Mamavation Monday - Time For Change

This is going to be my motto. All problems are opportunities in disguise. If nothing else, all problems are a chance to learn. As some of you know, I spent the entire last week super sick and coughing my lungs out. I used that as an excuse not to eat well and as an only fairly reasonable reason not to work out. As a result, I am back at the starting point. I have completely regained all of the weight that I had lost.

I should be upset, but I'm not. When I sat down last night and looked back at my week, I saw this coming. I knew that the scale was going to tell me how all of my bad habits had snuck back in. Heck, forget snuck..they jumped right back in and had a party that I'd let my guard down. Yep, I blew it. I know it and I acknowledge it and now, I'm moving on. Beating myself up will only continue to let those bad habits have their way. Well, I refuse to let that happen.

So, this week, it's time to take this problem and turn it into an opportunity. Instead of focusing on all the "bad things" I did last week, I'm taking that knowledge and turning it around so I can focus on how to do just the opposite. Instead of barely getting in my water, I am publicly stating right here that my new water goal is 84oz a day. That's 3 of my water bottles.  Instead of focusing on how I didn't work out at all (barring 100 jumping jacks/crunches..Thanks ladies! Seriously. I needed someone to kick my ass a bit.) I am stating right here that I will work out 3x this week. I'm going to do the EAS once and the walking dvd twice. Instead of thinking about some of the garbage I ate last week, I am going to write out my dinners on a paper and put it on my fridge so there is no question each night of what's for dinner. I made a menu plan and now I need to stick with it.

That folks is my plan and I put it here in black & white so that all of you can push me. My workout days will be Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday. If you see me online one of those days, ask me if I've done it. Text me, tweet me, email me...Push me. If I get cranky about it, tell me to shut the duck up. Seriously. I know that I'm pms'ing which means this week will bring along another addition to the party, but I am *NOT* going to let that get in my way. I can't. I have to do this. The time is now and I'm counting on all of you to remind me of that.

Water Intake: Averaged 64oz
Workout: 100 jumping jacks/100 crunches (Thanks Angela and Shelly!)
Weight Change: +1.8 (yes, I am retaining due to you know what but this # will change!)

Question: How do you encourage your children to contribute to your family’s healthy lifestyle?

My boys help me meal plan for the weekends that they're with me. They also help me plan out healthy (or at least healthier than in the past) after school snacks. I recently introduced them to raw spinach and now it's something that they (especially the youngest) love on sandwiches and as salads. We also saved up for almost 2 years to buy a WII because I love the activity it adds to their video games. Although, after doing the EAS for 2 days in a row, my youngest is a little hesitant to do it now..lol! That won't last for long though. We also play outside when the weather is warm (and the ground isn't mud) and walk down to our mailbox together. It's not fast cardio walking but any movement is good movement.

 “This post is sponsored by Mamavation and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.”

My Lucky Miracle

Do you know this kid? I sure do. That's my son, Benjamin. He turned 11 back in January and sometimes, I think the entire process of bringing him into this world was one lucky event after another.

You see, I hadn't really planned on getting pregnant with him. I know a lot of parents say that, but really, I didn't plan for it. I had miscarried just 6 months before I found out that I was pregnant again. Losing that first baby nearly destroyed me and I wasn't sure that I was willing to risk going through all that all over again.  Fate stepped in and there was a Ben-jammin in my belly.

That was the first bit of luck.  The second bit of luck came immediately after. I found out that I was pregnant a week before his dad and I were due to move back to Michigan. If I hadn't found out when I did, I may have overdone it with the packing and lost him.

That brings me to the third piece of luck. The day after the move, we went out to eat and I kept feeling this sharp pain in my lower abdomen. I was convinced I was miscarrying. We were in a new town with no idea to go and believe it or not, I was turned away from a clinic because I didn't have in-state insurance. Finally, we found another medical building who gave us clear directions to the hospital. It turns out I wasn't miscarrying. I had somehow pulled a groin muscle.

Ready for piece of luck #4? The doctor in the emergency room wanted me to call the next day to set up a follow up appointment with their clinic. I called and got an incredible nurse on the phone who told me to run, not walk to make an appointment with Dr. B, the local specialist. She told me that he was the only person in this town that I should see and it didn't matter what the other doctor had said. With my medical history, I didn't want to be seen by a resident in some clinic.

Sometimes, I think my entire pregnancy was one piece of luck after another. Since I was seeing an incredible doctor once a week, he caught my pre-term labor (and kept me in his office until I recognized it too). I didn't even know it was happening. He was on call for me anytime, day or night and he never gave me a hard time for calling him when I didn't understand why something was happening (like why the anti-contraction medication gave me the shakes). He's also the one who realized my baby wasn't moving like he should. He's the one who took it seriously and yet never let on to the point that I would panic.

He was the one who joked with me while removing my cerclage to keep me calm and he's the one who delivered my precious boy via emergency c-section when things started going downhill. He's the one who visited not just me, but Ben in the NICU while we waited to make sure he was going to be ok. I was unbelievably lucky to have found him.

I'm also incredibly lucky because that baby who weighed in at 5lbs 6oz (which was huge considering) now weighs nearly 100 pounds and is 11 years old. He has Cerebral Palsy but you know what, we thank God every day that it isn't worse than it is. We are so lucky that what he deals with is considered a mild case.

