New Year, New Me - Blah, Blah, Blah..

Everyone talks about starting new and starting fresh in the new year. Like it's a automatic do-over or restart button. And this year, for the first time, that's exactly how I'm going to treat it! I'm not saying I'm going to magically be a brand new person when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Day. But I'm going to start making changes. I want 2015 and to be a better year for me, for my husband, for my family. We have all these plans, all these dreams. And unless we make changes, and stick with them, we're going to be in the this same boat at the beginning of 2016. So, I'm making changes! I want to lose weight, I want to be healthy, I want to get pregnant, I want to be a mom, I want to be out of debt, I want to have money in savings, I want to start living a better life. And it's going to happen! =) I'm going to try and post on this blog more often, updates on life and crafty things. I'm still knitting and have a couple big projects that I'm working on. They're gifts, but neither person reads my blog, so I should be able to post about them. And I might use this blog as a place to vent about dieting and budgets.. haha! We've moved twice in 15 months, so we're having to work our way out of debt. I might bitch about it here. Pardon my French.. And I have to go back to low carb dieting, so that might come up too.. But when I look back on the year 2015, I want to be proud of the changes I made this week. I don't want to look back and think about how different things would've been if I had stuck with my changes. I've done that before. And it sucks. So, not this year! I know it will be hard, I know I will want to give up, I know I will try to make excuses. But with my strong will (believe me, I'm a bit of a pain) and my wonderful husband to back me up, this is going to be our best year yet! =)

Nerdy Baby Hats

Hello blogging world! I know I have been pretty absent lately. I got sick of blogging about my diet and exercise, especially since it seemed to plateau recently. I took a break from blogging and focused on crafting. A few weeks ago, a friend announced on Facebook that he is going to be a dad in January! My wonderful husband had the idea to talk to my friend about making a bunch of nerdy baby hats for him to add to his baby registry. I talked to my friend and he liked the idea, so I go to work! I just finished a couple days ago, and posted all the hats in my etsy shop. I actually hadn't been keeping up with my shop, so I'm excited to have things for sale again. I'm actually going to clean out all the things I've made over the last few years, and post a bunch of stuff fairly cheaply, to free up some space! I have scarves, hats, a couple baby blankets, and cowls.. I need to clean out my stash! =] But I also want to share the adorably nerdy baby hats I made.

First, a Link hat from Legend of Zelda.

 A very cunning Jayne hat from Firefly.

 Aang from The Last Airbender

 Kirby from Pokemon, with felt eyes and cheeks.

 A Pokeball! With felt detail on the front. 

Yoda hat! This might be my favorite, I used a seed stitch to make it thick and "knobbly".

And then a boobie beanie, for breastfeeding mom! My future kids will wear these, I think they're awesome! 

Check out my Etsy Shop to see all these, and message me if you'd like one! I also plan on posting a bunch of stuff, so keep an eye for that too! We're moving and I need to downsize the amount of stuff we have! Plus, we're moving farther South again, into the heat. Not much need for a lot of knit items..

Tulle Wreath Tutorial!

      Last year, I made my grandfather-in-law a patriotic tulle wreath for his door at the home he lives in. He loved it, and his daughter pulled it out to put on his door again this year. One of the lovely workers at his home asked for instructions, so her boy scout troop can make wreaths. I'm more than happy to oblige! The tulle wreaths are fairly simple to make, and it's kinda hard to mess them up, a perfect craft for a first time wreath maker, back when I made my first one. Here we go!

Tulle Wreath Tutorial

Supplies -
One Styrofoam wreath form, 3 wooden stars (painted white), red tulle, white tulle, blue tulle

 Simple Instructions -

-Cut your tulle into long strips, depending on how big your wreath form is and how large you want the tulle to "fluff" out when you're done. Don't be afraid to cut your strips too long, it's very easy to trim your wreath after you make it! Hobby Lobby sells spools of tulle, I recommend buying that. It's very easy to cut your strips of tulle as you unwind the spool. Try a few different lengths, to find what size you want on your wreath, and then cut all your strips that same length. I don't really have a set amount of tulle to have on hand. I bought one spool of each color, and cut the entire spool into long strips, and used almost all of them for my first wreath. It all depends on how big your wreath forms are and how long you cut your strips of tulle.

-If you are making a flag wreath, it helps to use a sharpie to mark the one quarter of your wreath that is going to be blue. It doesn't have to be perfect, tulle is very forgiving and covers many mistakes! =]
You don't have to mark where your stripes are going to be, it's easier to just count how many strips of tulle you are using for each stripe. You can always go make and add more tulle strips to make your stripes thicker and even them out.

