CLICK HERE FOR THOUSANDS OF FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES »

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Any Suggestions?

Does anyone know of a website where you can type in a recipe and it will give you the nutritional information on it? I made Corn Chowder for dinner and I think it is pretty good for you, but I'm hoping I can find out more about it.

So far things aren't going so well... I haven't lost anything, and in fact I GAINED!!! Here's hoping it is just water weight! I'm going away for a girls weekend so we KNOW this next weigh in isn't going to be good either! :0) I am still going to try to watch what I am eating, but a girls weekend isn't a girls weekend without some junk food! I am trying to be good. I got a few healthier snacks for myself, and since we are each buying our own lunches I can keep them a little healthier that way I won't feel so guilty about dinner. This is my first time going (I missed the last one) so I'm not exactly sure about how this works but I guess we are all going to Walmart when we get there and we will buy stuff to make dinner. A bunch of the girls are also watching what they are eating so hopefully that will help things out, but they might count this as a weekend off... who knows. I think I am going to try one of those Lean Cuisine panini sandwich things for my lunches have any of you had them? Are they any good?

On a positive note I have been exercising 3x a week, I wish I could get in 1 more but my daughter goes to school 2 days a week and those are my errand days. Sometimes I'm helping my husband work on the house on Saturdays (or at least keeping the kids from getting in the way) and it just doesn't seem right to workout on Sunday! I did just win a bike on ebay so I am looking forward to taking the kids for bike rides soon as it gets warmer out! Granted the 8 inches of snow we got isn't helping with that! 2 of my sisters have bike trainers (they both are training for another tri) and that seems like a good idea (you put you bike on the trainer in the house (or wherever) and you can ride your bike without going anywhere like a stationary bike), I don't think that is the type of thing you'll find at a garage sale though...

The water thing is going better so far... I figured out that my water bottle holds 20 ounces so after I drink the whole bottle I put a band on it (I was thinking a rubber band, but since I packed up the desk when we switched to the new side of the house, I just used one of the girls hair rubber bands instead.) that way I can keep track of if I am drinking enough. It still doesn't help with drinking the water, but at least I can kick myself for only having one band on and then make myself drink another.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Ladies- So sorry I have been MIA. As soon as Istarted this blog, my comupter dies at the hands of one of my kiddos( the laptop plug got bent and now the lap top holds no juice) So I will drop ya'll a quick note to say how proud I am of ya'll. And how much I need to see what ya;ll were writing. I feel off the wagon this weekend at a bachelorette party0 cookies and brownies galore, hoagie sandwiches an an early morning run for cookie dough, an Taco cabana- But it was on eheck of a good time! :) This week I am starting fresh and happy to see that WW is free reg. until the 8th of march. I think it is time I started that back up again! It is late now and my hubby needs to be using this computer for work( it is after all th reason he brought it hom ein the first place)

Talk soon!

Monday, February 25, 2008

Home is SAFE

Week one has come and gone. I am working really hard. I mean, really hard. I am in that die hard mode--absolutely determined to get this weight off and quickly. Keeping myself accountable, working out, watching everything that goes in my mouth, and drinking tons of water. Week one was as bad as I thought it was going to be, and I did really good--up until Friday.

See, Friday is date night at my house. My mother comes, and stays with my 3 boys for a few hours, so that my husband and I can go to dinner, or a movie, or shopping, or whatever. It is our 'alone time' for the week, and it is wonderful. I love date night.

But, I didn't care for the challenge of date night. See, one of Shane and my favorite places to go it to a pizza restaraunt. It will be okay, I thought. I will just not eat too much.....

And I didn't. I stayed in control, even though I wanted order breadsticks (we didn't), eat another bowl of salad (I didn't--too many cals in the dressing, for crying out loud!), and eat about 6 more pieces of pizza (they cut them into really small squares at this place). I ate appropriately, I thought, for where we were and how hungry I was.

