Just Another Monday

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. No excuse, just haven't.  I recently purchased a pedometer, which I am SUPER excited about! As of right now I am getting in 5000 steps a day, sometimes more.  I will be slowly making my way up to 10000 a day.  I also got a job! Its a lot to be working again.  At first I didn't think I was going to be able to do it.  It took so much out of me.  I am getting back into the groove of things though.  It is only part-time, but I have to start somewhere.  It still takes a lot out of me, but I am able to deal with it better now.  

Spring kind of skipped right over us and summer seems to be just about here.  I will have to make a huge effort to keep up the walks and not let the heat get to me.  The more weight I lose, the less the heat bothers me.  Its more the humidity than the heat that bothers me.  There are a couple of different hikes David and I want to go on.  He is hurt right now from an injury at work but I am hoping that is better soon.  I will do a weigh in at the beginning of June and get a new poll quiz up on here soon. :)

Never Ending Journey

I saw this image today on facebook.  Such a simple cartoon, yet it fully depicts my life right at this moment.  This journey I have been on with weight loss has been such a struggle.  Its had good moments, great moments, and horrible moments.  That mountain just seems so high and sometimes seems to be getting higher.  But in the end, WILL be worth it all.  Worth all the sweat, pain, and tears.  Trust me, there are plenty of all of those things.

I have been putting off getting weighed and measured for quite awhile, but had no idea it had been since OCTOBER! I just sucked it up and did it the other day and since October I have gained 3 pounds and 1 inch.  I know that doesn't seem like a lot for most people, but for me its unacceptable.  I should have LOST, not gained.  

I am back to the gym on a daily basis, even hit a zumba class the other day.  My diet I cut back even further on the carbs and sodium.  I also started a small part-time job at Lane Bryant.  I really like it and even though my body feels like melting jello, lol, I am glad I took that extra step and put myself out there.

As Dory says..."just keep swimming, just keep swimming...."

Ready for Spring!

I am soooooooooo ready for spring to get here! I love the snow but I am way over it now.  Time for some warmer weather.  This past week I have had a cold and 2 ear infections...About 3 weeks ago I had the flu for over a week.  This really puts a dent in my exercising.  I have started being more committed to DAILY workouts and even have an exercise buddy again.  I really hope she stays committed and for 2 reasons.  First, for her own health, and then for my health.  She is my 3rd workout buddy and no one ever lasts for more than a month or so.  Its fun, new, and exciting at first, but when they find out it is actually REALLY hard work, they quit.

So come on, lets get it warmed up outside, get some motivation going, and get that weight loss ticker moving south!

Spring Tease

As you can see I have not posted in my blog for awhile.  Besides being sick for over a week, I have just not been pulling my weight, no pun intended, when it comes to my fitness.  I have been avoiding getting weighed and measured, and apparently I have been avoiding my blog because I have nothing good to report.  Now I do.  I am back at the gym, and back into the swing of things.  I do not want to use "lack of motivation" as an excuse, but it was definitely there.
Winter is hard to get through physically.  I am always afraid of falling, the cold can be painful for my body at times, and its just gloomy and makes me not want to do anything.  The other day we had our first spring teaser.  It was gorgeous out and the second I woke up, all I wanted to do was go outside.  So I headed straight for the gym.  It has only been a couple days, but every day I have woke up WANTING to go to the gym.  As soon as it gets just a little bit warmer it will be nice enough to take Sayuri to the park, which we both love.
I hope this is the start of a new motivation.  I need to just do it and keep moving forward! I will be weighing and measuring the first week of April no matter what.  I am hoping to see good results and that I will finally get to my my ticker in the upper left corner of my blog.  Its been quite awhile since it has moved.

Try, Try Again!

Even though I was able to "maintain" my weight over the holidays, I just haven't been able to LOSE weight in a few months.  Its quite frustrating to me and I decided I needed to examine why this was happening.   There has to be something I am not doing or have stopped doing.  One thing I stopped doing was tracking my food.  That always helped me so much.  I was able to see if I was eating too much or too little for the day.  So I have started tracking my food again using www.sparkpeople.com.  I joined that site a couple of years ago and was steadily losing weight when I used it.

When we are given tools like this to use, we need to utilize them or they go to waste and we get no where.  I am not going to think about the last 6 months, but starting over again.  When you start over, and over, and over, again, I do not see that as failure.  Failure would be giving up all together.  I see it as success in NEVER giving up.  Keep moving forward and try, try again.  There is a saying I like...."I got it on the first try", said no successful person EVER!  It takes multiples tries to succeed and I will eventually get there.

Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oatmeal

This is a very simple recipe.  It took me about 5 minutes to put together.  It was so nice to wake up to the smells of apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar in the house, and great to warm the body on a cold winter day.  I found the recipe on sparkpeople.com.  Just click on that link and it will take you straight to the recipe.  I normally would post the whole recipe myself, but theres no need to with this one. 

*** Make sure you do NOT use quick oats with this recipe. If you do, you need to increase the water by a cup.

ENJOY!

Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Pork (or Chicken)

I found this recipe on www.kraftrecipes.com.  They have a lot of pretty simple recipes.  Most are quick as well.  The website has several features that include special dietary recipes, and will even make a grocery list for you.

I usually do not post a recipe until I have tried it, so this is a first for me.  I will be making it tomorrow night and will post on FB how it turned out.  IF, for some reason, it is a major flop I will post on my blog what went wrong and what to do instead, but I doubt that will happen.

This will be a great recipe for those chinese cravings.  I ALWAYS have chinese cravings, but most food from a chinese restraunt is so bad for you, even though it tastes oh soooo good! So try this on for size and see if it helps!

1-1/2  lb. boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chicken broth
3/4 cup KRAFT Original Barbecue Sauce
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks in juice, drained
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked

PLACE meat in slow cooker; top with onions.
ADD broth and barbecue sauce; cover with lid. Cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours (or on HIGH 4 hours).
STIR in remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, on LOW 30 min. or until rice is tender.

This recipe couldn't get any more simple. I cooked my own rice, used reduced sodium chicken broth, and used chicken instead of pork.