Who am I doing this for?

Hey Ladies:

So my mind was wandering during church (sorry God) and I was thinking about the challenges I've been facing with my lifestyle change goals. Actually the sermon made me think about these issues so I was paying attention at some points. The pastor asked the question "Who's in charge....your head or your body?" He then went off and spoke about the head and body of the church. I started thinking though....who IS in charge? I obviously want my head to be in charge of things so I'm responding appropriately to hunger (not emotion) and making wise choices in regards to food and exercise. I've been letting my body make most of the decisions though...letting my body tell me that it's too tired to work out. Or I've been using my head the wrong way and letting my emotions direct me in food choices.

My pastor made a good point...if you keep letting your body make choices for you things can get out of hand. In regards to weight loss, an imbalance is going to occur. I obviously have an imbalance of muscle mass and fat mass already. But when are my insulin receptors going to start giving up causing me to be diabetic? When will my blood pressure increase and cause issues? I'm already having some joint discomfort at times. My cholesterol is also elevated too. My body is showing some signs that I need to be using my head more often.

Anyway, I also started thinking about why I'm planning my weight loss. I think I've been prioritizing incorrectly. I seem to be more concerned with how I look to other people rather than my own opinion of myself. I worry about what people think about at work and I wonder about what Jon thinks. I have days when I feel ok about how I look and days when it really bothers me. I know if I'd put my opinions first, rather my perception of others' thoughts, I'd take the process more seriously. One of these days, I'm just going to list why reasoning for losing weight so I can visually see the list....it will probably make its way on here.

Swimsuit Anger

Hey Ladies:

Well my 3 swimsuits are about ready to bite the dust due to be worn for years. I'm in the market for buying a new one. Today Lane Bryant emails me about their swim suit line so I decide to take a look. Holy crap they are expensive. I saw a cute mix and match set that I was considering but the top costs like $86 and he bottoms cost about $65!!! What is up with that? I hope I can find something suitable at Target or Walmart or at some other store in Des Moines. Good grief!

Some more truth....

Hey Ladies:

So this whole lifestyle change isn't going so well for me yet. I have no desire or motivation to exercise. I have the typical issues: not sleeping well and a hellish workload. The sleep issue is kind of like the chicken and the egg situation. Is my lack of exercise due to my lack of sleep? Or is my lack of sleep due to my lack of exercise? Either way, I need to straighten it out.

I strongly desire to wake up earlier (like around 6 or 6:30am) so I can get my cardio workout done in the morning. Or I'd like to do some cardio in the morning and do some in the evening too.

I'm still eating poorly too. When I can't sleep at night, I typically stay up and do some work or watch tv. I start snacking and eating too. I'm also using the "deadline strategy" too. I'll tell myself that I'll just eat poorly for a certain time and change my ways on a certain deadline. That deadline will approach and pass and I'll just set up a new one. For example, I wanted to start things off when the Live Healthy program started and that deadline has obviously passed.

I just wanted to put that in writing. I've been thinking about it a lot since my activity minutes are low and my weight hasn't changed. I'm also noticing more things about my appearance that I'm not enjoying. Sigh!

--Jenny

Wow...

So, I went and saw Avatar this weekend with my friend Chris. We were going to attempt to see it in the IMAX but she was too busy chatting with a friend and we missed the start of the show and ended up seeing it in the digital 3D and it was phenomenal! The movie is sublime! The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking and the score is enchanting. It's not hard to see why the is the most expensive movie that was ever made. I'm sure you've heard the reviews and all that so I won't got into gushing adulation but I just want to recommend that you see it. Now yes, some say that the story line is somewhat predictable and they complain about that. However, they're the same people who complain when the story line isn't predictable but then becomes unbelievable. Some people just refuse to be entertained, and they're boring, boring people and I have no time for them :) I found the story engaging and it was good enough to make me forget that I left my chapstick in the car (which would normally drive me crazy...I can barely go 30 minutes without chapstick, let alone 3 hours).

Besides seeing Avatar yesterday, Chris and I went out to lunch with some friends at a pita place called Olga's. It was quite excellent. I had a turkey club pita which was great. However, it was overshadowed by the zucchini fries...that's right, zucchini fries. Move over green bean fries (which I never really cared for but everyone else seems to love) there is a new veggie fry in town and I love it!

Well, I did my grocery shopping today and I got a nice variety of veggies to eat with my meals for the week. I did make a compromise with my salad ingredients. Because I like iceberg lettuce I decided to stay with that but I got cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots to cut up in them. I was also a little daring and grabbed an avocado. I've never managed to get a good avocado so I'm hoping that I did well. I also got frozen peas and broccoli with carrots. I'm really hoping to improve my overall diet this week. I'm also going to start working out on the treadmill at work again this week. I do much better if I do my workouts at work as there are no distractions. If I wait until I come home then I start thinking about the stuff I could/should be doing and my workout becomes less of a priority. That needs to change. I'm going to start out slow and then work my way up. I think that's the only way I'll really stick with it.


