exercise – Page 3 – xangelle.com

Monday Weigh-In

Well, it’s past Monday morning, although I did weigh myself this morning….I just haven’t had the time to post yet.

I’m down to 190.2lbs from 190.6lbs….so not a big drop, but a drop nonetheless.

I had some running around to do this morning and now Siah is napping and I really have a ton of things to accomplish this afternoon.

My biggest question at this exact moment, is “How am I going to get to my exercise class this evening?”

Gelica is doing a French Presentation at the School Board Office tonight for parents who are thinking about putting their children into either the Early French Immersion or into the Late French Immersion Program.

Jon is going to take her to that at 7pm. My class tonight is as 6pm, and I should be home by 7:45pm, but what to do with the other 3 kiddos in the hour that both he and I are gone. I could probably ask my mother if she’d watch them for an hour…..Hmmmmm!

Gotta figure this one out. I’m still trying to exercise a couple of times a week. It’s not my favorite, but I do enjoy the class once I get going……USUALLY!

Well, I did plan out the menu for this week already and I’ll post that quickly.

Monday – Salmon, Rice and Steamed Veggies

Tuesday – Taco’s

Wednesday – Homemade Chicken Soup and Biscuits

Thursday – Chicken Stirfry over Rice Noodles

Friday – Nacho’s

Saturday – Pasta with a Chicken Cream Sauce

Sunday – Lasagna

This is a busy week, and Jon’s going away hunting on Thursday night, so it’ll be just me and the kids until Sunday night. Should be a fun, action packed weekend.

Do you have any fun plans for this week or weekend?

Addressing the Issue of Size……

I thought that I could say something about myself and my size.

I’ve gotten a few comments about how I look good or about how someone would never have guessed that I weigh what I weigh and it got me thinking…...and as it goes, I’m going to share what I’m thinking…..who wouldda guessed that, eh?

I am not a small person.

I have NEVER been a small person……well, maybe when I was a baby, but other than that….

When I was 12 years old, I grew 6 inches over one summer landing me at 5 foot 8 inches tall by the end of that summer. I weighed 120 pounds and modeled for a few years after that. I wasn’t fat or overweight, in fact I was thin……but I am (and was) a BIG person.

Now, I am 5 foot 10 inches and currently I weigh 193.8 lbs. I come from a big family. There are big bones on both sides of my heritage. I managed to get size in my genetic make up. I carry the weight well and fairly evenly distributed….I’d prefer that I have a little less in the truck and a little more up top (if ya know what I mean) but for the most part I’m not completely depressed by how I look….for someone who’s has a million children…..or ya know 4.

I am a big person. It’s taken some time, but for the most part I am comfortable being a big person.

It was difficult as a teenager. I won’t lie. And I struggled with feeling like “Ginormica” compared to the majority of my friends and especially my mother and sisters…..they’re petite! But I came to realize that there was nothing I could do to change my size and that I could be miserable about something that I couldn’t change or I could accept that it was who I am and carry on with life.

There are aspects of being a tall, big boned person that I like. I can hide a few extra pounds on my frame. I am strong. I can reach things in high places without needing help or even a stool.

Obviously, there are things that I don’t like about my size…..I’m not a big fan of the “number” of my weight. I don’t like feeling like I’m taller than all my girlfriends. I hate shopping because most pants are floods and those in the “tall girl” section have a rise in the crotch that makes the waist band sit right under my armpits. It’s a HAWT look!

But, for the most part I’m fairly happy with myself. I would like to lose some weight. Ideally, I’m about 20 pounds heavier than I’m could be, but honestly, I’m totally okay with weighing 180-185 lbs. I weighed 170-175 lbs when I got married and was by no means “large” at that point. I feel stronger and healthier when I weigh a little bit less than I do now. I’m not looking to be super model thin. I am completely realistic with myself and my size.

I currently wear size 11-15 pants depending on the cut, style and fabric. I wear a Medium to Large Shirt. I wear a size 10 shoe.

I am just a big person.

I see Angelica who is 12 years old walking the “big girl” road and I’m doing everything in my power to help her LOVE who she is.

It helps that I’m bigger than her…….for now! It helps that there are WAY more girls out there nowadays who are bigger and taller. It’s more normal now for girls to reach 6 feet tall and to have size 12 feet. It was brutal when I was 12/13 years old walking into a shoe store HOPING and PRAYING that they’d have even just 1 pair of a size 10 shoe and that it wasn’t too ugly. Now, It’s awesome to walk into shoe stores and to see size 11 and 12 ladies shoes and the variety and quantity. Not that I need that size, but if my girls do….no problems. It helps that I know what it feels like to be a big person.

