TWENTY-THREE POUNDS? ADIOS!!

I mentioned several weeks ago that Tim was starting the Take Shape for Life program to help him get back in shape.  He weighed about 170 and was very physically active when we met in 1997 and remained so until about 2004.  Over the last eight years he has continued to eat the same as he did when he was more active, but the life of an employed adult with a wife and young kids does not allow for the same amount of basketball, racquetball, softball, running, ultimate frisbee, and weight lifting as the life of a single or dating college student does, which means his weight has hovered around 200 for the last several years. 

Guys can drop weight more easily than girls, so he's quickly lost 5-10 pounds here and there, but always gains it back.  Enough is enough, though, and he decided that a structured program would be helpful.  He started TSFL on 9/8/12 and weighed 193 at the time.  Today he stepped on the scale and saw this.

That's about 23 pounds in just over five weeks.  Wowzers! 

Now, I have to say two things. 

First, I have sworn I would never have a scale in my home.  Females in our culture are obsessed with their weight and it's a very unhealthy obsession.  I have absolutely no desire to raise my daughter in a home where her health and appearance are judged primarily by the number on a scale, where every morning she's greeted by something that focuses on her weight.  Tim, however, had to have a scale for this program.  That was a huge, honkin', hard pill for me to swallow!  The compromise is that the is scale tucked away in our bathroom and the boys just discovered it a couple days ago.  The kids are not allowed to use or play with it.

Two, your weight is an indicator of your health, but it is not the only indicator.  It's not, not, not!  It's ridiculous to aim for a certain number just for the sake of the number.  I have friends about my height who weigh more than me, but are in far better shape.  They eat well, exercise regularly, and look fantastic.  It would be ludicrous for them to try and get to my weight just for the sake of seeing a smaller number on the scale.  Tim's weight loss is one step in getting him back to a healthy place, but it is not the only step.

Those things being said, I'm amazed at how different Tim looks now than he did about a month ago.  He looks 19 again!  Well, closer to 19, anyway.  He's lost extra chins and his clothes are loose.  Oh, the clothes!  I wish we'd taken some pictures of how his clothes fit before he started this, but we didn't.  Pants that used to be stretched in the butt now hang with excess fabric.  Shirts and sweatshirts that used to be stretched in the stomach are now loose.  The thing I most appreciate?  He no longer snores.  Bliss!!  He was not a snorer when we first married, but somewhere along the line he became a loud and constant snorer. Probably around 2004, if I had to guess.  Obesity, and yes, he was ounces away from being considered obese from a medical standpoint, is the (or one of the, depending on what you read) leading cause of snoring.  Twenty-three pounds vanished from Tim means I now sleep better.  Woohoo!!

I think weight loss is always something to be proud of, whether you use a structured program or simply choose to eat less/better and move more.  Either option requires perseverance and self-discipline, which can be really hard.  But people lose weight all the time.  The harder part, in my opinion, is keeping the weight off, which is where Tim is now at.  He has started transitioning back into eating regular foods and out of the meal replacements he's been using for most of his nutrition over the last several weeks.  Additionally, it's time to start kicking his activity level up a notch or two.  Now that our kids are getting older, it's easier for him to take some time away from the family to get some exercise in or to incorporate the kids into what he's doing.  I think the accountability that comes with his new role as a health coach will also help him with this lifestyle change. 

I'm still saying "I can't believe how different you look" several times a week, so I'll give you a little peek at the difference.  Keep in mind that he's slightly angled and looking at the camera in the second picture, which makes it harder to see how much has changed, but there's no doubt his stomach is significantly smaller than it was five weeks ago.

This is my personal blog, not a TSFL one, but I have to say that I'm really thankful this program has helped Tim to finally get back in his health promotion and fitness managment groove.  And, selfishly, that it has helped me to once again sleep in peace and quiet. 

MENU - FIRST HALF OF OCTOBER 2012

Tim is almost done with the weight loss phase of Take Shape For Life.  In an attempt to mesh his meals with our budget, he's often eating different dinners than we are these days  That will change once he can add beans back into his diet and we all find a new normal, but we've never eaten meat with every dinner and can't start now.  Meanwhile, we're finding some new lean and green recipes that will get added into our regular menus and keeping our grocery budget where it needs to be. Any meal on our regular menu that Tim is eating will be marked with his initial.  Otherwise I'll list his meals separately.

Quick stop for two new things we liked on the last menu.  

* taco casserole - Pretty self-explanatory.  Big hit with the little Ws.
* hearty chicken vegetable soup - Tim's not a big soup fan, but he likes this one.


