I was bad this week...

My husband brought home cookie dough ice cream and fried chicken, which I had been craving, this week. My resistance level is not high. I'm not in any hurry to lose the weight. Not preparing for a wedding or anything. So I'm putting us on a stricter set of meals this week. Only one of which has a recipe at the moment. But I have a plan.

I'm going to make a meatloaf and mix in shredded zucchini and serve that with mashed sweet potatos. I do put a little butter on mine, but I don't add extra salt. My attempts at meatloaf have failed miserably, but I'm going to try again.

I'm going to make some brown rice with a mixed veg, beans, and cheese. Just use whatever is your preference.

Doing something similar except I'm using ground meat and barley. I figure I'll do one at the beginning of the week and one at the end I'm being a little frugal this week because my birthday is coming up and I'm making country style pork ribs that day.

Last of all I'm going to make some white bean soup. I actually think using dry beans is easier and it's definitely cheaper. I believe the recipe calls for dry, but there's really no reason you couldn't use canned. Just remember that a pound of dry beans is not the same amount as a pound of wet beans.

And I think I'm getting apples and mangoes today. Might get bananas instead of apples. Actually I probably will, but we'll see. Usually when I write this I've already been to the store, but I woke up early today and found myself with some peace and the time to write.

Breakfasts this week are going to be overnight oats and egg sandwiches. Picking up some English muffins for those.

So that's it for today. I want to get done early and take E down to the splash park again. We made friends on Wednesday when we went and it's supposed to rain the rest of the weekend.

Arm day

I actually really enjoy arm day. It seems much more straight forward than the rest of my workouts. I found out that full body workouts may be better for weight loss so next month I'm going to be trying that route. since I've taken measurements I can gauge how much of a change there is vs. how much was changed this month.  I'm no where near dropping a pant size yet so if I drop down a size by the end of the month we'll know.

So I like this workout because it doesn't require a lot of moving around. You pretty much stay in one place and the while thing takes about half an hour. There are a few I have to skip because I find them impossible to manage properly using water bottles as weights. I have little hands so getting a good grip on these 32 oz. water bottles is difficult. These weigh about 2 lbs. but you use whatever is comfortable for you. One of these days I'll get myself a set of real weights. It's just not on the top of my list.

I also like this because it can be good for a beginner or someone who is more advanced just by increasing the weights you are using or the amount of reps you are doing.

Something I bet you didn't know: certain arm workouts can help make your breasts perkier. Frankly, I just want mine to shrink. I've never wanted large breasts and would seriously consider having them reduced since I had my son. I'm hoping getting into shape helps. If not I'm just screwed. I can accept my lot, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like certain things to be different.

You can dislike things about yourself, but that should never change how much you love yourself. Like I have a big nose. I hate it, but I'm not rushing out to get a nose job. Whose to say it would actually look better after I got it anyway. I'm still pretty with my big nose and I've seen people with bigger noses so why complain?

Sorry. I kind of wish I'd had a girl so I could tell her about loving herself. I think that is less of a boy problem. So you guys get the lecture instead. Anyway I'm running behind today and still have to manage my own workout this morning so here's that workout.

http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Best-Dumbbell-Arm-Exercises-35176832

So I lost my grocery list...

After I got back from the store I couldn't find it. Did some crazy amounts of cleaning today and it turned up, so we're back in business.

So this week's menu:

Vegan vegetable soup. I bought 2 bags of frozen vegetable soup mix. Mine has carrots, lima beans, green beans,corn, okra, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes. I added celery, garlic, and mushrooms. I only added half the mushrooms because I'm using it for my next meal....

Pizza! The pizzas were such a big hit last time I made them I'm making them again. I've got some Vidalia onions and mushrooms for mine. D likes his half pepperoni and half cheese.

Remember those pork kebabs I made for cinco de mayo? Well D was in love with them. So I picked up some ground pork and I'm marinating it tomorrow and making pork burgers with carrot fries. We've been eating a lot of sweet potatoes so I thought I'd go with carrots instead. I've still got some corn from last week so I might cook that up too.
http://voraciousvander.com/2011/12/05/the-best-way-to-cook-zucchini-and-carrots/

I actually planned a lunch! Go me! OK super simple and it was pretty yummy...cucumber sandwiches. I nixed the butter because we were eating it right away, but I was very pleased with it. Paired it with grapes, but use whatever you like.
http://www.chewoutloud.com/2014/05/19/lemon-cucumber-cream-cheese-sandwiches/

Last but not least. Sweet potato shepards pie. I really wanted to make this, but I realized I had regular potatoes that needed to be used so I'm using regular potatoes. I'm giving you the recipe anyway and you can make it and tell me how amazing it was.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/11/sweet-potato-turkey-shepards-pie.html?m=1

Picked up apricots and bananas as fruit. I checked out prices on pork ribs. Be prepared in 2 weeks. Making bbq pork ribs. I'm excited.

