My Food Plan

This is for my niece, Whitney (and myself because I need a swift kick in the booty), and anyone else who might be interested.

I’ve mentioned before that about a year ago I realized how unhealthy I was.  Mind you, I wasn’t overweight (though heavier than I wanted to be) and most people would have probably looked at me and thought I was perfectly healthy.  Anthony was tipping the scale at his heaviest weight and wanted a change.  We relied heavily on processed crap to feed our family.  All of which was chock full of sugars, sodium, preservatives, MSG, and a whole bunch of other crap that I couldn’t pronounce.  

Together we decided to take on an eating plan that was completely foreign to us… CLEAN EATING! 

No processed foods (or as minimally processed as possible), no refined sugar (except maybe for a cheat meal once a week), no white flour… basically, if God gave it to us, we could eat it.  If it was made in a lab, it’s a no go.  Also, if my third or fourth grader can’t read it, I probably shouldn’t be eating it.

It was hard!  But eating that way along with later doing P90X helped us to really get in shape, lose the excess weight, and we both felt AMAZING!!  Anthony had a hard time in the beginning for about two weeks while his body was detoxing.  He had a lot of headaches during that time while he got used to being off of sugar.

We started the eating plan about a week before starting the P90X and during that week we both lost weight!  But neither of us ever felt hungry.  In fact, I felt like I was eating more than ever.  The difference was that I was eating the right things.  Since then, I’ve been majorly naughty and haven’t been eating (or exercising) the way that I should.  The processed foods (which are unfortunately so darn convenient ;)), the sugar, the sodium… they’ve all found their way back into my diet and I need to kick it to the curb.  Again!  The process has started.  We’ve already started P90X again but guess what, I haven’t lost a single ounce!  Why?  DIET!  I’m telling you, it is KEY!  Time to make some major changes…

I am going to list the changes we made to our diets that really helped.  Hopefully someone (myself) will find them helpful.

• Replace your beverages!  The only thing you should be drinking is water!  Make sure to drink half your body weight in ounces each day.  (i.e. if you weigh 150 lbs you should be drinking 75 oz. of water) Drink first thing in the morning and all throughout the day and WITH your meals.  You’ll be in the bathroom a lot.  It’s a good thing, I promise.  Drinking water helps you lose the excess water weight that your body might be holding onto.  Weird!  Water releases water.
• Eat Breakfast, and make it a good one!  Sounds so simple, right?  You’ve always heard that it’s the most important meal of the day… BELIEVE IT!  What you feed your body first thing in the morning is what your brain has to feed on, too.  Anthony was never a breakfast eater until last year.  Now, he swears that it is one of the major reasons he has been able to lose the weight and keep it off.  Our bodies are in fasting mode all night while we sleep.  When we break that fast, it reminds our bodies that doesn’t need to go into starvation mode.  It knows that it will be fed and so it will let go of whatever it is you feed it that it doesn’t need.  When we skip breakfast, we’re telling our bodies to hold on to everything we give it when we finally do eat because it doesn’t know when it will be fed again. 
• Replace your snacks!  Don’t reach for that bag of chips or that Twinkie sitting in the cupboard.  In fact, throw those out!  They are too tempting.  Instead, reach for a fruit or a vegetable.  Try and pair it with some kind of protein but remember, a snack is a snack.  Don’t eat a full meal here.  Ideally you would eat more vegetables than fruits but either one is better than those Ding Dongs…
• Eat the right amount!  I honestly don’t believe in calorie counting but I do believe in portion sizes.  Make sure you are eating only a cup of oatmeal instead of a cup and half.  Measure your food, yes I’m serious!  My kids laugh at me because I literally measure my cereal if I decide to have it for a cheat meal or something.  I was surprised to learn that I was eating more than twice the recommended serving size before.  And cottage cheese… I can’t even eat a whole serving in one sitting.  Paired with something else and half a serving is just fine for me.  After a while, you’ll know what a cup or 3/4 of a cup looks like in your bowl and you won’t have to measure anymore. 
• Eat five or six meals per day!  Do you think I’m crazy?  You really do need to eat this many meals in a day.  Otherwise, your body goes into that starvation mode I talked about before.  Trust me on this.  Every meal should include a carb (fruits and veggies count!) and a protein… oh, and water.  Eat until you’re satisfied, not full.  If you are full, you’ve eaten too much!  Your body will naturally be hungry again 2 or 3 hours after eating a meal.  That’s your body talking to you… listen to it!  It knows what it needs and when.  Here’s what a day’s meal plan might look like:

• Breakfast (shortly after waking up)
• Snack
• Lunch
• Snack
• Dinner
• Snack (only if hungry and not too soon before bed)

