Adjusting to Pre-K

This post was a request. I have spent some time thinking about how it relates to health and weight loss and this is what I have been able to come up with: When your child starts school you want to insure that you are able to continue to lead a healthy lifestyle for both yourself and your family. This can often be hard, esp if your child is starting school for the first time. I have learned over the last few weeks since my son started back at school that it has really helped me to get my children involved in our healthy routine. I make sure that he gets plenty of sleep at night and I wake him up at least an hour before we need to leave for school that way he isn't rushed in the morning and school doesn't feel like he is being punished by me sending him to school. I make sure that my son gets a healthy lunch at school. This is easier than you think!! If you don't pack a school lunch, eating healthy is no problem. At my son's school, not only so they offer fresh fruit and veggies, they also offer a salad bar! All you have to do is make sure your child is eating healthy at home so they know how to make healthy choices at school as well!! Get your child involved!! I let my son help me pack his lunch, this way he knows what he is eating and I know it's healthy and what he wants :) You are also teaching your child what is healthy and what isn't. Once my son gets home, it is very CRAZY!!! in my house. he fights with his sister, he is tired and cranky, and a lot of time he's hungry because he eats lunch so early (even though he gets an afternoon snack) I find myself wanting to pull my hair out because it seems like WW3 is breaking out in my house. I have tried to maintain a healthy balance. We walk to and from school, this also helps get some of the energy out. I allow my son to have a snack before he does his homework. I sometimes let him take a small nap after he does him homework (sleep is very important) He doesn't always take a nap and more and more lately he decides not to. I think the best bit of advice I can give when adjusting not just to Pre-K but to anything new is routine is key!!! Once you are able to establish a good routine being and staying healthy will fall right into line :)

Getting Healthy on a Budget

I hear people say all the time that it costs too much to eat healthy foods. I am here to tell you that, that is not true. Yes there are some foods that are healthy for you and they are very expensive, however you can eat healthy and not break the bank! I was able to go to the grocery store tonight and get about 3 weeks worth of food for my family of five(My husband's grandmother lives with us) for $200. For me it's all about planning. I plan everything about my shopping drop and I mean EVERYTHING!!! I have an order and I need to be able to stay focused. Here's a pretty simple break down of my usual shopping trip. 1.ALWAYS make a list of food that you need in the house (meats, fresh/frozem fruits and veggies, etc) 2. Shop the sale ads (This is very important, you want to make a special note of what you need and what is on sale, check next weeks paper too. Something you have on your list might be on sale next week so you can buy it then) 3. Don't be afraid to coupon (this is FREE money) Once you have your list, your sale ads, and your coupons, you should be sure not to go to the store hungry, you are more likely to impluse buy and buy things that are unhealthy when you are hungry. You also what to meal plan. Meal planning will allow you to know what type of food you need for the week and allow you to be sure you are cooking healthy foods for your family. Look at meals for things you can substuite. If a meal calls for ground beef, I always use ground turkey instead. (I buy the giant brand turkey and its $10 for 3lbs.) Buy in bulk when possible and freeze your meats (I even freeze my lunch meat) Personaly I think the internet is my best friend when it comes to eating healthier. I love to look up new foods to try. You also can't be afraid to try new things. If there is something that you see online or in the store that you know is healthy and you think someone has said it tastes good, or even if they said they didn't like it, buy it and try it for yourself!! On this journey I have found out that I actually like spaghetti squash, calliflower, and several other veggies that I would have never eaten before. And I LOVE to cook with onions now! I can't say it enough though, planning is key!! Walk into the store with a plan and stick to it! I will admitt that I sometimes, actually alot of the time I buy things that aren't on my list and aren't the healthiest foods and that is okay!! One thing I like to do is buy single serve chips and cookies because I will eat less that way. I get fat free frozen yogurt (when it's on sale) Lastly I tell you to keep track of what you spend as you are walking through the store. I always know how much I want to spend when I leave the house. Take a pen with you so that you can keep track of your total as you go through the store. This will help you decide if an unhealthy food that's not in your list makes it into your cart. Try to buy the unhealthy food only if you have a coupon or if its on sale or both!! If you plan on buying unhealthier foods put them on your list!! One thing I have learned us that if you tell yourself no in the store you only say no once, if you buy it and take it home you are saying no until its gone....ask yourself is it worth it? 

We will address some healthy meals that I make for my family as well as how we are adjusting to our new schedule and how to get your whole family on board with your new healthy lifestyle this month :-) I am very excited to be taking this journey with all of you. 

A day in the life

Do you ever feel like there's no possible way that you can fit a workout into your busy day? Well I am here to tell you all about my busy day and how I am able to fit in a workout at home without a gym. I will tell you that while it is VERY possible to loose weight without a gym, it more than likely will take a little longer. I am totally okay with that, at least for now. I have however been thinking about joining a gym and I can tell you that by the end of the year, or beginning of next year I will more than likely give in and join a gym. But until then I will tell you this is my day.

