Me Plus Three

I will be on the new site with my daily blog updates, I am thinking I might keep this one temporarily until I learn more about how the new site works. Until then, here is a link to my new blog:  http://www.blogtolose.com/profile/Alison

I did my virtual weight loss after reading Candi’s blog yesterday…I am thinking my face looks the same (besides the weird squinty eye- not me!), but I like how my lower half looks much slimmer! It will be fun to compare this “virtual” me to the real me after I really do lose the weight!!! What do you think?

Down .2lbs. Not a huge loss, but not a gain either! My night last night was great, we set up a new IKEA bookshelf so I can keep our “family room” main living area more organized. I am so happy with it. The kids have 10 large-ish bins to store their toys, and we have them organized by theme which makes mommy happy. We used to have a toy box where the legos were mixed with the building blocks and cars, the kids didn’t really play with toys by theme. I think this is much more fun for them, and my husband and I are happy with the more organized appearance of our house! I was so motivated to organize, I cleaned the kitchen last night and did my workout DVD after! Still asleep by 10pm, not too shabby. I think I might go to the store today and buy some “lowfat” foods, I have been using the kids’ whole milk and eating regular honey nut cheerios, which is not great for someone trying to lose weight. A Trader Joe’s shopping trip is in my future, I think Here is a ‘frame’ for today’s meals:

I was a little frazzled this morning, the boys were tired and grumpy after our long day o’ fun at granny izzy’s house yesterday. I called the MIL over and told her I needed an escape, she was happy to oblige. I took the little girl out and about, we did some shoppin’ at JC Penny- they sent out a $10 coupon off of a $10 purchase! I got 4 new shirts and paid $6. Yay! We went to TJ Maxx, one of my faves. I found some really cute books for the boys, the “see ‘n find” ones- they love them, and I am excited to give them their new books! I also got some building blocks that will be lots of fun to play with too. After TJ Maxx, we went to Fry’s (Kroger) and I stocked up on veggies and fruit! I also found “Fiber One” bars, on sale 4 for 8, and they are SOOO GOOD! I will definitely be buying them again. I just had one with an apple for my pm snack and it was really filling. I had my leftover 1/2 salad from Cheesecake Factory and a baked potato, plain for lunch. Dinner is leftovers. Not so fun but, eh what can you do. So there we are!

It’s official! My pal, Denise Austin, and I are buddies again! I worked out for the first time in, oh I don’t know, 10 months or so tonight! After a long, fun day at my mom’s house chasing the kids around (and RUNNING home from the park, yes, me, running) I did my new workout DVD http://www.amazon.com/Denise-Austin-Boot-Total-Blast/dp/B000IHY9UC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1209356708&sr=8-1. Sorry, I would do a better link but I don’t know how yet! Still learning.  Granted, it was only 20 minutes but I finished it! And I can’t wait to continue along until I can complete every exercise without getting a cramp or being too fatigued to finish.  I also had another NSV today, mom took us to Cheesecake Factory and I was so tempted to order the “Navajo” a 17 point disaster, but I ordered the “weight control” oriental chicken salad. I later learned it is 14pts for the whole thing, it’s a good thing it is HUGE and I only ate 1/2. I was very good at staying OP the rest of the evening, too! I feel great. I am hoping to do my new workout DVD a couple nights a week, and try to do something active the other days, so I get some type of metabolism boost. I am not going to post my food for the day, I know it was 35 pts, so I am at 18/35 flex for the week. Not bad. Tomorrow is a grocery trip where I plan on stocking up on fruits and veggies. Nite!

