Stressful

What a stressful week!!!! As expected, the scale didn't budge one single bit. ARGH! But at least it didn't go up, either!

Har Har

I accidentally posted 297.8 on the ticker... I put the 2 out of habit. It still feels strange typing a 1 first. I still lost a little this week, although it has been a rough week.

I have a really yucky cold and though I have been eating well, I haven't exercised as much and on Tuesday I had a really bad cheat day. I'm talking donuts, McDonalds, more donuts, ice cream. I'm pretty sure that one day sabotaged my entire week. But on the bright side, at least the scale did move downward some!

Never Again

198.6!!!!!

Never again will I ever want to see anything above 200. I'm walking on Cloud 9 right now!

So close I can taste it...

Yesterday my friend took me out for a belated birthday lunch... to one of my favorite restaurants - Mimi's Cafe. I ate an entire turkey pesto ciabatta sandwich. It was SO GOOD. Got home and entered it into my calorie king diary - 1330 calories! Almost my entire amount for the full day. WOW. Lucky thing I had a good brisk 45 minute walk done. The sammy did keep me full for pretty much the rest of the day. I had a couple healthy tostada's at my moms house for dinner. Usually I come under my calorie count by 50 - 100, but yesterday I was over by 123.


Hopped on the scale this morning and it's 200.2. I am SO CLOSE to being under 200 pounds I can just taste it. If I'm really good over the coming couple days I bet I can hit it by Monday. I'll have to take a picture of the scale.

So that's my big news for this week.

Katie, I am just dying to hear about your first week with Nutrisystem!! Details lady!!!

Back at it...

So birthday weekend I gained 3 pounds and was 206 by the time Monday came around. This morning I was back at 203 on the dot. Back on track!

If I can be REALLY good this week, I might hit 200. My goal this week is 201 for next Friday.

Can't wait....

Katie I am so excited for you! I can't wait to see how this works for you. I am sure it will make life so much easier - especially when you and Graham are super busy with meetings and stuff.

My birthday weekend was a total eatfest. I ate anything and everything I wanted without a care. I gained 3 pounds in two days. This week I'm back to my normal (new) eating habits and thankfully this morning I just shed those 3 pounds that I had gained. It was really hard. I think I did more exercise than I should have... ah well. The birthday eating was totally worth it!

Nutrisystem

So today is the day I'm starting Nutrisystem. I went shopping with my mom yesterday and bought lots of fruits and veggies. Now I'm just waiting for my food to arrive at some point today. I'm worried it will melt if I'm not home to receive it.

Anyway, I am starting my new venture at 210.8 lbs. I still lost six pounds on my own but I clearly need a little extra help. It's interesting to hear about your calorie intake goals because the Nutrisystem food tracker counts up the calories and on average it's about 1300-1400 per day.

I'm so proud of how skinny you are!

Woot Woot!

Looks like the new caloric target helped this week! YAY! 203. Only 4 more pounds until 199. I can't wait to get under that 200 mark.

Saturday is my 30th birthday. I am taking the full day off from watching what I eat. Peter is getting me breakfast and my mom is making eggplant parmesan, bread & butter, and chocolate mousse pie. I am so excited!

My weigh in and new caloric target!

I was happy to see the scale at 206 today, but I can't help but feel like I need to weigh in tomorrow. I am terribly "backed up" and feel like it's messing with my weigh in.

I entered my weekly weigh in on Calorie King and got noted that I have hit a new target and my daily caloric intake is reduced from 1750 to 1700. I'll need to work on shaving off that extra 50 calories. Maybe cut out my afternoon coffee??

I'm Here!

I keep forgetting to weigh every morning. It will be like lunchtime when I remember and I'm certainly not going to weigh after I've already eaten. Unfortunately the news isn't very good. I'm slowly gaining back what I lost at the beginning. There are times when I know that I'm totally off the diet and eating horribly but then there are times when I think I'm being good and I still gain. It's very frustrating.

I heard somebody say the other day that eating well and feeding your kids good food is really about priorities. You have to cook and there's no way around that. We are always at meetings at night and I just don't cook on those nights but that's not good for any of us. It's only going to get worse as the election approaches so I clearly have to find a way to cook and go to all my meetings.

Anyway, I am so proud of you! You are my inspiration.

Where oh where is my long lost friend?

Where's Miss Katie????

Friday Weigh In

This week was HARD. Really hard. I was on such a roll last week and then I decided to do an excruciating Jillian Michael's workout. I shouldn't have done it because it totally made me start to retain water. That day I went from 208.8 to 211.2 and stayed there for a few days. My body wouldn't let go of the water! So I took a break from exercise for a few days and concentrated on continuing to take in liquids and worked really hard at my eating. I started to exercise again on Wednesday and it helped. I was 207.2 this morning. I am hoping to reach 199 by Kai's birthday on 10/1. Just gotta keep chugging along! I think I can, I think I can!

Chugging along!!!

I nursed Cruz this morning and then went on the scale. 208.8! It is funny that just when I think I've plateau'd I am pleasantly surprised. Now to plan a good cheat day tomorrow! YAY!

forgot

For some reason I thought today was Thursday! I'll weigh in tomorrow morning!

More weight gone

This weekend was good. I went running around my neighborhood. I thought I was going to DIE. I did about 15 minutes of running and 15 minutes of speed walking. Then I let my body rest on Sunday. Jumped on the scale this morning just to see if it had done anything - indeed it had! YAY!

It's nice to see the numbers going down, but I'd also like to see my trouble spots start getting smaller. But then again, I can't really afford many new clothes. LOL

Mariah's Weigh In

I was hoping it would be just a *tiny* bit lower like 211.2 or something, but I'll take 211.8!!!

This week I have really been counting the calories, and when I eat something bad I have been doing MEGA workouts to work it off. Perhaps if I hadn't of eaten the bad thing to begin with, I would have lost a little bit more. For the most part, I was really, really good.

But one night I had two pieces of chocolate cream pie and another night I had ice cream. It did feel really good to eat those things though. I think I would have felt worse about if I hadn't eaten them. I have such a wicked sweet tooth!

We'll see how my day goes today. I'm making crock pot bbq pork ribs. Can't be good for me, but my tastebuds are gonna dance!

Goal for next week: 210.8

On another note...

What happened to Jackson's lip? Anything around the head is so scary cause they bleed like crazy! Hugs to Jackson. We miss you guys!

I'm baaaccckkk

So I've had a week of computer troubles on top of just a crazy week. Last Friday my weigh in was 212.8 which I was really happy about after my gain the week before. I did my water aerobics on Monday and it kicked my booty. I was heading to water aerobics again on Wednesday (yesterday) but Jackson hurt himself and I had to take him to the ER. He didn't need stiches luckily but we do have steristrips on him. His cut is right above his lip. Hopefully he beautiful face will heal just fine.

Anyway, I still made it home last night and cooked a nice meal. After such a crazy day I was proud I didn't succumb to the fast food temptation and I even avoided the ice cream I bought to bribe Jackson.

I'm not expecting a huge loss tomorrow. I think my body is still getting used to adding muscles. I certainly have found muscles I didn't know existed this past couple of weeks!

mid-week

Oh my gosh. My body feels like it could crumble apart at any moment! I ate waaaaay too many calories the other day so I went on a run. It felt liberating and wonderful to run like that. Woke up sore the next day. Then I decided to do a Jillian Michael's workout. My endurance has improved so much. It was hard, but I got through the entire thing. And. Now. I. Can. Barely. Walk.

I feel like a total gimp!!

Week of counting calories!

It's tedious work recording calories in a log! But I think it paid off this week. I was expecting the scale to show me something less than 212 since I weighed that on Monday - but then when I look at the big picture and realize I went from 217 to 212 in a week, I am more than thankful. My waist showed improvement this week going from 37.5 inches to 37 inches. I even had a pair of size 16 capri's in my closet that I had bought as "motivation pants" after Kai was born and they fit!

I'll continue the counting calories thing to make sure that I am getting enough. It feels like I am eating ALL DAY LONG. But they are smaller meals so I am really having to hold back on favorite things. Last night was macaroni and cheese. I could have eaten the entire box. It was hard to refrain from more than one normal sized helping.

Goal for next week: 211

Weekend

This weekend was really good for me. Lots of exercise and logging EVERYTHING that went into my mouth. I think my body is going through a kickstart again. I couldn't help it - I jumped on the scale this morning. 212 was staring back at me. I can't believe it.

Great news!

Forgot to tell you that my parents have now lost a combined 52 lbs.! I'm so proud of them. They've lost a grandchild. LOL

Bad, bad week

Well I'm up to 215 lbs. It's almost like I never started dieting. Yes, I started working out and also got my period but still I think this weight gain was way too much.

The water aerobics class is fun and I was so sore after my first class. I do it on Mondays and Wednesdays but will have to stop when speech therapy starts back up. It's great because it's in the pool right next to Jackson's so I can watch him swim while exercising. We wave at each other a lot. I have to leave my class about 20 minutes early because his class is only 40 minutes but I'm only missing cooling down. I did have a funny moment on Wednesday when I accidentally splashed an old lady and her face and hair got a bit wet. How awful to get a little wet in a pool class! So now I may have the elderly mafia against me. Haha.

I'm going to continue my water workouts this week and look at that website you started. Maybe it will help.

By the way, CONGRATS on weighing less than me. Skinny girl! I'm so proud of you.

Some movement!!!

Finally! A little movement into a new number!

Last week: 216
This week: 214.8

Feeling good about seeing this new number. Makes me feel like something is actually happening. I guess that's one of the hardest parts about this whole thing... being patient!

Stalling

I have been trying to wrap my head around the fact that I haven't been losing lately... kind of stalled out.

A friend told me about www.calorieking.com. You have to pay for it, but I am using their 7 week freet trial to figure things out. They calculated that I need to eat 1800 calories per day to lose weight. When I exercise, I have to eat more to stay at 1800 calories per day after burning off calories.

