TIPS

Okay as I told you in previous blog I would give you some tips to help you lose weight. I have written most of them down. I may have missed a few tips but I will add them at a later date.

Keep a log of what you eat each day.Write down everything including gum, breath mints, & drinks.
Read your labels:

Check the serving sizes. It will tell you what a serving size is.

Servings per package. Usually contains more than 1

Calories

Saturated Fat

Trans Fat zero is the best

Cholesterol

Sodium Watch this carefully.

Carbohydrate

Fiber

Protein

Eat 5-6 small meals today. 3 meals & 3 snacks a day.

Don't up size your meals.

If you can split a bag of chips, fries, slice of cake. Share with a friend.

Eat small portions. Chew your food. Put down your fork. Give your stomach time to signal your brain you are full.

If you are going out to eat pre-plan your meal. Go to the restaurants web site to get the calorie counts. If they don't have a counter go to Calorie King.

Plan your weekly meals. I usually plan my lightest for the evenings.

Do not deprive yourself of a craving. You can have it but in a smaller portion.You can use it as a reward. But try to reward yourself with maybe a shopping trip. I go between shopping for me or Brylee or a new plant for the yard.

When you are eating, eat your favorite food first. This way when you become full you will stop eating.

Cut out the Cold Drinks/Sodas.

Ask for a "To Go" box. Take home what you do not eat or half the meal. Not only are you saving calories but you have another meal.

Ask for your salad dressing, butter, BBQ sauce, etc on the side. I dip my fork into the salad dressing and/or BBQ Sauce then my food. I get the taste I want & not the calories.

Get yourself a support group. Spouse, friends, co-workers, etc.

Take supplements & vitamins. Be sure you talk with your doctor on what you need.

These are just a few tips to help with your new Life Style.

Again if you have any questions please feel free to call me. I would love to be part of your support group.

This is the Life

Brylee came & spent the night with us on March 6th. That morning I cleaned up all of Jennifer's baby's toys so that she could look at them. Let's see are we ready? Toy Box, check. Bounce sit, check. Gym Mat, check. Diapers & wipes ready, check. Looks like we are now ready for Ms Brylee.

That evening I laid a quilt down so we could do tummy time. Not one of her favorite actives. I put out a few toys in front of her to look at. Right now she has to wear mittens so she can not do a lot of touch & feel. Her nails are like her T-MA's and they are thin & sharp no matter how short they are. But we will deal with that task as well.

Brylee is so sweet. She has learned to watch movement & TV is one of the movements. I put her on the quilt and we turned on Happy Feet & Snow White. Believe it or not she enjoyed it until she got hungry & man did we have to move fast to get her bottle. It was a peaceful evening & fun watching Snow White.

Sunday I woke up to her little noises. She makes noises at night but when she is getting hungry they seem to get a little louder. Well I got up & started her bottle & went to pick her up for her bed. I looked down & the Sun was shining @ 4:30 AM @ the Jarvis FunHouse! Let me tell you she had the sweetest smile on her face even if you are not a morning person you would have smiled. Well the morning was simple. Diaper change, bottle, nap, diaper change, watch cartoons, change clothes before mommy & daddy got here, bottle & nap. What a life!

NOTE: Yesterday (03/27/10) we added a high chair & an activity center for Ms Brylee. It's official, Ms Brylee has TAKEN OVER THE HOUSE!

Diet Plan

Okay I will tell you that everything I did & doing was under doctor supervision. I suggest that you talk to your doctor before starting any diet or exercise route.

There are several diet plans. The most recommended one by doctors & trainers is Counting Calories. Some of the others is the Diabetic Diet (carb/protein ratio). Weight Watchers. Jenny Craig. Nutrisystem, etc. Do your research. Pick the one that fits you & your new Life Style. Remember there are a lot of Fad diets out there so beware!

I picked the Calorie Counting because I have had success in the past with it. It again is the most recommended by doctors & trainers and there are no extra cost or fees.

I can eat anything I want. I just have to be sure to eat the correctly. No empty calories. I consider empty calories as cake, candy, certain soups, chips, etc.

Read your labels. Look for the calories, salt, fat, sugars, cholesterol, etc.

Proportion & size is important. Read your labels! Do not Upsize your meal. Choose a smaller portion. Example at Firehouse subs I choose the medium. I get the Wheat bread & no mayo.I cut the size, choose a better bread & cut out fat.