I am a BIG person and I’m working on being as healthy as I can be.

I want to model good exercise habits for my kids. I want to teach them to eat well. I don’t want to see them sucked into the whole “I need to diet to be thin and acceptable” garbage. I want them to be aware of themselves in a healthy positive way. I want to teach them to be responsible for their health. I want them to love themselves for who they are and not for their size.

And so, I am working on myself because I believe that modeling healthy positive ways to live, eat and exercise is one of the best ways that I can train my children….and I think it’s working!

Another Monday Morning Weigh-In

Well, I normally dread these Monday morning weigh-ins and yet this weekend……not so much!

And wouldn’t you know it, for all of my not dreading it…..I gained weight this week. How’s that for fun?

The scale showed a clear 193.8…..that’s UP 1.6 pounds from last week.

While I’m not happy about that – I’m also not devastated. I’m still exercising (4 times this week) and I’d guess that I just need to be a little more aware of what I put in my mouth this week.

I will get “there”. In my mind, “there” means healthy and happy with myself. That’s what I’m working on….. While at times it may seem like an uphill battle, every positive choice that I make takes me one step closer to that goal.

I think that for me, one thing that I’m learning is that it’s all about choices and consequences. If I choose to eat healthy and to exercise, I’ll reap the rewards that lifestyle brings. On that other hand, I am also responsible for the choices to eat crap and to take a day (or two or three or so) off exercising.

While once in a while “treats” are okay – it really needs to be once in a while, and not “the norm”. I think I’m learning…..slowly….oh so slowly. It’s not that I’ve not known this in the past, but I’ve just not really accepted it or lived my life as if these rules applied to me. Like I said, I’m learning…..

I don’t really see a big difference between these photos and the previous ones, but that’s okay. I’m feeling good and I know that I’ve lost 10 lbs and for right now…..that’s good. It will come. I will be healthy. I believe it.

Monday Morning Update

So, another Monday has rolled around and the kids are off to school and I’m headed off to coffee with a dear friend shortly.

Jon is cooking some breakfast – eggs and homemade sourdough bread…..YUM!

I’m sitting here in my clean and tidy home and today feels like a GREAT DAY.

It doesn’t hurt that when I stepped on the scale this morning I was down to 192.2lbs.

YAH!!!!! That’s 5.2 lbs down since Sept 28th and from August 9th (when I started exercising)…..it’s 10lbs+/- that I’ve lost.

Although, if I’m totally honest, I will have to admit that the weight loss (this week) was from a really cruddy week of being sick, and not from extra diligent and careful effort on my part. I ate soup, soup and more soup and I managed to drag myself out to exercise ONCE (on Friday) and…..it was BRUTAL!

I think that saying that I did about half the class is an overstatement. I guess that’s the fallout from spending the week on the couch.

I am feeling SO MUCH BETTER and aside from just being a tiny bit tired….it’s as if last week never even happened.

I’ve been frustrated for a while at how tired I’m feeling. It’s been particularly frustrating because WHY AM I EXERCISING AND NOT FEELING ANY BETTER? After two months at this, I should be able to do a set without feeling like I’m dying, right?

Then I started wondering about my Iron levels. See, I cut out red meat back in the summer. If I don’t absolutely HAVE TO, I’m not eating it. I feel really cruddy when I eat it…like it’s physically noticeable how hard it is for me to digest and so….I choose to stop eating it, and VOILA – I feel better! But, like I said, I wondered if I might have a bit of a low iron issue – due to other issues that I’m just not gonna talk about right now – trust me on this one…..honestly!

Well, This past weekend we went out and got a Iron Supplement and I’ve been taking it since Saturday and the difference is already noticeable.

I’m hoping that I’ll feel a bit more energized soon.

I’m back at the exercise this week. I am noticing changes in my clothes and that adds a tiny bit of extra incentive to keep going. The clothes I wore yesterday honestly felt “frumpy” because they were a bit too loose, so I’m gonna need to ransack my closet and figure out which clothes actually work and which ones need to get shoved to the back corners…..hopefully forever.