I read that if I eat less than 1800 calories per day, my body will stall out in losing weight. So I did calculations for the past few days and looks like I'm eating 1500 to 1600 calories per day. No wonder! I have 6 days left on the trial so will be using their food diary to really keep track.

So frustrated!

I did a sneak weigh in this morning and I think this week is going to be really bad. I'm so frustrated because I've done water aerobics twice. Dammit!

Friday Weigh In

I had some trouble logging into our blog yesterday so I am a day late.

My weigh in for Friday, July 2, was 212.8. All in all I'm pretty happy. It's been a crazy two weeks with a trip that included lots of yummy gulf shrimp. I just tried to focus on eating grilled seafood rather than fried. It was difficult because I do love some fried shrimp but I'm starting to really enjoy healthier options a lot more.

I did get a bad case of hypoglycemia when I got back. There were just too many days of not eating regularly I guess and I returned to a house without any groceries.

So on Monday I am going to start doing the water aerobics at the YMCA when Jackson does his swim lessons. It's mainly full of senior citizens but I have a friend that does it and I can still watch Jackson during his lessons while I'm in the pool next to him. I hope the old people don't kick my butt :)

Mariah Friday 7/2 weigh in

I'm sure if it wasn't for that huge (delicious) dinner last night it would have been even better. But I was happy to see that the scale did move down this week! Last week was 216.8 and this week is 216 even. I need to get my will power more in check.

Mariah's Weigh In

No shocker here... no weight lost this week. Doesn't help that I bought cookie dough and then proceeded to eat practically all the cookies.

Exercise has been pretty good this week. I think I'm at a plateau so I'll need to push myself "that" much harder.

Mariah Weigh In

Oh Katie.... you've had such a rough week. God Oreos are just one of those things that are so GOOD. Believe me, if they were on my counter right now I would be eating them and probably hiding them from the kids so that I could have them all to myself!

I am sore this morning. Like REALLY sore. Yesterday me and the kids went on a walk to get the mail. As we were walking back into the house, the shave ice truck was passing our house. So I bought Ry and Kai each a shave ice and buckled them into the strollers and parked them in the shade under the tree with Cruz and I first weeded, then mowed, then weed wacked, then pruned the hedges with these clipper things. I am in PAIN this morning!!! I did Zumba before bed. But I did have a bowl of butter pecan ice cream last night. I NEEDED it!!!

So this morning I weigh in at 216.2. I feel so good to be almost to that 215.8 I had a couple weeks ago. I can be there next week for sure (if I can keep up the good eating). It's so hard to resist treats because they are so yummy!

Love ya... you're going to do great this week!!!

Gained Three Pounds

Now we know exactly what a whole box of Oreos does to your body . . . makes you gain three f-ing pounds. I'm so disgusted.

I bought a bunch of healthy frozen meals yesterday so let's get started again.

one more day

This week I have been very diligent with my exercise. I've missed one day. Tonight I'll exercise again and tomorrow is weigh in. I feel like I'm an athlete preparing for weigh ins (is it wrestling that does this?). I feel like it's made a difference this week. I need to get down to 210 so I can get a pedicure.

WOW!

You look practically like a different person in those pictures. What a great job you have done losing weight already. You can really tell it in your face.

Yesterday I having some yummy Indian food with my friend Kara when I received a text from Graham that both boys had like a 102 temperature. It's been a rough night and day. In a moment of weakness and self pity I bough oreos which I have already eaten!!! And today I haven't been able to not hold a kid long enough to even make a shake.

God bless single moms and quasi-single moms like you. How do you handle to sick kids at once? So much respect for you.

Perspective

I was going through old photos on the computer. I was looking for pictures of Ryenne because I wanted to compare with pictures of Cruz. They are identical... only Ryenne was wearing girl onesies. It's really amazing.

Anyway, I came across some old pictures of me - before I was pregnant with Ryenne - and I was pretty amazed at how round my face was and how much more I weighed then. I guess it puts it into perspective for me and makes me feel like I have made progress - it's not happening as quickly as I'd like it to, but it IS happening.

Katie's Weigh In

I'm still hovering around the 210-211 mark. I've gained 0.6 pounds this past week although at my doctor's appointment this morning she said I had lost two pounds in the last two weeks. It goes to show you how different a pair of shoes or different clothes can make in your weight. That's why I strip down to nothing and weigh at the same time every Friday.

I completely understand about having a little sugar means you start craving it even more. It's such a drug! But I believe you get to give yourself some slack. Four years ago you went through childbirth (a c-section no less) so you deserve a little celebration for you too.

I had to order a swimsuit online because I just couldn't find anything in Target, etc. and it will hopefully arrive today. I'm looking forward to getting some exercise swimming this summer. I admire your dedication to exercise!

Let's both kick some booty this next week!

Mariah's Weigh In

Well I knew I had gained, but I didn't think it had been THAT much. A whole month of work down the drain in a week. I am grossed out at my body's desire to gain weight.

So this week I'll be being really careful about what kinds of food I put in my mouth. I also feel like my period is right around the corner - I wish it would just come already. I feel so bloated.

Last week: 215.8
This week: 219.0

Scurrrred

Oh boy... I am really nervous about tomorrow's weigh in. No doubt that I've gained. It's been a week full of things that I shouldn't eat. And the problem with things like cupcakes is that it just makes you crave MORE. I think the sugars have been out of control and my willpower has been zip, zilch, nada. So tomorrow we find out how much I have gained. And then I pull up my big girl boots and move on for a better week next week!

Good Future Ahead

Jackson had swim lessons this morning. I stayed to watch him and he had a great time. What's more exciting was the Hogan didn't get kicked out of the childcare today! After about twenty minutes I went to check on him and he had stopped crying and was playing with toys. He didn't look exactly happy but it's a start. I envision a day soon when Hogan is in the childcare, Jackson's at swim lessons, and I can jump on the treadmill for twenty minutes or so.

Yesterday I ate four times. Not super healthy food like pizza but still better on the metabolism. I love the Spiru-tein shakes. I have one a day and my mom got me this really simple smoothie blender from QVC. Very easy to clean.

weekend

Holy bad eating Batman! This weekend took the cake... literally! I've had cake three days in a row, pizza, tater tots... I feel like a bloated boat. Actually I did weigh myself today just for kicks and I'm up to 217.4 again. So I think I'm going to REALLY pay attention to my eating and exercise every night and see if I can make it back to 215 by weigh in Friday.

Isn't it funny how we can put on weight so dang fast and yet getting it off is so hard?

Mariah weigh in

Ok I nursed Cruz like normal this morning! The scale made me happy today! 215.8 - making progress!!!! Just over half way to the 210 mark. Makes me excited.

This weekend is a battle though. Yesterday friends brought over a cake for Ryenne since they can't make it to her party. I ate a piece. I dumped the cake after dinner. I just didn't want to keep picking at it. Today is her real birthday... so we're having tater tot casserole and pie for dinner. PLUS... Peter brought donuts this morning and I have had two and a half already! Then the party tomorrow.... pizza and cupcakes. Maybe I'll be so over the sweets I won't have a cupcake. And I think I'll order a veggie filled pizza too.

Katie, I'm so proud of you that you're trying to eat more often. It's going to speed up your metabolism! You and me are going to be some svelte mamas!

Weigh In

WTF? I lost! Down to 210.0. Not sure how I did that after my crazy week but I'll take it. Yesterday I ate four times which is a big improvement although my "dinner" was just breadsticks. Still trying to figure out some good protein but I'm such a carbaholic.

Having lots of milky is such a wonderful thing. I'm so happy Cruz is a healthy, full little boy. Now what are we going to do about our diet on Sunday?

Friday

Well, I'll have to do weigh in tomorrow. The kids woke up WAAAY earlier than normal and I was up with them and Cruz was still asleep and my boobs were so full of milk... sorry TMI... Hopefully tomorrow will be a more normal morning and I can nurse Cruz in bed and then weigh myself after all that milk has been drained. Weird how much weight it adds... he is a big drinker!

You're right - it *IS* hard!

You're so right girl. It's very hard to change habits that have been with us so long! I struggle everyday. And it makes it even harder when there's little kids around us eating yummy things like mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets, and such. My will power is getting tested every single day!

Definitely keep trying to eat more often. Snack all day long so your metabolism is constantly working to burn the energy.

Weigh in tomorrow. I'll be doing some yoga tonight.

Getting Healthy

Losing weight is certainly a large part of the plan to get healthy but I've spent the past week trying to get healthy in other ways. I was 211 last Friday but I'm afraid my weigh in tomorrow won't be so good.

Eating more often should be so easy. I know I need to. I feel I need to. But it's really hard to change your lifestyle. Yesterday I barely ate anything until dinner which we didn't even eat until almost 8pm because we were at a grill out for the homeless. I gorged myself on dinner and then went to sleep. I'm sure dinner has already been made into fat on my tummy!

I just didn't realize how hard it was to make changes. I have a new understanding for how hard it must be to quit smoking.

My love affair with ice cream

Good ice cream has to be one of my most favorite things on the planet. I have been avoiding buying it so it's not in the house and I can't attack it full force and have a half gallon gone in several days. Really my will power is THAT BAD when it comes to ice cream!

I went grocery shopping the other day and my fridge is so healthy and beautiful and I've been cooking a lot of good things. Went to Target yesterday and I completely caved. I now have a half gallon each of Begian Chocolate and Chocolate Peanut Butter sitting in my outside freezer.

Last night I did Zumba, got nice and sweaty, took a shower, and sat down with a bowl of ice cream. It was fabulous.

On another note, I've discovered a new website that has lots of recipes that I'm going to try. I've already done the black bean brownies. I want to do the carrot cake and olive rosemary cake next. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/amazing-black-bean-brownies-recipe.html
She does a lot with whole grains and tries not to use plain sugars. The brownies were EXCELLENT.

2 more days until weigh in. Hoping for more progress...

One step forward, two steps back

Ugh! I felt SO CLOSE to making more improvements this week. BUT... my plate is now overloaded with work and stress.

