Going Down, Down, Down

Finally I have some positive stuff to say... A while ago I blogged about the fat girl that ate the skinny me. Well the skinny me has been struggling to kick that fat girls booty for a long time and I'm happy to report she is making progress, HOORAY! Recently my friend Becca shared a meal plan with me that she has been having amazing success with. When I received my copy in the mail I was surprised how simple it was. The motto, "Eat clean, eat often, hydrate, recover, mindset" Simple right?! This little meal plan didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know, thats right folks there was no earth shattering awakening. The plan breaks meals down into something I am sure we have all heard a million times... You need to eat several small meals a day, breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. For each category it tells you how many grains, proteins/dairy, fruits, veggies, and fats to eat. Then there is a list of good foods for each food group and the serving size. Once again, simple! I started using this about 3 weeks ago and if I am being honest I haven't followed it 100%, but I have used it as a guide. For some silly reason this little plan has seriously helped me balance my meals and watch my portion control. Even when I don't pick foods listed I am always thinking about which food groups I need at which times and trying to fit that into my meal choices. So far I am down 7 pounds and I feel great! I only have 2 pounds to go until I am at my first weight goal, and no I am not telling what that might be. After so many years of dieting and failing, I am finally succeeding and I can see and feel the results. I am feeling much more confident and happy. Thanks Becca for sharing this simple little life changer! My goal for this week is to make time for my work out so I can really kick that fat girls booty...

Just one of my breakfasts I enjoy...

1 vanilla greek yogurt

1.25 cups whole strawberries which I slice and add to the yogurt

1 slice of whole wheat toast buttered with approximately 1 tbs. reduced fat butter

16oz. glass of water

YUM!

Run Run As Fast As You Can

Once upon a time there was a girl who ran all the time. She ran when she was excited. She ran when she was sad. She ran when she was angry until she couldn't run anymore. She ran for time to think, time, to process things. She ran to compete. She ran to reward herself and she ran to punish herself. she wasn't a fast runner, but she could run far and she almost always came in first. She loved to hear her feet pounding the pavement, her heart pounding relentlessly as it she willed herself to run farther, faster. She loved the burn in her legs and the fire in her chest. She loved the steady puff of air exhaling as the oxygen helped fuel her fire to run just a little bit farther. She just loved to run! For some reason that girl stopped running and over time she forgot how good it felt to push herself to run. She forgot how weightless physically and emotionally it made her feel to just let go and run. She forgot how much she loved the limitless simplicity of running. She became overweight, and lost the confidence she once had that gave her the strength to run. She forgot how to run. I hope she finds her lost love of running and once again runs, runs as fast as she can!

Valentine tutorial plus Monday weigh in...

I know on Mondays I usually write some little blog completely dedicated to my attempt at losing weight and becoming healthier... Usually "whoa is me" and all that blah blah, but today is Valentines so I am going to post a tutorial (my very first) for a fun way to dress up your Valentine treats. On this wonderful day we for some reason we feel the need to shower the ones we love with chocolate and flowers, proclaiming our undying love for them... While I think we really should do this more then once a year, I am a sucker for any excuses to do something special for the ones I love! So anyone can buy chocolates, but doesn't it mean more when you add a personal touch? I think so! It's so easy and cheap to personalize your chocolates with a cute homemade wrapper. what you'll need...

Cute paper

Scissors

Measuring tape

Double sided tape

and

chocolates of course

What you'll need to do is measure all the way around your chocolate of choice and measure how long it is from end to end across the top as well. You want to leave a little room for the ends of the candy bar to show so if your doing a small chocolate (like the ones I did) leave about 1/4 of an inch (1/8 inch for each end). For a longer chocolate bar leave about 1/4 inch on each end showing. So if your Chocolate is 3 inches long then you would want to cut your paper 2 and 3/4 inches wide. Now if you use a full or king size chocolate bar, lets say 6 inches long the you would want you paper to be 5-1/2 inches wide. I used Hersey Chocolate Nuggets so my strips are cut 3-1/4 inches long by 1 inch wide.

Cut all of your strips. Apply a small piece of double sided tape to each end of your paper.

Stick one end onto the bottom of your chocolate and then wrap the paper around the chocolate.

You should have just enough to over lap where you started on the bottom.

Stick down and wallah ...

You have cute little chocolate to give to the ones you love... Make it even more personal by writing little messages on the chocolates or stamping their initials on them... Lots of fun, super cheap, very easy, and best of all personal!

Now a little tidbit about my Monday weigh in... I am down one pound from last week. Not much, but slow and steady wins the race I think... Going to have a yummy dinner of roast, asparagus, and salad and I am sure some chocolates since it's Valentines day. I feel good!

Oh Monday Weigh In AGAIN!

Going to keep it short and sweet this week... Unfortunately I didn't lose a pound this week. On a positive not I also didn't gain a pound so I have neither won nor lost. I was expecting the worst when I pulled the scale out this morning. Several nights of eating out since I was out of town most of the week and then we had my parents here for the weekend. I thought for sure that those dreaded two pounds I blogged about last week were going to be back and possibly with a friend or two... To my surprise the scale is holding steady. So, this week no eating out and hopefully the scale will showing a decrease next week. For a little something to share this week... Last Thursday my amazing friend Amy came and taught a cooking class for my Girl Scout troop. Among other things she taught them how to make some smoothies and so I have been hooked... My favorite was the Avocado-Pear Smoothie... I know YUCK, avocado and pear how could that be good?! Well trust me friends, it's super YUMMY! So put your brave face on and give it a try...

1/2 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted

1/4 cup plain yogurt ( I would go for greek since it's high in protein, but to each their own)

1/2 cup pear juice

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup ice...

Put all ingredients into the blender and blend it up until it's smooth and creamy. Put the glass to your lips and enjoy some yummy goodness!

