Day 3: I Planned my Meals Ahead

Each week I sat down and planned my family's meals.  This mostly pertained to dinners.  That way I wasn't scrambling at the last minute to order in or go out to eat.  In fact, in the beginning, we stopped going out to eat.  We used to eat out 2-3 times per week.  Trust me when I say that I didn't get to 254 pounds because I was ordering salad.  In fact, I would hit up a drive thru for a sandwich and another drive thru for fries.  Driving down Broadway, the fast food sign call out- constantly.

Eventually, when James was born, the not going out to eat wasn't a big deal.  Taking a baby to a restaurant isn't a relaxing experience.  When I wold travel to the farm and back, I packed a cooler- I know you are rolling your eyes.  But, it kept healthy foods within arm reach and stopped me from hitting up a drive thru or pulling into a gas station for a Super Rope.

I brought a weeks worth of lunches to work on Monday morning.  I love lemon chicken orzo soup, quinoa, wild rice, wraps.  That way I could have healthy choices and not be rushed each morning. 
I also premade breakfast options my favorite is The Stinky Burrito (Thanks James) and Steel Cut Oatmeal.  See recipes below. Yes it took planning and time- most of which came from Sunday nap time.

The Stink Burrito Breakfast Wrap
1 Low Carb Whole Wheat Tortilla
Egg Writes w/ pepper
1 TBS Black Beans
1 TBS Salsa (This could be substituted for Mangoes, Avocado Slices, hummus, etc.)
I make a batch of 12- wrap in foil and pop in freezer.

Fall Oatmeal
1//4 Steal Cut Oats (cook by directions on package)
I use Water
1 TBS Pumpkin Puree
Sprinkle w/ cinnamon
Add some Cranberries and Pecan chips
Stir

I use other ingredients in spring/ summer: blueberries, strawberries, mangoes- all can be bought frozen and kept in freezer.

Day 2: I Stopped Lying to Myself

Lie #1: "I don't care that I'm fat, I'm happy and it isn't affecting my health." This is the mantra I told myself from the time I was a junior in high school.  Then it did- affect my health that is.  It took 3 years for us to get pregnant with James.  My doctor told me in passing, "you could lose 20 pounds. But that will take a while."  He put me on fertility drugs and eventually I became a 254 pound pregnant woman.  5 months later I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

Lie #2: "I don't eat that many calories."  I had to meet with a nutritionist as part of my GD diagnosis.  She had me fill in a meal plan, which I complete lied on.  I remember writing that I had a turkey sandwich, grapes and baby carrots for lunch.  Um, not true-AT ALL.  She took my fabricated meal plan and left the room.  Coming back she said, "Julie you are consuming 2400 calories a day."  Uh- if my made up plan was too many calories, what was the real one?  I remember her saying a serving size of grapes should be about 10. 10?  Seriously?  Who eats 10 grapes?

So, I took baby steps.  I switched to eating off a salad plate for my meals to keep portion size under control and I stopped having seconds.  The next week I stopped drinking soda and carried around a refillable water container.  Sure at first I added Crystal Light Packets for sweetness and then cut back on those, too.  The next week I started eating 3 smaller meals and 2 snacks. Week 4 I sat down and stopped lying to myself.  I logged on to SparkPeople created an account, Put in my weight and logged my calories for 1 day.  It was just for me- no nutritionist, no doctor, just me.  I made a pledge not to lie to myself about what I ate anymore.  I went back and really checked to see the nutritional content of what I was eating- It was 3500 calories a day!

SparkPeople is a fabulous free weight loss tool.  There are exercise trackers, meal trackers, online communities and so much more.  I found it very motivating, because I didn't want to go into a gym or sign up for another program, I was a little embarrassed of my weight- that and most people couldn't tell I was pregnant. There are also apps like Lose it or DigiFit for your iPhone.  I've used several.

 I ended my pregnancy at 244 pounds by the way- 10 pounds less than where I was when I started.

30 Days of Wellness

30 Days of Wellness


Well here it is. 30 days with me and the voice in my head. I've been thinking about many things recently past, present and future and they all have one thing in common- ME! :) I've been running into several people from my past recently- people who I have not seen in many years. People who now recognize me even though on the outside I have totally transformed my appearance. Many ask, how did you do it? I ask myself, "how do I keep doing it?" So here it is 30 Days of How I Keep Doing It.

Many of my new friends and acquaintances have no idea who this is:

Look closely, I'm under there. 6+ years ago, this is what I looked like on the outside. Now, depending on the day of the week or hour of the day, there is someone else standing in front of you. Sure she maybe sneaking in the back door of school 2 minutes before the bell rings with 6 bags, her shirt on backwards and inside out, taking 2 seconds to inhale deeply and exhale slowly- but that person in the photograph above is still a part of me.

Throughout all of this, I tell people, it's not about the weight. (Thanks, Lance.) It's not a number on the scale, or how many calories I burned that day. Bottom line- it's about what I fed my body. I cannot be mentally or physically healthy without making conscious choices.

2 confessions:

1. I am a stress eater. When stress rears its nasty head, you will see me reach for the candy bowl or tiptoe to hide in the kitchen with whatever I can get my mits on.

