Week:... Uhh... hmmmm....?

Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm falling behind a little in this blog! I totally blame BlogSpot for the most part... there was two weeks where I couldn't log into my account for some reason, and that got me out of the groove.

So... that's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it!

An update on how my weightloss is going... it isn't going very well at all! But, I do have a good excuse for that one too....

That's right... I'm expecting again! Right now I'm at 14 weeks, due December 21st... poor child. I always swore I would never have a Christmas baby.  That was back when I thought I had control over such things. :) The nice thing is, my husband will be on break from school!!

So far, I've been feeling great, pregnancy wise! No throwing up, few food aversions... and feeling relatively calm about everything! :) 

Right now, I suspect this one is a boy! Which would be awesome if it was, but we're totally set if it's a girl. :) Either way, we'll be happy!  We just want it healthy!

So, with this pregnancy, I've noticed that my nasal polyps have gotten really bad again. After lots of research help from my parents and my own, I have put myself on a no wheat, sugar, or dairy diet. Yeah, hard! Especially when I do not like meat at the moment! (Or solid foods for that matter...)

In addition to what I'm NOT eating, I take:
Multi Vitamin (duh)
Vit C & D
Cod liver oil
Castor oil
Stinging nettle tea
Tumeric power
Tea tree oil
basil leaves before each meal
digestive pill
probiotics
V8 juice

Most of these things I do/take 3-4 times a day.

Basically... no more happiness. No chocolate, ice cream, junk food of any kind... and no bread. :( so sad! (and expensive...) and it takes a lot of time!

Hopefully I'll be able to self-cure these dang polyps, since I can't have surgery while pregnant. I definitely do not want to be feeling like this when New Baby comes. :(

Anyhoo, we're all super excited for this news! The picture is how we told our families-- I got the picture printed and put them on canvases and gave them to our mothers on Mother's Day. :) It was fun!

Joe Fresh Contest!

Come show your support for Terrah! :) Her picture has been entered in a Joe Fresh contest! Please register and cast your vote! Thank you!! :)
Use the link below to vote for Terrah! Clearly, the cutest kid in the contest! Share with your friends and have them vote as well! :) :)

http://todaysparent.upickem.net//r/3E5vb3zvX9S

1. VISIT the Cover Contest homepage: http://todaysparent.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=82902

2. REGISTER at the top of the contest page (even if you were the one who submitted the photo, you still have to register). NOTE: Only one vote is allowed per email address. Friends and family must also register to vote. All registrations need to be confirmed via a confirmation email that will be sent to your inbox.

3. Hit the VOTE tab on the top of the contest page.

4. Click VIEW GALLERY on the top left-hand side. This will allow you to search for your child using the public name you submitted at time of entry (e.g. “Photogenic Boy” or “Our Little Princess” or “Molly”).

5. Once you’ve found the child you’d like to vote for, you’ll find the VOTE tab on the bottom of each photo/description. You can also SHARE this link via email, Twitter or Facebook by clicking the icons on the top right of your screen.

Feb 17th-- WEEK 5

Woohoo! I can finally get into my blogger account!  That was so weird--and why I didn't get this up on when I should have!

Alrighty, so this week I got to spend most of my time with my parents! Went shopping with my mom (who got Terrah some deeply needed new clothes!), had a girls night with my 2 sister in laws, and just had a nice, relaxing time!

Because I was there, I didn't make it to Zumba. I did do Pilates every day! My mom was helpful and had lots of healthy and gluten free food to help me stay on track while I was there---however, my will-power was no match for the ice cream DrumSticks they had in their freezer. :(  Sooo wickedly delicious!  I don't know who thought of them, but they were truly inspired!

So, I mentioned my mom got me some gluten free food...and I have to tell ya, I felt SO MUCH BETTER even after 4 days of staying away from wheat bread! My stomach didn't feel nearly as bloated and sore, and I FELT less heavy.  It was a reminder that I really do have a gluten sensitivity.  Which sucks, because I absolutely LOVE bread.  But, I gotta work with what I've been given.

If you know any GOOD gluten free recipes, I would love to try them out! Gluten free products are so expensive, and so many of the recipes I've tried have tasted worse than dirt. 

You can Email Me here, or leave a comment! THANK YOU!

This week I wanted to shed some light on a slightly embarrassing, but very important topic-- constipation!

Let me be honest here... I have always, for as long as I can remember, had constipation issues.  Which scares me, because I do not want to get colon cancer.  So, I've been doing lots of reading and experimenting with trying to become more regular.  My mom showed this THIS WEBSITE, about this woman's battle with constipation, and she gives some great info!  One thing that I found interesting-- she says that Americans spend 1 billion dollars a year on laxatives! Clearly, I am not the only person out there with this issue. 