On top of all that, I am so lucky to have met some incredible Mamavation moms who not only cheer both of us on, but are doing a fundraiser to help us get him the tools that he needs. When it comes to this boy, luck could be his middle name. It's not, but it certainly could be.

"I wrote this blog post while participating in the Bookieboo and "Earthies Wants You to Feel Lucky" blogging program, making me eligible to win a pair of Earthies shoes and American Express Gift Cards. For more information on how you can participate, click here.


**** I know that this isn't a normal weight loss post, but this kiddo is one of the reasons that I'm trying to lose weight and a pair of Earthies shoes could help soooo much in that! *****

Wow, I was supposed to update on Wednesday and here it is Sunday and I am just now getting around to it. I haven't updated any blogs at all this week. It's just been that kind of week.

So, this week, my plan was to continue with 64 oz. of water each day, eat breakfast three times, workout goal of burning around 300-400 calories, food goal around 1500-1600 calories to keep my net calories between 1150 and 1250.

Thursday 2/17 -
32 oz. water, 1540 calories, no breakfast, workout - 340 calories, net calories - 1200
Friday 2/18 -
32 oz. water, 1320 calories, no breakfast, workout - 170 calories, net calories - 1150
Saturday 2/19 -
64 oz. water, 1470 calories, no breakfast, workout - 176 calories, net calories - 1294
Sunday 2/20 -
32 oz. water, 1754 calories, no breakfast, workout - 189 calories, net calories -1565
Monday 2/21 -
64 oz. water, 1612 calories, no breakfast, workout - 528 calories, net calories - 1084
Tuesday 2/22 -
80 oz. water, 2031 calories, no breakfast, workout - 992 calories, net calories - 1039
Wednesday 2/23 -
0 oz. water, 1346 calories, no breakfast, workout - 340 calories, net calories - 1006

As you can see, my water consumption still needs work. Instead of only getting enough water on two days like last week, this time I got enough water on three of the days. I have been eating enough calories for the most part, although my net calorie consumption is lower than it should be most of the time. I did get workouts in every day. Some days more than others but I did get a workout each day. That is something that I am actually really proud of. And we ate out quite a bit this past week, which I am not happy to report, however, I often planned ahead and chose healthier options, checking the nutrition facts online before going out. Oh, and I completely missed the bus on the breakfast thing. I really don't like breakfast and eating first thing in the morning makes me feel nauseous. I know that it's good to get breakfast in every day, but it's really difficult for me.

Things to work on this week are: 64 oz. of water each day!, eat breakfast three times, workout goal of burning a minimum of 300 calories per day, food goal around 1500 calories to keep my net calories under 1200.

Oh - and my weigh-in. Last week: 238 lbs. This week: 238 lbs. No loss, but no gain either. I will take it. I know that I can and will do better next week!

Back to the beginning ...

Sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward. Or at least, that is what someone told me once. Well, that is kind of where I am today. If you remember, my first post, I was 277, and then I went UP to 277.7. I got .2 of that back last week, and this week, I got the rest of it back and I am at 277 again this morning. Now I have a feeling the weight is going to start just falling off of me. Why? Well, the week in review will give us the answer to that.

If you remember, my late post on Wednesday, I mentioned some great stuff was going on this week, but that I was going to save it for today. Well, here we go!

Having Type II Diabetes, I see a NP in my doctors office monthly. She functions as a health coach, cheerleader, meds manager and someone to discuss health changes with so that things can be addressed quickly if something comes up. I kind of like it, and my NP, Jennifer is amazingly knowledgeable about Diabetes and Diabetes care. Well, when I go in, we weigh me. My month to month weight change was -3. Sweet!

Also, while I was there we changed up my meds. She and my Doctor have been wanting to get me on a new med called Byetta. It is an enzyme derived from the Saliva of the Gila Monster that seems to have an amazing effect on stabilizing blood sugar. Since starting on it, my blood sugar has been amazingly stable, without the yo-yoing that it usually does during the day. As a side effect, it also is an appetite suppressant. People who are on Byetta tend to lose weight, as well as control their blood sugars. Bonus for me!

Finally, have been in the best mental state lately. Just very happy. A lot of time, when people are trying to lose weight, they suffer from mood swings and/or depression. I have had an amazingly happy week. Not sure why, I have just been happy.

So, today is a brand new day. The sun is coming up, and I can see some blue sky up there for the first time in like, two weeks. What does this new day hold for me? Well, I will just have to get out there and find out now, won't I?

A late delivery from Avalon ...

OK, so maybe I am not King Arthur, Lancelot, or even Perceval. Maybe Galahad, since he was sinless .... oh, wait, I am tardy with my weekly post. There goes being sinless.

So how was the week? Well, if I were writing this on Friday, I would be rambling and ranting about beig stressed and how stress is a negative factor in one's health and well-being. however, today is not Friday. It is the following Wednesday, and today is a very different day.

On Friday, I weighed in at 277.2, losing .5 of the .7 pound that I had gained back. I had made it 4 out of 5 days on my workout routine. My water intake was OK, but not great. I had reduced the number of meals that I had eaten out, and was feeling flush with the success from my workouts.

