The New Goal

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This should be a post about the 2 garments I made this last week but it isn't because I am dealing with technical difficulties...seriously this is a bit pathetic...all my techie blues.  So instead of sharing with you my woes I shall share instead February's Goals.

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I know, I know!  I can't believe that February is almost here.  And while there is still a week left in the month and I can't do an official recap of the month in regards to my goals I will share with you what I am planning on for next month.

My goal next month is to lose 8 pounds.  That is exactly 2 pounds per week and I know I can do it!  This is how I plan to do it...

I will increase my water consumption from 5 glasses of water a day to 6.
I will drink 1 mug of herbal tea everyday, in addition to my water.
I will spend 30 minutes 3 days a week doing cardio.
I will not eat anything after 8pm.
I will drink non fat milk and make any treats with it as well.

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I think that is fairly simple and should help out tremendously.  This month has been pretty hard for me because everyone is trying to lose weight and get in shape (something that always happens around the first of the year) and I knew it was something I needed to start at again, yet I couldn't because I already had a full plate with my small goals.

Now, I'm not a crazy wonder woman and know that since my plate is full right now I'm going to have to re-prioritize my small goals from this month to next.  The first is that starting in February I'll only be practicing the violin 4 days a week instead of 5 but will increase the time to 25 minutes instead of 20.  So really I'll be practicing the same amount.  I will continue to compliment the children but reduce the goal to 5 days a week and not 7... this isn't because they're awful kids and it is hard.  No, this is because I have been complimenting them on their day at bedtime and I'm not always home at bedtime.  This just frees me up to not have to think so hard on the days I'll be away at bedtime.

There, it is simple and totally achievable.

What about you?  How are your goals going?  Anything you need to fine tune?  Something not work out right?  Let's chat and be prepared for next month.

A Little Bit of Everything

source sheandherdarkness.tumblr.com via allison vieger via Pinterest

No, I haven't forgotten you my lovelies!  However, blogger was having issues Thursday and Friday and I opted to skip the headache and hang out with my kiddos.  This weekend we had a bridal shower at the church in which I was finishing up the gift Saturday along with writing the devotional for the shower.  Pics of the gift to come and hopefully this week I can get a quick edit of the devo I wrote and post it all for you to read here.  I also decided to make a dress for Sunday, so you can imagine that everything I had been doing got pushed to the side.  Oh well, life moves on.

Today's post is gonna be more of an informational post than anything.

1. Weigh In Tuesday- I have not abandoned my goal.  No, I've been thinking and brainstorming and have decided to take the rest of this month get a really good plan written out.  Don't worry I'm not eating everything in sight, though I am struggling with the water again.  Tips on that anyone?  I'd love some free advice about how to stay hydrated.

2. In addition to jump starting my weight loss goals, next month I will be doing another form of weight loss…a HOUSE PURGE! Yes, just like last august…only better, more detailed, more fun and I really hope you all join in with me.  I plan on having a few giveaways too, so stay tuned.

3. Thaddeus is walking.  No I haven't recorded it yet…as soon as I whip out my cell phone he starts crawling.

4. Our camera broke.  I was handing it off to Husband and we both dropped it…no one really to blame but slippery fingers.  Problem is to get it fixed will cost $$$ but we don't want to spend it.  We could probably try to fix it ourselves but that would void the warranty, which wouldn't be a problem if we bought it last year but we didn't.  We've had it about 6 weeks.  So frustrating.

5. I'm working on a dress design.  So excited.

Well, that is about all I have today.  I hope the weather has been nice wherever you are.

{{hugs}}
Buffy

Weigh In Tuesday- Rebooting

source google.com via Paloma Rogue via Pinterest

So you know the famous Ctrl + Alt + Del sequence on your computer? Yeah, you know it's what you do when you don't know what to do to fix your computer.  You push all three of those buttons together and it reboots your computer.  Well that is where I am in my Healthy Goal Plan.  Yup, I'm gonna reboot and restart my plan.