But, why is it such a big deal?

Well, poop is waste your body is trying to get rid of. If it can't get rid of it, those toxins are continuing to poison your body! As Wild Blessings says, "Health and Death begin in the gut."

Seriously, go read the blog if you want some ideas of what you can do to help move things along! For me, I've found that eating 1 1/2 T of whole flaxseeds has helped me! I tried the ground up flaxseeds, but for some reason they were giving me really bad headaches.  I've stopped eating bananas *tear* because they clog me up. 

It's really interesting stuff, and so So SO important!

ON TO THE MEASUREMENTS...

WEEK 5

Bust: 42"
Waist: 39
Hips: 40 1/2 inch.

Another 1/2 inch off my waist! I'm pretty sure that's from doing better with my bathroom breaks! :)

March 3rd --- WEEK 4

Well Life, I gotta hand it to ya... you really know how to throw things for a loop!
And I'll be honest right up front... I didn't do well this week. :( I was having a really hard time staying motivated and focused, and not getting down on myself.  I haven't been seeing the physical results I want, and that's been tough-- But I've been forgetting that my main goal is to get healthy in MIND, ,SPIRIT and BODY.  That's all gunna take a little bit longer than 4 weeks. :) But, when you're still getting asked when you're due, it's hard to remember all that. lol! Silly people.

** I would like to remind ya'll of something... pregnant bellies don't jiggle. :) **

Tuesday I took Terrah with me to Zumba so Aaron could have the house to himself for a while and do whatever he wanted to do. Aren't I nice? :) I had already done a hard workout that day and my legs were feeling like jelly! But Terrah was always RIGHT beside me or wanting me to hold her and dance, so I wasn't able to push myself as much as I would like. However, I didn't see any of the other ladies there dancing while holding a 40lbs kid! So maybe I did do pretty good! I was sure feeling the burn the next day! Terrah even got to go on stage with Wanda! She absolutely loves going there with me. So even if it isn't a great work out, I think I'm still making a pretty good investment. :)

Tuesday night...Oh boy. I wake up at 3:30AM to Terrah crying so hard.  Aaron had gone into her room, and after a few seconds I see her bedroom light go on, and Terrah is still crying so hard.  So I get up and go in, and I see Terrah sitting up in bed crying, and on her pillow (which is on the floor) is covered in what I first thought was blood... like she had thrown up blood. Almost freaking out, I ask what it is, and Aaron reminds me that she had eaten blueberries as her snack before bed-- and apparently her body didn't like them ONE BIT! It was all over.  So I pick Terrah up and brought her over to the glider to change her clothes and calm her down while Aaron starts picking up all the bits of blueberries off the floor and then cleaning up the stains--which he was able to do! Then Terrah throws up again.  New clothes, more calming, more cleaning up. She eventually fell asleep on my lap, the poor thing!  This all happened in about an hour.
WAY TO GO DADDY for doing all the cleaning! What a man. :)

No. She didn't sleep in.

Other than having slightly less energy and not wanting to eat, she seemed fine in ever other way. Then the diarrhea started. I will spare you the details, but... imagine Tuesday night repeating itself, but this time not with blueberries. I've never had to deal with that kind of vomit inducing situation before. And on carpet! Blahhhh!! This happened Wed. night at 1:30AM.  Aaron gave Terrah a bath while I cleaned up... I guess it was my turn. :) And lucky for me, my nose was pretty bad so I couldn't smell very much (but still enough for my gag reflexes to kick in a couple times.)
That night she did sleep in for about 30 mins longer than usual, the good girl! :)

We spent the morning on the couch watching movies, because she really didn't have much energy. Then she told me she was hot, and sure enough she got a fever. But it was gone after her 3 hour nap!  But oh, the diaper changes were awful. They still aren't back to normal!

So much laundry. I hate laundry...and there was So. Much. Laundry.

Well... after a few days like that I really had no energy. I didn't have a shake all week, nor any snacks.  One day, when I actually did a calorie count thing because I was curious, I was shocked to discover I had eaten just under 1000 calories that day...kind of on the low side. Eating enough has been a problem for me for a long time.  I used to not eat much at all in a day, and when I did it was something bread-ish or just not good for me! This can actually put your body into starvation mode and make you put on weight! More on that in another post. :)

Week 4 Measurements:

Bust: 42"

Waist: 39 1/2
Hips: 40 1/2 inch.

I'm super surprised that I was able to keep the same measurements as last week! Woot! Honestly, I was thinking I would have gained inches...so I'm relieved!

