Michelle's Place- A bit wiser this time around...

OMG!! I forgot the most exciting thing yesterday! Not only was it my baby boy's 9 month birthday but he took his FIRST STEPS!!! Oh I was a wreck! We got a step on video (not as impressive as the first time but still cool!) and of course put it on Facebook. If you are interested let me know and you can also add me on Facebook and check it out. The email is acanthusbloom@yahoo.com :) It's very exciting and apparently he beat his dad by 2 weeks!!! Yay David!!!!!
 
Awww that's so awesome! I'll have to add you on facebook and take a look! However, I've never added someone by email so I don't know how to do that, lol. I'm sure I can try and figure it out though.

My sister's son is 11 months and he hasn't walked yet, but is very very close to it :)
 
lol Risty I couldn't remember if you could search by email but I think you can. If not let me know and I can give you the info you need :) That would be cool!
 
Uggggh!! Sick!!

I am sick. Baby is sick. Hubby is sick. Doggie is bitten. lol The only one holding out strong is my oldest boy. So far so good. Today was crazy and busy and I just didn't feel well so I gave myself permission to not go to the gym. I will try to go tomorrow but with the baby sick I might need to look for something else so that we don't give it to the whole gym! On Tuesday I felt like crap but went walk/running on a trail behind a friends house. I did that for 50 minutes and it was really nice.
Eating has been good and I haven't let the fact I am sick derail me. My secret power comes from the Earl Grey tea lattes I make myself. I don't get all fancy and steam the milk but it's Earl Grey, sugar free syrup and half and half. It gives me that sweet taste without a lot of calories and it's hot so I can't gulp it down lol. I have 2 or 3 glasses a day! It's great :)
Weight was down to 218 this morning but it's not an official weigh day so I won't put it in my ticker. That's 2lbs already since Monday. Not too shabby!
I joined a Biggest Loser challenge with some of my mom friends and set a goal of 25lbs lost by May18th. It's an ambitious goal but I am pretty sure I can do it. Just have to keep focused. In April or May I want to run a 5 or 10k and get some smaller races under my belt before the 1/2 marathon in October.
Very exciting stuff! I am glad to be on a roll again. I struggled for several years!! Just need to take it slow and remember why I am here and where I want to be :)
HOpe you all are doing well!! Off to bed lol I wish ;)
 
I love making my gingerbread latte's! Unfortunately it's not sugar free... so I don't make them often. I do have the sugar free vanilla and caramel though, so for a treat I'll use those too. Like you said it's not a lot of cals! I use skim milk in mine though, if I'm not lazy I'll do the whole foaming thing!

I hope your family will feel better soon. Good job on the walk/run though you still felt crappy!
 
Congratulations on first steps Baby!! Aw, that's great you caught it on video.

Sorry to hear you guys aren't feeling well ... that definitely puts a damper on exercise for me. You'll feel better soon (if you don't already) and get right back at her for that totally realistic goal for May. I'm hoping to lose similar amount by then.

Hope you're having a great day, talk to you soon :)
 
Yay weekend!