I took on waaay more work than I should have. I've taken on editing four weddings for a photographer friend, a child's album design, a 100 page wedding album, plus getting ready for Ryenne's party. PLUS, Kai boy is sick again with fever.

Day before yesterday I did a baking project with Ryenne and we made zucchini bread. It is SO GOOD. The kids are eating it up which makes me happy because it's packed with zucchini, but I'm also eating it and it's lots of carbs and very heavy. And I've been glued to my computer for hours after the kids go to bed and haven't had the time to do my exercise and I know my body is missing it. I think I just have to power through this work and then I can get back on track. I feel like I"ve gained 20 pounds in the last two days... ugh.

What's Up with Katie

Well I've had a strange week. I started feeling yucky early in the week. Dizzy, faint, nervous, shaking, hard to sleep, etc. It got really bad on Wednesday night and so I made a doctor's appointment for Friday. My doctor did blood work and we are investigating possible thyroid or diabetes issues. Another idea is that the Spiru-tein shakes could have something in it that's aggravating my anxiety. I go back on Tuesday morning for the results so we will see.

The good news is that I had lost ten pounds since my last doctor's visit a few months ago so she was happy. On the other hand that could be a sign of thyroid problems too. My heart rate has been high and my blood pressure a bit elevated for me. I'm anxious to hear the results.

The doctor did tell me that I have to exercise every day from now on like it's medicine. You can be my inspiration on exercise.

Last Night

Last night Peter said, "What should we have for dinner?" and I said, "A BIG CHEESEBURGER!!!"

So Peter went and got me a sourdough jack, fries, buttermilk sauce, and an eggroll (don't know why, but I love Jack's eggroll's!) It was all so delicious!

I did redeem myself a little bit by doing 10 chair sprints, 10 push ups, and 65 crunches before bed.

Friday Weigh In

YESSS!!!! I was so happy when I stepped on the scale this morning. Peter was there to see and he was happy for me. 217.4. I think this definitely puts me in a position to be at 216 next week. Feeling good about it.

Thursday

Katie I'm so excited for your parents! That is soooo wonderful!

Okay so you know what's been saving my booty when the kids and Peter are getting fast food? The frozen foods from Randall's. They have this line called Eating Right in the frozen section and the food is REALLY GOOD. And it's less expensive than Nutrisystem and it has veggies in it. Today I had shrimp alfredo with broccoli. Yesterday I had Turkey with cornbread stuffing and carrots. They're not something I have everyday, but I have several on hand in the freezer and they are really tasty and weren't too expensive. Stock a few of 'em and it will help you!

I ate really terrible Tuesday night when we went to Alamo Drafthouse... fried pickles with ranch dressing, french fries, and half a steak sandwich. It was all pretty tasty! I've been doing good the past couple of days. I had made a pan of black bean brownies - an experiment - and they were really good. They have lots of fiber so I've found myself needing just a little piece to get the sweet tooth in order but then am satisfied.

Tomorrow is weigh in. I've been exercising this week... hopefully it will have made a difference!!!

Tuesday

Tuesday started off great with a smoothie and then a granola bar. And then it all went dowhill. McDonald's for lunch and Whataburger for dinner. I was so sick of fast food that I barely touched the Whataburger. Last night I had terrible insomnia even after I took some sleeping medicine and I just felt like a basket of nerves. Yes, my life has been stressful lately but I am 90% sure it was due to my horrible food choices late in the day. When is it going to sink in enough that I have to eat right to feel right?

On a big positive note, my parents have started a diet! They are both very obese and have a bunch of health problems from it. Mom has lost 11 lbs. at last count and Dad 14 lbs. Dad just started Nutrisystem last week which I think it could be a really good fit for him. He's absolutely clueless about cooking or dieting so Nutrisystem takes the guessing game out of the picture. It's a fairly expensive program but he likes the taste of the food so far. Mom's thinking about going on it as well. They are both on Medicare now and their prescriptions cost them an absolute fortune so if a diet can help them take less medicine then it's worth it financially.

Weekend and Monday

OMG! You are to 218! That's so great. You're going to catch up with me soon.

Well it was a rough weekend with Hogan so sick. Luckily Jackson had a slumber party with Nana and Grandpa on Saturday when they went to see Shrek (his first movie). I was finally able to go buy a big thing of Spiru-tein on Saturday and have been having one a day so far. It's really good but not filling enough for me to be a meal replacement. I think I need to treat it more like a snack until I'm better used to eating less.

My eating the past couple of days hasn't been too bad considering EXCEPT for Taco Cabana twice. And when I go to Taco Cabana I buy a dozen tortillas. Nothing but white flour and lard but so, so yummy.

So far today I've had a Spiru-tein shake and some sushi. Tonight we are having a casserole I call "mexican mush". My sister-in-law gave me the recipe from Weight Watchers but I bought the full fat cheese so that will definitely add some calories.

Goal this week is to eat five times a day.

Weekend - Mariah

It's been a good weekend as far as watching what I'm eating and working out. I've done yoga and zumba and am feeling good. I am SO HOPING that I can move forward to 217 this week. PLEASE, PLEASE!

Sometimes this process feels SO SLOOOOOW.

Lost the milk weight!

I nursed Cruz before I got out of bed this morning and went and checked - 218.8 - I knew it! I knew I had gotten to the 218's! YAHOO!

This helps re-motivate me. I would just LOVE to hit 217 by next Friday. We'll see!

Friday Weigh In

I want to do another check tomorrow. I'm 219 exactly. BUT, Cruz had a weird night and didn't nurse before I woke up so my boobs are so crazy full of milk that I know it's making a difference and I KNOW that I hit the 218 mark because I kinda cheated and checked yesterday. So I'll hop on again tomorrow after I've nursed Cruz first thing in the morning. I just don't want to go check after I've eaten.

So my natural waist has shrunk a little bit - It's 38.5 this morning. BUT, the big area of flab in the front isn't going anywhere. It hasn't shrunk at all. Oh well.

Alright I'm gonna check the weight again in the morning.

Katie, I hope Hogan is feeling better! Poor thing!

Friday weigh In - Katie

210.6

Up 0.4 lbs. I've eaten so much fast food in the past couple of days that I'm shocked it's not more. I really am envious that you are feeling so good because I just feel like a sloth. I've got to get back on track.

Off to Hogan's doctor now.

The last few days

The kids have been sick and sleep was pretty slim pickins. No exercise. I have had some chocolate and my mom treated me to chocolate cake yesterday.

BUT... I am feeling really good and strong. Most of my food choices have all been really good and whenever I can I'll sprint up the stairs or drop and do a few pushups or swing the kids up in the air. Although it's not organized exercise, it's helping me to feel good.

The kids seem to be feeling better today. Perhaps we'll go outside and play.

Lately

Well I've just been trying to make it until Wednesday when we get paid so I can go and buy food. Right now I'm just eating what I can find around the house and the occasional cheap fast food. I'm looking forward to buying some Spiru-tein and meal planning in general.

I think my weight has been the same which is a good thing considering my period arrived yesterday. Last month I gained weight with my period so hopefully not this month.

No exercise lately.

Sorry!

I haven't been posting a whole lot! I've been eating pretty well - a few little things here and there that I shouldn't - buut mostly good. I've been lacking on the exercise though. Lately I have been SO TIRED I just go to bed. The kids haven't been sleeping very well.

Weigh In

Katie: 210.2

I think I actually lost 0.6 lbs. some how this week. Not sure how and maybe it's just because I'm hungry.

Looking forward to seeing you in a few minutes.

Rough Week

I was scared to step on the scale this morning. Luckily it hadn't gone up but unfortunately it hadn't gone down either - exactly the same as last week. But at this moment, I really couldn't care less!!

Eating-wise I think I've done okay - I did have pancakes with my mom and I did have cake on Mother's Day. Emotionally I've been on a whole new level this week and I guess it's a combination of hormones and I was out of spiru-tein for a few days - and it has so many vitamins and minerals that I think it threw me off when I didn't have it.

I haven't exercised much this week either. After the kids have been going to bed I've been sitting at my desk editing sessions or working on a wedding album that I've been procrastinating on. It's 100 pages and about 250 images and I'm on page 50. So halfway there...

Peter's tips have been really, really shitty this week and I'll be needing diapers and have no money to buy them or groceries. Luckily the freezer has things in it! I'll be getting creative I think for a few days. I even have cloth diapers if tips don't improve over the next couple of days!

Katie I am so sorry about Graham's job. It is so hard to be promised something and then have that person not follow through - especially when he's so deserving of the raise and bonus and spends so much time at work. I hope that something changes and either the President gives him what he deserves, or another really wonderful opportunity will present itself.

Selfishly, I am really, really happy that you guys live so close and that we've connected the way that we have. Please don't move away! I just wish that Ry and Jackson would go to the same elementary school... wouldn't that be the frosting on the cake?

Hopefully we will have a better week...

Crappy Stuff

I have no clue how my week is going to be weight loss wise. I certainly haven't felt healthy this week and I also haven't really cared.

We just found out that Graham did not get the raise that his boss had promised him. There's a lot of history to the story but basically Graham gets the highest reviews this VP gives and yet got less of a raise than average across the company. He didn't get into the bonus program like he was supposed to as well. I'm so upset! It's absolutely insulting.

I am loyal to a fault and when somebody I love is screwed over it upsets me to no end. Graham works sixty hour weeks and has meetings at nights during the week. He was responsible for half of this VP's total profit this last year and probably save the VP his job! He's been at the same company since graduating from college (1997) and it's like the VP knows Graham will never leave so he can dick him around. To make matters worse this VP is a personal friend of the family. My Dad gave him his first job out of college and I've known him since I was in middle school. He's just a cheap bastard who doesn't give a damn about the other person. It's all about HIS bottom line!

I am just so upset and not sure what our future holds. I don't want Graham to work there anymore but Graham loves his job (for the most part). Over the next couple of days we'll see how things pan out. He may go straight to the President of the company or just start looking for another job.

This move to Buda has been such a bad thing for us financially with the house and all. When I try to think of the good things about our move, you guys are the first thing that comes to mind.

