Greetings! (Hold on... this one's longer as there's LOTS to tell!!!)
Well there's A LOT going on. I am still epically failing at getting thinner but I feel a ton better and Mark and I have made some big decisions and startling realizations this week.
1. It's not that we eat a ton of crap - we just eat too much (we seem to figure this out weekly but
what does one do about it?
2. To fix the above we have finally decided to take some OLD advice from diets long since faded
from popularity. Ready? Are you sure? Wait for it...
We are going to stop using our dinner plates.
Yup, you heard my typing correctly. No more dinner plates. Mark has been very creative and healthy in his food prep on our super limited budget and we've enjoyed salmon patties, grilled veggies in all available yummy varieties, smoked pork (thanks Salamy's!), breakfast for dinner (eggs with shrooms and a little cheese and bacon - my fave), and it's all been scrumptious! So what are we doing wrong (this week's minor episodes of stress sweets aside)? We have the same complaint every time after wolfing down our healthy yummy goodness. Wanna guess? Yup. "Man, I ate too much! Why do we always do that?" The answer. Are you sure you're ready again? This one's really profound.... It's because it's there!!!! It takes several minutes to feel full and since I'm busy inhaling my husband's delicious cooking... by the time I know I've eaten too much and could have put half of that food up for tomorrow, it's already in my belly!
Solution: Salad plates. We are now going to eat dinner on the teeny delightfully cute mini versions of our dinner plates. We've decided that we'll eat, set the plates down, and if after a few minutes we still feel hungry we'll go get a little bit more of the healthiest available dinner choice.
Stay tuned to see if our evil plan works!
In other news: Let's not discuss finances. That's an ugly word. Let's instead talk about blessings. Mark has had a ton of great leads on jobs and I know he's very nervous but I know God's going to put him in the right place. Please make sure you send up an extra prayer for him as he has his first couple interviews tomorrow. He's worked so hard at the computer (6-8 hours a day) chasing leads and applying and making calls.
So Blessing #1 - My amazing husband. Did I mention tomorrow is our second anniversary??? We may not be recreating last year's extravagant Florida celebration but we'll be together and after the last few weeks I'll happily take that and run with it!!! Florida can wait until fall break when it's cooler! :)
Blessing #2 - Our great friends and family who have supported us like the Barons and Harts and so many more like the Reeds, Arch, Jen, Michelle, the Steeles, my Mommy, and so many more who have called with tips, advice, made calls for us, prayed, etc. There are simply too many of you to mention!!
Blessing #3 - Ellie!!! 'Nough said. She could make a rock smile.
Blessing #4 - Companies who've helped us reduce some bills and my upcoming summer Bridges check! Woot!
... and soooooo many more because God is good!!!
Well that's a novel I've written so I shall call it a day!!! Until next time friends! Thanks for tuning in and I can't wait to update you on how our tiny plate plan is working!!!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Update
Hello out there world:)
Well it's been a week since I last wrote. And what a week it's been. I am still eating WAY way less but I'm still not doing a good enough job of eating the right things and I have to get better at that without the aid of the phentermine. More on that later.
I can tell my tummy is shrinking which is step one. Now I need to eat better. Sugar is not my issue. Carbs that convert to sugar are the devil. Conquering them is step two. Step three: I still need to get my butt moving. I love to walk, but as per any Tennessee spring, it went from 70 degrees to 100 degrees overnight and I am only motivated to walk to my mailbox and back when it's oppressive heat like that. So I need to get back on the elliptical and back to zumba in my living room. It's quite a wake up call when to get life insurance the company wants to send someone to your house for vitals and bloodwork. Geesh.
So why only one month on the phentermine? Simple: money
I'm a stress eater and these next few weeks will be a big test for me in that department. You see at 9am this morning, right before Mark left for work, his supervisor called. As of today, yep... TODAY, there are no more Gold Buying Centers... period. He was asked to come in and turn in the key and break down the computer and that's it. No warning, no prep time, and smack in the midst of trying to regroup after the worst financial year of our lives...WHAM! We're screwed. But hopefully not for long. Mark thinks this will be the start of bigger and better things and his confidence is making me more confident... but the worry wart in me is still freaking out about losing our spot at Ellie's daycare and managing to pay bills. And the life insurance we just bought will have to go as well. But I have to give this to God, keep working hard, and trust that whether it's pretty or not, we'll come out on the other side of this at some point. Anyone have some winning lotto numbers they want to part with in the meantime? :)
That's all for now. This hit to us does not mean I'm throwing in the towel... just means that it's going to be more of a challenge. Here we go!!
