Coming up.....

RESTAURANTS!!!



Don't be shy!  Leave me a comment!  I can see that I am getting a lot of hits!  Tell me if there is something you want to discuss.  :)

Think about it....

Don't you just love those microwave meals?  They are so quick and easy!  I always think if it's too good to be true then it probably is!  Remember those things are processed and usually contain a ton of sodium.  I don't know about you but when I eat them (and I never do) they last me about 5 minutes before I am hungry again!  I need something with some substance!  The problem is if you add a yogurt and other things to the meal, your calories end up being higher.  Eating healthy takes some planning and thought.  I make my lunch the night before when I have time.  Sure, these meals are easy to just grab on the way out the door but with some planning, you can have a healthy, nutritious meal.

Let's talk about portion control.  This is really important to think about.  There can be too much of a good thing.  Take cereal for example, have you ever measured that stuff out?  They say that it's like 120 calories per serving but if you actually measure it out, a "normal" bowl for most people is way more than that.  My small amounts of meat (Hi, Gretchen) got lots of laughs.  BUT, when you really look at our portions, they are way out of control!  A serving of chicken is only 3 ounces which is about the size of a deck of cards.  That's less than a whole chicken breast.  Measure out your portions and count those calories.  It works!!!!

My Poor Kids!!!

Click here......

This is what my poor kids have to endure!! ha ha!

Please follow me if you haven't already.  Just enter your e-mail to the right.  There's been some confusion about how that works.  If you put in your e-mail address, you should receive an e-mail confirmation that you have to click to confirm.  If you aren't receiving updates, you haven't done that correctly.  Try it again.  It should work.  Thanks!  :)

Best Running Friends

We've talked a lot about finding people to work out with.  It makes it so much more fun!!  It's so much easier to stay motivated!!  Surround yourself with people that have the same goals.  (That really works for lots of different things but we won't go there.)  I just thought I would share a couple of things from my weekend.  I did my long run on Saturday with this group of people......Mark, Tammy, Danielle, and Jess.....

I heart these people a lot!!!  We've logged lots and lots of miles together!!!  What happens on the road stays on the road!  We miss our good running pal, Lori.  She's recovering from an injury.  Booo!!

I did the Color Run today.  It was a 5K 'race.'  While we ran, people threw paint at us.  We got a group together, had shirts made, and acted silly the whole time!  It was an absolute blast! 

Please let me know if you live in my area and want to join us in anything.  We have a mud run/obstacle course coming up in August.

IT'S THE WEEKEND!!!!

How are you doing??  Don't blow your diet this weekend and all the hard work you've already done!  Did you know it can take 3-5 days of very healthy eating to recover from an unhealthy weekend?  By then, it's the weekend again.  Is it really worth it?

I want to start running. Where do I begin?

Short Answer:  Have a goal.  Sign up for a 5K.

This will help you stay focused.  When I first started running, I ran races all the time.  Yes, it does get expensive but they are so fun and they keep you so motivated.  Watch Groupon and Living Social for discounts.  I don't do as many races now because I don't really need the motivation but it is still fun to have a goal.  We just started training for the Nashville Women's Half-Marathon in September.  Even though I've been running very consistently since my last mini, it feels so good to be training for something and have a goal.  (A GIRL'S TRIP TO BOOT!  I CAN'T WAIT!)

I know a lot of people that have had great success with that Couch to 5K program.  

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml


This is especially helpful if you are just starting out.  Start slow!  


I think it is so helpful to find a good running partner.  My run this morning was seriously hard.  I would have been toast without my group of gals!  We push each other to go farther and faster!  I know it's hard to find someone and then coordinate schedules but it really is so helpful when you need a little push.  Surround yourself with people that have the same goal in mind.  Push each other!


Here is another good website:

http://www.marathonrookie.com/

You can scroll down to find training for several different distances.

This brings me to my next thought.  If running isn't your thing, try a class.  Obviously, I love Jazzercise but find a class that works for you.  Classes are such an easy way to surround yourself with people that have similar goals.....being healthy and getting into shape.  I remember thinking when I first joined Jazzercise "Oh my goodness.  These people are annoyingly energetic and I want to be JUST LIKE THEM!"  hee hee!  