-Take one strip of tulle (I always start with the blue and make my blue quarter of my wreath first) and tie it around your wreath, then knot it. I've tried a bunch of different ways to tie and knot it, and honestly, it doesn't matter. =] After you've tied a few strips to your wreath, you're going to squish the strips together. That's the best way I can think to describe it, slide the strips together so the squish next to each other and you can't see the color of your wreath form through your tulle strips.

-Keep going! Keep tying and squishing your tulle together!

-Once you've finished with your quarter of blue, switch to red or white. At this point, I found it most helpful to count how many strips of one color I used to make one stripe, so I could use the same number for the next color stripe. That helps keep your stripes even and consistent.
With the first flag wreath I made, I didn't have a set amount of stripes in mind, so I just switched back and forth between red and white until I ran out of room. With the second wreath, I wanted 13 stripes. So I started with five strips of tulle for each stripe, and then added for tulle to each stripe until they were all thick and I didn't have anymore space.

-Now that you've added all your tulle and you can't see any wreath form between your strips of tulle, you can judge if your tulle is too long, or too full around. If it is, don't worry! Just take some scissors and "trim" your tulle around the outside, to your desired length. =] Hopefully, most of your strips were about the same length and you don't have to trim it too much! (Above, you can see the difference between the two wreaths where the strips are different lengths. One long, and one short.)

-Then, you're ready to add your stars! I painted wooden stars, but you could also cut stars out of foam board. With an adult, use a hot-glue gun to attach your stars to the blue quarter of your wreath. I found it best to add a thin layer to both the tulle and the star, and then press them firmly together. Move quickly, so your glue doesn't dry before you have a chance to attach your stars. I used three stars for my wreath, but you'll have to decide what you like, based on the size of your wreath and your stars.

-While your hot-glue is drying, grab on strip of each color of tulle. Knot one end and braid the colors together and knot the other end, for a quick and easy way to hang your wreath. After your stars are dry and secure, flip your wreath over and hot-glue both ends near the top of your wreath. Once the glue is dry, you can hang up and enjoy your tulle wreath!


I hope you enjoy my tutorial! I think this might be the first one I've ever written. =] If you have any questions, or if you noticed a mistake, please let me know! And enjoy!!

June First - Starting Over, Yet Again..

I never feel bad or guilty for starting over. I feel bad that you all have to read about me starting over! =] So, my husband and I made it 50 days into our 100 days. And then we cracked and took a few days off from dieting. I was eating smaller portions and less calories, but I hadn't really committed to low carb, so in the 50 days, I hadn't lost that much weight. So, today I'm starting over with a smaller goal.

Starting today, June 1st, I'm committing to a month of a low carb diet, a month of using myfitnesspal to log my food and exercise, a month of exercising 30 minutes a day/5 days a week. Also, a month of taking my vitamins and metformin every day. And, because it's the first month and it will be a little bit of a shock to my system, my goal is 10lb by July 1st. I'm only going to weigh myself once a week, I've gotten into the bad habit of weighing myself almost every morning. That's not really helping me.

My birthday is this month. I'm going to stay strong on my birthday too. Since my favorite thing to eat for special meals is STEAK, and that doesn't have any carbs!! =] I'm also going to buy some coconut or almond flour, so I can low carb bake! I love to bake and eating sweets, and since I'm not going to hit my final goal weight overnight, I want to set myself up for success. I'm going to research recipes, find some low carb favorites, and still allow myself to eat low carb sweets on those special days. One of my goals is to still have "cheat days", but have healthy, low carbs cheats.

So, I weighed myself this morning for my starting weight. 252.4
My goal weight for July 1st - 242.4

I can do it!! Once I hit that goal, then I will reevaluate and set a new goal!

Week Four & Five - I can't believe I forgot last week! =]

I meant to post about week four, but I don't know what happened! So, week four - it was a good week! I worked on getting back in the habit of logging my food. It was about 50/50. I was really looking forward to Week Four's weigh day because my husband and I had the day off to go watch minor league baseball. It was a great day! First, I weighed in and found I'd lost 2 pounds! Woot! Then I ate hotdogs and a snowcone. But I decided that starting the next day (Tuesday) I needed to commit to low carb again. It seems that when I stick to lower carbs and working out every day, I have better results. Something about eating less bread, sugar and potatoes, just seems to work for me. So after our Monday off together, low carb began! 

