Everyday Baby Steps

This is my first Mamavation post, and I'm excited to share the steps I've undergone thus far on my journey toward a healthier lifestyle. If you're not familiar with Mamavation, you may want to check it out. It's a weight loss and nutrition support movement started by Leah Segedie of Bookie Boo. I had the pleasure of meeting Leah at Blissdom. What a lovely, sparkling personality!

So I've decided to join Mamavation and to seek support and motivation from other moms just like me, trying to lose weight and get healthy in the midst of busy days filled with diaper changes, carpools, household and work obligations. Actually, I started making changes before leaving for Blissdom by doing a clense with Genesis Today juices. It was a great start to getting all the bad stuff out of my body, but starting BEFORE a conference hosted in a luxury hotel with incredible food brand sponsors probably wasn't the best idea. :)

You see, I LOVE sweets. Anything with sugar is my downfall, especially the sugary, carbohydrate filled treats like cakes and pie. And I've managed to pass my addiction on to my kids. They usually ask for dessert before dinner's even begun! I want to take on this journey for them and for me. So I did a little research before actually jumping right into Mamavation.

I decided to follow The Abs Diet. It's written by the editor of Men's Health and is based on eating a combination of twelve core foods in your diet. These foods are:

A - Almonds and other nuts

B - Beans and legumes

S - Spinach and other green vegetables

D - Dairy (fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt and cheese)

I - Instant oatmeal (unsweetened, unflavored)

E - Eggs

T - Turkey

P - Peanut butter, all-natural (no added sugar)

O - Olive Oil

W - Whole-grain breads and cereals

E - Extra-protein (whey) powder

R - raspberries, fresh

ABS DIET POWER!

Other foods are also recommended, but these make up the base of everything on the diet. It really makes sense to me, and it's an easy plan for me to follow. Not so much measuring, lots of variety and foods I enjoy - I'm a pretty picky eater. If this sounds like a diet that may interest you, feel free to click on my Amazon affiliate link below. There's also a video and supplemental books to the program.

I wish I had thought to record my weight and measurements before starting a couple weeks ago, but I was focused on getting started. I do think I've lost a bit. My husband has noticed. Woo hoo! I plan to start the exercise portion of the plan next week. That's the beauty of this program; it allows you to get used to the diet changes and introduces the workout in week 3. Wish me luck! One more thing, I almost forgot to mention. I won a free 3-month trial to Weight Watchers online through a contest I entered at the Blissdom conference. Weight Watchers was one of the awesome sponsors. Isn't that amazing? I'm combining the Weight Watchers point concept with the Abs Diet food recommendations. I'm really enjoying the Weight Watchers mobile app for the iPhone. It's a convenient way to keep track of my points. Are you doing Mamavation? Would you like to? I'd love to hear any recommendations, advice, or encouragement!

Here's my report for last week's Mamavation. Unfortunately, I let a lot of the good habits I had begun my first week just slip by the wayside. You see, my father-in-law passed away last Monday. Not only was it a stressful time, but folks always like to offer food during a period of grief. So we had a lot of comfort food around the house last week. Thank you to everyone who expressed condolecenses. He was a wonderful, generous man. He was 94 years old and had been in a nursing home for about the last year. My husband's dad lived a good, long life, and we truly believe he was ready to go.

So for a few days, eating right wasn't really on my mind. I ate breads, cheeses, cakes, and the like. Fortunately, I got a lot of good advice from my twitter friends and supporters to just go ahead and let that week pass, starting fresh this week. That's what I've decided to do. With the exception of a bit of candy that I didn't need, I really haven't done too bad thus far. I think off off to a good start and that I'll have good progress to report next week. And tongiht's dinner is this:

It's spinach breakfast pizza. I made it a couple weeks ago, and it was delicious. I'm trying to get back to experimenting in the kitchen and enjoying the creative outlet that cooking can be. My quest to eat healthier is certainly helping with this goal.

On a lighter and more postiive note, I do want to report that, despite my diet transgressions last week, I was able to wear my wide calf boots that previously weren't quite wide enough for my calves. I also got into a pair of jeans that didn't fit me before. They're still a size bigger than my normal size, but it's a start. You all know that "baby steps" is my mantra!

How'd you do on your goals this week? Whether it's eating healthy, exercising or trying something new, I'd love to hear about your accomplishments!

And thank you, Leah, for accepting me into the Mamavation Sistahood. I'll display my badge proudly as a reminder of the support I have out there!

Another bad week. Why is it so hard to get back on track after slipping? I hate that I've allowed myself to fall back into old eating habits. I know it happens, and I know I have to get back into my groove and to have the positive mindset I wrote about last week. I know I can do it. But it will take serious work. The one positive thing I've done this week is to continue my water intake, so that's something, right?