However... I really need to kick it into gear! My little cousin (who is actually about 10 inches taller than me now) is getting married! And she's asked me to be one of her bridesmaids! I'm super excited and feel honoured that she would want me to be a part of her special day in such a special way! So, now I have a new goal--to show her up on her wedding day!

Just kidding. My real goal is to not be the fat one. lol! :) Love ya, cuz!!

I'm hanging out at my parents house for most of this week, so I hope I can keep up with what I need to do, even though I'm not in my own space! My parent's have been super busy since September putting on a play with the youth from our church of Joseph and the Amazing TechiColor Dream Coat, which ended this past weekend! It was phenomenal!! But I'm so glad I get my parents back now. :)

What I Need To Improve

• alrighty, I need to get serious about monitoring what is going into my mouth! I need to start thinking of food as medicine, and not just a pleasurable experience!
• make better meal plans that have less complicated and NEW recipes... I love trying out new recipes and making them my own. But this takes a lot more time, and are usually not as healthy as they should be. This is mostly a problem for dinner time, but more often than not I am trying to impress my husband when it comes to dinner. :)
• ....drink more water. As usual. 
• keep busy with good things when Terrah is in bed instead of watching movies. 

I also wanted to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who has been following and supporting me through this challenge! Making life changes IS a challenge, and I'm so grateful for all those that have taken the time to come and read what I have to say and give me encouragement and advice! It is all greatly appreciated! Cheers to you all! :)

Free of Excuses

Once Upon A Time...
(not based on a true story)

Wife: Uhh... I'm so tired.
Hubby: Really? Did you have a bad night?
Wife: No, I got a full 10 hours. I'm just always tired.
Hubby: Maybe you need iron.
Wife: *death stare* I don't think so.
*start getting dressed for the day*
Wife: Grrr... nothing fits anymore! Having children totally wrecks your body.
Hubby: I just started going to this really fun work out class! Wanna come with me?
Wife: *getting annoyed. clearly he thinks I'm fat and is not attracted to me* It's not that I need to work out. My clothes don't fit because I'm always making meals YOU will like instead of making food I SHOULD be eating. And I have to feed Child, and they're a picky eater, so I don't want to make 2 meals at each meal time. And besides, even if I DID want to join a club, I wouldn't have any time to do with all the other stuff that's expected of me! I've got laundry, cooking, cleaning, school, church responsibilities, community service, job, family and pets to take care of! And you're never home anyway, so who would watch the kids?! We can't afford a babysitter every time I want to go to the gym! And if I work out at home, the kids just climb all over me and the dog licks my face! Then I would have to take a shower and who knows what kind of state the house would be in after I got out, then I'd have to dry my hair which takes forever, and clean up the disaster around the house due to my 20 minute disappearance!
Hubby:....so, is that a no for the class?

I know you've got them! A list as long as the Great Wall of China of reasons why it's not your fault you're where you're at. I know that because I have them too! And I like whipping them out once in a while!

You may have noticed I used the word REASON instead of excuse (I tried to help by underlining it :) )
I really do believe that there are valid reasons for why we may put on weight and not be able to take it off. Heck, there are medical conditions that prove that's true! For me, a reason I started putting on so much weight was because of my health (or lack thereof) due to my sinus infection! You just can't get up and work out when you're sick, especially when not even Benedryl or Nyquil will work to make you feel a little more human--and especially when you're sick like that day after day!

However, there are true excuses:

noun:

8.

an explanation offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or for release from an obligation,promise, etc.: His excuse for being late was unacceptable.

9.

a ground or reason for excusing or being excused: Ignorance is no excuse.

10.

the act of excusing someone or something.

11.

a pretext or subterfuge: He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility.

12.

an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is barely an excuse for a man. Her latest effort is a poor excuse for a novel.

Sometimes I feel like people to are too mean to me when I'm giving what I believe are reasons, and they tell me I'm just making excuses for myself. "stop whining and DO IT!"  Maybe in some things they are right and I just haven't come to that realization yet. Or maybe they're being quick to judge. There's always two sides to a pancake no matter how flat you make it (Thanks, Dr. Phil!)

Here's my current thought on excuses:

Stop thinking of them as a bad thing, or that you're a bad person because you have made excuses for yourself! That will only lead to you feeling down on yourself, or adding unnecessary guilt--and no one should expect themselves to do better when they're making themselves feel worse.   Take responsibility for your excuses. You believed them to be true at one point. Maybe you still do. And that is okay, because you're allowed to learn at your own pace. No one can force you to be ready to make a life change--except God. :) And I encourage you to do it yourself before He has to intervene!  If you are at the place where you want to be happier by being healthier, then own your excuses, and move on from there.  Cut the rope of guilt of past mistakes that's keeping you at rock bottom, and start your climb up to better things ahead!  I promise you will feel more in control of your life than you did before--because you are! I will touch more on this topic in a later post about training your mind and you train your body!