Week Four - 
Starting Weight - 257.8
Week One - 252.6
Week Two - 252.4
Week Three - 253.2
Week Four - 251.2
Lost - 2


So, I started low carb for week five! This past week, I have worked out every day except Thursday. I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday. Saturday, I took my boys to the dog park and walked outside in the heat for 30 minutes with them. We ALL got a workout that day. lol And then yesterday, I played Wii Sports for an hour. (We bought a Wii on Thursday and it's awesome.) I made myself a right and left handed Mii, so both arms get the same workout. I'm asking for the Wii Fit for my birthday, but until then, it's been a lot of fun just playing. Especially since it doesn't feel like a workout! But I can feel a bunch of sore muscles this morning, that's for sure. =] I've also been logging my food every single day! I haven't stayed under my carb goal every day, but just being aware of the carbs I'm eating has really made a difference this week. And it's obviously working, because I weighed in this morning and I lost 4 pounds!!!! =] Woot woot! lol So, low carb is just he way to go for me!




Week Five - 
Starting Weight - 257.8
Week One - 252.6
Week Two - 252.4
Week Three - 253.2
Week Four -251.2
Week Five - 247.2
Lost - 4

So, this coming week, I'm sticking to what I've been doing! I try to stay away from carbs during the day and eat them only during dinner. Walking on the treadmill and playing the Wii. Being mindful of what I'm putting in my mouth. No sweets until after our 100 days is over. And so far, so good! =]  I have 34 days until my birthday and 9.2 lb to hit my goal, I'm going to work hard and try to get there!!


Goals for Me -
Birthday weight -06/15 - 238
100 Days weight - 07/12 - 233
Halloween weight -10/31 - 215

Wreaths!!

 This is my Easter wreath! I used 2 strands of garland, plus a bunny ears headband and a cut-out bunny face. All bought at hobby lobby! I love it, and better yet - My mother in law loves it! She didn't even hang it in her window (I make wreaths to hang in her window), but in the house so she could see it every day! =]

  

Here is the St. Patrick's Day wreath! I used 2 strands of clover garland, and then a little leprechaun top hat. I think that hat was meant to be a hair accessory, but it worked perfectly here! 

 

And most recently, my mother and father in law both have birthdays in April. Their birthdays are actually one day after the other. Plus, their anniversary is in April too. So I decided to make them a little lovebirds wreath. My mother in laws favorite color is blue, and then when I found the birds, I liked how the orange popped against the blue. After I'd gotten home, I realized that the blue and orange is Denver Broncos colors, my father in laws favorite sports team! So, it's perfect for the both of them! =] I used two feathered boas, two birds (came in a set of three), a bit of ribbon, and then I cut out a red felt heart. And she absolutely loves it!!  

Bane Hat

 

I made this for my brother's birthday! I think it's awesome, if I do say so myself.. lol And he liked it too. =] 

 

 

It's sewn together into one piece, but not restricting on your face. I can't wait to make another one! Anyone want to order one?? =] 

www.facebook.com/shesfreakingcrafty  

Week Two & Three

I'd been slacking the past two weeks. Still walking on some days, but I didn't stick with myfitness every day. And the past two weeks, my husband's day off has been Sunday. The day before I weigh in.Last Sunday, on Easter, we went to a Texas Rangers baseball game. It was so much fun!! I had a hotdog and french fries, but we didn't go crazy or anything. But I know that kind of food just weighed me down when I weighed in the next morning. Then yesterday, my husband made dinner. Homemade burgers and tots. So yummy! I thought I was going to have a great weigh in this morning, but not so much after those burgers. =) I'm not stressing about it too much right now, it's just telling me that I need to make changes for this week. More exercising, more myfitness, less food! lol It will probably also help this week that my husbands days off are Thursday and Friday, so I'll have two days to keep working out before I weigh in. Since I also don't usually workout on our day off together. =)

Week Two - 
Starting Weight - 257.8
Week One - 252.6
Week Two - 252.4
Lost - 0.2

Week Three - 
Starting Weight - 257.8
Week One - 252.6
Week Two - 252.4
Week Three - 253.2
GAINED - 0.8

Bleh.. =( So, I'm making changes today! Going to do some chores around the house, then hopefully I'll have time to walk to dogs before I go to work. I have to go in early today, but I'm pretty sure I'll have the time. Making better changes for this next week!! I have 48 days and 15lb to go to hit my goal birthday weight. Gotta get to it!!

Goals for Me -
Birthday weight -06/15 - 238
100 Days weight - 07/12 - 233
Halloween weight -10/31 - 215

Week One - Lost!

I had a great first week! Except for getting sick right at the end of the week. Bleh. But I had a loss is weight, I stayed under my calorie goals every day AND I've been more active this week. Nothing else to really report for the first week. I've been knitting with all my extra yarn, and sticking around the house. No spending money! =] 

Starting Weight - 257.8
Week One - 252.6
Lost - 5.2

Woot! =] I worked out (walked) every day except Wednesday and Sunday. Sunday, and the past few days, I've been sick. But yay weight loss!

