-yo'd the same 50 pounds during this time but on my little 5'2 frame I can not afford to keep living in denial that I am "just accepting myself the way I am".  I can say that as much as I want but I do not accept this body the way it is.  I do not want to be skinny, I want to gain strength and loose inches.  I want to be a healthy example for my children, someone for them to look up to instead of being someone they look down on.  I don't want them to know that I spent half of my life out of control letting emotions control my food choices.  I want them to see the strength and determination I know I am capable of.  As my oldest is growing I see more and more of myself in him.  The night snacking, sneaking sweets into his room eating in shame and hoping no one will see what he has consumed.  Keeping bad food choices in my home is hurting my family and I am setting a goal to change the way we eat and get exercise this year.  More clean and fresh foods, less processed and fatty foods!  More active family activities less tv and video game time for us all!

3.  Serve others!
Our family has been blessed by amazing people in our lives who have helped through lots of emotional, financial, and spiritual hardships.  In 2013 I want to spend more time teaching my children its not always about us, that God has called us to serve others with no expectations of anything given in return.  We are still a work in progress, but I can share everything I have even if it is less than what others have.  One thing I do have is time!  Even with a crazy schedule, 3 boys, my husband and 3 dogs I can find time to serve others.  It will be on my list of priorities!

                                                                                 DS2

I am excited to see what 2013 will bring to our family.  A quiet home is boring, bring on the crazy!