Julie’s New Years ideas …..

So the time has come to put my mind into my health and get back to the 180’s and feel better. I’ve been doing some research, reading my old notes and thinking a lot.
Since this is 2014. Here’s my 14….
1. Skip the sugar. I will keep eating fruits because I need the vitamins they have.
2. Since I’m a milk baby and can’t give that up…my bones need it. A woman in her 50’s needs 1,500 mg. Almond milk is good for me so I’ll use that mostly.
3. Cold cereal. YUMMY!!!! Yes I know, it’s high in everything and if you can’t stick to one serving it’s really bad. So since I love cold cereal I will learn to eat one serving with almond milk. One serving is not filling but it will have to be. Hungry isn’t bad.
4. Regular meals and eating them slowly.
5. Planning, meal planning that is. I’ve got to do this and stick to it.
6. Sleep, I know we’re suppose to get 8 hours a day, I can’t manage to get more than 7 hours each night and those 7 hours are full of nightmares, night sweats and hoot owling (sleeplessness). Menopause I think… any ideas about that?
7. Exercise. It’s important, I know. So I’m working on a doable schedule. Blocks of 10 minutes instead of 30-60 at a time.
8. Stress, worry, panic, upset ….. a constant in my life for the past few months. I can’t change the situations, not possible, but I can change the way I handle them. I don’t know how yet but will learn.
9. I need to get back to crafting. It’s awesome for my mind and soul and even my body because it can just relax and enjoy.
10. Myfitnesspal….going to use it every single day.
11. The stupid, I hate it scale. Once a week, no sneak peeking, no ignoring it either. Fridays will be my day, just like Deb and I started before and will keep it up. So January 3rd I will step on it, record it and move on.
12. Money, I know it’s not a health thing but really it is. We are in debt, not tiny debt either. We work very hard to pay our bills and stay current. We are not foolish people and buy things we don’t need and we no longer use credit cards it’s pay as you go. But I would love to figure out a budget.
13. Fingernails, you know those pretty things lots of ladies have, I want them. That means keeping my fingers out of my mouth. When I’m tired, nervous, stressed they seem to get bitten off.
14. Smile, enjoy, and just be the best me I can be.
Deb and I are going to start our challenges back up for each other too. We’ll start them back up on Friday the 3rd. Please join us as we embark on this new year with new vim and vigor.
Blessings to you all in this new 2014 year.

We will be back….

It’s Christmas time and time to spend with family and friends. We will be back after the holidays with vim and vigor and ready to become the healthy women we want to be.

Merry Christmas to all our dear friends. Stay safe and enjoy.

Blessings to you all!!

Deb and Julie

I have goals, I want to meet my challenges, I want to lose this weight but ….

Now my daddy has cancer to mix along with all that we’ve been handed. It’s not the terrible cancer, it’s a bad skin cancer…not that any cancer is good but he has the skin cancer that spreads like wild fire so last week had some of it taken away and this week a large chunk and December 24th some more and …… plus we wait for more tests results. My little family is coming undo at the seams. My grandma fell and broke her back a month ago and she’s daddy’s mama and she’s so worried about him she can’t think straight. My uncle, daddy’s brother can’t stand that his little family is ungluing. My husband lost a dear friend yesterday. We lost our elderly neighbor night before yesterday. All these things take my time to deal with, help with, be with and I have a wonderful husband and son that need their time. My mama, WOW!!! She’s amazing but becoming a bit bitter after losing her daughter, watching her husband fall apart, her mom-in-law unglue ……. so on. So in all of this I am suppose to be part of this wonderful challenge that Deb and I have set up for each other. We challenge each other each week to something or carry on something from the week before. With her full life she still manages to lose weight, watch those calories, track the foods, walk 1-3 miles a day and work 12 hours a day. I can’t manage to track for a full day, I haven’t been out for a walk/jog/hike for a month, I haven’t made up a menu, bought anything that would resemble something decent. UGH!!!! HELP ME PLEASE! I don’t know what to do, I don’t know where to turn, I don’t want to keep feeling this way but I can’t seem to do it right. The scale is telling me I’m maintaining at my scream weight and that’s bad.