So that's it for this week. I let my soup simmer and the time just went off. So I'm gonna eat me some deliciousness.

For some reason yesterday was Monday

I got my days mixed up. I kept thinking yesterday was Monday. Anyway today is when I talk about my butt workout. This one is great because it's short. It doesn't feel like it though. It's 3 sets of 4 workouts and a 1 minute rest.  It takes about 15 minutes, but it does it's job. I also like that there are no squats.
http://tone-and-tighten.com/2014/03/booty-pop-workout-15-minute-at-home-butt-workout.html

You're supposed to do each workout for 1 minute, but I'm not sure you could get very many reps in at the beginning. Also I have an interrupting toddler. I do 15 reps each side for the fire hydrants and donkey kicks. I have a fairly wide living room so I go across my living room 4 times, which is about 20 total lunges. Then I just count to 60 for the reverse plank. You can do whatever works best for you. I also like the fact that it's more consistent that way.
Not much to say on this one. It's pretty straight forward.
In other news, I finished my 30 day challenges. I can definitely see that that my abs are more toned, but I haven't lost very much fat in that area. However, I am not disheartened...well maybe a little bit. I think I expected to see more gone, but that just means my expectations were too high. I have no idea how much weight I have lost still, but I can tell that I have.

I can say that I feel better and I look better. I also took some measurements yesterday. I know that I have lost about an inch off of my bust line. I had been measuring for new bras that I never did buy. I went from 33 1/4 in to just over 32. My waist is at 38 in. I checked my thigh circumference as well. Since I have a knee brace I have to keep one that fits properly.  Since I'm wearing a large almost any loss means I need a new one. The largest circumference is up to 22 in. I recall being at exactly 22 in and now I'm down to 19.5. The problem is that you can't spot treat for fat loss. You're going to lose weight all over your body. So you're going to lose in the easiest spots first. I'm seeing the most differences in my calves, arms, and face. I'm also seeing some difference in my bust, but I'm not really sure how much I'm seeing.

I will try and show you a few pictures later so you can get an idea. I'm hoping in another month I get to see a bigger difference. I'm really angry at myself for letting it get so bad. I guess I just want to be where I was before. I want to get back to some kind of normal.

Sick baby

Yesterday was bad. My baby was sick. He had a fever and ended up vomiting. So I didn't get a whole lot done. You probably don't want to hear about that though. He's feeling much better today just so you know. He rarely gets sick.

So to combat my little ones yucky tummy we had fried rice for dinner. Everyone has their own recipe for fried rice. Sometimes I use quinoa and this time I didn't use meat. I kept it pretty bland, but still yummy. I was also able to cook rice successfully for the first time ever. So that was pretty exciting.

This morning I tried making overnight oats. There are a ton of recipes. My sister sent me the one I used. She's really into the make ahead meals right now. This one calls for chia seeds, but I used ground flax seed because I already had some. Plus I'm not sure how the boys would feel about the whole seeds. We topped it with banana, strawberry preserves, and granola. E was a little hesitant about it, but after I let him stir he was all for it. I bought some pint jars for $5 to make ours in.
http://www.katheats.com/recipage?recipe_id=6000086

For dinner tonight I'm making turkey burgers with baked sweet potatoes. My husband hates that I don't use beef, but I'm just not a fan of ground beef. I think it tastes awful. Plus ground turkey is cheaper. This is another one of those things where everyone just makes them the way they like. I do recommend adding extra seasoning to ground turkey. It seems to need that little extra or it's too bland.

Next I'm making cauliflower mac and cheese in the crockpot. I love anything I can make in the crockpot. Plus getting my husband to eat more vegetables. Always a plus. I'm sure the boys will eat hot dogs with it. I always keep a pack of turkey hot dogs in the freezer. I got enough to make it twice. I always underestimate how much I'll have leftover.
http://spicysouthernkitchen.com/crock-pot-cauliflower-cheese/

Last of all I'm making Ritz ranch chicken tenders with corn. Corn was 12 cents a piece and asparagus went up to $4 a bunch. So I got corn instead. I'm making it in the crockpot again. It was really good last time. Ritz chicken is a husband favorite. I figure I owe him a little for putting up with my vegetarian food.
http://www.mylifeasamrs.com/2013/01/easy-3-ingredient-ritz-cracker-chicken.html

So that's what we're eating this week. Oh I grabbed grapes and bananas for our fruit. I also grabbed some more raisins to make scones and some string cheese for snacks.

