I FEEL GOOD! (Weightloss Week 8)

Ok, really,I don't know WHAT week I am on, EVER, and ALWAYS have to look at my "Edit Posts" option! (OH MY!)
I am not sure what to put in post. I snuck a peak of the scale Saturday, and was down another pound. But this morning, I was UP a pound. Now, on the weekends, I tend to have... uhm..Some digestional issues. (I don't during the week, and I think that it is because I don't exercise on the weekends, and exercise gets EVERYTHING moving!) So, I stayed within my daily points all weekend and can't IMAGINE I gained 2 pounds! (I think that my "issue" may have affected my weight this morning.) SO, I am going to change my weigh in days to Friday, and see what happens. The good news is, I went jean shopping this weekend, and am back in a size 7!! (I was in anywhere from a size 9-13 and usually 11!) They even fit loose around the waist! (Unfortunately I am packin' some junk in my trunk, and they are snug around the hiney and the thighs.) All in all, I FEEL GOOD! Still doin' what I do. Last night I was able to have a salad, a small piece of meatloaf and half of a small twice baked potato. It was plenty! For dessert, I had half of a SUPER YUMMY cinnamon roll. I love feeling like I have control. That I don't NEED to finish the whole pan of sweets, and I can still be satisfied!!
I FEEL GOOD!!!!!

What I do..

I know you are probably sick of hearing about my weight loss junk. Oh well. If you are, skip this blog! (Pretty simple!) I want to put down somewhere all I am doing to lose this weight I have packed on. (I wonder if it is possible that where you LIVE makes you gain weight? I was up to the highest I have ever been except for during pregnancy!) To date, I have lost 16 pounds. I started Weight Watchers January 3rd and going to the gym January 8th. So in about 2 months I have hit and surpassed my 10% goal on Weight Watchers. I am going to list some of the changes I have made.
1. Soda. I have kicked the habit, hopefully, permanently! I hate soda. But I love soda. I hate how terrible it is for me, but that sweet fizz is just sooo yummy. I haven't had one since New Years Eve. Even when we go out to eat. And the truth is, so far, I am not tempted. (Even when Woody brought home 5 Mountain Dews!)
2. Water. I drink SOO much water. I love water.
3. Weight Watchers. I can't tell you all of the things I love about Weight Watchers. I never really realized how MUCH I overate until I saw how much my body really needs. I rarely feel hungry. I get to eat out with my family. I can eat whatever I want, in moderation. *Again: NURSING FRIENDLY!*
4. I have discovered I love oatmeal. I always thought I hated oatmeal, but really, I hated instant oatmeal! Give me the other stuff, and it is pretty dang tasty, especially with a TBSP of peanut butter and half a banana!
5. Fast Food. Hi. I'm Nancy, and I am a fast food addict! NO KIDDING. I LOVE Taco Bell,(Thank goodness there is not one close!) Wendy's and Taco Johns. I have been in "recovery" for this addiction all year. (HEHE! Love saying all year, so much cooler than 2 months!) My family has also abstained! Even on grocery trips to Williston.
6. Switching slowly to whole grains. I am still learning nutrition stuff, so I am still switching, but it is a work in progress!
7. Fruits and veggies. I am sure to have some at every meal. (Clementines are my fave!)
8. Eating several times a day. I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks. (I used to do a third after dinner, but discovered this left me wanting to vomit at my morning workouts!)
9. Speaking of the gym: I am there every weekday morning, getting my cardio in. Which is good. But I feel even better about my weight routine. I reallllly like doing my resistance. I feel so strong, which is super cool. (Also, weights are the key to weight loss! It will make you burn calories much more efficiently!)
10. "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." (Ben Franklin) Most nights I am OUT by 9:30, at the latest. And nowadays 'sleeping in' means sleeping until 7!
11. Pictures. I took some pictures before I started losing weight, and take them every 2 weeks, and WOW! What a great motivator! It shows me results even when the scale doesn't!
12. I don't deny myself ANYTHING, as long as I track it, and keep it within reason. (Sunday night, I had Skittles and sour gummy worms.
13. Plan. Seriously, I couldn't do it without planning. I always have a 2 week menu, and track all of my food at the start of my day. Then I know what to prepare for! (Now, on the occasion that we spontaneously go out to eat, I just figure it out!) Also, I strongly recommend a meal plan, even if you aren't trying to lose weight! It saves us so much money, and makes grocery shopping soo much easier!

These are the changes I have made, and they seem to be working very well. Also, I feel good knowing my family isn't eating McDonald's!! I hope that this time next year, I will still be doing these things, and be 15 (more) pounds lighter!

Some more of my random, meandering thoughts!

So, I have these things that I think about, that I want to share, I don't know why I want to share them, but I do. However not one of them constitute their own blog post, so they get compiled into these random posts!
1. (This one realllly gets me) There is this guy at the gym, and he drinks COFFEE the entire time he works out. Now, I don't care for coffee, but that is besides the point. I am truly in awe that as this guy is sweating like CRAZY, he is sipping on a hot drink. (I am well aware of the benefits of having some caffeine right before a workout, but this guy keeps his little styrafoam cup in the cup holder of the elliptical.)
2. Soo glad that I didn't hit that car this morning as I slid right through the end of our driveway. I never slide there, and there are rarely cars coming at 5:30 in the morning. BOTH happened today, and I barely missed the other car!
3.Cierras new thing is the "circle yes or no" notes. She writes me about 20 a day! (NO kidding)she has a question, she writes it, hands it to me and closes her eyes until I circle an answer.
It's kinda cute. The first 10 times of the day.
4.Baby Konnor is sick. For real, it seems like all of a sudden one or all of the kids have something going on. We went through the line of them puking a couple weeks ago..(That was fun.) Then Cierra developed a rash on her face. Then Blayke got a rash. Now Konnor has a NASTY cold.
5.There are little circle spots all over the front window where Blayke stuck a bunch of fruit snacks yesterday. He was so proud of himself! "LOOK Mom! I decorated!!"

