Things that make me smile

Along with my role of homeschooling mom who is on a journey to lose weight, I am also a student of herbal medicine who intends to get certified one day when the dust clears and so on. Ultimately I would like to become a naturopath, but I fear time may not be on my side with that one. Until the day comes when I am able to formally enroll in a school , I content myself with a course of self study . I read from textbooks, lectures, just plain books, observe and work with diet and herbs for many of life's issues. It works, I learn, and one day when the time is right I will get the opportunity to make it formal. One thing that has been frustrating me a lot of late is my inability to find time for my studies.Between home school demands, playing nutritionist and personal trainer o my family and keeping up with mundane things like housework, there is little time. However, over the last couple of weeks I have been able to fit it in , somehow. Nothing can make you feel more alive and worthwhile than pursuing your dreams ! The last few days i have been studying the interaction between iron and different vitamins in the body, and just basking in the geeky goodness of it all. Combine that with the affects of exercise and diet, and you get a really good overall feeling about life .

Yesterday I began the day with the breakfast mess- 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1 cup frozen blueberries and 3/4 cup special K cereal. I love breakfast that begins in a bowl and gets mixed up ! This is a satisfying, colorful 290 calories to play with ! After breakfast we hit the first of three Wii sessions and then moved on to school for the day. Things went very well, and we decided to have lunch afer we finished

When lunchtime arrived , I was STARVING ! Belly grumbling, not thinking straight kind of hungry. I had romaine with cherry tomatoes, turkey breast on an Arnolds Thin, an apple and a cup of beef broth to which I added about a 1/4 cup of peas that had been sitting in the freezer for God knows how long. 330 calories, and a good way to ridd the freezer of one orphan !

After lunch we did another session with the Wii and then I worked on planning next weeks school. I kept thinking of Halloween themed topics, and eventually broke for this 200 calorie snack of an apple and a Fiber Plus bar.

Dinner wound up early somehow, and it was a good thing as I was STILL starving. This night Chicken caccitore on Ronzoni whole wheat pasta with chopped broccoli was on the menu for 472 calories. I have come to the conclusion that while broccoli is good, chopped broccoli should be left for something you toss in a casserole or something else. Give me big, meaningful spears over this horrible stuff !

After dinner we did the third session with the Wii ,this time as a family taking turns with it. Afterwords we settled down for the best night of TV all week and I grabbed a snack of another apple and a 100 calorie pack of cocoa roast almonds. About the time Glee came on hubby and I decided to go watch it in our room where we could stretch out and watch the show. Bad move as we missed it. That is another reason to have a really good overall feeling about life- after 28 years of marriage , spending 2 minutes alone together usually means the world is going to be ignored. Not only does that improve your attitude about life and keep you close. It also burns calories in a whole other fun way !

Losing my baby fat

A silly thought crossed my mind yesterday morning at breakfast. I am not simply losing weight, but instead I am on a postpartum recovery journey that has taken 17 1/2 years to come to. As absurd as it sounds, that is exactly what this is. Before my son entered my life , I was a lot heavier. At 310 pounds I was struggling with infertility, worked my butt down to 201 lbs and succeeded in conceiving my son . ( There was another son who was stillborn before him, but I quickly recovered from his birth). The day I conccived I was able to walk long distances, swim, lift fairly heavy objects and I was in excellent physical condition. 8 weeks into the pregnancy I started bleeding, and it was discovered that I had placenta pravia - which meant the placenta had attached in the wrong position. The recommended treatment was bedrest, and a lot of it. Then came numerous other complications that had us visiting specialists or tests all too often, being told that I must treat my body as a glass egg and to not get too attached to this baby. Sorry- it would be easier to tell a woman not to breathe. As a result, all of the things I did in my first pregnancy to stay healthy ( diet and exercise) I could not do. My muscles came very close to becoming atrophied I think, and the week before I delivered I could hardly even stand. As a result of all the bedrest my son was transverse, and a C section was required. For several reasons I could not have the standard Bikini cut, but instead got the vertical incision, which meant a lot more damage to abdominal muscles. Not to mention it was the second major opening of my abdomen in less than a year ( emergency surgery to remove an ovary). All of this left me physically weak, mentally shell shocked and struggling to find me. I would not change anything about that for the world, but it seems it is indeed time to get back to me. Time to work on building those muscles that I lost so long ago.

Breakfast was a Mom McMuffin and coffee. Mom McMuffins are simply an Egg McMuffin you make at home, but healthier. This was 1/2 cup of egg beaters, a slice of provalone, 3 strips of turkey bacon on a Thomases Better Start english muffin for 300. After that we did our first session with the Wii Fit Plus and then began our school day. It's a heavy math week for us, and it was very good to work out some energy before tackling the beast !

We finished school and broke for lunch. Turkey breast on whole wheat, carrots, celery and an apple with a diet soda for 405 calories. After lunch we worked out some more on the Wii and then i set down to the business of planning next weeks menu. It is definately getting easier to do this and stay in the calorie ranges for the three of us !

Afternoon snack was an apple and a Fiber Plus bar for 200 calories.

