2013 The Year of Taking Care

December 28, 2012 By 5 Comments

I don’t take very good care of myself sometimes. The majority of the time, really. I do the basics, but I am not very thoughtful about my own care. I don’t pay attention to myself the way I do to the boys or to William. So, this year’s Resolutions focus on Taking Care. Of me. Not at the expense of my family, but in addition to.

I have three areas I want to focus on in 2013:
Physical,
Mental, and
Financial.

Physical.
There are a couple of solid goals I have for the physical part of The Year of Taking Care (TYTC), and some that will morph as the year progresses.

  1. I will participate in Cathy Zielske’s “Move More, Eat Better” class via Big Picture Classes. I love the real-people-doing-it-together aspect and the creative aspect of this class.
  2. I will continue the transition to whole foods and less meat. This is not difficult for me at lunch, but has been more difficult when cooking for the family. We’ll have one day a week with no meat and two days with chicken.
  3. I will make all of our doctor’s appointments for the year by the end of January. This will include a dermatologist for me for a full-body check for melanoma.
  4. I will exercise. I am going to do yoga and cardio. The cardio part is one of the points that will morph throughout the year.
  5. I will take vitamins every day.

Mental.
The mental part of TYTC may look kind of loosey-goosey to someone not in my brain; but, that’s okay. This goal is to accomplish items that will help me feel good mentally.

  1. I will capture 2013 through weekly Project Life scrapbooking. I am so excited about starting at the beginning of a year and journalling as it happens rather than catching up later.
  2. I will catch up on scrapbooking our family for the years 2010-2012 using Project Life. Because this is catching up, I’m going to work on monthly layouts with special occasions thrown in. Again, I’m super excited.
  3. I will write letters or notes or postcards. Once a week, I’m going to put pen to paper and then put a stamp on it and drop it off in the mailbox. And I’m going to use my pretty stationary.
  4. I will cut back on waste. We started recycling this year, but we could do better. And I’m going to cut back on food waste (it’s gotten better, but we still throw away way too much food.)
  5. I will write on my blog. I’m working on an editorial calendar of sorts, but I’m not too freaked out about it. Which is an important part of the whole deal, not putting too much pressure on myself.

Financial.
Even though I’m making this a category all its own for TYTC, it blends so much into the mental part for me, I debated putting it there. When our finances are in order, and I know where everything is going, I feel so much better. My anxiety is closely tied to how I feel we’re doing financially, and my role in it. This is a pretty simple goal on the surface, but one of the more important ones to our family well being.

  1. I will balance my checkbook register every day.
  2. I will update our budget spreadsheet with every paycheck.
  3. I will categorize my spending so as to know where money is actually going.
  4. I will pay off all credit cards.

I may change some of these, I may add, I may delete; but, those are my goals for 2013. Y’all are going to help keep me accountable, right? I would love to hear about your goals for 2013 and how you plan to make them happen.

Filed Under: Crafter, Healthy Life, Mom & Family

Week 13 & Bridget Works It Out

June 22, 2012 By 2 Comments

Every week, along with my progress update, I’m sharing guest posts from friends who are making changes in their lives to live more healthily. This week’s guest poster is my friend, Bridget Ivey. I only met Bridget a few months ago when she picked me up at the airport and then served as one of my don’t-let-Sherry-get-lost-too-many-times people at BlissDom. I knew we were destined to be friends when she offered me crack within moments of getting in her car. The crack turned out to be some super yummy cracker-chocolate-butter-toffee goodness (which may be just as addictive as the street drug…I’m guessing.)

Bridget’s words… 

I don’t have a super fancy weight loss story like some.  My story is typical, I think, of many people my age.  My weight yo-yoed back and forth for years, especially the last 7 years during which I had 4 children.  Whew!  Keeping up with all four of them should be enough to make the pounds just melt off, right?  That might have actually happened if I hadn’t eaten all of their leftovers from every meal.  But I did and the pounds kept adding up and up and up.  So many days felt like exercises in futility and I frequently fell into bed at night, worn-down and exhausted.  Weight loss was the last thing on my mind.  Exercise?  Ha.  If I heard about push-ups, I thought bra.  Pull-ups?  Potty training. No lie.

