Here we go!

Haven't posted here in a loooooong time! Alisa- do you still get updates? K... #5 is 16 months tomorrow and hopefully health is on an upswing! So I am trying to hit it hard again and lose this baby weight! I have a LOT to lose! (Again!)  35-40 is what I would like... But I am taking it one lb at a time and not getting frustrated with myself! Needing to go back off sugar again and do 100% Paleo, so that's my plan! I've done pretty good but cheat with rice and beans and take pills to eat stuff with cheese occasionally! So- no more! Really I don't need to, it's just because I get tired and it's easier to eat with everyone else! But I have so many delicious foods I can eat that is ok worry! I just need to get back into the mentality that I am worth the extra time!:) here we go!

Wooo hoooooo!!!!!  I am 2 lbs below my goal weight!  I am so excited!!!   I have been doing "Paleo" for almost a year now and I feel so so so much better!  I have Paleo in quotes because I do have sugar sometimes and I do eat a lot less meat than Paleo typically emphasises, I focus mainly on eating veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and eggs;)  It is such a relief to be off all the thongs I was allergic to!  Hooray!!!

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I am in love with THIS ARTICLE. Be sure to read part one as well! This is pretty much what I have been going through. I have so much energy not eating all the things I was allergic to, plus I am much thinner than I was! I still want to get thinner but I am not worried, that will come! The thing is, I havn't really lost any weight! No one ever believes that - but it is true!!! It was getting really frustrating so I am so glad to read this and realise I am not alone!!!

For Alisa

Ok - these pics are pretty terrible but I took them myself when I had a few seconds and thought of it.... This is how I look currently - I do still have a bit more I want to lose, but things are going good!!!!




This one was an accident - but I thought it showed my weight loss pretty good;)

Nearly there!

I wish that before I had started working out I had had my hubby help me measure myself! I think it would be a really great reality check! I am going to still do that and as I continue I can see better how things are going! I am not just 2 lbs from my original goal weight!!!! Woo hooooooo!!! I set that weight because I thought it was more realistic as a Mom of 4 kids than the rock bottom of my weight range - and now I am ALMOST there!!!! (although, my goal weight now IS my rock bottom healthy weight....) Yay! I am just excited, more because I like to feel a sense of accomplishment than anything else, because my self image has really improved lately. Why? That is kind of weird... I eat so healthy that I simply have no guilt about that, and I just have learned that I have more self control and am stronger than I ever realised - and it is a good feeling! I feel that I have forged some great friendships and I am grateful for those, it is amazing how strong friends can help you feel. I also am just in such a great place right now with my husband and kids... life is great! Not without problems and issues, but still - great!

Celebration time!!!

Woo hooooooo!!!! I am back into my favorite (and smallest that I saved) pair of pants! I am so stinkin excited!!! The funny thing is that even though I have been getting smaller, I havn't lost much weight yet. But I look smaller, and feel better - so all is well! Hooray!

I am in LOVE with THIS!

Healthy recipes = Happy Momma!

Here are a couple yummy recipes I have been enjoying! Super healthy too so I thought you might like 'em!

Mexican Chicken and Veggie Soup

Beef 'n Cabbage

The whole family loved them both! Hope you do too!~K

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It has been almost 2 weeks since I went off of grains and dairy (and a few other things) due to allergies and I already feel like a new person! It is incredible! My husband told his parents in a letter yesterday (they are in Germany serving a mission for our Church) that I am back to the same girl he dated! YAY! It is true though, I have energy and am just generally happier again! HOOOOOORAY!!!! As far as weight loss I have already lost about 6 pounds but I have mostly been losing inches and fat, I can see muscle tone better already! It is amazing what a shift in eating will do when you have been shoving "healthy" things in your body that for you are simply NOT healthy! I am so excited about this! I think I will eventually start missing all the foods I used to eat but right now I just feel so much better that I can't even think about those kinds of foods without cringing inside!
My pain is NOT all gone, although I have only been on this for about 2 weeks and it takes months for gluten to completely leave your system. My pain is so improved though that I can workout harder than I have in years! What a blessing! I don't expect to have all my pain gone though, I know that a lot of it will be a lifelong thing - but I feel as though it will be much more manageable with this lifestyle!

Banana Pancakes

I posted this on my food blog but like it so much I thought I would share it here too!

While my hubby made vanilla french toast for he and the kids, I made Banana Pancakes... and was suprised that they were pretty good! I will be eating them again!

Banana Pancakes

1 banana
1 egg

Beat together and fry in a non stick pan (lightly sprayed) till golden brown on both sides. Drizzle lightly with honey if desired.

Note - next time I will probably also sprinkle these with cinnamon. I ate this with a thin slice of Turkey ham and it was a great meal!

Oh boy!

So, I am writing this in hopes of some help! I thought it would be easier than it has been... and it has only been about 6 hours since I found out about my new lifestyle! I have been feeling REALLY awful as you know, and some of the reason is my diet. My diet has been really healthy - it is just that healthy is NOT good enough. I am severely allergic to ALL grains and am going on a total grain free (which includes rice) diet. Also, severely allergic to dairy - though the Dr is hopeful that eventually I might tolerate yogurt occasionally. I can't have anything with yeast or brewers yeast so no vinegar (and consequently no salad dressings - though salads are one of the only things I can think of to eat)! I am sensitive to broccoli, cabbage, spinach, celery etc (it is a long list) but am still allowed to have those for now. I also have a strong sensitivity to citrus but the Dr said I could still have that for now - because for goodness sake what else will I eat? ;)
I have ordered a Paleo diet cookbook at the suggestion of my Dr - as it will have a lot of recipes I can use, though I can have beans which the Paleo diet does not encourage. The book is not going to be here for more than a MONTH though - grrrrr.... so I may starve in the meantime!
I am actually pretty excited about this (along with nervous, sad, bitter, angry, etc) if I can feel better, and be able to be there for my kids it will be sooooo worth it! It is also good to know that part of the problem with weight loss is that my body isn't tolerating a lot of the "healthy" foods I have been using!
I went through my healthy cookbook today and filed away (who knows what will happen) all my recipes for healthy food that I simply cannot have. I am left with VERY VERY few things to eat - almost everything had grains (and yogurt!), though on some recipes I kept them to try using different methods.... so we will see how it goes!
I am also going on meds for a few other problems that were figured out (hooooray) and I am thrilled (and nervous) about that as well! I also found out that my body has almost 0 of some key things - such as zinc, magnesium, calcium.... so I have lots of awesome supplements (plus supplements to help those absorb) and I just pray it will all work out and that I will feel better!!! Wish me luck! (Oh and please send recipes or tips if you have any, this is something I feel I will need a LOT of support and help with!!!!)

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null - Ok click on that if you have a minute and tell me which you think would look cuter on me.... I am thinking of going super short......
Here are my fav's -
1. Charlize Theron
2. Lisa Rinna
3. Maggie Gyllenhall

I don't look good with longer hair, I just need to stop being lazy and go to the hairdresser more than 2 times a year.... ;) I need a style a really really love. I did love the last one, but if I am going to have short hair, I want it to be fast enough to do it 5 minutes!
Sorry - this is an annoying post, I know.... But I am just at a loss as to what to do!

Thanks Han!

So Tuesday night I picked up Hannah (2) and she kicked me under the kneecap with her awesome super hard and pointy dress up shoes. OUCH!!!! My knees are bad enough already and that is a SUPER sensitive spot that always hurts to touch anyway... So, I spent a while with ice on it that night and decided Wed a.m. that I could go ahead and walk on it. BAD idea - after 45 minutes on the treadmill it was throbbing so bad I had to stop - and after 2 hours with ice I still couldn't walk on it...
THEN I decided to still go walking with a friend Thursday morning (I don't get to see her nearly enough) and then go to Wal-Mart. By the time I got home my knee was toast. I am sooooo frustrated! I would give anything for a body that would let me do everything I want to! So... instead of my siper hard Friday workout that I look forward to all week I am laying on the couch with more ice.
Oh well, such is life! Hopefully I will be good enough to start again by Monday!

Just thinking....

After reading THIS post I did a lot of thinking.... Trainer Momma described my home growing up to a T - except that my Mom did NOT have stashes of candy anywhere - there was simply no candy in our home growing up. If we went to a cousin or friends house we would head straight for the candy bowl for a "fix". We didn't trick or treat either - so we got candy very rarely.... So here is what I have been thinking about - why do I not love candy so much that I can't be trusted around it? The Trainer Momma does - my brothers do.....
Here is what I came up with - as soon as I could cook my Mom would let me make cookies and such about anytime I wanted. So when I was stressed or just wanted something sweet I would bake! My outlet became cooking instead of treats. Although baked goods are still the hardest things for me to say no to, at least they satisfy more than a butterfinger I guess.
I loved baking oatmeal cookies, carrot cookies and whole wheat banana bread - some of the same things I still bake when I am stressed or craving sweets. What I am trying to figure out is if that is better or worse.... I have been known to eat an entire pan of Nutella Cheesecake brownies when I was depressed - I am sure a Snickers would have been better than that..... I usually am pretty good at self control, but for sure baked goods are the hardest things for me to deal with!

YAY!