Goals for Me -
Birthday weight -06/15 - 238
100 Days weight - 07/12 - 233
Halloween weight -10/31 - 215

100 Days - Starting Fresh, Starting Over

There is nothing quite like starting over again. One of the great things about dieting, being able to start over when you need to. No matter how many times I need to start over, I can! Losing weight isn't an overnight sensation, and I'm not ashamed of starting again. =]

So, my husband and I have decided to make a plan - 100 days. No drinking (hubby), no sweets (me!), staying under my calorie goals, eating healthier, being more active, no eating out, sticking to our budget, saving money.. For a straight 100 days. We started this past Friday, April 4th. Our 100 days are up July 12th. That means we are sticking to this for both of our birthdays too! Mine - June 15th and Brian's - July 7th. And we're both good with that! We realize that unless we're willing to make these big changes every single day, nothing is going to change for us. And we're so ready to make changes!

This past Thursday, I started with a haircut. =] I cut my hair shorter and dyed it back to dark brown. The closest it's been to my natural hair color in YEARS. I'm not a big fan of the dark, but it's going to be easier to grow it out now that I'm not dealing with a definite line of root color growing out. I'm not going to cut my hair for AT LEAST the 100 days, I'd actually like to really grow it out now. We'll see if I can have the patience for that now.. lol

I'm working on not biting my nails during this too. It's a really bad habit I'm trying to permanently break. I've had phases in the past when I've been able to stop, but I always go back to biting. Working on that too!

With starting over, my goals have changed too. I didn't hit my anniversary goal weight, and then we had over a week of eating whatever we wanted, so I gained weight back. So, new goals! I have a goal amount of weight to lose by the end of the 100 days. 25lb! I weighed myself Friday morning, I'm back to weighing myself every Monday morning starting today. It hasn't been technically a week yet, so I think my first update post will be after 10 days, but it's progress! =] I'm updating my goals now that my starting weight has changed again, plus adding in the 100 days goal.

Starting Weight - 257.8
Current Weight - 253.4
Lost - 4.4

I'm not going to consider this an update weigh-in, more like the progress report. Next Monday I'll post a week one update, with my starting weight and that day's weight. I weighed today more just for me and to get in the habit of doing it every Monday. But it's great to see progress already just from eating less and healthier! =]

Goals for Me -
Birthday weight -06/15 - 238
100 Days weight - 07/12 - 233
Halloween weight -10/31 - 215

My goal weight is 180, but I'm only going to have these 3 goals for now. As I hit them, I'll update and add new goals as I go. =]


During these 100 days, I'm also doing 100 Happy Days on instagram, one picture a day of something that is happy or makes me happy. =] Check it out HERE!

Week 11 - MY SCALE IS BROKEN!!

I can't weigh myself, my scale is broken and I didn't realize it until a couple days ago.. I weighed myself last Monday and I was the same as week ten's weight. I was a little disappointed. Then I weighed myself on Thursday, and I had gained 8lb!! I moved the scale, weighed myself again, had lost 70lb!Needless to say, my scale is broken and I have to get another one. My hubby and I were at walmart yesterday and I completely forgot to get one.. Now, he has one in his bathroom that isn't digital, but I've noticed that our floors upstairs are so crooked and slanted, the scales are sometimes way off! I think I'm going to bring his scale downstairs tomorrow morning and try to weigh myself. But honestly, I just need to go get a new digital scale asap! Until then, I'll be working out and dieting more this week. =]

Week Eleven
Starting Weight - 261.8
Week One - 256.6
Week Two - 252.6
Week Three - 254.2
Week Four - 253.8
Week Five - 253.6
Week Six - 251.2
Week Seven - 254.4
Week Eight - 253.4
Week Nine - 253.4
Week Ten - 254.6
NO IDEA!!

Goals for Me -
Anniversary weight -03/17/2014- 245.0
Birthday weight -06/15/2014- 220.0
Halloween weight -10/31/2014 -200.0
Goal weight -12/15/2014 -180.0

Week Nine & Ten - Bleh..

I know I have pretty much spaced out on blogging. Between my last week working fulltime, interviewing and getting a new part-time job, starting my new job, our apartment flooding.. The last two weeks have been NO dieting, NO real exercising, NO weight loss. Ugh. So, I know for sure that I'm not going to be hitting my anniversary weight goal in 2 days. My hubby and I are going to celebrate our anniversary with a nice home cooked meal Monday night, and then starting back with low carb and exercising regularly on Tuesday. But I want to keep this updated, even on the crappy weigh days. So, here are my weigh-ins for the last two weeks.