Today is Saturday, my challenging day because I usually see my mom and it is hard to stay on plan. My cutting out of bread has worked really well, I notice I am not as hungry on the days I don’t eat alot of bread. I think the processed carbs leave me hungrier afterwards and they are also high in points, so I am motivated to leave them out whenever possible. I did well at breakfast, I made the boys teddy bear pancakes with a new pancake mold my MIL got for us, and they ate without syrup- another good thing for us! I had one, and realized I needed some protein so I made myself two eggs and had a cut up apple with them- a surprisingly tasty substitute for my usual high points two slices of toast. I like texture in my food, and apple adds that crunch I crave. I think I might have to make that a habit! Here is my plan for the day, hopefully I can update this evening and say I stayed on target! I have 25 flex points left for the week which I hope to conserve for times I actually need them!

down 1.4lbs! I am so excited. I haven’t seen a full 1lb loss in two weeks, so this was really nice. I have been staying on program all day (its only 9am hahaha) and I am thinking I will do well again today. My mini goal for the weekend is not to blow ALL my flex points, it kind of stank this week not to have much leftover by the time wed. and thurs. rolled around.  AND, my twin sister may be having her baby soon! It is really TMI, but she has had some telling signs that labor is iminent. I am so excited, this will be the first cousin on my side of the family- my husband has a couple neices and nephews who we never see, so this will be the first cousin that the boys actually get to know.  

UPDATE:

Here is my actual food for the day…I ended up having lunch with a friend @ Cheesecake Factory, and my sandwich was really high in pts! I didn’t eat any fries, but as usual my “overage” ended up with me snacking away the evening. I need to kick this habit of the “snowball effect”!

Today went really well! The kids were fun, we went to a good friend’s house and played with her son for a few hours in the morning and all of my kids took long naps in the afternoon. I finally got the baby announcements finished…they are ready for the mail! Eating went well, too- I was too busy visiting friends to sit around the house thinking of how those sugar cookies sounded so yummy. Tomorrow is weigh in day, so I hope to see a loss or at least stay the same. I am resisting snacking on my frozen yogurt leftover in the freezer! I am drinking my water and feel good. I am going to make a plan for tomorrow, hopefully I will stick to it, or stay close at least. Here goes…

Today is going really well, I managed to kick my sugar in the coffee habit pretty well, and I didn’t even miss the sweet taste! I love the taste of coffee enough to be satisfied with just milk in it.  I am trying to avoid any artificial sweeteners, and I dont’ miss them surprisingly enough. I just read a post about listing 5 things I love about me, and it was very thought inspiring, because it forces me to get rid of negative thoughts about myself and be grateful! I strongly believe in focusing on the blessings I have in my life, so this is important for me to realize the blessings I personally have been given. Here goes:

1. I love my hair, it is dark and shiny and I don’t have to use haircolor which is really nice!!!

2. I love my kind nature, I think I got it from my mother- she is very kind and gentle, and a lovely lady. I am blessed to have inherited this from her. Alot of people tell me I am “so nice” and I see that as a compliment, in our hardened world I think we need more nice!!

3. I love my energy- I am more of a get up and go person, and I love to feel active. I believe this makes for a fun mother!

4. I love my kids, they are all a little “me” so I have to throw them in there too! They are so loving and it is such a reward for me to be their mom.

5. I love my body because it is healthy and I can do anything I want to do. I see people with disabilities and feel so grateful that I am not restricted in any ways with my physical abilities. This is a thought I need to focus on, instead of the vain thoughts of “I want to look better in jeans” etc. 

Here is today’s planned menu!

Here I sit on the sofa drinking a beer. After snacking all afternoon, I am feeling pretty GUILTY. I hate to even say it, because I know it’s not productive thinking. My MIL came over this afternoon and made sugar cookies with my 3 year old, they had a blast and I came home after eating a high points lunch and ate 4-5 cookies! I had steamed veggies for dinner <pats self on back> and then proceeded to snack some more (only ate 1/2 of the kids taquito) and drank 2 beers! I need a beer to relax in the evenings, I get so tired I can’t sleep sometimes and it helps me relax. Don’t worry, it’s not every night, more like every 3-4 nights that I have a beer or two, but I still feel bad for it because they are 3pts each! So I am officially way over my points today, by about 10 ish. Could be worse, right? So my thoughts are, I ate too much bread this morning and I need to try to cut some of it out. I decided I would plan my meals for tomorrow, and that way I am ready to go. So here goes: