Times up !!!

BEFORE ~ May 2012

 AFTER ~ May 2012

Well here it is...the moment I have been building up to. My one month mark is over and the jury is in !! So heres where things stand....

In the last four weeks I fell off the wagon once...it was a biggie and the only person I was hurting was myself so note to self....need to practice better self control at buffets...will keep that in mind for my next trip to the all you can eat death trap :)
I missed four of my daily vitamin and green tea doses and honestly the times I didnt take them I noticed the difference. The green tea is the kicker...it gives me energy and keeps me regular so Im not keeping all the toxic crap in my body...mind you a variety of fruits and veggies will do the same but that green burns everything quicker. At least that has been my experience with them.
My weekly walks have been litterally a breath of fresh air !! I try to go every day some times twice a day to make up for days i couldnt go but even then those have been days when I worked and did plenty of rounds there too !!! I havent gotten into the groove of doing much zumba at home lately but it was so much more fun going to a class....its sadly not the same from the comfort of my living room where i could stop if i got tired, run for the phone if it rang and have dogs and kids to trip over in the process. Hopefully some day my finances will allow me to attend the class again on a regular basis....and maybe by then i will have someone to join me ?? I am still using weights during tv time...not as often as id like to but thats because tv time usually means code for folding 10 baskets of laundry so my hands are keeping busy in other ways...not as progressful as the weights would be so must try to do that more.
I am still balancing the meals....eating way more fruit then I ever did. Making smoothies almost every morning has kept me committed to having a breakfast and they are actually really filling...and since i have started getting creative with them they are super tasty too !! I'm still eating take out a couple times a week but I am getting the healthier choices and I STOP when i feel full....no matter how yummy it is !!!
Still have a good handle on the pop...only drinking twice a day, watered down with ice and with my meals but I make sure water is my main liquid...with lemons is the best !!
I feel like since the walking started I am getting better sleep at night...most important...I dont feel like Im having as hard a time breathing when I lay down so maybe my chins are starting to loosen their kunfu grip on me :)
The most exciting part of this process was when I tried the scrub on a week ago and it fit me comfortably again...i knew that meant id' lost in the waist area because thats where she was ready to bust weeks ago when i tried it on !!!
Today was the best reward of all !!! I cannot tell a lie...when I started this I was wearing 3X clothes and anywhere from 22-24. Today I went and bought some sun dresses...I knew which ones I wanted because i had tried them on last week so i went straight for them today and of course the size 20 i tried on last week was gone :( for fun i tried on the x-lg ( 16-18) and sure as shit it fit !!! Of course i had to buy it !!! I have not worn an outfit that didnt have a two in front of the dbl digit in years !!!! I wanted to cry....tears of joy of course :) but then i remembered my weird theory of how they have cams in the wal mart change rooms and how some pervy excuse for a security guard was probably sitting there watching and wondering why i was blubbering all over their precious merchandise and decided to fight back the water works but seriously I was so happy :)
Yesterday I stepped onto the scale for my final weigh in of the month and heres the scoop....
For the last five years i have been bouncing back and fourth between the 265 and 270 mark. My highest was a humiliating 273 lbs...almost twice the weight i should be :(
When I started the revival i was 265 lbs. I had hopes of losing anything at that point...but 10 lbs would have sufficed for me since i was told that the slower you lose it the better chances you have of it coming off and staying off and toning the excess skin at the same time. When i weighed myself two weeks ago I was at 258 lbs...so I'd lost 7 lbs and i was content with that...it gave me the incentive to go on. Yesterday I weighed in at 255 !!!!! I did it !! I lost the ten pounds I'd hoped for and although it doesnt seem like alot it feels like a foot in the door and thats good enough for me ! Trying to figure out where I lost it is like looking for a needle in a hay stack...lol The scale says I'm lighter...the clothes sizes are coming down but my arms still have wings, and the kangaroo pouch is still there. I think the walking is toning my legs and my waste is starting to make a grand appearance but other than that it still looks like me....not that its a bad thing. I know I am not going to be bikini worthy any time soon nor would I want to be but as long as I get to healthy and happy and out of the plus sizes I will have accomplished my goal.
So hopefully June is even better !! Just in time for swim suit shopping ;) That will be my next reward !!
Thank you everyone for reading, keeping me going and being so supportive. Thanks to my girls for walking with me and giving me a reason to be up and out in the morning !! Thanks to my family for putting up with all the different food changes, new recipes and portion controls. You will thank me for that one day :)

Thats a wrap !!!