Well I think that's it for now. Have a great rest of the weekend ladies and a very successful start to your week!

Kickass Product Alert

Hey Ladies:

I had a couple of coupons for a new product so I purchased it last week. I am hear to tell you it kicks ass. It is a Yoplait Smoothie. They are found in the frozen food section (froze fruit part). I specifically bought the Strawberry, Mango, and Pineapple flavor. One bag makes two 8 oz servings. If you use skim milk to make it, it is 110 calories per serving with only 1 gram of fat. That can change however if you decide to add more milk to make it thinner so it's more drinkable through a straw. I used 1% milk since I don't care for skim milk.

I really have to make a conscious effort to eat dairy products so I'm glad I found this product. It's a great dessert. I may actually drink one for breakfast some mornings.

http://yoplait.com/products_smoothie.aspx?WT.mc_id=paid_search_300511_636117&WT.srch=1

Just thought I'd share my discovery with ya.

The Week is Ending on a Good Note

Hey Ladies:

I'm proud to say that I've made some substantial gains in regards to tackling my workload this week. It feels good to not be so overwhelmed. The after school program I coordinate starts on February 2nd so I've had lots of odds and ends to complete for that. I'm also trying to work ahead and create PowerPoint presentations, lecture, worksheets, quizzes, etc. ahead of time to make life easier when it comes to teaching. I also have student teaching supervision duties to stay on track with too.

My main project is to organize a class for undergrads so they can observe PE teachers each week (elementary). I've had to email numerous principals to get permission for our entrance into the buildings and also email the PE teachers to get their permission. The frustrating thing is that many PE teachers aren't great about checking email. Sometimes my messages go into SPAM too so that hinders things. I need to have a nice, organized chart created for students next week so they know where to visit on Friday.

I do have some stress in my life too. Not sure if I mentioned this in December or not. A student teacher from last semester is displeased with his grade. He is going to formally contest it. I have absolutely no idea what the process looks like. I've gone over my grading process with the PE/Student Teaching Coordinator and she agrees the grade I assigned. She even said I was too lenient. However, he's found some information in his student handbook that could alter a couple things. It will be interesting. Some days I feel like "oh well, I'll go through the process and whatever happens, happens." Other days I get all anxious and very worried because I wonder if it will make the chairperson of the department think I'm incompetent. Sigh. I'm doing a cartwheel the day that situation is over.

I'm displeased with my lifestyle change progress this week. I wasn't as hardcore as I wanted to be. I let myself make excuses due to work. Sigh. I really want 2010 to be a year of big change for me. I want to feel better, look better, and set Gavin up for success when it comes to his health too. I'm hoping that some workout sessions with Tiffany will help set me on the right path. I wish it was nicer out so I could use my bike!! Hurry up Spring!

Veggie Tales...

And no, I'm not talking about the famous Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato (even though I always did like the little asparagus guy)I'm talking about real life vegetables. I have been doing really well these last two weeks as far as sticking to a menu and not snacking irresponsibly. I was feeling really great about the way I've been eating lately and then my damn sister-in-law sent me a picture text last night. She showed me her plate from dinner and I suddenly realized that I'm still not where I need to be.

A little background. Tasha and Cody have both put on quite a bit of weight since they've met, she's had 3 kids and while he works construction in the summer he's pretty much sedentary in the winter and eats like he does in the summer. They recently joined a health program through the hospital in Charles City that is helping them make diet and lifestyle changes in order to lose weight. Last night they had this dinner that looked so good and was so colorful and included lots and lots of different veggies. It was looking at their plates that I realized that I suck when it comes to vegetables.

While I like most veggies in some form or another I tend to be a salad kind of girl. The problem is that in my salads, I'd rather have shredded iceberg lettuce than any other type of greens. Lets face it, instead of eating iceberg lettuce I might as well just drink a glass of water with croutons and light dressing in it because there is nothing nutritionally relevant in iceberg lettuce. I need to start thinking outside of the salad bowl when I approach my veggie plans for the week. There are so many different types of vegetables of all colors, shapes, sizes and flavors and I need to start incorporating more of them into my daily diet.

Now don't get me wrong. I know that I've made some real progress in the last two weeks in regard to hunger awareness and self-discipline. I also know that I'm not going to make all of the changes that I need to in a few weeks time. However, I think this is one of the changes that I need to make sooner rather than later. Having said that, I have created my goal for the upcoming week. I intend to add more variety to the vegetables that I am eating on a daily basis and to increase my veggie servings consumed each day. I already have my groceries for the rest of this week so I will implement this new goal when I go shopping this weekend.

