20lbs down halfway to my goal!!

Made it to my 20 lb goal, so I bought a swim suit. I was going to get a new wii game but it's finally starting to get warm out so I figured I would rather go for a run or bike ride instead of staying inside. This swim suit I did purposely buy a bit in the small side to further push me. It seems to fit now but I will be so much more confident once I drop some more arm & leg weight . 

Diet: This month I honestly stopped tracking my intake on myfitnesspal and it totally showed. I did horrible with eating and cravings . I do realize that by tracking what you eat you are more aware of how much you eat regardless of  if your tracking your calories or not. So I ended up sneaking more junk and not even realize how much daily. Blah! I am going to try harder next month at this.. I'm drinking more green tea/ ginger/ dandelion root tea. In place of coffee and stuff. And try to get three of my Nalgene bottles of water a day. 

Exercise: I feel like I did pretty well at keeping up with exercising. I only ran 2x although. But I did go to 2 classes a week and on off days I tried to do my wii fit for 30 mins. I have also got into spinning class and I am hoping to try to get to that 2x a week. It's such a great workout! 

I have also been doing a plank and push-up challenge so far so good. Working up to build those core and arm muscles. The kids enjoy "working out" with me too. :)

Me and cade doing wii Zumba.

Progress: 

Last months pictures: 

Not much progress this month as far as measurements go except in my upper thighs, that's still better than gaining it somewhere so ok in my book woop! 

I feel like I need to get back to walking or running in the mornings to keep me in check for the rest of the day. That seemed to work well. If only I could get my lazy butt out of bed in time to do it.. :/ Maybe once the weather is nicer I will be able to bring the kids on a walk or run to the park. 

Hubby has continued to lose weight as well by just watching what he eats. I hope he comes back to Gym Fredrickson soon! I miss my c25k buddy. 

18 down 22 to go!! Almost halfway there!

What? That seems so crazy to me that I actually lost 18 lbs! Just last week I was whining to Dan that I am still wearing the same freakin pair if pants yet i've lost almost 20 lbs! Life is unfair sometimes! I mean don't get me wrong those were some very well deserved pounds I was happy to say goodbye to. But I am really looking forward to wearing new pants ... Maybe next month. 

So what have I been doing? 

Diet:

 I am going to be real honest. I stick to my. 1450 caloric daily intake strictly for weeks and noticed that I wasn't gaining or losing any weight. So I had a few cheats days last week and boom my metabolism got a wake up call apparently and decided to start doing some work and boom I lost 2.5 lbs.. So this is a learning process. But seriously why does it have to be that difficult??? 

Exercise: 

Well I love Zumba but some of the instructors songs are really starting bother me and I wish she would move on to more sambas and Latin dances.. :/ I have been going once a week. I have also been going to turbo kick and boy that us a fun and challenging workout! Tonight I tried butts and guts again and all my muscles are still shaken, I think that's a good thing but man that class sure makes me feel weak! I guess that's more reason to keep going back.. Another new thing I am doing is MWF I am doing 45 mins in the morning on the wii fit yoga and strength training. I really love how it tells you how your doing but I am already getting bored with it at the same time.. I am looking into getting a new game to try. 

Goals:

After 5 lbs lost: Get my nails done. 

After 10 lbs lost: Treat myself to a day at The Float Tank!

After 15 lbs lost: Buy a new workout outfit

After 20 lbs lost: Treat myself to a massage!

After 30 lbs lost: New Haircolor & Cut!

After 40 lbs lost: $200 spree for new clothes

Well I got new shoes and done new workout clothes. I actually got a massage while I was at the float tank. So I will need to assign a new 20 lb goal.. Maybe it will be to buy that new wii workout game !! 

Here are this months pictures: 

Last months: 

12 lbs down 28 to go!!

Well I finally made it to my 2nd goal of 10 lbs off. I tell ya those were some tough pounds to lose. But once I lost them it seemed to happen overnight and then a couple more too! 

So what have I been doing? 

Diet:

 I have been just trying to keep to my 1600 a day and eating at least all my daily amount of fiber. I am still trying to do 1 green smoothie a day usually for lunch. 

