HAM, HAM, HAM! WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME?!?!!?!

HAM!! Ham will be on my no no list for 2009! I have had entirely too much starting with Christmas Dinner! Hmm, just realized I forgot my water bottle and I really dont' feel like going to get it considering it's after 1am and I really should be asleep and since I'm not neither is my son cuz he stays up under me!

Anyway, yes, the ham...I overdid it! I think I managed to stay away from it yesterday and today I only had a little bit but I should have just stayed away from it altogether.

Sooooo, what's on the menu for New Year's Day? Baked, maybe cornmeal dredged catfish, roasted chicken, blackeyed peas, sweat potatoes, greens, (my mom finally bought some ol' nasty gross funky chitlins so I need to be somewhere exercising while she's stinking up the house making those!), low fat homemade pound cakes, honey baby carrots. Trying not to eat leftovers on New Year's Day but that's just a thought that occured to me 20 seconds ago!!! I so have nothing against leftovers! We're trying to eat the Christmas leftovers still! Well, mom bought pop; as for me and the boy, we're having crystal light with seltzer water!


NO HAM!! I have to let her know if she's planning on putting the hambone in the peas then I need to make my own batch with just some mrs. dash seasoning and low sodium salt. I'm really trying.

Week THREE of my eating healthier started yesterday. However, I did NOT get to workout today as I'd "planned". Like tonight, last night I was awake until almost 1am when I knew I had to take mom to handle some business and I did want to do that as early as possible. Well, that didn't happen until almost noon. I also had to do that grocery shopping I may have mentioned. Nothing major, was just out of fruit! Gotta have fresh fruit if you're trying to lose weight! Eventually, the light meal (I thought it wasn't so light but my body thought otherwise) wore off and by the time we were finished with everything and back home almost 5 hours later, I had a hunger-induced migraine and was too hungry! But, with nothing hot and ready (get your mind outta the gutter you!) and all three of us hungry, I had to make sure everyone was fed before I ate. So I had to plate and heat up 3 plates of food and then listen to my son protest his meal and then watch him play with it. Eventually I vacated to my bedroom, turned on the tv, ate my food, sinked my plate, took some Ibruprofen, turned off the lights, turned down the tv volume, curled up in the bed and eventually got to sleep. Until the phone rang...for mom of course...and then eventually my son began to have a SUPER tantrum and I know it was because he couldn't come in to be with me because mom was giving me a break to feel better. He really doesn't care about stuff like that because he doesn't understand mommy needs some down time plus he needed his nap! Eventually he went to sleep but I was kinda of in and out of sleep. If I woke up and there was extra noise I couldn't get right back to sleep. I was up for good when he began to have another super tantrum and mom came carrying him in to me even before I was trying to call to him to stop kicking his legs and yelling! Mom..had had enough! So he climbed into bed with me and eventually calmed down.

Yes, I'm sorry, he's spoiled, but since this is my first child, and the first child since I WAS a child in the household, it's been a learning process through and through!

Okay, I realy should be getting to sleep because tomorrow's errands will have to happen on the bus because there is no parking, only pay street parking, or take out a loan to pay for it lot parking downtown and we don't plan on being down there for more than about 30 minutes to an hour doing this stuff!!!! You almost HAVE to make sure you've got a lot to do if you're going to park downtown just to get your money's worth! That said, I need to get a lil more sleep in order to handle CTA again! It's been a while since I last used it since I have a vehicle now.

DVD List

These are the workout dvds I now have:

Absolute Body Power (4 DVD set)
Jane Fonda's Personal Trainer Collection (2? DVD set)
Dance off the Inches: Hip Hop
Dance and Be Fit: Brazilian Body
Battle of the Bulge
Pick Your Level: Fat to Firm Fast



thank you. that is all.

Merry Christmas all! And Guess what?!?!?!? I have my dvds!!! I'll most likely look them over in their entirety later this week so I can work out which one I want to do first. Hmm, I never did say what dvds I ordered/have now! I'll have to unpack them again and let you know later!