Over the weekend, I flew to New York, New York, the city so great they named it twice. While there, I managed to stay on track and not go completely off the rails on my food. I even had a great dinner at a resturaunt on 2nd Ave and 37th St, which I found some derivative ripes for. I am going to work on crafting a small portion version of the recipe, and when I have perfected it, I will post it here.

I had some great stuff pop up this week, but I will hold off on writing about that on Friday. I see a great future ...

Mamavation Fitcation 2011

Ok, so here's the thing. The Mamavation gals are having their first ever meetup and I sooooo badly want to know. The thing is, I don't have the money to do it. Tickets went on sale today and they're $106.49 (yes, I know the amount down to the last penny). They only have 10 tickets left and I want to go so bad! Did I mention I want to go?

It's not just the $106.49 that's holding me back. It's the $300 in airfare plus the approximately $100 it would cost for the hotel for the two nights. Yes, I need to come up with like $600 to attend a 3 day, going to kick my ass and help my soul event. They're talking 3 workouts in those 3 days and seriously, I know all 3 are going to kick my ass. How do I know this? Because my legs still hurt tonight after the short EA Sports Active 2 (henceforth known as EAS) workout that I did yesterday. Yesterday, folks!

It's more than the workout though. It's the chance to be with adults and not just any adults, women adults and not just women adults, but women adults who know just what I'm struggling with. They get it. Sure, some of them are a size 4 now but you know what, it doesn't matter. They worked their asses to get into those teeny tiny clothes. I'm working my ass off now to get into a size 24 and they love me no matter.

Will I have gorgeous clothes to wear or heck even decent workout clothes? No, I won't. I won't be able to buy a new wardrobe anytime soon so it will be my ratty sweatpants and maybe a tank top. Heck, I probably won't even have the money to buy a bra that holds these giant boobs in place. I don't care. What I care about is being to be around these incredible women who inspire me every day.

The question is...How do I get there? I am open to any and all suggestions short of selling my body to science. I'm not done with it yet. If anyone knows of a company who might be willing to sponsor me, please put us in touch with each other. I don't know what the groups' policy will be on corporate sponsorships but I can certainly find out.

I'm counting on you, my loyal loves, to help me get there. Let's see what we can do together.

~katie~

Mamavation Monday - I was hoping for more

Oh folks, if only this was true. I would start clicking now...Of course, it might actually be true. I mean clicking that many times would eventually start to burn calories.  Ok, it's just not realistic. Yes, I considered it there for a moment...

So, before I tell you about my week, I want to share with you 5 random thoughts I've had about exercise and weight loss over the past 24 hours:

1. (had while stretching before workout) Man, you really need to sweep this floor. You're going add a pound of lint and such instead of losing weight.

2. You really need to remember to put a bra on before doing mountain climbers. With boobs this size, you could knock yourself out with them flopping about.

3. If Angela can workout with Leah, you can certainly do this 15 minute EA Sports Active 2 workout.

4. You know you actually worked out when your leg muscles still hurt the next day...yes, mine really do hurt today.

5. I'm not giving up. I'm not. It sucks, it hurts and emotionally, it's really hard not to see giant progress when you see others making giant progress, but I am not giving up.

That last one was a hard thing to come to. On Saturday, I was ready to give up. I was terrified that I'd step on the scale today and it wouldn't have moved or it would have gone up. I've been sick all week but I still worked out 3x and drank a ton of water and thought I'd done ok with eating, but somehow I just felt that it wasn't going to be enough and maybe I should just quit before I had to look at that number.

Then, I sat back and watched all the Mamavation ladies talking on Twitter and I couldn't do it. I couldn't quit. I have all these incredible women backing me (even if nobody told me I shouldn't make that chocolate cake the other night...) and I'd be letting myself and all of them down if I gave up now. I told myself that it's hard to lose weight and short of me getting strep again, it's not going to magically fall off overnight. This is going to take me years. There, I said it. Years. Not weeks or even months. Years. Every pound is a victory. Every single pound.

Yes, I wanted to lose 30 pounds before the Mamavation Meetup (aka Mamavation Fitcation 2011) just in case I really do get to go. The reality is that I probably won't. The reality is that these women won't judge me for my size. I know, deep down, there's a voice saying I shouldn't go because they're all so much smaller than I am. I'm ignoring that voice. I am. So what if none of them are as big as I am? We have all been at a point where we needed to lose weight and we were/are unhappy with our bodies. We're all making the changes. It might not be ok to be this weight, but it is ok to be me. That's what they're going to judge me on. They're going to judge me on me and you know what, most of the time I think I'm pretty dang good at being me.

So here we go...my week in review....

Water Intake: Average 84oz daily
Workout: 3x (2x dvd & 1x EA)
Weight Change: -1

Weigh-In Wednesday

Katie mentioned to me that I hadn't posted on Monday and I knew I hadn't. I meant to and then it didn't happen and well, here I am. Finally posting on Wednesday. But you know what? I think I like this Wednesday post idea. You see, Katie updates on Mondays for sure. Jim updates on Fridays, so maybe I will start doing my updates on Wednesdays. See? It is a beautiful plan!

So, this week, my plan was to continue with 64 oz. of water each day, limit my daily calorie intake to around 1200 calories and to do the workout video just once.