The bottom line is that it's not going to be easy.  It will be hard to breath.  You will feel like you are going to die.  Your side is going to hurt.  It's not a walk in park sipping a caramel latte.  Don't give up!!  If it was that easy, everyone would do it!  There are going to be days when you want to quit.  There are going to be set backs.  The thing is that you can't let those set backs get you down.  You can't let a minor little glitch ruin all the hard work you've already put into it.  Keep your eyes on your goal!!  It takes effort but it is worth it and YOU are worth it!!  Now go to Pacers and Racers, buy some new running shoes and get out there and pound some pavement!

I don't want to leave my kids......

I hear this excuse all the time.  I always laugh inside when I hear it too.  I know that the person saying it knows that I workout nearly everyday.  I don't take offense to it but I do laugh.  Are they saying I'm a bad mom?  Well, I definitely have my flaws as a parent but I don't think this is one of them!  I think that this is just an excuse to get out of doing something that is hard and takes perseverance.  

As parents, we all make a ton of sacrifices for our families.  If you really think about, it starts before conception!  Then, you (moms) are pregnant.  Wow, now there's a sacrifice!  Then you nurse the little boogers.  They literally suck the life out of you!  ha!  I could go on and on.  Taking the time to workout is something that you must take the time for!!!  There are countless benefits of exercise.  Turn on the TV.  People are talking about it all the time.  Besides the obvious, there are lots of benefits for your family....

1.  Sanity:  Yeah, I am pretty sure my family wants me to work out on most days.  I am a GROUCH when I don't do it.  I have less patience with them.  I am just not nice.

2.  You can keep up with your kids.  You can go do things without any kind of physical limitation.

3.  You are setting a good example for them.  With video games, computers, and TV, there is so much for kids to do that requires little to NO activity.  My kids will say, "Gosh Mom.  This is good exercise.  It's good for my body."  That is so important to teach them this in this world of unhealthy, obese people.

4.  You are more self-confident.  That itself makes you a better mom and wife. 

5.  As you get older, it's harder and harder to "start" something like this.  That doesn't mean anyone is too old but the earlier the better!  You have to keep that body moving and in working order for your kids and grand kids.

6.  Did I mention sanity?!?!

There really are countless benefits.  You just can't feel bad about it.  You don't feel bad to have a girl's night out (moms) or a golf outing (dads) without your kids so don't feel bad about this either!

Above all, you are worth it and you deserve it as a person and an individual!  

My POV

I feel like Bill Lamb.  Who watches the news?  Do you know what I'm talking about.  And THAT'S MY POINT OF VIEW!!  ha ha!!

Anyway, you guys have had lots of good questions and lots of good things to think about!

1.  Diet Drinks: to do or not to do?  I kind of feel the same way I do about all processed foods.  Not a good idea.  I know, I know.  But they are DIET!  Daniel and I have this conversation all the time.  They are still "processed" and they are still all that artificial sweetener stuff that can't be good!

2.  Cereal: I don't eat a lot of cereal.  I do feed it to my kids though.  I have them trained to check the back to see how much sugar is in it!  I've totally brainwashed them!  I will hear Sam tell Jake, "That has too much sugar.  Mom won't let us get it!"  ha!  If you have a smartphone, there is this great app called "Fooducate".  You can scan the barcode on any food and it will give that food a grade.  I just scanned my Grapenuts and they got an A-.  The only thing negative it said was "Look out!  Not 100% whole grain."  I scanned some Corn Flakes and it was a C+.  I was surprised by that.  It said controversial additive BHT present.  Be cautious when you buy cereal.  They try to make EVERYTHING sound healthy!

3.  Veggies:  How can you make them taste good?  I don't do anything to raw veggies.  Sometimes I add balsamic vinegar to my tomatoes.  Sometimes you just have to acquire a taste for stuff.  It's taken me 33 years to like tomatoes and now I LOVE them!!  (Don't laugh Mom!)  I use different seasonings and such to my streamed/grilled veggies.  The other night I used this greek seasoning on my squash.  I just cut up the squash, put it on a pan, sprinkled this stuff on top, and baked it.  It was soo good.  I ate the whole squash myself!  I didn't share with my family!  ha!  I've kinda burnt them out on squash this summer so I don't think they minded!

4.  Fruit vs. veggies?  You definitely need to eat both as part of a well-balanced diet.  I tend to eat more veggies because they are lower in calories than fruit.  I usually just eat a piece of fruit for snack and/or have some blueberries on my yogurt.  I eat a ton of veggies though.  You can eat tons of those and really fill up without a bazillion calories!

