So, 8 pounds by the end of February?

I think I can do it?!?

That's my goal. Two pounds a week is reasonable....I think. Although I did choose the shortest month of the year to complete this challenge in. Oh well.

So, I had my RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) tested yesterday. Basically it tells how many calories your body burns while it's at rest. My metabolism is normal. I just haven't been eating enough. I followed weight watchers to a "T", but with all of the exercise I've been doing, it's creating too much of a deficit. I couldn't make myself consume the Activity Points and Weekly Points that Weight Watchers allows, and I'm really not sure why. My calories at 24 points ranged from 1050-1300 a day, when some days I was burning 800 calories working out. I get it now. My trainer and I decided we would slack off on the intensity of my workouts until I get back into weight loss mode again. I'm watching my heart rate closely and taking longer breaks in between sets.

So, I'm trusting science for the month of February. I'll be posting lots of numbers here for the next month. Let's see if it works.

It takes a deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound, so if I want to lose 8 lbs this month, I need a deficit of 28,000 calories.

Here's how it'll look:

WTD (weekly) Calorie Deficit:
MTD (monthly) Calorie Deficit:

Beginning Month Weight: too much!

2/5 Weigh-in:
2/12 Weigh-in:
2/19 Weigh-in:
2/28 Weigh-in:

EOM Weight:
EOM Weight Goal: -8 pounds

****************************

BMR + Calories Burned = (1637 + ) =
Calories Consumed =
Calorie Deficit = ( )
Ratios: % protein, % carb, % fat
Water consumed = cups
Hours of Sleep =

Feeling Strong!

Just so you know....all of the pre-planning in the world can quickly explode in your face. I met a dear friend for lunch today. It was my pick of where to go, so I chose Newk's. I really love their food. Soups, salads, sandwiches. Yum! I was sooo proud of actually planning the trip, looking up the points values for what I wanted and actually sticking to it and ordering it! Um...yeah. Well, the 1 point veggie soup that was on their online menu wasn't available today :( Hence my spur of the moment, lunchtime rush, change of decision to the tomato soup. We make our way to the table, and while we're waiting on our food to come out, I frantically start texting Chris to look up nutrition info (I'm not in the "smartphone" loop just yet). That bowl of soup was a whopping 6 points without garnish! OMG! I didn't mention that I ordered a 1/2 sandwich (Pesto Chicken - 7 points) and soup combo. I really overcame the temptation. I just dipped a few bites of my sandwich into the soup and returned almost a full bowl back to the kitchen. The old me would've just eaten it, gone home and looked up the damage and considered the day a wash, promising to start over fresh tomorrow. Anyway, it may seem minute to you, but this is quite a feat that I'm very proud of!

On another note, the Project Life kits are now available for sell at Amazon! I ordered mine and I can't wait for it to come in. I attempted to do the Project 365 on my own last year without a kit, and I quickly failed.

You can check out the kit here

Project Life is for...

The person who loves taking pictures but doesn't do anything with them. Anyone who sees traditional scrapbooking as way too expensive. The parent who would like to make scrapbooks for his or her kids but is far too busy. The new mom who wants to record her baby's growth on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The family that is interested in doing a bonding, memorable project together. The single adult who is looking for a way to preserve their life happenings. The teenager who wants to showcase their pictures. The engaged or newlywed couple who should be preserving this most unique and wonderful time of starting their life together. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this!

The expectant mother who would want to record all of the changes she's going through and share these feelings through words & pictures. The teacher who is has a desire to record the funny, frustrating, growing experiences that she has in her classroom. The traveler who needs a place to put their travel journal and photographs together in one place. The small business owner, entrepreneur, artist, or anyone who is on a professional journey to create or grow their business. The person who has never ever scrapbooked in their life. The seasoned scrapbooker who has spent too much on supplies and too many hours trying to "keep up". The person who claims to not have a creative bone in her body.

the good...the bad...and the ugly

I've become BEYOND frustrated with my mission to "get thin in 2010". Once again this week, the scale didn't move in my favor. I'm feeling tired, overtrained and defeated. Obviously, weight watchers doesn't work well with the intensity of workouts that I've been doing. I've stayed well within my points allowance and burned 3600 calories at the gym last week. It just doesn't add up! Having been down the weight watchers road before, I know what works. I lost a little over 30 pounds in 7 months following the plan and doing two aerobics classes a week (plus walking around the neighborhood when the weather allowed). That's what I'm ready to get back to. I've been working out at a pace that's not realistic for the long-term because I actually "thought" it might help jump-start the weight loss again. I can't feel totally defeated because my body has changed. I've gone down 13.3 inches since November, but on the other hand, I feel like other things and relationships around me may be suffering as a result. Spending almost 8 hours a week in the gym leaves little time for much else, and I do have some guilt leaving my little guy in the nursery there that often (although he really does enjoy it). I do believe that I should be eating more when I work out at such a crazy pace, but it all just gets too confusing for me. How much to eat? When to eat? What to eat after workouts? What to eat before workouts? Too many variables for me. I want to know how many points I can have a day, work out just enough to make me feel better and spend the extra time doing things I *love* and that make me happy :)

I've spent the last week mentally decluttering....trying to get my priorities straight again, and I know what I want to do for sure now. I've always been easily influenced, and all of the information has caused me to doubt myself and think I'm doing the wrong thing. So, here I go again. One day at a time.