Anyway, I'm sure I've gained a billion pounds this week.

Ugh!

Super busy. No money. Grocery store out of Spiru-tein. Not eating that well.

Bitchy Monday - Mariah

I am SO HORMONAL right now. All day... my face is covered in pimples. :( I am out of spiru-tein :(

Breakfast was cereal with bananas

Snack - half of Kai's english muffin with spagetti sauce

Lunch - Lean Cuisine sandwich with spinach

Dinner - scrambled eggs with veggies and toast

Cruz has grown out of all of his 3 month clothes and some of his 6 month. I went upstairs to the bin that has all Kai's too small clothes and pulled out the 6 month and 9 month jammies to try on Cruz. I started crying in the closet. Peter came and found me in the closet completely emotional and red faced. I don't know what's wrong with me... I just feel so... like NOT ME. Darn hormones!

My Mothers Day

Started with two cinnamon rolls. Lunch was BBQ chicken, beans and super yummy cupcakes. For dinner I had a shake and then some goldfish for a snack later that night. It could have been worse.

Now here's my problem for today. I have a meeting at a McDonalds!!! How on earth am I going to resist that?

Mama's Day

It was a rough one for me!!! The kids were being extra pills all day. I think I got some new grey hairs!

Breakfast was McDonald's - a surprise from Peter. For lunch I had a protein shake, and for dinner, I was so fried that I just sat down and enjoyed every bite - steak, baked potato, and mushrooms.

For dessert, we had picked up some slices of cake... I had chocolate, carrot, and tiramisu. It was so tasty and the perfect ending to my hectic day!!

Saturday - Mariah

Breakfast - protein shake

Snack - cheesy bread

Lunch - chicken poblano

Dinner - Pesto pasta (from our garden basil)

Late night snack - peanut butter sandwich and ovaltine milk

The last few days have been such a struggle! I haven't been sleeping well and I think my period is coming because I feel like a slug and want to eat carbs all day. We've been eating dinner pretty early - around 6pm so by 10-11 I am so hungry again! And I do my workout at about 8 - 8:30 so I feel all famished. I hope it's not hurting my diet too badly.

Today I did yoga for weight loss again and I really like it. It seems to really make me sweat and makes my muscles feel it, but it's so low impact. We should totally try it together!

Tomorrow I'm going to give myself a break - I am out of Spirutein so we'll see what I decide to have for breakfast. Probably cereal. Or maybe I'll see what my mom is up to.

Happy Mother's Day Katie! You are one beautiful mama! Love ya!

Saturday and Kick Start

Today I had breakfast tacos for breakfast and beef stroganoff for dinner. Neither are the best things in the world but I feel good about my moderation. BUT I also licked the bowl clean of cupcakes I'm making for Mother's Day. I can't help myself! I'm going to be easy of myself tomorrow since there are very few days that are just for us mamas.

And that brings me to Monday. I feel like I need a kick start again to the weight loss. I've lost and gained the same darn pound like three times already. I think getting some excercise really makes me focus on having a healthy body but I haven't had any real exercise since we did Zumba. I'm still having issues with Hogan being a velcro baby so exercising has been a bit complicated. That doesn't matter though. I need to find a solution because I am a better mama the healthier I am! So starting Monday I'm going to give myself a big pep talk and refocus on getting skinny. Any ideas on how I can mark this occasion?

I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day tomorrow. You are an amazing mama! Love you.

Friday - Mariah

Breakfast - protein shake! Banana Blueberry! Mmmmm

Snack - banana

Lunch - chef salad and half a bagel

Dinner - Chicken/Spinach/Avocado sandwich

Dessert - 4 Oreos

Exercise - today I just sprinted the stairs and wrestled with the kids. I was sore from yesterday!

Fri Weigh In

I guess it could be worse. I gained .2 pounds. I blame the late night snacks. That and the fact that I found a bag of oreos and have been sneaking them here and there.

Waist size did shrink a tad. Last week was 39.5 and this week is 39.25

Hopefully I can do better this week and hit the 218 mark!

Up Again

Well I gained a pound this week. Back up to 210.8. I guess it's a small victory considering that I had gained three pounds as off Monday. It's amazing what one bad weekend can do for you. I'm also learning that resisting sweets isn't the way to weight loss. Just because I refuse dessert doesn't mean I get to eat deviled eggs till my heart's content. Looking forward to getting back below the 210 mark.

Weight: 210.8

Total Lost: 6.2 lbs.

Thursday - Mariah

Morning was muffins with my princess! I had two. They were fabulous!

Lunch was with a cranky Cruz. I tried Chipotle for the first time. Ate half a chicken burrito. It was alright. I am just not a huge fan of Mexican food. But at least I tried it!

Dinner was a protein shake

I did Jillian Michael's level 1

Then had a bagel with cream cheese and molasses

Weigh in tomorrow. I feel I was kinda a slacker this week. We'll see.

Wednesday - Mariah

Breakie: Protein Shake

Lunch: bowl of cereal

Snack: Strawberries & Crackers

Dinner: Scrambled Eggs with veggies and potatoes

Snack: Peanut Butter Sandwich

Exercise: Yoga for weight loss

Good day today!!! But after yesterday I am hoping I didn't gain anything for Friday's weigh in. We'll see. Plus... I'm totally eating muffins at Ry's school tomorrow!

Tuesday - Mariah - CHEAT DAY!

Today was my cheat day. Mmmmmm.....

We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. PANCAKES!!!! I stuffed my face. I haven't had a pancake in a while. I'm talking all the butter, syrup, bacon... mmmmm.

That held me over for a while. So I did have a spiru-tein for lunch.

One of my favorite foods is Fettucine Alfredo. Seriously.... I could have bathed in it through each of my pregnancies... so I made some from scratch. But mine was fettucine linguine and I put parsley and thinly sliced zucchini it it. It was so good!

And 4 Oreo's. Good thing there weren't more than that or I would have downed an entire bag!!!

My linguine was so pretty I had to take a picture of it.

Monday - Mariah

Katie, it's just a couple of days and you can make up for it later. DO NOT WORRY! And did you weigh yourself first thing in the morning or was it during the day? Cause I always weigh more throughout the course of the day then I do when I first wake up.

So Monday... everything was snack sized

Spiru-tein shake for breakie
Lunch was a tiny portion of spaghetti
Snack was crackers
Dinner was leftover rice, broc, and turkey kielbasa
Snack - whole grain bagel

Exercise: 2 mile "walk"

CRAP

I weighed myself this morning and I've gained three pounds!!! I knew that this weekend was rough with the family in town but I expected to have only gained about one pound. I held myself back a good deal with the family so I'm a bit frustrated.

I'm afraid I'm to the point where weight loss gets tougher. The first few weeks are pretty easy to lose weight and now I'm going to have to try harder. Plus I really need to find a way to workout with Hogan around.

Drinking my Spiru-tein right now though so hopefully I can make up some ground in the next three days before our weigh in.

Sunday - Mariah

Breakfast - protein shake

Lunch - pesto on whole wheat pasta

Snack - Cheese & crackers

Dinner - turkey kielbasa & brocolli stir fry over brown rice

Dessert - teeny tiny ice cream cone

Snack - whole grain bread with strawberry cream cheese

Sunday Total

Breakfast - banana, Spiru-tein

Lunch - brisket, slice of white bread, a couple bites of potato salad, NO DESSERT

Dinner - two artichokes, goldfish

Late night snack - PB&J sandwich

Sunday so far

I finally found my tape measure to measure my waist size. It's a big 40". Yikes! Just more motivation to keep losing.

This morning I woke up and was tired so wasn't going to make myself breakie. Too busy tending to the needs of the kids but then I remembered that I have to eat for my own health. So I shared a banana with Hogan and had a Spiru-tein shake. The shake was vanilla and screamed for some frozen strawberries but was still quite good. Just a bit boring. I wish I had bought a fancier flavor to try with just the milk.

Off to the Salt Lick in about an hour. Hoping for a good rest of the day.

Saturday - Mariah

Katie, you can eat the Spiru-tein shake without adding extra fruit - it's still pretty good! But they should definitely help keep your blood sugar levels under control.

And GRAHAM! Holy moly... congratulations! That's so awesome!

Woke up and had my protein shake for breakfast followed by my iced coffee. Lunch was a turkey/spinach sandwhich on an english muffin. These are new english muffins.... whole wheat/flax and it was really good! I just ate the sandwich and it was kinda small so a few hours later I had a nutella sandwich with the kids on 7 grain bread. I had a photo shoot this afternoon so Peter was in charge of dinner - Dominos! I had a slice of pizza and a chicken/spinach sandwich.

Gosh... writing this all out I had a ton of sandwiches today! :) Grocery shopping tomorrow cause I'm almost out of almond milk and carrot juice and some other necessities.

Did Jillian Michael's Shred level 2 tonight. It kicked my butt!

Friday/Saturday

My grocery shopping was really successful. I bought a nice trailmix and some of the Spirutien. Problem is that I forgot to buy the fruit for the shakes!

Before I went to HEB I had only had a slice of bacon after a night before without a real supper. As I was putting the groceries into the car, I felt like I was going to through up. Monitoring my blood sugar is something I really, really have to get a hold of and quick. Both my parents have diabetes and I have anxiety issues. Having a steady stream of blood sugar instead of spikes makes me feel so much better. This really isn't a diet for us but rather a change in lifestyle!

So Friday, I had sushi and then we had shrimp linquini for dinner. It was yummy but I may have had a bit too much garlic bread. Wasn't totally stuffed though.

Saturday - MY FAMILY IS IN TOWN. This is never a good combination for weight loss as Peter just learned :) So far I have had a couple of deviled eggs, one artichokes, and two pieces of brownies. Tomorrow is the Salt Lick. Yikes. Hoping to minimize the damage and work hard this week.

And Graham's weight loss total is up to 8 lbs. Way to go hubby!

Mariah's Friday

Well I totally overate on Friday! But mostly I did good.

I started the day with a bowl of Fiber One cereal, which is actually pretty darn good! Then for lunch I had a protein shake and then after that things kinda slid a little bit.