I did do something right, on Thanksgiving we went out for dinner with my in-laws and I ate only the things that were good for me. Nothing sweet, nothing loaded with carbs, nothing that would make me hate myself. As for the rest of the time, well I am watching what I’m eating. I am eating only one serving of something and measuring if questionable. I am thinking I need a menu that is the same day in and day out. Leave nothing to chance, nothing to question. We have been remolding Mike’s old bedroom and I have done more squats and stretches than I have in a long time and that makes me know I need to do something more. My legs have grown weaker and getting my hinny up from the floor or a squat hasn’t been as easy as it use to be.

I am the worlds worse partner for Deb. She needs someone that can support her, do what she’s doing and share the results they’ve both earned. She has been awesome, she supports me in all my life needs. I asked for prayers today because of daddy and the driving conditions we had today and she jumped in and did that. She’s so patient with me. She has to know something about me that I’m missing. Right now I see a mess, someone lost, someone that can’t get her crap together because of life. I see someone up to her eyeballs in family and sickness but one who knows very well I can’t keep taking care of them if I don’t take care of me.

I’m complaining and I’m sorry. I’m full of excuses and really should be full of know how. I will get this together, I will figure out the me thing. I know I can.

So there is Thursday and Friday left of this weeks challenges. I’m going to take tomorrow …. the one day at a time thing …. and plan a meal plan and track it. I’m going to do 2 30 second planks and 2 sets of 25 squats. That’s all. It’s a new start. Friday will be rinse and repeat.

YEAH for friends, YEAH! for support, YEAH! for another day to keep trying. Take care my friends. And blessings to you all because even though there are life’s issues, there’s life and that’s what really matter.

Debs Goals

This week my goals are:
1. Continue to track on My Fitness Pal.
2. Three days of one mile runs/walks and three days of three mile runs.
3. Continue Plank A Day Challenge.
4. Give up Diet Coke.


 Had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. Did a 5K with my goofy husband and daughter. IT was so cold!!! Felt like 9 degrees!!! Then went to my parents for chicken!! (The turkey meal was on Saturday)

I am blessed with wonderful family!!

Week in Review Link Up

We challenge you to find at least one accomplishment from this week.  There is no accomplishment to small to be celebrated!

What did you accomplish this week?

Learn anything new about yourself, your exercise, your food? 

Non Scale Victories?

Defeats?

What do you want to work on for next week?

This link will be available until Monday evening.

Over a week but we both are trying….

There are days that turn into a week that there just isn’t enough time to do all that we want to do. Deb works very long hours just about every day and you know my schedule so this blog has sat on the back burner the last week plus. We are sorry, very sorry but sometimes you just can’t squeeze any more time out of the week. So for this week we are just going to concentrate on family, on our blessings and next week we will be back will bells on and will continue with our challenges for each other and you guys if you’d like to keep joining us.

We both want to wish you all the most blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving. We all have so much to be thankful for. Yes we all have our personal and extended challenges and problems but in the true realm of things we are the most blessed people.

Take care my friends and please have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Food challenge

Julie is an amazing lady with a LOT on her plate!! OK, maybe thats a bad analogy! Shes a lady with a LOT going on in her life!! 

Focusing on food and exercise and sleep is overwhelming! To much change all at once. When you're overwhelmed its easy to give up! You feel like a failure. Then you end up back where you started, or even worse.

source

ONE thing at a time. Gradually adding something new. We are a society of I want it NOW. We have fast food, drive thrus, loans rather than saving. Instant gratification.
Weight loss isnt instant. It takes time!! One step at a time! That first success will push you to the next success!!!