These days, however, my youngest has learned to walk and (somewhat) communicate and play happily with her siblings.  The older kids are mature enough to keep an eye on the little ones and let me know if a problem comes up.  And though messes and issues and interruptions are guaranteed through out the day, I am no longer a captive audience every minute of every day.  I don’t have to be constantly aware of every.single.little.thing and I can trust them to get me if they need me.  (I still keep my ears open for loud crashes and screaming matches.)

When I first realized that I could steal away little chunks of time, I used it to do things I had to do.  I’d do dishes or laundry or write a post the was due or edit pictures for clients.  I would get dinner started or clean out the junk drawer in the kitchen.  I was getting lots of things accomplished, but I found myself frustrated that I had these moments that I’d been craving for years and I wasn’t allowing myself to use them like I’d dreamed of.  So I started a book.  I would read a chapter or two and peek in on them.  If they were still okay, I’d catch one more chapter.  And it felt so good.  Reading for fun had almost entirely disappeared from my agenda, and I missed it dearly.  In a few days’ time, I finished one book.  The next week, another.  I was cramming in sentences into every little break I could find, as if I’d been starving for words.

And then one afternoon, I finished my book and I didn’t have another one waiting.  And so I sat.  I just sat and looked out the window.  It was a beautiful fall day.  Leaves were swirling and the wind chimes were clanging happily.  I almost expected a little birdy to start whistling a Disney song.  I stepped out into the sunlight and stretched out like a cat.  Doing that reminded me of my old Pilates video that I’d loved once upon a time and I did a few exercises right there on the back porch.  The next day I pulled out the old video and pumped my arms and focused on my core and rolled like a ball.  And I did it again the next day.  And the next.  When I got tired of that, I got out the Wii Fit.  (That obstacle course is tough, yo!)  And as I began to exercise regularly, I began to think more and more about my body and my lifestyle.  It was then that I devised my own little plan that it worked for me.  I lost 20 pounds at a decent pace and promised myself I would take a break after reaching that 20 pound goal.  I did, and you know what?  For the first time in my life, I got ‘off’ of a ‘diet’ and didn’t gain it all right back!  As a matter of fact, I lost 2 more pounds and I wasn’t even trying.  Which is CRAZY SPEAK, you hear me?  Crazy.  I had heard it before and I’m sure you have as well, but it feels important to point out: It worked because I wasn’t on a diet, I had changed my lifestyle.

So what exactly did I do to change my lifestyle?  Three little things.  Honestly.  Little things.

  1. I drank more water.  Cup after cup of ice water.  It’s easy to do, really.  You just have to remember to actually do it.
  2. I exercised.  I like Pilates.  I like how calm and relaxed it makes me feel.  I like how lithe and limber I feel when I’m done. I like how the Wii games make me compete against myself and try to improve my score.  Even still, I would not call myself an exercise lover.  I have several friends who are very athletic and really enjoy breaking a sweat and pushing themselves to run farther, push harder.   I?  I am not those people.  I’ve had folks promise me that if I’d get in a habit of running, I’d fall in love with it.  I tried.  I ran daily for about a month and I never, ever (not even once) felt invigorated by it.  I had people tell me that P90X is the way to go, but after having 4 children…well, doing jumping jacks isn’t really in my best interest.  I’ve tried stationary bike, row machine, tread mill, tae bo, and zumba (to name a few).  Those things were all great, but they weren’t for me.  I didn’t enjoy them and (I know myself) I wouldn’t keep up with it if I didn’t love it.  My point is this: Don’t do what worked for your friend; find out what works for you!  And then actually do it.  Put it on your to do list.  Pencil it into your daily schedule.  Have a friend call and pester you until you’ve gotten it done.  Whatever it takes.
  3. “One less”.  This was my big life-changing plan, my motto.  It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it worked (for me).  Whenever I was eating, I’d take one less bite than I wanted.  (That meant eating more slowly and listening to my body.)  During the day, I’d gotten accustomed to eating morning and afternoon snacks with the children, but with this new plan of mine I had to be more selective about which snack I wanted.  Want dessert?  Sure, go ahead and eat it, but eat one less bite than you really want AND make sure you eat one less high-calorie/fatty food at dinner to balance it out a little.  Honestly, all my ‘plan’ did was force me to pay attention to my own hunger cues.  It made me more aware of my choices and the effect they have on my body.