5.  Someone ask what small changes they could make:  I think everyone should start with small changes.  Don't change everything all at once.  You will set yourself up for failure.  Pick one thing to change and go from there.  I eat ice cream sometimes and that's ok.  Keep your goal in mind and don't give up...even when it's hard and you want to quit!!!

6.  Meat:  Meat is not bad.  Yes, it is higher in calories but you need to get protein from someplace.  When I eat a piece of chicken, I may only eat 1/4 or 1/2 of it.  I always look at my plate at mealtime.  It should be covered mostly with veggies.  Meat should only be a small portion.

7.  Eggs:  I usually scramble mine just because it's easy.  I usually have a kid hanging on me while I am doing it!  ;)

Keep the questions coming and the conversation going!  I love talking about this kind of stuff!

Coming up....

So those are the posts copied from my family blog.  They were a "Day in the Life" sort of thing.  Just thought that would be someplace to start.  Two things coming up are:

1.  How to start running

2.  Excuse:  I don't want to take time away from my family to exercise

Two hot topics that I've heard a lot of people talk about lately.

Stay tuned and I hope you enjoy!

Day 7

Since most of the other posts have been about food, let's talk about fitness today, shall we?  I obviously LOVE Jazzercise.  I think it's the best all-around fitness program out there.  I love that you get a total body workout in an hour.  You are guaranteed cardio, an upper body strength routine, a lower body strength routine, an ab routine, an optional routine (I usually do inside thighs) and stretching.  What else do you need especially if you are crunched for time?  I don't like classes where I feel like I have to go into the gym to "complete" my workout.  BUT I totally understand that it's not for everyone.  You may not have classes near you or the time might not work for you.  I picked up running after I started having kids because of the convenience.  Of course, now I love it and I am completely addicted!  I think the bottom line is that you have to find something that works for you.  The Jazzercise tagline is "When you love your workout, results come easy."  I think this is true for any exercise.  The thing is that you may not LOVE something right away.  Take running for example, it takes a while to build up stamina to love it.  A running partner/group really helps!  I would totally recommend finding a workout partner.  Someone for some accountability.  I ran 4 HOT, FAST miles this morning.  I was dying.  It was soo hot.  My running partner definitely helped me today!  We always laugh and say sometimes you are the pusher and sometimes you are the pushee.  I've been the pusher for the last few days.  Today I was definitely the pushee!

I was looking in the seasoning aisle when I ran across an old friend.  I've not had this stuff in forever.  My mom used to buy it all the time.  It's yummy!  I can't wait to use it again.  It has about half the sodium as regular salt and about the same amount as Crazy Jane.

 I am completely addicted to this stuff on tomatoes.  It has 10 calories per tablespoon.  I just cut up some tomatoes and add a little balsamic vinegar and EAT IT UP!

 I found this at the grocery this morning.  We don't usually eat potatoes but I thought I would try these sweet potatoes that you can just steam.  I will let you know if they are good.  They are 110 calories per potato.

 I've just assumed that you guys know to drink water, water, water.  I found this picture and it was a real eye opener!  Holy cow!  Thankfully, I've never liked soft drinks.  I drink water all the time.  Other than water, I like beer, fruity drinks, wine, coffee, and lattes....in no particular order!!  ;)  Bad, bad, bad.  I usually just stick to water.

Here is some food for thought....

Have you ever thought about what time of day you consume most of her calories?  I know for me it's usually for dinner with my family.  However, I try to make it during the day.  I feel soo much better the next morning/day when I have a heavier lunch and a lighter dinner.  It's hard because I make dinner for my family every night but it's a goal of mine each day!

One thing you could try is keep some sugar-free candy in your purse.  I like the cinnamon discs.  I pop those sometimes if I'm hungry but it's not quite meal/snack time yet.

Amber, I bought some egg substitutes this morning at the grocery.  I am going to see if my family can tell the difference.  We eat eggs a lot so I can't wait to try it on them!

I will leave you with a link to a fitness website that I keep up with.  I get some ideas for personal training here.  This chick, Lisa Marie, is AWESOME!  She is so motivating and her workouts are great!!  It's a workout program that you do completely at home.  Check it out!

http://www.bodyrock.tv/

Day 6

After my somewhat very unhealthy weekend, it's time to get back on track today.  I got up and ran 3 miles and ate a bowl of oatmeal.  Just plain oatmeal with a little splenda.  Here is some oatmeal that I buy my kids.  I also by low sugar oatmeal for them to add some variety. 