But the trouble is, I know that I still consumed a ton of calories at that meal, because I know that restaraunts aren't concerned with cutting calories. They are concerned with food tasting good.

Then, Saturday came and we decided to make an improptu trip out of town, which led to eating out all day. Ugh. I did pretty well at Chili's, (not too many chips) with a turkey sandwich, black beans and a side salad, but then it was pizza again for dinner. I only had 3 pieces (the square ones again)....even though I seriously could have eaten like, 10. For some reason, when I eat this super yummy restaraunt food, my 'full reflex' doesn't seem to work. I don't gradually feel like I am filling up....I just never feel full until I feel absolutely stuffed. It just hits me, and then I'm feeling absolutely gross. I just have to stop when I feel like I have consumed the appropriate amount of food.

Self-Control. I hate this, but I am doing it anyway.

The thing I am learning about this whole die-hard, eat right and work-out stuff? Home is my safe haven. I can control what I eat here, what is in what I eat, and I can better control how much I eat (I'm not sure why with that last one....)

Since obviously I can't stay home for the next 11 weeks or for the rest of my life, the name of the game when I go out has to be self-control.

But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Does anyone else have a problem with being sabotaged by her family?

My husband knows I have been struggling with my weight since we got married. In the first year we were married, I gained 40lbs. Now, I might have been (very) slightly underweight when we got married, but not 40lbs. Of course, I had a trio of events that contributed to my weight gain. Before we got married I quit smoking, which of course left me with an oral fixation that needed to be filled. Then we got married, so I had to cook. My husband could exist on hamburgers, potatoes, and ice cream, and yet he's tall and slender. I could eat a bowl of cereal for dinner and be happy, but that wasn't going to cut it for him. Plus, it's hard to eat something "healthy" when you've got someone eating a burger or cheese sticks, or whatever right next to you. I LOVE fattening food, I can't help it. We also ate a LOT of fast food when we first got married, because we worked the afternoon shift and it was just way easier to stop on the way to work to get something to eat. To top that all off, after a few months of marriage, I took the opportunity to quit working to be a SAHM to my 2 children, as well as Ande's daughter when she was at our house. So now, not only was I eating more because I quit smoking, eating less healthy because it was easier on me, but I was also not burning whatever calories I used to burn by working on my feet 8-12 hour a day, 5-7 days each week.

Fast forward to my 3rd pregnancy - I didn't gain a whole lot, and I lost every pound in 2 weeks. Unfortunately I was still about 30lbs heavier than I probably should be. Within 9 months, I was pregnant again. I gained a little more that time, but still lost it all within a couple of weeks. (Most of my weight was water) Somehow, I have now managed to put on approximately 20lbs in the last year. I don't have any idea how much I weigh, because I hate the idea of even stepping on a scale.

Now we're up to the present. My husband knows that I am unhappy with my weight. Yet he does things that aren't helping me. A few months ago, I got a treadmill (it was free - YEAH). He asked why I wanted it. (Um...to WALK on?) I sort of lost my desire to try to do this for a while, but Devin's decision to try to lose weight and get in better shape helped give me some motivation to work on myself again. Last night, I made chicken for dinner. I only made enough for each person to have one serving (which is plenty). I figure I need to start my quest towards a better body with some portion control. My husband ate his piece and asked if there was more. I told him there wasn't, but that he could have some of mine. I cut about 1/3 off of my chicken and offered it to him. So then he says, "but you're hungry." I told him that I didn't NEED to eat the entire piece of chicken, and he responds with, "You're eating like a bird, what have you eaten today?" So I told him what I had eaten, and he still didn't want to take the chicken. I finally just put it on his plate. Problem solved, right?

This morning, when I was getting ready to take my son to the bus stop before school, my husband asked if I would start his car. I said I would, and he proceeds to tell me that he bought me a candy bar and it's in the console of his car. ARGH!!! What is it with him? (BTW, I left the candy bar in his car. I didn't even LOOK at it)

Does anyone else have this problem????

