Food Glorious Food

Its Spring Break at my house which means a lot of video games, Netflix, cleaning and making of videos to be posted on Youtube.  I also found time to get caught up on Drop Dead Diva and some reading!  My focus today though is to talk about food.  I have tried many diets or tricks to lose weight from eating half a grapefruit before every meal to eating cheese and salami all day long.  The diet change always resulted in about 10 lbs of weight loss in 2 weeks then nothing.  Finally from reading many books and attending a week at a Biggest Loser Resort I think I have figured a few things out.  I didn't have it all wrong before...I just didn't have it all right.

As soon as you say the word diet people cringe and with good reason, most of them don't work.  I have read a lot by Michael Pollan, especially his book 'In Defense of Food', and I was trying to apply what I had learned to my 'diet'.  He says many insightful things about food, like that if our great grandparents don't recognize it then we shouldn't eat it.  All of the processed food that has been introduced over the past 50 years is causing us to be fat and sick.  He also said to eat mostly plants and not too much.  Not only does the average American eat a lot of processed food we eat too much meat.  A serving size is 4-6 ounces but most Americans consume twice that amount 2-3 times a day.  These extra calories turn to fat and make our kidneys work harder than they have to.  So the first thing I figured out was that we have been deceived into thinking more is more and a better deal, but it really is less is more and will be a better deal in the long run.

Once I wrapped my head around what a healthy and normal serving size was, I tackled when I ate.  I am a classic overachieving busy mom and sometimes I would skip breakfast or I would not eat all day until dinner or, my favorite, drink coffee all day long.  Its called break-fast for a reason...you are breaking the fast you were on while sleeping for 7-8 hours and your body needs food to restart your metabolism.  I also learned that while a banana has lots of good things like potassium and vitamin C it will raise your blood sugar if eaten alone, so I needed to add protein to my morning meal.  Eggs, oatmeal or peanut butter are all good sources of protein.  Its also important to have good carbs in the morning and at lunch, like whole grain breads or pasta.  I have Dave's Killer spelt bread toast with all natural peanut butter, a banana and a cup of coffee every morning.  I am satisfied and ready for my day after that.  So remember to eat a good breakfast:)

Maybe you are wondering what kind of progress I have made and I am not afraid to share the details because hiding the facts is what got us into this mess in the first place, right?  I weighed 272.3 lbs on December 15th, 2013.  This was officially the most I have ever weighed in my life.  I seemed to gain about 20-30 permanent pounds with each pregnancy and a nice 20 was added after my knee surgery in 2000.  I tried several diets and trainers and once I even lost 60 lbs just to get pregnant again.  I have always played soccer, gone jogging and even paid for a personal trainer at the gym, but nothing seemed to be the right combination until now.  I have lost 28.5 lbs since that day in December and I lose 1-2 lbs each week.  I was a size 20 and now I can squeeze into a few 16's.  My journey is far from over and I'm sure there will be roadblocks and potholes to get around and over as I continue on.

I have a lot more to tell you about food, exercise and small changes I have made to my life that I know will keep me going in the right direction.  Stay tuned and you can hear all about it and together we can help other busy moms reach their goals!  Moms move mountains and sometimes they are covered in bad dieting advice:)

Prioritizing My Priorities

Well, I'm finally making progress on that baby weight I gained after 4 kids and a 17 year marriage and knee surgery.  Why did it take so long?  It's not because I haven't tried to lose the weight, because I have tried just about everything that didn't sound insane (like the grapefruit diet), but I would always hit a wall after 10 or 15 pounds lost.  Was I frustrated and trying to convince myself I didn't need to lose weight?  Of course I was and did!  People can be happy if they are a size XXXL or a size 24, but I was not happy and that's what gets me to my point....I hadn't been successful before because I didn't make myself a priority.

Every mom knows that there are not enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do or that could be done, but we usually put the kids, spouses/significant others and chores above our own needs.  This leads to sleep deprived, stressed, under-appreciated and in my case out of shape moms.  I have known all along that a good night's sleep will help me be healthy, but I would stay up late working or cleaning just to get up the next morning exhausted and unfulfilled.  I made the decision to make sleep a priority and at 11 pm or sooner I would head upstairs to bed.  Once I made a few other changes to my priority list I was even able to be in bed by 10 or 10:30 some nights and I now regularly wake up naturally before my alarm.