The last few weeks have been difficult.  Last week I had 2 dentist appointments for Mr. Samuel…one regular one consult for oral surgery.  Yesterday morning he had oral surgery and we are still recovering (how does one tell a 6-year-old boy that he can't have pizza for dinner?).  Besides all the extra appointments there has just been a whole lot of activity around her and well counting calories hasn't made it on the priority list…it was just two new of a habit and was quickly lost :(

Still I want to work at it…I want to be healthy.  I want this to happen.  NEED it to.

So I'm gonna take this week and really evaluate my life, my commitments and the things I really want to get done.  Then I'm going to re-plan my healthy goal.  I might take more time.  I might start exercising.  I might lower my weekly weight loss goal.  I'm really not sure at the moment.

What I do know is that I'm gonna keep blogging about this.  I know I really need support and I need to know that others are out there and are watching, waiting.  So if you would all be so very kind and leave a comment or send me an email (under contact) and give me some tips, advice or even a resource link.  I have found SparkPeople, but I admit I'm not that impressed, in addition to the fact I can't remember my login name let alone my password :/

In other news, yesterday kicked off Kid's Clothes Week Challenge over at Elsie Marley.  I'm participating and last night I sewed for an hour after the kids were in bed (well, Elsa was up for part of it).  I'm hoping today to get my hour of sewing in the morning but we'll see (the kids have been waking up super early lately).

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and Mother's Day!

{{hugs}}
Buffy

Weigh In Tuesday

source flickr.com via Heather Shafer via Pinterest

Well darn!  I gained 2 pounds this week.  Ugh!  I feel better, healthier but man this is hard, I mean really truly hard.  I think I need to sit and have a pow-wow goal setting session with myself, figure out where I'm off track, determine how to get back on track and then persevere to the end.  I can't go back to what I was doing.  So if you have any tips, tricks or even words of encouragement please leave them in the Friendly Thoughts below.

In other news about my health journey I did complete a 1-day juice fast.  Honestly, it wasn't too bad.  Lots of trips to the bathroom though ;)  I drank a lot of water and feel really good.  I think I will try to do this once a month.  I did learn a lot about my eating habits...I'm a grazer.  Not getting to eat anything solid, combined with the fact that I had to make my juice when I got hungry made me see how much I snack.  Good things, but the bad as well. 

Also, I have decided to try a simple exercise workout that was in the latest Real Simple magazine.  It boasts that it is only 15 minutes and I think I can squeeze that in sometime during my day.  More on that next week.    I really do hope to get back to losing weight, this detour is really messing with my head and my heart. 

{{hugs}}
Buffy

Weigh In Wednesday

Before I get into today's post I just want to remind you all about my giveaway.  Click the link and join in as I love to give things away!

Source flickr.com via Ink Cafe via Pinterest

Well, this last week was awful…and I don't mean my eating (though last Friday was bad for that too).  No, my kiddos were very sick and Sunday night we ended up at the ER for IV fluids.  Yuck, yuck, yuck.  Sick kiddos are no fun, especially over a holiday.  Then yesterday I woke up feeling yucky too.  However, I will say this I found my illness to be a validation of my change in diet.  Usually when I get sick I'm miserable and can't do anything and it lingers forever but not so this time.  I had a headache most of the day but really I was just sore and tired.  So I rested the whole day, went to bed at 8 and now I feel fabulous.  I really think the change in my diet has boosted my immune system so that I can better fight off infections.  Woo Hoo!

I mentioned earlier that my diet was really bad on Friday (can you say cookies?) and Friday night I felt horrid, not sick horrid but my gut was not happy.  I told Husband that I really thought it was from the poor food choices and not me getting sick.  Which I was right because after a couple Tums I was back to normal.  I have now locked away that feeling of utter gut pain so that the next time I'm tempted to eat more than I should, or more of what I shouldn't, I'll remember it just isn't worth the pain.