So I have a few precious seconds this morning before baby wakes up. I thought I would use it to update.
This week has gone well. My goal for the week is 3x to the gym and so far I have done 4. Even with a cold. I just had a stuffy head and was not feeling well on Monday but it wasn't a big flu or anything so working out wasn't that bad actually. I would always feel energized after going to the gym and I still met my goals. Yesterday I ran 10 minutes but 5 of them were at a higher speed and I have increased my speed on intervals. So next week I move up to running 12 minutes and will do it at a 4.5 instead of a 4.0. Increasing speed is good lol. I have done the math on how long it would take running 13 miles (1/2 marathon) at a 15 minute mile and it will take 3 and 1/2 hours! lol Either way I will finish but if I can shave some time off that it would be good lol.
Today I am thinking I will go to a weight lifting class. I want to go to the one on Monday too and that's only 2 days apart but Sunday can be a rest day and maybe I will recover by Monday :p lol
Yum Risty that sounds good! We sold our cappuccino machine so I can't foam anymore... not sure if there is a way to do it with the stove? lol A little cals here and there don't matter. Even with the regular syrup it's only 35 cals a TBSPN which isn't bad as long as you only use a little. I thought about going the regular route because it seems more natural but I like the vanilla and it works for me. The cals come from the 1/2 and 1/2 of course.
Yay Lili we both can do it! 25 lbs isn't a whole lot in 4 months. Thank you for the well wishes. We are doing well except for hubby who gets strep throat every time he gets a cold! Something to do with his tonsils trapping the infection and getting worse. He needs to have them out but it's money and time and pain lol. So maybe sometime this year..
My weight loss has been very slow this week. For most of the week I was only 1 or 2lbs down and I couldn't figure out why until last night. There is a restaurant here that I love. They make healthy food and I love getting a veggie bowl with brown rice and curry sauce and shrimp spring rolls with peanut sauce. Well last night I was looking at their website and I looked at the nutrition stuff and realized that when I have that much food I am eating almost 1,000 calories! I have had that dinner 2x this week! No wonder I am not losing! So if I order there I am going to have to be more selective. Like just having a the bowl or if I want spring rolls I can have those with a 4 piece sushi. or cut the bowl in half... anyway lots of options but I can't keep doing what I was. I am full too after just half of it but it's good so I don't stop lol. My body knows what's up.
Last night I made chicken soup for the family. A good dose of old school medicine I figured. It was pretty good and I used whole wheat pasta instead of egg noodles so it's healthy. Lots of carrots and celery and some green onion and garlic and chicken. Just good stuff. That dinner wasn't a lot and even though I had some snacky moments yesterday I made good choices and kept portions in control and so today I was rewarded with a 217 on the scale! I haven't even fed the baby yet and the boobs are heavy lol so that's a good weigh in! If I can hold strong for tomorrow then I should have a great weigh day on Monday. I think I have said this before but I weigh myself every day but only count the weight on Monday. That way I only beat myself up once a week lol.
I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday! I am off to make some eggs and toast for breakfast :):coolgleamA:
 
How to weigh yourself

Apparently we have been doing it wrong all these years!!
 

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Sometimes the calories in things is just ridiculous! I mean, you think it's ok and it's just shocking on how high it is. That's why I try to look at the nutritional information prior to eating out if possible. It's always best to make your own stuff, then you know exactly what you're eating!
 
LOL thanks for the cartoon Michelle. Too cute. Yah, I'm coming to the realization that some of the stuff I'm eating have hidden calories that are messing with weight loss. I'm re-committing this week to a more stringent regime. Keeping it at 1600 calories. It's hard when all these men want to buy me dinner. LOL Did I ever think I'd be saying that?
Well it's true, the dating scene is way better in this city. Plus we've had a ton of good-bye luncheons at work. Must be 8 people that've left the office since I came her 4 months ago. Chronic turnover in all the departments. But I'm here to stay and I'm learning to eat small portions, stir frys and salads when I go out :)

I hope all is well with you and yours. Remember, you're doing a LOT with raising kids and it's not always easy so while you want to work to a certain standard, even if you create one eating goal and one exercise goal per day. Like no eating after 7pm and 20 minutes cardio for example. Sometimes when women raise young children, they really lack good women friends because a force of nature makes us go inwards by neccesity to meet the needs of our family. I remember what it was like when I raised my now 21 year old twin sons. Very different world, where you come last on a regular basis. Exercise/eating right requires putting ourselves first and that's no always easy when raising a fam. So ... all that to say .. I hope you're doing well :)
 
Arrrggghh!