 

 

  I have been wanting to blog about this for a while but before I could I thought I should do my homework on the subject so I could give my most informative opinion.

I first discovered the body wrap when I noticed friends of mine on face book liking the page...at least several times a day I would scroll down the time line and see more and more of them getting excited about this product. Then to my surprise I learnt that a girlfriend of mine is now a representative for the company and is just starting to form her client base. Curious as I am about it I asked if she would be willing to do an introductory party for my friends and I and she accepted !!! However I am not so sure all my friends are as gung ho about diving into this unknown territory as I am. Especially since we live in a world where every dollar is precious and who wants to waste any on yet another weight loss scam ??? Well me neither !! So here it is.. my research on the "It works" products...the good the bad and the ugly.....

First off the product that took my interest are the body wraps so lets tackle those first !!

They come individually wrapped and ready to go. Thier purpose is to tighten, tone, and firm the body while detoxifying all within hours of application and continues to work up to 72 hours after. They reduce the appearance of cellulite and varicose veins and give a younger apperance with improved skin texture and tightness. How does it do this you wonder ?? It pulls the toxins out of your fat cells, and then, over the seventy two hours the product needs to complete its cycle, it goes deeper and deeper into your tissues so your fat cells start to shrink. It will not get rid of water weight as most of you have made that mistake in thinking but drinking water is crucial for it to work as the less toxic your body is the faster the wrap can work with visibal results !!!It's not a substitute for diet and exercise !!! Obviously you need to nurture the body changes with a balanced life style to maintain progress. It's not something that will make you lose weight over night...there is no such miracle other than liposuction !!! It is NOT fda approved and has different results for different poeple depending on if used correctly, how often, your habbits and how much toxins are in your body to boot. Some have lost up to ten inches on just one application....so in some cases it may be just the quick fix you need to squeeze into that little dress before a special occasion. No matter what your reason....if it works for you its money well spent and you will feel like a million bucks !!!

 So from the facts i have gathered here is your best shot at making this work for you...

1.  Drink lots of water before and after every application....keep your body cleansed and well hydrated !!!
2. Do NOT put more than one wrap on at one time...for example...face and tummy....this tends to cause nausea in most.
3. Before applying...scrub desired area down with a rough brush or loofa to get dead skin off and wipe down with warm towel to really open pores for better absorbtion.
4. On very first application do not exceed 45 minutes just to rule out any skin irritation as most products like hair dye and nair warn also.
5. Try holding wrap in place with clear wrap or tight clothing and once skin irritation is ruled out, sleeping with the wrap on is a preffered option to most.

The other products the company has to offer seem just as useful...who doesnt want to banish their stretch marks ?? Or at the very least lighten and tighten them up !! So the defining gel is something worth looking into if thats an issue for you. The Advanced Formula Fat Fighter with Carb Inhibitor pills are handy for those of us who like to raid the pantry hours after a nice big meal. You take it immediately after and will feel full longer from your meal and not have that urge to binge later.

 

So anyway...its seems like alot of info to take in and many will be skeptical as most should be. As for myself...I am going to burn the $25 just to try it. I will post results with pics and if it works like i am hoping it will then I will go ahead with the party so you can all see for yourselves if you want. If i get the results I want, I will not hesitate to become a preferred customer and save myself the extra money by getting the three month package.