SO, for this week and probably the next few weeks, Julie is being challenged to focus on food.
Portion control. Food makeup..ie.. carbs, sugars, proteins, portions,

source

We are using My Fitness Pal, and we have opened our diaries to each other. This week, be honest, write it all down. If you eat three donuts for breakfast, WRITE IT DOWN!! No cheating on the journal. It only harms yourself! And we have agreed to be honest with each other. What do we notice about the diary, the good the bad and the ugly.

And plan. I used to have a food journal and and exercise journal that I used every day. No idea why I stopped. Last week Marc showed his journal in a post, and it triggered and AHAHA moment!! Get back to what worked!!!

Dont try this!!

This week I am not posting my weight officially. I was down seven pounds. BUT, before the applause and cheering comes, I want to share how it happened.

Do NOT try this at home!!!

Short version:
I didn't eat. On Monday, I literally had no food. Tuesday I had two diet cokes, and a caramel flavored coffee something or other. I didnt do this to lose weight. I did this because of stress, and I didn't know how to cope.

Long version:
The last six months have been very stressful at the doctors office. I wont give any details or examples because of privacy issues. There is a person in a higher position who, when first hired four years ago, became a very good friend. Within the last six months I became aware that he was lying about me to my boss. I started documenting EVERYTHING I did that involved him.
I went to my boss, and confided in her and showed her some of my proof. She in turn confided in me that they knew he was lying (sigh of relief) and they, meaning she and her bosses, were gathering information and proof as well. He has quite a bit of responsibility and has been reprimanded and is on probation.

He continues to make my life miserable. But, I know that my job is not in jeopardy. Some days I handle it much better than others.

Several weeks ago, I wasnt able to sleep and I stopped eating.  The last day of the week, I broke down in tears.
My primary job is the registration clerk, and I am the first and last person the patients sees at the office. A teary eyed person does NOT make for good PR!!!

This week, I reached my flood of tears level again.
I got 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night, and I couldnt eat. I was sick to my stomach and had to force feed myself! On Wednesday I actually passed out at work. (thankfully I work at a doctors office!!) I received a "YOU NEED TO EAT" warning, so I came home and at a pound of Chocolate Covered Peanuts. Felt absolutely horrible and ended up in the bathroom all night into the morning!!

This weigh in isnt real. It doesnt count. On Friday I was still feeling 'yucky", but I knew I had to have nourishment. I made myself some fruit smoothies, and I drank my nourishment.
I need to learn coping skills!!!
Today, Saturday, is better. I have a plan for next week. I will post it tomorrow. For now, It may only be 845 PM, but Im going to bed.

Honesty is the best policy but embarrassing too….

So I said I wanted to get healthy. I said that I was going to track all my foods, measure them. I said I was going to do yoga, planks and fish flopping exercises. Well here we are starting week three and what have I done to get healthy? Almost nothing at all. I am finding that I don’t take the time to do all these things. I am finding I don’t have time to do all these things or at least I haven’t figured out what to do to do all these things. I want to give you an idea of my daily schedule and if you have any suggestions I’m game.

5:15 – Alarm goes off and I groan and get up. Mornings are not my favorite.

5:30 I’m dressed and heading out the door to feed the chickens and shovel coal in the stove.

5:45 back in for a container of yogurt, banana, take my pills and send a very quick email to my mama.

5:55 out the door for work.

9:30 done with my morning bus route and heading to my grandma to see what she needs me to do for the morning. Sometimes it’s laundry or vacuuming or dishes or just to visit.

11:00 go to my parents and pretty much do the same thing for them, see what they need. Yesterday it was spreading hay on the drain field last week it was 3 days of cutting, splitting and stacking wood. Sometimes it’s just a visit too.

12:30 home for lunch, my own chores and house work and time with the dogs.

1:45 back to work till 5:30

Home at 5:45 and doing the outside chores. Or like last night I went to Mike’s and we put up his new drapes and I didn’t get home till 8:00. Jim and I are remolding Mike’s room into my new sewing/craft room and we worked on that until 10:30 and to bed I went.