During my break (which has been really more of a maintenance-type phase), I’ve slacked off a little on all of these.  There are weeks that go by and I haven’t exercised at all.  And some days I make it to lunch and realize I haven’t had a sip of water yet.  And, yep, there are times when I eat until I’m stuffed (see also: Sunday lunch).  But the difference in today and one year ago today is that I recognize that I’m doing it and I know how to change it.

The children and I went on a hike early in the week, and a another short one the next day.  I drank enough water yesterday to kill a horse! (With the temperatures rising, that’s probably a good habit to keep up!)  And today my snack count was zero.  I enjoyed the hiatus from my plan, but I’m finding that I am really enjoying getting back into it.  Twenty more pounds before my next break.  On your mark.  Get set.  Go.

Bridget Ivey is a photographer, mother to 4 amazing children, and wife to a Pediatrician (who sometimes gets paid in potatos). She lives in a small Southern town and you can read about her family’s adventures on her blog Ivey League Mama. You can also find Bridget on Twitter @IveyLeagueMama and sharing her awesome photos on Instagram @IveyLeagueMama. Go, find her, you will love her!

Sherry’s update…

I’ve had a rough week…and I’m tired of that being my status update. So, I’m back on starting today! Seriously. Stop laughing.

Successes…

  • Weight…I didn’t weigh in this week. I am beyond frustrated with myself without seeing the number on the scale, so I gave myself a pass this week.
  • Inches…See above.

Challenges…

  • Everything was a challenge this week. I mean, I allowed everything to be a challenge this week. And I started my period, so there’s that.

So, how did you all do this week?

Past Posts on my fitness Journey…

Filed Under: Healthy Life, Mom & Family

Fitness Friday: Week Seven & Greta Goes Gluten Free

May 11, 2012 By 8 Comments

Every week, along with my progress update, I’m sharing guest posts from friends who are making changes in their lives to live more healthily. This week my guest poster is Greta Funk. Recently, Greta and her family started living gluten free because of a diagnosis for one of her children.

Greta’s words…

My two year old daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in February.  Because it was the toddler who could no longer have gluten, and she’s too young to really understand why, I made the decision to cook only gluten-free meals at home. People probably thought I was crazy, but I didn’t want her to accidentally get a bag of Goldfish, or have a fit because she couldn’t have Goldfish. So anyway, for the past two months, we have completely revamped the way we eat.

It has been HARD. It has been overwhelming, and stressful.  And I am just now starting to come out of that fog and feel more comfortable with what I’m cooking and buying.

Because anything specifically labeled “gluten free” is automatically twice as expensive as regular food, I’ve done a lot of cooking from scratch. I roast a ton of veggies (cauliflower, asparagus, potato “French fries” and Brussels sprouts are our new favorites). I prepare meat simply, often in the crock pot with just barbecue sauce or salt and pepper. We don’t eat a lot of breads anymore, because they take a lot of extra preparation to get from oven to table, and we don’t rely on “convenience” foods at all anymore, unless it’s something that I’ve made ahead of time and frozen. Pasta dishes are also simpler, with gluten-free noodles and homemade sauces, low fat cheeses, and meats. We’ve also tried new things, like quinoa (which, we discovered, is delicious!).