Tomorrow I will be announcing my weight loss for the month of May !!!!! I stuck to my guns and weighed myself twice since my journey began. Once two weeks in and once again two later. I'm excited to do the next blog...I have worked hard, I have cheated a little as I knew I would but I never lost hope and I havent felt this optimistic in a long time :)

Hope I was able to answer any lingering concerns you may have had about the wraps...I am so curious as to wether this product will work for me and look forward to watching the inches come off and turning that cottage cheese into maybe a more firm type of provolone....and yes i just compared my gut to a very stinky dairy product and now whenever you eat either you will think of me and my unwanted belly fat :p

 

 

 

 



Sweat'n to the oldies

 For me theres no better better work out than pulling a double at the nursing home. It all started Saturday eveing when I was asked to work the morning shift for Sunday even though I was already on the schedule to work the same evening. I thought...meh more money and I'm helping out...had no plans for the day so why not ???
 Well, pulling a double is hard enough without having worked the night before. Especially when your not the type to turn in early as I am not !! But Saturday night when i got home I forced myself to get in bed before midnight...which wasnt all that hard since I was getting a migraine at just the thought of waking up at 4:30 !!
 Sunday morning I jumped outta bed at 4:45 with the suspicious feeling that I would be late. I grabbed one of my favorite scrub tops that i had tried on two weeks ago and peeled off immediately because it was too snug !!! However this particular morning i decided to try it again and HOLY MOTHER !!!! It fit !!! My first sign that this healthy reboot is actually working. Mind you I wasnt drowning in it but I knew I could get through the day without a button popping off or a tear in an attempt to sit down. So this was a mood changer, I was suddenly feeling very optimistic about my day. I pranced down the stairs and started bringing my morning shake to life....decided I would drink it at work with my morning smoke. I packed an insanely healthy days worth of food...lets see...my goody bag consisted of...

• first morning break- bran muffin and some plain almonds
• lunch- southwest salad, grapes and blueberries
• pre-supper snack- sugar free jello and lemon water
• supper- chicken ceasar salad..HOLD the BACON, small piece if blue berry pie no crust.

for the finale I splurged and packed myself a small ziploc of jalepeno chips. But i dont care...i love those chips and I dont want to give them up completely so a couple times a week I eat a handfull :) Most important I made sure to drink  ton of water...citrus infused of course but it kept me hydrated all day !!

So back to the sweating part....if only i had a pedometer, I would have loved to know how many steps these tootsies took yesterday !! I knew it was taking a toll on me cause I could feel the burning in my hips and by the end of the night I put the dew in mountain dew :s butt I dont regret it...yeah I was tired and maybe a bit delirious by the end but it was for a good cause and it gave me a run for my money. Do I want to do it again any time soon....probably not...especially if Ive worked the night before...thats the killer part. I am happy though that I was able to put those scrubs to use again...this hopefully means that at my end of month weigh in I will have something to smile about and maybe a reason to celebrate and buy a new scrub !!!