Hello all! I am here... sort of lol. I am so so so so busy and the last few days have been oh so stressful! I caved last night and ate like 10 cupcakes with no frosting because I didn't want to go to the store in the snow lol. Otherwise I have not eaten out of stress and done pretty well. I made it 5x to the gym last week and today I ran for 20 minutes!! My goal right now is 15 minutes so I just kicked some butt on that!
On my mind right now is my mom. In a twisted messed up situation I own her house so she wouldn't get foreclosed on. She said she would buy it back in 2 years. It's been 7. I have paid her almost all that I owe her and hope to finish that off by the end of the year but it's too a point where I just can't have the house under my name. It's too much of a liability and if something happened to her being able to make the payments we couldn't support it. So after much discussion with my husband we think our only option is to sell it. She can't buy it because her credit is shot. She has cancer and feels like I am selling the house out from under her. I am deathly afraid this will ruin our relationship and she has brought my brother in. He is not the most financially stable and he is giong to try to buy it but unless he finds a crazy lender he can't. If he can kudos to him and he can see what it's like to deal with this mess.
So now everyone is very upset with me because my poor mom has cancer and I am kicking her out but I see it as I am giving her an opportunity to find something else and to get the money out of the house before we lose it! I will of course give her whatever the house sells for over the loan and there is equity so if we did it right she could walk away with $1K. sigh. I am so at the end of my rope! I am numb and apparently in the anger stage of this as I am typing this and just banging on the keyboard. When the hell has brother done anything for anyone but himself!! sigh. I am so upset that she is not talking to me about it and I just can't see why she would risk everything by selling it to him. Now he may surprise us and that is awesome and some of me thinks as long as I don't have to deal with it but I care about my mom and what happens to her. I hate this situation.
So stress abounds here and I am holding it together well so far. Just wondering how this is going to pan out.
Lili- I loved hearing from you! Like a breath of fresh air in my ball of stress! lol Love that the men can't resist you!! :) You are so right about having kids. I have worked really hard to do this and it's hard but I feel so much better because I am exercising and eating well! It's easier to handle everything and then this stress has piled on and I haven't curled up in a corner crying yet lol. Maybe tomorrow ;)
I didn't know your boys were twins! That must have been fun when they were young. I think having a twin would be so cool! lol I just have an annoying younger brother ;)
I was battling some depression a few months back and have pulled out of it for the most part. Stress seems to bring it on so right now I feel I am teetering on the edge but I feel much more equipped to handle it.
Gotta go help my oldest with homework! Will try to post more. Weight is at 218 just to let you know lol ;)
 
Hey, who's having twins? I'm a twin, and it's VERY cool! People get us confused all of the time. The other day I was talking on the phone to my twin and she put one of my nieces on the phone (my niece is only 2 years old:) ) and when I said "hello" to her, she started saying "mama" and then kinda started to cry. She thought the voice on the other end of the phone (me) was her mama because we sound alike. Must have been a little confusing with her mama standing right next to her!

Good luck with helping your oldest with homework! My older niece is going into kindergarten this year. I guess I have to re-learn some stuff so I can help her with her homework as well (though at her age it should be pretty easy:))

WillLose
 
Updating!