Well it's been a week since I last wrote. And what a week it's been. I am still eating WAY way less but I'm still not doing a good enough job of eating the right things and I have to get better at that without the aid of the phentermine. More on that later.
I can tell my tummy is shrinking which is step one. Now I need to eat better. Sugar is not my issue. Carbs that convert to sugar are the devil. Conquering them is step two. Step three: I still need to get my butt moving. I love to walk, but as per any Tennessee spring, it went from 70 degrees to 100 degrees overnight and I am only motivated to walk to my mailbox and back when it's oppressive heat like that. So I need to get back on the elliptical and back to zumba in my living room. It's quite a wake up call when to get life insurance the company wants to send someone to your house for vitals and bloodwork. Geesh.
So why only one month on the phentermine? Simple: money
I'm a stress eater and these next few weeks will be a big test for me in that department. You see at 9am this morning, right before Mark left for work, his supervisor called. As of today, yep... TODAY, there are no more Gold Buying Centers... period. He was asked to come in and turn in the key and break down the computer and that's it. No warning, no prep time, and smack in the midst of trying to regroup after the worst financial year of our lives...WHAM! We're screwed. But hopefully not for long. Mark thinks this will be the start of bigger and better things and his confidence is making me more confident... but the worry wart in me is still freaking out about losing our spot at Ellie's daycare and managing to pay bills. And the life insurance we just bought will have to go as well. But I have to give this to God, keep working hard, and trust that whether it's pretty or not, we'll come out on the other side of this at some point. Anyone have some winning lotto numbers they want to part with in the meantime? :)
That's all for now. This hit to us does not mean I'm throwing in the towel... just means that it's going to be more of a challenge. Here we go!!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Week 1 Over Half Done
Hello out there!
Let's start with Mr. Murphy and get the small amount of suck out of the way early shall we. The lawnmower does not look good. Fingers crossed the small engine mechanic looking at it tomorrow will discover my husband and our friends who've looked at it were horribly wrong and it will cost like 5 bucks. I can dream right? The dryer was one hundred and fifty freakin dollars!!! (Like how I typed that out for emphasis?) So in the land of improving our finances, Murphy and his stupid law can bite my big toe! I'm over them right now! I recently told a friend that if you follow bad or sad news or thoughts with a smiley face, no one can accuse you of being Debbie Downer. So :) :) :) :)
The upside: We started Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University this week. I went to the first class for both of us last night. We have SO FAR to go but I really think his system makes a lot of sense so I'm committed to trying it on the basis of one quote from his lecture; "We're not selling microwaves, we are in the crock pot business." I'm writing that down EVERYWHERE to remind myself not to be impatient. The program is honest and it's meant to be permanent not quick! You see I'm a fixer so I like to clean up messes as quickly as possible. We didn't spend ourselves under debt mountain in a day and it will take us a while to dig out but we are diggin and making better choices. I just have to remember it's about being the best us and not keeping up with the Jones's.
Now for what you've all been waiting for:
So how's the phentermine going? Well I'm not any skinnier but I am less hungry! I've been trying to consciously make positive choices every day and I've had a couple of setbacks, but I'm eating better and WAY WAY less! Yay! Now to bring the exercise portion of this up to par. I've been counting my pool time a little more heavily this week than I should. I mean come on...it's summer!! A girl's gotta get in the pool!! But if you just stand in the pool it hardly counts as exercise. My mouth moved a lot while talking to the other girls in and around the pool, and my fingers worked very hard squeezing the trigger of the water guns I found, but I don't think that burns a whole bunch of calories. I'll have to look it up to double check. :) Again, a girl can dream!