I can't believe this is the first time I am blogging about my all-time favorite salad.  It is the Southwest Chargrilled Salad from Chick-Fil-A.  We seriously go there about 3 times a week because I crave that thing!  I don't eat any dressing so it is only 240 calories for the whole thing and it is so filling!!  That's what I had for lunch today!  YUM!

This is for you Gretchen.  I was very thin all through middle and high school.  Very, very thin.  Then college hit.  Beer.  Pizza.  Beer.  Taco Bell.  Beer.  Dorm food.  I gained about 30 pounds over the course of 3 years.  I just realized one day that I needed to do something.  I called Jazzercise in Jeffersonville.  I didn't even know what Jazzercise was but they had a class time that fit my schedule so I went.  I fell in love the first time!  That was about 12 years ago, I think.  I've been an instructor for 8 years.  Here are some picture of me when Daniel and I first started dating. That is about the same time that I started exercising.  I've only been running for about 6 years.  Jazzercise is my first love but running is easier to do with kids.  I can do that at the butt crack of dawn before my family is even aware that I am gone.

Look at those cheeks.  Couldn't you just squeeze them?

I don't know who is funnier here.....me or Daniel.

Look at this one of my belly hanging out.  WOW!  I can't believe that is me!

There you go.  Me at my finest!

Amber, You can buy Crazy Jane at Meijer for sure.  I am pretty sure they have it at Kroger too.

I go through phases with eggs.  I've tried the egg substitutes.  I don't know why I don't buy those regularly.  I just don't.  I was eating just the egg white for a while but I thought I needed more protein.  Even though it is higher in calories, most of the protein and nutrients is in the yolk so I eat it all now.

I read an article a while back that I wanted to share with you guys.  It said that your overall healthy was based 80% on what you eat and 20% on how much you exercise.  This pains me......absolutely pains me because I love to exercise so much and it is very easy for me to do it every single day.  However, I try to keep this in mind.  After Daniel lost all that weight and started feeling so good just by changing his diet, well, it made me think that they are onto something.  That just goes to show you that it has to be the whole package!

I am teaching Jazzercise this evening and planning grilled chicken for dinner with asparagus.  YUM-O!  I love marinade!  I stock up when it's on sale.

Day 5

My day started with a 6 mile run.  We started at 6:15 am and it was already smokin' hot!  I didn't really eat breakfast because I was so hot and when I got home my family was ready to head out on the lake.  It was so hot so I really didn't eat much most of the day either.  I ate lots of these carrots.  In fact, we finished the bag.  I love these things.  You can eat so many for almost no calories. I also had a turkey sandwich with mustard and a slice of fresh tomato.  YUM!

I had a few BBQ Baked Lays before we left the lake.  

I had a handful of cherry tomatoes as we were getting ready.  I was getting pretty hungry once I was cooled off.

For dinner, we went to River City Winery.  I was going to be soo good and get a greek salad.  It sounded good to me.  Nice and light.  Well, several people got filet and that sounded so good too so I caved and got a filet.  It came with a salad, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.  I love how restaurants make you think you are eating "healthy" by adding a little broccoli to your plate!!  It was oh so good and I cleaned my plate!  I was very happy with my choice!!  :)  I also drank 2 glasses of wine while we were there.  

We headed to the listen to the Crashers play and I drank some beer.  Yikes!  I am just being honest with you here guys!

If that wasn't bad enough, we also went to Taco Bell and ate fourth meal.  OH MY! Don't worry I took some pictures for you guys.  I had a Nachos Bell Grande......  (That takes me right back to my college days when I was my heaviest!)

....and a Dorito Locos Taco.  

If all that wasn't bad enough, I walked to the Circle K and bought some Ben and Jerry's ice cream!!!!  Thankfully, I didn't eat much of it.  It really wasn't worth the calories.  I am kind of an ice cream snob!  When I eat something so unhealthy, I am all about it being "worth the calories."  Some things are worth it and some things are not.  The important thing is to realize it in time to stop if it's not worth it.

