Where to begin

I know, it's been a while since I wrote.  It's been a crazy week, complete with crazy people.

Let's start with the good.  Last Thursday was weigh in day.  221!!!!!  I am down 9 pounds in 3 weeks.  I couldn't believe it.  I was so excited  I am feeling lighter and smaller, although no one else can really tell yet.  Soon enough.  The biggest difference will be from those who don't see me often.  I can't wait :):):)

Then the not great stuff.  Two of my kiddos were sick last week.  DD broke ANOTHER finger so she is out of basketball and stunting at cheer for three weeks which is not only going to drive her crazy but me as well while watching her go crazy.  Now, fortunately everyone is back to healthy (and back at school).  Influenza A is running crazy around our area.  Seems 1/2 of the school is out on any given day.

To add to my crazy week and mayhem I had a new client who went from one end of the spectrum to the other when buying a house, to wanting a house she hadn't seen, to ultimately deciding not to by and we parted ways today.  It was a wild rollercoaster, and I am in no way upset about losing the client.

I am a REALTOR, not sure if I've shared that on here before or not, yet it seems relevant to give you some perspective on the instant crazy my life can take on in an instant.  To my own detriment in a lot of ways, I care too much about my clients.  Mentors, coaches, colleagues all tell me to "find a new client" or "it's not worth your time" etc.  Which in many, many ways I agree, however I get attached.  I listen to my clients needs and feel for their circumstances and set out to do everything in my power to make their needs a priority.  When I struggle is when they lay out a clear picture for me, I give it to them, and they completely change their minds, and what the picture looks like.  I adapt and it flips again.  It really puts me behind the 8 ball when clients don't even know what they want and I can't give it to them.  Today I "broke up" with my first client ever.  I know it was an unhealthy relationship but I'm still heart broken.  I really wanted to help them, they didn't seem to want to let me.

Anyway, it's been a VERY stressful five or six days now and I'm glad it's over.  The really good part is that I didn't stress eat (although I wanted to) at all.  I eat as healthy as possible whenever I was on the run and had to stop, yet I didn't get pizza or a burger, or chips or french fries.  So that's a win.  And at this point I will take the WIN!!!

My body is trying to fight back!

My knees ache, my foot hurts, my back is stiff, I'm tired, I creek, I just feel like my body can't keep up with what I am trying to do.  Yes, this has been a busy week.  Work spiked so I have that always adds exhaustion and stress (in a good way) then I saw my PT on Thursday and Friday of last week, and my homework was to do three cardio sessions before I see her again this Thursday.  Well, four basketball games with the kids over the weekend, and date night didn't allow for much gym time.  As a result,

*Monday was Active class which is an hour long class about 30 minutes of step/cardio, 15 of weights, and 10 abs and balance.  I always hurt after that class.

*Tuesday I had missed my normal daytime gym time and was thinking I would end up missing it.  Well a good friend texted and asked if I wanted to go for a walk.  So I walked for about an hour.  My tracker says it was about 3 miles.  My legs were week and shaky afterwards.

*Wednesday work was busy but not bad.  I had to teach a class in the afternoon so I went to the gym after standing for two hours.  I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and I thought I might die :)

So yeah, I'm overweight, out of shape and I ache EVERYWHERE.  This evening I am sitting in my recliner, with my blankie, and taking it easy.  I see my PT in the morning at 8am and I'm not looking forward to it AT ALL!!!

Emotional workout

Today was an emotional day for me with my PT.  Not sure why exactly, just a combination of pride that I am making REAL changes in who I am, seeing the difference, feeling the difference, and happy for that.  As well as the disappointment in myself that I have allowed myself to become what I am.  I have a thousand excuse to how I got here, why it's not all my fault, and blah blah blah.  I just was overwhelmed with emotion at a point while my muscles were shaking, and I felt like I should be able to push harder and my body was disagreeing.  It was weird.

I will push forward, I will be better than yesterday, and I am committed to the new lesser me.  I use this blog as my fitness journal, and I share what is going on.  So that was my work out today.  I will hurt twice as bad tomorrow since I saw my PT two days in a row.