BREAKFASTS
* doughnuts x2
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, raisins, huh-koe-pee milk, and energy mix as optional toppings x10
* egg & potato scramble (potatoes baked in advance)
* yogurt with fruit & nutty, fruity granola
* snickerdoodle muffins
* oatmeal pancakes

DINNERS
* leftovers x2
* tacos x3
* lentils & rice/green salad x2
* Hawaiian chicken (crockpot)/rice/green salad
* lemon Greek salad (barbecue, T x2)
* barbecue chicken pizza/celery & carrots
* marinated salmon (Tim's catch, barbecue)/roasted broccoli/rice(T)
* zesty chicken (crockpot, made two - one for dinner, one for freezer, used carcass for making broth)/couscous/roasted lemon cabbage (T - chicken over spinach x2)
* meatless minestrone (use leftover roasted cabbage)
* quinoa & black beans/celery & carrots
* brown rice & lentil salad over spinach
* chicken vegetable soup (chicken, broth from the zesty chicken carcass, & a random assortment of veggies in the crockpot)/buttermilk biscuits with chives & black pepper

TIM
* green bean lasagna x2
* broccoli chicken Dijon (going to try some of this in the crockpot) x4
* new pizza recipe x4
* stuffed portabella mushrooms

SNACKS & DESSERT
* produce
* popcorn
* zucchini cake

FEELING CHATTY TONIGHT

One W is sleeping, two Ws are out of the house, and two Ws are watching a movie.  This W is sitting in a quiet house with a computer on her lap.  Seems like the right time for a blog post!

Sonlight - At this point, we've always and only used Sonlight for school.  I've had a code for new customers to use that gives them $5.00 off their first order if it's $50.00 or more, but no one has ever used it until recently.  I gave it to someone from church and they used it, but today I got notification about someone else who had used it.  Someone I don't know.  Random, but I'm glad they got the discount. 

I know $5.00 isn't much when you're buying curriculum, but every little bit helps!  If you're interested, then you can click here or go to the link in my sidebar to be taken to the registration page with my referral code automatically added in.  If you're already a Sonlight user, then be sure to share your referral code with friends who are going to be making their first Sonlight purchase.

Me - I am still using My Fitness Pal and making sure I get some form of exercise each day.  Usually I go on a stroller-pushing walk, but I've also spent some time swimming (we had a season pass that ended today), tried jumping rope (that just about killed me on my first try, so I cut back, but it hurts my shins), jumping jacks, push ups, etc.  I don't feel like my shape has changed at all, but I know I'm taking better care of myself.  A handful of people mentioned that it could be a diastasis, but I'm not sure if it's that or just plain old fat. 

I've also set a weeknight bedtime of 10:00 for myself and set my alarm for about 15 minutes before the little Ws usually wake up in the morning.  I'm slowly working on having more self-discipline, an area of my life that is in desperate need of improvement.

School - I like to get four to six weeks of school completed during the summer.  We completed two.  Just two, but we're cruising along and it will be fine. My biggest struggle right now is getting language arts done.  I'd love for a genie to appear at my door and just take care of that with the big boys.  Alas, I need to figure out how to keep that on track.

I was telling someone tonight that we take homeschooling one kid and one year at a time, but that the early years were the most important to me.  I never established when the early years ended, but Silas will be in middle school next year.  Pretty sure his early years are over.  I have no idea what we'll do next year, but it's crazy how fast those years with Silas flew by. 

Home - I am realizing how much more I love homemaking than homeschooling.  Efficiently running a household is mindless for me and I enjoy it.  Unfortunately, I tend to slack on everything when I feel like there's too much on my plate, which is counter-productive because the incomplete tasks stress me out and then I bark at everyone.  It's the perfectionist coping mechanism - if you can't do it all well, then don't do any of it at all.  Not very wise.  Productivity and a clean house make me happy, so it's time to crack down and manage my time better.

Granny - My grandma, whom many of you have met over the years, moved out of state about a year and a half ago.  With the exception of a year or so in California, she's lived as close as the same apartment complex to as far as three hours away from us for about ten years.  Needless to say, she was a regular part of our life.  She loves me, but I think she loves Tim even more.  And the kids?  They're loved even more than Tim.  In fact, Naomi wailed uncontrollably for hours when she had to say goodbye to Granny.  It was horrid.

Anyway, if you know me at all, then you know I am not a phone talker, but I try to call Granny every week. Sometimes I miss, but I'm making an effort.  It's hard, though.  Her memory is failing and it's becoming more difficult for me to think of things to talk about.  She pretty much worshipped the ground Naomi walked on, but now refers to her as "the girl".  I don't remember the last time she called any of our kids by name.  My birthday?  This was the first year of my life that she didn't remember it... or the other Ws', for that matter.  She refers to my mom as "Mike's sister" or "my daughter", but never as "your mom".  I don't think she makes that connection anymore. 

But she keeps our pictures on her mirror and tells me about them every time we talk.  I love that.

I don't even know why I'm telling you this.  It's just hard.  Not as hard as caring for her, but still hard. 

Storage - Silas called me into the bathroom today to show me something he discovered.  A drawer.  We've lived here almost a year and never realized there was a drawer at the bottom of that bathroom cabinet.  It's like a secret hideaway and I'm delighted to have extra storage space in that room.