Seriously though, I think you have to keep in mind what your goal is.  Obviously, I ate and drank way too many calories last night.  I did well all day and I know that helped (I don't feel bloated or gross today) but I still had too many.  When I was in serious weight loss mode (after college and after each baby), I could do little to no cheating.  It would take several days to make up for a night out like this.  It can totally sabotage your diet.  Yes, I am always trying to push the limits to get in better shape and lose a couple of pounds but really I am happy to just maintain so a night like this won't completely hurt too much.

Here are a couple of seasonings that I just love.  We call them Crazy Jake at our house.  When we grill veggies, I cut them up, add a little olive oil and Crazy Jane, and throw them on the grill.  We don't use a ton because it does have sodium but it's less than regular salt and adds some nice flavoring.  I sometimes use it on my steam veggies too.  

I also had a question about Daniel.  He just lost 48 pounds so he obviously can eat right and knows what to do to make it happen.  Guys can drop 5-10 pounds so easily.  They can just say the word "diet" and drop some weight.  But he had to really change his eating habits to lose this much.  He didn't exercise.  He just changed the way he was eating/drinking.  I think that's interesting to note.  

He and I do work together a lot.  Sometimes he is strong for me and sometimes I am strong for him.  Usually when one has a weak moment, the other is having a strong moment....thankfully.  I do think it is easier if both are on board.

He is like a roller coaster when it comes to working out.  (Hi, Honey!)  He will get in a groove and work out and then fall off track and not work out for a while.  I know it's hard with his schedule but it drives my crazy.  It's just so important to work out and be healthy not only for you but as a healthy example for your kids too!

Day 4

I am going to go ahead and post now even though today isn't over because I may not get another chance to post again until Sunday. 

There are a couple of good points that you guys have brought up.

First and foremost, Gretchen, I busted out when you said you would rather have a little chub and enjoy yourself!!  ha ha!!  Thanks!

I do like almonds.  I eat them off and on.  I am not on an almond kick right now though.  I love almond slivers on my salads.

As far as restaurants go, sometimes I eat healthy and sometimes not so much.  It really just depends on if I am in the mood for a salad or not.  That's usually about the only choice if you are going to eat low cal when you are out.  I never get dressing on my salads.  Those calories can really add up!  Sometimes I will get a plate of steamed veggies if they offer something like that.

You guys can tell from my menu that I don't starve myself.  Life is all about choices.  I do eat ice cream and junk sometimes.  I love chocolate and dips when we go to parties.  I also like fruity drinks....very high in calories.  BUT I don't eat/drink that stuff all the time.  I ate ice cream.....twice last weekend so I've made healthy choices all week this week.  That's what I teach my kids.  When we came home from camping last week, they ask for fruit snacks.  I said, "No.  Our body needs some healthy choices now because we've been camping and eating unhealthy."  If they eat a donut then I make them eat a fruit or something if they are still hungry rather than going back over and over for 5 donuts just because they taste good.  I am just as satisfied when I eat a fruit for a snack as when I eat some crackers and I feel so much better when I do.  I feel sooooo good when I eat healthy.  I have so much more energy and I just feel "light".  Heavily processed food wears me down and I don't like the way I feel.  I can really tell the next morning if I've eaten unhealthy.  I don't like to be hungry.  I eat.  I just try to eat things that are going to make me feel good for the long haul not just for that second that it's in my mouth.  I will be the first to admit that it's hard.  I struggle with it sometimes.

On to my day so far...

I ran 3 miles this morning.  I came home and ate 2 eggs and 2 turkey sausage links.

For lunch, I had a turkey sandwich with mustard and non-fat yogurt with fresh blueberries. 

I'm going to go to Puerto Vallarta for dinner tonight.  I will skip the chips but I'm not sure what I will get to eat.  We shall see.

Good luck this weekend!  :)

Day 3

I didn't take any pictures today.  Sorry.  I had my niece and nephew all morning.  All the kids were great but 5!  Shew!  ha!

I ran 4 miles this morning and ate 2 eggs for breakfast.  You've obviously learned that I like eggs.  Lots of good protein because I don't eat a ton of meat. 

I had a salad for lunch....topped with lots of veggies, fat-free croutons, and almonds slivers.  I eat turkey sandwiches a lot during the school year with just a little mustard and veggies but I'm kind of burnt out on those right now.  It's an easy thing to take for lunch when I work.  I also had some grapes.