Confession time (as if I haven't already).  I didn't track my food this week…mostly because of sick kids and I just couldn't add one more thing…the laundry is piling up like crazy here.  But I did manage to lose .2 pounds this week.  I think with all the cookies, Easter candy and sick kids that is FABULOUS.

Last week I mentioned that I needed to add something to my plan, either working out or a fast.  Well I've thought about it and I have decided that next week I will do a 1 day juice fast.  The rest of this week will be spent cutting out caffeine and lowering my intake of certain foods.  Now I want to be clear with you all as to the reason for this fast as I discovered there is a lot of controversy over it.  I am not doing this as a way to detoxify my body, to be honest I think detox diets are ludicrous as God made our colon for a reason.  Yes, I believe our bodies adequately excrete the toxins in our bodies and really the science backs up my conclusion.

Fasting is not a new concept, it is very old and though usually it has to do with praying, petitioning the Lord for something or also as a way of preparing yourself for something.  The last reason is why I am doing this fast.  I wish to prepare my body for the changes that I have in store.  I want to rid myself of the habit of munching just to munch which is why I'm going to do a juice fast.  This isn't some quick way to lose weight but really just to get my mindset where it should be.  Food is for nourishing, not for pleasure.  Now, don't get me wrong I don't want you thinking that I won't have any fun eating anymore…no, I just want my mind to think first 'do I need this food' before I start eating.  I want to enjoy meal times, I don't want to count calories forever or worry over portion size what I want is to be able to sit down and enjoy a meal with my family and truly know that the fun I'm having is also good for me.

So wish me luck and you might want to avoid me when I fast ;)

{{hugs}}


Have you ever done a fast before?  What are your thoughts on detoxes?  How are you all doing with your goals, not just weight loss.  Join in below with your comments and tips!

Weigh In Tuesday

{Source interiordecline.tumblr via Katia Graeff via pinterest}

Well this week has been hard to say the least. I may or may not have become addicted to weighing myself everyday (bad Buffy, bad).  To make my life easier I write this post on Monday, or even Sunday, then type in the numbers on Tuesday morning.  So as I sit here typing I haven't weighed myself today, but by all accounts I don't think I've lost, or gained, any weight.  We'll see.

This is a little frustrating because I have been really good about the water, not eating too much, and not snacking.  So I'm sorta at a loss for what to do next.  Do I keep with the water, the eating less calories and working at not snacking or do I add in something new.  Like, working out.  Don't get me wrong, exercise has always been a future goal, however there are a few things you should know.

1) I always, and I mean always, get sick (horrible, flu like illnesses) about 2-3 weeks after I start working out.  It doesn't matter if I'm working out at the gym or at home.  I get sick.  I can't afford to get sick right now.

2) I have 5 kids!  Seriously, when will I find time to go to the gym.  I mean the idea of going someplace 3 times a week without kids is super appealing, but still the only time I have is to wake up at 4:30 drive to the Y which opens at 5 and then come home so that Husband can go to work.  Yeah, not my idea of fun.

However, Husband's schedule might be changing and I might…just might be able to squeeze in a night time class or something.

3)  The best way to lose weight is to do cardio and weight training.  Weight training builds muscles and as you know muscle burns fat even while you sit surfing the blog.  However, muscle also weighs more than fat, which means that the scale could go up before it goes back down.  I'm already getting depressed and don't wish to add to it by added heavy muscles.

So there you have it.  My dire predicament.  Okay, not so dire but frustrating to say the least, I had hoped to have lost more weight so far…but then again even a pound lost is better than none.

My goal this week is to really contemplate either beginning working out again or doing a fast (a juice fast).  Based on my decision I'll start research and formulate a plan that I will share with you next week.