I LOVE KNEE BRACES!!!

OMG, I had NO idea the difference they would make.  I feel like I could almost sprint (just teasing).  The stairs that I have spent many years dreading because it was JUST HARD, I can master with ease.  My PT told me when I first met her that I had something wrong with my knees the very first day I met her.  WOW, was she ever right.  They came in the mail yesterday and I put them on just to get used to them and I can not believe it.  I may never take them off.  I wore them at my work out today, and I was able to do more because I was working muscles instead of fighting my knees.  Granted, now I won't be able to walk tomorrow because I'm certain every muscle in my body is going to hurt A LOT!  But I'm getting stronger, and feeling good doing it, so I will survive.  The hope would be as I lose more weight, I will be able to have less aches and pains.

On another note, today was weigh in day.  I am down another 1.8 pounds.  Not as much as last week, but muscles are growing so I'm not upset.  I feel like I'm starting to get into my groove of the gym again which feels AMAZING!!!  I don't know why I couldn't do it on my own.  I wanted to, just couldn't make myself do it.  Now, I am seeing my PT and doing as much cardio as I can fit in.  I love it.  I love the feeling of losing weight.  I know that no one else can tell yet on the outside, I just feel it.  I feel like I'm less "puffy" everywhere.  Less like my body is bursting out of my skin.  My face is where I am noticing it the most.  Of course, the crummy part is the skin is less tight (when it's less "puffy") which means I see wrinkles, UGH, have I mentioned getting old sucks!  I hope it will tighten as I go, we shall see.  Wrinkle cream, here I come :):):)

Talk soon!

Getting old SUCKS!!!

So I broke down and ordered two knee braces today.  I took the "Active" class at the gym.  It's a cross fit class with 20-25 minutes of step, 15 or so of weights, then an ab workout.  I like it because it hits everywhere in less than an hour.  Well today we did a lot of squats, I mean a LOT!  I hurt, and not just in my muscles.  My knees were creeking and sore, my foot (damn surgery) simply aches, my heels are tender from being on them and the impact, I just hurt.  I hate feeling old.  I'm hoping that losing weight will lessen some of these aches, creeks and pains.

As a result, I ordered two knee compression braces.  I'm looking at getting heel cushions for my feet, and well my foot will just have to live with.

Old sucks, and I truly dislike it.

On the plus side, I finished my salad prep for this weeks lunches.

Five are for me, and two each for my two younger kiddos.  I love the fact that my kids are making healthier choices as well.  Most of it is simply because the opportunities are there and make it easy for them, however the outcome is the same.

Our process - we lay out the bowls, and fill them with lettuce (with mixed greens, kale & baby spinach in it).  Then I put a small piece of saran wrap over the lettuce to keep the moisture of the toppings from making the lettuce soggy.  Then I have all the toppings chopped and ready in bowls.  We grab a bowl of a topping and put a bit on top of the saran.  Some of our toppings are Hard boiled eggs, turkey bacon bits, cubed ham, green peppers, mushrooms, carrots, celery, low fat cheese , etc.  I have several small 2 oz. Tupperware containers which are perfect for dressings.  I love that it rations what the kids have for portion size and they can't over do it (DD will DEFINITELY over use the ranch).  The containers are from DH work.  They made them, and were a failed product or whatever so several years ago we got several cases for very cheap.  I would assume you could get something that would work online somewhere.

So I suppose that is all for tonight.

Take care, talk soon.

Here's to a much lesser me!

4 lbs First Week

Wow!  I couldn't believe it.  I weighed myself on Thursday after my training session and I was down 4 POUNDS!!!  Yay!  I know the majority of it is likely water weight and and due to eating the right things.  I didn't make it to the gym as much as I would have liked.  Since my schedule tends to be so tight if something changes my gym time slot, it is REALLY difficult for me to fit it in.