Tuesday 2/8 -
48 oz. water, 1512 calories, breakfast, workout - 333 calories, net calories - 1179
Wednesday 2/9 -
48 oz. water, 1210 calories, no breakfast, workout - 24 calories, net calories - 1186
Thursday 2/10 -
48 oz. water, 799 calories, no breakfast, no workout, net calories - 799
Friday 2/11 -
80 oz. water, 1295 calories, no breakfast, workout - 229 calories, net calories -1066
Saturday 2/12 -
16 oz. water, 1583 calories, no breakfast, workout - 429 calories, net calories - 1154
Sunday 2/13 -
48 oz. water, 1667 calories, no breakfast, workout - 429 calories, net calories - 1238
Monday 2/14 -
16 oz. water, 1428 calories, no breakfast, workout - 172 calories, net calories - 1256
Tuesday 2/15 -
48 oz. water, 1,194 calories, no breakfast, workout - 255 calories, net calories - 939
Wednesday 2/16 -
64 oz. water, 1303 calories, no breakfast, workout - 85 calories, net calories - 1218

As you can see, my water consumption needs work. Only two days did I actually get enough water. That's just sad. I need to eat more calories for the most part. My eating calories should be somewhere between 1200 and 15oo and I need to eat breakfast on a regular basis. I only ate breakfast once the whole time. And I need to workout and burn calories on a more consistent basis.

Things to work on this week are: 64 oz. each day!, eat breakfast three times, workout goal of burning around 300-400 calories, food goal around 1500-1600 calories to keep my net calories between 1150 and 1250. This should be easy to do because we recently got an exercise bike and a glider. Both were gifts from my in-laws. So I plan to work out by biking at least an hour a day for endurance training, weights every other day for strength training and then focus on my abs on those off days from weights to focus on my core.

Oh - and my weigh-in. Last week: 240 lbs. This week: 238 lbs. Down another two pounds! I will gladly take it. So from my starting weight, I am now down around 12 pounds. I like it! I cannot wait to get down to my goal weight. I will have to wait though. It's important to not lose too quickly. Plus, with my current goals, I will reach my goal weight on my 11th anniversary. How awesome is that?! What a motivator to stay on track!

Accountability

I love Savage Chickens. I just had to say that. Seriously, if you have not checked them out and need a good chuckle, head on over and check them out.

Accountability is one of the reasons that I started this blog. I needed a place where I could be held accountable for not following through or to even be woohoo'd when I do make my goals.

Today, it hit home, just how much I need that; just how much I need to be held accountable for my actions or non-actions. Yesterday (or really, earlier today), I posted about needing folks to remind me to drink. Only two people took me up on this challenge and I have to say a huge thank you to both Angela and Justin who texted me.  I even reported in to Angela about what I'd had for lunch and her praise and encouragement kept me going. In fact, feeling like I'd have to fess up to her about having a rootbeer float at the kids' school party kept me from taking one when it was offered.

Don't get me wrong, I know that a bit of icecream or soda from time to time isn't going to hurt me.  However, it's important to me that I do my best this week. I want to make Angela proud of me. I want to lose this weight for me and for my babies. I want to get those text messages saying way to go! Drink some water!

So, Angela, if you're reading this, keep blowing up my phone! I'm loving it and you have no idea how much it's helping me. I can do this but I need help and you know what, I refuse to be too proud to ask for it.

~katie~

Mamavation Monday - Just Keep Going

Just keep going, that's what I have to do. I knew this week was going to be tough and sure enough, it kicked my butt all over creation. I was stressed out because my ex's 2nd wife was leaving on Friday and I was worried about the boys. I was stressed out about a couple of other things too and that just never helps. It also didn't help that I spent about 3 days, at least, sick last week. I have no idea what I was trying to come down with but fighting it off took everything I had.

What does all this mean? It means I only worked out once. It means my water intake was mediocre at best. When I'm sick, I don't want to move and I tend to drink even less just when my body needs it most. I also probably ate more garbage at points last week because it was week 2 of my shopping which meant no fresh produce left in the house.

It also means this whole post so far has been a laundry list of excuses for not doing what I know I need to be doing. Week 1 was a downhill slope. Week 2 was an uphill slope. Maybe, this week will be a straight on slope. That's the kind of week I need to have. The one where I just keep going, not slowing down and not picking up speed. I need to regulate my schedule, my water intake and my exercise. Those are my goals for this week.

This is the part where I tell y'all though that I need help. Today starts a new schedule where I pick up my boys after school every day and take them back to their dad's house for after school snacks and homework. If we're lucky, we'll also get some fun time in there too. I have no idea how I'm going to do all of this balancing. I really need your help. If you see me online, tell me to drink. I don't care if you randomly tweet, Facebook or im it at me. In fact, go for it. If you see me, drop me a one word note that says drink or grip or something of that nature.  If you know my phone number, text me to find out how I'm doing or text me at random times to drink. This is my biggest struggle right now and it's one that I am so frustrated by.

I'm asking all of you to hold me accountable. Help me to make this a habit. Please help me help myself and my boys.

Water Intake: Average 4 glasses a day
Workout: Once
Weight Change: +2

Yep, you read that right. I put back on 2 of the 2.8 pounds that I lost last week. I know that's ok..Well, not ok, but I knew it was going to happen based on my week and I know I can get it off again. I do. I am going to lose that weight again.

~katie~

One step forward, .7 steps back.

