Deadlines....

Do you set them? I'm notorious for setting deadlines and then waiting until the last moment (for most of them, anyways. There are a few things that I do over a time period) to actually accomplish the project. I almost always meet the deadline, but sometimes it requires a day or two of very, very little sleep as I crank it all out at the last moment.

I guess my weight loss goals are no different. I'd been neglecting my workouts, and my Couch to 5K plans for the past couple of weeks, until I realized that my deadline (a 5K about a month from now) was getting REALLY close, and really quickly!

This week, my main goal has been getting my training run/walks in at least every other day. So far, I've met that goal. In fact, two days ago I managed to run for 15 minutes, which is a huge milestone for me. We'll see if I can do it again as I climb onto the treadmill during naptime. Fingers crossed!

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous (okay, A LOT nervous) about running a 5K. It's been a long time since I was able to run that much. Even now, the most (mileage-wise) that I've been able to crank out at a time is a measly 1 mile. I know that's still pretty good, considering I've just recently started training for it, but it's slightly frustrating. I need to add about another 2 miles to that in the next month. I'm hoping that at some point, a switch will be flipped and it'll just come back to me and I'll magically make it from 1 mile to 3 in the next month. I miss running, and I remember that every time I get started on the treadmill. It's kind of like seeing an old friend again. I only just recently (read: 3ish years ago) really started running and enjoying it, and I didn't realize how much I missed it until this last month when I started working out again.

For all of you runners out there, any words of advice? Any words of motivation? I am feeling frustrated that I can't get past the one mile hump that quickly. I know that I'm still overweight and working on getting back into running shape, but it's still mentally frustrating. I guess I sort of expected that I would just fall back into it when I started it up again, and that hasn't happened.

What are your "go-to" motivating phrases for working out? Runners, what are your favourite running songs? (I think I need to mix up the music a little, too!)

Tasty Tuesday's

Wow...when Heidi and I get back on track, we both seem to do it with gusto. This morning I woke up and got a work out in. THAT IS RIGHT. With two kids playing next to me I moved and grooved to the Burlesque Ballet by Yoga Booty Ballet. I am also on glass number 2 of water. Its a good way to start the day!!!!!!

Tonight I am making a joke of a meal...literally. It started when my husband began becoming a vegetarian. I had been one most of my life. We've dubbed it Tofu Surprise. Surprise! Yes, it became a surprise because he actually liked it.

Tofu Surprise
1 block of Extra Firm Tofu (drained and pressed)
1 package of Whole Grain Noodles (cooked, drained and set aside)
6 oz of Breadcrumbs (seasoned to your liking--we use 2tsp garlic, 2 tsp onion powder, 2 teaspoons paprika and 1 teaspoon cinnamon)
Slice Tofu into small cubes, dredge the tofu into breadcrumbs
Panfry Tofu Cubes in Olive Oil, toss with veggies such as peppers and onions (to your family's liking)
Serve over Pasta

ENJOY!

Tasty Tuesdays

I've got two very different recipes for you this week, but both I've been experimenting with for the past few days.

The first is a make-it-yourself yogurt recipe. I didn't have a reliable crockpot, so I asked (and received) a yogurt maker for my birthday, and have been using that. However, if you've got a crock pot, then this is definitely a recipe you need to try out!!

Homemade yogurt




Second is something I made up, and when I made it, there was no measuring. I'm guestimating the amounts listed here, so feel free to play around with what I've got listed here.


Blueberry Pork Loin

1 store-bought pork loin (any size, just adjust the cooking time)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup blueberries (I used frozen, but I would think you could use fresh, you just might want to add some water)
1 tsp each of ground cloves, ground ginger, and ground cinnamon
2 to 3 thickly cut orange slices


glaze: 1 tbsp cornstarch
sugar, to taste (I used about 1 tbsp)
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Layer orange slices on the bottom of your crockpot. Lay pork on top, and then just dump everything else into the crock pot (not glaze ingredients!). Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork is falling apart.

Just before serving, scoop out about 1 cup of the juice/drippings that have accumulated in the crockpot. Cook on low heat to boiling, adding the cornstarch, blueberries, and sugar to taste. Once thickened, serve 1 tbsp at a time, over slices of the pork loin.

Enjoy!

When I Plateaued....

I got a bit discouraged and gave up. That was until recently. Last week I kicked back up into High Gear and by weeks end 6's felt GREAT. Feeling confident I became a "fan" of Weight Watchers, which seemed to bring some hostility about my body image, and then again about how I am raising my children.

Sure, like any mother I am fearful that I am doing it all right, and lets face it...I am not, but my choosing to like Weight Watchers does not create my self as a person, mother, wife or friend. Its simply something I hope to help me on my journey.....

The journey that I thought would be over by now...and so it was, but it must begin. When I began I cut sweets and was craving them on a daily basis. With Summer in high gear...okay, it was for like a week, I was loving living behind Rita's. I also however felt this could come to be detrimental.

