Get up and moving

I go through phases where I can't get to the gym as much as I'd like. I don't like to skip but if the boys aren't well or if we have things going on, well the gym takes a backseat.

The last few weeks I've managed to get into the gym 4+ days a week. Let me tell you I notice the difference. I can feel myself working harder and lasting longer. My clothes fit better and I feel more myself.

I workout for myself. I eat "healthy-ish". I could go back to counting calories and doing all that, but then the focus is on weight loss and not just working out. I like to workout and realize I'm doing it to gain strength. I'm doing it to eliminate stress. I'm doing it to feel better about my whole self.

I try to go to step aerobics and pilates on Tuesdays and then back to pilates on Thursdays. I do 30 minutes of cardio everyday (expect Tuesdays since step is already 45 min). I work out with free weights two or three days a week.

Why do I do it? I like putting on my clothes and feeling good about the way I look. I like to put on clothes and not worry if they will fit or not. I also do it to release stress. Any mother can tell you that it is a stressful job. Go workout for 30+ minutes and your stress level will go down!

Remember during this holiday season to take care of yourself. And working out daily is a great way to do just that!

ramblings

There is a lot on my mind lately which means I have no clue what to blog about... strange how that happens isn't it?

Both boys are fighting head colds. That means lots of snot. At least now they can both blow their own noses so I am just coming in at the end for clean up from time to time. This is good for so many reasons one being I'm not as exposed to the germs. The downfall is they aren't as efficient at blowing their noses as when I keep saying "blow again" until you hear it clear. The other issue is moods! Neither of them eats well when they aren't feeling well, and they both get moody when hungry. Blake gets grumpy and grouchy. Colby gets whiny and more sensitive. Does anyone see an issue with this combination of moods???

I'm doing really good with my calorie counting. I like a challenge so that helps. I find myself looking at labels a lot more. I am in the "more bang for my buck" mode with calories. I'd rather eat a 100 calorie chocolate yogurt for desert and get a protein kick than drink soda. I'd rather eat more salad with a lower calorie salad dressing and be able to put cheese on it than eat a high calorie dressing. Trust me I don't give up flavor. If you follow my blog for any length of time you know that I like flavor! I'm also allowing myself at least one day a week that I am not so anal about my calories.

I'm getting to the gym 5 days a week, the last two weeks I went 6 days since Richard went with us on Saturday. I'm really beginning to see the results and feel myself building up the strength. I also like that 45 or so minutes that I have to myself each day while I work out. That was something that I was really missing as a stay-a-home mom with two children who do not nap. I felt like I was mom 24/7 with no type of break. This gives me a few minutes each day to focus on myself... and if my body looks better because of it... what could be better???

I've started something new with my boys at clean up time. I decided I was tired of cleaning up more than they do at the end of the day. So now, when it's clean up time I set the timer for about 10 minutes (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter depending on the mess). When the timer goes off, clean up time is over. I then go around with my "time out tote" and collect all the items that they did not clean up. This tote goes up and out of reach until the next clean up time. So in essence they loose the right to play with the toy for 24 hours. Don't get me wrong I'm still helping clean up some, but not nearly as much. I usually just move the items closer to where they belong instead of putting them away too. Not sure how long this will work. When they will figure out that they should put away the toys they like first and then get around to the others. But for now, it gets Blake moving faster... Colby well... yeah he could care less.

Ok I think that is more than enough rambling for one post. Hope you have a great day, and those who are begin effected by the many storms out there stay safe!

Keeping track

My digital kitchen scale and I have been getting to know each other really well the last few week or so.

I have been working out 4-6 days a week since August and not noticing the changes I'd like to see. I decided it was time to look at other factors. I decided it was time to track what and how much I eat. While looking through the net for a site to use I came across SparkPeople.com. After poking around the site for a bit I decided it was worth giving it a try. At first, I set up my nutrition based on "Creating a healthy lifestyle". After doing this a few days I decided I need to try again with weight loss in mind. My guess was that the calorie count would be less in order to lose weight.

I had happened to step on the scale at the Y on Saturday when I was there with Richard and was not happy with the number. I am not a fan of scales to begin with, even when I was at my thinnest I weighted more than people thought. I've learned to use my pants as the best gauge of my weight... when they are loose I'm happy when they are tight I'm not! This frustration of the number was brought to laughter when I put my number along with my height into SparkPeople to determine calories needed to lose 10lb's or so. According to their numbers I'm obese, yeah no!

Ok back to why I started this post. The last few days I have been watching what I eat. Increasing the amount of fruits and veggies and decreasing the amount of sweets. Don't get me wrong I've not cut sweets and treats out entirely, I know that if I was to do that I'd crash and burn and have a major binge. I now am learning to incorporate those treats into my allotted calorie, fat, protein and carbohydrate count. I am now measure out most of what I eat and track it in my SparkPeople account.