Now for the numbers:
Weight Loss:  3 pounds!  Seriously shocked by the number, especially in light of my above post. I was laying in bed this morning praying that I had lost just one pound and I got THREE!
Total loss in 4 weeks: 6 pounds, well more like 6.4…but 6 is good enough for me.
Inches lost: 1.75 inches
Total inches lost in 4 weeks: 3.25 inches

Ahh, not so bad.  Still, I think I need to add in something new.  Keep watching to see what it is.  And now onto the pictures.

Starting Picture

4 Weeks later
(and yes those are straight pins in my hair)

To be honest I don't know if it is the clothes or the actual fact that I have lost weight that makes the pictures look so drastic, but whatever it is there it is.

I hope you all are having a great week!  Feel free to comment below and share with me what goals you have and any progress you've made.  Here's hoping to more weight loss in the coming week!

{{hugs}}

Weigh In Tuesday

{Source Brabourne Farm via Stephane Aarseth via pinterest}

Okay, so since I gained weight last week I snuck in a weigh in on Saturday.  I really just wanted to make sure that I was on track and boy was I surprised to see that not only had I lost weight I had lost 3 POUNDS!  In 4 days, that's almost a pound a day!  Wow!  I was amazed, shocked and estatic!  I was so glad that I did weigh in a little early because I was a little depressed about the minor set back from last week.

That said I wasn't as surprised to see that I hadn't lost any more this morning.  Not that I'm not proud of my achievement.  But three pounds in a week is good weight loss!  Man, losing weight sure keeps you wanting to stay true to your goals!  My clothes are now starting to get even more loose on me.  Soon I'll have to go visit Plato's Closet!  If you don't know what kind of store they are let me explain in brief.  They sell second hand, sometimes new, clothes for those 18-30 or so.  You can bring in your gently used wardrobe and what they take they give you credit for more purchases in the store.  How cool is that?  Tired of your wardrobe?  No money?  No problem ;)  I haven't actually taken anything in yet but I'm hoping that when I need to they'll take some of my things, then I'll buy the clothes they have and then return them when they don't fit and get smaller clothes until I reach my goal weight!

So this week my goal is to break out of my comfort zone and try new low calorie recipes.  I checked out this book Cook This, Not That by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding from the library.  It is full of recipes that are about 350 calories.  Dying for french fries?  Can't handle the 1,000+ calorie price tag?  They have a tasty alternative.  I am going to renew it if I can and if I love it then I'll buy it.  Obviously, I tweak the bread parts for gluten free* alternatives for the boys, but that isn't a big deal.  Maybe I'll go all food photographer on you and take pictures of the tasty meals I make this week.  I went grocery shopping yesterday and my mouth was salivating from all the yummy produce and tasty food that I bought.

{source West Elm via Anna Perkins via pinterest

I'm trying to stick to fairly small goals.  I'm still working on the water, it is definitely a difficult habit to break (not drinking enough water).  Currently I'm waiting to see if my lovely sister-in-law, Becky, can make me one of these lovely bracelets so that I can have a visual reminder to drink water on my wrist.  Plus if she succeeds in making a lovely maybe I can convince her to make another to giveaway to you all!  That'd be fun.

Well, I hope you all had a great week.  Remember next week is picture week and measurements too.  I'm excited to show you a more visual picture of the progress I've made.


Please, please, please leave a comment below!  I love hearing from you.  Even if you're not trying to lose weight, you can write a haiku about your cat or say something about a major goal you've been working towards.  I'd love to hear about what's going on in your life.  Ways you stay healthy and active.  What you're really passionate about.

{{hugs}}

Weight Loss Plan: Set Backs to Learn From

{via pinterest}

Well as I'm sure you can tell by the title I've experienced a set back.  It happens to every plan you make, life just doesn't happen the way you want or expect and right now I'm okay with it.  This past week was anything but normal and when life gets crazy you tend to revert back to old habits.  Yes, I snacked more and no I didn't drink as much water.