It is hard to keep going when you don’t see “things” happening, but I am seeing that perseverance is paying off. This is no quick fix deal. It’s a life style…..made ONE. CHOICE. at a time…..for every good choice there is a positive reaction (eventually) and for every poor choice there is an equally poor consequence……

I’m working towards making the positive choices.

ps. I’ll try to get Jon to take a picture of me today and I’ll add it later…….

Yup – And here it is…..

Alrighty so guess what? I gained weight this week.

How’s that for a bummer?

Here it is Monday morning and I’m supposed to weigh in and so i stepped on the scale this morning and…..

198.2lbs

HOW THE CRAP DOES THAT HAPPEN?

Yah…well…it’s that oh so special week of the month.

And for whatever reason I gain….as in… I stepped on the scale one day and was down at 194……and then the next morning I was right back up to 200.

I didn’t eat anything weird or different….this is just my fun yo-yo monthly weight fluxuations.

It is VERY discouraging, but because I know to expect it….well, no, it’s still discouraging even though I know to expect it.

I do feel puffy and my fingers feel squishy…that’s where I can really feel the “bloat”. So, I’m just gonna keep on exercising (I made it to class 5 days this week – YAH) and watching what I’m eating and I’m hoping that my next weigh in, things’ll be back to normal.

I might even have a picture for next week’s….if I can remember to get Jon to take one.

Well, I’ve gotta go and plan my weeks meals and tidy the house and fold 80 bazillion loads on laundry that are currently in a mountain on my bedroom floor. But, HEY! They’re clean, at least…..and COFFEE….that’s the very next thing on the to-do list.

I’m gonna leave you with a little song that I’m currently grooving on right now….I LOVE this version.

Holding myself back!

Yup, I’ve been holding myself back.

You might be wondering if this is a good thing or not and…well, it is!

I’ve had these amazing lightbulb moments recently and you know how when something hits you as HUGE, or LIFE CHANGING or ALTERING that you want to share…..well, this is one of my moments and I’m gonna share….m’kay?

I’ve been exercising for over 3, almost 4 weeks now and while I’m not thrilled with the weight loss (haven’t really lost anything. I’m hovering between 196 and 202 and that sucks). There are other things that I’ve definitely noticed as positive effects from the exercise.

I’m needing less sleep. I feel stronger. I can do more and more of the class each time with better technique and skill. These are all positives. I can see and feel muscles developing (under the nice layer of fat that I’m hoping will start to melt soon). I’m excited to go to the class and feel AMAZING when the class is done. These are all good things, eh?

I’m working on my diet to find the right balance of food and calories that will fuel my body and help me to start loosing.

I will admit that I’ve felt very discouraged by how hard I feel like I’m working and the fact that I don’t see the weight coming off, BUT…..I am trying to focus on me getting healthy and strong FOR LIFE and not just for weight loss. I believe the weight loss will come…..or so I keep telling myself.

I’m also learning more about myself and having these little “lightbulb moments” during the class which then translate into more thought provoking times outside of class.

I am a highly organized (heck you could call it anal) type of person. My mind moves so fast……ALL THE TIME. Trying to shut it off or at the very least slow it down is a major undertaking. I find that I’m constantly thinking of what comes next. I’m constantly trying to figure out what happens in the future so that I can plan or organize for it so that it will all run smooth and then everyone will be able to enjoy life. (another realization just hit me – BLAM!!!! – man….I’ll be processing this one today some…..hmmmmmm)

I realized one class that I was so tired and overwhelmed because in my head I was running through how long there was still in the class and how much we still had left to do and which exercises that were hard I still had to do and how long until the easy ones started…………

My thoughts were focused so far ahead of myself and I realized that I was exhausted just thinking about what I still needed to accomplish. I was totally psyching myself out and was completely sapping any energy that I might have had to do the exercise that I needed to be doing right at that moment.

I tried very hard to bring myself back to the present, and to focus on what was in front of me and to just take it one step at a time, but honestly…..finishing that class was very difficult.

I went into the next class purposing to stay right in the moment and to not race ahead and while I had to reign myself in a few times…..I did WAY better and actually found that I had the energy to do the class and I wasn’t wasted by the time the class was finished. In fact, I was surprised at how fast the class seemed to zoom by. It was awesome.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how this applies in my everyday life.

And….well…..it really does apply.