One step at a time

Well, I am happy to announce that I have been sticking to my guns about walking as much as possible. Some days I don't get the chance to go but then I'm usually working those days or doing a massive grocery spree which means I am still on the go !!! My weekly walks at Merritt Island with the girls has been very encouraging and therapeutic. There is something very refreshing about a nice 4 km walk with a serene setting and a couple gal pals to keep you going. The conversations flow, the fresh air relaxes me and my shoes thank god !! keep my tootsies from crumbling beneath me. Gotta love those squishee bottom soles...its like walking on sponges :) I have to admit the first time I did it my legs felt like jello and my hips wont lie...they were killing me !!!! There is still some discomfort but the walk feels shorter and shorter every time and I'm not looking for land marks to keep track of how much further before its over. Now I hardly notice anything except the beautiful scenery and those weird wooden monuments which I'm thinking at some point were play structures but now are old and creepy and kinda look like they belong in Mr. Grey's red room of pain !!! If you haven't read fifty shades then you have no clue what I'm referring to and you also are missing out on a great book !!
Looking back on this weeks meal choices I'd have to say I did pretty good. Almost every morning I have started my day off with a shake, courtesy of my magic bullet. My lunches have been light but satisfying and I finish it off with my horse pills...which is code for vitamins. Suppers have been tasty but healthy. My mango grilled chili chicken was spicy but good, the chicken and penne was a hit with the whole family and I even convinced them that from now on, quesadilla night will consist of one each and a hearty side of veggies...no more chicken a la cart over here...saves money and arteries !!!
My new favorite dessert is no longer a drum stick. Gil is happy about this because now he gets them all to his self lol I have a Edy's outshine fruit bar instead and they are actually really yummy...my favorite is coconut. They are only 40 calories and have real fruit chunks in them. This week I will be trying a few more recipes. I have steak fajitas, grilled chicken burgers with pico de galo and grilled veggie wraps on the menu. Hopefully the family will be on board. I have informed my hubby that with the nice weather here and my new interest for healthier foods we will no longer be putting shepherds pie, meat pie and gravy slathered hot hamburgers on the meal plan. I'd like to barb q more and keep the foreman alive and they can save the deep frying for when Im not around cause the smell of it just nauseates me.
I want to take this time to thank my family and friends for all their support. You have all played a part in the transformation. I am happy to report that I do feel much better and it can only get better from here on if I continue this path. I have yet to accomplish everything that I am striving for. I haven't even made my goal check list. I finally bought a note book to keep track of them and I will be starting that for June. I'm going to focus on keeping them realistic and small so I don't set myself up for disappointment and as I go I will try to make them more challenging and see how much I can accomplish each month.
So that's it for now, baby steps can go a long way...hopefully soon it will be leaps and bounds !!!
.

Death by chicken parmesan !!!

First off I'd like to start out by wishing all the mothers out there a Happy mothers day !! I hope you all got the love and pampering you deserve because we all know that every other day of the year its all about the kids, the spouse, the job, the bills, the groceries and blah blah blah !!! Today its all about us ladies....so I truly hope you all spent it the way you wanted wether it was sleeping, cuddling the kids, or getting that facial that you know damn well will never bring back your youth no matter how badly you wish it would !!
My day was not so glamorous. It was quiet for the most part. The kids did their chores without fuss for a change wich was nice. I got them to watch a movie with me this afternoon and then hubby and I joined my parents and grandmother at the Casino for a buffet dinner.
You know that eery music they play in scary movies when all hell is about to break loose ??? Well that should have been my theme song as I approached the buffet tonight !!! At first I was like...oh you got this...just eat the healthy stuff so I crammed some samlon and squash on to the plate next to my tiny bowl of chilli and huge morsel of panko chicken parm :) But I took one bite of that chicken and It was game over ! I knew that wasnt going to be my last piece and the same went for the chilli...in fact at one point i put the chilli on the chicken just to make room on the plate for salad which was a joke cuz all the salad in the world was not gunna help me digest the chicken coop i just piled into my gut. If that wasnt bad enough, i discovered the black bean salad....so good...but a little too filling after three helpings of chicken right ??
So wheres the silver lining here ??? Well if i thought anything was gunna do me in, it would have been the cheesecake...but alas !!! NO ROOM for desserts !!! But that didnt stop me from trying...there was no way i was leaving without trying that yummy fruity crepe thing that everyone kept walking away with !!! So there i was getting a dessert crepe, cheese cake the size of a micro machine, tira mi su, and lemon square...oops almost forgot the chocolate fountain with fruit kabobs !!! Needless to say after only managing to take a single bite of each sugary morsel I was ready to blow. You know when i thought it would be okay to cheat here and there I never reallized that my stomach would mind so much...I guess once your used to small portioning all day every day and feeling pleasantly full your body doesnt like you much when you decide to throw it a curve ball by jamming it full of everything on the naughty list and then some. I am not even exagerating when I say I was in pain...real pain to the point where I was no longer enjoying myself and visions of beano were dancing in my head !! I just wanted to burp or let one rip....anything to make this bloating go away lol
So I am not proud of myself tonight...I made a big boo boo and I hope my tummy will forgive me. Tomorrow I will be treading lightly with food and will have to committ to a really good work out of some sort...not sure what yet since mother nature has been throwing some curve balls of her own lately....hello hail ???
Obviously I had the choice not to share this HUGE slip up with you all but In order for me to be honest with myself I needed to be honest with my readers. This is the reallity of it...its not easy...just when you think.. hey I tackled that, you get hit by something worse. I'm not giving up !! I just need to regroup and figure out where I went wrong...for starters...probably should have ate a better lunch. Most important, I should have just splurged by trying a little of this and that and NOT go for whole seconds and thirds and then forced dessert down on top of that....I feel like I violated my own self lol Like my stomach was that girl at a college frat party, drunk and saying.. NO, PLEASE STOP and my taste buds were that drunk annoying guy that keeps trying to get lucky !! As for my conscience...well that didnt kick in til about my final bite...right before the nasty shooting pains in my stomach which have lasted most the night although some may be due to the surge of sickness I experienced while watching tonights hockey game which is a whole nother disappointment that i wish not to discuss since i cant do it without wanting to throw something at the tv and cuss my brains out !!!
So I'm going to try and get a good nights sleep. Hopefully I wont have nightmares of killer chicken breasts coming to take me away...the ironic thing about it is that no word of a lie...my meal plan for the week, hanging on my fridge says that tomorrows meal is chicken parmesan !!! Forgive me if I make a few changes to that...dont think I'll be eating breaded chicken for a while....like that time we drank too much Blue Typhoon and yacked it all up !!! Couldnt drink that stuff for years after....just the thought of it gave me a pukey after taste :s
Well thats enough gross talk for one blog...if your not totally disgusted with me...tune in next time as I reveal what will hopefully be a much more progressful day !!! ttfn !