I did try very hard though to eat more evenly throughout the day.  By doing so I learned a valuable lesson…I get cranky when I haven't eaten for a while.  Last Tuesday, the first day of my goal, I ate exactly as I had planned.  Come Wednesday I realized that Fun Mom had showed up again on Tuesday. I had more patience, more grace and mercy for my kids and wow was that nice!  Knowing that makes me think of when I last ate when I start to get a little snarky.  Just yesterday I nearly bit of Husband's head (which I of course quickly apologized and owned up the responsibility too) but afterward's I sat down and had a snack.  Once food was in my tummy I felt so much better.  I could really think about what had just happened and wasn't so emotional.  So this is definitely something I will practice!

Other good news is that I wore a dress that was just a little too big yesterday!  This dress is one that I've always had to wear my tummy tucking lycra undergarments.  So this is great news!  My jeans are getting a little baggy on me and I'm planning on cutting out patterns the next smaller size next time.  I am ever so glad that spring is finally deciding to Spring and that means more skirts and dresses in the future!

{via pinterest}

The Bad News/Set Back:
I gained 1.6 pounds this past week.  What I've learned is that I MUST drink water.  Every. Single. Day.
French Fries from Zips are a thing of the past :(

The Good News:
I lost an inch from my hips and 1/2 inch

So the goal this week is to remember to drink water.  At least 6- 8 oz glasses everyday.  Also, to continue eating even meals throughout the day.

{via pinterest}

How did your week go?  Setbacks?  Super weight loss?  How do you feel?  Also if you have any fabulous tricks to getting enough water everyday please share!  Have a great week!

{{hugs}}

Healthy Goals:Week Two

Well, it is Tuesday again…strange how that happens every week.  So I've officially been at my weight loss plan a whole week and this is what I've determined so far:

-it was much easier when I was still just planning.  I think when you declare that you are really going to do something and not just plan suddenly your brain thinks differently and it becomes harder.

-I need to eat more throughout the day, not just all at night.  Tracking calories has made me really aware of my food intake and since I don't want to make it to dinner and have no calories left I eat sparingly in the morning and then have like 800 calories left at 9pm. This isn't good.

-You have to go to the bathroom more when you drink water…with 5 kids at home this isn't always a great thing ;)

All in all the week was good.  Total Weight Loss for the week was 2.4 pounds! I definitely earned my sticker this week.  Later tonight I'll head over to the library, sans kids, for a little momma time and to pay on a fine (yes it is true, I'm a book hoarder).  Hopefully as time goes on this will get easier.

Onto this weeks goal.  Since I now know when I'm hungry and when I'm thirsty and have for the most part kicked the snacking in my diet (you have no idea how many M & M's I've turned down) I think what I need to work on is evenly distributing my food throughout the day.  Since I've been tracking my food and exercise for about 3 weeks I know that I burn about 200-300 calories a day doing ordinary household chores.  Since I'm trying to consume about 1560 calories a day add 200 calories for exercise that's 1760 calories of intake for the day.  If you divide that by 3 you get about 587 but since eating only 3 times a day isn't great for you I'm going to shoot for meals of about 400 calories 3 times a day and 2 snacks of 280 calories.

Obviously that is a lot of math and numbers and I'm not going to stress about 25 calories in either direction.  However, I really need to focus not just on my caloric intake but a consistent blood sugar level.  Also, since I'm drinking more water I'm going to try to get at least 6 cups of water in each day.

Enough about me how about you?  Tell me what are you focusing on this week?  How was your last week?  Remember this is about good health not just looking good.

Where I've Been and My New Plans

Well I feel like I've been gone the whole month here…oh wait I have, sorta.  I was gone this last weekend at a youth rally and had such a great time, did I mention I went by myself, without kids?  No?  Well I did and just being able to travel without kids was enough for me.  It was fabulous to go and help, I was able to encourage a few people, learn a few things about myself, and in general just be used by God…which is in a word AMAZING.