Well, I don't think I have anything else right now. I hope you ladies are having a great week and experiencing success in your Live Healthy plans! Good luck with the weigh-in tomorrow!

Still need to get the lead out....

Hey Ladies:

I'm killing some time before I leave to teach a CPR/AED class at ISU tonight. I really wish I could just stay home and relax. Oh well, extra money is nice. I was really looking forward to implementing some changes this week but once again my workload causing some issues. I hate having so much work to constantly worry about. When I complete one thing, I get 3 more new tasks. Maybe due to the upcoming bad weather, I can just hide in my apartment and work for a solid day and make a good dent.

Here are my 3 goals for the week (just sticking to three each week):

1. I will go to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier as a result. My current sleep pattern is not going to help weight loss.

2. I will run on the treadmill 3 times before Sunday. Not sure what level I'll be starting at.

3. I will only eat out 1-2 times a week. I prefer only once a week.

I got my blood work back and need to make lifestyle changes to lower my cholesterol and I need to severely drop my triglycerides. They were sky high.

On a separate topic, I have completed another book. It is called "Nectar in a Sieve". I borrowed it from LeAnn. I did really enjoy it and it was a quick read. I now have a stack of 10 or so books that I've borrowed so I hope to read one every 1-2 weeks. Yippee for literary hobbies. One thing that made me think was the fact that families picked out who you would marry in the story. Who would your parents have set you up with as a husband if we used that practice now a days? I think my parents would have set me up with Ben Stamper....not entirely sure why but he jumped into my head when I first thought about it.

Ok, time to prepare for CPR/AED.

Pleasant surprise...

Happy Tuesday ladies! I was a blog slacker last week and I'm sorry about that. I need to work on that. Anyway, the last week has been pretty good. I've done well getting into our Live Healthy Iowa program. I have been eating really well and sticking to my daily menu. Because of the way I've been eating I've discovered something. I really enjoy eating because I'm hungry. That might sound odd but I don't know think I've eaten just for hunger in years. Every time I eat I am very hungry and it's nice. It's a very satisfying feeling to wait for hunger and then eat until comfortably full.

I will admit that I didn't do as much exercise last week as I would have liked. I have, however started to rectify that situation. I was browsing the Live Healthy website and looking at their exercise plans and I came across a 21 minute ab routine that looked interesting. It has 6 exercises that are done as a circuit and then repeated 3 times. I wasn't sure how difficult it would be so I started last night after work. After my second time through, I decided that that was probably enough as my form was getting poor and I didn't want to hurt my back. Later in the evening I was sitting at my computer and I thought for sure I would have some serious abdominal pain today. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. While I still feel a little weakness in my abs I don't have any pain. I will definitely keep this routine in my rotation but I will probably back it down to one cycle (at least of the more difficult exercises) and work up to 3.

I don't think I have anything else fun to say at this time. Have a great week!

Reality Just Slapped Me in the Face Again

Hey ladies-

I had my annual physical today. I had expected a decent lecture about my weight (it typically happens when I visit the doctor) but I had a really good discussion with my medical provider. She's not actually a doctor, I'm seeing a nurse practitioner. I'm used to most doctors just ordering a blood draw for cholesterol, triglyceride, thyroid screenings and that's about it. They just keep things physiological. She actually probed me for information and asked about emotional and mental ties to my eating and lifestyle habits. I was very surprised but at the same time very embarrassed. It all stems back to my career and the fact that I know everything she told me. I know the risks of being overweight, I know how to combat it, but here I am still overweight and risking my health.

I know my labs are going to come back and be disappointing. Especially my triglycerides. I'm very interested in my thyroid labs...I've never had that checked out before. I've also had issues ever since my gallbladder was removed and she was cool and put me on a medication to help with that. The doctor at ISU Student Health would never prescribe me anything, which drove me nuts. If the meds work, I will have more freedom with what I can eat and when I can eat.

Anyway, even today wasn't the most pleasant day of my life it gave me motivation. I don't want to disappoint my doc further. I want to see significant changes in my lab results over the next several months. I've coasted on the comfort of knowing my health was OK over the past years but I am riding the fence now. I could see more weight gain definitely pushing me over the edge into blood pressure issues, higher cholesterol, or diabetes.

Fact of the matter is....I need to make a big change and I need to make it now.

Live Healthy America

Hey Ladies-

Tiffany will be registering our team for the "Live Healthy 100 Day Wellness Challenge" this week so I wanted to provide the website for the program.

http://www.livehealthyamerica.org/

After she provides our individual information, we will have access to the site and all the cool information (exercise tips, recipes, exercise videos, etc.).