Dinner wound up being the 3rd sandwich meal of the day - just happened to work that way. This meal was a B.A.L.T.- bacon, avocado, lettuce and tomato sandwich on whole whea with cucumbers, cauliflower peppers and an apple for 450 calories. After dinner we got in a 3rd session with the Wii. Somehow acting like a chicken trying to fly and adding with your hips is too much fun to stay away from for long. By days end, according to the calorie burner thing I had burned 200 calories through the day. Yay me !

We watched a bit of Dancing With the stars and The Biggest Loser, and I grabbed my snack of 2 rice cakes and whipped cream cheese for 150 calories. Total calories in for the day came to 1500. Calories spent contemplating the good or bad in the blue team's decision- probably at least 15.No spoilers here but I can understand how either choice would have been a good move. Sad thing is next week they will be home so we will not get to watch the trainers working on the one that got to stay. There has not been a death yet, but I think this contestant will be pushed close to that point !

A lightbulb moment

I stepped on the scale this morning, in an attempt to see if what I was doing was affective. Mathematically, theoretically, having dropped calories should mean weight loss. According to three different BMR calculations from different sources , I am supposed to be eating between 2000-2400 calories( they do NOT all agree, so hoe exactly is this scientific ??). I dropped my intake from 2000 to 1500, so I should see a loss. I have also increased my exercise level, so there definitely be a loss. Mathematically, if all of this is supposed to be calories in calories out that is. Guess what ? I have gained 2 lbs since Saturday morning. I had a thought of tossing the scale out the window, but my really sore overall body muscles would not allow me to pick the stupid thing up to do so.

And then the revelation happened. The process of building muscle is a break down build up thing. Muscles work and become torn in the work , and then rebuild stronger than they were. As they break down and rebuild, the generate a lot of waste products( lactic acid which is why you hurt in the process and more) , and this waste CAN show up as a gain on the scale. However, if you keep at it, the new muscle increases your metabolic rate an you burn more calories while you are simply existing. This would explain why every time I start to change it up and add more exercise, I gain. I used to be pretty strong, but 5 months of total bedrest with pregnancy followed by being a mom of a high needs baby and all that followed has turned my muscle tissue into an almost non existant thing. I have a LOT of muscle to rebuild, and sadly while it builds I am going to see a gain. So my task here is to know that I will most likely gain this week and perhaps the next, but then the new muscle will help to burn off the fat more efficiently. I just have to keep the faith !


Yesterday was a school holiday for us, and the plan was to play a lot and do some housework. Sadly the housework did not happen because immediately after this "Breakfast Sundae" of 1/2 c cottage cheese, 1 c of berries and 3/4 c Special K (290 calories) we started playing Wii Fit plus. We created our own routines, played the multiplayer function, and just had fun.

Lunch was a flat bread pizza- one Aldi's original wrap, 2 T red pepper hummus, 1/4 c mozzerella, 1 T bacon bits and 2 mushrooms with an apple, celery, carrots and cauliflower and a Yo Plus lite yogert with Diet Soda for 450 calories. We caught the Chicago Columbus Day Parade while we ate, and then back to more playing on the Wii- this time we played with the Yoga routines. My son REALLY likes yoga these days and he is really good at it.

Snack time was a bartlett pear and a Fiber Plus bar for 200 calories. We watched a little TV and then went back to playing with the Wii . We finished when it was time for me to get dinner started, and I noticed I really, really hurt . All over. I had been using muscles I did not know I had !

Dinner was Brazillian coconut chicken over brown rice with a cucumber on the side for 400 calories. I keep playing with the spice combination on this one every time I make it.

After dinner we relaxed while watching Dancing With the Stars - or the showcase for prescription drug commercials it seems (why is that???) and I grabbed my evening snack

2 wasa multi grain crisps with 2 wedges of laughing cow lite and an apple -230 calories. Days total calories came to 1570. According to the Wii, I burned 140 calories yesterday with our playing around. Today is back to school after the long weekend and to keep reminding myself that I am building muscle and the scale aint all it's cracked up to be sometimes.

For those who are curious

For those of you who have not played the Wii and are curious as to what it is all about, here is a video that shows some of the new games on the Wii Fit Plus, with a split screen of a guy actually on the board -Click Here

Wii, Wii,Wii !!!

I am stiff this morning ! Yesterday son and I played on the Wii fit plus in the morning while dad was at church, and had a lot of fun trying to master the obstacle course , rhythmic kung fu and adding with our hips . It's fun doing these silly sounding things, but they do work odd muscles ! It's all good till the next morning !

Speaking of morning, the day started out with this

A breakfast casserole in the crockpot made with egg beaters, black forest ham, cheese, Arnolds thins and milk. Accompanying was a carton of Yo Plus lite and coffee for 399 calories. I have decided egg casseroles in the crockpot are not something that flies in this house. The taste is kind of , well, funky . Next week , back to steel cut oats in the crock pot !

The good thing about breakfast was that it held us all over well till lunch
Grilled cheese on Arnolds with celery, carrots , an apple and diet soda-255 calories.