I made a low-to-no-fat version of mac n cheese (whole wheat elbow macaroni, fat free cheese, skim milk, a couple of pads of light margarine, one chopped yellow onion, black paper, a little season salt, egg whites, garlic powder), sliced sweet potatoes with splenda, honey, low fat margarine, nutmeg, and cinnamon and baby carrots with the same. Both were instead of the butter and brown sugar I usually use. Rather than my mom's 7-UP Pound cake, I bought an Angel Food Cake and for each slice I have a little bit of melted strawberry jam and a splurge of low fat RediWhip! :D

I think I did pretty well and I've done well so far this 2nd week. I just ate a couple of apples because I haven't had any fruit yet today. I need to get a cup of milk though. I didn't actually EAT until dinner at a quarter to 5pm!!! I've been awake and moving around since about 8am so that's a pretty long time to just have water and vitamins. It was the same issue yesterday. I'd been up since 7 and the first thing I had was a small coffee and a donut. About an hour later I had an apple. After that, about 4 hours later I finally had some of that chili I mentioned making in an earlier post and a bit of rotissierre chicken. And more water.

So yeah. I'm doing good! And I'll let you know about those dvds!!!

Today's Workout

Today's workout? Pitchforking, shoveling, and hauling frozen ice to free up my vehicle!!! I was out there in 8 degree sunlight for a little over 2 hours!!! I'm pretty certain I burned some calories!!!

GOOD MONDAY MORNING ALL! I need to get dressed, eat, and take my vitamins. The vitamins I'm taking are Walmart brand Multivitamins (equate), and Osco Brand (equaline)
Vitamin E and Fish Oil. I've been feeling pretty decent since I started on them last week.

I HAVEN'T started any exercise regimen yet. We do still have this machine downstairs...not sure if the lil tracker needs batteries only or just just dead for good...I think it's called a CardioGlide. Right now, it's gone the way that most unused exercise machines go...clothesrack! It's a good workout though because you're doing all the work. It allows for increased resistance and to change the direction is operates . . . going from a pushing motion to a pulling motion. Like I said, it's a good workout...if I ever go to use it. However, I am still looking forward to the dvds I'll have this week and working out a schedule. welp, the boy is w5a5n5tn5int 5to 5ha wanting to add his own contribution to this blogpost! and there it is up there!!

The chili was WOW!!! I used the great white northern beans that I soaked overnight (cooked them b4 adding the rest), 2 chopped onions (one vidalia, one yellow), one chopped green bell pepper, about 5 chopped plum tomatoes ... all left raw . . . 3 boiled & pulled chicken breasts (pulled=shredded), cumin (a lot because I had more beans than I thought), jarred minced garlic, black pepper, cinnamon (about 4 shakes total), garlic powder, seasoning salt (I was trying to be light on the salt and I think I was and I forgot about the Morton's low sodium salt on the counter until I was finished adding all I would need), a dash of red pepper flakes, paprika, and one can of black beans (regular size can, can't remember the ounces). After the white beans were finished I added everything except the black beans. I added those about 20 minutes after, when the peppers and onions were tender and the tomatoes were starting to break down. The heat level for all of this cooking with everything added was about medium-low...or at the 2 setting from 1-10.

Oh yeah, I boiled the chicken breasts in about 5 cups or maybe 7 cups of seasoned water (cumin, pepper, salt, garlic powder) and used the resulting broth to cook the beans. Don't think that's a no brainer because I wasn't thinking to do that until late, really late last night!!! I topped off the bowls with some finely shredded monterey jack/colby cheese mix. OH SOOOOO GOOD!

Since there's a BIG BIIIG pot of it, there will be a lot left over so I can have it to take with me outta town and have a nice hearty bowl and not feel tempted to eat whatever they have...which isn't always the healthiest thing!

Chili day!

