Hello Again!

I know, I've been absent. I got sick, and the baby was sick and life happened... but anyway, I'm baaack! And I realized that I never wrote a follow up post when I completed my Advocare 24 Day Challenge.

Update

I lost a total of four pounds and have maintained that loss, I even dipped down to 168.8 for a day! I realize that four pounds in 24 days is pretty good and I'm happy about it, but that loss all happened in the first 10 days and then it stopped.

My size 14 dress pants are looser. Not loose enough to get rid of them, but looser.
I can fit into some of my size 12 dress pants, and snugly fit into a ridiculously expensive pair of jeans I bought before I got pregnant with Jax. They look best paired with a hoodie to cover the muffin top.
I'm planning ahead and tracking what I eat. Anytime I've been successful with losing weight in the past I've used these two tools religiously. The challenge got me back into these habits.

I'm eating so much "cleaner." Before doing the challenge my main focus when looking at nutritional labels was the fat and calories. Now I also pay attention to carbs, protein, sugar and sodium. I try to eat real foods as much as possible, and processed food only occasionally. I keep my sodium low, sugars natural and low, carbs around or below 30 per meal and almost double my suggested daily value in protein.

Current Sample Menu:

Breakfast-
vanilla protein shake
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 banana
1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Morning Snack-
cut up apple
1 tbs peanut butter or 1/4 cup almonds

Lunch-
big spinach salad
4 oz sliced turkey or salmon
light Italian dressing
1/2 cup chickpeas or brown rice

Afternoon Snack-
fat free Greek yogurt
1/2 cup Kashi cereal

Dinner-
5 oz chicken breast
1 cup roasted broccoli, green beans or Brussels sprouts
1/2 cup brown rice, sweet potato or whole wheat pasta

Evening Snack- (some days)
1/4 cup nuts or edamame trail mix

All in all, I'm glad I took the Advocare 24 Day Challenge, but I didn't find the process to be as amazing or life changing as some people do. I feel much less emotionally attached to food and the process of eating... though it's kind of like losing a long-time friend and leaves me feeling just a little bit empty. I know I need to find the hobby that will fill that void.

The major downside to the challenge? I cannot even think about eating another fucking egg white!

I Talk to Myself... But Not in a Crazy Way

I’ll admit it! I talk to myself. I’m not the crazy lady you avoid on the sidewalk, I don’t talk out loud, or yell profanities. There was that time that I forgot that I didn’t have the boys with me and narrated my entire trip through the grocery store… “We need apples. One… Two… Three apples. Apples are red.” But that’s not what I’m talking about here.

As a mom, wife, employee, daughter, granddaughter, friend, I always often feel pulled in a million different directions. My mile long to-do list is constantly running through my mind and along with numerous requests from my little guys, and a few from the big guy. Mama Time is sought after in our house, as I'm sure it is in many others. It may a coveted seat on my lap, the spot next to me at dinner, snuggles at bedtime, or simply time together alone (ie, the big guy).

Sometimes, (who am I kidding? pretty much on a daily basis), I get to a point when I’m feeling so overwhelmed with sharing myself that I just want to run away. It's times like these that I turn to the little voice inside that calms me, reassures me that I’m doing ok and that things will get easier. I conjure up memories of my own mother, the most patient, kind and caring mama a girl could ever have asked for. I call this my Mama Voice.

Before you think I've gone totally nuts, let me give you a couple of examples:

Example #1: We're in the middle of the morning scramble. One kid's running around naked, eating an apple and the other one (also naked) is crying because the pants I've given him to put on are too cold. Too cold? I want to scream! WTF does that even mean? Enter the Mama Voice, "You are his favorite person in the whole wide world. You will soon be dropping him off at preschool, do not ruin his day by yelling... especially about cold pants!" So I rub the hell out of the fucking cold pants to warm them to an acceptable temperature.

Example #2: It’s 8:00pm, dinner is over, the kitchen is picked up, the baby is (hopefully) sleeping. There’s laundry to be folded, Facebook to be checked, toys to pick up, Candy Crush to be played, wine to be drank (drunk?)… you get the picture. There’s a lot of stuff I could/should be doing with this “down time.” Then comes the sweet little voice of my three year old, “Will you snuggle me on the couch and watch a show?” I want to decline, I have so much to do and I need some time to myself. BUT my Mama Voice pipes up, “He loves you. He missed you today. He wants to spend time with you. The rest can wait.” And so, I snuggle my boy on the couch... and maybe play some Candy Crush.

Don't let me fool you, there are times when the Mama Voice doesn’t win out. I give that bitch the finger and find solace in laughs with a great friend over nachos and margaritas!

Monthly To Do List

This month I would like to WILL:

Take a weekend hike with my family. I love Fall, and really want to get outside with my boys to enjoy our beautiful state.

Read a book. Like a real adult book. Not that kind of "adult" book! (Fifty Shades is so last year)

Go pumpkin picking. Never in my life have I gone to a pumpkin patch and picked out my own pumpkin. I think this is the year!

Get on my eliptical. At least once...

Try a new recipe. This cool weather makes me want to spend more time in the kitchen.


What's on your to-do list this month?