How did I do it you ask?  Its an ongoing process but the first steps involved not caring as much about dishes in the sink and taking the time to explain to the family that they need to do more.  As a parent you need to transition from providing them with everything they need as babies and toddlers to teaching them what to do as kids and adolescents.  Maybe the dishwasher wasn't loaded exactly how I would have done it, but the goal was for me not to do it, right?

Now 7-8 hours of sleep alone will not solve my problem so the next thing I had to work on was what I ate and when.  To find out what I did and how well its working you'll just have to wait and read my next blog posts because its time for me to do some boxing on the Wii!

Moms Move Mountains and Sometimes Those Mountains Are Ourselves

October: Football, Halloween and Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

Can you believe its October already?  I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that its the 10th month of 2013.  Around here its football 5 days a week and I am constantly being shown pictures and given suggestions for creating 'THE BEST' Halloween costume EVER.  It gets harder and harder to out due myself each year.  Of course I love a challenge.

I remember the days where I spent weeks planning and finding things around the house or at the local Goodwill shop to make my costume.  The fact that my kids want me to make their costumes is probably my own fault...I'm awesome at making them! Of course I do get a little tired of doing everything around here. Of course if I am going to give up something it would be doing dishes or cleaning toilets.

Halloween is a chance to be creative, collaborate with my kids on a project and make those store bought costumes look like...well...crap.  So I will be working on making one son look like an assassin from 16th century Italy and another like some other video game character that I know carries a bat.  Before you think or say that these are not appropriate costumes, I would like to mention how many grim reapers and Freddy Kruegers I see every Halloween.

As for myself I am still deciding.  I was thinking about Ursula the sea witch from The Little Mermaid or a generic bar wench (both accent my assets and hide my flabby thighs).  My psycho-political option for a costume is to hang a closed sign around my neck and when people ask what I am I can say the 'Federal Government'...hahaha....yes I laugh at my own jokes.

Well, I hope you are having a good time deciding on Halloween costumes and if it is a holiday you do not partake in I hope that you are enjoying the crisp Fall air.  I now need to fashion a spauldron from a belt I got at Goodwill and make a cape from a red sheet, and a shirt with billowy sleeves and a gauntlet...wow I have a lot of work to do.  Moms move mountains one stitch at a time.

Any which way but sleep!

Its the end of Summer and part of me is relieved that the kids will be back in school, but that also means I have to get up earlier and make sure clothes are clean and lunches are packed.  I should probably start going to bed sooner, but then something won't get done.  I could choose not to do the dishes one night or maybe not grade papers, but then the next day there will be twice as much.  Some weeks I'm motivated to get it all done and find ways to be more efficient.  Its like completing another level of Jewel Mania with three stars when your last several attempts were only one or two stars.  As a parent I have one star days and I have three star days.  I definitely feel better when I do better, but my other responsibilities as a teacher and granddaughter, etc. make it hard to always have three star days.

I debate the choices I make as a parent daily:  should I let the boys crash on the couch or should I be making them sleep in their beds?  When school starts they know its back to their beds, but sleeping on the couch seems to represent Summer freedom.  We are growing some of our own food and raising chickens but its hard not to let the kids have Pop-Tarts and Slurpees.  My kids are actually great about eating fruits and vegetables and eat 99% of what I put in front of them.  I'm no Tiger mom and my kids will not play Carnegie Hall, but then many other children won't either.  It would be wrong to say that since your kids are average that means you are a bad parent.

Its late and I should try and get a little sleep before the day's activities get in full swing.  Let's shoot for a great day of average parenting!