• Eat LOTS and LOTS of fruits and vegetables!  A great way to make sure you’re getting enough fruits and veggies is to make green smoothies.  They’re very filling and obviously chock full of tons of good stuff!  Plus, they just taste good.  I like to use them as my lunch.  To make one, there is no real ‘recipe’.  Just throw a little bit of milk in the blender along with a little bit of yogurt (optional).  Throw in a handful or two of spinach (or other leafy green, but please don’t use iceberg lettuce… there’s no nutritional value to it at all!), a banana, and some frozen fruit (blueberries, strawberries, mangos, etc) and blend it all up!  I promise you won’t even know the greens are there except for the fact that the smoothie itself is green.  You can even throw in some protein powder (whey), flax seed, or chia seeds to up the fiber content.  Make as much or as little as you need.  I always make BIG batches because my kids LOVE green smoothies!  Also, eat whole grains (pasta, bread, cereal, etc)… none of this white flour crap! 
• Implement a cheat meal or the 80/20 rule!  Everyone needs to feel like they can treat themselves to something delicious tasting but not so good for you, right?  Well, give yourself permission to eat one cheat meal per week.  It can be whatever you want from wherever you want and you should just enjoy it!  Just remember that once that meal is done, it’s done.  No more cheats for another week!  Either that or use the 80/20 rule.  This is the one that works best for me.  I try and eat ‘clean’ 80% of the time and 20% of the time can be whatever but with this rule I find that you have to still watch the portion sizes.  You don’t get an all-out ‘cheat’ like with the cheat meal.
• Replace your sugars!  Refined white sugar and brown sugar are terrible, folks!  In a perfect world we would eliminate sugars altogether but who are we kidding?  We’re all a bunch of sweet tooths and that’s just not going to happen.  Instead, you need to replace the sugar you might put in your oats or whatever else with natural sugars.  Honey, real maple syrup (so much better than the fake stuff!), and agave nectar (buy raw) are our favorites.  Please, please, please don’t use manmade sugars.  No matter what they claim, they are NOT better for you than sugar, the end.
• Know the good oils from the bad ones!  I’m not going to list an extensive list of oils here.  I’ll just tell you briefly what I know.  Vegetable oil is nasty!  Shortening is AWFUL!  Canola oil is questionable so we don’t use it.  Olive oil is AWESOME but not for cooking.  Use it for salad dressings and stuff like that where you don’t have to cook it.  It turns into a trans fat when heated too high… at least that’s the argument.  I tend to err on the side of caution on this one.  For cooking we like grapeseed oil and coconut oil.  And actually, heart healthy oils like the ones I’ve listed should be eaten daily.  One serving per day.  There are many other great oils out there.  These are the ones we use.

I hope this list helps someone.  If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.  I’m no expert, that’s for sure, but I’ve done a lot of research and I feel that I know quite a bit.  It’s worked for us and we felt better than we ever have before using this plan.  In an upcoming post, I’ll show what a menu might look like for me.  

And, in true Brooke fashion, in the coming days (as in tomorrow) I plan to post a whole bunch of sugary, delicious treat recipes!  Hypocrite?  Nah, just utilizing my 20% to it’s full potential.  That’s all :)

Oh wait!  One more thing, don’t forget to enter to win MyMemories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software! 

And so it begins… again

So, my cousin was in town for a whole whopping day.  She lives in Nebraska but was in town for her doctor husband (surgeon) to interview the hospital here for the job that they already hired him for.  HE is interviewing them… is that strange to anyone else?  Maybe if my husband were a doctor I’d understand.  I mean, I guess I understand.  He wants to make sure it’s a hospital he’d be happy working for.  Makes sense.

Anyway, I got to see her Monday night and holy cow!  She looks awesome!  Not that she didn’t look awesome before.  That came out wrong…

She has always looked awesome but apparently she’s been working out and stuff and has lost some poundage and inches in the process.  I’ve never been a big person and my ‘chubby’ is not what most people would call chubby but when you’re used to being one size and you’re not anymore, it’s sad.  It’s chubby for me and I have to say that when I saw Kymber (that’s my cousin… she really does have a name) I kind of felt like a cow! 

It got even worse when she had me lie on the floor. 

I don’t know.  Something about teaching me to sing from my diaphragm. 

Something about a bowl.

It’s sitting upside down at the base of my ribs.

Moving your chest or shoulders while breathing is a no no.

I don’t know… something like that.

What I do know is that she had me feeling my stomach and she was feeling it too.  Suddenly, it was so easy to remember that my tummy no longer caves in when I lie down.  Oh no… it kind of pokes up a wee bit. 

**GASP**

Darn those pregnancies (not really, I love my kids!) and getting older!!  Grrr!

Once upon a time (about a year ago) I did an entire round of P90X.  I started out not much different than I am right now. During the 90 days that I tortured myself with Tony Horton’s insane workouts, I lost 12 pounds.  I wasn’t quite back to my high school weight but I wasn’t far off.  And then I stopped almost completely.  To date I have put back all but a couple of pounds.

CRAP!! 

And so Monday night I tortured myself… then again Tuesday night and I even plan on doing it again tonight.  For a whole 90 days!  UGH!  I already know that it works but can I just tell you how sick I am of Tony Horton’s voice?  And just those workouts in general.  On and off for an entire year… totally works but I’m so bored with it!  Wish I could afford Insanity.  Maybe someday.

Whatever. 

Ya do what you have to do, right?  I’ll keep you updated.  

 

 

Motivation

This post has nothing at all to do with Christmas. 

Well, maybe that’s not entirely true because I was actually at a Christmas party… which gave me the idea (you’ll find out in a minute)… which may not have the happiest of results but definitely happier than I had expected… still, I’ve got a some serious work to do.

So, other than the party this post has nothing to do with Christmas.

There I was, at my Relief Society Christmas dinner Tuesday night.  My mom went with me because ever since she’s been back from California, we are pretty much joined at the hip.  It’s been a lot of fun. 

We had just finished the dinner portion (lasagna) and the program was starting.  A fashion show!  Mostly dresses because our theme came from the book The Hundred Dresses and we, as a Relief Society tried to collect 100 dresses for charity.  I’m not sure how many we actually ended up with but I think we collected more.  Go us! 

Anyway, there were a couple of girls in the fashion show who modeled their wedding dresses.  One of them has three little girls and the other has a little boy.  They both looked absolutely stunning in their dresses!  They FIT!  Gorgeous!

It got me thinking… (scary, I know!)

I thought, hmm, I wonder if I could fit into my wedding dress.  I think I could have after my first round of P90X (I finished in June) but I’ve since gained almost all a smidgen of the weight back.  And did you know that five pounds of muscle takes up way less space than five pounds of fat?  Yes, I’m sure you knew that.  Even I know that but for heaven’s sake, does it really need to be that way?  So, even if I weighed the same amount now but replaced all the fat with muscle, I would be a different dress size.  How rude! 