I'm interested to see what people think about this one so, if you try it leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

A Little Man Named Lincoln

It's crazy to think that just six months ago I was rockin' this baby belly, waiting to add another member to our family. John and I felt we already were blessed with more love then we could ever ask for, so when we found out we were going to have another baby we were overwhelmed with excitement.

On August 4th, 2010 we welcomed Lincoln Johnathan Scott Meier into our family. He weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces and we 20.5 inches long. It was love at first site for all of us.

After three months time we were still totally taken by this little man. Watching him grow and change on a daily basis is so much fun.

Now this little man named Lincoln is six months old and still holding the key to everyones heart. These big blue eyes always have a sparkle in them that makes everyone smile. He is hitting all of his milestones and weighs a whopping 14 pounds 15 ounces (small for his age they say). He is worth every sleepless night and tired moment we have had. A little man named Lincoln completes this Meier family!

Monday Weigh In and Tasty Breakfast

Oh Monday how I love to hate you, even more now that I weigh in first thing in the morning. The way I figure it is, Monday is already one of "those" days so why not weigh on Monday?! If the scale tells me that I have made no progress or that the cheese cake I ate added another dimple to my thighs I'll already be grumpy cause it's Monday so it won't ruin my day. On the other hand if the scale tells me that those afternoon walks I have been taking have got me shedding a pound or two then it makes my Monday a little more bearable.

My plan for this past week was to eat a little better and make it to the gym at least three times. I shouldn't have planned for that cause "plans" never work out. So I did make healthier choices... Smaller portions and less junk. I didn't bake this week so that always makes a difference. However John brought home cheese cake that we snacked on all weekend... Oh so delicious, but ughhh for my waist line. Of course I only made it to the gym once, but I had a great work out and it gave me the motivation that I needed. The sun was out so we played outside a lot and went for a walk several days.

The week wasn't a total loss, but it didn't go how I had envisioned it so I was beating myself up a little last night when I remembered "Monday weigh in". This morning I got up and totally forgot to weigh so I came out and ate my breakfast. As I was taking the last bite I cursed at myself, how could I forget to weigh before I ate?! Oh well it's Monday after all so belly full of oatmeal and blueberries I went in and weighed.... To my pleasant surprise I lost two pounds last week.

Now my scale and I seem to be having a constant battle over these two pounds, I lose it, I gain it, I maintain it... So this is a small victory and I am determined to continue winning and not let that scale give me those two pounds back.

Ok so here is a little yummy breakfast that I love as I am sure a lot of people do...

Fruit Loaded Oatmeal

3/4 cup quaker quick cooking oats

1/2 cup fruit

1-3/4 cups water

2 TBS. brown sugar

1/4 cup slivered almonds (optional)

2 TBS. milk (optional)

In a microwave safe bowl add oats, fruit, water, brown sugar and almonds. Stir... Place in microwave and heat for 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 minutes. Add milk (I like the creaminess the milk adds) stir and enjoy.

This gives you a breakfast packed full of fiber (and protein if you add the nuts) that will keep you full all morning. Right now I have been using blueberries, but I also love to use... raisins, sliced strawberries, peaches, and bananas.

Tears in the Check out Line

These little cakes had my eyes watering in the check out line the other day. Now I know your thinking Little Debbie snacks are good, but thats a little over the top to be nearly crying over them, right?! Well I was almost brought to tears not because they are so good (because they aren't), but because they remind me of my great grandma.

Imagine John and I standing in the check out line talking, having a great day. I look up and see these cakes on an end base and immediately there is a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. These little cakes have brought my gram to the front of my thoughts and made my heart ache just a little as I miss her more then words can express.

My grandma lived across the street from us when I was a teenager. We would go to grams everyday for nothing more then a hug and a treat. Gram always had boxes of these Little Debbie snack cakes and fun size candy bars that were readily available for us. I don't really like the cakes that much, but if you put them in the freezer they aren't to bad. Between my siblings and I, I think I probably spent the most time with gram. I checked on her everyday and loved sitting with her while she watched cheesy afternoon talk shows and napped in her chair. She would tell me stories. They weren't anything spectacular, just life stories and I loved them. I would pull out all of grams pictures and she would tell me who everyone was and stories about them. Gram's was where I always ran when I was upset with mom and dad. She never had earth shattering advice, but she always listened and often tried to reprimand my dad. That never really worked though because my dad was her "little Scotty". I don't think Gram loved anyone the way she loved her "little Scotty". Even at 80 years old she would try to get my dad to sit on her lap. When I had Hayley my dad was in for some serious competition. Gram loved Hayley so much. She really enjoyed just watching Hayley play. Hayley loved to boss gram (their roles were kind of reversed) and gram would laugh and let Hayley tell her what to do. Even when gram moved into assisted living (I happened to work there so I spent lots of time with her) she still watched Hayley. I worked grave yard and John worked days so he would bring Hayley at 6am and Hayley would go up to grams room and play legos, boss gram, and watch cartoons. Gram looked forward to Hayley coming every morning. Gram always made us laugh with her crazy antics and the "swirl fry" and she drove us nuts from time to time with her stubborn nature. The bottom line is that my gram was simply my gram, she loved us and we loved her. Broke my heart the day she passed away and a little part of me went with her. She was my friend and I miss having her to sit with and talk to. I really miss the way she would laugh at us like we were crazy when we would try to tell her what she needed to do.

Gram always told us that she would "be sitting on the stairs to heaven waiting for all of us". Just a couple weeks ago Hayley asked me if I thought grandma was still waiting... Really pulled at my heart strings and all I could say was "I really hope so".

I realize this post is a mess, but so are my thoughts when I think about my grandma... I just have so many memories that it's hard to stay focused, so bear with me and my random babbling.