Emma Needs a BUTTON!

Sorry, they didn't have a 12 pound button, only increments of 5.

12 Pounds

So today I realized I lost 12 pounds this month! I was shocked when it dawned on me - I've been looking at it all from a week to week perspective, and by that it was kinda depressing! I lost 2 pounds last week. Which I do understand is good, but Dave's family is doing this biggest loser thing and I've always been in the bottom 3! So kudos to them for getting me to the bottom with 2 pounds! :) But today when I thought about the whole month it was a really nice feeling! I've lost 12 POUNDS! At this rate, by the time Josh comes home, I'll be at 180! And by my anniversary I can be at my target for the year! Amazing! :D 

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I'm getting back up and trying again. I rode the bike for a half hour this morning. I kept my breakfast light and my lunch reasonable. I'm drinking my water.

Fall down seven times, get up eight. -Japanese Proverb.

I think I may be past 7 falls already, but I'm still getting up, so there's still hope for me.

Battling the Bulge

Ooooh.. Vacations are dangerous things! We did walk, and walk, and walk, aaaaand walk every day that we were there, but we also ate more than we would normally. I actually didn't do too bad (i weighed myself after getting back) and I only gained 3 or 4 pounds. But I definitely need to get back into the drinking water thing and visiting the gym thing. I'm doing pretty ok with the water drinking, however I am struggling to get to the gym.

There are definitely some drawbacks to working out over my lunch hour. Not only does it complicate getting errands run, but also, it requires that I remember to pack all the necessary bits of clothing (every morning) that are needed to actually utilize the gym. Today I had grand plans for getting back on the wagon. I was going to hit the elliptical machine and go to work on my tummy and hinney. Alas, today I forgot the necessary bits of clothing. Sigh.

Right There With Ya

Well, I think that I'm doing pretty well in the eating department: I seem to be right close to being back where I was at Thanksgiving, which I definitely wasn't after Christmas. A few too many tasty treats, me thinks! But I too have an excess of snot, and it makes it hard to breathe. Which makes it hard to exercise. And we just won't go into the motivational difficulties that brings on. I think that Kate did justice to those already. But I'm pleased with myself anyway: even without decent exercise I've been making some small progress. I need to check my BMI: I think I'll be out of the "obese" range here in another pound or two and that will be exciting!

Blerg... Sick

Funny how being sick totally takes all motivation and stomps it into the ground. For the last couple weeks I've been doing pretty well with the exercising three times a week thing. However, this past Friday I was feeling a little sickly (nasty cold and stuff) and I did have tentative plans for going to the gym anyway.. but then I ended up running for the train and that made me feel even worse, so I decided to skip the gym that day. On Saturday I wasn't feeling any better, so I didn't do anything very active that day either. However, today (while my nose is still stuffy and raw from repeated blowings) I am feeling much improved and think I will make an attempt to do a little bit and get myself moving again.

However, despite the less than perfect record with working out, I do feel like I've been doing quite well with eating better (and less). I've changed my snacks to incorporate fewer bagels and animal crackers and more fruits and veggies (yay for carrots and hummus!) and I've also been eating more nuts. String cheese is another favorite, and doesn't seem to bother my milk-intolerance too much.

Also, I was reading the other day about the health benefits of fish and my husband, while perhaps not the most adventurous of eaters, is a fan of fish. So this past Friday I went to the little Spanish market down the street and bought a couple fillets of fish (tilapia) and cooked those up for dinner. (Yay for this magical recipe site: http://allrecipes.com/) While I was a little nervous about trying it, this recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fish-with-Pico-Garlic-Rub/Detail.aspx?prop31=4 - skip the salt) was super quick and actually quite tasty! I think it may make it into the repeat pile!

(i'll fix the links tonight on my home computer)

Happy New Year!

So I too have made a bunch of New Year's Resolutions. And I, just like Kate, have felt like in the past they have lasted until about Jan. 2. So this year I have a system. My nerdy list making self and I got together and made The List. I have about a dozen resolutions, broken down into 3 catagories (Spiritual, educational, and other. Yes other. Creative. I know.) I also have a calendar just for me with The List pinned up next to it and color-coded sticker system to keep track of progress. Yea for shiny stars! 

I have to admit, I may have been a little over ambitious, but for the moment, other than one of the goals, I feel like they're actually things I can do. I'm going to exercise hard 3 times a week. I'm going to eat more veggies and only 1 dessert a week. (That's the one I'll have issues with. Last week it was 3. Still improvement though, so we'll keep it and keep moving.) I'm going to the temple once a month, I'm reading my scriptures every day, and I'm going to give everything I need to - time, effort, and most importantly, prayer - to the lessons I have to teach. And any other calling I'm asked to do for that matter. I'm going to go to school in the fall and get amazing grades. And I'm going to win the scholarships audition this spring. That one also may be difficult. But, I've talked to a friend of mine who graduated from the same school and now teaches voice lessons and I'm gonna have a few lessons. Kinda feel like as long as I put tons and tons of good hard work into it, if I don't win, I'll be ok. 

