Monday, August 9, 2010

Monday Monday Monday

I did not wake up this morning, or I should say, I did wake up but then went right back to sleep. I woke up at 6:21am and so exercise this morning was a no-go. It was a long day at work, and I spent my lunch hour grocery shopping. All I wanted to do was come home and eat supper and rest. But with encouragement from my spectacular husband, I headed down to the fitness center and spent 75 minutes. Once I was there, everything felt great. I got some reading done for my class coming up this fall, and I was listening to my exercise music. My I-Touch died, so I watched Sports Center. I most likely know more about what is going on in sports news than my husband. That is a first.
So I made it past this first day. It is going to be a long week....
P.S. for supper tonight we had fried chicken left-overs from lunch, plums, cucumber (from my "garden"), grapes and cheese. The boys also had crackers, a banana, and some grilled chicken left overs. I had a boiled egg along with mine.

Will the pattern continue?

This is the question I have been asking myself every minute the boys have been back in town. Tomorrow will be the pivotal day. Will I continue exercising? Last week I spent 530 minutes exercising, that is just under nine hours total. This week, I am not expecting those numbers, but I am aiming at around 5 hours. I am praying for cool weather so I can take the boys walking in the park. Pray for me this week as I try to fit fitness into my family life. I am sooo glad they are back.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

How to eat low-carb and feed a family

 This is low-carb chicken nuggets - the breading? Crushed pork skins, I dipped them in sour cream thinned with water then shook them all up with a bag of crushed pork skins then fried them in Canola Oil in my cast iron skillet. My children, hubby and I loved them.
 This is Chipotle Lime Roasted Zucchini Sticks
 Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees, spray cookie sheet with Pam, cut up zucchini into  quarter inch by 3 inch sticks (fries) and place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with grill seasoning of your choice and cook in oven for 15min or until done. Great fries alternative.
 Who doesn't love cantaloupe? So far this season, Food Lion has had the best....











I have two little boys who love mac-n-cheese. This is not low-carb and I am not allowed to have it. Pasta has tons of carbs, no benefits. Fix this for the carb-lovers in your family and load up on the fruit and veggies.

Working it all out

This week has been a week of ups and downs. After getting on the wii scale and still not losing a pound earlier in the week, I was bummed out, however, when I went shopping Friday night at Kohls, and not only fit into a size 12 bluejean, but it was not a tight fit. I was so excited a did a little dance in the dressing room and jumped up and down. I might have even squealed, but I am not sure.
There is two things that are a low-carbers' worst nightmare: 1) Birthdays and 2) Weddings. I had both this weekend... So I ate a little piece of chocolate chip cookie cake and one cup cake at the wedding. Will it ruin my diet, no. This is part of it being a lifestyle and not a fad-diet. I can still work carbs in and not feel guilty. It will happen, the key is to not let it spiral out of control.
Also, I reached several milestones this week in exercising. I walked over five miles Thursday on the treadmill and rode over 7 miles on the bike. I was so into it, while watching Paula and Rachel on the Food Network that I had to literally make myself stop. Exercising is so addictive. Saturday morning I had another momentous break thru when I ran half a mile without stopping. I know that is not much, but for me it is a small mountain. Also, the boys were home this morning and I was still able to go out and hit the Fitness Center at SEBTS.
So to summarize this week... There is always a time to eat cake, just make sure you burn the calories on the treadmill to cover the indulgence and when you think all that hard work isn't paying off, go shopping.
I want to wish my cousin Ryan and his new bride Christian a happy marriage, it was a beautiful ceremony.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

My month without children almost over...

I know what you are thinking, "A month without children? what does that mean?" Well for the last 3 1/2 weeks my two precious boys, Wesley (8) and Jeremiah (5) have been spending time with their grandparents. My husband, who is in seminary, is in a three week Theology II class that is five days a week, four hours a day and he works at night gets home around 4am. He is awesome, but we asked the grandparents to keep the boys, so Aaron wouldn't have to study while keeping the boys. Anywho....
Since the boys were out of town, I decided that I would take this golden opportunity to start exercising. I don't mean just a thirty minute walk in the park (which is enjoyable). I am talking about 60-90-120 minutes of 4mph walking with 6mph running thrown in, exercise biking for 6 miles and lifting weights. The first two weeks I went every evening after work and met some great gals. The third week, I went every morning (VBS that week and fitness center closed at 8pm) at 6am, way to early after two weeks of sleeping in each morning. This week my goal is to go every morning and evening. Monday was a bust since I overslept, but Tuesday was a go.
I never thought I would say that I love to exercise, but I do. I went to my parent's house this weekend and missed my Saturday exercise session, and I felt yucky. Exercise makes my feel like I can do anything. It wakes me up in the morning, it makes me feel like I have had a productive day when I get home. The sweat is my monitor on how many calories I am burning.
When I started, I was just walking at 3.8mph, and could only run .1 mi. But now, I can walk at 4mph, and I can run .5 miles without stopping. I know that is still weak but I am getting there.
Since this is my first post about weight loss, I wanted to let you know how I got to this point. I don't think at 210lbs I could have run any (well without keeling over), but through what I refer to as Pam's Low-carb Lifestyle change, I was at 175lbs when I started exercising 3 1/2 weeks ago.
The change is simple (why I can stick to it). I can eat all the veggies and fruits I want (minus corn and bananas) and I eat proteins (meats, beans, eggs). I can eat all the meat I want, but the longer I am on this diet the less I want lots-o-meat. No processed carbs, that means pasta, rice, bread, sugar. I try not to eat over 20 processed carbs a day. Are there days where I go over, yes (thanks mom), but I limit it. I don't say, "I have blown it already, lets just eat whatever". Get back to the rules. I still have sweets, I am a sweet-a-holic. I have learned great recipes that are low-carb, but still quench the chocolate cravings. Also, low-carb frozen treats and candy are great, just don't eat too much.
Well that is the general idea of my lifestyle change....
Come back later this week and see what I weigh this week and also I will post my favorite low-carb dessert recipe, Chocolate chip Cannoli Cream.
So will I stick to this wonderful exercise program once my cuties come back to town? We'll see, I can't say a firm "yes" although I want to... You know how it goes, time, energy, time all goes to children. I'll keep you up to date on that as well. Can't wait for Friday, that is ETA for my precious boys.