Hello all and anyone lol.
I have been considering updating for days and days but at night when I have the actual time to sit and write I would rather be trying to go to sleep! lol Tonight I am going to throw caution to the wind and update a little.
Things have been going swimmingly with me! Eating has been really good. I have been a bit stressed because I am not able to eat breakfast until 10:30 or later and with the gym first thing I am trying to figure out what I could have in the morning to keep the fires going so to speak. I talked to one of the guys at the gym and he swore by this whey protein powder stuff. He mentioned that he didn't care about what things tasted like because he ate them for their nutritional value. That sounded all good and stuff for him but I LIKE the taste of food and if I am going to limit my food I want what I do eat to taste divine!! lol
So after much thought I think I am going to skip the crazy expensive, tastes like shit whey powder and opt for a piece of fruit or maybe some nuts or even some yogurt or oatmeal. I have options. I just have to make a plan.
I am still not tracking food but I know my calories and I know generally what I eat and generally it's around 1500 cals a day. Some days higher and some days lower but all in all it's lots of veggies, some protein, and some carbs. Good stuff! Today was a bit of a break day but I deserved it and though I binged a little and had 3 bowls of cheerios with sugar I settled down afterwards and am ready to move on.
I need to update my ticker too. Looks like last time I was on here I was 218 which was 20 days ago. Since then I have lost about 10lbs!!! I am seriously on a roll and am loving the scale!! I try not to be too obsessed with it but it's treating me really kindly and showing me that my hard work is paying off!
I am at the gym still 4-5 days a week and every Thursday I take a hip hop class which I am totally loving. On Wed I went to a weight lifting cardio class and really enjoyed it so I think I am going to start going to that class. Otherwise it's treadmill for me as I strive to try to increase my speed and maybe distance for the 1/2 marathon. I can do about 2 and 1/2 miles right now and can run (very slowly) for about 30 minutes straight! I am really proud of the progress but the last 2 weeks I have felt like I have slowed down a bit in my forward progress. I think several things have contributed but the no breakfast thing is a kicker. I need that energy! My hubby has been sick and that has affected sleeping. Also my baby guy has had some tummy issues which has caused some sleepless nights and lots of laundry:puke: lol ;) So with things as crazy as they are I am lucky to get to the gym and when I get there my energy has dwindled a bit.
So next week starting with a snack in the am and going to try to rev up my running a bit more and push myself.... just a bit of course. Not trying to kill myself! lol
I miss being on here all the time. The stories are so inspirational and it's nice to visit friends. However, there is only so much I can do in a day and with the gym taking up some of my free time and facebook taking up the rest there isn't a whole lot of time to get journaling done.
However, I am here. I am working towards my goals and I have many many goals. The ultimate goal (for now) is running the 1/2 marathon in Oct. The runner up goal is to lose 50lbs by September for my trip to France to see my friend get married. I am well on my way with that having already lost 23lbs since the end of December!! I am super excited! I have my closet organized by what fits now, what might fit soon and what will fit when I get below 200 (I assume anyway. Because I was pregnant I am not sure if it will fit the same at the same weight...) and then of course my prized possessions are in the garage in a box and that is the clothes I will fit in when I get back to the 160's. My ultimate dream goal is 140's. One step at a time though :)
The fun news is that my "what might fit soon" jeans actually went on and lo and behold buttoned!! They were snug for sure but they were on!!!:hurray:
Good things are happening here! I am working hard and will keep it going!
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! :cheers2:
 
I laughed and smiled reading your post. Comments like 'tastes like shit whey powder' and how great it is to see how you're doing. I am so surprised to see you used the word "swimmingly" because I wrote that in my journal to you about 10 minutes ago, before reading your post. ha ha

Congrats on the weight loss and fitting into those jeans, way to stick to your health plan. And I'm so impressed your doing 4-5 Xs week at the gym.

Hope baby guy is feeling better. Great to hear how you're doing - have a grand week Mish.
 
Quick as always :D

Hello Ladies!!
I am still here.... well not here here but here none the less lol. Things are going well. Thanks to a tummy flu I have gotten down to 203 but if I keep eating like I did tonight I will quickly negate that!:banghead: I have struggled the last few days but I think it's in response to the famine of tummy upsetness that I went through. Saltines and bananas only go so far. However, tomorrow is a new day and I am finally 100% (dare I say 110%??) and I need to get my ass back to the gym!! Tomorrow! I will be there and back on my trusty treadmill banging out the 2 and 1/2 miles I can run :D lol Well I hope I can run that after this 2 weeks of illnesses (me and baby so it ran 2 weeks :p ). I am working on jazzing myself up because honestly after missing that much it's a bit daunting to go back! However, the 1/2 marathon I signed up for in Oct. isn't going to be any easier if I don't go to the gym lol. So it's you and me treadmill!
I hope you guys are doing well. I think about you both (Risty it's easier of course with you on FB ;) Lili if you have one and would like to look me up! :) ) he he he.
That's it for another drive by update :driving: he he he I love those little guys :D
In total 27lbs lost since the end of December!! Yippee!! :D Sadly still about 60 to go but where there is a will and Sugar Free Pudding there is a way LMAO.
Ugh 2 am... off to bed again :)
 
mishi said:
I am working on jazzing myself up because honestly after missing that much it's a bit daunting to go back! However, the 1/2 marathon I signed up for in Oct. isn't going to be any easier if I don't go to the gym lol. So it's you and me treadmill!
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Hay Mishi! Long time no chat.

