Motivation

I think the key to staying motivated is remembering what your goal is, and exactly why that goal is important to you. I am really getting tired of working out, doing the same video every other day. It's boring, and it makes me exhausted and sweaty. I hate being sweaty! Today I really didn't want to work out, I told my husband that I didn't want to and he said, "okay." I said, "no your suppose to help me to keep exercising." He said, "okay, do you want to go to Hawaii?" That made me remember my fantasy of me relaxing on the beach and not being self-conscious about my fat hanging out everywhere. At my current state I definitely would not look like what my fantasy(goal) is. I don't know that i'll ever be as beautiful as my fantasy, but at least maybe I could be fit enough to look good in a swimsuit. When my husband and I were having the discussion about loosing weight and having Hawaii as our goal, I told him that he needed to help me stay motivated. He said, "well what if you don't listen to me?" I told him to remind me of Hawaii and how I want to look good in a bathing suit. I'm actually surprised it worked. I think one of the ways that I seem to get distracted and unmotivated from working out is that whenever I should work out I focus on other things and forget the ultimate goal. I think in order for you to stay motivated you need to constantly think about your goal, maybe even everyday! Take the time to think about what you really want and think of the ways your going to reach those goals. I also think having this blog is helping. Thank you to my readers, the few of you out there. It really did help me work out today. I kept thinking, I really really don't want to do my video today, but then I remembered it was Monday and that I was going post a new blog today. I thought what would they think if I didn't post, that I failed like all the other times. I can feel my determination wavering but I still have my goal and I just need to focus on that.

I weighed myself on the Wii fit today, I decided to wait a week in between weighing myself. I reached my goal that I set, as well as my monthly goal. It is not technically the very last day of the month, but I can say that I lost 2lbs this month! It may not seem like a lot now, but down the road those 2 lbs will add up! I'm thinking about increasing my monthly goal. For now my new goal for February is still to loose 2lbs, but Maybe in March I can set it a little higher depending on how confident I feel that I could really achieve it.

My successes this month were: actually exercising at least once every week, last week I actually exercised every day I said I would. I haven't been eating/snacking too much because we're low in the food/snack area currently. That might become an issue later on when we have more money to buy food.

Failures: Not exercising MWF like I said I would every week, I splurged with the little money we had and bought chips and dip. It is my one food item that is just too hard to resist. I did not walk or exercise 30 min on Tues, Thurs. and Sat. like I said I would, I really have been failing in that goal.

Success: I did loose 2lbs this month.

To reaffirm my goals I will write them again, that way I can remember them throughout the month.

-Do work out video Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
-Exercise 30 min. Tues, Thursday, and Saturday-MUST DO BETTER ON!
-Eat healthier-I'm hoping this will be easier once we have an income.(Nick was finally able to put his papers in so now he needs to apply some more and hope jobs appear.) I would love suggestions on any healthy recipes if anyone has some.


The thing about recipes, is that unless I have all the ingredients I usually don't make them or I improvise. I hate spending too much time in the kitchen as well. I would like to figure out some really easy, yet healthy recipes. Most recipes I see online are really complicated and ask for fancy ingredients.

When I go to Hawaii I would love to see some sea turtles!

Found this on the web, it said it was a friendly sea turtle

Lazy Days

I think I have spurts of laziness, or I have spurts of activity, either way some days I really just don't want to do anything at all! Friday and Saturday were like that. I was suppose to do my work out video on Friday, because my goal is 3 times a week. Well I did not do my video, or do anything! Saturday was the same exact way. Sunday I took a really long nap after Stake Conference and then didn't do much either. I made up for my laziness today.


Today I got up, ate some yummy pancakes without syrup, the sugar hurts my teeth, so that makes it healthier right? I decided to wait an hour after eating hoping it would make working out a lot easier(make me not feel sick when I work out). Well the thing about waiting is that I start doing something else, playing Sims, and I forget to work out. I set a timer too. Luckily Nick volunteered to go running while I did my video. Sort of like a trade of, if I exercise then he has to. So I had to do my video if he was exercising too.I actually did my video today. It was still difficult. I must really be out of shape. I'm doing the beginners video and I can't breath!I did feel better though while I was working out. I think having food and waiting for your body to use it as energy helps. 