I made the kids macaroni and cheese. And I seriously doctor the boxed mac into something pretty tasty and it is TOTALLY one of my weaknesses! Even though I wasn't hungry, I grabbed a kids plate and had a small serving. It was SO GOOD. It totally deserved it.

So then we went to Wal-Mart and we got bagels and cream cheese and bread and stuff and the bagels (cinammon) smelled yummy. They are mini bagels so I reasoned with myself that it was fine and had one before dinner.

Dinner was really good - spinach/parmesan burgers with onion rings. The only problem? I made them too big and of course I ate it all. My tummy kinda hurt.

We got the kids down by 8pm and I had such a rough night the night before that I just didn't have it in me to stay up and exercise. I went to bed... I think I was past the exhaustion point. Sadly, even though I went to bed early I had rough night again with the boys. Between Kai and Cruz, I saw the clock at 10, 11, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6!!! Here's to hoping for a nap today!!! And exercise too!

So Proud

I am so proud of you Mariah! Under 220 is such an accomplishment and you've been working your ass off (literally) to get there. You are an inspiration!

Friday Weigh In - Mariah

Way to lose Katie! So proud of you!

Me and Cruz had a rough night. I was soooo close to coming downstairs and snacking on something just because I was frustrated. But I didn't. Thank goodness cause my first dream came true this morning.

I am 219.4 - UNDER 220 pounds. I don't know how long it's been since I've been under 220 pounds. I wish I remembered what I weighed when Peter and I got married... maybe I'll have to dig out my dress to try it on.

Pre-pregnancy I was 238 pounds and I was at that weight for a very long time. It seems to have been the benchmark since that is what I weighed before Ryenne, Kai, and Cruz. Next goal? To get down to 210 (not in a week of course!)

My goal for next Friday is 218.

I took my waist measurment this morning and it's 39.5" - I hope I'm measuring correctly. It's hard to see under the boobs! hahahaha

Friday Weigh In - Katie

Weight: 209.6

Lost this week: 1.2 lbs.

Lost total: 7.4 lbs.

Well I am below 210 again thankfully! I could have done better this week, especially with eating more snacks, but I am still very happy with the loss.

Zumba was a LOT of fun. I really enjoyed how fast time went. If only I could figure out a solution to Hogan becoming such a velcro baby. I've checked the YMCA schedule and I'm going to try the Zumba classes on Monday and Wednesday morning but I have to wait until June when speech stars is on summer vacation.

Goal this week is to definitely do a better job of eating more meals per day. My goal is to eat four meals per day this week. Shows you just how bad I am about eating infrequently and then gorging myself.

I'll post measurements a bit later today. Go team!

Thursday - Mariah

Oy! I should have been better today since weigh in is tomorrow. Started out really good with my protein shake (strawberry/banana) but then I went to pick up my mom to go to Target and she pulled the, "I'm so hungry! Let's go to Cracker Barrel!" ... so off we went. I had one egg and a biscuit. It was tasty! Then we went to Target.

I had a lunch date with a photographer friend and we met at Chuy's. Chicken enchiladas, beans, and rice. I cleaned my plate!!! When I got home I felt SO LETHARGIC and gross. I don't even know how many calories I had consumed... eek! So I had a blueberry/strawberry/carrot protein shake for dinner. That was at about 5pm so I'm sure I'll need a snack before bed.

Got a new yoga DVD in the mail today. I think I'm gonna try it out. But it should be funny cause my balance is terrible!

Weds - Mariah

I'm starting to get monotonous with my morning protein shakes! This morning was a blueberry/banana one. :)

Snack was an iced coffee and did the 20 minute Zumba - did you have fun Katie? I always feel like such a Goober but it's fun!

Lunch - Lean Pocket Pizza

Dinner - Stewed Chicken with Veggies & Brown Rice

Late night snack - 1 whole grain slice of bread with peanut butter

I did the level 2 shred! i feel like I could be floating right now! haha

Monday & Tuesday - Mariah

Katie, carry around some raisins and almonds with you or carrot sticks to munch when you need a snack. It'll help!

Monday I had a protein shake for breakfast and then at lunch I caved and had mac salad and slice of pie for lunch. So it was another protein shake for dinner and "the Shred".

Today I had a protein shake for breakfast and then me and Peter and Cruz headed out to the Arboretum area for a photo shoot. After the shoot was done, I was "thisclose" to going to Cheesecake Factory, but 1) I had no $$ and 2) I already had a bad eat day on Sunday. So we came home and I had a Lean Cuisine sandwich with a tiny serving of mac salad and a glass of carrot juice. Dinner was basil scrambled eggs with turkey bacon and whole grain toast. Gonna pop in the "3 mile walk" in just a moment. I am REALLY hoping I can be at 220 or less on Friday.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Two slices of bacon

Brunch: Cinnamon rolls

Dinner: Whole wheat spaghetti and garlic bread

Ugh . . .

SNACKS!

Why can't I figure out how to eat more than twice a day? I'm starving now and dinner is still almost two hours away.

Sunday - Mariah

I was so proud of myself last night. I did the 45 minute long Zumba in preparation for today's bad eating. :)

Breakfast - coffee protein shake

Lunch - leftover pestogetti

Dinner - Kalua Pig & Cabbage, Spam Musubi, Potato & Mac Salad, and Chocolate/Haupia pie. It was mighty tasty!!!!

I had a photo shoot this morning that I jumped around a lot on so I'm giving myself the night off from exercise. Back at the healthy diet tomorrow!

Saturday - Mariah

Breakfast- bowl of Fiber One cereal w/coffee

Lunch - Banana/Blueberry Protein Shake (AWESOME!)

Snack - iced coffee with some bites of spaghetti

Dinner - Dominos chicken club sandwich (bad!)

Last night I did a 1 mile "walk" and tonight I might do something but I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm so tired!!!

Friday & Saturday - Katie

First, I am so proud of you M for your amazing week! I know how hard you worked including doing the Shred multiple times!!!

Friday - I didn't eat much in the morning and lunch because we hadn't gone to the store yet. I think I had a few pieces of bacon. But after the store, I had some sushi and made shrimp linguini and garlic bread. Super yummy!

Saturday - Pancakes for breakfast, leftover shrimp linguini for snack, and chicken picatta and brown rice for dinner. Lot of walking today as we went to three festivals.

We are so looking forward to tomorrow. I'd suggest we Shred before hand but Nicole would make us look so pathetic. :)

Friday - Mariah

Today was pretty mellow. I woke up with a stiff neck - I don't know if I did something to it during the workout or if I just slept on it funny. But it was a little challenging playing with the kids today.

Breakfast - protein shake

Lunch - leftover prosciutto chicken, saffron rice, and sweet potato

Snack - a piece of banana peanut butter pie (bad!)

Dinner - Pestogetti

I really, really wanted to make pesto but the kids won't eat it since they like their red sauce. So I just mixed it all together with whole weat pasta, mushrooms, onions, beef, zucchini and garlic. It was really, really good!

Before bedtime snack: piece of chocolate and slice of bread with peanut butter

I need to be really good tomorrow cause Sunday is really gonna be fun to eat!

friday weigh in

221.2 this morning!!! yesssssssss!!!!!

This was just what I needed after gaining last week. Katie, so far we've both gained on our period!!! Dang aunt flo!!!

Katie's Weigh In

Well I guess I got cocky last week and felt as though I could slack because I gained one pound. Honestly, I knew it was coming. I could just feel that I was unhealthy this week. I kept giving myself an excuse because my period came but now I feel guilty. Back to the healthy grind.

Weight: 210.8

Gained 1.0 pound.

Total lost: 6.2 pounds

Thursday - Mariah

Good day today!!!

Protein shake for breakfast

Chicken-Artichoke-Avocado Sandwich with crackers and a glass of carrot juice and a glass of kefir for lunch

For dinner I had an "eating right" frozen meal - Chicken Poblano and it was SO GOOD. Then I got the kids to bed and did the shred DVD.

But we ate dinner early at 6pm and by 10pm I was hungry again so I had a little bowl of cereal to tide me over.

Hopefully this week will show some progress on the scale tomorrow!!!

Weds - Mariah

Breakfast - protein shake

Lunch - Turkey w/cornbread stuffing

Snack - banana

Dinner - prosciutto chicken (thanks for Jamie Oliver recipe!) with sweet potatoes and spinach & mushrooms

Dessert - chocolate & skinny cow ice cream bar

I was so excited to make this gourmet dinner for everyone tonight. It tasted SO GOOD. But apparently I was the only one in love. Ryenne liked her sweet potatoes only. Kai didn't want anything and ate yogurt instead. I gave Peter his beautiful plate of food and he said, "You didn't make rice?"

Exercise - none

So Behind!

Where have the past couple of days gone??? And where is my memory? I can barely remember what I've eaten lately. Here's what I do remember:

Monday - Pancakes, steak, green beans, rice AND 30 minutes on the treadmill

Tuesday - My best friend's birthday so the boys and I went up to Austin after school. The boys stayed with Nana and Grandpa while I went to Trudy's for drinks and appetizers. Two margaritas and some yummy, fried egg roll like tex-mex dish. I didn't eat all the fried things but I drank every last sip of the margaritas and they were fabulous!!! When we got home the boys and I had a big dance party to Glee and I'm actually sore from it. My kids have moves!

I can't wait to try the Zumba videos with you. I know we will look so silly but that's what girlfriends are for :)

Today is pay day so we'll be headed to the store. I better get started on planning what healthy dishes we will be eating.

Tuesday - Mariah

CHEAT DAY TODAY!!!!

My mom and I had some errands to run and the bank took a loooong time so we went to "breaklunch" at Marie Callenders. I had an egg scramble with bacon, sausage, gravy, hashbrowns, cheese, AND pancakes. YUMMMM!!!

Afternoon snack of Sonic onion rings :)

Dinner was a Domino's Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich that I added spinach and avocado to. Delish!!!

