Dave is jumping on board!

Not too much time today so I didn't get a chance to look at the tickers you found, but I'll get there. I actually hopped on the scale yesterday morning. After the shower. After breakfast. And I was still 3 lbs less than the last time I was brave enough to get on there! *happy dance*
I am so excited! I too went shopping on Saturday and bought many many fruits and veggies and I got all my groceries for the week for $24.49! Healthy food is cheap this week! YEAH!!!
Dave has decided he wants to join me in this quest. I hope he does. We've talked about it before and even tried to exercise together, unfortunately, we are not the same. Or maybe fortunately. Either way, no matter what we do I'm always sweating up a storm and feeling great and he's mildly moving next to me and saying 'Yeah Emm! Way to go!' Not for lack of effort- I just can't keep up with him at the pace he needs to actually be working. Not fair. Anyways. I think we'll go to the mountains next week and hike some more. We both loved that and we both worked hard. Cross your fingers for us!

Hello Ladies,

I was happy to see the scales this morning. After losing the water weight from the trip - swollen legs from sitting so long - I am 5 pounds lighter - back to pre-vacation weight!!! Hurray for Me!! :) I am going to try to lose my 20lbs from this weight.

Aubrey and I walked this morning. The big block by our house is 1 3/4 miles. (I measured it when I came back from taking Dad to work.) That is where we are going to start. I would like to double that soon. Three miles would be a nice length for a summer walk. I haven't talked to Aubrey about that yet. Quasar thought that it was nice going for a morning walk. I think that she would be happy to go along with me.

It is going to be difficult to get back on the diet mode. Too much fun food in the house - too many people who still want the fun food.

Aubrey and I bought paint for her room. That should keep me busy for a few days. Nothing like being busy to keep the mind off of food. !! ! :)

What We're Up Against

From my friend Keeley's blog:

And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow vegetable of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives. And Satan created fast food and the 99-cent double-cheeseburger. And Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?" And Man said, "Supersize them." And Man gained pounds.

And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair. And Satan brought forth chocolate. And woman gained pounds.

And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad." And Satan brought forth ice cream. And woman gained pounds.

And God said, "I have sent your heart healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them." And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.

And God brought forth running shoes and Man resolved to lose those extra pounds. And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2. And Man gained pounds.

And God said, "You're running up the score, Devil."

And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fat fried them. And he created sour cream dip also. And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol. And Satan saw and said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.

And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. And Satan created HMO's.

Tickers N Things

Emma mentioned that she wanted a ticker. I've seen cute ones from the Ticker Factory, and thought about doing up a ticker for myself today, but didn't because I haven't weighed myself yet: I don't want to have any more scale shock than I have to so I'm waiting a few days before I get on there! It looked like the Ticker Factory only has wide ones, so maybe what we can do is I'll set the blog to have only a few posts on the main page at any given time, and folks who want tickers can put them down in the bottom section? I'll fix things up so you guys can add your own stuff to the bottom and side.

I went shopping this afternoon, and I got sooo many veggies and fruits. I'm excited to get to eating healthy again! If nothing else good (weight-wise) came from that vacation, at least I'm at home again and really in the mood for good food right now! I'm going to round out my veggies selection at the farmer's market tomorrow morning, and I may head out to the local strawberry U-Pick place in the morning and get a bunch of strawberries. Several of my girlfriends have been out and it's a very kid-friendly place: they have signs encouraging you to bring your kids back looking like they've been eating all the berries they can handle. It's the same place that we went in the fall to get our pumpkins & they were really nice.

Try again!!

Sometimes computers are too smart for their own good!!

I was typing along - getting ready to post my very first comments on this cute little blog - when all of the sudden, IT KICKED ME OFF!!! The computer was doing some updates and shut the computer down to finish the up dates.

Anyway - as I was saying before the computer so RUDELY interupted me!!!

