Stay-At-Home Mom?

There are many days I ask myself if I really am a stay-at-home mom. My oldest is on the verge of graduating from high school and heading to the U.S. Navy early this next Fall. My youngest is going to be a junior in high school and merely TWO YEARS from graduating herself. Hubby works from home most days, but obviously I'm not his mom. hehe

This transition has been perplexing, at best. I'm not sure I am a stay-at-home mom. I guess technically I am a mom, and I do stay at home (not working outside of the house). But when I envision stay-at-home moms, I see powerful women with a kiddo or two running about the house, running errands to and fro with the kids, various craft and educational activities with their children's young budding minds. My days of that are long past. I have young adults, not children. I do stay very active with the high school's Air Force Jr. ROTC program (as both children have been very active within it throughout their high school careers). But that's not all that time consuming MOST days.

Keeping on a schedule is also tough when a lot of the time you're the only one at the house, and you have no vehicle (beyond a bicycle) to run around town. Today was one of those tough days. I woke up later than I wanted. I ate some pineapple and checked email/Facebook/etc...then I watched the news for a while. a couple of hours later I prepared some lunch (leftovers) and worked on some med trans. I found myself suddenly VERY TIRED. So I decided to take a nap. A short 45 minute nap turned into 2.5 hours!! It looked like my day was all but dashed away when I decided to go upstairs and workout with the Kinect. I kept at it for 50 minutes and burned 140 calories between the warm-up, cardio boxing, and Latin dancing.

I truly felt proud of myself for walking up that small flight of stairs and sticking with my commitment to work out. Although I have "plan b" still in place, I want desperately for this to work!! I AM feeling better overall, even if the numbers on the scale aren't moving quickly. The ladies on Facebook in my Six Week Challenge group have been wonderful, also!! But I'm still not sure I qualify as a true "stay-at-home mom." =)

The Little Things

Well, I've had one week of a small gain and one week of a loss. I'm not at even, so I'm quite pleased. I can probably trace back why I had both the success and the moderate "failure," which doesn't make it a failure at all, I suppose.

Yesterday, I worked out twice. Once at home with the xBox 360 Kinect (Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012) and then again at the local rec center. I woke up this morning and was incredibly sore!! I guess usually I would have let that stop me from doing any more activity today, but I sucked it up and went upstairs for another Kinect session this morning. I DO feel slightly better having done so, and I know the soreness will work its way out in time.

 So I sat here, writing my workout and foods down, as hubby jotted off to lunch with a co-worker and thought I'd paint my nails. I chose a bright "hot pink" color as it is indicative of my mood today. I'm happy!

I'm making progress and taking stock of the little things that lift my spirits. The paint on my nails will also help serve as a reminder. When I'm  at the gym, or contemplating skipping my workout altogether, I can look at my hands with their jovial color and remember how I felt today. I like this feeling and I KNOW I'll want to repeat it. 

Isn't it interesting how something so minor as lacquer on fingernails can inspire and keep motivation humming?  Here's to the little things!!

Rewards

Who doesn't love getting rewards? There are so many things we do for ourselves and others, just because. But every now and then, rewarding ourselves for magnificent efforts is a GREAT motivator!!

I've told you about my FitBook, but today I want to go into more detail. This thing has been GREAT!!!! 

 
This is the page where I first addressed rewards in my FitBook. You can make as many goals as you want. The first week I made FAR TOO MANY goals. The next week I scaled it down to a much more reasonable amount. I've yet to cash in on a reward, but this week is looking promising! =) 

When thinking about rewards, you have to be careful. Initially I thought I'd put my reward as a Slurpee from 7-11. Then I thought about the health benefits of that...which of course, are NONE. So I chose instead to interject a little pampering. This week's reward? A facial at a local spa/salon. I got one in January and it was.....FANTASTIC!!!! 

I'm thinking of continuing this trend with my rewards. Each new reward will be a little bit of self-pampering. Maybe a movie, trip to Ulta (my FAVORITE makeup/perfume stop), spa trip, massage, maybe a new PC or xBox game, etc.... Any suggestions?

This is what the wrap up looks like:

I have chosen to go ahead and write down little notes in the margins of the daily pages. Some of them pertain to my mood that day, others are frustrations, etc. I think it will help me overall. 

I've also joined a group on Facebook lately that has a monetary incentive. The reward there is cold hard cash!! You put in $10 and then have a weekly weight in. The person with the most weight lost (percentages) wins the pot! Yay!! 

Do you have a reward that works best for you? Good luck friends!

Plan B

For 2 weeks now I have been working out a lot more (at least 5 days a week) and writing down what I eat in a fitbook. I'm going to give this plan 3 solid months. If I don't see significant results in that time period then I'm going to a bariatric surgeon for a consultation. 

So far I'm actually doing better than I thought I would. The fitbook allows you to make weekly goals and rewards. Week One: walk 2 miles, workout 1 hr minimum, no more than 4 :( during the week. Reward: Professional Manicure. Week Two: Lose 5 lbs, go to the gym in the mornings (missing no more than 3 mornings), no diet drinks or Cokes, water or tea only. Reward: Professional Manicure. Week Three (Current): Lose 5 lbs, miss no more than 2 gym days, no fried foods all week. Reward: Facial at the Spa. I didn't quite make it during weeks 1 and 2 (only missed the 1 hr week one, missed 3 days of gym totally week two). I was THRILLED with my weight loss during week two, though! Yay!! I was down 7.5 LBS!!! I had to look at the scale twice to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

I think my success this go around, I know its still early, is the fact that I don't feel alone. My hubby has been going to the gym with me. I think another added benefit is that I feel as though there is a "plan B" this time. There never was a backup plan in the past, it was just "do this and succeed!" I'm still going to give this my all, regardless of any other plans. 

Looking forward to continued success and enjoying that Spa Facial this next week. 

Step into my office....

So I've "struggled" with my weight for years, I know you've all heard this before. I've watched the scales creep up pound by pound. I've recommitted myself to the cause of losing the excess so many times, I've begun to lose count.


Today my husband and I sat on the back porch and he suggested that perhaps it was time to look into surgical options. So now I begin my research. I'm thinking I'll make an appointment at a local surgical center this week. At least I can see what they have to say. I know in the past I've considered surgery to be "cheating" to lose the pounds, but I'm starting to rethink that.



I still believe that exercise is the key to my weight loss overall. But late night "sneaks" to Burger King or Taco Bell aren't helping my case either. Its a matter of will power, and my will is not what it once was... I'm not sure what to expect, really. I just know that I'm tired of feeling this way all the time. I'm tired of crying and feeling hurt every time my loving husband tries to sincerely help me with these struggles, or even bring the subject of weight up.


I want a healthy alternative that I can accomplish. I think now may be the time. Over the years I have developed sensitivities to various items. Milk and dairy products make me cough and tear up my stomach something fierce. I thoroughly enjoy all things dairy, but they certainly don't enjoy me. Most foods that give some people mild cases of gastric distress (i.e. broccoli, beans, etc...) seem to send me into a tailspin. I also ADORE steak!! But if I eat more than about 3oz. then all my plans for the evening will include a porcelain throne. Ugh! I've taken Bean-o and Imodium so much, I should own stock in the companies. I am not totally sure if this is all due to aging physiological bodies or a sign of a greater issue.  Checking into this surgery will be my first step to getting my life back. Wish me luck, friends.