WEEK NINE
Starting Weight - 261.8
Week One - 256.6
Week Two - 252.6
Week Three - 254.2
Week Four - 253.8
Week Five - 253.6
Week Six - 251.2
Week Seven - 254.4
Week Eight - 253.4
Week Nine - 253.4

SAME WEIGHT

WEEK TEN
Starting Weight - 261.8
Week One - 256.6
Week Two - 252.6
Week Three - 254.2
Week Four - 253.8
Week Five - 253.6
Week Six - 251.2
Week Seven - 254.4
Week Eight - 253.4

Week Nine - 253.4
Week Ten - 254.6
Gained - 1.2

Like I said, bleh. Not the best, and Mondays weigh in isn't going to be great, I already know. But Tuesday is going to be great! Getting back to it, finding my groove with working part-time and having time to exercise. Being able to keep the house clean and have time to craft. I'm really excited to find my pace and have all this extra time. And I'm still going to work hard to meet my birthday goal weight, even though I'm not hitting my anniversary goal. I'm going to get to it! =]


Goals for Me -
Anniversary weight -03/17/2014- 245.0
Birthday weight -06/15/2014- 220.0
Halloween weight -10/31/2014 -200.0
Goal weight -12/15/2014 -180.0

Introducing...

Watson!!! =) The newest member of our household! He is 3 months old, a basset hound and sharpei mix. We're pretty sure he's more basset than sharpei. But he's our little barshar!
Fezzik loves him! They like to wrestle around and Watson loves to chase Fezzik. Fez is still getting used to having a puppy in the house, bothering him. It's pretty funny. On Sunday, Fezzik took his toy over to the hubs, so he would throw it. Fez dropped it on the ground, but before hubby could pick it up, Watson grabbed it and ran away! So hubs says "Well, where is your toy?" Fez looked down and then had a moment of panic! You could see on his face the "what the hell??!!" It was so funny! Other than that, the boys have been getting along great!
And Watson is a good, little puppy for us! He knows he's supposed to go potty outside, although he does have accidents, it's expected. And there are far less accidents than I thought there would be at this point. He's a good boy! We are super happy with him. =)

Week Eight - Happy Surprise!

Good morning all! Happy Monday! Although I'd much rather be at home, still sleeping! But I've already been at work 1.5 hours this morning.
This past week wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either. I didn't log my food into myfitness, so I didn't count carbs or calories. And I worked out on the treadmill once. Fezzik and I didn't even go to the dog park yesterday like we have been, but there was a good reason for that one. =) I did try to be mindful of my portions, and only eat when I was hungry. But, I expected a gain this week.
Usually, I wake up Monday morning and check what last weeks weigh-in was, so I know if I've gained or lost as soon as my scale flashes the number at me. This morning, I completely forgot to check my previous number. So I weighed myself and thought I'd gained .2 lb.. I wasn't happy with the gain, but I had expected a larger one, so I wasn't too torn up about it. I got ready and started my day. Once I was at work, I had a baby sleeping on me, so I decided to log my weight and breakfast into myfitness. I know that in order to hit my goals, I need to stick with logging my food and exercising. So I logged in, and found out that instead of gaining .2 like I thought, I actually LOST a pound this past week. Woot! Happy surprise! That definitely made my morning brighter. Now, I still have 9lb to lose in the next 3 weeks in order to hit my anniversary weight goal, but I'm going to work hard to accomplish this! This week is all about getting back to it, logging food and exercising! =)
Also, I have 3 weeks left at my current job! My boss interviewed two ladies last week, and had one of them come do a working interview Saturday morning. I came over and met her (and her 5 month old daughter) during that, and I really liked her (them!). My boss offered her the job yesterday, and she accepted! She currently works at a daycare, so she's putting in her 2 weeks notice today. So she'll start March 10th, and I'll do half days that week, just so she isn't overwhelmed her first week. She's bringing her daughter to work with her, so we're going to work together with both of them that first week. And then my first day of finding a new job is my anniversary - March 17th! I think Brian is going to request that day off, so we'll spend the day together, and then I'll kick off trying to find a part-time daycare job! =) I'm really excited!
During nap today, I'll try to write another post to introduce the newest member of our family. (hint - think little barker) =) Until next time!

Starting Weight - 261.8
Week One - 256.6
Week Two - 252.6
Week Three - 254.2
Week Four - 253.8
Week Five - 253.6
Week Six - 251.2
Week Seven - 254.4
Week Eight - 253.4
Lost - 1

Yay!

Goals for Me -
Anniversary weight -03/17/2014- 245.0
Birthday weight -06/15/2014- 220.0
Halloween weight -10/31/2014 -200.0
Goal weight -12/15/2014 -180.0

Week Seven - Boo...