If I’m not doing some of this I have my best friend that her dad passed away and I’m helping them cleaning out her mama’s house. I help Kim or visit Kim a time or two a week and we get things done at her house. I have my own coal and wood to shovel, chickens to take care of, a house that needs attention and I also pick up activities for driving, like Tuesdays I drive bus all day for library day. On at least 2 times month on Saturdays I drive for basketball/hockey/volleyball/tennis…you know. I try and get on my computer a couple times a day to read blogs, post a post and read emails. We have two family members with cancer so I try hard to get my parents over to them for visits and helpings. I took my mama to Brainerd this week shopping between bus runs.

I just don’t know guys. The time for me is very limited and I’m just not sure what to do. I can not help my grandma, I can not help my parents, I help Mike and Kim but not all the time. I have to drive bus, it’s my living.

I need to cut things down into smaller bites I think. I have read that exercise doesn’t have to be in hour incumbents that 10 minute here or 10 minutes there work but than how do you get your heart rate up? UGH!!!!

So the scale says 209. Up one but down one and a half. That’s not enough to even count. I did use my menu this week but not all of it. Another UGH!!!

So I am just going to repeat all that has been challenge for next week and see just how it all can fit together. It has too because being fat is not good for me and surly not good for my mind. You should hear myself and all the nastiness that comes out. I do know that other people are busier than me and doing this. So I just need to find the way.

Exercise, menu, veggies, meditation that’s what will be my job for the coming week. If you do have ideas or comments or kicks in the butt, please tell me because maybe it’s just me and I’m not seeing something.

I hope that Deb did awesomely this week, one of us has to. Did you know that she did a marathon last weekend and ran a relay race? That woman can move and she’s exercising and working 12 hour days and has a family at home.

Okay, got to go shower, do my chores and head over to mom and dad’s to put down some tile and cut some carpet and than meet with an insurance lady at noon. Take care my friends. You truly are all amazing and wonderful and helpful. Thank you!!

my menu….From Julie

Here is what’s on the menu around here for this week : I will add each meal to myfitnesspal and fine tune the calorie part.

Sunday - Big breakfast out with Jim and a salad for supper

Monday
Breakfast:  2 scrambled eggs with chopped sweet peppers, fresh fruit
Lunch:  grilled ham and cheese sandwich (using 45 calorie bread, thin sliced ham and 1 slice Velveeta cheese) with a salad
Dinner:  homemade chili and saltine crackers and glass of milk

Tuesday
Breakfast:  Oatmeal and a banana
Lunch:  tomato basil soup and a salad (lettuce, spinach, carrots, pepper, hard boiled egg, lite ranch dressing)
Dinner:  sliced turkey, fresh green beans, red potato (boiled) and a glass of milk

Wednesday
Breakfast:  Instant breakfast (sf with almond milk), yogurt with fresh raspberries
Lunch: chicken polish sausage, baked beans
Dinner:  turkey noodle hotdish ( turkey, noodles, gravy, mixed veggies) and a glass of milk

Thursday
Breakfast:  waffle with peanut butter, cup of blueberries
Lunch: left over chili with crackers
Dinner:  Tacos (hamburger, tomato, lettuce, cheese, taco sauce) with Mike and a glass of milk

Friday
Breakfast:  Oatmeal and a banana
Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich (1/2) and salad 
Dinner:  Spaghetti made with spaghetti squash and homemade spaghetti sauce and a glass of milk

Saturday - No breakfast, lunch out with Jim (small pizza), supper left over’s from week

Need to make a fresh batch of chili, bake a turkey, make homemade noodles, learn how to bake a spaghetti squash, make a hot dish and even though I’m not eating it make some cranberry bread and an apple crisp. I don’t just cook for me though no one eats with me. I bring meals to my parents, grandma and fix meals for my husband’s business.

I’ll get better at this but here’s a start. And doable. Now to get an exercise menu too.

Week 2 ….Julie's update...

