In the News

Today I watched a program on Fox News that talked about obesity, http://video.foxnews.com/#/v/4350860/fatter-future-for-america/?playlist_id=86892



This makes me think yet again about this thing that I am doing. I guess over the past few weeks I have mentally checked out. I have thought to myself, I have gotten to my goal I can take a break....

Well, I have realized that I can't. I am not where I should be. I am still part of those overweight numbers they talked about in the video. I also don't want my kids to be that way. Since, I buy the food, prepare the food and encourage everyone to eat the food, I better do a good job, because it will be my fault if they are unhealthy as kids.

Lastly, I think that even though I made it to my goal, if I don't watch out what I eat, I will be right back up to where I was before....

So now.... IT'S ON!

It's been a while

I figured I would follow the advice given and write a new post, because there has been some progress.

I HAVE MADE IT TO MY FIRST GOAL!

I am the same weight as I was before I got pregnant. This is exciting.

Now on to conquer my next one. 150 lbs. This might actually be harder than the past goal, because I really have to make some permanent changes, such as really making exercise a hight priority.

Priorities are funny things. They seem to change often in my life, but the one thing I have noticed is that the people I look up to in terms of fitness, always have it in their top things to do each day (if not the top thing to get done). There are many things that take time and energy, and I hope that I can balance all the demands on my time so that I can accomplish all of my goals.

Patience: A Virtue

I have not written this past week or so..... and I think that is mainly because I have not been doing what I am supposed to be doing. Of course by not writing I am negating the purpose of this blog, but after coming back from vacation I just got knocked off course.

This past week or so has been filled with Andes mints, Cookies and Cream Kisses, and Hot Tamales. Now of course, this is only counting the candy... much less everything else I ate.... In my head, I wasn't really thinking about it; I just let it happen. I also tried to convince myself that the light walking, and occasional sit up counted for my exercise. Then, tonight I listened to a talk given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and now I have learned a little more about what it takes to really do this. I am going to quote from his talk given at Priesthood Session of this past General Conference below. Maybe you will also see how this relates to how you balance your life with food and exercise.

Waiting can be hard. Children know it, and so do adults. We live in a world offering fast food, instant messaging, on-demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions. We don’t like to wait. Some even feel their blood pressure rise when their line at the grocery store moves slower than those around them.

Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace.

As parents, we know how unwise it would be to indulge our children’s every desire. But children are not the only ones who spoil when showered with immediate gratification. Our Heavenly Father knows what good parents come to understand over time: if children are ever going to mature and reach their potential, they must learn to wait.

Because of this section, I understand how much learning to balance my food, learning to withstand a bag of candy, or just learning to have only one piece is so much bigger than just losing weight. It is about control and maturity. This isn't something that will only last till I am 150 lbs, but it needs to be a deepening process of my self-control.

I learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen—patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn’t appear instantly or without effort.

There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

Impatience, on the other hand, is a symptom of selfishness. It is a trait of the self-absorbed. It arises from the all-too-prevalent condition called “center of the universe” syndrome, which leads people to believe that the world revolves around them and that all others are just supporting cast in the grand theater of mortality in which only they have the starring role.

From this, I learned that this past week was silly. I just need to work hard and keep working hard. I have to be patient, and keep plugging along.

Patience means staying with something until the end. It means delaying immediate gratification for future blessings.

You can see how the gospel goes hand in hand with being fit and making wise decisions on how we treat our body. When something is true, it is true in every aspect of your life.

I am now renewed to give up my bags of candy and my lazy mornings because as he says "delaying immediate gratification for future blessings". I want those future blessings.

Back from Vacay

Well, I am back.... but not really back.

It has been hard getting back into my routine. I haven't really exercised in the last two days, and I have been eating many candies and sweets.

Overall the vacations, I lost about 3 lbs (so I gained one lb from this last one).

I am wondering yet again, if I am going where I am now? Do I really have to keep going? Can't I just sit back and relax? The logic in my head says, "Of course you should keep going, you feel great and you fit into clothes that you haven't been able to fit in for months". However, my emotions and laziness says, "you feel great, it will stay this way, you can stop, see the progress you have already made, that's good enough".

It's a hard battle, and I hope that I can get through it. Maybe I should just sit in front of my inspiration wall and just get to it. I guess I just need to mentally return from vacation.

In between vacation

So I thought that vacation would really do me in, but when I weighed myself here at home, I actually lost 4 lbs.... WOW!

So moral of the story. Don't stress.

I don't really know how I lost those 4 lbs, since I ate moon pies and orange cream icicles, but then again I ate lots of delicious salads, shrimp, veggies, and other good foods. I guess it all evens out.

Off I go again to another vacation. I hope this one is as good as the last :)

Hiking up the mountain

The last few days were spent hiking up a mountain. It is the 4th highest mountain east of the Mississippi (I think). So total our hike was about 6.5 miles.



The previous weeks of working out really paid off on this trip. It was beautiful, and I was able to enjoy it without feeling the pains in my body as I have on past hikes. I am looking forward to doing more hikes like this in the future with my family. One of the neatest experiences about hiking to such great heights is the serenity and calm you feel, that you worked so hard and only a precious few have experienced these same things.



I am headed off to the beach tomorrow to swim, kayak, build sand castles, walk the beach, bike ride and anything else that is pleasant and wonderful. I hope that I can be equally as successful with my eating habits as I have been with my fitness. It has been hard, but I am trying to do my best.