SparkPeople also tracks calories burned through working out. I have decided that I will do 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week and 3 days of strength training. This is pretty much what I have been doing, but SparkPeople gives suggested stretch activies to do. I try to do this on top of the weights I do at the Y. I've also gone back to doing free weights for upper body.

I can honestly say that I'm already feeling different. I feel stronger and more confident in what I eat. I feel that I'm starting to see minor results too. I love getting back on track and feeling that I'm being healthier again!

good day

Today we had a great day together. It was one of those nothing big planned, so lets just go with it kind of days. I cleaned the bathrooms in the morning to get them done with and then we left for the gym around 9am. I had a shorter than wanted workout, I forgot my knee brace at Richard's friend's house on Sunday and my knee was tweaky while working out... AGAIN! One positive was the fact that Colby did great in the Y's daycare! This was the first time there were no tears and he actually played. When we got home I remembered that I needed to vacuum before speech and did that quickly. Colby decided to go down for his nap and I changed and made Blake's lunch while he watched Monster Jam. Then it was time for speech. After speech, we played Wii Resort. Then there were lots of loud rumbles coming from the sky so we decided to put the tv on expecting rain... which never came! After less than an hour, we decided to go outside and play. They love to go out and play on the porch. Blake and I played basketball. Colby, Blake and I played in the sandbox. Then the boys decided to get the monster trucks and play with them in the sandbox. For some reason, I didn't grab my camera today, maybe because I was in the thick of playing with them? After bath time, with purple water this time, we made dinner and played some more until Daddy came home. They got to play with Daddy for a bit and then get ready for bedtime. Daddy has been doing the bulk of the stories at bedtime which I think is the best. Is there anything that tugs at a Momma's heartstrings more than watching her guys snuggle up with a book?

Another thing that made this a good day.... Blake went all day without an accident!! We have been working hard on this and today it really seemed to click. I am having to give less and less reminders and seeing him recognize the signs in himself more and more. I'm a proud Momma.

I'm standing here listening to Colby blow kisses as a way to avoid going to sleep. Blake crashed as soon as he went to bed. Time for me to watch a bit of tv while Richard finishes up his day's work. Hope you had a great day today too!

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Today's goals:
Tomorrow's goal:
--head into the Y for a cardio workout (without messing up my knee this time) [ok this is a half check since I did mess with my knee... oops]
--vacuum the house before speech [check]
--clean the bathrooms [check]

Tomorrow's goals:

--go to the gym for cardio dance (remember my brace as to not mess my knee more)

--mop the kitchen floor while Colby naps

--make chocolate chip cookies with Colby (for Richard to take while he travels)

--menu plan for the week

changes with time

Now that my boys are getting a bit older I realize how old I have gotten too. This weekend we were at the playground and Blake wanted to try and cross the monkey bars. I could help him do it, but could not do it myself for the life of me. When I was a child I could do it with ease many times in a row. Where did my upper body strength go?

Today they were playing with a string and Blake wanted to try to jump rope. Now granted this was a light weight string that I just doubled over, but I won't tell you how many tries it took me to jump over it with my feet together. Jumping rope was something I loved to do as a child. What happened to this coordination?

When you are a child these things seem so simple, so much a part of life. They are things you struggle with when you are little and do not have the strength and coordination, but you know that as you get older you can do it. So when do you cross that line from being old enough to do it and too old that you can't?

Oh the joys of getting older... lol!

Business

Here in Florida we don't get fall weather, but we do get fall craziness... at least in our house we do. It seems like my calendar is packed this fall. Richard and I have season tickets to UCF's football. When you take that and then add birthdays and normal weekend stuff and holidays and whatever else gets tossed in the mix... it makes for busy weekends. Busy weekends usually means late nights for Richard and I. The problem is the boys don't understand the concept of late nights = sleeping in... yeah no go there.

Richard and I try to get out at least once on the weekend to go for a bike ride with the boys. This weekend we went on Friday and only got in about 4.4 miles, but it was still getting out for a ride.

We have fallen off the P90X wagon, not by choice, but because we are worn down. It seems like every time we get caught up on stuff and sleep and what not something else comes along. My goal is to do at least 3 days a week for the next 3 weeks (then we go on vacation). I need to get in the grove up getting up and moving again. But, let me tell you it is HARD to get up at 5am. We both have seen improvements when we were doing it on a regular basis. We both know how important it is to have regular exercise both cardio and weight training. But, that doesn't mean it fits into our lives easily. It comes down to a matter of choices. Do you get up early and give up an hour sleep in the morning. Or do you do it after the boys go down at night and have no down time before bed?

I will find the motivation to get out of bed tomorrow!