So this morning was my weekly blog weigh in. Last week, I weighed 277.0. This week, I weighed 277.7. Hmmm ... maybe I am doing something wrong? Well, it has been a crazy week. there were some great positives, and some pretty bad negatives this week.

Starting with the positives, I started and stuck to my "moderate workout" plan. The plan includes two parts: a run on my exercise bike in the morning before work, and a run on the elliptical before bed. As a starting point, I arbitrarily chose 10 minutes in the morning, and 15 minutes in the evening. My plan is to add time to both of those slowly until I build them up to 30 minutes each. I also want to add some light strength and flexibility increasing activities as well in the evenings eventually.

I got decent sleep during the week, and almost all of my blood sugar readings were within my established target range, and the couple that fell outside my target range did so by only a few points. My energy level got better as the week went along, leading to today being the best I have felt all week. Given all of the positives, why the .7 pound weight gain? Well, that question leads me to the negatives.

All week, I was on the go. I had maybe 3 meals at home, and that was it. Everything else was eating on the go. When I am eating on the go, I tend to pay far less attention to what I am eating than I do when I am cooking at home. I mean, I try, I am just not as successful. I avoid McDonald's and Burger King, and instead go to either Subway or a local Chinese food chain called Wong's Wok. The food is good, and marginally better for me there, but they tend to pile it on and when I run out and grab food before eating at my desk, I tend to lose myself in my work and end up forgetting to stop myself and save some for later.

So, in the end, it was a good week. Had I better controlled my eating, it would have been a far better week. So what changes do I plan for next week? First and foremost: eat at home and remember to bring lunch to work. Second, remember my granola bars (Fiber One granola bars). A couple times I needed a quick lift at work and ran down and got a bag of Combos (or in the case of one really rough day where I needed the energy, a bag of Skittles). Third, I think I can easily add five minutes to my morning ride on the exercise bike and increase my activity level.

Hopefully, next week will have a better result than this week!

Should This Really Be Happening? Really?

Whew! My body was certainly shaking a few minutes ago. I'm so glad that nobody is here to watch me do this! I forgot just how uncoordinated I am sometimes. I'm working out but it certainly isn't graceful! It doesn't matter though because I am up and I am moving! Today was the first day that I did my dvd since back on Friday and wow, I certainly felt it. I made it through but it was closer to day 1 than day 2 on it. I think that could be because I've been feeling a bit rough the past couple of days and my body was thinking, 'Ugh! Really Katrina, Really?" Yep, really.

So now, some random thoughts I've been having over the course of the past few days as I reflect back over my first week as a Mamavation Sista and drinking tons of water.

1. It is far more complicated to workout when you have a kitten rubbing up against your legs wanting to be picked up.

2. It is even more difficult to workout when the same said kitten changes his mind and decides to run around playing with his catnip mouse.

3. Drinking 6 glasses of water = waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more time spent in the bathroom.

4. While you're grateful for a good samaritan, it actually is frustrating when you lose your fitness plan of shoveling out your driveway.

5. You know, the winter heating bill might be lower this year because the more I move around, the less cold I seem to be. No wonder the boys are never as cold as I am.

If you have any funny or random thoughts, please feel free to leave a comment. Also, starting on Monday (Feb 14th), I will be picking my boys up from school every day so I'm looking for some healthy after school snack ideas. If you have any, please leave me a comment. I'm not against cooking, so if it's homemade granola bars or anything of that nature, leave me a comment with a link or heck, drop the recipe in here and then I'll post it to the blog.

Thanks all! I'm off to inhale a gallon or so of water! Dang sweating!

~katie~

PS Remember, if you have time to strip your cupboards, you have time to fit in a quick workout.

Recipe: Barbecue Meat Loaf

I had a whole different post in mind but wanted to get this recipe up before I went and forgot. I've had some really great feedback on the stroganoff recipe and I am thrilled!

Now, I have to say that meatloaf has never been one of my favorite meals. So often it turns out dry and has to be coated in ketchup to even make it edible. I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to tell you that this recipe is not like that! Enjoy!

Ingredients:


1 pound ground round
1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided
1/4 cup frozen chopped onion, pressed dry
1/4 cup Italian-seasoned dry breadcrumbs
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 (F).
2. Combine meat, 1/4 c. barbecue sauce, onion, breadcrumbs, egg whites and pepper in a large bowl. Stir well.
3. Shape mixture into a 7x5 inch loaf on a rack in a roasting pan. Spread remaining 1/4c barbecue sauce over top. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or to desired degree of doneness. Yield : 4 servings

Weight Watchers Points: 5
Calories: 228
Carbohydrate: 10.4g
Fat: 7.6g

Ok, that's the recipe. Here's what I changed...

Ok, who has ever seen frozen dried up chopped onions in their freezer section? Not me. So, I substituted some green onions that I had on hand. Plus, I grew up in a "post-depression era" home so throwing out egg yolks is just not in my dna. I suppose I should mention that I am not that old, but I was raised by my grandparents.

Plus, sadly, I have no rack that would fit inside my roasting pan plus, honestly, I cannot fathom dirtying a huge roasting pan (I only own one for big ol turkeys.) for one small meatloaf. So, I plopped it down (yep, it made that sound!) into a bread pan and let it go. Then, before serving it, I drained off the extra grease. Even with all the changes I made, this was the most moist meatloaf I have ever had. This lasted for 4 meals for me. Dinner twice plus 2 sandwiches for lunches and it's still falling apart moist!