I'm just proud of myself for not making multiple trips to the junkfood aisle as we've gotten craptacular news about the mower and dryer. I've always been a stress eater. It's not that I eat tons, but when I'm stressed I make poor choices about what I eat. I know that's a fairly common struggle. So the game plan is to continue to NOT stress eat and amp up the exercise. I have a feeling that the healthier I feel the easier this will get! On to the weekend!
Thanks for reading!!!
Let's start with Mr. Murphy and get the small amount of suck out of the way early shall we. The lawnmower does not look good. Fingers crossed the small engine mechanic looking at it tomorrow will discover my husband and our friends who've looked at it were horribly wrong and it will cost like 5 bucks. I can dream right? The dryer was one hundred and fifty freakin dollars!!! (Like how I typed that out for emphasis?) So in the land of improving our finances, Murphy and his stupid law can bite my big toe! I'm over them right now! I recently told a friend that if you follow bad or sad news or thoughts with a smiley face, no one can accuse you of being Debbie Downer. So :) :) :) :)
The upside: We started Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University this week. I went to the first class for both of us last night. We have SO FAR to go but I really think his system makes a lot of sense so I'm committed to trying it on the basis of one quote from his lecture; "We're not selling microwaves, we are in the crock pot business." I'm writing that down EVERYWHERE to remind myself not to be impatient. The program is honest and it's meant to be permanent not quick! You see I'm a fixer so I like to clean up messes as quickly as possible. We didn't spend ourselves under debt mountain in a day and it will take us a while to dig out but we are diggin and making better choices. I just have to remember it's about being the best us and not keeping up with the Jones's.
Now for what you've all been waiting for:
So how's the phentermine going? Well I'm not any skinnier but I am less hungry! I've been trying to consciously make positive choices every day and I've had a couple of setbacks, but I'm eating better and WAY WAY less! Yay! Now to bring the exercise portion of this up to par. I've been counting my pool time a little more heavily this week than I should. I mean come on...it's summer!! A girl's gotta get in the pool!! But if you just stand in the pool it hardly counts as exercise. My mouth moved a lot while talking to the other girls in and around the pool, and my fingers worked very hard squeezing the trigger of the water guns I found, but I don't think that burns a whole bunch of calories. I'll have to look it up to double check. :) Again, a girl can dream!
I'm just proud of myself for not making multiple trips to the junkfood aisle as we've gotten craptacular news about the mower and dryer. I've always been a stress eater. It's not that I eat tons, but when I'm stressed I make poor choices about what I eat. I know that's a fairly common struggle. So the game plan is to continue to NOT stress eat and amp up the exercise. I have a feeling that the healthier I feel the easier this will get! On to the weekend!
Thanks for reading!!!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Day 1 - Live From the Trenches
Ok. So today was officially the first day of public attempts at life change. Successful? Eh. Not too bad I suppose.
Here's the deal:
When I went to talk to my general practitioner a couple of weeks ago (thank you peak of allergy season), he and I discussed the fact that he had never fought for me to lose weight, just agreed it would be a good idea, because my numbers all rocked. But he could see how concerned I was with getting healthy and we agreed taking a few more pounds off was a great way to do it. So he suggested we try an experiment. With my work schedule this summer and Ellie's daycare schedule, I have plenty of time for small workouts four to five days a week. He asked if I had ever considered Phentermine as a way to augment my progress. I have NEVER used any get skinny quick products to my knowledge other than a brief and rather unsuccessful attempt at Medifast (I like food faaaaar to much for starving) and Weight Watchers (points counting was too much pressure and made the good foods rewards which meant I craved them more). Oh alright... I did at one time by one of those stupid battery powered belts that were supposed to work out your abs while you went about your day. Hang on to your hats as this is a shocker... it didn't work and felt as stupid as it now sounds! Anyway... I digress.