You know what, I did do one other thing. I interviewed a nationally known nutritionist about his new weight loss program and about his views on why it's so hard for busy moms to lose weight. His name is Tony O'Donnell, and you'll find his website at RadiantGreens.com. I promise to write up all of Tony's great advice for next week. It was great talking to him, and I'm excited to try his new program and to tell you more about it.

What I will say is that Tony O'Donnell is currently working on his doctorate in clinical psychology and wholeheartedly recommends looking at your emotions regarding food. He even suggests seeking the help of a professional counselor in conjunction with changes in nutrition and exercise when you really decide to lose weight. It was very inspiring to talk to him.

So I'll start this next week with a new, fresh frame of mind. I plan to take some time to write down my thoughts regarding food and why I so easily fall back into bad habits. I will also take stock of my grocery inventory and write out a detailed menu for the week. I think this will help to keep me on the right track.

How was your week?

There's not much I can say except that it's been a bad week. I didn't get back on track with Weight Watchers, and I continued to go downhill, falling into old eating habits. I didn't even do any mall walking. Sunday was Brady's 2nd birthday, and I just HAD to have a piece of cake, right?

Yeah, okay, that piece of cake wouldn't have been a big deal if not for the rest of the crap I ate all week. So I took yesterday afternoon to sit down and spend some time on the Weight Watchers website reviewing the program and getting suggestions. There was a helpful tip sheet that offered great ideas for making small changes, you know baby steps - like in the name of my blog.

So here are some of the tips I will implement this week to get back on track:

• Drink more water - I like water and this one shouldn't be hard as long as I make a purposeful effort.
• Limit fried foods to once or twice a week - I can definitely do this; today I ate salad instead of kielbasa with the rest of the family.
• Eat fresh veggies as a side instead of chips - It's just a change in mindset.
• If you don't really love it, don't eat it - This one is the BEST advice. It will become my mantra!
• Park far away and return the cart to the store - This small change should help me ease my way into exercise.
• Make exercise a priority, rather than an inconvenience - I should start looking at it as time to myself and something I GET to do.

Just a quick recap this week. The reason for this is that I really don't have much to report. I didn't start exercising. I ate some junk food. And I got away from recording everything into Weight Watchers. Good news is that I still managed to lose 2.5 pounds. I guess starting the good eating habits at least helped me not to go crazy when I did sneak a snack here and there. I really did pretty well at eating healthy and following the principles of The Abs Diet, despite my setbacks and the fact that I didn't keep track of anything. That's a good thing, but I do intend to get back on track this week so that I can make even more progress.

Another reason this post is short? Because I'm busy learning how to use my new toy. I got one of these today:

Isn't it pretty? It's a new 15" MacBook Pro, and I think it's going to make a world of difference in my productivity. I'm loving it - I just need a little time to get over the sticker shock. Wow. It really is an amazing machine that will make a huge difference in my writing career. Lots of changes coming. Stay tuned!

UPDATE - I just remembered that I did make one change this week - Brady and I went to the mall before it opened two days this past week to go walking. It was fun joining the mall walkers. So much fun that we had to stick around for two more hours to find some bargains get some more exercise!

We're only two weeks into the kids' summer vacation, and I'm having a bit of a hard time keeping up the positive attitude I promised myself I'd have. Honestly, I know that I'm very fortunate to be able to be at home with my kids. That flexibility is amazing. When I was working full time, I was so envious of the moms who were able to take their kids to the pool, do crafts with them and just hang out together.

The truth is, I just don't feel like I have the energy to keep up with them. I've definitely lost my mamavation, and I'm not in the physical shape I'd like to be. The goal was to work on eating healthy and feeling my best so that I could give them my best this summer. Big fail, which leads to big guilt, which leads to low motivation, and the cycle starts all over again.

I refuse to become a victim of that vicious cycle. My kids are all going through various phases right now. My oldest son, who's 11, has hit the pre-teen sassy stage. My 9-year old daughter is moody as can be, and my little boy has hit the terrible twos. Three awkward phases combined with one tired mama is not a good mix.

Do I have a game plan for this? Um, no. Not really. But I will try my damndest to come up with one. I will take my babysteps toward eating better. I'll get the work done that I can and try not to stress out about what I can't do. My intention is to get up a bit early in order to get some writing done and have some time to myself. I'll ask the kids to help watch their brother in the morning while I work some more, and then we WILL all do something together in the afternoon. I will not beat myself up if we don't make it to the pool. Quite frankly, running after three busy kids out in the open, in the heat, near deep water is a bit overwhelming, but we will do some kind of activity together. My hope is that this plan will lead to the balance I'm craving and result in everyone being satisfied.

Plus, if we run around in the afternoon doing some kind of fun activity together, it's likely to end in moments like this:

And then we'll all feel better!

How do you handle summer stress, and do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance!