Ya down with O.T.T.?

New plan #319

2010-09-12T15:33:00.002-04:00

*taps* Is this thing on? *blows the dust off the mic* *cough cough* Ahem....

I've made a career out of maintaining my weight. In fact, I bet I'm at the same weight I was nine months ago. Losing and gaining the same three pounds isn't that hard to forget though.

So, thanks to this chick www.thejenwestquest.com, I have purchased The Carb Lover's Diet book b/c well folks, I am a carb lover. SHOCKER! I did great on a low carb diet six years ago and lost 30 pounds. But it was easy to do b/c I actually was losing steadily. After trying it again over and over and not having the same results, it got less appealing. And so began the dietpalooza of the last six years.

Low carb, low fat, low cal, Body for Life, Weight Watchers.......

Having read through the book and the recipes, I will say I was extremely hesitant to try this. But I spent the $25 for the book, I better do something with it other than use it as a shim under my kitchen table. I planned my week out and made a grocery list and sent hubby to the store so I wouldn't back out. We're talking chickpeas and bananas people. Not things I dig very well. I ate those BOTH in meals today and.............I'm still alive! The good Lord hasn't cometh to take me yet.

I guess by making yet ANOTHER measly blog post that I'll stick to something and not get discouraged. Having meals to see already planned out and actually follow may just be what I need.

Check back on Wednesday's when I hope to do weekly weigh ins.....until then....I'm Audi 5000.

Well...hello there 2010!

2010-01-20T14:08:00.004-05:00

How goes it?

It's 2010! Um, where did the year 2009 go? Oh that's right, it came and went faster than I can inhale a dozen warm, gooey, sweet, melt in your mouth donuts that the little skinny blonde haired teeny bopper handed me through the Dunkin Donuts drive thru window.

And speaking of skinny blondes.......SURPRISE! That's how I look now! I totally used last year to get myself in shape and change my whole appearance. I'll have to post some before and after pics so you all can see for yourself.

OK.....I lied.

I'm blonde with red highlights!

What?

No way would I let a whole year go by without accomplishing something. Nope. Not me.

OK....there is another lie.

Damn, I am a big fat (yes, literally and some of us know how much I hate that word) liar.

All my friends seem to be pouring their hearts and souls out on blogs about their lives and losing weight. Maybe just maybe I can sort of somehow do that this year. I don't wanna look like a fool wit' my pants on the ground.

So, I'm gonna write a blog about it, wanna hear it? Here it goes.

Knock knock

2009-08-10T21:04:00.002-04:00

Who's there?

Angie

Angie who?

It's me sillies! I'm going to use this thing for what it's supposed to be.

A place to ramble, to bitch and moan, to brag, to talk about my marital problems.....ok...maybe not that. Lord knows I've polluted this world enough by airing our dirty laundry.

Things going on in my life right now:

Our house is up for sale
Our house is the cleanest it has been since we moved in
Keeping this house that clean is a pain in my ass with three kids, two adults and a dog
I have quit taking hormones to help my moods and overall time of month stuff (cuz we all know we don't need help in the birth control dept thanks to Mr. Vasectomy from Schenectady) and I thought these headaches I had would go away but they haven't
I am flying to Florida next week to visit some of the most fabulous people on this planet and I'm afraid I'll have headaches the whole time and be miserable
I need to actually think about trying to pep myself up a bit for the trip by doing a little bit of primping and some shopping.
Courtney and Sophia started 6th grade and 1st grade.
I started my period in 6th grade and the thought of Courtney starting it this year scares me more than anything else on this fine bulleted list I have going on
We will soon take a much needed trip to PA to visit my parents, family and friends
Isabella has starting telling us when she needs to go potty and actually GOES

My eyes are burning and my head is pounding so that ends the list for now.

A wild ride

2009-05-15T09:31:00.007-04:00

Eleven years ago, I was 19 years old holding a beautiful, 4 hour old baby girl. We had a girl's name ready for her even though we didn't know she was a her. We did not have a boy's name so we were darn lucky she came out missing that part of anatomy. Her name would be Courtney Elise. She had dark hair just like her mommy. She was so tiny and petite. I knew she would be a daddy's girl the first time I saw her squeek in Dan's arms. He was smitten. This would be his buddy. The son he never had. The little person who would grow up to be a Steelers fan, throw a football like Big Ben, be dedicated to wearing that black and yellow jersey every Sunday and make sure she was by her dad's side when that ball was kicked off. She would be the one he coached in flag football because who wants to be a cheerleader on the sideline when you can be out on that field getting dirty and running as fast as you can to reach that goal line? She would change our lives forever.

It was a sunny, warm Thursday afternoon. I had just quit my job the day before since I was due in two days. That day I was also told by my doctor that I had a good two weeks before I would have a baby. I was excited to have the next two weeks of no work and all play. Boy was I wrong! I woke up on May 14th ready to tackle some cleaning. Errrr....ready to tackle some sitting on the couch more like it. I was going to make a great dinner of Tortellini and sauce with a salad on the side. Dan thought it would the perfect evening to drink some beer and chip a few golf balls on our apartment lawn. I did too. So I cracked open a Bud Light myself. KIDDING! The only cash we had available was stashed in an envelope for our cab fair to the hospital and Dan needed beer! We had no car so we made sure we had cash on hand for the big day. We walked where we had to go, took a bus, took a cab or relied on his parents to take us places. No way in HELL was I taking a cab or a bus to the hospital while I was in labor, but we had to be prepared. That particular morning his parents left for PA to attend his dad's seminary graduation on Friday the 15th. We assured them it was totally fine to leave the state. No baby was coming for awhile! In fact, we were so sure weren't going to have a baby that day or the next that we walked to 7-11 and spent the saved cab fair on beer for Dan.

I got all comfy in a chair on the balcony to watch the Tiger Woods wanna be perform his chip shots. (more like Happy Gilmore though) I stood up to go inside to make dinner and SQUIRT. Uh. Oops. I think I just peed on myself. *blush* Take a few steps. SQUIRT. Uh. Dang I need to buy some Depends tomorrow! This baby is doing crazy things to my body. Head in the to bedroom to get a clean pair of panties. SQUIRT. Jeeeeeez. Head to the bathroom to expect the ever so lovely odor of urine on myself and clean up when I realize this stuff doesn't stink. And it keeps squirting. Hmmmm....I interrupt chippy chipperton and tell him something is going on. I call Dr. Hirsch, who had just seen the previous day, and he tells me to go suck an egg. No WAY did my water just break. Uh. OK. If you say so. About 14 squirts later, we decide it's time to head to the hospital. My worst fear has come true, I have to take a bus or a cab to the hospital. O.M.G. Am I going to be screaming in pain during a contraction while sitting next to the homeless stinky man in those uncomfortable bus seats? Am I going to have my baby in the backseat of a stale smoke smelling plush carpeted yellow cab? *cry* We go with the cab. Except that one problem WE HAVE NO CASH FOR A CAB RIDE. We get in the cab and ask him to take us to the grocery store. Dan had a brilliant idea to go buy a pack of gum and write a check for over the price and get cash back. Perfect! As I am sitting in the cab with the cab driver trying to make small talk all while flipping out in my mind that I was going to birth a baby in this vehicle, he asks why we are heading to the hospital. Hm. Guess many pregnant women in labor don't ride it up in style in a cab to the hospital. I tell him I think my water broke and I'm in labor. He yells "WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING SITTING HERE AT THE GROCERY STORE FOR?" Buddy, if you wanna get paid I suggest you turn around and shut up and DRIVE.

We arrive at Martha Jefferson. We had to have been the most nervous people in the whole building. We head to L&D. I tell the nurse what's happening. She checks my fluid and sure enough it's amniotic fluid. GULP (not a gulp of fluid FYI). There is no stopping anything now! Except she wanted us to go home and wait it out and come back when I was in more active labor. I believe the look I gave her might have compared to look you give your husband when he tells you that you've put on a few pounds. (not that Dan has EVER said that to me but I picture myself evil eyeing him in to the ground and then stomping on his face, but I digress) She agrees to keep us there. We get all settled in. The last episode of Seinfeld is on! Every time I see that as a repeat, I automically time warp back to Thursday May 14th, 1998. After a nice epidural and some rest, I was told at 5:00 a.m. on Friday May 15th, I could start pushing another human being out of me. At 5:20 a.m. I was holding that precious little bundle of joy we named Courtney Elise.

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl.

Oh My Goodness Mommy!

2009-04-22T21:44:00.002-04:00

......were the words that came out of Sophia's mouth as I was swiveling my hips during the Hula Hoop game on the Wii Fit.

Now, how to translate that, I'm not sure.....

I figure I either looked like a cow trying to run away from a lasso or an overweight mom in sweatpants trying to make a few bucks at the strip club.

Either way, I rocked it!

I just don't know how to blog

2009-03-26T11:16:00.003-04:00

I want to, but I'm not good at it. I don't know how to talk in that whitty blog talk.

I guess I'll give it a shot though. If anything, I can just use this as a place to gab about stuff that my husband is probably tired of hearing or not interested in, right?!

Plus I feel like I chat with everyone enough that why would YOU guys want to hear about things all over again?

Ok, Ok. I'll give it another go.

I just don't have anything to say right now. HA!

I see a trend

2009-02-08T17:08:00.002-05:00

On plan for a few days, decide I don't like that diet b/c it's not working fast enough, go off plan. Get fed up with how I look, go back on plan.

Rinse repeat.

So far in this one month of the year 2009, I've tried two plans and am getting ready to try a third one (BFL). My brain doesn't comprehend that it's a long battle. It wants me to pretend I'll eat good for a couple days and lose 50 pounds magically. I need to train it that it's going to take time. And as Niki tells me, I need to take one day at a time. She is so wise and I really do need to listen to her more. She has been so dedicated to her diet and exercise. So have so many of my other friends and even family members. I need it to kick in for me too.

I'm also not doing so good on the year of me regarding grooming and fashion. But hopefully with the changing of seasons, that will change. I'm ready to break out of my winter mode and thaw out for spring and summer. I do not like summer what so ever b/c of the heat. But I'm getting tired of wearing sweaters and boots. Come September, I'll be telling you I'm tired of capri's and sandals. LOL!

I'll need to update my wardrobe since I have not bought spring/summer appropriate clothes in 2 years. There is my motivation right there to eat better and get moving.

I've let one month go by already, I'm not going to let anymore months go by that I've not at least tried to change.

How we easily forget

2009-01-21T10:27:00.004-05:00

We have a 10 year old girl, soon to be 11 in May.

I think we, (mainly me and I think it's denial really), have forgotten what happens when a girl hits the 10-12 year mark....hormones and changes. EEK!

Courtney has definitely been starting to show signs of changes to come. At least once a week we have an emotional breakdown over something small. Last night it was an all out sob fest over spelling the explorer she was researching's name wrong. However, I even helped her with an assignment she had to do about it, and low and behold, I had no idea that Coronado was not spelled CoronaNdo. *blush* Daddy was the one to point it out since neither of us realized it.

Today it finally clicked with us what the deal is. If the baby fusses, we pick her up and hold her. But if the 10 year old fusses, we tell her to suck it up and deal with it. Instead, we need to sit down and talk it out and see what's going on and remember she is a bit raw with her emotions right now. Something we all need to work on is dealing with our emotions better, right? I'm the worst at blowing up over something small.

And to think, we have to do this again in 4 years and then again in 9 years. Oh boy.

On the diet tip....I shopped last night and got prepared for the week. It's just taking the time and energy to prepare the night before to make sure we have food for the next day. I wasn't happy making egg muffins and stuffed peppers at 9:00 last night, but I am grateful today that I have healthy food to turn to.

Today's weight: 193.2

And, yes, I'm going to stop the weighing every day. It's so hard not to though!

Do over

2009-01-18T11:21:00.003-05:00

As you can see by the lack of posting, I have (we have) fallen off the wagon. Embarrassing to say the least, that I paraded around so confident about our January 5th start date. People at work even commented "aren't you on a diet?" as I sat at my desk eating Taco Bell. *blush*

I just felt like I was floundering doing the Weight Watcher's plan. It is a GREAT plan. And something I'd like to take on once I have things more under control. I just can't "eat what I want and count points" right now b/c I will count the points for a small piece of cake and end up eating a ginormous piece and not change the point count. I'm only failing myself. Like anyone see's the Point counter but me. *crazy* But I'm also gonna blame the fallout on crazy woman issues that I've been dealing with. I hope those start regulating themselves as well.

I think I mentioned it before, but we had much success on a low carb diet. I lost 30 pounds in 4 months. But then I got cocky and we had a trip to Erie and all the comforting, greasy food that we love and I was never able to recover and get back on track. I went the rest of that year only gaining back a few pounds. Then the following year, I did Body For Life. I felt and looked the best I ever had. I was eating good and working out. I stopped those workouts and starting eating whatever I wanted only this time I gained the full 30 pounds back. If only I could just take a bit of motivation from my low carb days and add it to my BFL days, I'd be golden.

So, our new game plan is to eat lower carbs again. I don't want to say I'm going to cut ALL carbs out b/c I need to have some backup easy packing foods for lunch in cases where we don't have leftovers to take.

