You Can't Have Just One

Do you remember the Lays commercials that would say, "You can't eat just one."?  I remember as a kid making up my own commercial where I was able to eat only one.  Well last night at work I kind of had to remind myself of this little commercial.  I gave into my want for fries last night.  This is both good and bad.  The bad is that I couldn't eat just one.  The good is that I didn't go crazy and the fries themselves didn't taste all that great.  Has my body become a little conditioned to dislike the taste of grease?  I hope so!!  I have always been told that if you crave something it is better to give into that craving or else you might end up binging on what you've been craving.  So I gave in and had some fries.  I am actually glad that they didn't taste as good as I was hoping.  It's nice to know that I will for sure be able to survive without fries in my life.  

I really thought that I would miss fried food.  There are times when I would like to indulge myself in fried cheese or boneless buffalo wings, but it's not to the point where I crave it.  YAY!!!!  

Goals for the upcoming week:

1. Stay strong and resist the fried food

2. Try to get 1 gallon of water down before having a soda

3. Walk every day

Month 1 gone!!

So the last time I wrote was August 1st.  I decided last month to give up fried foods.  I am happy to report that for the most part I was able to stay fried food free.  There were two instances when I slipped up and one of them was unconsciously done.  I find this to be a big victory in my book.  I plan on continuing the trend.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it was.  In face it has proven to be a lot cheaper by cutting out fries from fast food meals.  It has also forced me to make better decisions while eating out.

For the next month my goal is to continue with not eating fried foods.  I am also planning on limiting the time I eat out to once maybe twice a week, that goes for lunch as well.  I'm trying my best to count calories and watch my sugar and carb in take.  Also, since school has started, I have made it my mission to get dressed for walking.  After I drop Ashlynn off at school, the girls and I head to the park for a good walk.  I was able to walk three times this week.  I also found a neat little app that tracks my distance, time, and calories burnt for me.

Here are three things I find have helped me in this journey:

1. Lose It! app-It has helped me to track my calories, tell me how many calories I can have, and also show me where I am on my weight loss.

2. Sparkrecipes.com-This has helped me to find low carb recipes using chicken or ground turkey.  Since Brendan is diabetic, I try to cook as low carb as possible.

3. Log Your Run Free app-This app is free and it tracks my distance, time, and calories burnt.  You can customize it with routes.  It also keeps a log of your stats for the day, week, and month.  I really like this one!!!

So that's how the last month has gone.  Oh, did I forget to mention that I lost 11 lbs. last month!!!  WOO HOO!!!  Very excited about this.  I am officially under my pre-pregnancy weight.  I hope the next month is just as successful.

Another Beginning

I started this blog last year (I believe) and titled it "The New Me". I am not a faithful or diligent writer by any means. However, I'm going to give this blogging another whirl.

3 weeks ago I decided to join in a friendly Biggest Loser competition (I hate to use that word, but could not come up with anything better). I'm not quite sure why I couldn't just take off right from the beginning. I'm not quite sure I didn't throw myself full force into it. Instead I only put half my heart in it. Because I didn't start out fully committed, my results have been mediocre.

Today is August 1st. I made up my mind yesterday that today was the day!! I am going to be more focused and more dedicated to the journey I started out on over a year ago. I have always struggled with my weight. Why is that? Because I love food!! There is no other excuse except that I have an affection for food. Not just any food, but the food that is not good for me. Whew, I finally admit it!! A big step in the right direction!!

I may not write every day, but I will try to write as often as I can.

Thanks for sticking in there with me!!!

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32 Weeks!!! 8 weeks and Counting!!!

I can't believe it has been 10 weeks since my last post. Boy do I feel negligent.

As you can see, I'm not the most diligent person in the world. I'm doing better though.

I've been a SAHM for almost 2 years now. The one thing I've had to learn to do is to manage my time better. It's taken me almost 2 years to get into a decent routine. When I first started staying home, I lost all concept of time. I'd get preoccupied with goofing off on the computer that I would look down and notice that half of the day was gone. Then I would realize that I hadn't accomplished anything!! If anything, it taught me how to be a better time manager and a better housekeeper.

Am I saying that I don't have lazy days? No way. There are still days when I just feel blah and can't stay motivated. However, having two kiddos at home makes it rather hard to have lazy days. Now with #3 soon to arrive, I've been doing my best to keep a tighter schedule so I don't get behind on things. One thing that has helped me keep on track is to start the day off with a chore. It is usually laundry. We have a ton of it!! If I stay on top of it then it is less overwhelming. I have also tried to keep up with the dishes. I have found, for myself, that if the dishwasher is empty whenever dinner is over, then all I have to do is load it up with that evenings dishes.