Print Recipe | Printable grocery list

Mamavation Monday - Heart Healthy

I just love finding fun graphics for this blog and I love when I can look at one and say nope, not this time! That's right folks, today is weigh in day and my scale didn't make me cry! Woo! I'm not telling you quite yet what the result was..I'm going to make you read all the way to the end to find out! Aren't I mean? Ok, you could skim down to the bottom and cheat, but c'mon, we're not cheaters, here...right? We're winners because we're doing this! We're tackling our weight loss!

So this week was a pretty good week, I'd say. I averaged my 4 glasses (64oz) of water each day. I'll confess that a couple of days I got 5 in and a couple of days I only got 3 in. It averages out to 4 a day, I'd say.  I also got in my walking dvd not once, but twice! I did it on Tuesday and then went back and did it again on Friday. It was actually easier on Friday. My legs held out longer which was super exciting for me. They also weren't twitching like mad afterwards which tells me that I was probably better hydrated for it on Friday.

Challenges...Well, there are always challenges, right? This week it was stress and my ex-husband.  I've actually written about that over at Life With Katie so pop over there if you'd like to learn more on that subject. Needless to say, he drove me to super high levels of stress, but with the help of one of my Mamavation Moms (Thanks, @notdiyheather) I got through it. I told myself that I was in control and I controlled my responses and reactions and it helped soooo much! I love being a part of the Mamavation Sistahood!

New Goals:  Well, this is my last week where I am totally at home. Next week, I start picking my boys up from school each day. That means I leave here around 2:30 and should get home around 5:30 or 6pm. This is going to mess with my schedule, so this week, I want to look at how I can still get my workout dvd in and what to do about meals (and healthy after school snacks for the boys). I'm going to keep up with my water and try again to do my dvd twice this week.

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for....I almost typed weighting..lol!

Water Intake: Averaged 64oz a day
Worked Out : Twice
Weight Change: -2.8 pounds (Yes! Yes! Yes! Woo! Woo! I did that! I lost that!)

----------------
This week's Mamavation Monday Question is brought to us by Chef's Requested:

Q: What are you doing to keep your heart healthy:

A: I'm working on losing all of this weight that I've been carrying around for so many years. Less weight equals less strain on my heart. I'm drinking more water and adding in workouts. I've also noticed that I've started watching what I'm eating without even thinking about it. Pretty soon, I'm going to be adding in a "scheduled" healthy breakfast.

Maintenance

I have exciting news, but before I get to that, I wanted to share with you some of my own personal struggles and accomplishments from this past week.

Accomplishments:
Water intake - I stayed on target every day with 64 oz. (or more) in each day. And for today, I am already at 30 ounces - and it's only 8 a.m.! Woo!

Food - Well, this one was so-so to be honest. We had some meals out (although I am pretty proud of myself!) I only ate half of my burger from Red Robin (a California Chicken burger - grilled chicken breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, pickle and provolone cheese) and I subbed in mandarin oranges instead of having steak fries and then I had Subway another day, but I got the foot long and only ate half of that one. Probably didn't choose the healthiest option on the menu but the portion control was there. (I chose the Chicken Bacon Ranch - what can I say? I love bacon! And it was only 2 slices per 6 inch half...is that a reasonable amount?) And I had it with provolone cheese, light lettuce, tomato, pickle, banana peppers, light ranch and chipotle southwest. Don't know what's in the chipotle southwest but it's so yummy! I really should research a bit more about healthier options though.

I actually just went to the Red Robin site and discovered that my meal would have been 893 calories, but I only ate half of it, so really it was about 446 calories, which I think is okay? And for the Subway sandwich I had...291 calories for the 6 inch portion that I ate. That seems okay too, I think? Would definitely go for some feedback! I had water with both meals and for the Subway sandwich, I didn't have a side dish because honestly, the sandwich was enough.

Another day, we had the wonderfully yummy recipe that Katie shared on here the other day for stronganoff. And my JoNo (the 7 year old) had FOUR helpings of it! I had one helping of it myself. We were using styrofoam bowls that are kind of on the smaller side, so I think that was good portion control there. A small bowl that looks mostly full seems like a whole lot more food than a large bowl that looks mostly empty.

So, I think the food and the water both went okay this last week. I plan to continue with similar goals for the coming week, but more about that in a minute.

Struggles:

Exercise - I did not get the video done this past week. First part of the week, I was gone 16 hours each day, the last part of the week, I wasn't feeling well and then discovered that my seven year old's bronchitis had caught up with me.

Okay, so now for the part where I share the exciting news...I didn't gain and I didn't lose, so I completely maintained my weight. I would have preferred to have gone down in weight, but I am pleased with maintaining it as well. Back on January 27, when I first weighed myself for my tickerfactory ticker, I was 247. When I weighed last week, I was 240. This week, I am 240 still.

I found a site called, "Lose It!" via someone else's blog. I can't quite remember whose it was, because I was blog hopping and yeah, you all know how that can go, right? It's a free online tracking system. I joined and put in my information this morning. I'm planning to try to lose 2 pounds per week. Considering that I just maintained this past week, I'm definitely going to have to get that video in there this week.