Can’t I just take a magic pill to turn it all into muscle? 

So sorry, I’m getting way off track here. 

Back at the ranch… I got home Tuesday night and pulled out my wedding dress.  I haven’t tried it on for over 11 years!!  (Holy cow is it dirty!  I think I forgot to have it cleaned after the wedding… whoops!)  Anthony couldn’t figure out what the heck I was doing but I asked him to come over and help me zip it up.  THIS was it!  The moment of truth…. 

Would it zip?  I was sure it would stop in the middle of my back. 

Surprisingly, it zipped… all.the.way!!  No problems! 

Ok, so maybe there was a bit of tugging and prodding and maybe I had to suck in a bit.  I may have even had a lot of a little trouble breathing once it was on but the point is, it zipped! 

Anthony thought it hilarious that I couldn’t breathe.  I practically had to beg him to unzip the dress for me.  The punk rocker, sheesh! 

And thus begins my new round of P90X.  I’m gonna get back into that wedding dress!  Maybe I’ll be asked to model it in a fashion show one day.  Good thing I wasn’t asked this time around, eh?  I’ll let you know how it fits after 90 days ;)

Anyone else wanna get back into their wedding dress with me?  We can do it!!

 

It’s Food Day! Let’s celebrate!

Some of you may know that around March of this year, my family and I changed our way of eating pretty drastically.  Anthony and I decided (or came to the conclusion?) that we were no longer spring chickens.  Our metabolisms had slowed down, we weren’t nearly as active as we were in our youth, our eating habits were poor, at best, and we just plain didn’t feel good!  Plus, we had both packed on a few pounds. 

Anthony was tipping the scale at around 206 pounds and I… well, I just don’t really want to tell you what I weighed. 

Alright!  I guess it wouldn’t be fair for me to reveal Anthony’s heaviest weight and not divulge mine as well. 

My heaviest weight was about 132 (except when I’m pregnant, of course). 

I know what some of you must be thinking – 132 pounds isn’t exactly heavy.  I realize that but 132 isn’t where I personally am comfortable, it’s not my ‘normal’.  (By the way, Anthony’s ‘normal’ is around 180.)  

We decided at that point that our habits had to change.  We needed to eat better and start exercising regularly. 

Enter the world of Clean Eating and P90X! 

I started researching food and which foods were the best, how often we should be eating and what all those foreign ingredients are that are listed on some of my very favorite foods.  Guess what I found out… nothing new.  Nothing that should have surprised me, but it did.  How in the world had I gone all these years without realizing that a HUGE portion of what I was putting into my body was not only not good for me and my family but that it could possibly be slowly killing us?  I felt like I had been poisoning my kids! 

In truth, I believe that I kind of was poisoning them.  Not intentionally but what I learned made me sad, angry and ready to change.  I didn’t want to feed my kids, GMO’s and processed junk anymore. 

We started eating clean!  If you’re wondering what that is, it basically means eating only real, whole foods.  No processed foods, no refined sugars, no white flour, lots and lots of fruits and vegetables, lots and lots of water.  Basically, if God made it, you should eat it.  If man made it, stay away!  Do you know how hard that is?  We live in a world where eating is all about convenience.  Everything is made these days with convenience in mind.  Lunch and dinner to go, all prepackaged with all kinds of preservatives and who knows what else. 

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I’ve posted lots of treats and goodies… with white flour, sugar and sometimes even processed foods.  You may be thinking, um hello Brooke, do you really eat clean at all?

The answer is yes.  We try to follow the 80/20 rule (80% whole, clean foods and 20% whatever else we feel like).  However, I do have a confession to make.  Oh how I hate confessions…  We finished our first round of P90X in June.  At that point, the exercising slowed down quite a bit because with the sun rising earlier and setting later, the kids were up and at ‘em earlier and went to bed much later.  They weren’t having the whole 'go-to-bed-while-the-sun’s-still-shinin’ thing.  We had a hard time fitting the exercise in.  We got it in a time or two here and there but not enough.  Definitely not enough.  But our eating habits were GREAT throughout the whole summer.  How could they not be with all the fresh produce?  Anthony was still able to run a few times a week also so he was able to stay on top of things. 

And then came September… and then October…  I don’t know what it is about cooler weather but it just makes me want to eat more.  My will to exercise was all but gone because I was no longer in the habit.  It was hard for me.  I struggled.  My 80/20 started to become more of a 70/30 and then a 60/40.  Yikes!  And yes, my weight has started to creep back up.  I got down to 119 (just 5-9 pounds off of my ‘normal’) and sadly, I’m now back up to about 124.  It’s a sad story!  On a happier note, Anthony has maintained his running and even snuck in a few P90X dvd’s and is now a mere 167 pounds.  He’s smaller than I’ve ever known him to be! 

But I’m ready to start fresh… again!  No more of this nonsense with yuckiness (spellcheck says yuckiness is not a word… I disagree ;))

I was so happy to learn that today is Food Day!  I didn’t even know there was such a thing but apparently, there is.  The goal is to get people eating real foods.  To get away from the processed junk out there. 

I did a Clean Eating Challenge on my old blog several months ago and I think it was a great way to learn about clean eating, how to implement it and stay on track.  I need the Clean Eating Challenge for ME!  Would anyone like to join me?  If so, I’ll post all 8 steps here on THIS blog one week at a time.  It’s a process rather than an all-out BAM!  Know what I mean, Vern?  Please let me know if you are interested. 

HAPPY FOOD DAY!!

P.S.  I will still post recipes… clean and not-so-clean.  After all, I still get to cheat 20% of the time, right?

 

No Charge For Awesomeness!

