Two steps forward and two steps back. . . .

I get so frustrated that I make progress for a few days and then revert right back to bad habits. And I have no one to blame but myself. I am trying to focus on small lifestyle changes-but then a busy schedule, work, or lack of good food choices at home are my excuses to fall of the bandwagon so to speak. With a new dog, I am doing better about exercising more regularly. But it is not to the intensity that I am used to. I really like the gym and w/o childcare cost this upcoming year (w/ all three boys in school all day), it is more affordable. But my consistency is seriously lacking-so do I want to spend money on something I may or may not use. I just wish I would be more consistent w/the positive changes and minimize my negatives.

Exercise, exercise, exercise

I spent the week at my mom's, and did LOTS of exercising. And my muscles were feeling it. Unfortunately, the scale was not. I am just trying to make choices that are good for my health and focus more on that then what the scale says. I work the next several nights, so I hope to keep up the exercising. I read a magazine that encouraged you to change 10%. Exercise 10% more, eat 10% more fruits/veggies, sleep 10% more, eat 10% less a day, and lose 10% of your weight. Considering I don't usually eat any fruit- I am going to try to eat 1 piece a day, but I think that puting the smaller goals out there is helpful and not so overwhelming. We got a puppy this week- who is a BUNDLE of energy. So, I will definately be exercising 10% more since I have to keep up with him.

Well . . . . .

I did really good exercising last week. My mom got a new wii game- get active and it kick my butt. It has a lot of preset work outs. With squats, and lunges. Some cardio and then . . . . you guessed it- more squats and lunges. And did I mention it had jumping squats and even more lunges. After 3 days in a row- my thighs were feeling the burn. So, I hope to continue this week, but maybe not with so many squats and lunges.

Great start to a new week.

I had a great start to the new week. The boys have been doing a great job helping around the house. Since, my house is on the market- the cleaning is more important than ever. So, I got the boys a new chore chart thingy- and they are doing a great job. That allowed me the time to work out this morning before church. I hope to be able to maintain that momentum. It is sometimes hard to balance doing fun things for summer and a normal exercise routine. I haven't been to the gym lately but it is hard to take all 3 since they don't allow kids under the age of 12 on the equip. Well, hopefully I can figure out something that works for the summer.

Fighting myself and losing.

With the start of summer, I have not done well with exercising and then in tow my eating. And even though I know I can do better, I can't always regain my focus. And its frustrating. I have gained and lost the same 2-3lbs for like 2 weeks now. I have worked a majority of last few days and it is hard getting used to the change. Flipping from days to nights and back again is difficult. And when I work some many days in a row, it is hard to motivate myself to exercise. Next 2 weeks I don't work as many days, so hopefully I can get on the right track. But I got to go exercise now.

Well . . . .

Well . . . . . I did a lot better yesterday UNTIL the boys and I went out to dinner to celebrate the last day of school. I suppose I could of done worse. I am updating my blogs while the boys are doing homework, then I am going to exercise and hopefully stay on track for the WHOLE day. Got lots planned for the day and better get on the stick!

Balance

Balance is a tricky thing to achieve. I have noticed more and more that I can't seem to find the right balance. IE the right amount of sleep, amount of exercise, and food. I don't have too much control on the sleep thing with working nights and all. But sometimes I can sleep but my mind will just not shut off. And there are times that I need to get stuff done but can't seem to get out of bed. I also will push myself exercising too hard and then not being able to walk the next day. I am getting too old ;). And I do the same thing with eating. Really watch myself and then I am STARVED! And it stinks. Because the only thing that is keeping me from my goals is myself. So, I am going to try to find some balance.

Wii fit

I have had my wii fit about 2 weeks now and I keep gaining and losing the same 2 lbs. It is so hard with my work schedule. I am glad that I haven't gained anymore weight, but am frustrated at the lack of progress. I hope to do a better job with my eating-which I think my work schedule asside- is the biggest problem. I have lots to do in the yard, but my allergies are really acting up- so I am trying to avoid the yardwork when I can. But that lawn just won't stop growing, and with all the rain- it's growing fast. I hope to be able to stay more focused on my portions and my food choices.

Just plain laziness!

The best of intentions are just not being enough these days. I am the queen of procrastination. I could blame it on the weather-raining and raining and RAINING! But quite frankly, I think I am just being lazy. I am doing better with my eating, so that is good, but I need to get on the stick with the exercising. And cleaning the house, and weeding, and mowing the lawn, and lots of things on my Things to Do List. I have great plans but horrible follow through lately. So, hopefully I can make some progress this weekend instead of putting things off.

Oh, well . . . .

Unfortunately, my busy schedule has interfered with my exercise routine. And my lack of will power has yet again sabotaged my diet. Hopefully, this little lesson has taught me to remain focused and more accountable. We will see. I hope tomorrow is a better day. But have a lot to do, so maybe not. But friday, I have no excuses. . . . Well, not yet anyway.

3.5miles today

Well, today I was on the elliptical for 3 1/2 miles. But this afternoon, my back is killing me. So, I must have pulled it sometime today. The boys and I pigged out on Easter candy yesterday. Which I know isn't good. But really peeps are just sugar, and I only had 1 Reese's eggs. Which are the best candy EVER! But my plan is to not pig out again. The boys are doing a good job of making a dent in the Easter candy. And they are doing a great job of reminding me to exercise. One day at a time.

How many miles can you go?