Today I actually accomplished a lot. After I worked out I took a shower and realized how dirty our bathroom was. I told Nick that if he cleaned the bathroom I would sort the clothes in our bedroom and clean up the bedroom. He said he'd rather do the bedroom. I really didn't want to do the bathroom. The main thing in the bathroom is that there are these mildew spots on the wall next to the ceiling, and I have a hard time reaching them. Also when I clean the tub I pretty much inhale the cleaner, not sure why. So I volunteered to clean the toilet and the sink if he just did the tub, and he did!! I love my husband. I'm also good at negotiating when it comes to cleaning or getting what I want. :)


Today I was making up for my laziness over the weekend. I had these ripe bananas that I had defrosted, and I needed to make banana bread or they would probably go really bad. I also wanted to make some bread. I started out making just a loaf, but Nick suggested I make sandwich rolls instead because we needed to use up the lunch meat. I sort of combined my bread machine bread recipe with a recipe from the Mormon Mom's cook book, that I got for Christmas. It was pretty much the same but it wanted you to use more flour and yeast and I had already started the yeast, so I basically just winged it. So far it has turned out good. I always have the hardest time getting my yeast to rise, I think it has to do with living in Colorado. I have some baguette pans so I am currently waiting for them to rise again. Last time I tried to make subway rolls in the baguette pans they didn't turn out. But the reason was because I had decided to freeze the dough, but before I froze it I had let it rise already and that killed the dough. If you want to freeze dough you are NOT suppose to let it rise first. This time I didn't freeze it so I'm hoping it turns out. I wish that I didn't love bread so much, I know it's not the healthiest, when your trying to loose weight. I don't know any good healthy bread recipes though. I would like to learn how to make pitas, but I think those are complicated. I already tried making focaccia and that didn't turn out.


I weighed myself on the Wii after I worked out and I gained .7 lbs? I don't ever know if they're talking about my BMI or my weight. I have a goal set for the Wii, that is how the Wii fit works, you set goals of loosing weight. I am not really counting that as my real goal because I'm just hoping to loose two lbs by the end of this month. If I go by my scale in my bathroom then I think I've already reached that goal. It's so weird though because my weight changes between 5-3 lbs occasionally, so I guess figuring out whether I reached my goal this month my be difficult. But I will say that the weight I started at ended in a 5 and if my goal is to have it end in a 3 by the end of the month, then next month(Feb.) when I am trying to reach my goal by loosing 2 lbs then my ending weight by the end of next month will end in a 1. This is sort of cryptic but I don't want to share my weight with anyone.


I found this link on Pinterest for free Zumba videos. I think tomorrow it would be fun to try that as my exercise. Or maybe I'll just walk. I guess we'll have to see if I'm feeling lazy or not. ;)








The Zumba link:


http://healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com/post/8383112040/zumba-and-kickboxing-videos-for-download-or-watch-in

Exercise

Well I did my exercise video today. Last week I did my exercise video on Monday, then I walked to the mall on Tuesday, and then completely went back into lazy mode. This week I did my video on Monday, but skipped a little part of it, I walked to the mall to drop off an application to the theater, and today I did my video, and I didn't skip any of it. I'm not sure why but before Christmas doing my video wasn't that hard, like I was still tired but I didn't feel like I was going to die. Now it seems like my heart just starts beating super fast, and I feel a little sick like I want to throw up. This isn't making exercising any easier, seriously who wants to exercise when every time they do they feel sick? Today I ate before I worked out, an actual meal, but it was right before I did my video. Maybe on Friday I will eat at least an hour before I do my video. I have been failing on the eating out once a month. I went to Red Robin and it was yummy. I am horrible at not eating out, it is my weakness! Today we were going to Loveland and I didn't have time to eat dinner so we stopped by Taco Bell. But we went to the grocery store and bought some supplies, so now I can actually make dinner! So according to the Wii Fit I am still gaining weight. I think it was because of Red Robin. I will try better and then we'll see. I know that I'm not going to loose weight right away, and that it is going to take a lot of effort, like eating out less! My new goal for the rest of this month is to not eat out any more! I am proud that I did my video today. I really didn't want to. Hopefully by the summer I will have at least lost 10 lbs. Tomorrow I am thinking about riding my bike to a nearby park. I don't like going with out Nick though. He is too big for most bikes, so we don't have one for him. It would be so nice to just ride our bikes together to the park and hang out and relax at the park. Maybe we'll walk instead. According to Google it's like 30 min. walking one way, but then I'll get extra exercise! And maybe we'll play some Frisbee.