I know that a lot of this seems like common sense, but it has actually been hard for me to do. I'm not the neatest person in the world and I used that excuse to my advantage. Well I realize that I'm not setting a good example for my kids by being consumed with the computer or television. I'm so thankful for an understanding husband. He very rarely will say anything about the house. All I can say is that I'm getting better. I'm also learning to let go of things and throw them out!!! I'm very sentimental, but I know that I don't need the tag from the shirt I got back in my senior year of high school. :)

Again, another aspect of the new me!!!

Week 22 and counting

This is day number 155 and you're 22 weeks pregnant!
You have 125 days or 18 weeks left, and are 55.4% of the way there.

Time does fly when you're having fun!!! I try to look at it as fun anyways. I can honestly say that I enjoy being pregnant. I know that there are a lot of symptoms that come with being pregnant, and I say bring them on. I think that any person who struggles with getting pregnant, has had a miscarriage, or has had multiple miscarriages will say the same thing.

I remember asking my mom, when I was younger, if she thought I would have any problem getting pregnant. She didn't think I would and I was definitely living on her optimism whenever we decided to try having a baby. I remember the very first time I saw that positive pregnancy test back in October 2004. Brendan and I were so excited. I remember going in for my first appointment and seeing that little heartbeat on the screen. It was still hard to believe that that little baby was inside me. I remember going to our next appointment (I was almost 14 weeks). I remember them putting the doppler on my stomach and not being able to pick up anything. They pulled in the u/s machine and there was no hb. Brendan and I were devestated. I just couldn't imagine why this had happened. Of course I automatically thought that it was something I had done. I remember the Saturday before I found out we were pregnant, I had fallen and taken advil to help with my swollen ankle. I was just sure that was why I had lost the baby. It wasn't until later that I found out that 60% of first time pregnancies end in a miscarriage. This was on December 24, 2004.

I found out in April 2005 that I was pregnant again!! I'm so thankful that my mom was right. I was afraid that it was going to take a while to get pregnant after having my miscarriage. I remember going in for my first appointment and just praying that everything would be good. We got to see our little baby on the screen and see that beautiful little heart beating. I remember having a lot of anxiety right before the second appointment. I can honestly say one of the most beautiful sounds is hearing that heartbeat for the first time!! Such a wonderful sound!!! I remember being anxious before every appointment because I was so afraid that something was going to be wrong. Looking back now, if I had just put all my faith in God, my anxiety level would not have been as high. In December 2005, Ashlynn Lauren graced us with her presence and life has never been the same since.

I said all that to say this, when I got pregnant with Ashlynn I welcomed every symptom that came with the pregnancy. I was just so thankful to be having a baby and so thankful that the baby was healthy. Here I am, pregnant with baby 3, and am still welcoming every symptom and trying to not complain. I think back to the verse we tell Ashlynn to recite whenever she starts to complain (Phil 2:14-Do everything without complaining or arguing). I know that it will do me no good to complain about it. In fact, if all I do is complain then who would want to listen to me anymore. I'm not saying that being pregnant isn't hard. I know it is. This is my 4th time and with each one the symptoms are progressively worse. However, I'm just thankful for the fact that I am able to have children and look at each pregnancy as a blessing.

Do I get sick? I do, and this time it lasted into my 16th week. I remember getting excited whenever I went the whole week w/o throwing up!! It's the little things that make me happy. Do I sleep well? Some days yes, some days no. Is it hard to do everyday tasks the bigger my belly gets? Of course it is, but I don't let it stop me or get me down. Do I have swelling? Right now I don't, but with Ashlynn and Peyton I had ridiculous swelling. My ankles were so big and tight it would hurt to walk. The swelling is one of the main reasons I had to be induced with Peyton. Do I have mood swings? Like you wouldn't believe. My poor husband is usually at the brunt of my mood swings too. He takes it all in stride. He's a wonderful support system and I know that there is no way I could get through a day w/o him here.

I know that this is kind of lengthy, but it is something that has been on my chest and I needed to get it off. I'm so very thankful that I am able to have children. I know that it is hard for some and even impossible to conceive and that is why I choose not to complain. I have 18 weeks to go and I keep praying that my blood pressure and swelling do not get out of control like they have with the other two pregnancies. Here's to the next 18 weeks!!!