Its been a few months since my last entry, but not for lack of something to write about.  Helping kids grow up can be as easy as getting out of their way and as hard as, well, as moving a mountain.  Lately I have been struggling with having to supervise or remind my teen and pre-teen to brush their teeth and go to bed at a decent hour.  If I act like a strict authoritarian mom I can supervise and threaten loss of privileges if they do not comply but that technique rarely leaves them in a good mood and leaves me longing for a better way.  I have tried the laissez-faire approach as well, letting them stay up as long as they like but waking them at the normal time in the morning, hoping their groggy state will be enough impetus to go to bed earlier next time.  It hardly ever works out like I hoped.  Most nights they get to bed at a decent hour and wake-up as expected. I myself stay up later than I should or want to, but as an adult I do what all normal adults do in this situation...go to Starbucks.  Only time will tell if my boys will figure out what is best for them and do it on their own accord, because I'm tired and do not have the energy to make them do it...at least not for the rest of the summer;)

Life's A Journey

It's been a busy Summer and not all of it sun and fun.  I moved a household of 7 people, 2 dogs and a cat halfway across town to give everyone some breathing room, but we are still surrounded by boxes.  I know many of you can relate that you almost need to take a vacation just to get everything figured out in a new home.  I still am not sure which cupboard I should put the glasses in or which counter the toaster should be on! 

A new home is a good opportunity to start new habits.  I am putting the boys to work with new Swiffer vacs and mops, set up a system for garbage and recycling, and established new rules for leaving shoes and bags in the living room...you don't!  We now have television free study areas and enough computers that no one has to share.  Not that sharing isn't an important life skill, but I have less computer coordinating to do now and can squeeze in a game of Zuma's Revenge every once in a while.

I have moved more times in the last 3 years than I think a person should to maintain their sanity, but each move was done with purpose and my family's well being in mind.  Each move provided us with a new opportunity to maintain relationships with friends, shorten commute times, or allowed us to walk and bike more places, and I don't think I could have done it differently or better.  We all learned more about ourselves; what we are willing to sacrifice and what we are willing to work hard to get keep.  Everyone has a bike and uses them for fun, errands and commuting to work or school.  We are lucky to live in a bike friendly town. 

This may not be my last move of my lifetime...actually I'm pretty sure its not...but its the last one for a while.  So unless I win the lottery, you can find me right here mowing the lawn or biking to the nearby farmer's market.  Dorothy said it best, "there's no place like home."   Now where should I put the fake Ficus?

Women Rule: Or At Least We Should

I read the articles about the young mom on the cover of Time breastfeeding her toddler.  I am aware of the controversy surrounding health care and some organizations objecting to having to provide birth control.  I remember what journalists said about Hilary and Sarah during the last election.  To me its all the same, they are attacks on women's power and freedom.  In the last election 70 million women voted in the US and only 60 million men.  We could control the outcome of future elections...if we decided to.  Breastfeeding is natural and no one complains when an aboriginal woman nurses a toddler in a Nat Geo program.  The US has convinced us all that women's bodies are sex objects and this is why many were startled by the image on the cover of Time.  Had she been an older overweight woman, and more matronly looking, would we have been as outraged?  I doubt it.  I find it outrageous that someone who has never been on birth control and will probably never need it, men, are the ones telling women what to do and how to do it.  They are convinced that college women only want birth control to have lots of premarital sex without the consequences of pregnancy and disease.  The amount of sex, or lack of sex, or other reasons for wanting birth control is none of their business.  Supposedly we have a separation of church and state, this should also apply to health care. They said Hilary was old and not pretty enough whereas Sarah was too pretty and not smart enough.  We can't win for losing can we?  McCain didn't receive comments about being too chunky to be president.  Have you seen how gray Obama has gotten lately?  No one focuses on that and only that. 

I fix my own plumbing. I mow my own lawn.  I do my own taxes.  I carry 50 lb bags of rice and dog food to the car.  I carry children to bed weighing 85 lbs.  I painted my house, twice.  I cook dinner everyday for 6+ people.  I do 2 loads of laundry almost everyday.  I work late after the kids have gone to bed and I get up before everyone else.  I make my own jewelry.  I wash my own car.  I know what the problem is, men are afraid of women. (There are always exceptions to the rule, but I have met few.) They know we do not really need them as much as they would like us to.  They should be afraid.  Once I get all the women to see how powerful and important they all are... we will rule the world.