{Sorry Kristin.  Totally stole your title but seriously, what else do you call it?}

Way back in high school, Anthony LOVED to run.  At least that’s what he always claimed.  He said it made him feel free and helped clear his mind.  Did I believe him?  Sure, why not? 

But if I’m being honest, which I am, I had never known him to be a runner.   

A few years ago, we started a mental bucket list and on his list was to run a marathon.  Me, being the skeptic that I am, thought… Ok, Anthony.  You go right ahead and put that on your list.  Oh, and good luck with that!

I know, such a supportive wife I am.  But to his face I was much more, what’s the word… encouraging.  Oh, ok.  When are you planning to do that? 

Well, maybe not much more encouraging.  You get the idea.  It was a good thought and that was all I thought it might amount to.  Like I said, I’ve never known him to be a runner. 

But then last year, he started doing some early morning runs with a neighbor of ours.  These runs eventually turned into a half marathon.  The Canyon to Canyon Run, which Anthony missed the sign up deadline for so he ran without a bib, a number, or an official time.  But he still had fun. 

His running depleted to almost nothing after that and there it stayed for a while.

Then, in February, he announced to me that he was going to run the Salt Lake Marathon.  He would begin training that very next morning.  And guess what happened that next morning… NOTHING!  He slept in and declared the next morning as ‘the one’. 

Again, nothing. 

This went on for a couple of weeks.  Meanwhile, the SL Marathon was drawing nearer and nearer. 

In March, we started P90X and for some reason, that seemed to light a fire under his roonie.  He was out the door training for that marathon in no time!  AND doing P90X with me {because seriously, if you’ve ever done P90X, you know it is nearly impossible to do on your own… I NEED HIM!}

And so, in April, he ran his first marathon with his oldest sister {she runs it every year… She’s pretty much SuperWoman!}.  One less thing on the bucket list!  His goal was under 4 hours.  He missed by only a couple of minutes.



As soon as that race was over, plans were made to go up to Boise where he and his sister would run The Great Potato Marathon.  That time, he made his goal, just barely under 4 hours and he won his division!  Go Anthony!



But most recently, he was recruited by a guy in our ward to run a relay race with him, some family members and other friends.  12 man team.  They would only be running from Logan, Utah to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

Ummmm, HELLO!!  Yes, he is nuts!  Along with every other member of their team, No Charge for Awesomeness! 

Oh and I have to tell you that everyone in his car {there were two cars total} kept calling him Superman.  Really?  I’m pretty sure his ego didn’t need to be fed any more than it already is.  He was pretty fast and ran the second hardest set of legs of the race.

I love you Anthony! 

But seriously, he’s been on a kick after losing over 30 pounds and being able to ALMOST keep up with Tony Horton on P90X in the pull-up department.  He’s just proud of himself.  He really ought to be.  He’s worked hard to get to where he’s at. 

Anyway, back to the relay… here are some pics of the event.

And yes, Kristen, I have noticed that the longer I wait to post something, the less detailed I am.  Gotta do better about that!

{The sleeping arrangements… looks ‘fun’ to me.}

{Apparently the driver was pretty hot… looking? or from running?  I know not.}

{Yoohoo!  Anthony, the camera’s over here.}

 

His future running plans include the Logan Marathon next month and eventually, he’d like to be part of the 50 club.  {A marathon in every state.}

Anthony is now convinced that he’s going to get me to run a marathon {or a relay} someday.  Psh!  He’s got another thing comin’!  You see, I believe running is of the devil.  I don’t run… besides, when I do I look like a fairy.  My mom has always made fun of the way I run.  No one wants to see a big prissy girl running by.  Actually, maybe they would.  It would give them a good laugh. 

JUST SAY NO TO RUNNING!

 

Things I’ve Discovered This Summer… Part 1

This summer has truly been a season of discovery for me.  Here is a brief list of some of the things I’ve discovered{in no particular order… except the order I put them in ;)} and summer isn’t even over yet!

***Pinterest – Seriously, the coolest thing ever!  Can you believe I had never even heard of it until about a couple months ago?  It’s true!  Once I heard about it, I knew I needed to be part of it.  I asked around on facebook to see if anyone had an invite to send me but nobody knew what I was talking about.  So, I requested an invite via the site itself.  But after researching, I found out that people who had requested an invite months ago were still waiting. 

Who wants to wait?  Certainly not me so I researched more and came across one of the founders email addresses.  Sneaky, right?  I emailed him and was pinning away by that evening!  It’s like Bookmarks or Favorites on STEROIDS!! 

The whole invite thing is kind of silly to me but hey, who am I?  I don’t make the rules, I just email the founder and demand an immediate invite!  :)

If you aren’t pinning yet, I highly recommend you do so.  I’ll even send you the invite if you don’t have one yet.  As far as I can tell, they regenerate once I’ve used up all six so it shouldn’t be a problem.  But if it’s a problem… I ‘know’ a guy… He he!

I still don’t completely understand the whole thing.  I’m pretty technologically challenged.  Just today I received an email from Pinterest informing me that someone had ‘posted a comment on {my} wall’ {and then it showed me what was said}……… Thank you Cyndie!!

I have a wall?  I knew I had a wall on facebook but a wall on Pinterest?  I had no idea!  When I went on a quest for said ‘wall’, I found nothing!  I can’t find where this comment is written.  But a big thanks to Cyndie for helping me to realize I have a wall at all.  If only I could find it.  It’s a wall for crying out loud!  I should run into it, no?

 

***I really can put myself out there. --- I’ve been blogging for about three years now {this blog is new so don’t go searching for older archives}.  It started as a family blog.  One where I wrote about daily happenings.  Every little boring detail of every little thing.  It started out public but I shortly made it private.  But it got old fast.  I had no one commenting anymore and wasn’t even sure that people were reading it.  The journal aspect of it was there but looking back at it, even I get bored reading it!  There really wasn’t much feeling, just facts. 