SO, I'm going to be making more of a effort to free myself of my excuses, remember my reasons for why I got to the state I'm in, and focus on where I want to be! How am I going to do this? Lemme list some ways.

1. Accept that I can't do everything perfectly
2. Consistent action; be anxiously engaged in trying to reach my goals (ie: prepping food, playing with Terrah, staying true to my meal and workout plan...)
3. Remember to be flexible! Things change, and it's nothing to afraid of. In fact-- I WANT change! Especially in my body! But if I focus too much my on my schedule, I'll loose the joy of the journey, and miss learning opportunities. 
4. Have patients with myself. I may not be seeing the results I want right away, but by being consistent  they will come! 
5. Take more responsibility for the choices I make. Ie: I chose to eat that ice cream tonight. I chose not to work out. I chose not to prioritize my time better. I chose those words I spoke to my husband. I chose to wear a skirt to church even though I chose not to shave the night before... :/ Yikes.  

I am by NO MEANS perfect at this! I am super hard on myself sometime.... and too easy on myself on other things! And I'll admit that I don't like things to be my fault... I'd much rather blame someone else! But I DO believe that by freeing myself of excuses that have held me back, I can become the person I want to be and am MEANT TO BE!

Feb 24th WEEK 3

1 Lbs Fat vs. 1 lbs Lean Muscle

Ahhhh, FINALLY feeling back to normal!  That dang period really took it out of me this month! I Even had CRAMPS!  Aside from that, it was a really great week! And a bad week. Lemme 'splain a bit.

 We got to visit with my brother and sister in law and their newly adopted daughter! They were here because they were to be sealed to their daughter in the LDS Toronto Temple.  I had never been to the sealing of a child before, but it was beautiful and very special!

We also got to see our newest nephew--twice! He is so scrumptious and cute and BIG!  It was a close call for his mother after she had given birth-- very scary, but she pulled through and is doing great!
Terrah absolutely loves their baby. It was very heart melting to see her with him, and how gentle and attentive she was! A big thanks to Kira for being a good sport about letting Terrah hold her baby and helping him with his soother, blanket, baby hat....everything! :)

However...due to all this family time, it also lead to some less than ideal meal moments. DELICIOUS moments, but not really within my healthy eating guidelines. :)  HOWEVER... I did manage to up my water consumption!  I got it up to at LEAST 4 glasses a day! Huge improvement for me. Bleh, I just wish my water was yummier tasting. Am I the only one with this problem? When I lived at home my parents started buying those jugs of water because I wasn't drinking. Some days the tap water tasted like worms. Other days like lipstick.  Gross! But really... am I the only one? :(

Also, I wasn't able to make it out to Zumba this week. :( I missed my dance party! My poor HHJJ cells... I tried to make up for not going by doing more Pilates and dancing, and have been using Terrah as my weights--to her great delight.

A word about Meal Planning--- It sucks. Actually, I kind of love it, but also hate it.  I can't believe it can take me an hour to decide what I want and need to eat, 3 times a day, plus snacks and shakes, and then write it down! And I haven't even gone shopping for the food yet or started prepping it!  One day I will be rich and hire someone to do all that for me. I'll do the cooking, but they'll do all the shopping and clean up!  Or if that's too unrealistic, I would at least like my time in the kitchener to be like on the Cooking shows. "Allow to chill 3 1/2 hours. Oh look! I just happen to have one all done right here.." and all my ingredients are measured out for me in adorable dishes, and there's never any mess! Yep, that's definitely more likely to happen.

We 3 Pictures:
No pictures this week. So sorry :) Stay tuned next week for more sexy poses!


Week 3 Measurements:
Bust: 42"
Waist: 39 1/2 Inch! One inch down from last week!
Hips: 40 1/2 inch.

I'll take all the 1/2" I can get! :)

Things I Learned This Week:

• homemade mayo is DISGUSTING!
• I love stretching! I don't know why, but I somehow feel more... "open" after I stretch! I'm not sure what the right word is. Taller?  Less constrained? Probably why I love Pilates... it's a stretch and work out at the same time! And I love the soft ache in my muscles the next day after doing it. :)
• It's really hard to do anything, including be happy, when your nose is super stuffed up. This is more of a "re-learn" for me.  I realized why I was such a miserable person when my nose was stuffed up 24/7 for years!
• I still hate playing Boggle with my husband.
• If ice cream doesn't melt after being out all night... it probably shouldn't go in your body! :/ Yikes...
• THIS IS HARD!!

