Swimming Suit Season!

Swimming suit season is coming, or in some of our cases, it's here! I for one, am not a fan of this time of year for that exact reason! I don't like seeing myself in such tight attire, but I know it's too hot to get away with not going to the lake. The few good things about this time of year are:

1. I can see what kind of progress I am making. I can see if my swimming suit fits better then it has the year before. (Which it fits much better then last year!)
2. I actually feel a little better about myself this year. I know that I am working towards looking better, and I am feeling better about it.
3. I enjoy the sun! I love getting a good color on my pasty white skin. I don't believe it tanning beds, I much prefer the real thing!

So I hope you're feeling better about yourself this year! Remember, it's going to be worth it!

Word to the Wise...

Today I made a huge mistake! I didn't eat a good breakfast. I ate Nilla Wafers with cookie dough on them, thinking that I would make myself a green smoothie later. I kept putting it off and wound up leaving the house and not being able to eat until 2 p.m. I was so hungry by that time that I ate an 8 inch sandwich in record time! Then I had to deal with the shakes and a slight stomach ache for quite a while. Not a good idea. So my word to the wise... eat a good breakfast, it's well worth it!

Caralee Baker Part 2!

4. Get a pedometer and use it!

I started wearing a pedometer all day, everyday. I put it on first thing in the morning and didn't take it off until I went to bed at night. I had a goal every day on how many steps I wanted to take a day and I tried to meet that goal as many days a week as I could. It is recommended that you take 10,000 steps a day. 10,000 steps is the equevelant of getting 30 minutes of extra activity. On most days I take around 6-8,000 steps a day. So I would try to take a walk to the park with my kids to get those extra 2-3,000 steps. Sometimes I just stand in my kitchen and run in place for 5 minutes at a time, several times a day to get my extra steps in. Do what ever you can do to get those extra steps in for the day.
On a side note my 4 year old thinks it is so cool to wear a pedometer and will run around the room and then stop and check how many steps that she has taken. I love that my daughter is learning from me and trying to be more healthy too.

5. Choose healthy snacks and don't eat emotionally.

Snacking and emotional eating were really what did me in. I used to snack so much in the afternoons that I would be too full to eat dinner. I told myself that this kind of eating was okay as long as I didn't eat dinner, but then I would get hungry before I went to bed and would snack on ice cream or have a bowl of cereal. Plus I was also nursing or pregnant for the about three years in a row so I got used to eating when ever I wanted. That had to change. So now if I have a snack, I make sure it is a piece of fruit or some veggies or some lean protein like a hard boiled egg. If I find myself wanting to snack more than one snack in a row or snaking in the evenings, I will stop and ask myself if I am really hungry or if I am just eating for something to do. If I am really hungry I try to snack on something healthy. If it is emotional then I try to drink a big glass of water or go brush my teeth, so that the urge to eat is filled in some other way.
Like I mentioned earlier I really don't crave sweets/candy as much as I used to. I still do crave chocolate and candy from time to time but I think it has a lot to do with if I am feeling stressed or emotional. If I give into the sweet craving,  I give myself a limit to how much I eat. I will eat only a small handful of the sweets and then stop. If I want more I will go eat something healthy. It is really hard having to learn how to stop when I want more. Self control when it comes to eating is very hard to learn and something that I have never really done. I have also found that my body is so used to all the fruits and veggies that I have been feeding it that I don't tolerate sweets like I used to. If I have to much sweets, I quickly get a stomach ache, as if my belly is saying to me, "why are you feeding me this crap, I want a green smoothie."
Also if you don't have the junk food in the house, then you wont be able to eat it. So just don't even go down that isle at the store. Don't buy it and you wont be tempted to eat it.

6. My final tip is to drink lots and lots and lots of water.

I am not much of a water drinker, to much water gives me a belly ache. I would much rather drink a vanilla coke. So no more soda! and no more juice! Drink water and lots of it and you will see your weight loss increase. It can be hard to do at first but slowly you will get used to it and your body will thank you for it.
Well that is all of my tips for now. Just don't give up. Keep trying and commit to making the life changes that your body needs. I know that I still have a lot more weight to lose but I also know that it will not happen over night. As I make the changes in my eating and activity levels I know that my body will continue to lose the weight. Another benefit to getting more healthy is that your family will notice and start eating healthier too. You are going to be the example that your kids need for healthy living as they grow up in the world of french fries, soda and Cheetos. Teach them about the goodness of fruits and veggies, water instead of juice and soda, and having a more active life. Not only will your body thank you but someday your kids will too!!  Good luck!!

Caralee Baker Part 1!

Hi, my name is Caralee in the past 6 months I have lost 30 pounds, and now weigh less then I have in over 4 years. Jocee asked me to do a guest post on my weight loss journey.