Okie Dokie, moving on.  I have had on my heart for a long time this great desire however timing has been off, my motivation less than ideal and in general it just hasn't worked out.  But this month things just clicked and now is the time!  Time to get healthy!

No I haven't been sick but I am overweight, shocking I know an American overweight.  No, I am not fat…but my weight is not healthy either and to be honest I'd really like to fix this before I get sick, before I have spent my entire life killing myself with poor food choices, well to be honest poor self-control.  However, and I'm sure I'm not alone, each time I've tried to loose weight I would succeed for a time but then the motivation would wear off.  What I have determined is that I had a faulty motivation in the past. I was trying to motivate myself by the superficial, I wanted to look 'cute' but that verse in the Bible comes to mind 'Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.'  Proverbs 31:30

So this time, the last time, I've waited.  Truly waited on the Lord's timing because I'll be honest God wants me to be healthy.  He needs me to be healthy because a healthy person can do more for the kingdom than an unhealthy person.  My family needs me to be healthy too.  I need to be healthy.

I say all this in regards to how I've gone about this.  For about 6 months I've been praying about this choice, the timing and the self-control I'll have to have in order to achieve my goal.  And it wasn't until the first of the month that I got the green light…to make a plan.  Another verse comes to mind 'Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.' Proverbs 16:3  So for the past two weeks I've been studying, myself.  My eating habits, my exercise habits, my drinking water, etc.  Also I've been keeping track of the calories in the foods, did you know that a peanut butter sandwich has over 300 calories in it…just a peanut butter sandwich!  No jam, jelly, or honey.  I was shocked.  I also have learned that grocery shopping can burn about 200 calories an hour.

All of this studying led me to formulating a plan.  And blogging about it is part of my plan.  So here is my plan.

My end goal is to lose 40 pounds by August 22 of this year.  That is almost 21 weeks from today, exactly 5 months.  Half a pregnancy or however else you measure time these days (no I'm not pregnant, but after 5 pregnancies it's sorta ingrained in my head).

How to accomplish this goal: Lose 2 pounds a week.  This is a healthy weight loss goal.  I have decided that if I succeed in losing 2 lbs a week I will get a sticker for a chart and a my choice of the following:
   - massage from husband
   - go to the library, for me
   - window shopping trip
   - thrifting adventure

See, aren't these adorable stickers?
Totally worth losing 2 pounds to get one!

Also I will have weekly goals to push me in the right direction.  I believe that for the changes to last I have to make them slowly.  I know that if I say I'll eat a salad at every meal, go to the gym 3 times a week and give up all refined sugar my plan will last all of 2 days, if that!  So I have an app for my phone that keeps track of calories and exercise and I'm committed to recording everything I eat and all my exercising for the rest of my life!  Yes, for life.  I do know that based on my current schedule I will take the day off on Thursday's but that could change.

This weeks goal is to drink a glass of water when I feel hungry.  I will wait 20 minutes to see if I'm still hungry before making a meal (unless it is has been over 3 hours since my last meal).  I've read that if you are perpetually dehydrated your body confuses the signal for thirst with hunger.  My hope is that by drinking water first I'll know if I was thirsty or truly hungry.  Also I will get rehydrated so that in a few weeks I'll know the difference between hungry pang and thirst pang.

Other incidental information:

I will weigh myself every Tuesday Morning and every other Tuesday take my measurements.  I will then post this up on the blog.  Also I will take a picture every month for you guys so you can see my progress too.  I have other incentives for myself that I will share as I meet the requirements.  I am still looking for a partner in crime health to be an accountability buddy so if you're interested email me or post a comment.

Starting Weight: 175.8 lbs.
Starting Measurements:
     Waist: 35"
     Hips:  45.25"

Oh Yeah, it's all me!

Side view...haha, no
no I was just playing 'model' with the camera man!

Before Pictures should be fun right?

Also I'd love to hear your comments on this.   Have you or are you trying to lose weight?  What's working for you?  What isn't working for you?  Share with us what you've been doing and let's learn from each other.