Go ahead, Try it!

I'll wait.






I know you didn't try it. DO IT!






Okay, you still didn't.   Moving on!


Things I Need To Improve:

• prepping ahead of time! Instead of always having to cook or prepare my meals right before needing to eat, I need to make more time prepping in advance! Hopefully this will help me feel like I don't spend so much time cooking and cleaning in the kitchen! I hate cleaning up. 
• Eat more Veggies. 
• Drink more water!
• My Boggle game.

This week we are going to look into getting me a membership at the YMCA (with their financial assistance program) so I can take classes there. I would really like to try a cycling class! We'll see how the application stuff goes!

What are YOU going to do this week to be more healthy???

Feb. 17th- WEEK 2

What. A. Week!
Ever have those weeks where you look back and think, wow, that week kinda sucked?  Or when your annoying friend from "down south" comes to visit you on Valentine's Day? And you feel irritated, and tired, and crampy, and like you don't want to do anything but you DO want to eat everything?

Yeah, that was my week. I hate those weeks. :(


BUT-- I did good with THE CHALLENGE!  I was actually able to get to WANDA'S ZUMBA Class twice this week! Once was on Valentine's Day! My husband and daughter came with me--she LOVED it! Wanda gave her a belly dancing scarf thing you tie around your waist and showed her how to twist to make it jingle, and Terrah LOVED it! Wanda always has party lights going too, so she loved dancing in all those sparkly lights.  It was very fun!  But I gotta say, it is super hard to stay motivated when you're feeling all PMSy.

I have noticed a huge change in how I feel since altering my eating habits! I'm not getting headaches anymore, and---well, I'm not sure if my mood swings are due to withdrawal or because of my monthly womanly curse.  So maybe next week I'll be able to answer that one better. :)

I've also been able to tell what my hunger level is by how I'm feeling! Example:  a few days ago I was getting really short and annoyed with Terrah, and I thought to myself, "Why am I acting like this? She isn't doing anything wrong..." Then I looked at the clock and realized I hadn't eaten anything in like 3 hours! So I ate tuna in lettuce wraps, and I felt so much happier right away! It was a big "Ah-Ha!" moment for me.  I've known for a long time that I don't eat enough, or eat frequent enough, and then when I do eat it's usually just fast carby junk because I'm so hungry!  By having a meal plan for the week, I've been getting better at avoiding those ruts, but I still am not very good at remembering to eat my snack or have my glass of water before my meal.

The thing I'm REALLY excited about is this-- yesterday I caught myself thinking, "Nah, I don't want the piece of candy in my bag. I'm thirsty, and that apple looks good."
YEAH! I thought that! I chose an apple over a chocolate bar.  However, I did go for the ice cream when we were out at a family lunch. :) And it was delicious!!

On that note, here is this weeks picture!

Abs of STEEL!

So, you ready to see this weeks measurement results?

Bust: 42"
Waist: 40 1/2"
Hip: 41"

It really sucks starting something to lose weight only to get your dang period 2 weeks in and get all bloated and gross feeling! So let's see if I can get those number to be a little smaller next week.

Weekly Evaluation: Things I need To Do Better At:

• Drink more water!  I'm a pretty picky person when it comes to drinking water, but even if I know it's yummy tasting water, I'm still not good at drinking. And when I say "not good" I mean, some days I may only have 1 glass of water for the whole day. Yikes! Not good, and not healthy, and won't help me at all with my goals! If I were a fish... I'd be dead. MUST IMPROVE THIS! 
• Stick to my meal plans and WHEN I eat them

Those are what I'm going to really focus on this week! I'm hoping that it will help me feel better, stronger, and of course--lose those inches! :)

I apologies for the Recipes and Weekly Meal Plan's not work last week-- I hope I have figured out the problem and it's working now! So much to learning ter do with dem dere blogger knowledging do-dads!!

Have a FANTASTIC week! Good health to ya! 

I Wanna Be A Model! (Setting Realistic Goals)

Seriously? Talk about being born in the wrong decade! Putting on weight was once a science? If that were still true today, I've have my PhD and be making lots of $$$!!