Here is what your $15 registration fee includes specifically:

--a t-shirt

--coupon book (for first 30,000 registrants)

--weekly motivational e-mails with tips

--100 days access to "Training Peaks" (not sure what that is)

--a one year subscription to one of these magazines (Fitness, Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle, Midwest Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Heart Healthy Living, Mujer, Parents, Men's Journal, and Diabetic Living)

I have chosen Heart Healthy Living because of the medical and nutritional information it provides. I looked over one at Border's (and bought it) because it's very practical and useful. Just wanted to let you know about this opportunity in case you need to look up the magazines to see what best fits you.

FYI: We have 8 people on our team. (Tiffany, her husband Gregg, Nicole, LeAnn, myself, and 3 of Tiffany's cousins)

Lets get it started...

For some reason I have the Black-eyed Peas song stuck in my head this morning so I thought I'd use it for my blog title. It works well so what the hell! I am finally feeling like a human being today. I've felt very zombified all week. I don't know if it was the trip home or the illness, probably a combination of both in all likelihood, but I have just been exhausted all week. I've gotten a lot of sleep this weekend though so I'm hoping to have taken care of my sleepy ways.

This week I plan on really getting into the changes that I'm hoping to make in the new year. My sister and I are starting our first week of cooking together. We have our evening meals planned for rest of the month and will make February's menu when the time comes. I'm really excited to have my menu planned and to do it with another person. It makes life a lot easier when you don't have to come up with meal ideas on your own all of the time. It was also very nice going into the store yesterday with my shopping list in hand and knowing that I'll be getting everything that I need for the week to come. It so much easier to stick to the plan when it's all written out.

Because I tend to do really well when things are written out and very clear for me to follow, I have decided to take scheduling and incorporate it into my workouts. My thought is to schedule out my evenings so that I don't have an excuse to not work out. I also am trying to find some weight-training log sheets online so that I can more effectively follow what I'm doing for resistance. That way to there is extra accountability.

I'm excited that the Live Healthy Iowa thing has started. I really hope being part of team will give us all the motivation that we need over the next 100 days! Have a great week ladies and keep up the good work!!

2010

Happy New Years ladies! I know that this sentiment is a bit overdue, however, I have yet to blog this year so it's better late than never! My new year started well, despite having spent yesterday barfing my brains out. I got to ring in the new year with my family and then got to spoil my nieces and nephews all weekend! My trip home and the return trip to Michigan were very pleasant. Little to no traffic and good roads always make for an enjoyable journey. I will note that every time I'm back home it gets harder to come back to Michigan. I can't wait for the day that I don't have to come back :)

Like many, I too have resolutions for the upcoming year. I have only really accomplished one resolution from 2009 (yay for recycling) so I hope to do better this year.

1) Will work towards a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to lose weight. I need to really focus on being physically active and exercising more self-control when it comes to food.

2) Become more organized in my home life. I've become very lax in regards to maintaining my household. I don't live in squalor but sometimes I can't believe how big of a slob I am. I also need to do the detail work more (dusting, window washing etc.). My goal is to create a schedule and stick with it.

3) I need to make some friends in Michigan. I am bored all of the time and I think that has a lot to do with my over eating. My hope is to find an organization or a church to join which would allow me to meet more people. Not to mention it would help me to give back to the community.

OK, I don't really have a lot of time because I need to get back to work. Have a great day ladies and I hope your weeks are going well!

2010 A Year of Change!

I'm finally getting with it and blogging...I've had intentions to blog for weeks! I admit with the new year starting, I have all kind of goals, ideas, and plans swimming around in my head. Hopefully I can put things down in an organized fashion. First of all I want to lay out my resolutions for the new year.

1. I want to make a healthy lifestyle change. I'm not going to attach a weight loss number to this goal. I simply want to exercise regularly and eat better. I'll make more specific goals as I continue to work on this endeavor. I want to feel better overall and look better.

2. I want to live a more organized life. I considered attending college to be a full time job but this past semester truly showed me what working full time meant. Something was always suffering in my life at some point. If I took more time for parenting, my work suffered and vice versa. One area of my life has suffered for years...my social life. I really want to take time to hang with friends and date. I always seem to find great friends that I really enjoy hanging out with and they end up moving away (ahem Nicole) and that will happen again in 2010 when Tiffany and Gregg move away.

3. I need to fix my sleeping issues! I am the ripe old age of 27 now and I need to sleep like a normal person. My dentist has shown concern about the possibility of sleep apnea and those fears were confirmed over break. If I sleep on my back, I apparently sound like I'm dying. Crappers. I'll obviously help solve this issue if I lose weight and improve my overall lifestyle. As juvenile as it sounds, I want to be able to go to bed at a suitable time and wake up early too. I would love having my workouts in the morning to start my day instead of being a sloth until 10am.

I keeping it at three resolutions. I prefer simplicity.