Chew your food. Actually taste your food. Put down your fork or spoon between bits. This allows the time for your stomach to signal your brain that you are full.

If you just have to have that bag of chips or some french fries. Share them.

The formula for the Counting Calories is: your 1st goal weight. (ex 200) add a zero (2000) subtract 200 from the total (200+0=2000-200=1800) When I was over 200 pounds I just set my first goal as 2000 calories a day.

You do this for each weight goal.

Remember if you are working out then you may need to increase your calorie intake slightly.

Eat 5-6 small meals a day. Most importantly talk to your doctor, trainer or nutritionist.

Bryan & I worked out with Wii & Kettlebells. Walking works too but remember you must increase your length and/or speed.

Calorie King & reading your labels are a good source to find your calories.There are others on the Internet that are also good, so check them out & choose the one YOU like best. Remember to that some restaurants have the information on the web, so check them out. I love What-A-Burger & Chipotle. They let you customize your meal.

Remember you are going to have a bad day. Just get back on track the next day. No need to beat yourself up over it.

Reward yourself once a month & have a day where you eat what you want. Ice cream, cake, Mexican food, etc. You will be surprised that you will not venture for from your new lifestyle changes.

Here is an example of what I eat in 1 day:

Oatmeal (This is Quicker Oats. with Splenda, a dab of I Can't Believe it is Butter, & a sprinkle of cinnamon). or 2 eggs with bacon bits.

A piece of Fruit or 10-20 Almonds or 2 Peanut Butter & crackers or Fiber 1 90 calorie Bar. (I try to keep my snacks at 50-100 calories).

A Smart one TV Dinner, Salad (low fat dressing or Salsa) a piece of fruit.

A piece of Fruit, 10-20 Almonds or 2 Peanut Butter & Crackers or a Fiber 1 90 Calories Bar. (I try to keep my calories for snack at 50-100 calories).

A 4oz piece of baked chicken, & a salad. or A piece of COD with green beans. or a can of tuna with a touch of sweet relish & onion, Apple, 1 slice of 2% Provolone cheese & 4 crackers.

Piece of fruit or almonds or sugar free pudding or jello.

I may add an additional veggie to my meal if I see I have not ate enough calories. You must eat & not skip meals.

I will try to have future blogs on my test results. Some tips. My progress.

If you would like some more information before the next blog(s) please call me & let's talk. I would love to help you with your Life Style Change.

Motivation/Inspiration

As I said in the last blog I was inspired by my neighbors. I have also realized I must stay inspired/motivated along the way. So how did I do it?
First was when Jennifer & Cary suggested we take a trip. We all decided on London. Well I have been on a plane before & to me the sits were too small. Thinking about being on a plane for 8-10 hours in a small sit was not my idea of how to start my vacation.
The second time was when I went looking for clothes for our trip. I had not worked to hard on losing weight with the holidays & birthdays so when I dropped a pants size I was re-motivated.
The third was in May when Jennifer & Cary told us we were going to be grandparents. Well I want to be in great health to be able to run & play with my grandchild(ren) and have the extra energy to keep up with them. I also hope that I have changed my eating habit that will be passes on to them.
The fourth was when I realized I needed to go to the doctor for my yearly test & check up in a couple of months. Well I got on it. Believe me it really was GREAT!
The fifth was when I went to the doctor and almost knocked him out of his chair with all the results. AWESOME!
I will be telling you more about the test results because it tells me my life style change really is working. I will let you know the results so you can see what My Life Style Change did for me & what it can do for you as well.

First Pie

Cary's birthday was recent. When I asked what he wanted he said a Cherry Pie! I said since I have never made a pie can I do a store bought one? He in his very nice way told me no. (Something like Store bought!?!?) Well if I love you I will step outside my comfort zone & do what ever I can to make your wish come true.

I used Cary's family for the crust & pie. I took a good nap before hand. (I do this to any task that I want to be done just right. NO I DO NOT TAKE A LOT OF NAPS!) Mind you I have a store bought crust in the freezer as back up. It is still there.