I did a 45 minute Zumba cardio workout tonight. I felt so silly. Big fat girl doing hip thrusts. LMAO.... looked ridiculous but I had fun!

Monday - Mariah

I almost forgot what day of the week it was... It's like I'm in a time warp since I don't leave the house much!

Breakfast was a strawberry banana protein shake followed by my iced coffee about half an hour later.

Lunch was SO GOOD. I had a Lean Cuisine chicken club sandwich but I added a boatlaod of spinach and avocado to it. Seriously tasty. And I cut open a ripe cantaloupe and me and the kids totally ate it all. It was sweet like candy! I also had a few bites of Kai's leftover cheese pizza.

I also went on a Newflower Market run to get more Spiru-tein. I used the last packet today...

Dinner was really tasty. I sauteed up some cubed chicken breast with onions, mushroom, garlic, and spinach and put a can of cream of mushroom soup. Served it over brown rice with mixed veggies. And we ate the other half of the cantaloupe.

Dessert was chocolate. I am just a chocolate fiend!!!

Exercise:

I did the Zumba 20 minute workout while Kai and Cruz were napping this morning. It went by really fast and it was fun. The moves are a little complicated so it takes a moment to absorb what they're doing but it's fun. Lots of hip movement - reminds me of dancing hula. :)

When the kids went to sleep me and Peter did the Jillian Michaels shred DVD. I almost died. But I got through it! I'm feeling strong! Hopefully I can re-lose that two pounds I gained last week ;)

Inspiration

Ever go shopping and wish "Oh man... I wish I could wear that..." ?? I do all the time. Here's a little inspiration for me.

Sunday - Mariah

I was stumped on what to have for breakfast... I am out of my fave raisin bran and had only one more spirutein packet... so i had whole grain toast and coffee.

for lunch i tried this other protein powder that i got a packet of. holy moly it was nasty! but i downed it anyway and it held me over for a few hours.

**just put the baby down so I can actually type!**

When I started getting hungry again I got a piece of oat bran bread and put peanut butter and honey on it. It was AWESOME.

Dinner was chicken apritada - a filipino dish - it's tomato based and it is SO GOOD. We had it at Sherwin's house. I wanted to lick my bowl.

Dessert was a chocolate chip cookie and two sugar cookies. I couldn't resist!

Exercise: Peter and I did a one mile "walk" with weights and it was the perfect thing after the booty kicking we got yesterday. The Zumba came in today and I was going to try the 20 minute workout, but Cruz got mad at me 8 minutes in. Just in the 8 minutes though... WOW. Good workout. Hard but fun. Let's try it together one of these days!

Spiru-tein - it's at Newflower or Central Market (haven't checked HEB). I got it because I could try different flavors in individual packets first. By far the best protein shake I have ever tried. It tastes like you're cheating and having a milk shake. I put it in the blender with almond milk and sometimes fruit.

Saturday-Katie

I had McDonalds for breakie too!!! Graham and Jack went to the store to buy stuff to make waffles but by the time he got home he had a fever and went straight to bed for the whole day. I had to go to Walgreens to get meds and buy a thermometer and then Jackson said he wanted McDonalds. I was weak but the sausage biscuit sure was yummy!

Since we didn't have breakfast until so late, no lunch. For dinner I had sushi while the boys had Whataburger. I'm proud that I didn't succumb to the french fry temptation.

So this protein shake sounds interesting. I'm always looking for something fast in the morning. Where do you buy it?

On another note, Graham woke up with no fever and feeling much better this morning. Still exhausted but it looks like it was only a 24 hour flu. Thank goodness because taking care of three needy boys is hard!

Saturday - Mariah

Peter brought home a special treat... McDonalds! I had a sausage mcmuffin and a hash brown. But I didn't have any soda and I made my own coffee cause I know their iced coffees are loaded with sugar. So I started the day off kinda badly but I recouped myself.

Lunch was a protein shake - I have discovered Spiru-tein protein shakes and they are SO GOOD. Every flavor I've tried has been really excellent. And if I mix in some fruit in the blender then it's even better!

Snack was a bite of chocolate, a ginger snap cookie, and triscuit's with laughing cow cheese.

Dinner was baked chicken breast with saffron rice and sweet potatoes.

We started a new bedtime routine tonight and I hope it sticks. Ryenne has to go to bed at the same time as Kai. And tonight she did! So Peter and I were feeling strong and did the Jillian Michae's shred DVD. I tripled up my bras and I got through it! I'm sure I'll be "feeling it" tomorrow.

On a side note... I hope Graham gets to feeling better Katie. Sorry he's not feeling well. And I just went back and read your weigh in post and you passed a HUGE milestone my friend!!! You are now BELOW 210 and I am SO SUPER PROUD OF YOU!!!!

Katie's Friday

Good job on your Friday M! Yesterday I had a big night . . . my first tex-mex restaurant since we started this challenge. It was heavenly to have some good cheese enchiladas and I didn't just stuff myself silly. For breakfast I had two slices of bacon and a strawberry yogurt. Lunch was pesto pasta but I forgot the spinach :(

Saturday's plans are Daddy's special waffles for brunch. Steaks and cauliflower risotto for dinner.

Mariah Friday

Friday was great!!! I started the day with a protein shake, had some wheat thins for snack. For lunch I tried the Healthy Request Lobster Ravioli. Ugh. Don't even bother with that one. It was pretty gross. I didn't eat the ravioli but instead ate the sauce with zucchini. Then since that wore off pretty quick I had a big juicy apple for snack with some triscuit and brown cow cheese on top. Dinner was "breakfast". I had whole grain toast with scrambled eggs that had turkey sausage, spinach, zucchini, basil, and cheese. It was delish! Treat was two ginger snap cookies and a bite of chocolate. I really felt good afterward.

ugh!!! - Mariah

Friday weigh in:
224.4!!!

A GAIN of 2.2 pounds. This is what loads of sugar & white flour does to my body... eek! I'm dedicated again this week!!!

Week 4 Weigh In - Katie

Weight: 209.8

Total lost this week: 1.8

Total lost: 7.2

I'm very happy with my weight loss this week. Woo hoo!

Weds & Thurs - Mariah

Oh boy! I've fallen off the wagon big time! This has just been quite the week!

I've made some good food choices, but lots of bad ones too. I'm expecting the scale to not be so kind tomorrow morning.

So... I've started bleeding again and I think that I jilted my uterus last week and perhaps it's not done healing. Then I started getting dizzy spells yesterday around the same time I started bleeding, so I'll ask the midwife about it tomorrow at my 6 week check up. Aside from the walk I did with you Katie, I haven't done much exercise this week.

I also made the mistake of baking a batch of homeade chocolate chip cookies with Ryenne. I thought it would be a good project. BUT... I have not been able to control myself. I go into the kitchen, I grab a cookie. I get a drink of water, I get a cookie. I do the dishes, I get a cookie. You get the idea. And while I don't feel good doing it, I KEEP DOING IT. It's like the sugar makes me want more and more sugar! And my friend Nikki came for a visit today and brought double Sonic cheeseburgers. And of course I ate it... the whole thing!

So after I weigh myself tomorrow morning, I am going to start cleansing the sugars out of my body by not consuming more sugar (cookies!). Maybe get a fruit protein shake going in the morning!! I am still going to be really easy on the exercise front until I stop having dizzy spells and the midwife says it's ok.

Mariah's Tuesday

We started the day with Peter dropping off the kids at school while I nursed Cruz at home. He came back, picked us up, and Cruz fell into a nice sleep while Peter and I had a date at Cracker Barrel!

Since it was Tuesday, I went all out... biscuits, gravy, bacon & eggs. It was soooo tasty! It also lasted me throughout the day!

Dinner was Macaroni & Cheese casserole. It was really good and I ate too much. While I was on a roll of eating WAAAY too much, I also ate a chocolate bunny. The whole thing. But it WAS Tuesday... my cheat day!

Exercise: running around chasing the kids and holding up Cruz in his pod (for photography) which really worked my arms!

Monday

I am officially a gourmet chef!!!!! The shrimp linguini was amazing. Graham was very impressed. The big secret is that it might just be the easiest recipe I've made in six months. I won't let Graham in on that secret :)

Yesterday I had sushi for lunch. No breakfast and no snacking.

Exercise: I went to the Y to work out yesterday and only got ten minutes in on the treadmill before they brought me Hogan. He wouldn't stop crying in the nursery so they kicked him out. Not sure what I'm going to do but I'm super bummed about this. Maybe have his brother stay in his nursery one day instead of going to the 4+ room.

Week Four - Mon - Mariah

Oh Katie shrimp and linguine sounds awesome!!!

I too had Wendy's over the weekend. Fish sammy WITH cheese. It was delicious!

Today I started out with a bowl of raisin bran and coffee.

Lunch was cheese pizza with basil and I probably had one slice too many.

We stopped by Likkity's frozen custard for snack. Not a good choice but it was really good and I didn't eat the entire thing.

Dinner was shoyu chicken (soy sauce) with brown rice and veggies. It was really tasty and pretty darn healthy.

Treats: Chocolate squares :)

It was a MUCH better day today!

Katie's Week Four Weekend

First of all, it is 100% okay for you to have had a rough weekend Mariah. I would have eaten at least two dozen flour tortillas and probably two tubs of chocolate ice cream. You've been so great about watching what you eat that I'm sure you will be able to get back on track soon.

My weekend was pretty good. Saturday lunch was Wendys which I'm not proud of. I had a 10am meeting in Buda and then an noon meeting in San Marcos. In those rushed situations my fast food willpower goes down the drain. Yesterday, we had bagels and just simple sandwhiches for dinner. I helped my sweet tooth by eating some strawberry yogurt.

This morning we went to HEB and spent $165. How can I possibly continue to afford groceries? If only we can get Hogan off expensive formula that would help greatly.

Tonight I'm trying a new recipe of shrimp and linguini. Wish me luck!

Week Four - Sat & Sun - Mariah

OH WHAT AN EFFING WEEKEND!!!