So my goals for this week are to: limit calories to around 1200 per day, which means that I am going to be watching what I eat a whole lot more. But the nice thing is that "Lose It!" has a bunch of stuff already in there for recording what you ate and everything! Very cool.

Okay, so limit calories, continue with 64 oz. of water each day and an absolute must to get that workout video into the plan this week as well! My goal is to do it just once, but ideally, I'd really love to do it more than that.

Well, wish me luck! I'll check back in with you all next week to let you know how this week's goals went!




Oh - and I almost forgot to mention the part that I was excited about. I didn't realize it but my BMI is 41.2 and according to the chart that I was looking at this morning, I am very close to being "just" obese instead of clinically or extremely or severely obese. I know that it might sound weird, but that's kind of an exciting thing for me. Apparently the line between obese and clinically obese is around a BMI of 40. So I have a very attainable goal in that too!

Cameras don't lie.

Hello one and all. I am Jim, and as I am the new guy around here, I feel it important that I introduce myself. I have been friends with Katie for a few years now, and I was happy when she agreed to let me join the blogging community here at Welcoming Weight Loss. I have been fighting the battle of the bulge my entire adult life. I don't really have a support mechanism here, so joining the blog is a way for me to gain that support mechanism and maybe offer others support as well.

I entitled this entry Cameras don't lie, because of something that happened a couple weeks ago. I was going through my mom's photo albums, and I found a picture of myself. I was *gasp* skinny! I don't ever remember a time when I wasn't heavy, but there I was .... skinny! I couldn't believe it!

I joke around alot about being overweight. I often say "Inside every fat person, there is a skinny person eating like their life depends on it." However, there is the photographic proof. There is a skinny person in there somewhere, and now I am on a quest to find him. I need to find him. He is the key to my survival.

I have a whole boatload of health issues that relate to my weight. Back spasms, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes is my reality right now. The Back Spasms happen rarely these days, but the others, well, they are here for the duration. My heath care team believes that if I manage to get down close to my ideal weight, most of these health issues will resolve themselves. So, to improve my health and extend my mortal existence, the quest begins.

At my heaviest, my doctor estimates that I was at 350 pounds easily based on pictures that were taken of me at that time. I'll post a picture or two some day of that. Yesterday I weighed in for my official blogging start weight, and was 277 pounds. I could probably post a bunch of other stats, but I will let that go. Suffice it to say, I have a goal. Slow and steady weight loss. My plan: portion control and not eating everything in site, and moderate exercise.

It will be a long journey, and I am glad you are on it with me.

Recipe: Ground Beef Stroganoff

From time to time, I want to include some healthy recipes here. This happens to be a family favorite and I hope one that others will enjoy as well.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
8 ounces wide egg noodles, uncooked
3 green onions, sliced
1 (8 ounce) package of sliced mushrooms
1 (12 ounce) jar of fat free beef gravy
1 (8 ounce) container of fat-free sour cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic (powdered)
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional)

1. Prepare noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and oil.
2. While noodles cook, cook the beef, green onions and mushrooms in a large nonstick skillet until meat is brown, stirring until it crumbles. Drain your meat mixture and return it to the pan. Add gravy and next 3 ingredients; stirring well. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in sherry, if desired. Serve over drained noodles. Makes 5 servings.

per serving:
367 calories
42.9g carbohydrates
7.6g fat

Printable grocery list

Sweat is Sexy?

Wow, I had this fabulous post all ready inside of my head but post-workout exhaustion has robbed me of any sense of what it might have been. So, instead, I'm just going to have to write something else, I do suppose.

Today is Friday. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking well duh, Katrina, we all know that. Tell us something we don't know. Well, hmmph! If you had let me finish my sentence maybe I would have.

So, like I was saying, today is Friday and I worked out for the second time this week. I believe that the first time was on Tuesday. Yep, it was Tuesday. That means that I took a couple of days off in between, but that's ok. I had only planned on working out once this week so twice is a pretty big accomplishment! Yay, me!

What I like best is that I think it was a tiny bit easier today. Not scores and scores or even grips easier, but I think it was a tiny bit easier. I made it longer before my legs started whining at me to stop. I didn't stop though. I did the whoooole 16 minutes/1 mile. I got in my 4 glasses yesterday and I'm on glass 2 for today, which puts me on target for getting 4 or 5 glasses in before the end of the day.

Now, I am off to relax for a bit before I tackle dinner. And as always, Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things...*grins*

~katie~

Rough Day

It was too. It was one of those days. I woke up this morning with a stabbing pain in my abdomen when I inhaled. I have no idea what that was about but it made me feel slightly queasy. Once I got up, luckily that disappeared (so maybe it was a muscle that needed stretched?) but the slightly sick feeling never went away. I also thought that my legs had survived yesterday's workout but that lasted right up until I bent over to pick something up and those muscles stretched. Whew! Those muscles woke up and went nope, we're tired and sore today. Sorry, not going to cooperate!

For the most part today, I just haven't felt good and could not find the energy to get much of anything done. Then this evening, I started having some bad stomach cramps and that ended me even trying to do anything. I did manage to get a few minor things accomplished today but as far as fitness went, I sure didn't workout today or anything along those lines. The closest I got was fighting with my front door to open because there was a big block of ice behind it.