Exercise: 

We switched from running at night to going first thing in the morning, that seems to be helping and getting it out of the way in the morning is great for stressful days- no more excuses were too tired by night! I had been going to Zumba 2x a week as well and some other random classes here and there. Until lol I pulled a ligament in my abdomen :/ so I had to take a week off. Then we all got sick and I got a terrible fever - and sweat out 2 lbs. 

New month I am starting a new program for diet and exercise: 

I read the digest diet book and thought I would give it a try. 3 things that drew me to this diet was: 1) it encourages 1 glass of red wine a night at dinner, 2) dark chocolate :) and 3) it focuses on MUFAS & PUFAS eating healthy fats to lose fat.. And it's 21 days long and comes with all the recipes and shopping lists. 

Today was day 1: I am on the "fast release" stage you drink 2 shakes a healthy size snack and then soup for dinner. You do this for 4 days along with 45 mins of walking in the morning, and 3 -(1 min) energizers sporadically throughout the day. 

So far I am liking it and look forward to stage 2! 

Here is a refresher of my weight loss goals & rewards; 

Goals:

After 5 lbs lost: Get my nails done. 

After 10 lbs lost: Treat myself to a day at The Float Tank!

After 15 lbs lost: Buy a new workout outfit

After 20 lbs lost: Treat myself to a massage!

After 30 lbs lost: New Haircolor & Cut!

After 40 lbs lost: $200 spree for new clothes

Looks like I should be making my float tank appt and only 3 lbs short of a new workout outfit! Woop! 

This months pictures:

Last months pictures: 

Update on hubby's weight loss progress: he has lost 25# and is doing amazing, I am very proud of us both! :) 

Thanks everyone for cheering us on! 

7 lbs down 33 to go!!

Yay we survived one month to a healthier us! 

Exercise: 

We have continued our 3x a week C25K work out together. It has been getting easier gradually. I am happy to say I survived week 4 and that is 3x running 5,4,& 3 minutes at a time lol 

I have also been doing very well at taking 1-2 Zumba classes a week. I love Zumba so that's not hard. 

Diet: 

I have officially finished my 30 green smoothie challenge and I honestly loved it. Yes, there were days when my concotion did not turn out well but overall  it was good. I especially liked it because I really hate eating salad and this was a good substitute for getting those greens in. So I will continue to make some weekly. 

I gave up the detox water after a week mainly bc it took up too much space in the fridge. I just started adding lemon juice to my water tumbler at every refill. 

I started drinking green tea in place of coffee (most days) and hope to start drinking matcha green tea soon! 

I am still juicing here and there and I also am trying out dr oz's vegetable broth drink with lunch or in between lunch and dinner. 

My progress: So excited after 1 month I have lost 7 lbs and 2 inches around my waist .5" around my arms and .5" around my thighs!! Woop! 

I missed my goal reward at -5 lost so I will go all out at the float tank once I lose my 10 lbs hopefully before my birthday in a week! 

Hubs Progress: he lost 10 lbs in a month and idk measurements I doubt he measures himself lol. 

This months photos: 

 Last months photos: 

What totally has helped me keep motivated on days when I feel like things are just not happening fast enough is encouragement from my mom, and freiends who are on myfitnesspal and my new group fitness buddie! I really appreciate them doing this with me and I can't wait till we can all celebrate our healthier selfs! Keep up the great work ladies! 

30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge!

I recently got into juicing with my moms Jack Lalanne Juicer, from inspiration from my friend Kim! While I love using the machine and the juice is so fresh I also recently discovered a neat website dedicated to educating others about the benefits to drinking green smoothies. I was actually on Pinterest looking for recipes for juicing when I found an article from the Simple Green Smoothies website explaining why you need to rotate your greens. I posted the article on facbook to share with my friends who might be interested in reading it. The next day I received a text message from a distant friend whom I miss dearly (Paige) asking if I was going to join their 30 challenge, after I got home I looked more into it and its free and fun so why not! 

Background: 

A little background on why there is suddenly a fire under my (ars)  to get in shape and lose some weight. Bubba is almost 2 and I currently weigh the same amount I did when I was pregnant with him! Awesome! NOT! Do we need more reasons? Here's another, I am leaving on a trip in 8 months to a small paradise with just my hubby and amazing amount of wine and beaches.. I want to be able to enjoy myself and feel good about it.. nuff said!