If there is one positive aspect to her diagnosis, it is that it has forced me to take a good long look at what I’ve been feeding my family and make better choices. Unprocessed, whole foods have definitely become the norm in our house.

I think it’s too soon to see dramatic changes in my health (or my husband’s), but mentally and psychologically, I feel much better about the foods that I’m eating and cooking. I make better choices as a whole, and I’m proud of that.

Greta is a Stay At Home Mom of four children under seven years old. She doesn’t control the chaos, she just tries to contain it, and she documents it all at Gfunkified.com.

Sherry’s Week Seven Update

Well. Like last week, this week was a tough one for me. I can’t believe how easily I was thrown off course in this whole living-healthier endeavor. I haven’t given up, and I know I’m going to do this thang, but it’s easy to get frustrated. I am working on fixing my heel and knee so I can work out without pain, so I know that will help me to stay on track also.

Successes

  • Not many. I managed not to eat my weight in cake, so I guess that’s good.
  • Weight…Somehow, I lost two pounds this week. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but it’s encouraging. I’m at 278, so 12 pounds during the program and 23 pounds from my heaviest of 301.
  • Inches…Again, in the “weird” department, I managed to lose half an inch this week. So, I’ve lost 22 inches since starting the program!

Challenges

  • Everything. Everything was a challenge this week. I ate too many times when I wasn’t hungry and I let stressful situations lead to eating.

How was your week?

Past Posts on my fitness Journey…

 

Filed Under: Healthy Life, Mom & Family

Fitness Friday: Week Four

April 20, 2012 By 1 Comment

This was a hard week. I had a really stressful work week and I used that as an excuse to eat three different times when I wasn’t hungry. I know that doesn’t sound like that huge a deal, but it was. I mean, the whole point of this program is to only eat when you’re hungry. So… blech. But, I’m in it for the long haul, right? I will continue to work on making myself as healthy as possible.

Successes

  • A gallon of H2Orange every day this week.
  • I walked twice this week for 30 minutes or so each time.
  • I hit almost 10,000 steps once this week!
  • Weight: I lost a couple of ounces, but after the week I had I’m just happy not to have gained. (10.2 pounds lost in the program, 21 pounds lost since August)
  • Inches: I lost another inch. I gained in some places, but lost in others, so it averaged out to another inch. (19 inches lost total)

 

Challenges

  • Stress eating. I had hoped that I would react better to stress than I did, but I didn’t. It’s something I’m going to have to work on, obviously.
  • I wanted to exercise a lot more than I was able. My heel is just killing me and really restricting how much physical activity I can accomplish.
  • Stress eating. It was such a challenge this week, it gets two bullets.

So, how was your week?

Past posts from my fitness journey…

Week Three

Week Two

Week One

I’m Fat, But That’s Changing

Filed Under: Healthy Life

Fitness Friday: Week Three

April 13, 2012 By 4 Comments

Three weeks in! Here’s the breakdown for the week:

Successes

  • I’m still steering clear of caffeine for the most part. Over the last week, I had one can of diet soda and one 20 oz. bottle of diet soda (consumed over two days!) This is a giant improvement over the 3+ bottles I used to have every day.
  • I drank a full gallon of the H2Orange every day this week. And learned that I don’t love the cherry pomegranate Crystal Light.
  • I added two exercise sessions. I walked about a mile with the boys once this week and a mile and a half by myself yesterday. I’ve also been trying to get more steps in at the office (taking the long way around or tagging along if someone needs to run an errand). And I’m sitting on my exercise ball at my desk at home (that’s for the core or something, right?).
  • I know this wasn’t one of my goals for weight loss, but not buying breakfast or as big a lunch every day is saving me a lot of money! Bonus!
  • I only ate when I was hungry!
  • Weight…I lost 3.4 pounds this week! That means I’ve hit the 10 pounds lost since March 26th! That is also 21 pounds lost since my heaviest last August. Doing the happy dance!
  • Inches…I lost 5.75 inches this week. The biggest change was in my abs, which I expected because my, umm, lady friend left today. I was happy to see the first change in my bicep, though, as that’s always the last place to lose for me.