As for the happenings around here, we were in "Icemageddin" warning with no actual Ice.  Including the kids being out of school Friday.  I had a buyer cancel an appointment, all the kids Basketball games were cancelled for the ENTIRE weekend.  So we cleaned house, had DD's birthday party, and now watching the Chiefs play in the playoffs.  I did survive the party.  My trainer said I could have pizza if I didn't eat the crust and I was only allowed cheese because traditional pepperoni is high in fat.  So I ended up buying turkey pepperoni, and added green peppers to my two slices of pizza, and like a little kid, I left the crust :)  Then I had a sliver (maybe three bites) of cake and a two bite scoop of strawberry ice cream to celebrate.  The real kicker was all the snacks and junk food teenage girls like to have on hand.  I only at ONE, potato chip.  ONE peanut M&M, and ONE tortilla chip with spin dip.  All said and done not too bad since we had 5 kinds of chips, 4 kinds of candy sitting on my kitchen counter all night.  I also put veggies and fruit out so that I could snack on and nibble on them when I walked by.

Anyway, today it's back to eating well and tomorrow is gym day.  Going to take DD with me so she can get some work out in as well.

Have a great night, and GO CHIEFS!!!!

A few pics of todays meal prep.

Egg Frittata

 Turkey bacon for my salads

Salad fixings

Sunday, January 8th, 2017

BUSY, Busy, busy day!  Or I could say weekend.  SB had four basketball games, and DD had one today.  So two yesterday, and three today.  Plus I went to the gym to get my 30 minutes cardio in (did the elliptical) before I get back to my trainer.  I plan to go again tomorrow for Zumba, which is one of my FAVORITE classes to take.

Food was good today.  Frittata for breakfast, italian style wrap thing with approved wraps, then yogurt with blueberries and a handful of peanuts for snack.  Lastly it was taco night at home so I made a fantastic taco salad.  It was really good, so I was happy.  Oh, almost forgot about dessert - apple and peanut butter :)

Anyway, that was the day.  Just taking the an easy evening.

Good night!

Saturday January 7th, 2017

Welcome to the weekend.  Today was a not horrible day, lol.  The day started out okay.  My MIL and her sister loaded the camper and left for Dallas on their journey to California.  We got up, had breakfast together, and they left.

I have been eating my egg Frittatas (Frittata recipe here) for breakfast for several days now.  I found the recipe online, and have modified it slightly to make more at one time, but basically the same.  Weird thing, I found that my kids like them too, and so did my MIL.  So the eight I made two days ago are almost gone.  What's with my kids liking my "diet" foods? :)

Here's the thing, I have learned that I do better with sticking to my meal plan and eating better if I am prepared, and have things easy to grab and go on the run.  So this afternoon my DD (Drama Daughter) and I made a few prepared foods to avoid getting hungry and making bad choices.  We made 10 pre-made chop salads (lettuce, spinach, mixed greens, ham, salami, bacon, boiled eggs, celery, green pepper, carrots, a little cheese) and 8 more breakfast frittatas.  I am still working on figuring out some sort of pre-made grab and eat snacks.  I'm thinking some sort of cheese, sausage, fruit, nut packs.  Would love other ideas if you have any.

The good thing about some of this prepared healthy foods is that my kids are getting excited.  My kids want to take my salads to school for lunches, and eat my eggs for breakfasts.  This is not a bad thing however it may change the quantity of how much I need to make each week :).

After the food prep was done, and cleaned up we needed to go to SB (Snuggle Bug, aka, my youngest son) basketball game.  He had two today.  One of them was rearranged which unfortunately rearranged my timeline to make it to the gym.  I was going to go prior to church at 5pm, however that is when the game was.  After the game, DD and KK (was Karate Kid, my oldest son, however he needs a new knick name since he no longer does Karate) and I went to church to see a good friend sing.  She has a spectacular voice.