If you can have some faith in us and not give up on us b/c we suck at dieting, we'd appreciate it. LOL!

Weigh in day!

2009-01-12T09:32:00.003-05:00

I know we are supposed to be in this "together" and we are, but for some reason my husband thinks we can only count losing weight if we workout. Uh. NO! I'm a woman, I need to see some progress even if I am just eating better.

So, I weighed today....down 4.2 pounds!

I'm still floundering though with a "plan" to follow. My heart calls to low carb but eating a WW life is more appealing in the long run. I signed up for WW online free trial and meant to cancel after the seventh day, but ended up misreading the rules so now I am registered until the middle of February. Guess I should take advantage of it and track my food better. I've just been winging it by eating less and lowering cals/fats. I know being 100% in to a plan will give me better success though.

And now that the first week of coming off a 2 week holiday is over, hopefully we can get in the groove of workouts. I loved the Body for Life plan I did a few years ago. I enjoy weights. More than cardio. But I know I need to do both. I might try the Couch to 5K program as a starter for cardio.

Congrats to all those who I read (or stalk, whatever ;) who are having success in their lives, be it weight loss, family issues, etc. It's nice to read about other woman with the same struggles I have.

Yummy!

2009-01-08T22:04:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Karen, I had a scrumdeliocious dinner tonight.

Our protein was steak, however, I was so obsessed with my veggie/pasta dish and my sweet potato that I barely ate any of the meat. Now THAT is something I don't say often. Only wanting to eat veggies. *shock*

I think I ate my weight in roasted asparagus too.

No workout since Monday though. See, this is where we are finding how tough it really is to do it during the evenings. I went to the store after work, I came home and got right to cooking dinner while keeping the baby from turning in to the Exorcist by feeding her dinner and keeping her occupied. Dan was having some daddy time with the older two (this is hard to come by lately as he is overworking himself with his day job and then coming home to do website work). Dinner was ready by 7:45, I had to run to the store for a pacifier since we appear to have a pacifier eating monster lurking under our floorboards or something, got home to a cold plate of food that I got to heat up and eat at 8:30. Kid's to bed, kitchen cleaned up with the help of Dan and next thing you know it's 9:15 and I am exhausted and plopped on the couch.

It's been a tough week. My house is a wreck. I still have my Christmas tree up! Embarrassing. And all of my kitchen Christmas decor is sitting on my kitchen table b/c I thought I could get it put it away last weekend. Dan has been so engrossed in work, that for a change, the clutter is not bothering him.

Blah. Things will look up, this I know. Just have to keep trucking on and taking things in stride.

Fun way to lose weight.....NOT

2009-01-06T22:09:00.002-05:00

The stomach bug has finally made it through all of us.

Today was my day.

Blech.

However, last night, we did get a little workout in! 20 minutes only but when you start at 10pm, that's pretty darn good in my book. And it's more than we have done in the past year or more.

Obviously no work out for me today. And Dan had to take over daddy AND mommy duty tonight so he didn't get one in either. :( Courtney did make dinner though. Sophia was her right hand man.

Starting weight for me: 195.2
Starting weight for Dan: 235.2

I think we'll do some start pics this weekend.

I jumped the gun

2009-01-05T13:28:00.003-05:00

That previous post is incorrect.

We ARE starting today. Just b/c I didn't have prepared food doesn't mean I have to ruin the whole day. And it helps that I have a supportive and upbeat husband emailing me with encouraging words. He is VERY dedicated to doing this.

A reward we are going to give ourselves is.....a trip to Vegas! Or somewhere. LOL. I say NYC. :D But no matter where we go, we will go with a refreshed outlook on ourselves. We are shooting for the week of April 6-10th b/c that is spring break and my parents will be here to visit and babysit. ;)

Also, another goal...I mentioned the workout equipment we already have....we decided if we can stick to some form of exercise 4 days a week for a month, we will invest in an elliptical. Now, neither one of us has ever worked out on one, so why we are thinking of getting one, I'm not so sure. But it can't be that bad when I hear so many people use one.

This evening will be our first challenge of getting that exercise in. In a nutshell, this is what our evening entails (in no particular order):

- grocery store (me)
- bank run (Dan)
- pick up kid's (Dan)
- make dinner (me)
- chase after 11 month old (all of us)
- clean up dinner (Dan and I)
- kid's in shower (you wouldn't think this was a chore since they are 10 and 6, but it is. Those two can drag the showering process out for hours if we don't stay on them)
- pay bills (Dan and I)
- Dan work on website jobs

So, how 30 mins of excercise is fitting in there is beyond me. LOL!