Challenges

  • Y’all. Easter chocolate? The Devil. I did have four pieces of chocolate candy this week. It was fun size, but I knew I shouldn’t have it, but did. Not beating myself up about it, but it’s been a challenge to resist the kids’ candy.
  • I am not hungry at dinner time any more. This isn’t bad for my body, but I miss eating with my kids. So it makes me want to eat when I’m not hungry. I still sit with them at the table while they eat, but it feels not the same.

Lessons

This week’s lesson in my program was about Sugar (aka, the Devil’s tool). I knew we (Americans) ate a lot of sugar, and I knew that it was bad for you…but I hadn’t really looked at the numbers before. It’s estimated that Americans eat 200 pounds of sugar per person, each year. In 1948 we ate 15 pounds of sugar per person, per year. I’m fairly sure I’m responsible for at least 70% of the daily allotment of the people who don’t eat sugar. I’m also noticing how much sugar is in processed/packaged foods. I feel dumb for not noticing the impact before now. A couple of the stats that freaked me out the most were: (1) the caloric density of one slice of shortening-iced birthday cake with a scoop of ice cream is the same as 1/2 pound of cooked pot roast, (2) one slice of pecan pie has the same caloric density as four English muffins, and (3) one package of peanut M&Ms has the same caloric density as 6 large peaches.

These lessons are important because of the awareness. I can’t pretend not to know these things any more.

So, how did your week go?

Previous weeks…

Week Two

Week One

I’m Fat, But That’s Changing

 

 

Filed Under: Healthy Life, Mom & Family

I’m Fat. But That’s Changing.

March 23, 2012 By 42 Comments

I don’t like to talk about weight. As my very smart friend said, it’s like the elephant in the room. It’s not like I don’t know I’m fat, because I do. But I also know my husband thinks I’m hot, I’ve got a good smile that I use all the time, and I have a good shape. I’m not a healthy fat person. I know curvy women who are fit, but I’m not one of them. I want to be.

It’s difficult to talk about wanting to get healthy without talking numbers. I hate looking at numbers on a scale. Unfortunately, the easiest way to track progress on the fitness front is by counting pounds lost. So, I’ll be counting pounds lost (inches lost too).

I’ve been in the 200s on the scale for 18 years. Which means that I have been overweight for half my life. I haven’t run since I was 18. Before that, I was healthy and in good shape. I was always a fit kid, never overweight (despite what I thought as a teenager). I played sports in school and my body did whatever I needed it to do. Then I went to college and started eating my feelings and stopped exercising.

As much as I hate looking at the scale, it’s the number I saw this summer that convinced me to take this body and my health seriously. I hit 300 pounds in August. This was a holy-shit moment for me.

My goal weight (because progress is easy to track with numbers) is 180ish (I’m 5’8″). I’m tired of being tired, out of breath, walking slowly, not being able to get on the floor and play with my kids. I’m tired of using belt extenders when I fly and of none of my clothes fitting. I’m tired of not wearing shorts in the summer. I’m tired of being tired.

I’m starting a program at work that is supposed to jump start this whole healthy-living/weight loss thing. I hope you’ll join me here to urge me on and maybe yell at me every now and then if I need it. I’ll check in with you all each week. I don’t want this blog to turn in to a place where all I talk about is my weight, but I know a lot of you struggle to get healthy and we can all use the encouragement. I’ll talk with you all about what I’m doing both food-wise and exercise-wise and I would love to hear your tips and thoughts.

Here’s where I am now.

 

So…are you in?

Filed Under: Healthy Life, Mom & Family

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