Stress has reared its ugly head in my life. Like, most of the world, the economy has impacted my family in ways that I can't begin to describe. My husband lost his job in March of 2010- 3 weeks before my son Toby was born. Since then, he has gone back to school fulltime for nursing and works part time at Menards. So my role in our family has changed. Not only, am I the breadwinner, I teach fulltime (only my fellow teachers truly understand what this is like), I also have had to add other jobs on to my already amazingly hectic whirlwind of a day. To help supplement our income I tutor and teach cycling at the Y. I needed to keep a gym membership- a gym that has a pool and provides daycare so that I can work with other people on their own road to wellness. As Covey would say- Win-Win. I also feel like a single mom- which many of you reading this are.

2. I started this rapped weight gain in the 4th grade, possibly when my best friend moved away. I spent my teens overweight, college life overweight and the first 5 years of my marriage weighing 250+ pounds. (This will be a future post- has my weight loss affected my marriage?)

With that said. I know what it's like to "be there". To stand on the scale with 100+ pounds to loose and think, "I can't do that." Staring 100+ pounds down is like handing someone a pair of running shoes and saying, "Today you're running a marathon. Ready- Set- Go!" Get real. I broke it down step by step- day by day. So I will spend the next 30 days letting you know how. How I did it and how I keep doing it. Step by step- day by day.

New Day

Excuses don't help you reach you goals.  That's an interesting mission.  Man, life sure has thrown me for a loop over the past year.  But starting today, my life takes on that mission.  I need to get back on track and focused on getting back in control.  The stress has been overwhelming.  The first step is to let go of some of that stress and put myself "back on the list" so that I can be the best me I can be.

So I start today at 150 lbs and happy that I have 2 of the best boys, a loving husband and an incredible support circle that would do anything.  So, sugar be gone! I have my running shoes, road bike, water bottle and a more positive outlook.  Deep breathes, LIFE IS GOOD.

Welcome Home

So when we arrived Saturday night we had this waiting for us-

Luckily our friendly neighbors with chainsaws cut the tree up for us...which was our neighbors by the way...and it was mostly at the curb when we returned. But J and I spent today picking up leaves and bark and this is what we have waiting for the city to carry away for us.

It's been a looong week. I subbed the last week of summer school, helped out at Vacation Bible school, had our first meeting for our Summer Reading Program, tutored, and had a Book Study over a "teacher" book- Understanding By Design, which I wish I read 10 years ago. PPHHEEEWWW. Now I am officially on Vacay for the next 6 weeks.

He's such a trooper, that James. It was 110 with humidity and he helped me rid the yard of bark, branches, weed the garden and trim our bushes and Dogwood tree, so I taught him to climb a tree. Shhh, don't tell Matt. Once he gets in it he hollers like a monkey, too. It's so funny, until he falls out....

Since it was so hot this morning, after we mowed we went to one of our city pools- Indian Mounds. It rocks. We had two hours of frog slides, raining umbrellas, water spouts, and yes people- swimming underwater to the ladder as he dove in. It was an H2O miracle.

Well I am going to attempt to stay awake for a movie- wish me luck!

TrAnSpOrTaTiOn VaCaTiOn

As we wrap up ourrvacation today with Marge in Glenwood Springs, we'd like to spend some time reflecting on all the fun we've had.

Day 1: Badlands

James weathered the 12 hour trip great. He's definitely a Road Warrior. We climbed rocks and had a picnic dinner here Sunday night. When we drove through the Badlands Loop on our way to Mt. Rushmore the prairie dogs poked there heads out to tell us hi.

Day 2: Bear Country and Mt. Rushmore

Bear Country was a blast. We drove through the park and were able to wave to all the animals as they walked by our car. At the end we got out and got to see all the babies up close. When we drove into Keystone we stopped and rode the ski lifts up and the Alpine Slide down. We also took a helicopter ride around Mt. Rushmore before we hiked President's Trail James rode shotgun and our pilot dropped Bear Grylls and his crew down for one of their episodes of Man vs. Wild.

Day 3: Glenwood Springs and Marge

After a night in Cheyenne we made or way to Marge. We stopped in at the Denver Children's Museum and in Georgetown so James and Dad could ride the train and I could shop.

We finally made it to Marge and Eric's place. It's beautiful. They have done so much work to it. The kitchen is beautiful.

Day 4: Whitewater Rafting and Ironbridge

While we went on our rafting trip Aunt Marge took James out and rented him a bike. She rocks. We also had a blast in her pool and riding the trail near her place to through rocks in the roaring river. Eric was nice enough to get Matt onto the Ironbridge Golf Course for 18 holes. Matt can't say enough about it!

Day 5: Maroon Bells, Ashcroft and White House Pizza

Marge drove us up to the Maroon Bells where we saw some of the most spectacular scenery ever. James through rocks in the lake and then we drove to Ashcroft, our first ghost town! It rained in the afternoon so we napped and played Old Maid and Hot Potato. For dinner we went to White House Pizza. This was the best pizza I ever had.

So our vacation is coming to an end. We have 1 day left and we can't thank Aunt Marge enough. She really is a fabulous hostess and a great aunt.

Farm Photos

"Mom, thank you for taking me to the farm."

"You're welcome, James"

"It's excactly what I needed,"

The rabbits: Muffy and Tuffy

James and his livestock.

Uncle Kevin and James on the 4 Wheeler.