At the gym, they have a map of the US and they are challenging people to keep track of their miles-to see how where they could have walked/run/biked to. It is kinda fun. Thinking in a year you could have ran to New York. I think Oklahoma City is a more appropriate goal! LOL! Seriously, I am going to keep track, but I am trying to incorporate some of my home DVD's because they have strength training and aerobics together in 1 workout. I figure if I do them 2-3times a week that will help with building more lean muscle. I am still doing way better on my exercise than eating. And I am trying not to let my busy schedule negatively affect me. Well, I have laundry and baking to finish. So, I gotta run!

Why do I have to plateau?

I have been doing okay with my plan. Better with exercising than eating. And I am getting frustrated with my current plateau. Trying to get my house ready to put on the market is taking up a lot of time. I plan to keep taking it one day at a time and not get too frustrated. At least I haven't gained. Working all weekend throws me off a little off schedule with my exercise. I had hoped to get up early and exercise before work, but I really don't sleep well during the day-so it was a no go this afternoon. I think it would be better to work out when I get home. We will see how tomorrow goes.

I have not fallen off the face of the earth!

I had been trying to do a more daily update, but my busy schedule was making that tough. I haven't lost anymore weight, but haven't gained. I have been doing good with exercising, and having hit and miss days with my eating. But there have been some great successes. Like I am not eating after the boys go to bed. And I am truely making a better effort with my choices. And I am not allowing 1 misstep to affect the whole day/week. So, I feel really good about it. I have to work all weekend, but I still hope to do some sort of exercise on those days.

Stumble but no fall.

I did really well with exercise yesterday, but didn't input my eating into sparkpeople.com so I think I went over my calorie goals. I am not so calorie focused, but for me it is helpful to see a a good estimate of what my calorie intake is.

I didn't sleep well, so my exercise workout was slow moving today. Lucas had a field trip, so he had school from 1100-1400. And I took him to the gym after he was done. Forgetting the fact the daycare closes from 1400-1600 everyday. So, that was tricky. Lucas wasn't super thrilled with the idea of walking a mile. So, I could only get about a half mile in before he gave up. So, then I tried doing the stairmaster and have him standing by me while watching animal planet. That lasted about 10min before an employee said that he couldn't be over by the equipment. So, he sat on the bench for me to finish up my 15min. I was shy of my 30min goal. But it was better than nothing.

Tomorrow, my neighbor is coming to do some work around the house. I hope to be able to still get my workout in. But I am please with how I am doing with my food choices and portions.

A red letter day!

I am down 4lbs from Sunday, I know it is more water weight than anything. But we can take what we can get. Lucas was thrilled about going to the gym this morning, so hopefully that will get better. I did over 3 miles on the elliptical and that felt good. I am trying to work up to doing 5 miles during my cardio workouts. The boys are doing a great job of encouraging me. I don't focus on the weight with them. But we talk about mommy being healthy with what she eats and if she exercises. I don't want them to be weight focused when they grow up. I haven't eaten yet so I guess I better do that since I am starving!

A good day . . .

Well, the boys and I went to the gym and I did a pretty good job with my eating. The boys and I walked a mile. And then we went swimming. It wasn't has hard of a workout as I would like, but a start and since the boys didn't have school an option that was also fun for them. Well, they weren't thinking fun during the mile walk. But the game "Would you rather?" makes it go a little faster.

New plan for the new day. . .

Since, things were not working out so well. I scrapped the plan and am working on a new one. I have buddy to help hold me more accountable. I will be reporting what I eat every day and we are going to encourage each other with our choices/portion sizes. I got a good suggestion, to start thinking about what mood I am in when I am eating. So, I will be working on keeping track of that too. My exercise goal is to work out 30min at least 5x a week. So, that is the plan. I worked out on the wii fit yesterday and am pretty sore today. The boys don't have school tomorrow still, so I think the pool will be calling our names. Hopefully this new plan will get me permanently out of my rut. I think my goal is to focus on 5lbs at a time. But I haven't come up with a suitable reward, so any suggestions are welcome.

So far so good. . . .

I have been trying to go one day at a time. So, I don't focus on one hiccup and screw up the whole week. I have been to the gym 2x so far. And plan to go tomorrow and Friday. It helps that the boys have yoga 2 nights a week. Noah on Mondays and Eli/Lucas on Wednesday. Then I have to go to the gym and I work out with whoever is not in yoga. Eli/Lucas/myself walked a mile and a half on Monday. And today, Noah and I worked out on the cardio equipment. Well, Noah likes to jump machine to machine every 5min. ;) But then we did a few laps around the track. Usually when I work the night before, the next day are the days that are really hard to get motivated to workout. So, hopefully the boys will continue to go to yoga. I have been doing better about my portions, so hopefully the rest of the week keeps going well.

Okay, where was I?

I have been out of touch with lots of things lately and the bloggy world is one of them. And my diet/exercise routine has gone to pot. Or really lets be honest, it has become non-existent. I just can't seem to get all together. I have a hiccup in one part of my life and my whole week goes down in flames. And I just feel like a failure. I just can't get it together. I was doing so good before the holidays, and I just can't recover. I wish I could take things moment by moment instead of having one ruin the rest of the week. If I have a bad day, I get so discouraged that I find myself scrapping the whole week. And in a self-loathing cycle I want no part of. In church on Sunday, the pastor talked about how when you do a lot of comparing in your life- you are missing something in your life. And to try to fill that with God and you will be truely fulfilled. And it is so true, I have had some rough patches over the last few years, and I know I need to be more balanced spiritually. Then I would depend on food less during stressfull times, and have a more solid foundation. I hope to get back on my feet.