I know that I’ve got a busy, BUSY fall that needs to be planned and organized and while I love to plan and organize – I’ve been letting it all overwhelm me slightly. I know that I can do it all. I know that it’s not too much. I even enjoy it. And so I’ve promised myself that I will view the over all picture lightly. I’ll see it for what it is….the big picture and then I’ll get busy with what needs to be done today and this week.

I can do this….and I’m gonna just relax and stay present and just enjoy today.

Tomorrow will take care of itself and my worrying about it won’t make it any easier or harder – will it?
Matt 6:25-34

Day 5……looking Up

Alright, so I blaaaaaaahhhed all of yesterday’s blah right outta me, and today has been a better day.

We ARE going away early next week for a 2 nighter in Whistler. It should be a ton of fun. Neither Jon nor I have been to Whistler recently and the kids have never been up there. So, we should have a blast up there with the family. Do you have any suggestions of things that we “should for sure do” while we are there? I’d appreciate hearing about what your favorite summer activities at Whistler are.

Today went a little differently than I planned or rather it went differently than I had thought it would, but it was still good.

My brother came over this morning to work a bit more on the trim . We have those HORRID rounded walls that were SO POPULAR about…..oh…..15 years ago (the age of our home) and so we had to order special rounded trim pieces to finish off the trim after we had the flooring put in. They finally came into the shop and today he brought them over. It’s so nice to spend time with family, even if they are working.

After he left, we popped over to this little coffee and tea shop in the Fort. It is such a cute place AND…..best of all, my cousin works there, and was able to take a quick break so we visited. So much fun.

After that we hit two stores to try and find me a pair of Birkenstocks. I’ve bought them a few times in the past and wear them until they fall apart. I end up feeling so great from wearing them (I’ve had massive issues with my feet) and I’ve really noticed that recently my feet have been hurting and then that means that my knees are hurting and then my hips hurt and my back hurts and then I get a headache……yah! All because of my feet. So, I’m on the search for another pair of Birkenstocks, but I’m looking for something pretty. We’ll see. I’ll show ya what I got, when I actually get a pair.

We didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but we can still look in a few other places.

We headed home after that and I’m feeling more settled now. We are managing to work though some of the boxes and to get the garage cleared out some and to put more and more things away and I’m feeling like it possible that we might get “sorta” settled before this vacation is over and definitely before school starts.

One HUGE weight off my shoulders are the kids school supplies. I found out that the school orders packages of the school supplies from Smartpacks and I am ordering the kids supplies tonight. We got ahold of the company today and the kids supplies will be delivered directly to the school and it’s for a decent price, but the biggest thing…..I don’t have to go anywhere and search out “the best” deals or fight with all the other crazy parents….I’m just sitting here on my butt clicking away and feeling so happy and smug. Yah me!

Tomorrow we’ll probably attack a few more boxes and maybe try to do something fun with the kids….we’ll see.

But, I’m feeling WAY more relaxed about everything today. And that’s a good thing, right?

ps. for anyone who cares – I’ve exercised 10 outta the last 13 days, and am feeling good about myself. I’ll weigh in tomorrow morning to see how that’s all going.

Day 4

Today is Day 4 of “The 2009 Cruddy Vacation”.

That sounds promising and fabulously positive, doesn’t it?

The kids have been unbelievably pissy the last few ~~days~~….~~weeks~~…..heck since we started talking about moving in the summer.

And I think I’ve caught that whatever they are feeling….

This is kind of a crappy vacation, if I do say so myself. And I just did!

Jon worked (HELLO – VACATION….where we DO NOT work) on Monday and then finished off our taxes (What was that? oh yah, those were supposed to be done a LOOOOOONNNNGGGG time ago – don’t even get me started on that) on Tuesday and then on Wednesday we had some running around to do and then here we are today where Jon paid some bills and is now doing a dump run….doesn’t this sound like a vacation that you’d like to be on? I did manage to wash and edge in a few walls with paint yesterday, but I still have to paint the rest of the wall and well, it all looks ugly…..and unfinished and BLERGH! GAKH! GRUMPH!

We are tired, and trying to do everything with the kids around SUCKS (cause all they’re doing is whining and moaning and making more mess and needing to be fed – seriously – and wanting to go “fun places and spend oodles of money and…..), and then it’s hot and nothing is finished and we’ve not got any solid plans and I do REALLY well with “plans” and (wonder where my kids get that from, eh?)…and ……AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!

I am hoping that we’ll get away for even an overnighter, but I’m not even sure of that at this point.