On a day that's so doggone cold with wind chills below zero and leaky windows + clogged up heating vents in the front of the house...IT'S ALMOST ICE COLD UP THERE...chili is QUITE in order!! I'm ready to nail a blanket or comforter up in the entryway of the hallway to block the air flow! Plus the window that's right behind me in my bedroom is broken and while there's plastic stapled over both windows, there's still cold air coming in!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

Welp, while I have a good idea what I'll be using in this chili (man, that wind sounds scary and at times it's shaking the house) I still need to look it up to make sure I make it "right". I'm using great white northern beans and a can of black beans, chicken and it's stock (I guess I need to boil the chicken first, plus dump some of the stock from an already cooked breast in), diced tomatoes, garlic, chopped onions and green bell peppers, spices n seasoning.

Will see what happens.

ONE WEEK BEHIND ME!

So YAY ME!! I made it through one full week of eating healthier! I didn't write down everything I ate but at least if I were to try and list everything I ate I could probably get about 60-70% written down! I didn't have any red meat or pork but that's not because I'm giving those up, I'm not, just didn't eat them. I had a lot of fruit and Salad! I know, SALAD!!!! The only way I ate it was because it was the premixed, prebagged kind, and also because I was telling myself YOU HAVE TO!! There's the best choice and the wrong choice. Both have consequences and I'd like to have more good than bad in my life. If my weight is something that I CAN have control over (calm down fellow Christians because God didn't make anyone fat so I control this myself with His help) then I should be CONTROLLING it and not the other way around.

This week I did have too much trail mix in one sitting yesterday and I know that was emotional eating because I was home alone taking my own snow day and my son was here also; his daycare school was closed. Now I know I spend way too much time on this thing while I'm at home. If it were still the desktop computer I probably wouldn't even have a major social network page. But this is a laptop and I can surf the net with wifi in my bed and watch tv all at once. However, my son wants to play and grab me or the laptop all the time and when I tell him to stop then he gets frustrated and pissy and gets to hollering and crying and yelling and THAT makes me angry and pissy. However, I get sucked into the internet and it's not like I'm doing anything of great importance like researching things for work or the like. I'm checking my pages and email and YouTubing and all that crap. The major problem is there's not a lot of room for him to play here like he has at daycare so he wants me to be his jungle gym and if I weren't all sucked up into this laptop that'd be okay most of the time. Instead he's wanting to do it while I'm wanting to do this. Yesterday was just all day only me and him and I was already upset that I was at home but getting to work and possibly having to take him with me was not really a safe option with the conditions out there. He just wanted to crawl and climb and jump and then refuse to take his nap because he fights sleep and he's a toddler. So with the anger and frustration building up I just exploded at him verbally and then chowed down on some trail mix (it at least had no chocolate). I think I ate 6-8 ounces either in that sitting or all of yesteray. The serving size is one ounce so yeah...lotta calories, lotta fat.

I think that was the only bad thing, oh, some "broasted" chicken only because I put money in on the staff holiday dinner even though I shouldn't have because there was nothing ordered that I could have and I had prior knowledge of that. I could have saved $5 and had my chicken salad instead of the breaded roasted chicken. basically, just call it oven fried because for people trying to lose weight the flour breading is just as bad as the frying in oil! ugh, had she explained that to me when I was asking about what was being ordered and all I would have just saved my money and went to get my lunch I took and called it a day.

I have been doing good again at making sure I'm not hungry or POWERFULLY hungry when I leave work so I'm not tempted to get something on the way home. I'm good for pulling into a drive thru and ordering 2 sandwiches or a meal and an extra different sandwich and almost being finished with one sandwich within a mile of the joint! How do you taste and enjoy something when you've inhaled it so fast hot or not? That's a prime example of just eating to feel full and not really eating to enjoy what you're eating! As long as I have a vehicle while I'm trying to lose weight that's the one temptation I have to resist, especially on days when I'm just really tired or frustrated from work and cooking is not the #1 thing I want to do. However, I do it because my mom works in the same field as I do and she's 35 years older than me (yes, still working, times are hard even for those working horrible jobs, you can't quit!) so she shouldn't have to cook.