Grilled doesnt always mean good !!

Well today was an eye opener !! Stopped at a Mcdonalds with my mom and daughter after a nice walk around the green house and decided to try something other than the snack wrap. I had a coupon for a bistro sandwhich and I thought hmmmm...how bad can it be ?? Its chicken, its grilled and its only got some shrooms  and lettuce on it. Well as delicious as it is..I went home and searched the nutritional value on the website and wham !!!! 470 calories and whats even more disturbing is the 790 mg of sodium :( So this will not be on my guilty pleasures take out list. In fact, I've decided to better prepare myself...I am going to make a list of places we visit regularly...even in the states and check their online menus so that I can make a proper list of items that I am willing to splurge on without going overboard. Even salads as a take out item can be high in calories so I'm going to do my homework and have fun with it. Maybe it will give me the push I need to try new things too :)
So the Mc dicks menu basically left me with these choices...

1. 6 pc nugget~ surprisingly only 290 cal, 18 g of fat, 570 mg of sodium and only 1g fibre. This is not the best choice. This would be good for a really quick meal, nothing messy...and no sauce cuz that only adds to the sugar.
2. Best option I think is the snack wrap...grilled...230 cal, 8 g fat, 490 mg sodium and 3 g fibre. Its filling and tastes good.
3. I love the southwest grilled salad. Most salads come in at 330 cal, 13 g fat, and this one has 7g of fibre !! Sodium is a bit high though at 810 mg.

So these are a few options. Not eating there would be the best option but my hubby and kids love it and sometimes its just easier to go with the flow so when that happens I will be prepared and know what I can get without over doing it.
When I get more restaurants on my list I will update with a nice one showing the least three danger foods for each place. That I like anyway lol  Anyone can do this. Its really great that most places have their nutrition info posted on websites so we can see what exactly we are putting into out stomachs.