Tim - He's taking classes once a week, landed a two day subbing job in the beginning of October, and was offered a few days of work from a friend.  I'm thankful for the upcoming work, regardless of whether or not it's teaching!  He's still doing the Take Shape For Life program and is getting pretty close to his goal weight.  People generally have to lose a ton of weight before I notice, but I saw a difference in him several days ago. 

He's actually decided to become a health coach with TSFL and just opened up his website a couple days ago, though I think he's holding off on posting his picture until he's reached his goal weight.  He has a degree in health promotion and fitness management, so he's pretty excited to use that background with the TSFL program. 

And we'll stop there.  I have more on my mind, but I've probably chatted enough for one blog post.  Have a great weekend!!

WHEN THE BABY BUMP DOESN'T INCLUDE A BABY

This kind of picture usually generates a lot of "how cute" and "love the baby bump" comments.  Right?

It's not, though.  Why?  Because the baby is nine months old today and that bump is fat.  Which, by the way, just goes to show that it's the knowledge of what's in the bump, not the bump itself, that causes people to find a baby bump cute. 

Anyway, back to the baby-less bump. 

I have always lost the bulk of baby weight pretty quickly and the remaining weight has dropped once I finished nursing.  This time around, however, has been completely different. 

I never got weighed during my pregnancy with Tyler, which was a total fluke, except for one time I stepped on my Dad's scale.  At that point I'd gained 30 pounds.  For reference, I gained 35 with the big boys and 30 with Naomi.  So, 30 seems fine ... until you find out I was only five months pregnant at the time.  I have no idea how much I gained, but it was definitely more than I did the previous three times. 

I also sat on my couch, super depressed and really queasy, for the first trimester and ate small amounts of protein every two hours to help with the nausea.  Three months of shoving food in my face and being sedentary was a bad start.

The fact that I was in my mid-thirties (not old in the scheme of life, but definitely getting up there in pregnancy years), it was my fourth pregnancy, and I wrapped the whole experience up with a c-section, means the odds of that weight easily dropping off quickly plummeted.

I don't think I'm fat, but I know that I weigh more than I should.  I don't step on scales unless I'm at the doctor's (or, apparently, my dad's) and am fine with whatever weight means my clothes fit right, but they still don't fit right and I constantly find myself sucking in my stomach.  Three or four weeks ago I had a little meltdown because I was discouraged about my clothes not fitting and I shared with some girlfriends what was going on.  I told them I didn't want to join any program, but just wanted some practical suggestions for getting back to my normal size.  In addition to other tips, several of them suggested My Fitness Pal, so I set up an account.

I wanted to see what my eating habits looked like on paper (or the screen, as the case may be) before I made any significant changes, so I'm still the same size I was a month ago.  However, I've confirmed that I eat a lot (quantity and frequency) and don't move much.  No big surprise there.  I've also learned that some of the healthier things we eat around here, like oatmeal with dried fruit & nuts on it, have crazily high calorie counts.  I've been shocked at the calorie count and fat content of some foods and surprised at some of the serving sizes.  It's been a learning experience, for sure!

Now, let me just say it drives me crazy when people are obsessed with the nutritional content of their food, when their idolization of healthy food makes it difficult or impossible for others to invite them for a meal, and/or when the only thing they talk about is their weight, size, and shape.  I don't want to be that kind of person.  Blech.

But it appears that I do need to start paying a little attention to those things so that I can get to a healthy size again.  Ten extra pounds may not seem like much, but when you're short there's nowhere for it to go but out.  And when you're in your late thirties, that ten can quickly become twenty, fifty, and more.  Especially if you love eating as much as I do.

Other than adding a little exercise into my week (shocking, I know), making a few little changes in how I eat, and tracking food and exercise on MFP, I haven't really buckled down and tackled this baby-less bump.  The time has come, though.  I've had a few weeks to see where the changes need to be made and now I need to make them.  I realize that counting calories, carbs, fats, and proteins (actually, having the computer count them) isn't the only factor in healthy eating and I have no intentions of tracking food forever.  For now, though, it's a helpful tool in my quest to have my clothes fit right again.  Tracking exercise has also been really helpful to me as I've seen exactly how different activities balance out what I'm eating.

I've never had a flat stomach and am not setting out to get abs of steel.  I love dessert and am not going to give it up.  I'm simply going to eat differently and move more.  That movement will, in return, earn me the privilege of eating a little more.  For me, it's just about having a little self-discipline and self-control.

Incidentally, Tim has recently decided to tackle his "I used to be super active and athletic, but I started having a family and needed to spend time raising my kids, so I slowly quit various activities and became more sedentary, but I kept eating like an active guy" body.  He's going a different route, though, and doing the Take Shape for Life program. 

So, the next month or so should be interesting around here as we figure out what changes to make, both temporary and long-term, in what we eat and how we move.  I think it's going to be fun, though, especially now that three of the little Ws are now old enough to join us in some of the "moving more" aspects. 

Why am I telling you this?  Partly because there's some accountability that comes with telling the world that you're going to take responsibility for something, mostly because I just like to chat and this is what's going on in my life.