For as long as I can remember I have always struggled with my weight and feeling pretty. I am tall and big boned and I always felt like I was a fat giant compared to my friends. When I was 16 I was diagnosed with a thyroid condition. For those of you that don't know having an under active thyroid usually causes weight gain and a very slow metabolism.So any type of weight loss was a struggle. After I got married I wanted to get pregnant, but couldn't. I was diagnosed with a type of infertility called Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), one of the side effects of PCOS is weight gain. At this point I kind of gave up hope of ever being skinny again, it was two strikes your out kind of thing. Well time went by, I finally had a baby and then I had another one. By the time my second baby came I was heavier than I had ever been in my life. Along with my thyroid condition and my PCOS, I have always struggled heavily with depression. Depression kicked in a this point and hard. I tried fighting my depression with out taking meds(because they can also cause weight gain) but my depression slowly got out of hand and started interfering in my family relationships.  Finally enough was enough, I sunk lower in my depression than I have every been and it scared me. I finally made the decision to get control of my body again and made an appointment to see my doctor. I broke down and cried in her office as I told her how trapped I felt in my body. She suggested getting my thyroid checked and regulated, going on antidepressants, getting on  a birth control (the only thing that can help balance hormone imbalance related to PCOS), and getting on a medication that will help to regulate my blood sugar(another side effect of PCOS).  I left her office feeling more hopeful then I have ever felt. I was finally going to get control of my body and my depression. I was going to lose the weight that I had gained and I was finally going to feel better about myself, inside and out.

So the first thing I did was:

1. Become determined to make permanent changes in my life for a better and healthier me.

 I mention this because losing weight and keeping it off is not a diet here or some exercise there. Losing weight  requires changing your life/diet and activity level permanently. A lot of people gain the weight back that they have lost because they after losing the weight they go back to their old habits of eating bad or not exercising. To be really successful in weight loss you have to change your life, and make a commitment to yourself and your body to become more healthy.

2. Go see the doctor. Make sure that ether are no underlying medical issues that will prevent the weight from coming off.

Make sure that you don't have any other underlying condition that may be preventing you from losing weight.In my case it had a lot to do with my hormones and depression. Some of you may not need this step but for me it was crucial in my weight loss.

3. Find a diet that works for you.

For me the diet that I decided to be one was eating  raw and natural food as much as I could. It is more expensive to buy the healthier foods but it is much better for you and your family. I started drinking green smoothies for 2-3 meals a day. Green smoothies are so awesome and deserve a post all to itself.( I will do one if you want me too) What really makes them awesome is that most of us don't get all the good fruits and veggies that your body needs on a daily basis. Also it has been proven that a diet high in veggies helps you to lose  more weight. But seriously who likes to eat veggies all day every day? Blech! I love veggies but eating them all day is just not going to happen. By blending your veggies with fruit you not only get your fruit and veggie intake for the day, it tastes better and the process of blending up your food is important too. By blending it all up, your body doesn't have to work as hard to break down your food as it digests it, because the blender all ready did that step for you. So all your body has to do is collect all the nutrients that are in the fruits and veggies and send all that yummy goodness to where it is needed the most.

I have found that with eating green smoothies every day I have lost more inches all over my body(especially my stomach and butt). That I have a million times more energy than I used to have. That because I get to drink a fruit sweetened drink all day, I don't crave sweets nearly as much as I used to. Also green smoothies have been said to help with depression and I have totally noticed that benefit as well.

Along with green smoothies I have tried to add lean proteins to my diet. Hard boiled eggs, chicken, and nuts, and string cheese. I have eliminated most carbs and dairy from my diet.

Most of all just try to make better choices in your diet. Choose fruit and veggies over cookies and fried food. If you go out to eat a lot, go to Subway and get a turkey sandwich and load it up with veggies. My family loves Subway and my 4 year old says that it is her favorite restaurant(even more than McDonalds!)

Putting me in my place!

 I have been so impressed by so many people that have been viewing my blog. I didn't think very many people had been looking at it, until I made a comment on someones facebook page. I was shocked to see how many people have been supporting me. Thank you to all who comment and continue to support me, even when it seems I am not doing so well. I am truly grateful for your amazing support! I am in awe at how well people are doing with their weight loss goals as well! I am a little jealous of those that have been able to keep up their motivation for losing weight. It's so nice to know that we are not alone!

So... Thank you!!!

My promise... my measurements!

Okay, here are my measurements! I knew these were coming, so Saturday I ran two miles knowing this was coming!! So here goes:

Neck	13”
Right Arm	13.5”
Left Arm	13.5”
Chest	41.5”
Waist	42”
Hips	46”
Left Thigh	25”
Right Thigh	26.5”
Left Calf	15.5”
Right Calf	15”

Oh, how I do hate measurements~ but it has to be done. I guess at least it's motivation to get moving!
* If you ever want to feel good about yourself, don't have your husband help you with your measurements! Zorn kept measuring his body along with mine to see who was bigger! It did not help my self esteem! But I love him and appreciate his help!

Some Motivation!

I need some motivation to get moving! I have decided I am going to start doing my measurements again. I have been slacking on taking them and posting them. One, is that it's hard to do them by myself, and two, I really am worried I'm not making any progress. So, as one of my posts next week, I PROMISE, to everyone that I will post my measurements. So here's to next week!

Energy

 I have been struggling with getting the up enough energy to do anything! I have really been trying to run this week, but haven't been able to get myself to have the energy that I know it's going to take to run the mile, shower, and deal with my kids still. I was wondering how you all find the energy to do the exercise? I am not a fan of energy drinks and I only occasionally have a Dr.Pepper or a Mountain Dew (the Dew only when my sister is around and drinking one, then I steal sips). I need some energy! Any tips?