Not a good week. I had about 3 days of going crazy, eating whatever I want and all that. It was awesome! Until I weighed myself. I knew it wasn't going to be a great weigh-in, but still.. Boo.... But I'm back to it this week!! =]
After a long talk with my hubby, he and I decided that I can't work full-time anymore. So, I gave my notice at my nanny job, and I'll be looking for a part-time job soon. I'm really excited! With something part-time, I'll be able to see my husband more! Right now, we barely see each other. We knew when we moved here that his hours were going to be all over the place. I was originally only looking for something 20-25 hours a week, but when I met my boss and her son, I thought that the opportunity was too good to pass up and took a 45 hour a week job. And now, it's just getting to be too much. The hours for me aren't a problem, until you combine it with the fact that my husband sometimes works the exact opposite shift from me. Meaning, some days, the only time we see each other is when I run up dinner to him at work. And that just isn't working for us. As we were talking, we also realized that I also don't ever have time to do anything! A normal day for me - get up, get ready, take care of our dog, make and eat breakfast, go to work (7am-4pm), go home, let dog out, make dinner, either take Brian dinner or eat together (depending on his schedule that day), have a little time together, go to bed. I don't have time to workout, craft, run our dog around, clean, or anything like that. So my weekends consist of cleaning the entire house, grocery shopping, taking our pup to the dog park, hanging out with my hubby for whatever time I can, running all my errands and then getting to relax if I have any time left. With working part-time, I'll be able to run errands during the week, see my husband more, workout, craft, clean house and everything else that gets pushed aside with my current hours. So, I put in my notice at work. I gave my boss 3 months of notice. They are supposed to be in their new house the first of May, and I told her I could give her two weeks in the new house to get settled and transition to someone new. She actually has two interviews coming up, one this afternoon and one Saturday morning. I'm hoping they go well, I have a good feeling about the girl coming on Saturday morning! =] Both ladies would have to give 2 weeks notice at their current jobs if they're hired here, but even with that, I might be able to switch to part-time sooner than May 16th! And I would love to have that time with my hubby soon. =]

Besides that, nothing else is really new with me. I was able to get some treadmill time in, although not as much as I would like, I am working on it! This coming week is going to be better than last week! I only have a month left to hit my goal weight for my anniversary, I need to get cracking! =]

Starting Weight - 261.8
Week One - 256.6
Week Two - 252.6
Week Three - 254.2
Week Four - 253.8
Week Five - 253.6
Week Six - 251.2
Week Seven - 254.4
GAINED -  3.2

Like I said, boo...  25 days and 10lb.. YIKES!!

Goals for Me -
Anniversary weight -03/17/2014- 245.0
Birthday weight -06/15/2014- 220.0
Halloween weight -10/31/2014 -200.0
Goal weight -12/15/2014 -180.0

Week Six - Good Week!

I did pretty great this week! It was a weird week, I only had to work one day. I worked on Monday, and then my boss had to do some traveling for work, so baby's grandma came and watched him for the rest of the week. My plan was to spends time with my husband, organize parts of the house, clean, and workout during my time off. I got about 2.5 of those 4 things. I was able to clean and organize. My closet doesn't look like a craft bomb went off in it anymore! =) And our files of important documents got a much needed clean out. My hubby ended up not getting either of his two days off that entire time, but we were able to spend more time together this past week than any other week since we've been here in Waco. I consider that the half on my accomplish lost. I didn't work out though.. I just didn't, no excuse.
On Saturday, my boss asked if I wanted to go to the park with her and Baby Chunk. I went over and probably walked a little over a mile that day. And yesterday, I took Fezzik to the dog park for the first time! It's a good place for both of us to get a workout! Fezzik was very overwhelmed with all the dogs and smells. And I walked pretty much nonstop for an hour. I wasn't walking very fast, but it was exercise! I was able to stick to my diet the whole week, although I completely spaced on logging into myfitnesspal. But I focused on eating less and sticking to healthier options.
I did make the decision to go ahead and take the carb hit so I can eat apples. I love apples! Before I started doing low carb, I was almost eating an apple a day. And I missed that! So I'm just taking that hit and going back to eating apples. Yum!
So this week, my hubby is going to be working graveyard shifts. 10pm-8am. I work 7am-4pm. meaning, when I get off work and go home, he will most likely still be asleep. So I plan on walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes every day this week. Also sticking to my low carb, I want to see more progress this week. I can't keep relying on low carb to give me a loss. I have about a month to lose that last 6.5lb before my anniversary and first goal. =) I can do it! I will do it!