So tonight I have decided to set some new goals, guidelines and boundaries. As humans we're continually growing, changing and creating the person we are. Funny...I wonder if we ever actually figure it out of if Heaven is the place you truly become your true self, but anyway, my new changes.

Tomorrow:
Back to NO SWEETS. Yes. Sorry children. Mommy is going to be a crab. To reward myself, I plan to have ONE Ice a Week. For those not familiar with Rita's Italian Ice, I suggest you become familiar...VERY FAMILIAR. These low or no fat ices quench that sweet tooth and inner ice cream drive!

There will be no snacks UNLESS it is Yogurt (GAG), Fruit or Veggies...and that is without dip...even though YES, carrots DO taste better with RANCH OR BLEU CHEESE.

Three, 8 glasses of water a day. NO QUESTIONS.

Four EXERCISE.

These seem like pretty simple changes...however after eating two bowls of cereal tonight, I am pretty sure they need to be written (or typed) out so that I can follow them....keep up on top of me....how have you made changes?

Summer days....

I am SO looking forward to summer! The past couple of weeks, we've had glimpses of it here in Maine, and I'm getting a little impatient waiting for it to completely arrive. The grass is growing greener, and my hostas and daylilies are poking their heads through the ground. It's my favourite time of year - the time when days are getting longer and brighter, everyone and everything seems happier, and there's a sense of "I can do this!" in the air.

This time of the year always means two things for me, when it comes to my weight loss journey:

1) I can exercise outside!! The possibilities are endless: walks/hikes with the kids, bike rides, swimming, to name a few

2) FRESH fruits and veggies! Here in Maine, we're especially blessed to have an abundance of pick-your-own veggie/fruit places within an easy 1 hour drive from our house. During the summer, we can pick strawberries, blueberries, peaches, pears, raspberries, peas, tomatoes, corn, cabbage, spinach, cucumbers, and the list just goes on and on. If I can't find somewhere to take the kids to pick our own, the Portland Farmers Market (twice a week during the summer - yippee!!) has just about everything else. Once we get our own garden going, the amount of fresh produce in our house is unbelievable.

My goal this summer is to get outside as much as possible and get all of us - all FIVE of us! - moving. We have a great yard, and access to amazing hiking trails all around. I think I might be getting over my fear of ticks (EWWWWWWW) and am getting better at recognizing them. If we end up staying in Maine, I need to just get used to them - the outdoors are too marvelous to miss out on here. Ticks are a fact of life here - I need to accept that and move on.

The sun is shining today, I worked out last night, and all of the kiddos slept in today. It's a good day - and summer's coming! I can't wait!!

It's all for convenience's sake?

I think I made a mistake last night.




I finally gave in and watched "Super Size Me" - because I was able to find it and borrow it from the library, free of charge. Last night, Mike and I put the kids to bed, pulled out the couch (it's a fun sleeper sofa from Ikea), and curled up under some blankets to watch the movie.

I think I kind of wish I hadn't now. I was disgusted by the change in Morgan's health in just one month of eating McDonald's. I mean, I KNOW that no one is meant to eat from the golden arches every meal of every day - but there are a lot of people who do. Not only that, but there are a lot of people who eat only fast food for their meals, or a lot of people that don't MAKE their own meals, but eat just as processed, just as full of fat/salt/sugar meals that come from the frozen food section at the grocery store.

I'm still digesting (pun intended) the movie and I'm sure it will cause many, many blog posts, but for now, I've gotten far enough in my thought process to really want to try to eradicate fast food (for the most part) from our diets. We don't eat there much now anyways - but I do make special stops here and there. I don't want to be feeding that to my kids any more - so I've been trying really hard to avoid it for the past couple of weeks. I was pretty proud of myself for driving by multiple fast food places twice this week and talking myself OUT of stopping because it'd be "easier" and "faster" than going home making dinner or lunch from scratch. Sure, it would have been more convenient to go through the drive through - but I'm really happy that I didn't. Instead, the first night, I made a great dinner of grilled chicken, steamed broccoli and home made dish of whole wheat pasta with a light cheese sauce (as a side dish). Each of the boys ate a great dinner - and I completely controlled the quality of the food they ate. The second time was lunch, and we went home to fresh sandwiches with fresh fruit on the side. Did it take me longer to make? Yep, definitely. BUT - it was higher quality food and they ate it just as well as the greasy nuggets or burgers they would have gotten from McDonald's.

I was shocked at Morgan's change in emotional health during the course of the experiment. I'll blog about that later, but I was thoroughly surprised in his increase of depression and decrease of happiness as he got more and more into the month of McDonald's. I'm still thinking about that - but I'm sure it'll come up in a blog in the near future.

A lot of the pull of McDonald's - or the frozen meals or pizzas, or whatever - is the convenience factor. It's really easy to have a meal ready in just a few minutes if you use those products - or eat at the fast food restaurants. But what's the payoff? What are we trading for that convenience? Our physical and emotional health? I don't know if it's worth it.....