The past 2 weeks I have eaten REALLY really well and have exersized at least 5 days each week!!! The week before that I only exersized 4 days - but because it had been so beautiful I was walking 6 miles in the morning and about 3 in the afternoon! I am actually feeling pretty great about how well I am doing lately and my motivation is high right now!
I have been trying out all kinds of yummy new recipes from Trainer Momma, Sara, Alisa and some awesome Vegan indian recipes that I have found! LOVE it! I am so ready to just go off Gluten but have to wait until after my celiac test... so just a few more weeks and I will find out about that! I do have to say though, that as a meat loving girl we have not had much of it the past few weeks - lots of beans, lentils, tofu etc and I have even MORE energy!
I am hoping to keep my motivation high!!! My goal is to work out 5-6 times a week through the end of December and then reevaluate how much more I should be doing at New Years! I am allowing myself "days off" for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving is never a tough one for me and since we are doing it alone (i think) this year it should be easy to just make healthy foods! I don't like pie so that has never been a real challenge... Christmas however is another story. I am working soooo hard right now so that I will be in the right frame of mind when it gets here. If I feel good and am exersizing I know I won't let eating get out of control! Bring it on!

Yep - I have been a slacker - BIG time.... I have decided NO MORE EXCUSES!!! Yep, the kids are sick, I can still find 1/2- 1 hour to exercise at some point in the day. Dirty house/crazy day... I can find a way at some point to do it, I CAN! The problem is I simply got out of the habit over the summer with so much going on, but I am getting back in. I have been working out daily for the last 2 weeks, and it HAS made a big difference, I feel better about myself and I am simply a nicer Mom!
I have to say "Biggest Loser" is always such a huge motivation for me. Ok so a size 8 is not exactly biggest loser worthy, but it is also not where I want to be. I can do better.
Emma was talking with me tonight and saying that she can't wait till she gets bigger and we can share clothes. My first thought was that I better not get fat;) She is super skinny and tall so if I want to fit into the same dresses as her, I will have to keep working hard!
That is it, really! I am still alive and working on it and I have to say that after baby #4 it has been soooooo much harder. Baby #1 was soooo easy, same with #2. Baby #3 was a bit tougher and I still had 10 lbs to go when I got prego with #4 and this has felt nearly impossible... BUT - I KNOW I CAN do it, I can... I think I just need Jillian to move into my exercise room - if she was yelling at me I am sure I could be done really quick!

Mercy

There really is a reason for the post title... I spent the majority of my summer at the mercy of others. What I mean by that is, I had many camps and outings that I went on for church related things and though I could pack a few healthy snacks, I truly was at the mercy of what they were serving. Obviously I was able to control my portion sizes, but I had no control over what was being served. When you canoe and backpack in you can't exactly whip up a protein smoothie if there is too much fat content in the dinner (besides that, I was starving from swimming hiking etc so I wouldn't have probably cared anyway. I am not complaining - the camps etc were AWESOME and I had a great time... I knew my weight loss would still be there when summer was over;)
Anyhow, I came out pretty good - I lost a few pounds, though I did not lose as much as I had I had hoped at the beginning of summer. I had certainly hoped to be at my goal by now... oh well! I am pretty happy that I am firmly in my healthy range, and am going to start kicking the weight loss back into full gear! I am really looking forward to school starting again and having schedules and being home a bit more!

Truth vs Fiction

I LOOOOOVE THIS ARTICLE!!! Check it out and tell me what you think? Does it change your vision of yourself?

Soooo close!

Re-modified.... again. If you remember back to HERE I changed my weight loss goal to what I figured was more realistic for a mom of 4... but as I looked at my goal today and realised I am only 5 pounds away, I knew I still had more to lose. So... my ticker at the top now reflects my goal - 135, which is also the lowest I should go - and still be in my healthy weight range! I am excited about this goal - as it gives me something to work for stll, and when I get there I can work on maintaining and toning up good! I am very lucky in that I don't usually have a tough time maintaining weight - just losing! But... I am getting sooooo close! YAY!
So... I had lost about 15 lbs(might have been 20... I stopped looking at the scalet hose last few weeks of pregnancy...) by the time I went to see the Dr at my 6 weeks postpartum checkup. That is when I started my ticker from - so technically I have lost 80 lbs in one year (as of yesterday - Happy Birthday BABY!) and have 15 more to go... WOW!!! That is almost 100 (95)! I hadn't even realised that until I sat down to type this! I had NO idea I had gotten that fat! But, when you gain 60-70 pounds per pregnancy... and then just once don't lose enough in between... that is a lot of weight! (I got preggo with #4 with 20 lbs to go from #3 who was only 9 months at the time!)
I am pretty excited and proud of myself... my next goal - to magically become one of those women who only gains 20 pounds during pregnancy!

G.C.

Well, I am off to Girls Camp this week (a church youth camp). I am a little nervous after recieving the menu - I brought my own healthy treats along because some of it is going to not sit well on my poor tummy! My main worry is staying hydrated! I always got dehydrated at Girls Camp as a youth and got a migraine on the Thursday night... so I am going to try really hard NOT to do that!
Hopefully I will get some good hikes in though! I am really excited about that!
I am so close to my "goal weight"... and I think I might back on the extra 10 pounds to lose. I would be as thin as I got after having Emma (my first) - the same I was in high school! Sweet! Is that realistic for a Mom of 4? Or is that silly and I should just be happy where I will be?