Then I switched to a new blog, made it public and it was fun but I didn’t put many pictures and really didn’t have much of a readership.  Then I started evaluating and and dissecting what I loved about the blogs I followed regularly.  That’s what I wanted!  Something that people come back to.  A blog with feeling and emotion along with fun!  I wanted to make new friends in the bloggy world and bring my old ones with me.  I wanted to share what I love and what I know.   

Enter, THIS blog!  It’s still my journal.  It’s a place to document my true feelings and have a ton of fun!  It has truly become a passion for me.

I know there will come a time when someone will disagree with something I say and make it known.  That's what always held me back before.  I was so scared of criticism and backlash.  Being generic and untrue to myself at times was safe.  I could hide behind it.  I’ve realized that I don’t need to hide.  It’s much more fun to be me!

 

 

***P90X is nearly impossible in the summer! --- It’s true!  The kids are up earlier and go to bed later.  And we’re just too dang busy!  Anthony and I finished our first round just as summer started… we’ll resume this fall. 

 

 

***I really don’t like decisions! --- My mom has been furiously working on a header and button to beautify my blog.  I haven’t the slightest clue how to do either and I can’t afford to pay someone to do it for me.  So, she had lots of fun with lots of different ideas and we kind of settled on one but now I’m just not so sure.  You may have noticed that I now have a button on my sidebar but is that truly the one I should use?  HELP!! 

I’d really appreciate your advice.  Which one of the hundreds {exaggeration} of buttons do you like?  She can make a header to match. 



Number 4 is the one on the sidebar.  Obviously, it’s kind of the one we based the first 5 on.  My cousin thinks number 7 is too baby shower-ish.  Do you agree?  I really like the last one but you can’t read the slogan anyway.  Does that matter?

I can’t stand it!!  It’s giving me anxiety. 

 

And now it’s late so this will have to be Part 1 of a two part post.  I have much more that I’ve learned over the summer.  Stay tuned!  In the meantime, which button do you like… be honest!  And let me know if you need a Pinterest invite!

And now for Part 2!  I'm just adding it here so as to spare you yet another post {because trust me, I've got a whole lot comin'!}

***My Spider Veins Are a Part of Me --- I wish I could say I went through all five pregnancies without so much as a stretch mark, spider vein, or saggy lady parts (sorry, but it's true).  Sadly, I can't say that.  I've got all three!  Have I scared you off yet?  Can we still be friends? 

I've learned to accept the saggy parts of me and the stretched out parts of me.  Those can be hidden.  And the spider veins can, too... if I wear pants!  It's been years since I've been in a pool.  Yes, years!  My spider veins are hideous and I can't stand them!  But they've held me back long enough.  I will no longer let them keep me out of the pool.  {Something I just decided this summer}  If people don't like them, they don't have to look.  Swimming is much more fun when you're actually IN the pool. 

There, I said it!  I feel much better... and maybe a little embarrassed, but mostly just better.

***Facebook pages and Twitter --- I learned how to make a facebook page for my blog although I'm still learning what to do with it.  And Twitter... well, that's another story.  I'm there, but I don't have a clue what I'm doing... at all.  I'm a terrible Tweeter {Twitter-er}  I'm just a Twit.  And I've got a whopping 3 followers!  Three!  Am I the BOMB, or what?   

I don't OHM...

Do you ohm?  You know what I'm talking about, right?  The meditation ohm.  Sounds like oooooohhhhhhhhmmmmmm... through as long of a breath as you can stand. 

Those ohms! 

Yeah, I don't ohm. 

I'm supposed to ohm.  Anthony and I are on our second round of P90X.  One of the workouts is the YogaX... X is right!  I've never done yoga other than YogaX but I would have to say that it's pretty Xtreme!  You'd agree too, trust me. 

At the very end of the YogaX workout, Tony Horton does 'ohms' in order to "massage the central nervous system".  Now, this is serious, folks!  I mean, massaging the central nervous system is essential, right? 

Oh, you don't massage your central nervous system?  That's ok, neither do I because I can't keep a straight face to save my life through all the massaging! 

I laugh through the whole thing every.single.time!  If you could hear Tony Horton and Anthony 'ohm' in unison, you would laugh too.  My laughing was pretty hysterical the very first time we ever Yoga-ed (pretend it's a word), but I've gotten better.  These days I'm able to keep it to a quiet chuckle as I listen to "oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm".  It's hilarious!  And I usually interrupt Anthony's 'massage' and restful chi.  

I can't help it! 

I mean, c'mon... it's hysterical to see him sitting indian style on the floor, eyes closed, and hands placed gently on top of the inside of the knee in a cupped shape... ohm-ing (that's a word too :)). 

You'd laugh too. 

But I can't get myself to do it.  Therefore, my central nervous system is in major need of a massage.

Ever done Yoga?

I had never done yoga until we started P90Xing.  So, now that I'm a pro (aren't I funny?), allow me to demonstrate the perfect Downward Dog. 













Or maybe I should let B demonstrate.  He's got it down! 

**ignore the fact that I hadn't swept yet... under the couch is scary.  Don't look!**

Clean Eating Challenge? Maybe?

Ok, so I have been extremely naughty these past two weeks.  So naughty, in fact, that we are adding a week to our P90X routine that is turning it into P97X for us. 

In the past two weeks, we've only done less than a week's worth of workouts and our diet has been terrible! 

The week of the Marathon was awful because with company in town and family gatherings, it's hard to have control over what is served.  This week started out alright and then BAM!  Easter happened.  Darn those evil Cadbury Mini Eggs!  (And other evil concoctions).  I feel awful!  Physically I mean.  I've been bloated and sluggish, not exactly the way I am accustomed to feeling these days.  And poor Anthony, he literally got sick!  He wanted to hurl all day yesterday, literally, after all the yuckies we've consumed. 