So, now that I’ve moaned and complained for far too long, how about some sorta, somewhat, kinda positive news.

Okay!

First, some not so positive news. I gained a freak load of weight. Awesome, I know! I made it all the way back up to 200 pounds. Brutal, Brutal, BRUTAL!

I made the decision at the beginning of August that I would try to hold steady. Meaning, I would not gain any more weight, but I wasn’t full on into losing wight yet, either. I figured that come September, I’d really give ‘er. At least, that was my plan….and it was going pretty well. I managed to stop stuffing my face with whatever was in front of me and to have SOME amount of self-control. I didn’t gain any more, but I didn’t lose, but I was okay with that.

2 Sunday’s ago, my sister (Debbie) asked if I wanted to go to a free exercise class – and my head exploded cause I was laughing so hard. No, I didn’t not WANT to exercise, but REALLY, I just should AND IT WAS FREE. SO I DID! and then….. I went back the next day….missed the next one and then went the next 4 days in a row…..YAH ME! I have now gone 8 out of 11 days. I’m sore, but no so much that I can’t function. I’ll be hitting the 8pm class today as well.

I would love to report some major weight loss, seeing as I’ve done more work in the last 2 weeks than I have in the last year put together, but I’ll be content with the 3 pounds that I have lost. Even more exciting is that my pants that have been feeling a little “Sausage-y” (it’s a word, just go with it) now are fitting looser. As in, I can put them on and not “gish” out all over the top with that lovely “muffin top” look that so many are sporting these days. It’s such a HAWT look, no?

So, this is Day 4. And I’m sure that tomorrow will be………… Day 5….ha ha ha I bet you thought I’d say tomorrow would be better….It might. I’m hoping.

Spanish Banks – Aug 16/09

*I didn’t even realize that I had an “exercise” category. Imagine that!

Yes, I Did!

I managed to pound out 20 minutes on the eliptical.

Thanks for being the monkey on my back. There is nothing like posting that you are going to do something to keep you somewhat accountable.

Mind you, mentioning that I was going to try to post every day this month hasn’t realy helped me out that much. I know that I went away, but I really have no “good” excuse for yesterday….just an excuse!

We were gone all day until 10pm and then the first that I thought about posting was at 11:30pm when I was laying in my bed, under the covers, in the dark and the thought crossed my mind that if I were REALLY SERIOUS about posting everyday that I’d get up and type something.

I, immediately, put that thought out of my mind – rolled over, and went to sleep.

And here we are!

BUT……I’ve posted more this month than I have in the last 2 months put together and I figure that’s pretty good. Not that anyone’s keeping track or anything……

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Thanks for all the comments on Siah’s pics. I’ll give it a few more days and then figure out which one(s) seem to be the winners. So far, it seems to be the 2 that I like the best as well. YAH!

Since ya’ll are in such fine form with the opinion giving….I’ll ask for a few more thoughts from you all.

I took the pictures of both Jeremy and Xandra over the weekend.

I’m really looking forward to getting some of these actually printed and framed. I’m having so much fun taking pictures. I wish I had a few more people to take pictures of……

I think that what I like about taking pictures is being able to capture “who” someone is. The different sides of someone…..the happy or serious or mischevious side of someone.

This set that I took of Jeremy was probably the easiest set of him that I’ve ever taken. With him, it definately has to be “at the right time” otherwise you are in for a whole lot of frustration and a whole bunch of extremely cruddy pictures.

He took some pretty awesome pictures. This first set is definately worth looking at even if just for the entertainment value – just to see what I have to work with. Click on the picture to see the whole “Goofy Set”

He is such a little goofball. I love him so SO much! These pictures will show off that quirky side of him…..just to let you know…he was actually “trying” to take good pics with some of these. It’s one of “those things” with ADD – the harder that someone tries to focus on something, the more difficult it is to actually accomplish.

You could see the difference in the photos as he started out “trying” really hard and then the switch when he actually started to relax and just have fun with me…..too funny.

Here are the “real” pictures.

Can you take a look at these and let me know which one(s) you like the best? Thanks so much!

Again just click on the picture to see the whole set.

Accountability

Hey! I’m jumping on the eleptical right now. I just need to put that out there so that I actually stick to it. I’ve fallen off the exercise bandwagon for the past 3 weeks and am desperate to get back at it. Well, my body says that i’m desperate to get bck at it, but my brain says, “Are you KIDDING me?”

Here it goes!