But no. I live in an age where this is what is considered desirable:

More modest picture chosen purposefully

Sometimes I wish I was a bear.  They're expected to get fat, they sleep all winter long, everyone knows if you mess with their cub you're going to lose your life--and they're not expected to shave! EVER! Not a bad life! :)

Seems to me as though society and media are constantly trying to tell us that even if we're over 18, have had children, health problems, or just enjoy a couple helpings of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake (from Cheesecake Factory... it was my wedding cake, in case you were curious... A-MAZING) that we should still have the body of a 14-16 (maybe 18) year old.  Not fare. Not possible for everyone. And it certainly isn't everyone's goal!  Would I love to have a space between my legs standing with my feet close together and not just while I'm doing my morning stretches? Yes, yes I would. And I plan on getting there.  But not because when a picture is taken of me I can still see the beautiful beach behind me--because I want my body to be HEALTHY!

On the flip side, I've been hearing more and more people saying that large women are beautiful as they are and shouldn't change. I have issues with that statement... It's not about being too large or too skinny. It;s about Balance and Health.  Beauty comes from within. Telling us larger woman that we're perfect as we are isn't doing us any favours. Not that telling us we're fat and need to lose weight is appropriate or okay either! :)

Which brings me around to my topic.  Since starting THE CHALLENGE I've been doing a lot of reading and serious meditation about WHY I want to change my body.  There are sooo many reasons I can think of off the top of my head, some of them including:

• having the needed energy to keep up with my daughter and be a fun mom
• being able to go into a clothing store and not feel stressed out they won't have my size, or I won't find anything flattering
• so I can fit into the piles of pretty clothing I have in my closet that are lonely from lack of use
• so I can have more children and be healthy while they grow, be strong when they are born, and be able to bounce back faster and continue being an awesome mom
• I want to be around to see my children grow, get married, have children of their own, and be an awesome Grandma

That's a short list--there are many other good reasons to get my body healthy and strong.  But as I read that list, I discovered something cool!  That my desire to be healthy is mostly centered on my true desire to be there for my family!  I'm not being selfish, self centered... I want to take care of me so I can take care of the ones I love!

The other questions I've been meditating on are the HOW, WHAT and even WHEN. 

How am I going to lose this weight? How am I going to release all this pent up stress I have? 

Imagine you have all these  "Happy Happy Joy Joy" cells in your body. And they're in prison--locked behind bars, the happiness in the seeping away.  But then, you start dancing! All that shaking, jumping, stretching, rhythm starts breaking down the jailhouse, and the HHJJ cells break free, and travel all over you--and you sweat, and you're laughing, and you can feel the happiness coming back to life! Okay, there may be some better, more technical words for that--but the imagery works for me. :)

And so I dance! And I dance often, because I don't want those jailhouses to have time to repair! When my HHJJ cells are free, I'm a better person! I have more patients with my husband and daughter, I'm more productive, I'm more organized, and I'm able to have a more positive attitude about life! Those cells are powerful guys, let me tell you!  (Huh... I used the word MORE a lot, did you notice? :) )

Dancing may not be the BEST way to keep your metabolism up throughout the whole day, but it is something you can do in spurs all day, and the HHJJ cells love me for doing it! And this is what it's all about for me-- ENJOYING LIFE MORE FULLY, not killing myself to fit in a size 2 jean (which actually fits 2 sizes smaller).  If I can keep myself feeling good and happy, I'm going to take the time to eat better and healthier! And if I cheat--not a big deal! Cuz I'm still livin' and loving life!

So, WHAT do I want my body to be? That's an easy one-- I wanna be a model! But one of those latino models with the hour glass figures and amazing cabooses! However, I NEED (which is a much stronger feeling) for my body to be where it naturally should be.  After all-- I want more children. It isn't my priority to be spending hours in the the gym getting ripped-- I want my body healthy so I can care for my kids.  I believe my body knows where it should be! It's not stupid, after all. It knows how to grow babies, feed them, heal itself-- it just needs me to co-operate so it can do its job!

The WHEN is my time goal. Obviously, I'm starting NOW.  I would like to be able to fit into the bathing suit I wore before I had my daughter. That's where I would like to get to---by summer time! I totally think this is a realistic goal, and I'm not afraid of it!  And, if by some crazy reason I don't make it (like get preggo again or something) am I going to sulk and give up and fall off the wagon? Nope. Because I'm making a life change--not just a body change!

I guess to me, the important thing every person should do before attempting weight loss, is to figure out your reasons WHY you want to. If your reasons aren't strong enough, you're not going to be able to stick to it.  I'm not just talking about writing down all these amazing points that could move the reader of it to tears... if YOU don't feel the reasons, own them, make them personal, and BELIEVE in your reasons, then it won't work.  Ponder, research, and go forward with faith and JOY!