After Bubba was born I just have not found motivation to work out like I used to. Nor have I found a good system for childcare to work out. Hubby has had a crazy hectic schedule up until a couple weeks ago and hasn't been home or able to be home in time for me to go to a class. :/

We both have been letting our weigh slide and so we agreed to motivate each other to work out and eat better. I got him the fitbit flex for christmas to help him track his progress. I am choosing to do this 30 day challenge and adding some other healthy boosters and plan to track my progress in MyFitnessPal.

Exercise:

Hubby and I are now on Week 2 day 4 of C25K program on our phones. It has actually been pretty fun! After we put the boys to bed, we suit up in our workout clothes and head to the basement. We turn on something entertaining we both like to watch and start walking for our warmup. One of us on the treadmill, the other doing laps around the basement (while also picking up toys, lol) Then we rotate whoever is running is on the treadmill and whoever is walking is off. (C25K is a free program that works by slowing getting you moving by off alternating between walking and running small distances, and slowly building up until after 8 weeks, you're ready to run 5 kilometers or 30 minutes non stop.)

After the 30 mins is over I do some circut work and and he does some more walking and or running then we stretch. 

I am over the moon excited to find out there is a Zumba class that has childcare available in my town. I just found this out and so I am going to enroll in the class and if hubby is home I will leave the kids, if he is not I will be able to bring them with and they can play while I work out for an hour. SWEET! I also like how they have 3 classes a week and one being Saturday morning! 

Diet:

We are going to continue to our clean eating diet of mainly meats, vegetables very little dairy and legumes, breads and starches. (paleo) and try harder to eat smaller portions. 

Like I said before I am adding some other drink supplements for me to my daily intake these include: 

• Jillian Michaels Detox Water: (60oz water, 2 tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs fresh cranberry juice, 1 dandalion root tea bag.) I drink this in place of my 8 glasses of plain water a day.
• Apple Carrot Ginger Juice: (3 apples, 1 carrot, 1 inch ginger root) This is my snack drink when I am feeling hungry between meals
• Green Juice Smoothie: (2 cups green leafs, 1 cup water/ coconut water/ green tea, 1 cup frozen fruit, 1 cup fresh fruit, 1 Tbs coconut oil/ avocado, 1 Tbs chia seeds/ 1 Tbs Flax oil, 3 tabs spirulina) either my breakfast or lunch meal for 30 days
• I also plan to eat more nuts for snacks. 

Goals:

After 5 lbs lost: Get my nails done. 

After 10 lbs lost: Treat myself to a day at The Float Tank!

After 15 lbs lost: Buy a new workout outfit

After 20 lbs lost: Treat myself to a massage!

After 30 lbs lost: New Haircolor & Cut!

After 40 lbs lost: $200 spree for new clothes

Taken 12/27/13

Pre-made detox water, apple carrot ginger juice and yesterdays leftover green smoothie

Smoothie boosters (Chia seeds, Flax Oil, Organic Spirulina, Coconut Oil, & Raw Local Honey)

Fresh fruit for snacks and smoothies

The recipe guide I follow

Simple Green Smoothies formula. (makes 2 -16oz smoothies)

Seriously you guys, wish me luck!! :) 

Wanna join me on this journey? Sign up here (no need to have a link, just your name and photo): 

Cloth Diaper Report- 18 Months!

     I have been a slacker I admit it. But, I wanted to update on our cloth diapering stats at 18 months! My current stash is a lot bigger than before about (30) shells and ( 28) pods (8 ) doublers (25) wipes (4) wetbags. Even though we have enough diapers to never have to reuse a shell more than once in a week, for this experiment I will be reusing the shells as much as I can to show those who are just starting out at this age how many the minimum could be. In fact a lot of times I reuse the same shell if it was just wet diaper, because every time you reuse it you are getting more use and saving more money. That is why I love AI2's!!