We talked about the medicine at length. I explained I'd been most successful just eating smart, avoiding preservatives and unneccessary carbs, and working out. He said this was PERFECT! If I could do the phentermine for June and MAYBE July this summer ONLY, it may help kick start my progress and keep me motivated. So today was day 1. And you know what... I actually was less hungry and ate less, which was either the med or my desperate attempt to believe it was the med as it cost me 32 freakin dollars!! (Ok. It cost Mark 32 freakin dollars but what's mine is mine and what's his is mine, right? :) And Mark and Ellie even went for a walk with me this evening. It was decidely short but it was our first night and we did it together so I'll take it! Oh and by the way... I didn't get on the scale. I'll use my last Doc visit weight as my starter. I'm serious about making this about my health and not a magic goal number. :)
Now... as for front #2: Money Matters
Well, a few days ago the lawn mower broke - and of course it's not the super simple fix we hoped for although hopefully it won't be too bad. Then today the Dryer (less than 3 years old - Grrr) broke - and of course it's not the super simple fix we hoped for although hopefully it won't be too bad. And the hospital called to say they had reevaluated our insurance coverage of Ellie's hospital stay and of course it's not the super simple fix we hoped for and I owe them another 150 buckeroonis. So after one day during which we carefully planned meals and bought groceries we've actually succeeded at taking 9 steps backwards. Seriously!?! I can't help but laugh at this point. As my boss ALWAYS says, "It is what it is" and it's not like we're in danger of losing a roof over our heads or not buying Ellie what she needs as of yet, so we'll just keep plugging. I have to believe we will dig ourselves out... it's just going to take a while. :)
Even with the financial debacle full of potential impending doom to our budget... I'll call today a win.
I'll post again after another few days or if anything interesting happens!
Thanks to the few of you who are reading this and keeping me honest. Feel free to share it!
Here's the deal:
When I went to talk to my general practitioner a couple of weeks ago (thank you peak of allergy season), he and I discussed the fact that he had never fought for me to lose weight, just agreed it would be a good idea, because my numbers all rocked. But he could see how concerned I was with getting healthy and we agreed taking a few more pounds off was a great way to do it. So he suggested we try an experiment. With my work schedule this summer and Ellie's daycare schedule, I have plenty of time for small workouts four to five days a week. He asked if I had ever considered Phentermine as a way to augment my progress. I have NEVER used any get skinny quick products to my knowledge other than a brief and rather unsuccessful attempt at Medifast (I like food faaaaar to much for starving) and Weight Watchers (points counting was too much pressure and made the good foods rewards which meant I craved them more). Oh alright... I did at one time by one of those stupid battery powered belts that were supposed to work out your abs while you went about your day. Hang on to your hats as this is a shocker... it didn't work and felt as stupid as it now sounds! Anyway... I digress.
We talked about the medicine at length. I explained I'd been most successful just eating smart, avoiding preservatives and unneccessary carbs, and working out. He said this was PERFECT! If I could do the phentermine for June and MAYBE July this summer ONLY, it may help kick start my progress and keep me motivated. So today was day 1. And you know what... I actually was less hungry and ate less, which was either the med or my desperate attempt to believe it was the med as it cost me 32 freakin dollars!! (Ok. It cost Mark 32 freakin dollars but what's mine is mine and what's his is mine, right? :) And Mark and Ellie even went for a walk with me this evening. It was decidely short but it was our first night and we did it together so I'll take it! Oh and by the way... I didn't get on the scale. I'll use my last Doc visit weight as my starter. I'm serious about making this about my health and not a magic goal number. :)
Now... as for front #2: Money Matters
Well, a few days ago the lawn mower broke - and of course it's not the super simple fix we hoped for although hopefully it won't be too bad. Then today the Dryer (less than 3 years old - Grrr) broke - and of course it's not the super simple fix we hoped for although hopefully it won't be too bad. And the hospital called to say they had reevaluated our insurance coverage of Ellie's hospital stay and of course it's not the super simple fix we hoped for and I owe them another 150 buckeroonis. So after one day during which we carefully planned meals and bought groceries we've actually succeeded at taking 9 steps backwards. Seriously!?! I can't help but laugh at this point. As my boss ALWAYS says, "It is what it is" and it's not like we're in danger of losing a roof over our heads or not buying Ellie what she needs as of yet, so we'll just keep plugging. I have to believe we will dig ourselves out... it's just going to take a while. :)
Even with the financial debacle full of potential impending doom to our budget... I'll call today a win.