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Keeping yourself accountable

I say, if you are really going to keep yourself accountable to something, anything, you have to write it down. This is something that has always been a help to me, and it continues to be.

So, for this whole weight loss thing, I have gone into Microsoft Word and made myself a goal sheet. I have titled it "12 weeks to Swimsuit Season." The fear of a swimsuit is very real for me, can you tell? Anyway, right under that, I put my current weight, and under that, the number of pounds I want to lose. Below that, I put down some goals for myself (want to tighten my abs; tighten my arms; have great legs again, especially working on my inner thigh area; have more energy; be able to fit into some of my pre-children dresses and shorts....you get the idea).

Then, below that, I have put a chart. This chart has 6 columns, and 7 rows. Each column has a title, each one of them relating to something that I am trying to accomplish each day. From left to right, the columns are: Date, Eat Well?, Junk Food Eaten?, Pilates Done?, Gazelle Done?, Drink 64+ oz. of water?

Then, I have seven rows, one for each day of the week. At the end of the day, I fill in each column with what I have done for the day. Yesterday looked like this:
2/20, one york peppermint pattie, Yes--Advanced Abs, Yes--21:04 minutes, 162.7 calories burned, 1.56 miles, and No (I screwed up on the water thing yesterday.) Then, underneath the table, I have: Weight loss total for the week: ??? I will fill that in on Monday for week number one! I am already looking forward to that, as I have worked really hard this week!

I am not saying that you have to be like me, and get all fancy, and do something on the computer. You could write it down on a blank piece of paper--it doesn't matter what it looks like! What matters is that you have something you can look at to see where you are, where you are going, and (later) how far you have come. Plus, I know for me, knowing that I have to fill that out each night before bed gives me some sense of restraint when it comes to eating (don't want to have to put that down in the junk column!) and motivation when it comes to exercise (don't want to have those columns blank!

By the way, if anyone wants me to, I can email you the document I am using....minus my personal facts, of course! :-)

Check this out

This site has a section where you can look up the calories of some of your favorite foods. I haven't check out the site too much since I just found it, but it looks like it could be helpful.

This looks promising too.

Calculate you BMR

The Harris-Benedict formula (BMR based on total body weight):The Harris Benedict equation is a calorie formula using the factors of height, weight, age, and sex to determine basal metabolic rate (BMR). This makes it more accurate than determining calorie needs based on total bodyweight alone. The only variable it does not take into consideration is lean body mass. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the extremely muscular (will underestimate caloric needs) and the extremely over-fat (will overestimate caloric needs).

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

Note: 1 inch = 2.54 cm. 1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.

Example: You are femaleYou are 30 yrs old You are 5' 6 " tall (167.6 cm) You weigh 120 lbs. (54.5 kilos) Your BMR = 655 + 523 + 302 - 141 = 1339 calories/day

Now that you know your BMR, you can calculate TDEE by multiplying your BMR by your activity multiplier from the chart below:

Activity Multiplier:
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

If you are already at your goal weight, then multiply that by 10 and get the number of calories you need to consume to maintain that weight.

Baby Steps

I was out shopping with my kids, my sister, and her kids and as always it was crazy and stressful. My brother-in-law is out of town for a week so my sister was stocking up on junk food (She is skinny enough to do so!), her theory is calories don't count when noone sees you eating them! I did very good not buying junk to eat and I was extra stong at the check out when the snickers bar was calling me. I almost never get candy at the check out, but this was an extra crazy trip (we have 5 kids 4 and under). Any other given day I might have gotten the snickers to soothe myself after a crazy trip like that but I didn't. It's a baby step I guess.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Welcome

Welcome all to the Motivated Mommas! We are a bunch of Random women who want to lose weight and have some accountablity for doing so.

We will be posting our progress, our struggles, our triumphs, new recipes we find to help us along the way, etc. Please come and play along. Leave encouraging comments to help us with our Journeys!