Well I was suppose to put in a linky do hicky so that we can link us all together but I can’t find the linky tool I use to use so for this week can you just leave a comment with your thoughts, ideas, weight loss, help, anything you think will help us get back on track and learning along the way.
This week I am challenging Deb to making a menu, meal plan, and sticking to it. Really there’s a bigger reason for it, since I do the same challenge I give to Deb I too will make up a menu and stick to it. At least I’ll try. I really have issues when it comes to that. Since I am the only one that eats breakfast, Mike might come home for lunch and again I am the only one that eats supper and fixing one meal is not something I like to do. I would rather eat oatmeal, cold cereal, a piece or two of toast or just skip it all together than fix a real meal. But that is how I’ve gotten to where I am now so tomorrow I will start working on a menu. I don’t shop until Sunday so will work with what I have here. How to cook for one? Ideas?
So this week the scale says: Tilt. I was doing so good at the beginning of the week and than I had mama and daddy over for dinner, Mike and I had a pot luck with friends, I made dinner for my grandma and than stayed and ate with her and all these meals were not a diet type meal. I did eat lots of veggies and I did get lots of exercise in but not enough to make that scale move. Well it moved but only to 209. I can’t take a picture I have to charge the camera and with having Mike just moved out our house has exploded and I can’t find anything right now.
So it’s week two and a chance to try and do better. More yoga practice, more planks, meal planning, and just getting my act together.

I found this and I really need to get excited. Being healthy is what I want.
Take care my friends and here’s to a successful week.

I Debby challenge you Julie, week two

This week I challenge you to continue with the plank challenge. Holy Schmoly its getting harder!!! and to continue the yoga challenge. Learn the moves, and 'enjoy' the stretches. Eventually we will be challenging each other to Jillian Michaels Yoga!!! (I tried that once, and thot I twisted myself inside out. OK it wasnt really that bad!)

AND the bigger challenge, menu planning!!! The more I get to know Julie, the more alike I find that we are. AND I'm sure we are not alone in this!! Some nights when I get home, its dark, and noone else is here, so rather than make supper, I pull out the cereal and milk and load up the bowl (several times) Or have a piece or two of toast. OR have nothing at all.

SO food challenge for this week is to have a menu and to make sure it includes veggies and fruits each day!

What a boring looking post. I have to have at least one picture, so I leave you with this.

Debs week one

Well, what the poo!!! Im up .2 of a pound. (Ill get back to the poo in a minute!!!) Whats up with the gain?
I ate those salads all week long for lunch, and I GAIN?? Ok, Im not really ticked off!! (just kinda sorta) I also ate supper before 7PM each night. I did skip breakfast several times. AND I did NOT track in My Fitness Pal. SO, even tho I dont think I ate over 1300 calories a day, I have NO proof!!!

I ate salads every day for lunch!!
The beginning of the week my stomach was rumbly and noisy. The next few days I had GAS!!! and lets just say, I was VERY regular!! I hear thats what eating veggies does for you!! It did calm down by the end of the week, and IM NOT going to have a large salad tomorrow because I have a surprise half marathon on Sunday, and I DO NOT want to stop behind the tree!!!

Speaking of veggies, I also tried some spaghetti squash that someone at work had roasted. It was 'ok' and I could/will  get used to it, but there wasn't much flavor. My daughter loves this stuff, so I may need to find out what she adds to it after its baked. I kept thinking, boy this would be good fried............. Yeah, I know....... stop those thots!!!
Plank challenge thru Shrinking Jeans is going good. BUT, boy do my abs hurts!!! Today we are up to 45 seconds. I dropped at 42 seconds, the first time. I was NOT going to let my abs down, so I did it again (2 hours later) and I made it to 45!!! I look at that 3 minutes at the end of the month and I cringe!!!! I cant believe how fast I lost my core strength!!! Just a great reminder to stick to it!!

New challenge tomorrow!! Bring it on Julie!!!
Speaking of Julie, isnt she amazing!! Hard working, great mom and daughter and wife. Stacking and splitting wood!!! YEESH!!

Day 6 and ready for a new week….