Tomorrow night hubby is treating me to a supper with my parents and grandma at the Casino Buffet. After successfully tackling Almacs and Olive garden I am hoping that this will be no different...although they do have a mean dessert counter !!! Yes I think I may have a much harder time there...luckily I am off on Monday and I'll have to make some plans to work those extra calories off. Maybe another round at Merritt Island with the pups.

A little prep goes a long way

Well it turns out my love for writing lists has come in very handy through this process. I know some poeple find them super annoying and believe it is the first warning sign that you are becoming a control freak but in my personal experience I find if I write it down I get it done....its like a personal contract and you know how seriously we tend to take contracts right ?
So I always start the night before or morning of depending on my mood and energy by making my to do list. This consists of appointments, phone calls, pretty much all the important stuff and then once i have an ideal of how busy my day looks, I  start to pencil in the "me" stuff. I think about what my meals are going to look like...which ones i have more time to fuss over and which are going to be simple but satisfying. Then I decide what will be my exercise for the day...I want anywhere between 30 mins to an hour but I keep in mind it can be divided so I take time and weather in consideration. I purchased one of those cute pill caddys so i could organize my vitamins for the week...and so far I havent missed a dose. I was always famous for forgetting pills....which is why birth control " hence four children " !!!! never worked for me :) But I am trying to look at this as life or death and honestly I have noticed a difference in my energy and motivational state of mind so I must be doing something right !!!
Keeping snacks on hand has been much eaiser since I started the magical fridge of tupperware....filled with all of my favorites and some new found loves that are all cut, washed and ready to be devoured !! I have been making time for my day time tv boyfriends Dr. Oz and Travis Stork of the doctors. I always find something useful to in-coperate into my life style and lets face it...Mr. Stork is easy on the eyes....although washboard stomach is not typically my type i think his dreamy eyes combined with his brainy advice is super hot and informative ;) One recent thing i picked up from Oz was how cinnamon can be a useful spice and so instead of drowning my apple slices in caramel...which although so delicious...it has zero benefits to the body, I sprinkled the spice in my slices and yummmm !!! apple pie without the preservatives and fatty crust !!! Its one of my fav go to fruits now which works out perfect since i was looking for a good source of fibre that i could have for breakfasts.
I also invested in this cute box of prepackaged almonds....so good, already portioned so this nut doesnt eat all the nuts !! Also took the advice of someone who i honestly cant remember told me....which sucks cuz I'd love to give them props, and I bought a bag of dark cocoa chocolate chips. I put some in a tiny container and i keep it in my purse. When i need a sugar fix i pop 2-3 in my mouth and suck them slowly and i am not lying when i say i had the same gratification as i used to get from eating a mars bar. I dont know why...but I am able to stop there and not eat the whole container and I love it !!! So if this person reads my blog, speak up !!! Your a genius and I thank you for your awesome advice :)
So now I am going to make a public list of things I am proud of.... I think doing this will help me appreciate my efforts and maybe give you guys some tips you never thought of !!!

1. I am officially down from drinking 5 or more cans of diet pepsi a day to no more than two glasses that I water down with lots of ice. This is mostly because i am not willing to give up the taste that i crave when trying to wash down my lunch or supper. Water, though ive tried it doesnt doesnt taste good with certain foods in my opinion.
2. During each of my restaurant experiences...which were a handful given all the recent special ocassions, I demostrated control and ditched that " gotta eat my money's worth" attitude. I even tackled the all you can eat breadsticks at Olive Garden !!! I enjoyed my food, but stopped when i was starting to feel full not when I was ready to pop and be rolled home !!
3. Stuck with my vitamins and weights for tv time so I can build back my endurance and be strong like bull :)
4. I drink more water now in a day then i ever used to in a week !!! Mind you I cheat by putting lemon wedges, limes, oranges and once i get my mothers day present....this fruit and tea infusing water pitcher I will be creating some delicious flavored waters without the gritty pulp floating around which after a while can be a turn off. Still, I never thought I could like water this much...eight glasses or more a day will be much eaiser now that I found a way to make it more enjoyable for me !
5. Making time for exercise. My walks with our dogs have become one of the highlights of my days. Its good for them, its great for me. All the fresh air and movement has me shitting rainbows all day and wanting to sleep at night which if ayone knows me well and has had those phone conversations with me til 3 am knows that sleeping was not something i was able to do easily. One warning I can give is that since I have been putting a hustle to the muscle Ive noticed my good friend "charlie horse " has been coming to visit me through the night a bit more aften then before. I wont let this discourage me...I know that its my bodies way of saying.." hey !!! you havent used this in a while " !!! It sucks and it can be painful and very alarming to be suddenly be awoken by your leg tightening and have sudden urge to leap out of bed an walk in out, but I want to desperately believe that If i keep this up, eventually my body wont see this as a shock anymore and the pain will ease up.