How many diapers (shells) a day used?  3

Changes per day? 8am, 9:30am, 11:15am, 1:30pm, 3:20pm, 5:45pm, 7pm

How many wipes? 1 in the morning, 3 if poopy, none for wet (average 7 a day)

What Brands were used? SoftBums, Rock-a-Bums, Mud Butts

What brand/ style fit best? SoftBums Omni & Rock-a-Bums

Were you able to reuse your AI2 shells during the same day? If so how many times? Yes about 2 times,

What fit problems did you have? None

What was the print/ color you grabbed the most? SoftBums Fluffy Saurus Rex Echo

Best on-the-go diaper? Rock a Bums  stuffed with a SoftBums Bamboo Superpod

What type of insert/ soakers worked the best? Really loving the large bamboo pods right now they are trim and absorb perfect amount for 2.5 hours.

The worst? Right now the large drytouch are only lasting an hour and half. which is fine for the first change before he poops bc that is usually an hour after he gets up, but otherwise I feel like its too short of time between changes. If I add a bamboo mini pod behind it its not bad & will last us about 2.5 hours.

Overnight? Bamboo Superpod  & 2 minis in OMNI shell

Did you have any blowouts? No

What was your washing schedule like?  We have a Top Loader Fisher & Pachel, I do a Cold quick wash, then a Hot wash heavy duty with 2 tbsp. detergent, then a Cold wash normal, I am washing 2x a week air drying shells, pods in dryer.

Detergent used? A Happy Green Life

Love it or hate it? Still totally in love with using cloth diapers! Everytime I have to use a disposable I hate the smell, the quality and the cost! All factors I never have to think about using cloth diapers & cloth wipes!

Things you learned? In a pinch a mini pod can be used as a emergency menstrual pad. (I will forever keep one in the diaper bag for this purpose!) lol

Fit pictures:

Connor picking out his clothes for the day- he only wants to wear vikings, football, or puppies. lol

Cant see his diaper but its too cute not to share, someone is attached to kitty & puppy.

Reading dads tab

decorating his tree 

Why I Spread Childhood Cancer Awareness

A while back I had posted a story about my brother who battled Osteosarcoma from age 16-19. He was on his way to becoming an amazing man when his life and our life as a family came to a unexpected turn down a aweful road of ups and downs through chemo, radiation, remission to his untimely death and I would never wish that upon anyone. I miss him everyday.  

Well for obvious reasons, Childhood Cancer Sucks! But now it is the #1 cause of death in the US! Being a parent that is frightening to hear. Do you want to know the statistics? 13,500 new diagnoses each year, That means that 1 in 300 boys will get cancer or 1 in 333 girls will be diagnosed before their 20th birthday. I have linked to 2 articles about this topic and although I can see a little biased point of view from the source I side with this article. Plain and simple her last statement in the article "Cancer rates have risen to epidemic levels if estimates now show one in two adults will get cancer sometime in their lifetime. With childhood cancer as the number one child cause of death, what kind of cancer odds will our children face in their future? Forget racing for the cure; we have to start focusing on the cause!"

- See more at: http://eatlocalgrown.com/article/12174-cancer-officially-number-one-cause-of-childhood-death-in-us.html#sthash.scxric9Y.dpuf

The other article that references this information: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/conquering-childhood-cancer/story?id=20348929

While I love that ABC News had a story to raise awareness in September for Childhood Cancers. They missed the point. Notice in the article how optimistic getting cancer is.. Yes we now have a 84 percent chance of surviving... and then go on to talk about all the drug and protocols that are available... I should say we have an 84% chance of surviving the most popular childhood cancer. I know that rate is not as optimistic for more "rare" cancers such as sarcomas.. While never once touching on the most crucial factor.. Prevention!

So what are we doing to prevent ourselves and our children from getting cancer?

We need to identify the most possible causes in our own lives and get rid of them or try to reduce exposure. If we are surrounded by thousands of things that are "possible carcinogens" don't you think all those things will add up? Thousands of products have been tested and have passed only based off their own exposure.

We need to educate ourselves on what are possible carcinogens and make a list of everything we eat and use and start living as carcinogen free as we can control. Because we cannot control the world, or our government by any measure.

If we want our children to have a future, we need to make some changes.

I will try to publish my list soon on what exposure our family has and what we plan to do to limit that exposure.

Thanks for reading, my only hope in publishing this post is to help raise awareness of this topic. I hope to save a child's life somewhere somehow. I know that this can be a controversial topic, I am not pointing fingers or trying to give anyone a bad name.

Our Childhood Cancer Awareness Flag