So, here's the plan!  I really really really really really need to get back to eating well.  My body is screaming for some real food again.  I've been thinking that maybe others need or want some motivation as well.  I thought about talking to Anthony and devising a plan....

Would anyone be interested in a Clean Eating Challenge?  We'll call it... The Clean Eating Challenge.  Clever, I know!  **takes a bow**

I will put it up on my blog in steps and at the end, I'm willing to bet that all participants (if I have any...) will be feeling better, looking better, and possibly may have lost a few pounds.  It works!  I promise.

So, is anyone interested or would I be wasting my time?  Maybe I'll do it anyway, or maybe not.  Depends...

Also, I will be posting Easter pics later tonight for those interested (Mom and Dad, Kortney).  And I've got a few stories to back them up, too! 

Inspiration

I have a friend that just recently started a clean eating blog.  She's got some really great recipes that I can't wait to try (especially since many of them are dessert recipes ;)) 

There have been a few people inquiring about what Anthony and I are doing so I just wanted to give you, in case you're interested, a few tips that seemed to work well for us.  But Brynne answers a lot of questions you may have about clean eating.  

• Stop drinking your calories!  We drink water only with the exception of one protein shake every day.   That was a toughie for us both.  Anthony was addicted to Coca-cola and I looooove milk.  This is Anthony's greatest achievement (says Anthony)... to stop drinking soda. 
• Use real butter instead of margarine.  It tastes better anyway, just don't get carried away.  A little bit is good. 
• Don't count your calories!  Sounds funny, I know.  Not what you're used to hearing but when you are eating the right things, you don't need to.  That's what I love about this 'diet'.
• Cut the sugar!  This is where I'm definitely still a work in progress.  If the sugar police were around, I'd be fined for sure... if not jailed.  I cheat much more often that 'allowed' in the clean eating plan but I still consume a lot less sugar than I did just 5 or 6 months ago.  A LOT LESS! 
• Eat 5 or 6 smaller meals per day.  Try to pair a protein with a carb and eat until satisfied, not overly full.  If you're drinking your water like you should be, you should naturally be hungry again about 2-3 hours later.  Don't go much longer than this or your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to whatever you give it. 
• Lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.  Basic, I know but sometimes we get caught up in the ideas of other diets that sound good but really aren't the way to go.  Take for instance my frustration with the P90X diet.  Nothing happened and I felt AWFUL!  Went back to clean eating the last week of the first phase and dropped two pounds.  It works!  And to prove it even further, since then I've already dropped another 3 pounds.  But I'm always full.  My metabolism is on FIRE and I love it!  And I'm not counting calories. 
• Exercise!  What I've learned is that if you do only cardio (which is essential by the way) you will truly become a smaller version of your current self.  I've always heard that but didn't quite understand it until now.  We started eating clean, lost some weight, added cardio, lost a few more pounds, but we both looked exactly the same, just smaller.  In order to actually change the way your body looks, you have to add resistance or weight training.  P90X is kicking our butts into shape... literally!  The first week or so is really hard (on any exercise program) but after that, you just know it's a necessary evil.  I still don't like exercising but I just keep pushing play.  If I want the change, I have to put in the work. 
• Listen to your body!  It knows what you need and when you need it.  

We never realized how poor our diet was before.  I thought I felt good.  But after eating clean for a while, we can both tell when something is processed or has a lot of sugar.  Processed foods just sit heavy and doesn't digest as quickly as real food and the sugary stuff makes me feel jittery, not to mention guilty! 

Like I've said before, I am definitely not an expert.  Lots to learn still and much progress to be had but if you have any questions, please let me know.  It's not easy at first but it does get easier. 

  

So I have this really smart friend...

Alright, I have a friend that commented on my results post and told me how to hide the area of concern in a pic. Why must I have such smart friends?  I was perfectly content with only showing my back side but... Thanks a lot, Montie!!  Just kidding, I appreciate it.  It's good to show my results, right?  

Why is it so hard for me to show the tummy area?  Probably because I have a bit of the 'mommy tummy' going on.  Not for long, I hope but I don't think it's too terrible for having 5 kids stretch it out... **agree with me, even if you don't ;)**

I've decided that Anthony and I need to work on taking pics at the same angle.  We were standing taking pics in the first ones, after 30 days we decided to sit and take pics.  I like the standing angle MUCH better.  

You may wonder why my face is blocked on the 'after' pic.  Well, that's because I'm a nerd.  Call me vain but I look like a total gimp in that one and I don't want to show my face.  I hadn't done anything at all with myself that day and the pic looks like I have buck teeth and I haven't slept in years.  

Anyway, here's the before and after FRONT view. 

Do you see it?  I HAVE ABS!  There's still a layer of frosting on them but one day.... it'll be gone!  Can't wait for the 60 day pics.

P90X -- 30 Day Results

We were supposed to take pics and measurements after the first phase which technically ended on Day 28.  We forgot so we took them on Day 30.  Anthony's results are pretty dramatic, at least in my opinion.  Mine aren't quite as dramatic but after taking pictures I can see a difference for sure.  I think it's harder to pinpoint the differences looking in the mirror every day.  So, all that whining I did before, just toss it all aside.  

What you'll see in each set of pictures is first the before, then the after.  I'm not very computer savvy so I don't know how to make a side by side shot.  And also, the only pics you get of yours truly is the back view.  Why?  Well, that would be because the only sports bra I own is white, and being that it's white, it's a bit transparent.  You get the picture.  And again, I'm not computer savvy enough to figure out how to do a cool little bar across the chest so, the back is what you get.  If/when I figure it out, I'll show you.  Most people do the pics in a bikini but guess what, I don't do bikinis.  Therefore, no bikini shots.  ;)

Front view ~~ Before

After 30 days...