My water intake was down today, too. I got in 5 full glasses yesterday and today, I'm wrapping up the day with 3. Of course, I also didn't eat super healthy either. It's ok though. I refuse to beat myself up over this. Tomorrow I'm going to get up and I'm going to get my breakfast and my glass of water and I'm going to do my best. Who knows, maybe my legs will even be up to that dvd again. If not, there's always my yoga dvd. I bought it 4 years ago and it's still in the shrinkwrap.

My Intro to the Blog

Hi all, my name is Deanne and I am an online friend of Katie's. We "met" through blogging and I am excited to share with her in this venture in weight loss. Katie and I both have similar goals in mind - to lose weight, to build muscle and to overall get healthy. Isn't that right, Katie? :)

For starters, I will say that my biggest challenges to overcome to help with the weight loss and having a healthier lifestyle are time (for instance this past week, I have been working 10 hour days and have a roundtrip commute to work and back of 6 hours. So 16 hours driving/working...add in an extra 8 for sleep and you have a good idea of my life at the moment!) But to be honest, most times, I don't get nearly as much sleep as I should. And I work nights, so that throws my rhythm (and more importantly my metabolism) off as well. I also have discovered through past weight loss programs that I don't consume nearly enough calories each day. It doesn't make sense. I'm way overweight (bmi is 41 for crying out loud!) and yet, I don't eat nearly as much as I should. I mean, I understand it in my brain - a person's body needs to have the food to boost the metabolism, but I just don't get hungry very much. Plus there are so many conflicting pieces of advice out there. Eat to boost your metabolism vs. Only eat when you feel hungry. I am not sure which one I am supposed to do! So hard and frustrating!

And for a little bit more about me - I am a CNA. I actually get a pretty great workout at work. I lift and turn people. I do sprints (think - I'm on one side of the facility and a resident's alarm goes off on the other side of the facility, I have to get there FAST!) I am also a wife and a mother. My husband loves to cook (for which I am incredibly grateful but we are working on revamping our meals as well to contain more healthy options). My children include a 10 year old boy Natty, 7 year old boy JoNo, 4 year old girl Punky Pie, and a 3 year old boy Boo.

Natty is overweight as well and we are trying to instill the idea of living a healthy lifestyle in him. He is incredibly active but eats constantly. (Too bad he and I can't just "even" each other out!) JoNo, Punky and Boo are all within their recommended weight ranges and I'd like for them to stay there too.

I plan to start with some baby steps as well. My baby steps for this next week are to drink 64 oz. of water every day and for every ounce of other fluid I have, I plan to also have twice as much water as well. (So - for instance - 64 oz. of water per day and then I drink a 12 ounce soda so I would need to have at least an extra 24 ounces of water that day.) I hope that makes sense. I also hope that it would inspire me to not drink things that are not good for me, because soda is my one big downfall. I don't know how much better it is, but I have started drinking non-caffeinated soda for the most part of my soda consumption.

And at least once this next week (by Monday) I want to do my Jillian Michael's 30-day shred workout video. I bought the video after seeing on the Exercise channel and I got a set of hand weights to go with it. They recommend 3 pound weights and I think I got the 2 pound ones. Or maybe I did get the 3 pounders... I can't quite recall. But regardless, I have weights and I have a video. And now, I have a plan (in writing and shared on here!) to get at least one workout in.

So those are the goals. Drink 64 oz. of water per day, cut out unhealthy fluids (or "make up" for them) and then do the workout video at least once. Oh - and I will need to get you all a starting weight too - let me run down and weigh myself...240.3 pounds. Whew! I am a bit uncertain if that is an accurate weight though. I plan to get a better scale later on today maybe. But I will let you know if the scale that I am using changes.

Oh - and thank you, Katie, for allowing me to post on here with you. We shall be each other's champions!

I Did It!

I did it! I'd jump up and down in excitement, but my legs might collapse but I did it! I got my butt up off of this couch, put in my dvd and did the beginner level. Let me tell you that it wasn't easy! My legs were burning and twitching by the 1/4 mile mark but I didn't give up. I kept on going. I told myself I only had to get to the 1/2 mile mark (which is halfway through the session) but when it came I said nope, you can do this. You are doing this. Keep going! And I did! I kept right on going and before I knew it, I had walked the entire mile! Can you believe it? Me. The Queen of I hate working out. I walked/worked out the entire mile. Yes, sometimes I had to just walk in place but not very often. Sure, it wasn't nearly as graceful as some of the people on the dvd, but what matters is that I was moving! I was burning calories. I was increasing my heart rate.

Can I tell you a little secret? I felt good afterwards. I am sweaty, thirsty as all get out and my legs were twitching like mad, but I felt good. Someone on the Mamavation Twitter group said something about endorphins and I just smiled and thought how nice for her. Nice for her? Heck, how nice for me! For you! For everyone! Dang, if I'm not careful, I might actually start to enjoy this and do it on a regular basis! Note to self though, I need some better workout shoes. Mine are too broken in and they were the weird balance ones to begin with. I don't want to injure myself.

Ok, so I don't even know why I'm typing this other than maybe I'm a little giddy, but can I get a Woo Woo? I just know someone is going to read this and think I'm nuts but I kept thinking about Leah doing that last night for everyone's accomplishments and it really made me smile then and thinking about her doing it for me now is making me smile even more now! Woo! Woo!