One day, we'll be able to see our socks again. :)

**Please feel free to leave a comment with your own thoughts and feelings on this! I'd love to hear from you!**

Feb 10th-- WEEK 1

Welcome to my first week of THE CHALLENGE!!

I'm really pumped to be starting this! Really, I think this is the best time of year to make a life change-- there are no major holidays to interfere with efforts to change my eating style! Maybe that's why "Get In Shape" is such a popular New Years Resolution. :) The only sucky part about it, is it's still winter here in Canada--and I think I'm allergic to the cold. Going outside is just yucky and awful. So walking and biking are out of the question for now! Oh well, do what you can! Which is why I'm starting off with ZUMBA!! I have always loved dancing, and I'm not too bad at shaking my booty, if I do say so myself.

Once a week, I will be going to Wanda Roy's ZUMBA class!

I will also be doing 60 mins of hardcore dancing every other day (Mon, Wed, Fri) and 30 mins on the other days (Tues, Thurs, Sat)

And now, for the first pictures of myself....

Now, that would be a super cute belly if there was a baby in there! But there isn't. So stop asking. :)

**A Word About Belly Fat**

From what I have read about belly fat, the main cause of it is STRESS.  Of course diet, exercise and water retention is in there as well. However, stress seems to like to manifest itself as belly fat! It's almost as if your body is shouting to the world, "HELP! I'm going crazy here! Someone give me a back massage!"

Clearly, I have a lot of stress. 

And need a lot of back rubs. :)

And for my starting measurements:

Bust: 42 inches

Waist: 41 1/2 inches

Hips: 41 inches

You have no idea how TEMPTED I was to fudge those numbers... But, how would that help me? I'm trying to come to terms with where I've gotten myself to, so I can get to where I really want to be!

BTW, with those measurement, I'm at risk for a lot of of health issues... like, some kind of heart diseases...

So, according to Dr. Oz, the ideal waist size for women is 32 1/2 inches (35 for men)

He also says that belly fat is the most dangerous fat, since it's all up in your vital organs' faces. And you get rid of belly fat by diet--exercise isn't enough.  The Flat Belly Diet book says that monounsaturated fats (MUFAS) will eat away at all the bad belly fat... apparently that claim is not completely backed up but science, but they do say that a MUFAS diet is super good for you... so I'll still be trying the book plan out. It's also considered to be a Mediterranean diet. 

Some MUFAS are:

Avocados (yummmm!)

Sun flower seeds

Pumpkin seeds

Olive, Canola, sunflower, sesame and pumpkin oil


So it's been over a week since my first post, and I've been sticking to my plan! I think my body is going into withdrawal... I've been having a lot of headaches and some mood swings. :) I experienced these same sort of symptoms when I was doing a cleansing diet when I was about 18-19 years old, trying to figure out what was wrong with my ankles and knees--I was diagnosed with arthritis, but was able to get rid of the pain and the symptoms by removing gluten from my diet! Just goes to show you--- Doc's don't always know what they're talking about! Especially when all they do to diagnose you it poke your toes, see how flexible you are and then say "You have rhumatoid arthritis negative. It'll be $4000 a year to treat, and you may never be able to walk or have children."  In your face, SPECIALIST!

But, I digress... :)

Go ahead and check out my WEEKLY MEAL PLAN! 

The Challenge Is Set!

This year, I was feeling pretty determined that I was not going to be one of those people that makes a New Years resolution to loose all this weight, join a gym, spend a bunch of money on work out clothes, shoes, healthy food, and whatever else they do to get themselves psyched!

Then my husband opened his mouth.

Now, one thing you need to know, is that my husband is a good looking guy! Like, "WHAA?! Dang girl, Imma have to call you back!" Kind of hot. He's a complete baby faced guy, super tall, kind, hard working, gentle, sweet guy...and he works out. Always has! And he's got a great bod. ;)  He is also in school to become a Physiotherapist, so he's learning a lot about the body and nutrition and stuff. Being healthy and fit has always been a priority to him, and he enjoys working out and learning how the body works!

So, you wanna know what he said?

First of all, you need to know some things about me.  I've never been the skinniest person in the world. Not that I've always been fat, I've just never been the skinny one! Although, I wish I could go back to the size I was when I thought I was fat but really wasn't! haha

Anyways, after a cool dating/engagement story, hubby and I got married, and 7 months later found out we were expecting our little girl! We we thrilled!! However, shortly after becoming pregnant, my nose started getting all stuffed up. Everyone told me it was a common pregnancy symptom...but it just got worse. And it didn't go away after my baby was born! In fact--it still isn't gone! Anyway--what does that have to do with my weight? Well... a lot, in my opinion!  You know when you have a cold how miserable you are? Not being able to breathe really zaps the energy out of you! Now imagine being sick like that day after day after day. And have a baby that isn't a good sleeper on top of that.  So, you're constantly miserable from lack of sleep, as well as having to constantly be blowing your nose, and not being able to talk properly... and let me just say, There's a reason they use sleep deprivation as a form of torture! It makes you go crazy.