I am glad for this blog. I got on the scales this morning and was unhappy to see that my goal of not gaining on vacation had not been met. I am hoping that some of the weight gain is water weight and will come off quickly. Usually fast gains are a little quicker to come off. We will see.

I did go walking two days with Garelding in Orangeville. It was fun. I didn't even mind getting up bright and early in the morning. It was fun to be there talking with Gareldine. I think that I am going to talk to Aubrey about going for walks in the mornings. I think that I would do better with a partner to encourage me.

Hope that you are all enjoying losing!!

Love,

Mom

Home Again

It is Good to be home! And now, back to some serious work! I'm excited to get eating well and exercising again. Happily, since Miss Kate posted that tasty salad stuff recently, there's a great idea for what to buy when I go grocery shopping tomorrow. After I wash Monkey's carseat cover: he got sick on it while we were out and it's fragrant.

I thought I'd post a "before" picture once I get some of the pictures from the vacation pulled off my camera. There are several of me on there and some of them are honest without being terribly unflattering. I can live with them. Anyone else care to join me? Then we can have something to compare to when we all loose 20 pounds in time for the wedding!

I'm here!

Why hello ladies! I have finally joined the ranks. I read through and I am absolutely loving the insta-salad! And your crispy chicken salad got me thinkin. I have this wonderful recipe for apple chicken salad and hey! An apple tree! I think may have that for dinner tonight! Little bit of Italian dressing, some boiled chicken, chopped up apples and red peppers and ITALIAN TOASTED TORTILLA STRIPS !!! Oh baby, here I come. ...In approximately 6 hours. :)
So since we're posting goals and stuffs, I thought I'd get me one. (I don't usually do that.) So here's my goal. I'm going to drink more water. Currently, I'm really happy with myself if I drink one bottle of water a day. Now, mind you, it's not one of those wimpy 20 ounce bottles that you can hardly tell there's water in it. No sir. This is a giant 24 ounce bottle. AND sometimes Dave asks me to drink a glass before bed. What's up with that anyway? Boys looking out for us girls? Anyways. So I'm going to drink 2 bottles.
Oh and I just did a really quick google search on that ab roller thing we used at Aunt Geraldine's, and I found them for about $13 at a couple of different places. Not too bad! Not too bad at all!

Something good goin' on

So, since posting that very silly blog about making salads, I've been making myself make and eat salad at least once a day. Initially it was really not appetizing. Really not. I did ok during the week because I took salad and that was my lunch, period. But that first weekend it was quite difficult to convince myself to eat it.

However, it has surprised me how much easier eating salad has gotten. This past weekend, I ate it (with crispy chicken thrown on top) 'cuz nothing else looked good! Woah! I found myself wanting to eat it!! (and perhaps crispy chicken isn't the best thing to throw on top.. but I let myself do it on the weekends as a treat to me) :) The rest of the time it's all about cauliflower, carrots and almonds. And I'm finding that it is tasting SO GOOD!
I know, crazy talk! But, it's a good good thing :)

I made myself a Workout Diary to prep for the wedding. I wrote out a workout regime for every week from now 'til then - with little boxes to check off when I do it (for the nerdy list maker within) and I set the goal to lose 30lbs in 20weeks. I'm not going to freak right out if I don't make it, I imagine that I'll get pretty crazy near the end with all the other stuff going on.. BUT goals are great to have out there. And if I don't quite reach it, but I lose some and get more toned, I'll still be quite pleased with that.

Mmmm - Water

So, I stepped on the scale this morning and I've lost 2lbs :) Happy happy morning indeed.

I've recently increased my water intake. I used to drink a lot (like back in college) but over the last few years the frequency and the quantity has markedly decreased. Also, this particular job makes day-time drinking a little more difficult. (just because i have to let people know before i head to the ladies room) Bleh. However, I just plain eat less when I drink more. And drinking more has all sorts of good benefits. SO, I'll just deal with having to tell people that I'm going to the ladies room and keep on drinking that tasty H2O.