Courtney and Sophia are great little helpers. Courtney is eager to help with dinners so I need to take advantage of that.

Wish us luck!

sigh Excuse #1

2009-01-04T18:53:00.002-05:00

We are not prepared to start our diet tomorrow.

I have been fighting a headache all day and just have not had the energy to plan food. That means I did not make it to the store.

In a disturbing way, we both seem READY to start though. We decided to order dinner from a fave restaurant tonight. This will be the big bang we go out with. Like I told Dan, it's not like we can't ever have takeout/pizza/whatever, ever again, it just means we need to do that on rare occasions instead of it being a nightly thing.

I have promised myself I will be honest with myself in this journey. I just didn't have it in me to properly get us ready for tomorrow. So, during my lunch break at work, I will be planning meals and food and will shop tomorrow evening.

January 6th will be our official start date.

It has begun

2009-01-03T16:40:00.003-05:00

I have sort of proclaimed this year to be the year of ME. Yes, that certainly DOES sound selfish, doesn't it?! But if you think about it.....2007 was the year of a surprise pregnancy and my body does not handle pregnancy well...sickness, ailments, you name it, it happened. And so I looked like I had been run over by a Mac truck 99% of the time. Just let all of my normal womanly habits go down the drain along with the throw up. Yeah, gross, I know but us woman know that brushing our teeth while pregnant = heaving over the sink.

2008 was the year of the baby. I was blessed to be able to take 6 months off to be home with Isabella and then when school was out, Courtney and Sophia. You can imagine how much time I actually had to try to get a haircut, right? Or even shave my legs for that matter. I kept losing myself bit by bit. I hated leaving the house. I had no decent clothes to wear. But I was OK with it b/c it was what I chose. Not having a second income for 4 1/2 months made me realize how some things are just materialistic.

I've been back to work since August. We are now a dual income family again. 2009 is the time to reclaim the habits I enjoy and used to keep up with. So, today, I had a haircut in a salon and even stopped for a manicure. I cannot tell you how upbeat I am after doing these things.

Ya know....just as I was about to hit post on this entry, I realized this year is not going to be just about ME. I am not the only one who went through these events. Well, I AM the only one of the five of us to squeeze an almost 9 pound baby out, but I digress.....this will be the year of US. We all need to work on ourselves. I need to make sure my husband feels just as good about himself as I do, though I don't think having his nails painted will get his rocks off like I did for me. I need to make sure the kid's feel good about themselves as well.

Huh, funny how things change in the matter of a few paragraphs...

Here we are!

2009-01-02T15:38:00.003-05:00

So, I'm probably the last person on God's brown...err....green (heehee) earth who has not had a blog. I decided it was time! We have a lot we will hopefully be accomplishing this year that includes losing weight, selling/buying/building a house (haven't decided yet what we are going to do), dealing with a 1 year old....you name, it's gonna happen for us. Watch us as we take on these feats and hopefully not self implode on each other in the process.

We don't really have a timeframe for any of these things.....except one....losing weight....and that journey begins January 5th. *gulp* Dan and I had some very good discussions on our long car ride home from Erie on Tuesday. We both agree this needs to be a lifestyle change, not just a diet phase. We have three beautiful daughter's who need us. We need to change things up.

I will be in charge of food as usual. This is a lot of pressure. But I can do it. Just need to plan, plan, plan. With Dan and I both working, we need breakfast and lunches packed. Then for dinner, I need to make sure it's something that pleases everyone's palate. And boy does that get interesting! For the most part, the older two are not picky eaters. They like veggies. They enjoy most meat. Even the baby is turning out to be a good eater. She must get that from her mom. :D They all know that this mama is not a short order cook and whatever is made is what you eat or your tummy is gonna be grumbling until breakfast.

Dan and I both are in charge of exercising and making sure it get's done. It's gonna be tough, but I have faith we can do it. We both work full time jobs. Getting home at 6:00ish every evening and having the normal chores of homework, dinner, showers, bedtime, etc., it's hard to fit in just 30 mins of exercise. Crazy, right?! We essentially have all we need to do a good workout here at home. A treadmill, a recumbent bike, an ab lounger and free weights. Not too shabby. Now if we can just go down to the basement and actually get moving, we will be doing our bodies good.

Get ready! It's about to be on like donkey kong!