I get up at 5:40 each morning and get a shower, then I get the kids up between 6 and 6:30 to get them dressed and feed them breakfast. (This isn't as easy a task as you may think. My children are 2 & 4 years old and love their sleep...just like their mommy) Most days between 6:30 and 7:00 the 6 month old I babysit gets dropped off so I am now getting my children ready and fed while tending to the baby. I then fix my son's lunch for school (If it wasn't packed the night before) I somehow find the time to throw some frozen fruit in the blender with 1 cup of fat free milk and fat free frozen yogurt, push the milkshake button and gather the kids shoes. By this point the blender is done so I pour it into a cup and after I'm done fighting with the kids about breakfast we put shoes on and are out the door by 7:15-7:20. I walk my son to school, let my daughter play on the playground for a few minutes and then we make our way back home.

My daughter isn't a big breakfast person so she is now hungry and the baby needs a diaper change and his medicine. My daughter will now eat the breakfast she didn't want earlier while I make the baby a bottle and feed him. By now it's about 9:30 the children will play while I try to get some stuff done for Sunday School (I teach the preschool class at our church and try to take 30-45min a day to plan for the next weeks lesson) My husband gets home from work around 10:15 (he works at night) When he gets home, I fix him something to eat, my daughter has a morning snack and the baby eats as well. It's about 11:15 by time the dishes are done and by noon my daughter is ready for lunch and the baby gets is snack. Both children go down for a nap around 12:30. This is when I will clean up around the house. I dust, sweep and mop the floor, wash the windows, straighten up the toys, and bedrooms, clean the bathroom, basically whatever needs to be done. At 2 I get both children up and we walk to pick my son up from school.

After letting him play on the playground for a little while with his friends from school we come home, the baby gets a bottle and eats. Then my son needs help with his homework. At 4-4:30 the baby gets picked up and I start to cook dinner (I try not to cook anything that is going to take more than 30-45 min to cook) Dinner is as close to 5 as possible, after dinner is dishes and the children play for about an hour before it's time to get baths and go to bed. My little ones are in bed by 8 each night and I can then prep for the next day. I lay out both children's clothes as well as my husband's work clothes, and I pack a lunch for my son and my husband for the next day. Sometimes I will also get breakfast ready for the next day but not very often. I myself am usually so run down that I am in bed by 9 or 9:30.

This isn't every single thing I do in a day, but it gives you a pretty good idea of how busy I am and yet I have been able to loose 35lbs in a little less than a year. I say this because my husband tells me all the time "you didn't put the weight on overnight, it's not going to come off overnight either." This is so very true. It took me almost 4 years to gain that 35lbs that I lost in under a year!! So it did come off in 1/4 the time it took me to gain it, that's pretty awesome!

On Tuesday and Thursday my husband has class, my son bowls on Saturday mornings, My weight watchers meeting is on Tuesday and I teach Sunday School and on the first Monday of the month I have a meeting at the VFW, my husband has union meeting on the second Sunday and I shoot shuffle bowl on Friday nights. I will get up at 5am sometimes and workout while watching the news in my bedroom, or take my hour from 12:30-1:30 and do a workout DVD. I take the kids to the park and run the track while they play. There are ways to fit in a workout and if I can do it, than anyone can do it.

In a few short days I will be adding a 9 week old to the mix. It is hard to fit in a workout every day but I can tell you that it is worth it!!!

Try to sit down and write out what you do daily and look for the little gaps where you can fit in a 15 minute workout, doing this a few times a day will make a big difference. I know you can do it. You are worth it!!

Tune in tomorrow to see what I will share next :-)

Getting back into the swing of things

The last few months have been hard for me. Honestly I have had some personal stuff going on and I let me emotions get the best of me when my WW leader decided to leave our meeting to better herself. I am really happy for her but I let it bring me down because she is the only leader I've had during this journey. I felt like I had lost a part of me when she left my meeting but I have her cell number and I know that I can always turn to her for added support when I need it. On top of that I had a falling out with one of my best friends. She and I have patched things up now but at the time it really took it's toll on me. During this journey I have learned alot about myself and about what I need to do in order to be successful and get the results that I want. If you saw me over the last few months however you might not think so. I didn't really gain any weight but I didn't really loose any either. I would go up and down and bounce around the same 2-4lbs. I am glad that I was able to maintain over the summer for the most part but I am not happy that I allowed my emotions to get the best of me. I have decided that I am going to get back on track and I am going to allow my emotions to get the better of me any more. I am worthy of doing better and I am determined to do better!! I have taken the time to make a list of things that I used to do that I should start doing again in order to maximize my weight loss and get my focus back. This is something that isn't going to happen over night I know that. I always have trouble getting back on track all at once. I always have good intentions but they seem to go astray. I say I will track and I do for a day or two and it all falls apart. I have a meal plan with my points all figured out and follow it for a few days, I say I am going to workout and I don't. I still don't have it all figured out but I am doing my best to get there. One of the biggest things I am going to do is take part in my very own 30 day blog challenge. I will be posting a new blog post every day for the next 30. I will be posting about all kinds of new and different things that I am trying and doing each day along with how well it is working for me. I took today to fill you all in on my struggles lately. I haven't eaten very well and I haven't worked out like I should have been. I said I was going to run my first 5K and I didn't. I feel sick and bloated all the time and even though I am not gaining weight I can tell I'm not in the shape I once was. It's harder for me to run than before and some small things that used to be easy now became harder and I get out of breath easier. Stay turned to see what happens next!!