And so, healthy eating habits and working out? Not high on my priority list. I was just trying to focus my energy on reaching the next tissue and trying to blow my nose quietly enough that I didn't wake my sleeping baby or husband--and maybe catch a few winks myself if I was lucky!

And so.. I got fatter and fatter! Especially around my stomach. I got the beer belly without drinking any of the beer! So I have a couple of reason as to why I want to do this...

1. My husbands' challenge (given without even knowing it)

2. I'm a little tired of people asking me when I'm due (at church or even in the line at Wal Mart!)

and then I'm stuck trying to decide if I should just make up a pretend due date, or tell them I'm not pregnant, just fat, and make us all feel uncomfortable. And yes, there was once I wanted to tell someone I had had a miscarriage just because I wanted them to feel rotten for asking me! There. That gives you an of idea about the sort of person I am. :) 

                                   ***As a general rule, it is not polite to ask any woman when they are due unless you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are in fact pregnant! I'm surprised I have to tell people this--especially women!***

3. If I do become pregnant again, it is going to feel like a very long pregnancy!!

4. I just want to be healthier for my family and for myself! I want to feel comfortable in my own skin (and especially in my clothes!)

Are you ready to know what my husband said that sparked all of this?

It started the other week when we went to our first Zumba class with Wanda Roy

So after that class, he told me that you can't get fit by only changing your activity level to dancing once or twice a week.
(**He would also like me to add that he said that to lose weight you also have to be eating correctly. So, basically, Increase your activity level but also eat better if you want to lose weight**)

What I heard when he said that: "You can't get fit by dancing."
(If there are any men reading this, I know... Women be crazy.)

Another thing you need to know about me--I'm very competitive with my hubby. 

Now, while I agree with him that the gym is still good, it isn't an option for me. We don't have the money for a gym membership, and I don't have my own car, and I have a daughter to worry about. It's just not an option for our stage of life right now. 

And so... I gave myself The Challenge!

Step 1: Make a blog where I have to be accountable. I will post my measurements (not my lbs, because I'm not concerned about that number as much as I am my waist size! I don't even own a scale!) and I'll post my weekly meal plans (forcing me better plan my meals)

Step 2: Work out every day! Except Sunday. The rules:

-must be something *I* consider to be fun. No boring push ups, crunches or weights. Bleh. Also, running is something I won't be doing. I just don't understand running... for those of you that like it, good on ya! I just can't wrap my head around it! Basically, if you see me running, you probably should be too.. there's probably zombies behind me. 

-can do Zumba or any other kind of dance work out. Pilates/yoga is allowed. Walking and biking will be acceptable once the weather stops sucking! (one day I will live in Arizona and everything will be better... :) )
Also, as soon as I can save up enough money to buy a pole, I will be doing Pole dancing again! I did it before I got married, and it was AWESOME! I had fantastic arms, and it was just a lot of fun! That's my idea of a good work out :)

Step 3: Change how I eat.

No point doing all that working out if I'm just filling the tank back up with junk!

I'll be starting out using the Flat Belly Diet plan--I had started it before I got pregnant and was starting to notice changes, so I'm going to give it another try. I've also been reading "YOU on a diet" (Dr. Oz) and will use some of the stuff in there, as well as the "Natropatic Diet" which worked really well for my parents, each losing 45+ lbs in just one summer of doing it!

There's lots of diet plans and stuff out there, so I'm just going to start with these and see how it goes. 

The whole point of doing this is to start enjoying life more! And so, this doesn't mean I will be cutting out all sugar from my diet. Or carbs. Yeah, I'm allergic to gluten, so I have to watch how much bread I'm eating anyway. But I'm not going to stress out when I want a treat! My goal is to get to the point where I WANT that apple instead of that bowl of ice cream.  I believe my body wants to be healthy, and so by doing my part, it will naturally get to where it should be. There's a lot of reprogramming that needs to happen in this body and mind of mine! It has taken a while to get to this point, so I need to give myself time to get out of this rut I'm in. And that means not killing myself in the beginning!

I'm excited and nervous about this journey, especially since I'm making it all public! :)

If you've read to the end of this, Thank you for your support! I will really need it as I get this going!!

Next Post: Measurements, pictures, first meal plan!