Going on a Diet - Take 2

My diet plan kinda fell apart over the last few weeks (hanging my head in shame). I have some good excuses, I swear.

First problem, and this is a BIG problem, our fridge broke! I had to throw away a roast, chicken breast, you name it. If it was stored in the fridge, I had to throw it out. It took us a few days to get a new fridge and in those days I was eating random stuff from the pantry like popcorn, canned soup, you know all that non diet food.

Second problem. Ok so this shouldn't have been a problem really but it put me off course. I "thought" I was pregnant. I am not!

Third problem. All THREE of my kids have been sick. First Michael was sick. The poor little guy had a huge fever for more than 3 days. He was better for a couple days and then *BAM* all three of the kids came down with fevers, runny noses, and coughs. I literally had to hold Michael for 20 out of 24 hours. I was too exhausted to think about dieting.

Fourth problem. I got sick. Really sick. Fever, chills, muscle pain, migraines, runny nose, cough. I'm actually still sick. I haven't been over eating while sick, but I have been drinking a lot of juice and forcing myself to eat stuff like cereal because I'm still breastfeeding.

I only have about 2 months to look great in that brides maid dress so as soon as I kick this flu, the diet must resume!!!!

Wish me luck!

- Elisabeth

Progress...

Ok so it's almost been a week since I started losing weight. First, I just want to say that dieting is so NOT fun!!! However, I know it's the key to loosing weight, so it'll have to go on and on for a while. I was totally off carbs for the first few days and just eating protein and a lot (seriously A LOT) of veggies. I was doing great until church on Sunday. I was sitting there feeling hungry and then shaky. Usually at this point, had I been at home, I'd grab some celery or a red pepper and much on that, but since I was at church, that wasn't an option. To avoid fainting in the middle of singing a hymn, I did something totally against the rules. Yes, I'm ashamed to say I ate not one but TWO Starburst candies. It was bad, I know, but at least I didn't feel like I was going to faint anymore.

Ok so onto my progress. I've lost.... drum roll please...........

5.5 pounds so far!!

Now I have 10-15 to go to feel "not like a cow", but ideally I'd like to loose 20-25 more pounds.

I'll keep you posted.

- Elisabeth

Feeling So.....

FAT! I know I've had 3 kids, I know. Doesn't change the fact that I feel like a cow right now. My husband says I'm beautiful (of course he does) but I need to change things ASAP. Especially since I'm going to be a brides maid in May.

Starting today, like RIGHT NOW, I'm making some drastic changes. To quote Jafar from Aladdin "desperate times call for desperate measures!"

I'm going to start with a 3 day detox to jump start things and clear out my system, then it's calorie counting and The 30 Day Shred - Level 3!

I'll report back in a week. Until then, check out some of the dresses we're thinking of...

Healthy Halloween

Here's a quick idea to keep the candy away this Halloween. I call it the candy buy back. Basically, you give you kids a dollar (or $2 if you're in a generous kind of mood) for every pound of candy they give you. This works really well for older kids who, unlike preschoolers, would totally notice if you threw away their candy. You then let them buy a toy or book or new outfit with their money. Give it a try and let me know how your kids respond :)

Happy Halloween!

- Elisabeth

Halloween in 1 Week!!

I bet you're probably wondering how I feel about Halloween, you know, with all that unhealthy candy and everything. It's true that I hate the ridiculous amounts of candy and kids running around on a sugar high, but I don't hate Halloween. I love the costumes, the decorating, and parties. Oh and I also love visiting the pumpkin patch! Speaking of pumpkins.... watch this adorable video!




Haa haa, cute eh?

Next week I'll tell you how I keep Halloween (somewhat) healthy.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

Yoga for Kids!

My daughter brought home an order form from school, from Scholastics book club. As a kid, I never got to order anything from Scholastics because we were on a budget, and let's face it, ordering books for 5 kids would get expensive! I wasn't going to order anything for Rosie until I saw the cutest book ever and it was only $5. It's called the ABCs of Yoga for Kids. I ordered it and we read it together. For each letter of the alphabet, they have a yoga pose, like "D is for downward dog" and they have these cute poems that teach the child how to correctly do the pose. They also have the most adorable illustrations. Rosie was trying to do each pose as we read the book. Now she's asking for a yoga mat for her birthday!!! I would HIGHLY recommend this book for any child (or even adult). I think it would make a fab Christmas gift!

- Elisabeth

Motivation

If you see me eating junk food, or an obnoxious portion, PUNCH ME!!

Results - 1 Month

Hi y'all!

Just a quick note about my weight loss. I've lost 15 pounds and feeling pretty great!! I've been eating A LOT of salad with home made dressing and cutting back on junk food. I've also been running and on Tuesday night, I finally ran my entire 5.4 Km route without stopping. I have a race in one month so as long as I keep it up, I'll be good and ready!

I'm hoping to continue loosing weight, about 15-20 more pounds. Stay tuned!

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabeth

The Plan

Hey everyone! Ok so I said in an earlier post that I'm going to loose the baby weight by December 1st. I figure that's a reasonable amount of time to loose 40 pounds.

So what's my weight loss plan? Well.... I don't really have a set out plan. Normally I would never recommend NOT having a plan but let me explain.

I'm a mother of 3 children ages 3 and under. My youngest is 2 months and always needs to be picked up and doesn't nap for very long, then I have a 2 year old (who is such a handful these days) and a 3 and a half year old who starts school in a few weeks and I've been trying to get her ready. I just can't commit myself to an intense workout schedule because I honestly don't have the time. After I had my second baby, he would sleep in until 9 am (and so would my oldest). I would get up at 8am, workout, and get in the shower all before they woke up. Unfortunately my kids wake up a lot earlier now. The baby is usually up at 5 am and fusses and nurses on and off until 7:30-8:00 am. My other 2 kids are usually up at 7:30 or 8:00 am. The only way I would be able to workout before they got up would be to start at 4:00 am, something I'm just not willing to do. My husband is also maxed out with work and other responsibilities so he's not available to watch the kids while I workout either. For now, my workout goal is to run 3 times a week, after the kids go to bed around 9 pm.

My diet plan is pretty vague too. I'm breastfeeding and I have to be careful not to cut out too much. I would normally set out a strict diet plan and stick to it, but again, with the craziness of my life and the fact that I'm breastfeeding makes it pretty hard to stay on a diet. I'm cutting out junk food so that means no cookies, brownies, chips, chocolate, ice cream, hot dogs, pizza, etc. I'm eating smaller portions and eating more fruit and vegetables. I think eating smaller portions is key in my weight loss... oh and drinking a lot of water.

So there you have it, my "plan". I know it would be more exciting to read that I'm only eating egg whites or that I'm lifting a million pounds during my workouts.... maybe in a few years.

I'll give you all an update in a week or so and let you know if I'm loosing any weight. If not, I'll have to step it up somehow.

Me Ka Aloha (with love)
- Elisabeth

Time to Lose the Baby Weight

On June 3rd the cutest baby boy was welcomed into the world. We love him so much and we are so happy to watch him learn and grow. My only complaint with all of this is the extra (and I really mean EXTRA) weight I've gained. I've had record breaking weight gain with this last pregnancy by a staggering 20 pounds. So that means my usual 55-60 pound weight gain was 75-80 pounds this time!! It's been over 2 months since I've had my baby and my fingers are still too chubby to fit my wedding ring so it's time to do something drastic.

I'm going on a major diet and exercise plan. I'll discuss what I'm doing later, because the baby is crying and I have to rescue him from the evil play pen.

Me Ka Aloha
- Elisabethb