So there you have it. The bulk of my resolutions. And how are things coming? :) Pretty well. Dave and I have an appointment at the Redlands Temple next Saturday, and last week I went to the gym Thursday and Saturday. I actually bought veggies other than corn and green beans (which were never eaten before anyway. Hehe.) and I ate them! I had to teach the all young women Sunday since I was the "guest speaker" and, granted it wasn't a perfect lesson, but I tried hard and it even went pretty well! So I think this week I can give myself a huge pat on the back and maybe even a WHOO-HOO!!! :) Sorry for tootin my own horn a bit, but I'm feeling kinda proud. 

It sounds like everyone else is doing really well so far as well! I hope we can all keep it up! :) 

Yay!

Mom and I went downstairs and exercised on Friday morning for half an hour! I'm back on the wagon as all you people say. :) I went over to my oldest sister's house on Saturday and Sunday. It has been loads of fun. They were talking to me, and we came up with a wonderful way to loose flab nicely. They said to walk on the treadmill for forty-five minutes, and work my way up to running for forty-five minutes. :) I think that it will work if I MAKE time for it, not TRY to do it. OH! I almost forgot, I made a new blog at the oldest sister's house. It's called Fun Stuff by Little People.
The web site is LittleFunStuff.blogspot.com

Yay! Enjoy.

A good week

Hello Ladies,





It has been a good week. Lots has been accomplished, including getting started on an excercise program. I bought a new pair of shoes - asisc - that is probably spelled wrong - but they are still very comfortable!! I have walked on the treadmill 3 days and used the fitness ball once. A and I traded off on the treadmill and the fitness ball this morning. That was fun. I also went back to sparkpeople and started counting my calories. I do much better when I have to write down everything that goes into my mouth. Makes me much more aware of how and what I eat. I discovered today that McDonald's Snack Wrap with Grilled Chicken is a pretty healthy choice. Dad and I were out and about and stopped for a quick pick me up. It was nice the see the numbers - only 240 calories, or maybe 260. I don't remember for sure. Anyway, the result for the week is a 2 lb loss. Only 14 more to go to be back to the low that I hit the end of the summer. But, not bad for having New Year's Eve in there and attending a party where there were lots of tempting snacks!! I was pleased with my progress.





Hope that you are all feeling up beat and positive about the new year and the healthier us that it will bring!! :)

New Years

Here we are, once again, in the beginning of a new month in a new year. Now is the time that people typically make their resolutions for the year. This year I have a couple, but I keep thinking (if i'm actually going to do this resolution thing) I should have more than just two. This has been cooking in the back of my brain for the last week. Hehe.. ok, I promise this post isn't a lobby effort to make everybody make resolutions, mostly it's just me posting my musings because writing them out often helps me clarify my jumbley thoughts. I promise to bring it back around to fitness :)

So, I was up in the gym today, walking along on the treadmill and I started thinking about this whole New Year's Resolution thing. I recognize that not everyone partakes of this yearly tradition. Throughout my life, my observance of it has been spotty at best. When I was growing up I would right them down in my journal on January 1st and, most years, they would be completely forgotten by January 2nd. Though, in recent years I've taken to a more active observance of New Year Resolutions. In recent conversations with my husband, I've found myself revisiting the reasons that I make these resolutions in January. He raises and interesting question though; why do we do this in January? He wonders why this doesn't happen in the spring when new life is springing up rather than the dead of winter...

Anyway, back a few years ago now (sometime when I was in college) I remember we had a fireside or a CES broadcast or something where someone talked about the benefits of resolutions. At the time I was actively not making resolutions; I'd become disenchanted with them when it seemed that each year I would break or forget them before February came; what's the point?? But at this fireside they pointed out that resolution=goal. And they suggested that goals are good to have in your life - They keep you moving in an fixed direction. In addition to making your goals attainable (but still challenging), they suggested that goals should be more specific than vauge and general. But then I would add that it doesn't have to be "all or nothing". Percentages are ok; try try try again.

In my (unfruitful) search today for this fireside or CES broadcast or whatever it was, I came across this quote by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: “You should look ahead now and decide what you want to do with your lives. … Write your goals and review them regularly. Keep them before you constantly, record your progress, and revise them as circumstances dictate. Your ultimate goal should be eternal life” (Ensign, Nov. 1989, 73).

So, while I was up there walking, I began to consider my goals for the year.. or my life.. or even just the next month. What do I want to accomplish? Often I think I fall into a sort of coasting mode. Not so much idle, I am productive and even creative, but I don't necessary have any specific direction overall. Lulls are nice, even good; frenzied feverish activity isn't a sustainable lifestyle (for me). However, I do think that I could use more direction sometimes.

Then my thoughts came around to my recent resolving to work out with more regularity. So then I thought that that's kind of vauge. What does "more regularity" mean? This lead me to decide what I wanted to add to my very short list of New Year's Resolutions.

3. Work out (at least) three times a week
4. Lose 7lbs by June and another 8 by December.

So these I will add to my little list, maybe even one or two others, and then I will write them down and put them on the inside of the cabinet in my bathroom because there I'll be sure to see them every day. That worked for those from 2008; I feel like those were actually acheived at ~87.92%. Not to shabby for 12 months!