I am also signed up for a 1/2 marathon in October. It's the annual Rock n' Roll Half.

Is this your first one? This year it will be my 4th one. Every year I tell myself to get cracking on the training, and seem to wait till the last few months to get started. I do finish it each time, but it just takes me longer. This year I've started training early, hence my running ticker...


Have you gone to the track at all to train? I find it so much more difficult training on the ground pulling my weight, but I can tear it up on the treadmill. Ugh.

I think it's great you are doing a half marathon! Go girl!!
 
Hehe yeah it's great to see you on FB!

I think you should definitely get your butt to the gym! There would be nothing worse than suffering through the 1/2 marathon because you didn't train enough! So good luck with that!

Eating can be such a struggle to get under control and there are those days where that goes completely out the window! All we can do is keep trying and we'll get there!
 
Ugh snow, charity work and no gym :p

So I was compelled to do another post because MJB you said you are doing a 1/2 marathon too and we are doing the same marathon but different cities. I am Denver on the 17th and I am going to assume you are LA on the 24th? How fabulous! lol I have never done a 1/2 marathon or even ran a 5K because the last one I was signed up for my son ended up being in the hospital with a kidney infection and I missed it. So this will be my first official race (well I might run some 5K's on the way) and my first running! I am really excited! If you have a training program I would be interested in hearing it. I run really slow so I am just trying to increase my time (right now at 30 minutes) and speed (right now at 4.5 on the TM). Running the track is a good idea. I have tried to go at least once a week, weather permitting, to run outside. There is a really nice state park right next to me and it has awesome hills and just varied terrain and it's a great place to run! I hear you about running outside though. Really the treadmill is like running on a cloud lol. It's bouncy and cushy and it moves for you :) However, running outside had been getting better and better and the scenery really helps me enjoy it and the time goes quicker.
Risty you are so right. Just keeping things going is the key. I have just not been motivated the last week and eating crap. I feel compelled to eat it like I was compelled to eat veggies before I got sick. There are a few issues with the veggies. The last thing I ate before I got sick was asparagus.... it was good but now just thinking about it makes me want to hurl and that totally isn't like me. I don't have a weak stomach. I am not sure what happened but anything that smells like a green veggie makes me gag. I need to figure out how to get over it because veggies need to be like 50% of my diet!! I was doing so good too but the thought of a green veg... ugh. So I need to figure out how to get over that. It has to be all in my head but it's pretty stuck in there! sigh
Today I was in gym clothes and I had promised my MOPS group that I would help them set up for the fundraiser tomorrow. I was planning to go to the gym right after but by the time we were done setting up it was 11:30 and the daycare at the gym closes at 12. I would have done something outside but it has been snowing and running on icey roads not to mention having the baby out in that cold makes me twitchy. Excuses, excuses but I went home, ate way to much and laid on the couch most of the day. Completely the opposite of what I wanted to do. I am feeling grumpy and flabby and swollen and I know that exercise will help with all that. Tomorrow is a new day and I will just try again! lol Still very frustrated today didn't turn out like I thought it would. Going to try not to sweat it and just try again. Life happens. I do really want to work on alternatives so that when life happens again everything won't come to a screeching halt! lol
Have a great weekend!!
 
There's a time and a place for everything in our lives. I had to laugh at your comment everything that smells like a green veggie makes me gag. LOL Yep, that pretty much sums me up every day. ha ha

Have a better day tomorrow Mish.
 
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