Fail...Goals

Needless to say I fail. I worked out 2 days last week. I did great for 2 days and then resorted back to my couch potato trait, as I call it. I decided to make myself on the Sims 3. I added the couch potato trait because under the description it said this Sim will spend extra time watching TV and will avoid exercise at all costs. Yesterday I decided to write down my goals for the year, month, and week. I am hoping to get a planner so that if I write it down I'll be more likely to do it. Here are my goals:

Yearly Goals for 2012:

• Read the Book of Mormon all the way.(Either with Nick or by myself).
• Make a budget and stick to it.
• Get a job
• Lose 25 lbs. I figured that if I loose 2 lbs per month then it will be around 24 lbs a year.
• Work on children's book stories or ideas. (I want to write a children's book, and illustrate it)
• Keep apartment clean
• Control my temper. When I get upset sometimes I really get upset. But it usually only lasts a few minutes. I do not have a good outlet figured out, so my natural reaction is to hit or throw stuff.
• Eat more fruits and veggies.(hopefully we'll be able to do this more when we have jobs.)
• Do more crafts/drawing.
• Become better at the piano or other instruments.
• Eat out less.

Monthly:

• Read scriptures every day.
• Stick to my weekly budget.
• Lose 2 lbs
• Eat out once a month ONLY
• Work on drawing/art/stories or crafts, and finish 1.
• Have entire apartment clean by the end of the month.

Weekly:

• Read family scriptures every night, as well as personal scripture study.
• Plan meals-cook meals(no eating out).
• Exercise video 3 times a week Mon., Wed., Fri.
• Walk or ride bike 30-40 minutes Sun., Tues., Thurs. and Saturday.
• Draw/write/do crafts once a week or more.
• Clean 1 room every week (thoroughly)
• Practice piano/instrument everyday
• Hug, kiss Nick everyday
• When I get upset don't yell (breath)
• Do dishes everyday (ask Nick to help)<---his suggestion
• Stop being lazy (play Sims for 2 hrs only) set timer
• Say daily prayers and family prayers
• Eat fruit and veggies if possible.

Well today I did better, but I did not loose any weight. I think I gained a few lbs actually. I'm not sure I should consider the Wii Fit as an accurate measuring instrument. Well I did do my exercise video today, at least most of it. I kind of skipped what is called the squat phase. My heart was beating extremely fast, and usually I don't feel my heart beating unless I'm trying to with my finger. I was literally just breathing and my heart was pounding so hard  I could feel it. I also started feeling a little sick, I guess apple pie for breakfast doesn't count as a well balanced or nutritious breakfast. It is so hard to be healthy if you're poor. Basically you eat what is available. I had a banana and some chips cause I was feeling like my blood sugar level was off. Then I finished with the ab work out phase. Now I am going to have a turkey sandwich, with lettuce cheese and mayo and mustard. I found a option on my work out video that is just an ab work out. It is 10 minutes long. I think I will try that tomorrow...maybe. I only played the Sims for 2 1/2 hrs. which is somewhat impressive. I know some of my goals seem extreme and some not extreme at all. Hear is hoping I can accomplish them.

Day 2

Well I think posting 2 days in a row is something to talk about. I guess not really, but it will help me to keep exercising. Today I had a smoothie for breakfast. A turkey sandwich on wheat, and since we're lacking in the food area it just had cheese and a few bits of lettuce on it. I think mayo and mustard too. Then Nick and I took a little walk to the mall. It's really not far from where we live so it wasn't a long walk, but going there and coming back and walking through the mall I'd say that it was about 10 min. I also consumed some pretzel bites, I couldn't resist. We decided to use the little bit of money we have in Wells Fargo to splurge and get pretzel bites. We are planning on closing out that account, just because we have had way too many problems with Wells Fargo. Then I made tacos for dinner, and because we used the little bit of lettuce/salad mix on my sandwich we decided to add some re-fried beans and cheese, and little spray of salad spritzer ranch. I only had two soft tacos, and water. Oh I forgot we had soda with our pretzel bites. After dinner I decided to just try and keep moving for like 10-15 min. I did 3 different kinds of crunches. One that works your lower abs, oblique(left and right side) and then just regular crunches. I decided to play some music so I did crunches the whole song of We are Young, sung by Glee. Then I did some lunges, 10 girl push ups. And then just some dancing around. I think I might want to get the Zumba video. I like dancing, it's fun. I don't know if you can count stretching as exercising, but I have always wanted to be really flexible, like be able to touch my toes. I hope someday I will be able to someday, someday! :) Well that's all for now, hopefully tomorrow will be even better!! I really wanted to go eat at Red Robin today because I was looking through my new cookbook I got for Christmas trying to find something to make so I wouldn't go eat out. I saw some sweet potato fries, that just looked amazing. I resisted and ate at home. We really don't have money to go eat out!j

oh I did the Wii fit and there was no change in weight.