So there is is...everything I have been doing for the last couple weeks. Soon I will have results and share them with you. I wanted to do this for 30 days and then just look back and take notice of all the changes...not just weight but how I feel physically and mentally too. So far so good....I just need to keep this train rolling and hopefully if I am entertaining enough...you guys will ride along :)

Still on the wagon but I got a flat !!!

OKay....so maybe I didnt eat that many plates of food but I deffinately feel like a blimp after two rounds at Almacs buffet and a piece of my cake which after four and a half hours of creating it I couldnt resisit a taste !!
Sooooo....where does this leave me ??? Well I could down a bottle of exlax but then I would be on the porcelan throne for more hours than I'd care to admitt so instead i think tomorrow will be a day of hard core sweating and liquid diet. My new found love...lemon water :)
I knew it was going to be hard to resist unlimited perogies and sour cream...but i did count them out just to be sure I didnt eat a whole bags worth. I actually only ate about a quarter of what i normally would have which felt good for a change. All I had to do was ditch that mentality of making sure I eat my moneys worth...instead I just ate til I felt full. Not to the point of wanting to be rolled home. However my plan to just order water with my meal went down the drain when I was informed that they sell only bottled water which meant no free refills....no wonder the world has a serious obesity problem...its nuts that pop is all can you drink but water...you know that crap that comes out of your tap is not ??? So I was reunited with my long lost friend...diet pepsi :) It was a happy reunion....i wonder if the fact that it was watered down by too much ice and slow service made a difference...and even then i only drank one and  half glasses which before i could have easily had a 2 litres worth !!!
Anyhoo....tomorrow will hopefully be a progressful day. We shall see !!!

Hungry Hungry Hippos !!!

  







Okay...lets play a game.....who in these pictures is missing ????
That's right !!!! Me !!!!!!!!!!
Which leads me into todays rant. A mother's love is forever....so true...but seriously can I have a minute to love myself ???? !!!!
I swear the hardest part about changing my life is my life lol
From the minute I wake up...its a race to the door...let puppy out before he aims fire on my kitchen floor. Pick up all the crap kids leave on floor so puppy doesn't make his own breakfast, one that he will choke on. Start scrambling eggs for doggy breakfast and waking kids up to eat their breakfast....ooh...somewhere in between that I start chopping fresh veggies for my omelette....cuz mommy is NOT allowed sugary cereals...at least not until I get this cleanse done and learn to keep to portion control :)
Daddy bursts in the front door....blah blah blah ....sitting in a chair taking calls is soooooooooo hard....me soooooooo tired...ya ya... good night !!!
Finally almost an hour into being awake I have time to finish making my omelette, by this time the excitement and enjoyment has been sucked out...I just wanna cook this damn thing and eat cuz I am super hungry....hmmmm might even cook it half way....nope !!! don't do it...last thing I need is the runs since I will be running around all day :s
My point here is that even though we love being a mom, a wife a zoo keeper a maid...well not the maid part..I hate that. But we are so consumed with everything and everyone else that it seems impossible to get and stay excited about something that revolves around us. I really hope I can sit these animals down and explain to them that mommy needs to do mommy for a while and they can really start taking some initiative to help themselves because truth be told if I don't stick to my guns I may not be around to clean up after them as long as I should be.
Even as I write this...the word "mom" has been called out at least four times that I didn't block out lol
God give me strength and maybe some supersonic ear plugs !!!!