Amber, I usually buy the bag of salad because they are easy.  Sometimes I buy a head of lettuce but that's not typical.  And, yes, I love spinach.  You've also probably learned that I am all about convenience!  

I grabbed a few grapes before I went to teach my 2 classes tonight because I was hungry.

I taught a regular Jazzercise class and a personal training class. 

When I got home, Daniel had grilled out chicken breast marinaded in some sesame ginger marinade.  I probably had 1/4 of a breast and a whole bag of steamed peas....I was hungry!  :)

Just a note:  I like to eat apples and oranges a lot for snacks too but I am kind of burnt out on those so I've not been eating them as much lately.  Those are usually an after school snack during the school year since they are easy to throw in my bag.

Here's my 2 cents on shopping......I think that half of the battle is having will-power when you are at the grocery store.  First of all, don't go when you are hungry!!  It really does make all the difference.  If I don't buy it then it's not at my house for me to grab if I have a weak moment.  I get hungry around 3 or 4 every day.  It's not quite dinner time but it's been a couple of hours since lunch.  I will easily grab an unhealthy snack if it's there.  If I only keep healthy food around...that's the only choice.  I can see it taking a bit to transition to this.  You (or your family) would have to eat up the unhealthy, processes stuff so you can replace it.  Right now we have a couple of boxes of crackers.  UGH!  I am ready for them to be gone.  I so want to snack on them when I get hungry in the afternoon.  It's just easy to grab them but I don't!  ;)

What kinds of things does everyone else do?  I see that there are a lot of people reading these.  Tell me your comments.  Don't be shy!  ;)  I'd love some new ideas!

Day 2

I started my day today with a run....nearly 8 miles.  Then, I headed to the grocery.

I am not sure if all grocery stores do this but Meijer does.  They discount their fruit and veggies when they get close to their expiration date.  I always snatch those up.  First, it is ready to eat.  Second, it is finally the price it should be in the first place.  Third, it never spoils in my house.  We eat it right away.  Fourth, it a great way to add variety.  Just some food for thought.

 Something I do that helps me a lot is when I come home from the grocery I wash and cut up my veggies right away.  Then we can grab them for a quick salad or an easy snack if we are in a hurry.  It makes us less likely to grab an unhealthy snack.  I don't do this with fruit though.  I've read that your fruit doesn't last as long if you wash it ahead of time.  I've noticed this with grapes so I just wash my grapes one bunch at a time as we eat them.

When I came home from my run, I had 2 Bob Evans sausage links on a piece of Sara Lee Delightful bread.  I love that bread.  It's so thin and light.  Sometimes we will get the Healthy Life High Fiber bread that is only 35 calories a slice.  I added some Gulden's spicy mustard to it.  I love mustard and use it a lot.  There are little to no calories in it and it is a great way to jazz up any sandwich.  I also ate some of that fruit from the picture above!  

For lunch, I had a salad with lots of fresh veggies, croutons, and almonds slivers.  I also had my all-time favorite snack....non-fat vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries.  I LOVE THAT STUFF!!!!  It's like a dessert.

I'm going to write a little about my kids.  Yes, they eat junk.  They will eat fruit snacks and ice cream.  They eat pop-tarts and root beer......only at camp though!  BUT I try to teach them about eating healthy.  They are all about exercise.  They will be doing something and randomly say, "Hey, this is good exercise.  It's so good for my body."  (Yes, I've brainwashed them!  ha!)  We try to make them eat healthy and teach them to make healthy choices on a day to day basis when we are at home.  They eat a fruit and vegetable at every meal.  If they haven't had enough fruits and/or veggies by the time snack rolls around, I make them pick a fruit or a veggie.  Yes, sometimes they complain.  One day last week Sam said, "Fine.  Then, I won't have a snack today."  That was fine with me because then he ate 2 helpings of veggies and 2 helpings of fruit at dinner and I still got my way!  Sometimes I say, "Eat a fruit or veggie and then you can have something else." They usually get full and forget about the 'something else' so it works too.  Most of the time, they make very healthy choices and don't complain about what I give them.  This is a picture of their lunch plates.  Nora had the peas.  I don't give her fresh broccoli and cauliflower yet....only steamed.

Here is where the cheating comes in.....