Well I did it. It was not a pretty pie but I did get it made. All from scratch. No store bought crust. No Cherry pie filling. Cary said it was good & had, I believe 2 pieces. Bryan who is not a fruit pie type person even said it was good. I did it! When I told a relative about it she told me, well you topped me. What!?!? You make pies all the time. She told me, well I use store bought crust & cherry pie filling. So thank you Cary for wanting a Cherry pie. I can now cross that off my list of things I need to learn. Well now I need to plan my next pie. I think we decided it would be Pecan. Yummy!

The Years of Trying To Lose Weight

I have been trying for 4 or more years to lose weight but just as I get to the 160 mark my health would get really bad. I would go to the doctor(s) and be checked out & nothing be found. I take that back due to some test we were able to remove pre-cancerous polyps. 3 different times. What a blessing!



I finally sit down and came up with a common denominator for the cause of my problems. I talked it over with Bryan & Jennifer & we all agree it's the SIT-UPS! Yep, good old fashion sit-ups. So now no sit-up or crunches for me. Problem is now I have to find another way to trim the abs area. Not to worry I have that solved as well.



I always started trying to lose weight but could not stay motivate. Well On July 4th a neighbor came to my door saying something was burning in her house. Call 911! Well when you get equipment in a neighborhood everyone come out to see what is gong on. We all come out to see what we can do to help our neighbors, our friends.



Jayne is about 9 years older than me & works out with weights 2-3 times a week. Because of this her bones are very strong even after chemo treatment. Yvonne is 4-5 years younger & looks great. She and her family have joined a gym & she had slimmed even more since her daughter's wedding. So then why do I look the worst for wear??



That night I knew it was time to lose the weight & this time I would succeed...........

I'm Finally Normal!

OK, OK, what were you thinking? Normal in the Head!?!? What ever, that is a long lost cause. I mean my weight! I did it! I have lose 56 pounds since July 5th 2008. I know that seems like a long time but Rome was not built in a year & I did not gain all the weight that fast either.

In a few post tucked in here & there I will tell you about how I lose the weight. Bryan & I call it a Life Style change. I will have it labeled as Life Style Change so if you want to read about it you can, if not you know to past it up. This is really for me to help me keep on track. I do hope that is will inspire someone out there who needs to lose weight, that they too can do it.

I want to say thank you Bryan for being my partner in this new life style. Thank you Dawn for the encouraging words & answering questions that I had. I still have the sweater!! To Jennifer, Cary, Jeff , Donna & Donna and all my family and friends that encouraged me and cheered me on. And I can not leave out Jayne & Yvonne for inspiring me!

THANK YOU!

The Ring

Well I guess I need to start with where I left off last. I believe it was with the missing ring. As you remember I lost my ring & Bryan was trying to help me find it. We knew we were going to have to replace my ring due to my weight lost. So while doing some Christmas shopping we stopped at a jewelers to see what size ring I would need.Well I went from a 7-1/2 to a 5-3/4. Wow, no wonder I lost my ring.

I know, I know why was I wearing it? One, rumors were going around that Bryan & I were having problems since I was not wearing my ring. NOT TRUE! We are very much a couple or a couple of couples. Bryan & Tressia. Ashes & Petunia. The other is I really miss wearing my ring. Why not have the ring sized? The ring design is solid & can not be cut down. So sadly we had to order a new ring. :(

In the mean time we still was without a washing machine. This was bad timing since I needed the washer that week for washing up a few things for Jennifer while she was in the hospital. Well the repair man finally made it on Friday. After he got to the inside of the washer he found a small problem. My Ring!!!! The only thing I can think of is when I was pushing the towels into the washer the ring just slide off my finger.

The ring was damaged even with it being made of titanium. So now my ring is sitting in the typesetters case. Thanks for the memories. Now on to the new ones.

Wow it has been a while since my last Blog.

I know, I know I'm a few months behind. I just can't help it since Brylee came along. Our world has been turned upside down. I can tell you I have found my STOP button. It is the one marked "B" for Brylee. It is amazing how someone so small can just change your whole world. Believe me Brylee is such a pleasure when she is here. We are able to spend time with her often & love every minute of it. Have I told you today????
I LOVE BEING A GRANDMOTHER!
For you that just found my Blog, you might want to also follow :http://www.lifeasamcfadden.blogspot.com. This is Jennifer, Cary & Brylee's blog site. You will be able to keep up with Bryan & I there. So off we go.........