Anyway, this week is behind me. Next week will be tricky. I'm going to be at my other bro's overnight for Christmas and I'll have to make sure I have something that I can eat without so much guilt feelings. Yes, I'll have the traditional foods but I think this time I'll bake the sweet potato slices instead of dredging them in sugar and butter on the stovetop. I'll ask him to use skim milk ... which I think he does ...for his mac n cheese, I'm not sure what the dressing sub or modified version can be..maybe lentils instead of the box mix and mom's added homemade cornbread. I'm still trying to figure it out. Turkey and ham,wholewheat rolls instead of white. I can't believe it's not butter. .maybe regular butter. .I'll have to compare those labels really good. Who knows what dessert will be; all I know is while I am the one that needs to loose up to 2 people's worth of weight, EVERYONE in my family needs to lose SOME weight! So we really need to change at least our eating habits, if we won't increase are activity levels!

At least when I get there, some if not all of my workout dvds will be waiting for me! I need to work out a . .workout schedule but it will most likely be when I get home from work...possibly within the hour of my return. I still need to get my son a snack or a drink and maybe change him out of his school uniform. I'm sure my mom won't mind doing that but if we EVER get to move, I'm going to have to do this on my own if she doesn't move with me and right now that doesn't look like it's happening. But that's another blog for another purpose!

Have a great one!

So this past Sunday was the day I set to begin eating better. I've been doing good so far. The only thing I think I've had too much of is "light" trail mix. The difference is there's no chocolate in this mix. I bought a crapload of premixed bagged salads on Sunday. I did grocery shopping like I was receiving LINK again! A cart for my things and a cart for my mom's. God Bless the making of Aldi! I have a lot of fruit that I AM eating. I'm on bag #3 of the salads and I'm back to increasing my water intake. Since I will be on winter break for the next 2 weeks I will have time to rest up which probably isn't a good thing but being morbidly obese tends to drain your energy even when you're just walking up a few flights of stairs.

This evening I made some KICKASS shrimp stir-fry with brown rice! It was SOOOOOOOOO GOOD had very little soy sauce used; what I did use was low sodium. I think the bad parts were the little bit of cornstarch in water I used to thicken up the bit of water which also had a tad bit of sugar in it. I did have a 1 cup dry measuring cup filled with that mix and it had maybe 1/2 or less a teaspoon of sugar in it...and I didn't use all of it. Maybe used about 6 tablespoons?

It was very good...that's all I can say. I'm a dern good cook but sometimes my stirfries don't come out too well; too much salt, not enough sugar to offset the salt, overcooked stirfry, undercooked rice. So yes, this was very good! yay me!

So, anyway, I'm really trying to stick with this but I've said that many times before. I've said that I'm going to give up the candy and the junk because while "experts" say you shouldn't say NO to treats but have them in moderation...I can't do that...or I don't. Either way, one becomes 3 becomes 10 becomes all! Then I'm feeling bad...usually I'm feeling bad before I've finished them all anyway but I eat through the bad, past the fullness, through the stomach pain.

I'm going to try to look beyond the slow weightloss no matter how fast I put it on! Why oh why is it harder to take if off than put it on? It's the opposite of that when I'm dealing with clothes! NO NO NO. I mean, getting dressed early in the morning to head off to work . . putting on, not easy, but taking off when I get home or am getting ready for bed...EASY! I'm about to relax or sleep!

Welp, I have to wash my hair so it's not scurvy tomorrow if I will have anywhere to go! This snow and ice that's coming our way has my son's daycare school and my school opening up in a toss up!

Another list . . ditto my comment for first list! :)

I'm posting this for a reason other than letting people have something to listen to while reading my blog. . .however, I'll probably let it stay anyway!

Eat to Live or Live to Eat?

For, pretty much all my life, I've been the latter of that topic! But since I'm at work right now I can't divulge into that just yet! I just wanted to get something posted on my very first "official" blog. I had a website where I logged my previous weight loss progress a few years ago but it wasn't really this "new" blog format! So, here I am! More to come.