Adventures in Crafting

I have really been inspired by all of the craft blogs I've found out there! They have really helped my creative juices start flowing again. Here are a couple of the latest "repurposes" I have completed.......

I found this serving tray at the thrift store for $2.50. All it needed was a good sanding and a few coats of paint!

This is the end result! I spray painted it all black. For the top, I mod-podged some fancy scrapbook paper (don't forget a layer on top!) to dress it up a little.

This desk was a Craigslist find for $25. It's a pretty solid desk, but it needed some work. I've been looking for a desk to put in Bryce's room for awhile and we were limited on the size it could be. I thought this made a cute kid's desk. Can you see the potential?

Several coats of paint, some wood putty, new hardware and chalkboard paint resulted in this~

I'm really happy with how it turned out, although the pictures do not do it justice.

Uh-oh Spaghetti O's!

I had a revelation last night. I have been spending so much time making sure that I eat right, and I'm just happy if the kids eat...period. Chris and I were having steak and asparagus last night for dinner. That's just not something that the kids would "love", so I made it easy on myself and heated up a can of Spaghetti O's for them (they were the Publix brand, of course). Then, I gasped after I glanced at the label. 990 mg of sodium PER SERVING. Of course, there are two servings in a can for a grand total of 1980 mgs of sodium! Yikes! I started thinking back....gosh....when I send something "easy" for their lunches, like a Lunchables and then I feed them something like this for dinner, they are cutting close to their daily allowance of sodium in their lunch and dinner alone! (the information I found suggested no more than 2,400 mg sodium per day for adults and children over 4, based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet).

So, all of that prompted me to pull out my forgotten "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook and see if I could find a healthier alternative, which I did! It's really a shame that I have all of the information about nutrition and try to apply it to my own diet, but tend to get a little lazy when it comes to my kids. No more! Read your labels!

Organized Home

I'm really trying to get organized and I realize that it's not going to happen overnight. I'm hoping that once the kids get back in their regular routines next week, that I can make more progress.

I printed off some templates from organizedhome.com. My goal is to have a "home planner" to include meal plans, upcoming appointments, birthdays (so I can finally remember to MAIL cards in time!!!), important telephone numbers, take-out menus etc, so everything will be in one place. I'm going to keep it all nice and neat in a 3-ring binder.

I'm starting work a couple of hours earlier tonight, so that has me in a pretty foul mood. I feel obligated sometimes, and it is only two extra hours, but it just really ruins my mood :( I guess because I have so much that I "want" to do, but I feel like I should rest up.

Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs movie deal!

Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs comes out on BlueRay & DVD tomorrow and Deal Seeking Mom posted some coupons to help save some moulah! She has a wonderful blog, so go check her out!

New Year. New Me.

So, I made a few 'Resolutions' this year and I'm blogging about them so I can (a) remember them, and (b) hold myself accountable. Some of these are just considered one-time goals, and some are complete lifestyle changes for me.

Here they are.......

1. Keep better track of our money. I always have a general idea of the amount of money in our checking account, but I want to tighten up on that. It will ultimately help us to save more.

2. Get back on the coupon wagon. I fell off BAD! Luckily I had stockpiled enough that I didn't have to buy anymore at regular price, but the other day Chris told me we were almost out of toothpaste! I thought that would never happen! I am going to have some control and not go out and get things we won't use just because they're "free". I'm also going to buy less of the junk.

3. Climb a rock wall. I just want to do this...once.

4. LOSE the WEIGHT once and for all! Yes, this is a stereotypical New Year's Resolution. But...I began 8 days ago, so I have a head start! I've been working out with a personal trainer for 8 weeks now. I've managed to shed 11 inches from my body, lose 6 pounds from the scale, and 11% reduction in body fat. I've been busting my ass in the gym for some time now, but I just recently got my nutrition up to par. You'll probably be reading more about this on my blog. I hope to journal about it here. I've taken a BEFORE picture, but I won't post it until I'm satisfied with the AFTER ;) So stay tuned!

5. BLOG So many other things have come in the way of blogging. Facebook is one. I quit the "farm" and I'm cutting out my overall internet time during the day....but looking back and re-reading all of the previous blog entries and looking at the photos really made me regret not doing it more often. Hopefully I still have some readers out there, but if not, I will at least have it documented for my memories.

I will post regularly here from now on and keep you updated on the status of my resolutions!

P.S. You may also be subjected to photographs of my random craft projects. I have a few things brewing and a few thing completed.