New Year...New Goals

Well, needless to say I have NOT being doing well at keeping up with my blog or exercising. I think this is something that everyone struggles with. Not necessarily blogging, or exercising but doing things that are good for you. I have not blogged for quite some time. My last blog was about this yummy recipe that I found on skinnytaste, but not necessarily about exercising or losing weight. My last goal was to reach my goal weight and then we could go to Hawaii. That is still the goal, but it seems that focusing on the big goal isn't getting me anywhere, plus I kind of put Hawaii on a shelf because we have no money to go there anyways. I still want to go there someday. I also want to look good in a bathing suit when I do go. My newer goal is to walk 30 minutes everyday. I watched a video on wimp.com. Usually their videos are funny but sometimes they also have just really cool informational videos. This one talked about the single most important thing you could do for you health, and explained it so that most people(like me) could understand. I think we should watch it. One thing I figured out and have thought about for a long time now is that I"m pretty much doomed to die from some sort of disease. My grandma and my mother both had thyroid cancer, both my parents developed diabetes. I think my grandpa sid died from a heart attack. My family has a history of disease. Therefore I have decided to at least walk or exercise 30 min. everyday! I think all people should do this! I started yesterday and we walked to church. I don't think that it was a 30 min. walk but hey at least it's something. Our church is about 7 streets away. We're on 27th and our church building is on 20th. It was cold and I might rethink my shoe choice next time, but we did enjoy it. I've decided to also keep doing my video. I think instead of trying to overdo my self I'm going to do the video every other day. I am also going to try and make more healthy food choices. I can't buy the fancy vegetables or fruit, but I can buy more of the inexpensive kind. I also will be eating out less, mostly because we don't have jobs right now, but also because eating out is my crutch. I love eating out way too much. The way that I have figured out how to eat out less is by planning out my weekly menu. Mostly I have just been focusing on dinner, but I have been doing really good. Instead of thinking about what fast food places or restaurants sound good I think about what I can cook that sounds good. The one thing that I want is for my husband to be more excited about exercising. He promised me that he would work out with me more. He did attempt my work out video this morning but hated it, and said he'd rather be running, so I said okay go running, and he did. I hope to be more adamant about blogging as well. Even though I know I don't have many readers It will help me to stay focused.

My newest goal according to the Wii is to loose 2 lbs in 2 weeks. That is only 1 pound per week. I have not played the Wii for 111 days and it said in 111 days I gained 1.something lbs. Which is sorta cool. I also have a new goal, a new swimming suit. I saw one at target that I really like. I tried on the size that fits me but is a little big in the chest area, which means I need to loose weight in my lower (butt) area so that I can go down a size and have it fit all around.

The hardest problem I have with swimsuits is finding one that fits me and when I swim doesn't expose me. I hope that this one will work. Its a one piece and it goes slightly higher (in the chest) than most one pieces.

I hope to record my daily exercise and weight gain or loss. 

Yummy Santa Fe Chicken

A few people suggested a website to me that has a bunch of healthy recipes. http://www.skinnytaste.com/ I've only tried one recipe so far, but once I get some more groceries I will definitely be trying some more. I like to tweak some recipes I find online, mostly because I don't always have the right ingredients, or I don't have them period. This site seems like it would be really easy to substitute some things. I was just looking for some crock pot recipes, because cooking in our apartment makes it really hot. Which will be nice in the winter, but it's not winter yet. A recent favorite of mine and Nick's is called Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken. Here's the direct link http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html

I made some adjustments because I didn't have some things, and I had some other things I wanted to use up. Here is my version.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 servings • Size: 1 cup • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 4 pts
Calories: 190 • Fat: 1.5 g • Fiber: 5.6 g • Carbs: 23.1 g • Protein: 21 g

· 1 frozen Kroger chicken breast thawed and cut into two pieces. (they're pretty big breasts :)

· 2 roma tomatoes diced

· 1 can pork and beans (I bought a bunch of these when they went on sale after the 4th of July)

· handful of dried cilantro

· 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth ( used the powder mixed with water, it's the same thing)

· 1 whole jalapeno cut into medium sized chunks

· 1 tsp garlic powder

· 1 tsp onion powder

· Couple sprinkles of red pepper (to taste)

· dash of Chile powder

Combine chicken broth, beans, jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro, chile powder,red pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt, and pepper then lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice (extra pts).

I don't do weight watchers or points, but I like healthy foods. I served it over rice and had it with a tortilla. YUMMM!