Starting Weight - 261.8
Week One - 256.6
Week Two - 252.6
Week Three - 254.2
Week Four - 253.8
Week Five - 253.6
Week Six - 251.2
Lost - 2.4

Woot woot!

Goals for Me -
Anniversary weight -03/17/2014- 245.0
Birthday weight -06/15/2014- 220.0
Halloween weight -10/31/2014 -200.0
Goal weight -12/15/2014 -180.0

Week Five - A Loss Is A Loss

I had a cheat day this past Saturday, the hubs and I both. He has decided that he's going to run the Capitol 10k in Austin this year, something he has already wanted to do. So he's going to stop drinking until after the 10k. That's in April, so we're not going to have another cheat day until after his race. We're both pretty excited! It's 2 months away and my hubs wants to love about 17lb before he runs his race. And my anniversary goal is weight is coming up right before then too! I have 6 weeks and 10lb. I'm going to do it! I have this week off work, so I'm organizing our house and life! Focusing on my dieting and working out, while also organizing and cleaning! 

 

Starting Weight - 261.8

Week One - 256.6

Week Two - 252.6 

Week Three - 254.2

Week Four - 253.8 

Week Five - 253.6

Lost - .2

Better next week!

Goals for Me -

Anniversary weight - 03/17/2014 - 245.0

Birthday weight - 06/15/2014 - 220.0

Halloween weight - 10/31/2014 - 200.0 

Goal weight - 12/15/2014 - 180.0

 

Week Four - Completely Forgot! =]

Good morning world! I completely forgot that I hadn't posted for last week. Whoops! lol I have been PMS'ing on and off the last week and a half, and exhausted! Not sure why, I'm working on getting more sleep. Brian's hours have temporarily gone back to him working at night, so it's been difficult to find time for everything - work, exercising, going to have dinner with Brian at his work. Not fun. But the week wasn't too bad. I lost! It wasn't very much at all, but lost! =] 

 

Starting Weight - 261.8

Week One - 256.6

Week Two - 252.6 

Week Three - 254.2

Week Four - 253.8

Lost - .4

I don't really think this next week is going to be great for weight loss either, but I'm trying! Getting back to logging my food every day, trying to get some sort of workout between everything going on right now! Getting better, little by little! =]

 

Goals for Me -

Anniversary weight - 03/17/2014 - 245.0

Birthday weight - 06/15/2014 - 220.0

Halloween weight - 10/31/2014 - 200.0 

Goal weight - 12/15/2014 - 180.0

 

Week Three - Gained =(

So, I gained this week. Not a ton, given how much I've lost the two previous weeks, but still gained. And I know exactly why. I didn't stay under my carbs this past week. I managed to eat an entire box of frosted flakes in about 4 days. I didn't realize how much I LOVE cereal until then. Also, I allowed myself to have some cookies at the beginning of the week, because I'd done so well last weigh-in. I know you're not supposed to reward yourself with food, but I love food! And the bad stuff is always cheap.. 

Also, I didn't workout like I should've this week. I started walking Baby Chunk at work, and I was pretty much making that my workout time during the week. I should be making that just part of work and also doing some form of exercise when I get home too. So, I'm going to do that this week. I'll be walking on the treadmill at least 4 days, and doing exercise ball workouts on the other days. I'm going to do better this next week! 

I'm also going to try and get more sleep during the week. For some reason, my body usually wakes me up in the middle of the night and I'll be awake for an hour or so, just wide awake in bed. I'm not sure what I'm going to do to try and change that yet, but I need that sleep! =]

 

Starting Weight - 261.8

Week One - 256.6

Week Two - 252.6 

Week Three - 254.2

Gained - 1.6

 

So, this next weigh-in will be better! My goal is to lose what I gained, plus a little more! Hard work, here I come! =]

 

Goals for Me -

Anniversary weight - 03/17/2014 - 245.0

Birthday weight - 06/15/2014 - 220.0

Halloween weight - 10/31/2014 - 200.0 

Goal weight - 12/15/2014 - 180.0

 

Week Two

For some reason, I thought I had posted a blog this past Monday night. And obviously I didn't! =] So this is super late, since I'll be posting another one in about 3 days, but here we go! 