Insta-Salad: A Guide for Delicious Salads

Alright, here we are, by popular demand, instructions (with artistic pictures) for making a MOST delicious salad that should last roughly two weeks. Yum!


Step One: Select the perfect container
Oooooooooh... look a big bowl.....

Step Two: Assemble the materials -
Romaine Lettuce
Baby Spinach (yeah for added iron)
Fresh Dill
Crunchy Veggie Toppers

(Romaine lettuce has a longer life than Green or Red lettuce, and also has more nutritional value than Iceberg Lettuce)
My crunchy veggie toppers of choice are cauliflower and baby carrots, but of course there are lots of other tasty things to add in as well: Peppers, Almonds, Snow Peas, Broccoli, Ginger, Chicken, Black Beans.. you get the idea.
(I use dill to add some more zest to the mix. My old roommate liked to add Cilantro and even occasionally Mint.)

Step Three: Rinse the Lettuce
(Notice the droplet of water artistically suspended in mid-air... naaaaaaiiice)

Step Four: Chop the Crunchy Veggie Toppers
This way, while the lettuce is drying, you can cut up the veggies for easy assembly (or snacking) later.

Step Five: Chopping and Layering
I use a knife to chop the lettuce and spinach, rather than rip it, simply because it goes faster this way. I chop the lettuce, spinach and the dill as I go, so that it is a more consistent and thorough mix.

Ok, for the layers, I start with a layer of paper towel on the bottom. Keeping the greens dry is the key element.
(See the mixed spinach, lettuce and dill.. Yum)
The second layer is just more of the same - don't scrimp on the paper towel.. thinner lettuce layers stay dryer and last longer.
Finally, once the layering is complete, cover the whole thing with one last layer of paper towels to keep the top layer fresh and stash it in your fridge!

I keep my Crunchy Veggie Toppers in separate containers; open, but in water. This way, when I want a salad, I just grab a handful of lettuce and stuff and add whatever toppings look good. Keeping the toppings in water keeps them hydrated and fresh but allows for quick munches whenever you open the fridge door :) (Just watch out for freezing.)

And there you have it! Insta-salad.

Getting myself started

Alright.... this is sort of for my own records, but in a public way. I figure if I announce when I work out, you guys will see and so I'll be more inclined to work out so I'll have something to post. A sort of accountability, ya know? Which is great 'cuz my motivation, by myself, isn't always so wonderful :)

So, Monday I went to the gym over lunch hour. Doing this over the lunch hour puts a megga crunch on things; there's no dilly-dallying for me. However, some is ever so much better than none.
So, Monday I did 17 mins on the tredmill. When I do the tredmill my goal is to go at least a mile and then however much more I can and still have two minutes cool down. I finished my mile in 13:24... that's quite good for me :) I was pleased. Then I continued walking at 4.0 (speed) until 15:00. Then I cooled down for two minutes. All together, I walked 1.21 miles. Not too shabby.

Then I lifted weights for 7mins, stretched for 7 and then hit the showers.

I was pleased 'cuz it was one of those workouts that leaves me feeling energized. It was good :)

Also, I ate reasonably well on Monday. I was going to go for Chinese in the evening, but didn't. Instead I had Italian Wedding Soup.. yum. And ever so much fewer calories!

And I feel like I can already feel my body loosing a little mass, becoming more compact. I like it!

Holding Steady

Still at 198. Gonna have to work at it the next few weeks on vacation to keep that, but I was a bit bummed to see that I was just the same. Of course, I have been re-hydrating, and that always seems to include a bit of water gain, and then there was that graduation party with the chocolate fountain... but there's also been hours and hours and hours of work in the garden. I guess that holding steady is fair. Gotta eat more crunchy veggies!

Bring on the Healthy!

Woot! Hooray for community support :) I've actually been thinking I needed to get my butt in gear and get back to the healthy life style that I've sort of strayed from. Now I have no more excuses to wait.. Today is a good day to start. I think my grocery shopping this weekend will include some salad fixin's.

Bring on the Healthy!