I like this new week starting on Fridays. It seems to make so much more since starting the weekend out fresh when there’s a just a bit more time to think about it all.

This week my challenge was to weight and measure my foods and I not going to lie and say I did it all week because when it’s 5:30 in the morning the last thing I want to do is dig out all the stuff so instead I cheated and bought breakfast in a bag, oatmeal bag that is. I brought maple and brown sugar but in the good for you kind that is only 100 calories a bag, if I would eat just one bag that is. I get up at 4:30 each morning and leave the house just before 5 and don’t get back here till 10 and eating one bag of oatmeal just isn’t filling enough to hold me till lunch and I hate the taste of the bus steering wheel so I ate two packets and a 8oz glass of milk. My breakfast comes in at 310 calories and that really is a good number for me. 300 for breakfast 400 for supper and 500 for lunch. It keeps me at 1200 calories and this week that worked out pretty darn good.

The other challenge I picked up was planks and yoga. I did terrible with them, I didn’t do them every day like I had planned but I did move my butt with other things but I failed these two. But it’s just week one of the rest of my life so that just means I’ll get another one to do and I’ll just keep working on these.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a new challenge for Deb, my weight loss for the week, a linky if anyone wants to add something and a new thought for the next week. Gotta work on that thought though, one hasn’t popped in my mind yet.

Take care today, drive safely, take care of yourselves and love that family and your friends. There is so much we are blessed with.

Good afternoon…..Day 3…..

You know, the best laid plans just don’t always work out. Today I had planned on stopping at my parents after my 1st bus run, visiting and helping for an hour or so and than getting home to do my exercises, eat a healthy lunch, get the cranberries cooked up and than head back to work for my 2nd run. Well I just walked in the door and instead of fish flopping exercises my dad and I split up 2 cords of wood and shoveling some dirt he had delivered for the garage in the rain, so both of us are soaking wet but glad it’s done.. Lunch is still healthy, I had a chicken thigh, snap peas, carrots and milk. For breakfast was yogurt and raspberries. So really all is good just not exactly the planned. I have to leave in 15 minutes so will do a couple planks and forgo the yoga until later. The bending, lifting, carrying and stacking of wood will have to count for something.

This morning I stepped on the scale, well I had too just to see if because I was good all weekend there was a reward and yep, minus1.5 lbs. I’ll take it. Tomorrow I’m hoping for another pound and would like it to go that way all week. I know just getting back into the groove of this that the scale will go down faster the first week or two and really lots of times that’s what I need to see to keep focused and going.

I texted Deb today and she’s doing awesome with the veggie challenge. She’s even going to try kale and I just haven’t gotten that brave yet, I’m going to let her try it and tell me all about it. I have heard it’s bitter but it could just be a rumor. :o)

So it’s off to work I go. Bus driving has been a godsend for me. It’s almost a living and I have the time I need to take care of business in-between runs.

Oh before I forget, Deb wants me to set up a linky on Friday so everyone can share something about their week. It can be weight loss, a meal, a thought, an idea, anything. Are you interested? Figured I’d check with you all to make sure Debs great idea is good with you too.

Take care now and have an awesome afternoon.

Day 1 and 2 and plans for 3…..

I did do this yesterday but worked all day and than moved Mike into his new home so didn’t have time to post anything but here’s day 1 for me and today is day 2.

 

So that’s the official loud scream weight. Can’t change but sure can fix it.

Now Debs challenge for me is to weight my food and relearn what a portion is. Now yesterday I didn’t do any of that because everything I ate came in single portions. My oatmeal in a bag, my yogurt in a container, an apple, a personal pizza from the freezer section at 11:00 last night (yep, I know better but we were starving after moving Mike in and I wasn’t about to fix dinner at his house) and a glass of milk. But I didn’t have chips, I didn’t have cookies, I didn’t eat a single bit of left over Halloween candy so for the 1st day I wasn’t terrible. Not perfect but not terrible. I owe Deb two servings of veggies because I told her I’d take her challenge and times it by two so that means today I have to eat 4 servings of veggies, for me that’s nothing because I love my fruits and veggies. I also told her I’d do her plank challenge along side her and I found out I have lost everything in strength and muscle. So to do those 20 second planks, well it was an effort. I did two though and than about 50 minutes of beginner yoga and really all I did was start to learn the poses but it’s a start too. Gotta have a beginning to have a middle and an end.