Since time was of the essence, and church and Ball made it complicated to cook dinner at a reasonable time we went out to dinner.  This was my challenge of the day.  We went to my favorite mexican restaurant and I didn't eat ANY, not one, zilch, nada, none! of the Chips.  I ordered a fajita chicken taco salad and didn't eat the shell.  I used the salsa as my dressing and it was yummy.  Yes, I REALLY wanted chips and salsa, but I am on a stronger path to a healthier, slimmer self and well chips, although yummy, not in my bigger plan.

I've logged my meals on MyFitnessPal if you'd like to see where I'm at calorie wise.  If/when I find good recipes I will post them here.

Have a good night all, be healthy!

OMG I hurt EVERYWHERE!!!  Advil is my friend.  That is all I have to say about that.

I am working on behaving myself on my diet, which isn't easy since my MIL came to town and brought two boxes of homemade candy with her.  Ugh!  We didn't make any candy this year so I wasn't expecting it and oh, it looks yummy.  I've decided next year!  I will be in better shape at a better weight and be able have a piece or two.  So until then!

I need to get to the gym tomorrow.  I am supposed to do two sessions of Cardio before my next training session on Tuesday.  A minimum of 30 minutes each.  So I'm thinking 30 minutes elliptical tomorrow, and a class on Monday.

Can't talk long, got company.

I did it :)

So I made it through an hour with the trainer.  Gail is going to kick my butt in shape :)  She has also given me some nutrition advice and a plan to follow to boost my weight loss.  So I have spent part of the day figuring out how I can still cook for my kids and family as well as feed myself healthy.  Things like I can make chicken tacos for the family, and make taco salad (minus the chips) for myself.  Or Kids get pork steak, potato and salad, I just skip the potato unless I do sweet potatoes (which I'm sure will happen sometime).

The hardest part so far is fruit.  I simply do not like it.  So I have to learn to have some somewhere in my diet.  I am typically a salty person, give me veggies over fruit anyday.  Or in my old day, a potato chip over a candy bar.

I made some breakfast frittata things that you make in muffin pans, and refrigerate for easy heat.  I know myself well enough to know if it's not convenient then I won't eat it.  My Daughter and I were talking today about how we can pre-make salads to keep for lunches on hand.  I find with my job LUNCH is going to be my hard part.  Real Estate is a "meet for lunch" type of job.  Also, it's an on the go during lunch time type of job and well a drive thru is just too easy.  So I have to be prepared to grab n go now that I am officeing from home full time.

So far my food intake has been good.  Making Chili for dinner.

Talk to you soon.

Here goes nothing!!!

So I took new before pictures, UGH!  I hate that.  In my head I do not look like this.  In my head I'm not as thin as I was in High School, but not fat.  As you will see, I carry the majority of my weight in my mid-section, BAD PLAN!!!

Appointment is in an hour!!!  Here goes nothing!!!

Time to get serious

This is going to sound cliche but I'm ready to get back to serious.  If you have been here with me before, and you are seeing this pop up again it's because I have to get my weight and health under control.

In the last 1 1/2 years I've gained an additional 30-35 lbs.  AHHHHHHH!!!!!  Not that I want to make excuses, but to give you a little background.  I had an issue with my right foot.  I was dealing with Arthritis and it got to a point where i couldn't bend my big toe at all.  So 6+ months goes by (had to get through my final cheer coaching season) and I had it operated on.  Apparently I had bone spurs on the joint, and a part of one of them broke and was in the joint causing the lack of motion.  Surgery was December 2015.  Long story short, throughout the injury, then surgery, and recovery I gained a lot of weight.  Of course I could start exercising last Spring but with the weight gain, and added pain my motivation was FAR from where it needed to be for success.

NOW, I have met a fantastic personal trainer who works primarily with the Pilates Reformer machine which is a lower impact higher output program that I think I am going to love.  In reality even if I don't LOVE it, I've paid for it, so 12 sessions in here we come :)

My first session is tomorrow morning at 11am.  I am looking forward to it, yet a bit nervous.  I have a long history of putting effort in and not finding much success, or at least not the success I feel like I should have.

Wish me luck, here we go working on creating a MUCH LESSER ME!!!