Abs day

Abs day was yesterday and it is just so much fun. It just takes so long to do. That's why it's I start my week with it. I'm afraid I would be unmotivated to do something that took so long if I did it at the end of the week. Just like I do legs last because I know it won't take very long and I get to rest over the weekend. It's good to know yourself and what drives you. That way you can trick yourself and overcome your obstacles.

I realized today that I don't have a scale. I really don't have room for one either. I know that I was at 160 lbs on March 19th. We had my son's birthday party at his grandparents and I weigh myself when I'm there. So I have no idea what I weigh right now. Which I'm kind of ok with. I kind of have a goal weight. I have a weight that I want to be near. I was at 125 when I got pregnant. My lowest weight was 115. I'm aiming for 120, but anywhere in that area is fine with me. I'm not going to get frustrated if I can't lose a couple pounds. I've had a baby so my body is a little different now and I'm cool with that.

So abs. Abs are a lot of women's target area. Especially during bikini season. They are also one of the most difficult areas to lose weight. Which is why instead of doing one workout 3 times, I do 3 workouts 1 time. I figure it helps to cover all of your bases. Plus it ke9eps it fun.

I'm going to yell you a secret. I don't actually do all the moves for each workout. I can't do them properly. I figure it is better to skip them than trying and hurting myself. It's ok to do less than what it says if you find it too difficult. The first time I started working out I tried something that was too difficult and almost passed out. Some things can be beyond our abilities, but we can go back and try again. I did that workout again a month later and since I was in better shape it was a lot easier. You need to change up your workouts about every month or so. You're body gets used to what you're doing and it will stop working. It can be as simple as adding extra reps or a new move. So I can add them in later when I'm ready.

OK rule number one: Always stretch before and after your workout. It helps prevent injuries. Since I already have a strained tendon in my knee, I'm all for that. It's unrelated to working out. It's actually been injured for over a year. It just won't fully heal. I've seen doctors. It's been feeling better since I started working out. I wear a brace and just keep going.

 I'm probably a little lazy since I do the same stretches before and after, but it works for me. You should stretch for about 5-10 mins. I wasn't sure what kind of stretches I should be doing so I looked it up. I'm all for google. This is pretty much what we did in elementary school gym class. I also add a few others I remember doing, but you'll be fine with this.
http://darebee.com/workouts/warm-up.html

I think the reason I love my abs workout is because it's the one where I have to listen to music. Well I don't have to, but it makes it more fun. Since I did have a baby and I have that yummy mommy. I wanted something where I knew I was specifically targeting that area.
On this one I skip the walking v ups. My upper body strength is just not good enough for this.
http://bikinibodymommy.com/2012/11/14/top-5-favorite-ab-moves-nutrition-tips/

This is my all abs workout, but I think it's pretty boring. It is fantastic for your abs. Planks are one of the best abs moves thete is.Don't feel bad if some of the moves are difficult to achieve and feel awkward to do. That's why even tho some moves repeat between the three sets I still do them. They get easier to do the more you do them. I had so much trouble doing side plank lifts at first and now they're easy. I skip the superman planks at the end here. They scare the crap out of me. I also take breaks doing the 90 second plank. It's ok to break it up.
http://kamafitness.ca/2014/09/02/sexy-summer-abs/

This is my favorite set. It is so much fun and it's the reason I need music. I don't time my moves like it says I just go for the length of a song. I find a song that works for the rhythm I need and just go. If I need a drink in the middle I stop and get a drink. Plus it's easy for even a beginner, but it's still a good workout. I always feel amazing at the end of this.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=the_lose_your_love_handles_workout

So there it is. You now have the abs secret. I may not have a scale, but I can see the difference in my abs. I want to finish the 30 day before I show you any kind of results. This workout plus the 30 days usually takes about an hour and a half. So you really need to make the time to do this one. Unlike what  I'm getting ready to do. Butt day is so easy you might cry. I'm still not sure if my butt looks different, but the muscles feel different, but that's for next week. If you're brand new to working out I'd start with the last workout and then add the second and then the first. I found them in that order and it worked well. The most important thing is that you make it feel less like a chore. It needs to become something you want to do because it feels good. I've spent time building my workouts to find what I liked. Now I love my workouts as much as I love my knitting.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all have a happy mother's day at least a better one than me. I've been up since 6 am cleaning. My gift to you I'd pictures of my pizzas, which were amazing btw. We couldn't wait to eat the first one as you can see.

Also, tiny toddler and his dinosaur kingdom. I fear they've killed the bear.