It is contagious.

I talked with two people today who have hopes to lose weight in the near future. I told them what I was doing, and that it is really important to know the reasons why you are losing weight. Without really knowing, it is easy to give up (heck, it is easy to give up even when you know :). I am excited for them, and hope that I can be as supportive as my friends have been for me.

Good news. I wore a size 14 pair of pants today! That is very exciting to me.

I also noticed today that you can get your work out in many different ways. I started sweating as I was cleaning my room and dancing to the upbeat/techno music playing. Ginger loved it. I realized that I have so much fun just jumping up and down, spinning around, shaking my hips and waving my arms that it is just as good of a cardio work out as any dvd I have.

Creativity is key!

Women's Health

I found myself at the library yesterday looking for a calorie catalog (a book that lists the nutritional value for food, e.g. black beans, banana, peach, etc) and I happened to find a book on women's health, The Active Woman's health and Fitness Handbook by Nayda Swedan MD



I would like to quote a bit from it....

"Body image is a term used to describe how you see your body. It is a state of mind that can affect confidence, not only in regard to how you look, but also how you feel about yourself, which can affect your physical and mental health.

Unfortunately, many women have poor body image; even those who are beautiful, thin, fit bodies can look in a mirror and criticize themselves for their imperfections (that are often out of proportion to how they look) rather than their strengths. In contrast, women who have positive body image are confident in knowing that, no matter what the weight on the scale, they are fit, strong, healthy, and beautiful.

....

The best way to have a positive body image is to feel positive about yourself as a person. Stay active, exercise regularly, and feel strong and fit. Nurture your muscles, feed them healthy food, and maintain goals for your life and achievements. Wear clothes that flatter you; have friends who flatter you also."

She goes on to talk about other women's issues with weight and fitness, but I felt that is section was very nice. I generally have a positive body image, but as I go through this process I have to remember that it isn't just being skinny that is important (if it were my body image would be really bad right now :) but it is to be healthy and active. With that in mind any step closer, every workout, every veggie I eat.. helps me be a fit, strong, healthy, and beautiful wife and mother.

I am getting really interested in learning more about women's health, and the specific needs women have physically. If anyone knows of some good books... pass them along. I would love to read them.

Soon, I will hopefully meet with a dietitian just to make sure I am eating the right stuff. I believe that I am, but it is always nice to hear it from someone else too.

p.s. Right now I am eating a delicious slice of garlic & herb Laughing Cow light cheese with (instead of crackers or pretzel thins) slices of cucumber. It is tasty. Total calorie count... 50 kcal YAY!

p.s.s. My calves are looking spectacular :)

Another 2 lbs Yipee

I got up this morning and before I ate anything I wanted to weigh myself.... and I weigh 184.6!!!! That is two pounds lighter than last Sunday. Two pounds is great!

This past week overall was not easy. I also didn't keep as close a track of my calories as I had the week before. With the 4 of July and last night's birthday cake for my neighbor (which I had a lot of fun making :) I think I probably exceeded my calorie intake a few of the days. But what is the point of being disappointed in yourself. I wasn't perfect sure, but i did a good job. Now I just learn from not keeping track of my calories, and be resolved to do in this coming week.

Holiday Weekend

We got back today from visiting the King's Canyon National Park (large sequoia trees). It was a very nice trip, camping up in the mountains. I think I did pretty well keeping my snacking down. Though I admit that it is hard when driving long distances.... That is why I brought sugar snap peas, cut up cucumber, baby carrots, cut up fruit, and some half fat string cheese. We had a lot of fun hiking on some of the trails and camping out in a nice private camp spot. It was a great over-all trip.

By the way, I lost another inch off my waist. I measured myself today. Woopee! (I don't think I have lost anything anywhere else, but hey progress is progress :)

Happy Independence Day!

I weigh in at a whopping 187.6! wahoo! That is 3.4 lbs lighter than last sunday. I like seeing progress. If I continue at this rate, I will be done.... by a week before my goal! Let's keep on trucking.

You are my inspiration.....hiker babe

I woke up this morning with out the inkling of desire to exercise. I was thinking that I have worked out everyday this week, whats one day? Well, then I looked at my inspiration pictures.
Thanks to www.divavillage.com

Thanks to www.hubpages.com - which has a great article about hiking as a woman.

and the third picture, thanks to www.alaskainpicture.com

If you hadn't noticed, I would like to be a hiker babe. I want to be the mom at 60 who hikes the whole AT or something (it probably won't happen), but I loved growing up experiencing the outdoors, and I want to pass that on to my kids. At least I can give them the opportunity to love it. So I look at these pictures to give me a goal of what it will be like to do a hiking tour of Alaska or the Alps.

With my motivation in hand, I decided this morning to change things up a bit. I wanted to go swimming. With my baby around, it doesn't happen very often. I called someone to see if they would watch her, and as my back up plan I figured I could always go get a "trial membership" at the YMCA :) In the end, my friend babysat and I got a fun excursion to the pool, what great refreshing exercise.

As far as progress is concerned, you will all be proud :) I have lost two inches off my waist :) It is probably just that my stomach is not stuffed, but none the less, IT COUNTS! Whahoo! I think I have lost about 2 pounds, which is fine by me. I will weigh myself on Sunday to give you the loss for the week. I just have to keep looking at those pictures......