My mastitis is back and hurting. Antibiotics haven't kicked in all the way yet. And with Peter's work situation up in the air... it wasn't a good eating weekend. I was totally stress eating. There were lots of good choices but a few bad ones as well so I'm not going to list anything. My brain is fried and I can't even remember all the things I ate! haha

Friday-Katie

I can barely write this as I am so SORE from yoga yesterday. Gentle yoga my a**!

Breakfast - oatmeal and soy milk

Lunch - mac and cheese

Dinner - whole wheat spaghetti

Snack (can't remember when) - goldfish

Week Four - Friday - Mariah

Oh my! I am SORE after that workout yesterday!!!

Breakfast: Raisin Bran with a banana & coffee

Lunch: Whole grain cheese pizza with fresh basil on top

Snack: Two Choxie Chocolate pieces, handful of wheat thins & hummus

Dinner: Loco Moco (hamburger patty with brown gravy and fried egg over rice)

Snack: Carrot Juice

Dinner choice wasn't such a good one, but we were at my moms house and it was for dinner!

Exercise: playing choo choo train in the backyard (will do the kick butt workout again tomorrow!)

I forgot to post my goal for this week - I'd like to lose 1 - 2 more pounds.

Week Three - Friday morning weigh in - Mariah

222.1!!

So I'm going to count it as a full pound lost. hehehe
Total lost: 7lbs

I was really expecting to see more than one pound gone though. I really FEEL like there's been a change in my body this week. Especially in my thighs (not rubbing together quite as much).

My body is in major pain after the shred workout yesterday. My legs are on fire! Kai dropped his plug and I squatted down to pick it up and almost yiped!

Week 4 starts tomorrow! We can do it Katie!!!

ps) I am a carb addict too.

It's Friday

Katie's Weigh In

Weight: 211.6

Total lost this week: 1.0

Total lost: 5.4

I'm so mad at myself because I had lost even more weight this week and then gained about a pound just yesterday! Yes, it's very exciting that I've hit the five pound mark and we can get our pedicures but I could have done so much better. That loaf of garlic bread last night did me in. Now that I am at the old age of 30 I need to accept the fact that I have no willpower when it comes to carbs and just stop buying them.

Today I will be eating oatmeal for breakfast, probably shells and cheese for lunch (or some other leftovers) and then whole wheat spaghetti for dinner. I'm also going to go to yoga at the Y this morning. It's no Shred DVD but I think it will be fun.

Hope your week was better than mine!

Week Three - Thurs - Mariah

Breakfast - Bad, Bad, Bad! Sausage McMuffin with Hash Brown

Lunch - Protein Shake with fruit

Snack - Wheat Thins

Dinner - Brocolli Pasta with a piece of whole grain bread

Snack - macadamia nuts

Exercise - Jillian Michae's "Shred" DVD - OMG I wanted to DIE!!! But I got through it. Weigh in tomorrow!

Past Couple of Days

How did the talk with Peter go about the RN? I knew you mentioned he was a nurse before but I thought he didn't like it.

Tuesday night I had what is probably the most romantic dinner I've had in the past four years. No Graham wasn't my date as he had a meeting but Jackson was. Hogan was in his swing asleep so Jackson and I made our fancy salad together. Jack really did lots of the work. Then he set the table (the coffee table) up for the two of us. We sat on the table and he brought he DVD player over for us to watch Toy Story 2 together. He insisted upon us touching at all times. He was just so excited about it and it was really sweet to have had this moment with him.

Wednesday morning I was having all this crazy anxiety and stuff. Part of the reason, I think, was that I was hungry. I didn't eat breakfast and my dinner from the night before was pretty light. Letting myself get hungry is one of my biggest problems as my will power is blown. I ended up eating two cinnamon rolls from the gas station. Really fancy!

Today I have been super sluggish and we haven't had much food in the house until our after school HEB run. Maybe a coincidence? For dinner we will be having oven roasted chicken, mac and cheese, and garlic bread. It's definitely been a moment of weakness for me that I bought the garlic bread. Hopefully I will be able to show some restraint rather than eating the whole darn loaf myself. The mac and cheese I bought was Graham's favorite but not mine so I think I will be able to resist it much better. But bread is like a lover to me . . .

Exercise: None but I'm excited to hear about your DVDs. I want to come over one day and we can throw the kids in the playroom and do one together. I'm really interested in the Zumba as they have that class at the YMCA.

week Three - Weds - Mariah

Breakfast - raisin bran & coffee

Lunch - small bowl of leftover pasta

Snack - chocolate square, wheat thins

Dinner - Brown fried rice w/turkey bacon, sausage, onion, mushrooms, peas, carrots, spinach & egg

Dessert - strawberries & grapes w/Cool Whip

Exercise - 2 mile walk

Week Three - Tuesday - Mariah

Cruz didn't sleep so good last night so I've been tired and lethargic all day!

Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs with cheese and tater tots (bad!)

Snack - Dark chocolate square

Lunch - Peanut Butter sandwich on whole grain bread & carrot sticks

Snack - Wheat thins

Dinner - Pasta with chicken and prosciutto - this had quite a bit of cheese. I'm thinking it's not so good for me - it was really tasty! But it was a gift casserole and thus I couldn't turn it down!

Exercise - none

Mariah's "before" pictures

Here I am doing what I normally do... Hiding myself behind the kids.



Me and my mom. She's about the size I'd love to be (but she thinks she's overweight!)

Week Three - Monday - Mariah

Katie, I think you're beautiful in your before pictures! I'm so proud of you for going to the gym!! I'll be doing more "gym" type stuff at home :)

So last night I did a 1 mile "walk" with my DVD. It was just what I needed because my body was a little sore from the tahitian cardio workout that I did.

Started out the morning with a small bowl of raisin bran. Kai stole most of my raisins. And this is so bad but I snuck in a Reeses peanut butter cup. Tsk tsk.

For lunch I had a lean cuisine carbonara pasta. It was ok. I took a bite of the kids' mac-n-cheese too.

I had a really yummy apple for snack and some swigs of Kefir.

Dinner was brown rice with chili. I had a small portion because the fat content of the chili was pretty high.

Treat: some dark chocolate bunny and then... *sigh* I snuck in another dang peanut butter cup. At least there's no more in the house! NO WILL POWER!

And now it's 10pm and I was hungry again. I ate a tortilla with peanut butter and honey on it. I think it would have been a better choice if I had whole grain bread. I think I need to get some whole grain tortillas. Add that to the list!

I also ordered the Zumba DVD's so I can do them at home when the babies are sleeping. And I have a Jillian Michael's "Shred" DVD coming on Netflix so I can try it out. My cousin swears by that one. She started at 247 and she's 198 now.

On a more personal note, I am trying to convince Peter to go back to school to get his RN. We just really need the money to plan for our future and the kids' future. Did you know he's an LVN? He just hasn't worked as a nurse since 2002. So I'm hoping that I can convince him - wish me luck!

Tuesday is technically my "cheat" day, but since I was so bad on Easter I think I'll eat healthy on Tuesday this week. While the kids are in school, Peter and I are going to try to put together some of the new swing set!!

I'm off to do some pushups - hopefully I can do 30 today. I started out being able to do FIVE.

Big Step

Today I took a big step on my way to a healthier life . . . I went to the gym!!! After I dropped off Jack at his tumbling class I spent 25 minutes on the treadmill. Next time I will learn how to coordinate our schedules better so I can get a longer workout in. They have a Zumba class offered at the same time that I'm excited to try out based on Mariah's review.

Before Pictures

These were the before pictures that really shocked me taken at the Hays County Democratic Party County Convention. I just can't believe that I was up there speaking to hundreds of people this overweight. It has just snuck up on me something horribly.

Easter Weekend

I'm feeling okay this morning about Easter weekend. Yes, I ate some non-diet stuff but I didn't stuff myself so full that I felt like I couldn't move which is what I normally do on holidays.

What I want to know is when did Easter start having as much candy as Halloween???? The Easter Bunny brings one gift to each of our boys in their basket in the morning (Toy Story DVD and an Elmo) but the eggs . . . oh the eggs are filled with so much candy. And my sister's family doesn't do gifts in their baskets they do those impossible to resist chocolate bunnies. Of course, my little niece is such a sweet little girl that she kept offering to share her bunny with me. I can't resist her! We also celebrated my middle nieces 13th birthday with a decadent chocolate cake. I had a piece but didn't finish it all.

So here's my weekend highlights:

Saturday - one blueberry muffin, Sonic (boo000), and chicken picata with brown rice and garlic bread. Now that I'm writing about it Saturday was a pretty unhealthy day.

Sunday - one blueberry muffin, boiled shrimp, raw veggies, ham, twice baked potato, broccoli casserole, chocolate cake, mac and cheese, and Easter candy. I know it sounds like a lot but my portion control was pretty good today. Lots of tasting.

Tonight we are having pasta with pesto and baby spinach. I'm sure Graham will need his meat but we brought home lots of ham from yesterday so he can just get himself a slice of ham.

I've got to finish that last 0.6 lbs. for my pedicure this week (plus more)!!!

Week Three - Sunday - Mariah

Happy Easter!!!

We started this morning with Apple Cinnamon pancakes with butter, sugar, and cinnamon on top. They were delicious. And REAL butter. Mmmmm

Lunch was cheese pizza with whole grain crust, carrot sticks, and grapes.

Dinner was fantastic! Deep fried scallops, green beans, toast, and a chocolate mousse dessert. My mom forgot to make rice, so we made toast as a last minute "filler".

Exercise - bucket loads of laundry, chasing the kids, and hopefully some stair sprinting later when everyone's asleep. :)

Week Three - Saturday - Mariah

The beginning of WEEK 3 for us! Yahoo!!

I had a little bowl of raisin bran for breakfast. BUT, Peter brought home donuts. Grrrr. I ate a cream filled one. I savoured it. hehehe

Lunch - Lean Cuisine chicken & artichoke sandwich (salty! but tasty)
Snack - Apples and two chocolate squares
Dinner - vegetable mac & cheese and Parmesan chicken
Dessert - strawberries & blueberries with cool whip and two chocolate squares

Exercise - 30 minutes of tahitian cardio (kicked my butt) and 20 push ups

Tomorrow I will be getting in exercise but I am totally pigging out!