ANGRY BELLY !!!

Okay so one thing I must remember to do from now on is pack snacks !!! All was well in the land of fewer calories and light portions until I left the house in a hurry and half way to St. Kits my tummy was transforming into a grizzly bear :s Oh yeah...I could feel my stomach juices squirting around like a super soaker and I was getting agitated and ready to chew the dashboard !!!
So it turns out if I'm going to take this seriously I will need to pack some on the go insurance to avoid turning into a food deprived hulk. On my to do list for tomorrow....think of things I can store in my purse....now I'm not so pissed that all my purses are the size of beach bags...looks like I wont be packing light anyway.
Going to try and get a good nights sleep tonight. Also on the agenda for tomorrow.....

• make fondant shapes for angelle's communion cake
• bake angelle's cake....actually gil will do it he just doesn't know it yet ;)
• take kids to Rice road green house appreciation day !!! For all you green thumb girlies looking for something to do tomorrow, they are having a fun day with animal appearances and food truck and bouncy house !!! ooh and lotsa sales !!!
• go to work...which normally I would be excited to do if the communion wasn't occupying all my brain cell activity lol
• sleep at mom's house with baby girl so we can glam her up together for the big day !!!

So anyway....in this process I apparently will be munching away to keep the bile of my stomach at bay...wish me luck !!!

Two, four ,six ,eight ....who do we appreciate !!!

Hello and welcome to my very first blog !!!
Your probably looking at this picture and thinking...hmmm not her best mug shot !!
I chose it for a reason, I wanted to show off all my chins...if you count them i believe there is a whopping three and miniscule four developing...its no wonder i cant breathe at night when trying to sleep...I'm litterally getting choked out by my own chins !!
I know its not my best look, however in order to start this journey I needed you all to see me at my worst and know that even though its embarassing and I wish I hadnt let myself get this far gone I also know that it is an experience, a lesson learned and for that I will learn to worship my body and finally give it the cleanse it needs or die trying !!!
So how am I going to do this ? Well no matter what I do it wont be easy but I'm tired of everyone saying try this and do that. I just want to do what works for me and that is....well...I couldnt tell you because up to this point I havent given it a serious go. This time I have done my homework, brushed up on the basics and put together my own steps to start this process. Not only do I want to accomplish a healthy physical lifestyle but I'm hoping gain some positive insight towards my mental health as well. So here it goes, my eight steps to revival...

1. Create a food guide list of each food group that works for you using only things you like or would like to try.

2. Make a list of your weakness foods and habbits...i like to call it my cryptonite list and find healthy substitutes for each.

3. Create or try recipes that work for you and save them in an archive.

4. Research daily vitamins and supplements and choose the ones that your body needs. Make a list of these, how much you take and why.

5. Commit to 30-60 minutes of exercise daily. Make a list of in and outdoor things that you would actually do. So if you dont rock climb forget about it !! and remember that house work and sexual activity counts too !!!

6. Get at least 5 good nights sleep. Make a list of simple tips you can use that will help you crash...things to listen to, watch, eat, drink or do.

7. Make monthly bucket lists with realistic goals and things to try. These can also be used as rewards for good eating behaviour :)

8. Record all your progress !!! Write about it, take pictures...and be proud of the person you are and are trying to become !!!

And thats it....easy right ??? NOT !!!!!! Its going to be hard, I'm going to want to break things and cry and I might even cheat a little cuz I am human. But so what ?? As long as I see the big picture and I never stop trying to get there it will be ok. Support from family and friends will be a bonus but I dont want to survive solely on that because people can be shifty and in the end its my own self determination that is going to kick this project in the pants. So wish me luck and dont be scared to join me !!! I would love to know if any of these survival tips or all combined work for you :)