I'll post again after another few days or if anything interesting happens!
Thanks to the few of you who are reading this and keeping me honest. Feel free to share it!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Here We Go!
Well here we go!
I haven't really written anything for anyone but me to read in a long time, but I decided to create this blog as a sort of online accountability partner so I hope a few of you out there will follow it and keep me honest!
I'm a fairly new mom (my little one is 4 months old) and I'm fat. It's ok. I always have been...since about age 6 I guess. I'm also broke. It's ok. I always have been. ha ha!
As for the first problem, I'm actually already 20 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant with Ellie. But I'm struggling with a rather vexing problem: If I'm lighter than before, why don't my dang pants fit right?? My shape has changed drastically and I don't like it. I don't mind being bigger. When you have been your whole life you sort of get over it and move on to more pressing issues. I've never minded because I've always been perfectly healthy! Scoff if you must but it's true! I've had perfect blood pressure, blood sugar, and perfect cholesterol forever. But my doctor called and after having Ellie, I've become borderline diabetic. With a family history of diabetes on both sides this is an issue I figured I'd have to deal with at some point but now that it's a reality... I'm mad! I don't want to have any health issues while Ellie is growing up. I want to be around to enjoy my grandkids... and since I'm an older mom to begin with, I need to get with it. So this is not a blog about my attempts to get skinny!! Get real and get over it! I am who I am and that's all that I am. (Thanks Popeye!) This is about getting healthy and my attempts to do so.
It's about a little more as well. At the same time I am trying to get healthy, I'll be trying to do it on an extreme budget. I'm not really sure what happened. I left my 20's with a big fat savings account, took vacations wherever in the world I wanted, and had almost no bills. And now... I live paycheck to paycheck, pray we have no extra bills come up to throw off my careful balancing act, and owe EVERYONE money! So what happened??? In short: We were idiots! Big, huge idiots. I want my old bank account back and I'm going to try to get it.
So this is a multi-purpose blog. I hope you'll read along while Mark and I try to straighten priorities and straighten our waist lines. :) I have big plans! Now let's see if I can follow through! :) :)
Thanks!
J
I haven't really written anything for anyone but me to read in a long time, but I decided to create this blog as a sort of online accountability partner so I hope a few of you out there will follow it and keep me honest!
I'm a fairly new mom (my little one is 4 months old) and I'm fat. It's ok. I always have been...since about age 6 I guess. I'm also broke. It's ok. I always have been. ha ha!
As for the first problem, I'm actually already 20 pounds lighter than when I got pregnant with Ellie. But I'm struggling with a rather vexing problem: If I'm lighter than before, why don't my dang pants fit right?? My shape has changed drastically and I don't like it. I don't mind being bigger. When you have been your whole life you sort of get over it and move on to more pressing issues. I've never minded because I've always been perfectly healthy! Scoff if you must but it's true! I've had perfect blood pressure, blood sugar, and perfect cholesterol forever. But my doctor called and after having Ellie, I've become borderline diabetic. With a family history of diabetes on both sides this is an issue I figured I'd have to deal with at some point but now that it's a reality... I'm mad! I don't want to have any health issues while Ellie is growing up. I want to be around to enjoy my grandkids... and since I'm an older mom to begin with, I need to get with it. So this is not a blog about my attempts to get skinny!! Get real and get over it! I am who I am and that's all that I am. (Thanks Popeye!) This is about getting healthy and my attempts to do so.
It's about a little more as well. At the same time I am trying to get healthy, I'll be trying to do it on an extreme budget. I'm not really sure what happened. I left my 20's with a big fat savings account, took vacations wherever in the world I wanted, and had almost no bills. And now... I live paycheck to paycheck, pray we have no extra bills come up to throw off my careful balancing act, and owe EVERYONE money! So what happened??? In short: We were idiots! Big, huge idiots. I want my old bank account back and I'm going to try to get it.
So this is a multi-purpose blog. I hope you'll read along while Mark and I try to straighten priorities and straighten our waist lines. :) I have big plans! Now let's see if I can follow through! :) :)
Thanks!
J
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