Friday - Week Two - Mariah

I was so happy with my weigh in Friday morning! I had to check twice actually. Yippee!

I started the day with my raisin bran and coffee
snack was an apple
lunch was lean cuisine chicken marsala. It was good but a bit salty!
snack was wheat thins
dinner was leftover spaghetti
treat - two chocolate squares

I was really bad and had a late night snack of peanut butter & honey sandwhich!

I rough-housed with the kids a lot and they really wore me out. I did three loads of laundry and ran the stairs 4 times. When Peter woke up I took Cruz and me and my mom got a haircut. It was nice to get out of the house, but Cruz was a cranky pants the entire time!

My goal for week 3 is to lose 2 more pounds. I would love to say goodbye to the "220's" in the next couple of weeks.

CONGRATULATIONS KATIE! I am soooo proud of you. It's so awesome we're doing this together!

Katie's Weigh In

Weight: 212.6

Total lost this week: 2.4

Total lost: 4.4

Woohoo! I had some bad days this week so I am so happy that I still lost weight. It's scary to think how badly I was eating. Only 0.6 lbs. until I get a pedicure!

Next week's goal: no eating out for dinner.

Mariah, I am so proud of you. Four pounds in one week is amazing! You are inspiring.

Week Two - Friday morning weigh in - Mariah

I got a digital scale yesterday. I stepped on it this morning... 223.2!!

Four pounds lost this week! YAY!

Total of 6 pounds so far.

Is it pedicure time???

Mariah- week two - Thursday

The day started off really well! Oatmeal and carrot juice. Then lunch and I had a lean cuisine butternut squash ravioli (YUM) and then it just kinda went downhill. I munched some chocolate and then had a bread craving. So I had toast. And then I had 15 wheat thins. And then chocolate milk.Then for dinner I had fresh basil scrambled eggs with spinach, leftover pesto pasta, AND two pieces of toast. Then about 10 macadamia nuts and two more squares of chocolate. I am craving salty and sweet and ice cream REALLY BAD!!!

Tomorrow is weigh in! Scurred!

Mariah's Weds

Another not so hot night. I think there will be some really rough nights ahead with these small monkeys!!

At 5am I had a swig of carrot juice and the last piece of banana bread

9am - four bites of yogurt with strawberries & blueberries and then Ryenne stole it so I took a bite of her cinammon toast for revenge (she got mad)

snack - 6 mini puffed rice cakes (caramel!)

noon - picked a few bites of Kai's stew that my mom in law made - 4 chunks of beef and several little carrots

snack - 6 triscuits with laughing cow cheese and a big helping of grapes

dinner - whole wheat pasta with pesto and a dinner roll

treat - 2 squares of dark chocolate

Note: It had been a few years since I tried whole wheat pasta. Last I tried it was very chewy and not so hot. I tried it again for tonights dinner and it was REALLY good. So I'll be making the switch permanently now!

Katie: I've always wanted to try Red Lobster! And Olive Garden too. And since we've moved here I got to try Macaroni Grill (LOVE), Mimi's Cafe (LOVE), and the most recent indulgence... Cheesecake Factory (LOVE LOVE). I'll have to save those for cheat days.

Speaking of cheat day... my cheat day is TUESDAY. The kids go to school and it's Peter's day off. So maybe every now and then we'll be able to sneak in a lunch date with Cruz.

Wednesday

Morning - two donuts (I know!)

Afternoon - nothing

Dinner - Subway sandwhich

So I caved into the donuts at Jackson's speech stars but I think I made up for it the rest of the day.

Red Lobster, Ugh!

We went to see Nana and Grandpa tonight because Daddy was at a meeting and they took us to Red Lobster. In general, seafood can be a pretty healthy choice but I did a lot of dipping into my lemon butter sauce and I had two fabulous dinner rolls. I wish I had looked up the nutrition info online first because I think I could have made a tweak or two to my order and saved me lots of calories while still have a scrumptious meal.

I had a good day otherwise so hopefully my indulgent dinner won't ruin my whole week.

M- I've been thinking just how hard it must be for your body to lose weight when it's not getting much sleep and you are already losing weight! Be easy on yourself. You are working so hard!

As for last night's dinner (parmesan chicken with prosciutto) it was quite yummy. I would probably only do two slices of prosciutto per chicken breast or use a little less parmesan to make it even healthier but all in all a big hit. Super moist and lots of flavors. We had pasta with pesto and spinach instead of the brown rice.

Mariah's Tuesday

Katie I forgot to ask you how that recipe came out!!! I can't wait to try it out.

This morning was a little rough. Kai didn't sleep well cause he has a cold and Cruz caught it and didn't sleep well either. Plus, Grandma and Papa left this morning at 6am so I got a grand total of 3 hours of sleep. When Peter took them to the airport, I told him, "PLEASE bring me back breakfast! McDonalds is OK"

So he brought back a sausage mcmuffin and hash brown. I took a bite and I dont know... maybe the oil was weird but it just didn't taste good. I ate a few bites and then just couldn't finish. I really WANTED to finish it but the taste was off. So I drank some carrot juice instead.

Snack: 10 Macadamia Nuts & banana bread

Lunch: bowl of raisin bran with a cut up banana

Snack: toast with cinammon and butter (yeah not a good choice!)

Dinner: Meatless spaghetti with spinach and zucchini

Exercise: DVD Walking away the pounds 2 mile walk

Monday

I got sleep this morning! This is Marissa & Eugene's last day with us. I am going to miss being able to hand off kids and take a rest.

I had raisin bran with a banana and coffee as my "brunch" (it was 11am)

at 3pm I had a teeny tiny bowl of rice with pork and peas

dinner was a bit of rice and pot roast with a glass of kefir.

I don't feel that I did really well today. I also had a large piece of banana bread with butter on it. tsk tsk.

No exercise today aside from cleaning in the backyard and chasing Kai and going on a walk with him. I think the sun drained me of all my energy.

Yesterday I tried to be really good and avoid carbs. Major backfire. I had a huge garden salad with some steak. Cruz got really gassy and I was starving at 11pm and needed to have toast!

Dinner Tonight

I'm embarking on a new recipe tonight. Parmesan chicken with prosciutto. I think I'll serve with brown rice and it's always a big hit in my house. I realize that prosciutto may not be the healthiest thing in the world but I still think this recipe is much healthier than what we would normally eat for dinner. Click here for the recipe.

One thing I love about the two of us doing this together is that our goals are very similar. We want to be healthy and our families to be healthy. Of course we want to lose lots of weight but we aren't interested in starving ourselves to be a size four.

I also had a great moment this morning at HEB. We were in the produce aisle and Jackson spotted raw broccoli and ranch dip. He got all excited so I bought some immediately of course. We've only been home for thirty minutes and he's already eaten all the broccoli! I never would have thought to buy that for him but he eats it at school. Just another reason I love MUMC CDC.

And I finally bought a digital scale. My weight according to it is 215.6 lbs. so I'll be using those numbers for weigh in on Friday.

Weigh In and In Laws

Well I forgot that Fridays were our weigh in day. The good news is I weighed in this morning and I've lost two pounds!!!

All this after my visit to the in-laws which was not very good diet wise. It was a great visit other than that. I tried to do my best but it was hard eating on the road and then my father-in-law is quite the cook. Some things I ate this weekend: mashed potatoes, pork ribs, chicken wings, ice cream, bacon, biscuits. How I managed to not pack on two more pounds I don't know. Maybe it just shows how poorly I've been eating!

But now we're back home. The only obstacle I have this week is Easter on Sunday. It's going to be tough but if I'm good all week I should be able to enjoy Easter and still lose weight.

Weigh In: 215 lbs. (lost 2 lbs.)

Next weigh in on Friday.

P.S. Our blog design is awesome!

Mariah Friday & Saturday

Friday:

Breakfast: Veggie & Egg Scramble with Coffee

Lunch: skipped (I took a nap)

Dinner: Veggie Tempura with a piece of leftover brisket (ate too much!)

Treat: Skinny Cow ice cream bar

Exercise: 20 push ups, 15 sprints up the stairs

Saturday:

Breakfast: 2 Kashi whole grain blueberry waffles, handful of fresh blueberries, splash of syrup

Lunch: 2 pieces of whole grain cheese pizza with basil on top, glass of blueberry kefir

Snack: handful of low fat wheat thins

Dinner: Veggie stir fry with 2 pieces of leftover Salt Lick sausage, glass of blueberry kefir

Treat: chocolate covered pretzels

Exercise: 20 push ups.

Thursday (Yesterday)

Ah Katie don't worry about the McD's!!! I had bbq last night!!!

Thursday menu:

Breakfast: fruit protein shake

Lunch: peanut butter sandwhich on wheat bread

Dinner: BBQ plate at the Salt Lick (didn't finish it!)

Treat: bite of pecan pie, peach cobbler, and blackberry cobbler (just bites!)

Exercise: None :(

Friday weigh in: 227 (2 pounds lost!)

Goal for next week: 1-2 pounds

I got mastitis yesterday. My boob is ON FIRE. Got some antibiotics and hoping to feel better. I've started off my Friday with a zucchini and spinach egg scramble with turkey bacon and a little bit of cheese (along with my coffee). My challenge for tonight will be shrimp and veggie tempura and all it's fried goodness. Maybe I'll steam some veggies to go with it and not eat so much of the fried stuff.

I also found a really awesome calculator at Dietitian.com that let me input my heigh/weight/gender and also that I'm nursing and it gave me the proper caloric intake that I'm supposed to have. I was WAY off with what I thought I was supposed to have. I thought I should be taking in around 2,000 calories per day and I'm supposed to be taking in 1650-1700. So I think I'm going to do an experiment and buy some of the Eating Right or Lean Cuisine meals next week and see if that helps to lose more weight and also if I can keep my energy up at the same time.

Here's to a wonderful week #2 for me and Katie!