So it’s day two already and I am home alone for another hour so am going to do some planks, some yoga, get dressed and head over to Mike’s to finish sprucing up his home and than return the moving trailer we borrowed. I’m not a computer person on Sundays, it’s just our family day, no TV unless watching a movie together, no computers, just some shopping, hiking, finishing up the yard and stuff for winter and being together so I won’t have another update until Monday but I promise to do my best to get that scale moving in the right direction. I promise to work on toning up again and getting back to the place I was 3 years ago. It’s time. He’s what I started with yesterday in the yoga, an interesting exercise but from all I’ve read it’s awesome so will give it a whirl and see. Now to work on that meditation….shut up brain.

Take care my friends and have an awesome weekend. 

Debs Day One

This is my official November 1, 2013 weigh in. 180.2 lbs.

For this week Julie challenged me to eat one large serving of veggies a day. Yes, I know that this is WAY below what I should be eating, but I DONT LIKE VEGGIES!! Stamping my foot in a temper tantrum!! I try to eat a salad every day, but they seem to be getting smaller!!

I took some Romaine lettuce, washed it, and spun it dry. Then I took some peppers, I heard a rumor that the yellow and red were sweeter than the green. I shopped them up in a food processor. Then I did the same with radishes. I do like these!! Especially when I dip them in a pile of salt. (Yes I know, not good!) I also am ok with carrots. I  processed them too. Then I put it all together. Added one teaspoon (NOT tablespoon) of dressing. I havent found a dressing Im fond of yet. So for now I use Raspberry Vinaigrette.

Im also doing a plank a day with Shrinking Jeans. Today was 20 seconds. I did several different poses for 20 seconds and a 2 mile run. 

I Debby, Challenge you, Julie (week one)

To make sure each serving of food is really a serving.

Julie has a fairly healthy menu! She enjoys her fruits and veggies (BLEH).
I remember when I first started on this journey, I was amazed how 'off' my guesstimate of a measurement could be. Portion distortion!

Id pour a bowl of Cheerios and on My Fitness Pal, I count it as a cup. One day I decided to put the Cheerios in a measuring cup first.... I was actually  eating 1 1/2 Cups instead of 3/4 Cup!!!

My challenge to Julie is to concentrate on serving sizes this week. Weigh and measure and use portion control.

source 

I am also going to be joining Shrinking Jeans Challenge of the month.
Planking!!! My core is so weak, and this is at the center of all exercise.
Visit the website for more information.

Getting ready?

So November 1st is 3 days away and what am I doing to prepare for this most awesome adventure Deb and I are going to embark on? Well I had big plans to be ready set go but like it seems more and more I am behind. It won't stop me though cuz it's time to give back all I've lost (gained really) and more.
My computer won't let me do much right now so am using my tablet and the stuff I had saved for the start of this will just be a bit behind.
Deb and I are going to challenge each other each week with something new or something we need to work on. My 1st challenge for Deb is to eat at least 1 large serving of vegetables a day. I love veggies, Deb not so much so that is her challenge and I will make sure I get them too times two.
I will see what Deb has up her sleeve for me and I will make a side bar with our running challenges. Everyone is welcomed to join us and also give us ideas for more challenges. They will get harder as we go.
I had to quit my gym so exercising at home will be on the agenda 4 times a week, 30 minutes each time to start. I so want to learn yoga so will begin that along with normal fish flopping exercises. Maybe I can find a beginner DVD, a vey beginner since I know nothing about yoga.
So 3 days to the start, want to join us?
Blessings!

Julie, getting to know me….

To meet someone that can relate to you, that has been in your shoes, that can understand you is awesome and Deb fits that to a “T”. 