Side view ~~ Before

After 30 days

Back ~~ Before

After 30 days

Back and arm muscles ~~ before

After 30 days

Biceps ~~ before

After 30 days

Back ~~ before

After 30 days

Back and arms ~~ Before

After 30 days

Measurements: (before/after) Anthony

waist: 41 / 37

chest:  42 / 39.75

right arm:   14.5 / 13.75

left arm:  14.5 / 13.75

hips:  41.5 / 39.5

right thigh:  25.25 / 24.75

left thigh:  25.25 / 24.5

right calf:  15 1/8 / 15

left calf:  15.25 / 15

neck:  17.25 / 16 1/8

weight:  191 / 180

Measurements:  (before / after) Brooke

waist (measured at narrowest point):  28.5 / 27.5

chest:  34.5 / 33.25 (not exactly where I needed to shrink ;))

right arm:  10.25 / 10.25

left arm:  10.25 / 10.25

hips:  37.25 / 36.5

right thigh:  21 / 21.5 (yikes!)

left thigh:  21.25 / 21

right calf:  13.25 / 13

left calf:  13.25 / 13

weight:  127.5 / 125.5

Update:  You can see front view pics of me here!

I once took an aerobics class and the instructor kept reminding us that the fat you want gone will in fact go away if you keep at it.  She saw that many girls were frustrated at not seeing their stomachs shrinking.  She said that the fat will come off of everywhere else FIRST! before ever coming off your tummy.  "Even your earlobes will shrink before your tummy does!" 

So, while my body is still far from what I'd like to see in the mirror, I know it will happen in time.  I just have to keep pushing myself.  Tony Horton knows what he is doing!  And the results are pretty impressive for only 30 days.  And trust me, if I can do this, ANYONE can.  I am the biggest wimp... EVER!  Ask anyone...

Once upon a time

There was a time, about a month ago, that I thought it would be a grand idea for Anthony and I to take the P90X challenge. 

So, we are.

Things went well for the first three weeks.  They were a painful three weeks but it felt good.  And finally it was week four, what Tony Horton calls 'Recovery Week'. 

I can't tell you how happy I was to make it to this week.  After three grueling weeks of hard core push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, and a myriad of other painful moves, I was soooo ready for my 'recovery'. 

Recovery week, my butt!

I don't know who this Tony Horton guy thinks he is but I am positive he wouldn't be on Santa's 'nice' list.  Not only is he making us do Yoga ... TWICE (the hardest workout up to this point) but he's also added Core Syngergistics... TWICE (never done it until this week).  Ummm, hi!  Newsflash, Tony.  Core work does not equal nice and relaxing as implied by the deceiving name of week four. 

Let me just say, if you hear the words "banana" or "boat" (not to be confused with "banana boat" ;)) used in the context of exercise, RUN!  Run far away!  Unless I'm talking about the food (which I love), I am not a fan of the word "banana".  

Yes, I'm whining.  So sorry.  

But not really because I'm about to do it again.  

Not only are these workouts hard enough to get through with a workout partner (such as a spouse) but I've had to endure two, yes TWO, of them all. by. myself!  Anthony is just so darn lazy!

I mean, seriously, just because you're training for a marathon, running up to 20 miles sometimes, nursing an injured calf, and getting a chest cold... that is NOT a good enough excuse to take the night off from P90X.  *totally kidding, by the way*

Those two workouts just about killed me off.  Anthony sat on the sidelines and cheered me on.  I needed a cheerleader, I tell ya.  It would have been so easy, and it was very tempting, to shut the DVD off half way through.  But he wouldn't let me, darn those cheerleaders.

And here's where my frustrations lie at the moment.  Here's Anthony, losing TONS of weight, changing his shape and getting awesome results.  And I'm so happy for him.  He's loving the changes. 

And then there's me.  We're only days away from taking our Phase 1 pics and I swear to you, I don't look any different than I did on day one.  My weight hasn't changed, my measurements haven't changed, and I'm eating so much better than I used to.  What's up with that? 

We first set out to change our eating habits and discovered 'clean eating'.  THAT has been wonderful!  Sure, we cheat... a lot more than we should but we feel a lot better and our energy levels are up.  We even started losing weight, without exercising. 

Then, when we started P90X, I started the P90X diet.  Tried it for the first two weeks and felt awful!  Maybe it works for some people but I was only supposed to eat ONE carb per day.  Are you kidding me?

I LOVE CARBS!  Good carbs, that is. 

But not only do I love them, I was so low on my energy levels.  I was falling asleep all. day. long.  And the scale didn't budge. 

So then, week three came and I kind of went back to my old ways.  I ate mostly clean but kind of ate what I wanted as well.  Smaller portions but still...

Besides, that was the week of the birthday party for Anthony, B, and C (details on that later, lots of pics) and I had made THE best cupcakes EVER!  Malt Shop Cupcakes.  They were to die for, I swear, they really were that good.  Maybe it was the fact that I felt deprived of such luxuries with the eating clean thing but they got rave reviews from everyone that tried them.  Mmmm!  I could go for one about now.  I think I ate a total of four that week.  Willpower, no?  The scale... didn't budge.

Anyway, so that was a BAD week.  This week, week four, I have gone back to strictly clean eating.  My energy is back and I feel good again.  I started to lose weight, just a couple pounds, and then Anthony's birthday came and his parents took us to dinner Thursday night.  The blasted prime rib and the rolls with the cinnamon butter... GRRR!  And of course we had to have cake when we got home.  He requested a chocolate one.  It was pretty heavenly as well.  Sour Cream Chocolate.  Yum!  We threw the remainder away so we wouldn't eat it.  Isn't that sad?  Every pound is back. 