 

This past week was good! I was a little afraid of the "week two curse" that always seems to follow me around. And follow a lot of other people around! You do really well week one, and then not so well week two. But I actually did pretty well week two! I lost 4lb! WOOT WOOT! =]  I'm about 8lb from my first goal weight! *happy dance*

 

Starting Weight - 261.8

Week One - 256.6

Week Two - 252.6

Lost - 4

 

I know my next weigh-in is just a few days away, and I'm a little apprehensive about how much I've lost. This past week has been crazy, but no excuses! lol This weekend, and definitely next week I'm going to keep completely to my carbs and working out. Every week I'm getting a little better and a little stronger! =] 

 

Goals for Me -

Anniversary weight - 03/17/2014 - 245.0

Birthday weight - 06/15/2014 - 220.0

Halloween weight - 10/31/2014 - 200.0 

Goal weight - 12/15/2014 - 180.0

Week One =]

Hello everyone!! The past 5 days were pretty great! I made a challenge for myself to NOT weigh myself every day, like I had been in the habit of doing. And I stuck to it!! =] I weighed myself Wednesday morning for my starting weight, and I weighed myself this morning for my weigh-in! I'm challenging myself to do that again this week. 

 

My diet was pretty spot on this week. I stuck to my calories and carbs, only went a little over my carbs once or twice but stayed under my calories every day. And I worked out in some for 4 out of the 5 days. I took Saturday off as my hubby's day off. We went and bought a treadmill, and with this cold snap, it's already been used every day we've owned it! I've also been doing strengthening exercises on the floor and with my exercise ball. Trying to lose the inches and the pounds! =]

 

Starting Weight - 261.8

Week One - 256.6

Lost - 5.2

 

Woot! Woot!! I'm super happy with that loss. =] I know that it's a week one weight and a normal person usually loses more the first week, but I'm working hard to get a good number for week two! I'm actually excited to stick to my diet and working out, so I can weigh-in next Monday too! =] YAY! I'm 5.2lb closer to my first goal weight, 11.6lb to go! And maybe more by my anniversary! Bring it on! =]

 

 

 

 

 

Goals for Me -

Anniversary weight - 03/17/2014 - 245.0

Birthday weight - 06/15/2014 - 220.0

Halloween weight - 10/31/2014 - 200.0

Goal weight - 12/15/2014 - 180.0

Happy New Year - Bring It On!! =]

Today starts a new year, and with it come the changes. Funny thing, my hubby and I picked today to start our diets and budget, and then realized that it was January first! Not trying to be cliche, but our "new lives" start today! =] My hubs wants to run the Austin Capitol 10K, I believe it's the first weekend in April. And I'm setting my goal weights. Our anniversary is March 17th, my birthday is June 15th. I'm setting goals for those two dates, and then I want to be at my goal weight by the time my best friend graduates from college sometime in December. Unless, by some miracle, we get pregnant before then! =]

Goals for Me - 

Today's weight - 01/01/2014

261.8

Anniversary weight - 03/17/2014 

245.0

Birthday weight - 06/15/2014 

220.0

Halloween weight - 10/31/2014

200.0

Goal weight - 12/15/2014

180.0

Daily Calories -

 1650

Daily Carbs -

80 net

I'm going to continue the low carb, low calorie diet that I was on before the holidays. I did see real progress before I stopped eating healthy and gave in to holiday temptations! =] However, I'm not "giving up" sweets this time. Every other time I have dieted, I've completely given up all forms of sweets. And I think that made it a bit harder when I did "crack". So this time, I'm not going to set myself for that inevitable defeat. If I want to have a cookie, I can. But it still have to keep me under my calories AND carbs for the day. And since cookies are mainly sugar and flour, that won't happen all that often. 

-And for those of you who don't know, net carbs are a little different than the 'Total Carbohydrates' you see on the back of your food packaging. First, look at how many total carbs are in one serving. Then check how many total grams of FIBER are in one serving. Subtract the fiber from the carbs - that number is your net carbs per serving. I hope that makes sense! =]

I'm also going to be working on in some form every day. Unless I'm sick and can't leave my bed, I'll be lacing up my tennis shoes and doing anything to bring up my heart rate. I've talked to my boss about walking with my little guy at work for 30 minutes every day, weather permitting. I'm looking into exercise ball strength workouts to do at home, plus some workout videos online. And the hubs and I are looking into getting a treadmill for both of us. I'm not sure if that's something we'll buy today or not, but that's time in the house I could be walking without having to worry about the neighborhood and safety. =] I've never been a huge fan of the treadmill, but I'm actually pretty excited to get one! 

Also, with our new budget, we won't be eating out anymore. So that will make that part of dieting a little easier, no more worrying about where we can go out to eat and what those calories will be! I'm making my big grocery list today after my hubby gets home from work, and we'll be eating at home for the forseeable future! 

So, I've set my goals. I'll be tracking my progress here every Monday with my weigh-ins and updates. I'll also be tracking my weight, measurements and food on myfitnesspal.com - if you need a place to track your food intake and calories, check it out! It's FREE! =] I know it's not a full week, but my week one update will be on Monday. I'm excited to get started and make some progress!