In December 2010 things changes a whole bunch for me. Before that I had lost 50 lbs, I had the world by the tail and I was happy. However things change and I didn’t roll with the punches very well and those 50 lbs I lost, most of them found me again. Not all, I got to my scream weight and had held there until my sister passed away 3 months ago and life got harder. My sister was only 49 and left behind two parents and a sister (and her 2 sons) that were devastated and so hurt that she chose her way of life over taking care of herself and having a long life with people that really loved and cared for her. And than this past August my father was diagnosed with front temporal lobe dementia which is a form of Alzheimer. And now to get my parents to eat anything I have to eat too and with both of them losing weight and getting older the foods we eat are not diet food. So that means I am above my scream weight and screaming quite loudly. With all of this came graduation from college for my son, a job that was too good to be true filled with promises that a company couldn’t keep so now a son living at home. BUT….yep there’s a but, life must move forward and my son has been rewarded with patience and now has the job of a life time, with a home he’ll be moving into shortly. My parents are doing better and moving forward with one daughter instead of two. Things are starting to fall into place, a rhythm and it’s time that I got back to where I was 3 years ago, happy, healthy and learning to take care of me to take care of everyone else.

Starting November 1st Deb and I are going to put our health first. We are going to work on getting to the place in life where numbers are good, body feels good, we feel good about us. I hate the feeling of being fat and I am fat. I have lost so much muscle tone that what was once a fairly toned body is jello. Muffin tops are mega muffin tops. My once shapely legs are lumpy and droopy. I have to many chins and cheeks that touch my glasses again. This can not remain. With a decent calorie amount, exercise 4x a week and some mediation I know very well that I can get back to where I was.  It’s 27 weeks or so from November 1st to May 1st that means I can set a goal of 40 lbs to lose or 175 lbs and have a good beginning of the new me.

So as you can see I’m a mess but a mess can be fixed and I am going to try my best to fix this and Deb, my partner in crime, is going to make sure I do just that. Would you like to join us?

Debs Get to Know Me

Welcome to our blog!! Julie and I met over the internet thru our personal blogs. We did several group challenges and shed some weight. We quickly became friends.  This spring we challenged each other to weight loss, and exercise and we lost some weight. This summer we both had some tough times, and the weight loss stalled, and exercise took to the back burner.  

Join Julie and I as we document the next season of our journey.

A little background about me. 

Grew up in a very conservative family. Money was limited, and chores were abundant. 

We had a garden and did tons of canning and freezing. 

Church and faith were very important, (Still are!!!)

I left home the same day I graduated High School to start working. 

Met my husband, completed two years of college, and started a family. 

Three kids. Oldest two are now in college, and the youngest is a senior in High School. 

Each pregnancy I used the 'eating for two excuse' and gained weight (and didn't lose it after the child was born). 

When my last child was born I weighed 275 lbs. 

Over the next 15 years I tried multiple ways to lose weight

Weight Watchers (3 times)

500 calorie a day eating.

Slim Fast

Dexatrim and other weight loss pills

My husband was diagnosed with melanoma in Sept 2009. I was working full time and we were going for treatment (1 1/2 hour drive each way) every day of the week. I ate to stay awake. AND it wasn't healthy food that I ate!! (My husband is still in remission!)

December 2009 I weighed in at 258 lbs, and this is where I start the 'official' weight loss journey.

In June 2010 I decided that gastric bypass surgery was my last option. I went to a class and started the six month weigh ins with my family doctor. After the I jumped through all the hoops, did all the lab work, proved I could lose some weight.  I met with the surgeon and I weighed in at 220.  She told me I had to stop losing on my own or my insurance company wouldn't pay for the surgery. LIGHT BULB moment!!! I can do this on my own!! I told them I was not longer interested in surgery. 

That started my final SLOW weight loss journey. For weigh ins you can check my personal blog debsdailylife.  There have been ups and down, and stand still months. 

Join us as we fight this fight together!