HURTS SOOOOOO GOOD! (Weightloss week 7)

Another good week. Even with the Valentines dinner my sweetheart treated me to, (I totally splurged on yummy chicken wings and steak!) and lunch out with the family, I was able to lose a pound. Sure, it isn't tons, but hey, a loss is a loss.
I can feel it. I can feel the strength increasing in my entire body. (I playfully punched Woody in the arm the other night, and he said it actually hurt!!) I can for sure see it. The change in my body is CRAZY! Never have I experienced these kind of changes! Even before kids!!
I am still hitting the gym every weekday morning, and doing Weight Watchers. The only changes have come in the form of my resistance routine. I know the benefits of building muscle in addition to doing cardio. You will burn fat and calories much more efficiently because the muscle eats the fat. But we are struggling with balancing our workouts at night with time as a family. While we both agree fitness is very important, we don't want it to be our only focus. Well, we may have finally figured it out. Instead of doing one part of the body (Arms, legs etc) each night of the week, we are doing whole body on alternating nights. (Woody goes Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and I go Monday, Wednesday and Friday.) It is nice. But my oh my, did I hurt this week. Not the kind of hurt that we try to avoid. The kind of hurt that somehow feels GOOD! My back, legs, arms, EVERYTHING had that, "OH yea, you worked me good" feel this week. I like that feeling. I am also doing theP90X Ab Ripper X on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. THAT is an intense 15 minutes! NO KIDDING! That made my abs so so so sore. It hurt SOOO good!
I am excited to be seeing and feeling such awesome results. I love seeing the muscles form. It is so cool.
Well, until next week!!

Life is good. Life is so good. We are so blessed. We still have our trials (STILL no place to live. We have been allowed to stay in our apartment, for now. But whenever someone knocks, I have a bit of a panic attack.) but, life is mostly sweet.
I truly feel as though we are in our own corner of the world here. I am mostly ok with that. (I have days I miss the real world, life outside of Watford City, North Dakota.) We do our own thing without much interference of the world. Without TV, I rarely even know what's going on outside of this cozy little bubble!
There are some things coming up in April and May that we are all super excited for! My little sister is having her baby at the beginning of April, and I get to go stay with her and help her out for a while after Brayly makes her debut! Cierra turns 7 on April 1st! (WHAT?! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!? How am I the mom of a 7 year-old?!) Konnor turns 1 on April 26th! Yep, that year has gone by in the blink of an eye!! (I am still coming to terms with it already being the last full week in February!) Then in May, we are loadin' up and heading back to Idaho to be sealed in the Temple. I am hoping to have even more exciting news before then, but we will see! (NO, I am not pregnant!) But we are hoping for a big change coming for our family soon!

Other than that, not much on the horizon. I am looking forward to spring and summer, and fully plan on spending a lot of time at the pool this summer! (You with me A?) The winter is seeming to DRAG ON! I want the snow to melt and the sun to be out!

The kids are doing well. Growing fast and driving me crazy. (And no, I wouldn't want it any other way!)

Life is sweet. We are so blessed!

Weightloss week 6

Another great week. (I couldn't post yesterday because I was tooooo busy!) I did, however, 'weigh in'. I am down another 2 pounds! I am still getting to the gym every weekday. My weights took a dive last week because of sick kids and whatnot, but back to it this week! The only downfall? I have absolutely NO jeans that fit. They all fall down. I am still 15 pounds from goal though, so I don't want to buy a whole bunch....I think Woody is going to make me buy some cheap ones though. Wait, are suspenders back in fashion?? LOL! Well, onto another fabulous week!

The funny, cute, and sweet things my kids say and do! *6-12*

I started this list a long time ago, and have forgotten about it, so I am going to try to do better to remember to keep up with it!

6. When Blayke was born, and Cierra came to the hospital, my father in law was holding him, kinda bouncing him up and down and Cierra came unglued, "GRANDPA! You can't shake my baby brother! You might hurt him. Here, let me show you how you hold a baby!"
7. Recently, Cierra was looking through an album of pictures of Blayke and her when they were born. She came across the one that showed Blayke being weighed. She said, "MOM! He's naked!" I told her it was because he had just been born. She replied, "What?! They don't come out with clothes on?!"
8. Blayke. Oh this kid is full of them. I hope I can remember half of them. This one is the most recent. Last night when we were picking them up from a friends house, he came out and said, "THOSE GIRLS ARE DRIVING ME CRAAAAAZY!" (My friend has 4 girls, and 1 boy.)
9. On our way to Idaho, out of nowhere, Blayke says, "I go to Idaho to pick up chics?" *Luckily he has come to the realization that girls drive him craaaazy!*
10. Cierra used to call flip flops "Footwops".
11. Blayke walks up to me, grabs my face and says, "You are the prettiest girl in town!"
12. Cierra told her dad she could help him move the bed because she "had her strong on!"

I am sure this list will grow. And grow. And grow.