After lunch we headed out for a walk, but my leg muscles were not at all happy with the cold air Q! They started doing this weird spasm kind of thing and giving out on me, so we decided to find something else to do at home. We also devised a plan for next Saturday, which will be another free day for us. We wanted to go walking someplace interesting, but I am just not handling the cold well at all, so we thought of the neatest place we could go that is indoors- the Mausoleum ! The one we go to , Queen of Heaven, is the largest one in the united states, with 30,000 crypts, many alcoves and three levels. We tried to find the exact floor plan size but could not, so we did some rough math and figured it out for ourselves. We decided if we go there and walk all three levels , we could have something like a 1K walk. So the Mausoleum 1k is born ! I am thinking of creating ribbons for the event- silly, fun, but gets the job done.

Afternoon snack was a Bartlett pear and a Fiber Plus bar for 200 calories. After which we all spent some more time on the Wii fit plus and discussing everything and nothing. It's a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon !

Dinner was a turkey meatloaf, corn and roast carrot-turnip-onions with cucumbers and bell peppers on the side for 420 calories. The meatloaf was made in the crockpot , and kind of fell apart in the serving process. My guys did not care- I think they would even love meatloaf snoothies !

We settled in for the night and caught Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns on cable while we each caught up with different computer work. We seem to all multitask well around here. I grabbed a snack of 2 Aldi's rice cakes (one got broke up) and cream cheese for 150 calories. Total calorie count for the day was 1424- which is short of my 1500 calorie a day level, but I felt fine.

Happy Columbus Day. We have decided this year to take the day off and watch the parade . I want to catch up on some housework that may include steam cleaning some of my carpets.

A walk, a game and green things

As the old saying goes, onward and upward. If at first you don't succeed, try again. The guys had a good week, I need tweaking again- or begin to consider selling my reproductive system to the lowest bidder on Ebay.Since the later is illegal, the former is in order. I am going to cut my calories again to a level of 1500 per day. That with consistent exercise should help me overcome the hormonal hurdles. I should mention that I am not going this time of life shift without aid- I take chaste tree berry , evening primrose and different vitamins to help. The key word is help, because like it or not your body IS going to change and you will not function like a 20 yr old ever again. It's natures way.

We started the day with a bowl of pumpkin oats , and then headed out for a morning walk in the woods. We had frost the night before, and the air had a definate chill. I snapped a few pictures with my cell phone. It likes being loser to things, but I think you can see the colors we saw

The veiw from the road


Solomon's seal, ready for a winter's nap

Woodbine, putting on a color pageant

We walked around, got very chilled and then headed for a cup of Dunkin Donuts Carmel Latte lite ( Thanks for the tip Marisa !) and then off to the store to pick up some items. One of which was the new Wii Fit plus. With the weather turning cold, a new indoor exercise lure is a very good thing. We did some browsing as well and then headed to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes for perhaps the greatest salad bar on earth !

Plate one was a salad with assorted greens, red cabbage, red onions, celery, grape tomatos, black olives, sunflower seeds, garbanzo beans and more.

Second plate was a sampling of the current signature salads- Summertime Cooler ( baby greens, dried cranberries and a lemon dressing) , Chicken Wonton Happiness ( greens, wontons, chicken, napa cabbage in a sesame dressing) Broccoli madness ( broccoli, cashews, red onions in a mayonaise sauce) and Taffy Apple Salad ( marshmallows, peanuts, red apples, green apples, pinapple tidbits and a vanilla yogert sort of dressing). I also grabbed a half a cup of ld fashioned chicken noodle salad and 3 mini muffins, but somehow that picture did not come out. I LOVE this place. The options are so wonderfully healthy . You feel years younger just walking in there !

We headed home as hubby had to sing at the 4 pm service. I managed to get in some more of my own studying for the week and catch up on some housework. I made Fettucini alfredo and a salad for dinner, and afterwords we all took turns playing the Wii fit Plus. It has a multiplayer feature ( lots of fun) and several new features, ,including a calorie burn meter based on your weight , height and age, and the ability to create customized work outs. Here are some screen shots
From the Form workout option screen
From one of the games found in multiplayer and single player option

From the skateboarding game.

All in all it was a really fun day !

Weigh in because...

It's Saturday morning, and therefore time to smack the scale.

Hubby lost 1.2
Son lost 1.0
I GAINED 1.6 - I guess this means I either have to lower my calorie intake yet again, conclude my hormonal cycle is going to win no matter what I do ( when my body is in a fertile pattern I gain at ovulation AND the week before TOM), Start weighing in while holding a towel bar or other such fun. In either case, it's back to the drawing board.

Now should I get depressed because of the gain or excited because I have yet another chance to get pregnant at age 51 ??? Now there is a perplexing dilemma.

In other news, my nephew made a 180 turn for the better. He was also having seizures which stopped, and now appears to be a normal , healthy new born. They are keeping him for observation for a week and then he will get to come home. Hooray !

We had planned to go to another cemetery today to walk around, but it is FREEZING out. Going to change plans to something that will allow more indoor walking .

Have a good one !!