Frustrated?  Yes.  Giving up?  NO!  I can't.  I'll finish my 90 days.

I know I'm building muscle, I can feel it, it's all still just hiding under a layer of frosting.  Someday, that frosting will go.  I know it.  And I feel stronger.  Anthony says he can see a difference.  We'll see when we take the pics. 

This may not sound like I'm eating any better than I used to but if you know me at all, you know that I have a major sweet tooth.  Resisting candy and desserts is just about impossible for me.  So truly, this has been a major change for me. 

**I have lots to post about birthdays, etc. but for now I am using Anthony's phone to update until we get the internet again.  His phone doesn't handle the pictures well.**

Letting the cat out of the bag...

Alright, I just can't stand to keep it a secret any longer.  Not that it's really a huge deal, especially to all of you, but I can pretend.  I'm good at that. 

So, I told you we bought something that I was scared to do and then I told you I had a final excuse for not posting much lately.  Something besides the fact that we have had next to no sleep at all for over a week since the kids have been sick. 

OH!  And about that... remember me saying that we've only had a total of two ear infections as of this most recent illness?  Well, either I jinxed myself or the universe is playing a cruel joke.  Last night the kids were finally sleeping somewhat decently (by 'kids' I mean C and B--they've had rough nights recently) until who should wander into our room at 5:00 am (after only getting to bed at 3:00 **sigh**)?  K waltzes in with little H in tow rubbing her ear and furrowing her brow.  K let me know that H's ear is hurting.  GREAT!  So I gave her some Motrin and put some Maleleuca (doTERRA) oil on a cotton ball, plugged that into her ear and sent her off to bed again.  She seemed alright after that.   

Luckily, B already had his one year doctor appointment scheduled for today at noon so I just snuck H into the appointment as well.  Good news is B is doing much better, bad news is H has an ear infection.  The doctor informed me that they do go away on their own if we just want to wait it out since it is a mild infection.  He gave us a prescription anyway but I really am trying to wait it out.  We'll see if it works.  So far, Motrin and Maleleuca seem to be doing the trick. 

But then, just tonight, A informed me that inside her ear hurts.  Whatever this bug is that's floatin' around... it better leave soon.  It's no longer welcome.  What did we do to welcome it in the first place?  Party crasher!  More Motrin, more oil, off to bed. 

Anyway, that's all just filler info for you so I can stall my big announcement.  Does it sound huge yet?  Don't be getting your hopes up too high.  It's really nothing, are you ready? 

We just started working out... I know, big surprise.  I've already told you that.  Anthony's been running, Brooke's been Turbo Jamming, blah blah blah, yada yada yada... who cares! 

But this time it's more intense.  We bought P90X!!  Since I'm too cheap to pay full price, I got it on ksl.com. 

I must tell you, it is definitely extreme!  Have any of you ever done it?  We're on day 11 today... Yoga X. 

Can I make a confession?  And before I do, I must apologize to anyone that really loves yoga and is really great at it because honestly, I had never done yoga before P90X.  I always thought it was "exercise" for wimps.  Balance on one foot, whoop-a-dee-doo! 

I WAS SOOOOOO WRONG!  There, I said it!  I was due for my once-every-five-years 'wrong' anyway ;) 

Yoga really is extreme and you have to be extremely strong.  It takes coordination, flexibility, and core strength.  I think I'm pretty coordinated but far from being flexible and my core?  Not. strong. at. all!

These are a few things I've learned about in the past 10 days (I'd say 11 but we haven't worked out today yet.  We do it late at night once the house is quiet.)

• My core is absolutely the weakest muscle group on my body--I know I already mentioned this but it's so true it's worth mentioning twice.
• I hate the word lunge.
• I hate the word squat even more than lunge. 
• I still hate exercising but am hoping the happiness with the results will outweigh the hate of exercising. 
• I am weaker and at the same time stronger than I thought.
• My body fat percentage is WAY higher than I would have thought. 
• I really CAN eat healthy and clean without cheating.... too often.
• I despise ab work! 
• I might, just maybe, be able to do a pull-up (just one) at the end of 90 days.  Maybe. 
• Protein bars are absolutely disgusting! 
• Anthony is much stronger than I knew.  (He's doing this while still training for the marathon... he's NUTS!)

Speaking of Anthony, he is surprised that I've made it 10 days in and haven't given up.  Does this mean he thinks I'm a quitter?  I've only got 80 days to go, I can't give up!  ONLY 80 days.  Only. 80. Days!  only 80 days... ONLY 80 DAYS! 

See what I'm doing there?  I'm trying to convince myself that 80 days is a short amount of time.  80 MORE DAYS!  I just might die, people!  Actually, if any of this is going to kill me, I'm 99% sure it will be the Ab Ripper X workout.  So, if you see my obituary and see 'cause of death' I can almost guarantee it will say "Ab Ripper X" next to it.  Let's hope that doesn't happen. 

It might take Anthony first.  For some reason, whenever Anthony does that one, he always feels like he's going to throw up.  I admit, it does make me queasy too if I'm really working it hard but last night, he literally did throw up.  He couldn't finish it.  Good thing it was the last work out of the night. 

Last week, the Yoga X kicked our butts and we had a hard time getting through it.  Hopefully we have more success tonight.  Wish us luck!  There's a bit of yoga throughout all the workouts and we can both already tell a difference in our flexibility.  Yay! 

We took 'before' pics but I will not be posting them until day 28 when we are supposed to take pics again.  Even then, I'm a bit nervous to post a pic of me.  We'll see. 

Anyway, I know it's really not a big deal to you.  We just wanted to do something to really get us into shape and figured this was a great way to go.  So far it has delivered the butt-kicking they promise.