We went to a 4th of July cookout.  I had....

a chicken leg, cheesy potatoes, chicken and noodles, 7-layer salad, and a deviled egg....oops!  :)  I had a small serving of each item but it was yummy!  I topped it off with a small slice of peach pie.  Don't worry though....it wasn't a la mode!  :)  I also got a cupcake brownie but I only took a bite or 2 of it.  It wasn't worth the calories so I stopped.

On a different note....I love food journals.  People come up to me all the time and want to know about losing weight and I always suggest a food journal.  You have to chart everything you put in your mouth and count calories.  I could workout all. day. long!  I love it but eating is the hardest part for me.  I want to grab a handful of this or that while I am making dinner and it really adds up.  I also have to be careful not to grab little bits of food off of my kids' plates.  That can really add up too.  It's all a balance and you have to find what works for you.

Day 1

I've had a request to do some fitness/healthy living posts.  (Hi, Amber!)  I don't really feel like anything I do is unique or special but I will just tell you what I do and be as honest as possible.  You will probably learn a thing or two about me!  I'll even tell you when I cheat!  ;)  So, if you don't care, just skip these posts.  This is just my opinion and what I do.  I am not saying that it is perfect or the way it has to be.  

Here you go!  Day 1.  

(This is pretty typical since I didn't know I was going to do this when I started the day.)

I got up and ran about 3 1/2 miles this morning.  For breakfast, I had a Bob Evans turkey sausage link (LOVE!) and part of an egg.  I also drank a cup of coffee with some of my fav York Peppermint Patty creamer.  I don't use any sugar and the creamer is 35 calories for a tablespoon.  The sausage if 30 calories per link and an egg is about 70 calories.

I had a salad for lunch.  We are running low on fresh vegetables so it was just lettuce, carrots, green peppers, and a few croutons.  I did use a little shredded cheese because I am trying to clean out my fridge and there was a tiny bit left in the bag.  I really wanted to throw it away the package.  However, I usually don't eat cheese on my salads.  I used a tiny bit of lite ranch and a tiny but of tangy bacon catalina for my dressing.  Sometimes, I don't use any dressing.  My family teases me and says that I eat 'dry salad!'  I just feel like I am eating raw vegetables.

I grabbed a hand full of veggie straws mid afternoon.  

I jazzercised this afternoon and came home to make dinner.  I made meatloaf.  It's a family favorite!  When I make my plate, I try to make sure it's filled with mostly vegetables.  We don't eat a lot of casseroles.  Casseroles have a lot of hidden calories.  Each night, I make a lean meat and 2 vegetables.  Tonight I made 3 vegetables because I really don't count corn as a vegetables.  We typically eat a lot of fresh veggies but tonight the peas and broccoli were both steamed because I need to go to the grocery.  I love those steamable bags.  I buy a ton of those when I find them on sale....except the green beans....yuck!  

If I want to lose weight, I try to stay around 1200 calories a day.  I do pretty well through the week.  The weekends are the hardest.  I've learned that it can take up to 3 days to recover from an unhealthy day.  YIKES!  I just believe in counting my calories and burning more that you take in.  I've never bought into any diet or anything like that.  I also weigh myself almost every day.  I know this is a major no-no for a lot of people but I feel like if I go up a pound or 2 I want to know right away.  

Looking back at today, I clearly didn't eat enough any fruit.  I guess it's because we are out of a lot of things.  I usually eat a piece of fruit in the afternoon.  I feed my kids fruit at each meal but I usually eat it as snacks.  (This is why I love food journals.  It really makes you look back and think about your day.)

I will go ahead and note too that I don't buy a lot of low-fat and fat-free things.  I believe in moderation.  A lot of those things are still packed full of unhealthy ingredients.  We try to stay away from anything processed.  I mostly believe in fresh fruits and vegetables.  However, I do use spray butter.  I don't know what it's made out of but I love that stuff!

My First Post

Well, I am taking the plunge!  I have people contact me several times a week wanting ideas, advice, and motivation to start working out and living healthy so I am starting a fitness/healthy living blog.  I am very passionate about this topic.  I hope you will find some helpful hints and tips here that will help you out!

These first several posts are copied from my family blog.  I wrote them after a request from a good friend that wanted help with her healthy living journey.  I plan to post here at least twice a week.  Come back and visit.  Follow me.  Let me know you are reading.  If you have questions, please feel free to ask.  I will answer them promptly.  I love fitness and hope you can find your passion for it too!