I've been trying really hard to get boxed, prepared foods out of our house. It's more of an experiment just to see if I can actually do it more than anything else. I still have a few (Goldfish crackers are a MUST in a house with a 5 year old, a 4 year old and a 16 month old!), but I'm really trying to shift our focus onto fresh fruits, vegetables, and fresh dairy products. I'll be the first to admit that the biggest stumbling block for me comes when I have to pack a school lunch. There are SO many restrictions on what I can pack (no nuts, no sesame, no garlic, no _______.....) that it does make it really hard to find enough food to pack. Through in a very picky 5 year old - he likes fresh fruit, but it can't brown at all before he gets to it, - and it's nearly impossible without relying on the boxed crackers and snacks that all his friends bring and that he WANTS. I really have a hard time finding things that he'll 1) eat and 2) meet all of the restrictions.

I'm still working through my reaction to the movie, but I know two things for sure now:

1) We're going to really limit our fast food indulgence. I think maybe once a month will be okay, but definitely not more than that. Ideally, I'd like to stop completely, but until more restaurants fit into our budget, I don't think that's possible. We still like to go out to eat as a family as a special night, and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. Until I have more choices for a family of 5 to eat under $25, I don't think we'll be ending our fast food indulgence completely.

2) I'm going to work harder to move us away from convenience foods in general, and work harder at fresh, home made meals and snacks. Summer is a perfect time to do this - the amount of fresh, inexpensive food just multiplies like crazy. I'm going to have a big garden again this year, and I'm going to focus on growing more of our staples (more tomatoes, more lettuce, Baby #1 is really insistent on peas, etc). I'll supplement that with the farm stand down the street, and see what we can make happen and if we can get into the habit of choosing fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.


What do you think? Have you seen the movie?

Living in a Gray World

And no, I don't mean the town.

I had a discussion today (which was actually a follow up discussion from this past weekend) that's really been weighing on my mind. It does - and it doesn't - apply to my weight loss mission, so take it with a grain of salt. The discussion wasn't in regards to weight loss, but the argument can be made across my weightloss journey, my faith journey, and my home life.

Before I get started, I want to point out that I do respect the person I was talking to. I just happen to disagree with them. I'm curious to see what others say.

This discussion was in regards to youth ministry. For those of you who don't know, I'm a Catholic youth ministry coordinator. Basically, what that means, I coordinate the religious education programs for the seventh thru twelfth grade students in our parish here in Maine. It's often a lot of work, and often very challenging. I love it, though - and have found that I'm kind of naturally conditioned to working with that age level.

But enough about me. The discussion revolved around whether or not you could teach basic Catholic teachings to teenagers. Some members of the discussion argued that no, you couldn't, and that teenagers are not open to hearing about the doctrine of the Church. Some argued that you could, but not as a "black and white" issue - that you had to be willing to present the gray areas. Some argued that you COULD present it as black and white, but with compassion for the gray.

I've been thinking about it since the conversation started two days ago. I think I've decided that you HAVE to present Catholic teachings in black and white - but with compassion for the gray. In my mind, you acknowledge the gray, but you don't concede to it. Just because it exists doesn't mean that we look the other way or bend the rules. Just because the gray is there doesn't mean that the black and white fades away - it just changes how we present the black and white. In my experience with the Church, I've come to grow into an understanding for the majority of the Church's teachings. Sure, there are still some that I am having a hard time with - we all have those struggles - but I think that if the Church started teaching that "this is what's ideal, but if you can't do that, then it's okay too" then the Church would start to dissolve and become the church. (with a little C, not a big C). I think that's a slippery slope for the Church to head down. I'm reading a great book right now about the scandal within the Church and idea of reform within the Catholic Church, and the author makes a great point that every good REFORM starts with a reversion to the basics. You can't reform until you return to the basics. I find that great food for thought.

As I drove home from my meeting this morning, I realized just how much this idea of "gray area" has permeated all aspects of our lives. I started thinking about weight loss and how we're all so scared of being honest with ourselves and our children - or the society we live in - because we're afraid of the "gray." We're afraid of offending someone, we're afraid of causing psychological harm to our children, we're afraid of stepping on someone else's toes. While I'm not saying that we disregard other backgrounds and experiences (this is where the COMPASSION comes into play), I think I'm starting to realize that at some point, I'm going to have to take a stand. When it comes to weight loss, I think that results in being honest with myself and my children. Am I overweight? Yes. Are they? Not at all. Could it have health consequences for me in the future? Definitely - it already has. Is that health concern what I base my diet and meal choices on? Yes. And I think it's okay to tell my kids that. Hiding the black and white truth, in this situation specifically, only will cause more gray and confusion in the future.

So today, I'm stating my black and white beliefs:

I'm a stay-at-home mom, and while I'm often struggling to pay the bills, I'm okay with that. I don't WANT to work. I WANT to be a mom. That's my black and white and I'm okay with it. No more hiding that truth because other people think I wasted a college degree. That's the gray - and I'm not living in the gray anymore.

I'm Catholic to the core. It makes sense to me, and I believe it's the Truth.

I'm fat. 'Nuf said. And I'm working on that because yes, I am at higher risk for health problems due to my weight.


How about you? What's your black-and-white? How does it relate to your gray?