Getting Crafty

I've been busy sewing lately. Its fun and it  distracts me from mindless eating. Here are a few things I've been making. Let me know if anyone wants a tutorial on any of these.

 

First here is a Car Holder that I made for my friend's son, I also made one for my nephew but I forgot to take a picture of it.

This is how it looks when its all opened up. Four pockets for cars.

And how you fold it up...

And all folded up! (I forgot to snip some threads before taking pictures)

 

 

Here is KBeaner's new Tutu Skirt! She loves it and it was perfect for dance class.

 

 

Travel Size Tissue Holder

This one might be my favorite, I've already made about 7 of these in different fabrics for family and friends. I love it because I always need tissues for KBeaner when I'm out, but I hate having them thrown in my purse or pockets, and I refuse to buy those small packets of tissues, they're a waste of money! This way I can have a travel pack of them that is cute, and saves money!

 

 

Thanksgiving Day Game Plan

I've decided that if I make a game plan for Thanksgiving I'm less likely to over indulge. I'm excited yet nervous about all the delicious food that will be around.

So far here is my game plan...

First, I'll eat a healthy but filling breakfast. Probably Blueberry Muffin Oatmeal, that way I will be full but won't be using a ton of points.

I plan on drinking a lot of water through out the day and during the meal.

I will eat a ton of veggies and fruit, good for me and filling.  I'm making Roasted Green Bean "Fries" the only point is for the 1 teaspoon of olive oil and that would only be one point if you ate the whole batch. I don't plan on doing that since I have to share with my family, but they are so good that I probably could eat all of them. (I'll try to remember to take pics and make a recipe for it on here).

My Mom makes this amazing frozen pea salad, it has a lot of veggies but also mayo and cheese. I think I'm going to make a smaller size one for me where I can make a lighter version of the salad, and then I'll know the points for it as well.

I'm also bringing measuring cups to the table with me! I want to be able to eat what I want, but I also want to keep the serving sizes in check, it is a holiday but that's not a reason to over eat. This will probably be the first thanksgiving where I do not feel overly stuffed after the meal. I plan to feel happily full and satisfied.

Do you have a game plan yet? Either way, enjoy your thanksgiving!!

Weigh in ramble

Hey everyone! Sorry it’s been awhile, I was visiting family and friends the past week. 

Last Wednesday my weigh in went very well, 165 lbs! That’s another 2 pounds down!! Yesterday I weighed in and I maintained. Thank goodness, this past week I struggled with making positive food choices. Although I kept track of  everything I ate, I ate foods that weren’t the healthiest, I had way too many granola bars, I had burgers twice (my dad makes an amazing burger), and I didn’t eat enough  fruits and veggies. 

 

This past week was the first week that I ate every single one of my extra weekly points. Honestly I thought about just saying "screw it" on Tuesday night and eating over my extra points thankfully, I took a second to think about it and decided not to cheat!

I'm trying really hard to be on my "A" game this week, since next week is Thanksgiving.  It's lucky that my weigh in day is Wednesday so my extra weekly points starts over right before Thanksgiving. I'm going to make a post about my eating game plan in a few days, this way its out for everyone to see, and I can't back out of it and eat a bunch of stuffing... mmmm... ok back on track.

Last week I realized that I only have to lose 10 more pounds to have a normal/healthy BMI! 155 is the highest weight you can have and still be classified as having a normal/healthy BMI (for women my height and age). I honestly have no idea when I was last considered having a healthy and normal weight! I'm very excited for these next 10 pounds to come off. I realize the closer I get to my ideal weight (which I haven't decided the number yet) the harder it will be to lose weight. Even when I get to my ideal weight I know it will be hard to stay there, but I have committed myself to this lifestyle change, there is no going back!!

Thanks for reading my ramble!!

Here's a pic of me at 165lbs!!

Those are my new jeans... SIZE 10!!!!!

Halloween pics... a little late!

Sorry this is late, I just realized that I never put up pictures of KBeaner's Halloween costume!!

She was a mermaid! I made all of her costume (except for the onesie). The whole thing only cost $12!!

 

Showing off her costume! Notice that amazing trick or treat bag? My friend Julie made one for her daughter and KBeaner. So cute!

 

 

And here are our pumpkins! KBeaner is doing her "spooOOOooky" look!

 

Hope you all had a good Halloween!

Quick Workouts

The last few weeks I've been lazy at working out. These are my excuses...
My daughter was sick
Then I was sick
Then my back hurt.

Well I think my back started hurting because I was not being active enough. I've had sciatica issues on and off since 2004, since losing weight its been a lot better. I think it also helps that I'm much more active.

Anyways I started working out again on Saturday. Since I'm a (mostly) stay at home mom and my fiance works a lot I don't get to go to the gym. I mean I'm sure if I tried really hard I could figure out a way to go to the gym but I don't want to spend money on a sitter for KBeaner and I don't want to give up family time.  So since I don't go to the gym, and I'm not a runner, I use workout DVDs.

I'm lucky that I was given the Zumba DVDs as a present (I would have never bought them on my own, I'm too cheap). I also do  Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred, you can buy the individual DVDs for only $10 at Target. It gets really boring only doing a few different DVDs everyday though.

When I first started getting into working out again a friend of mine introduced me to Blogilates. A Pilates instructor, Cassey Ho, puts up different workouts onto Youtube (here is a direct link to her You Tube Channel) I love her videos because they aren't too long, challenging and most importantly fun! She has these fun song challenges my favorite is the Call Me Maybe Squat Challenge. The challenges are only as long as a song and like all her videos they are free. There is really no excuse not to workout, who cannot find 4 minutes here and 4 minutes there. If you do 5 of them a day that's 20 minutes of exercise! Even if you just do 4 minutes..that's 4 more minutes than you normally would have done!

I've only done the Blogilates videos and some from Live Strong Woman, but I'm sure there are tons of other workout programs that are available on YouTube.

I hope you check out some of those videos if you're feeling like you're in a workout rut or you're looking to start working out. They really helped me.

Banana Nut Oatmeal and weigh in

Happy Halloween everyone!!

Today is my weigh in day and I lost one pound! I'm very pumped for that one pound since the past couple weeks I have not been working out. Even though I have not been working out I have been tracking all the food I've eaten, even though I have been eating a lot (probably because I haven't been working out) I went way into my extra weekly points this past week. I did however work on getting my 5 cups of fruits and vegetables in every day. Most of the days I get in about 4 servings. I feel better when I eat more fruits and vegetables, so I am going to continue to work on getting all 5 servings a day!

Here is an easy and tasty way to get a serving of fruit in...

Banana Nut Oatmeal (inspired by Banana Nut Bread)

Ingredients
1/2 c  dried oatmeal
1 c water
1 banana (sliced)
1 tbsp almonds (or nut of choice)
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
dash of ground ginger

Cook oatmeal as directed on package, then add your banana slices, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon and ground sugar. Stir well and Enjoy!

I love making my oatmeal this way, so fast,easy and fills me up! I like that I get a fruit serving in and some protein for only 5 points! I hope you enjoy your Banana Nut Oatmeal.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Products that Help with Weight Loss

There are a lot of products that can help with weight loss. I'm not talking diet pills and magic potions, but different tools to help you have a healthier lifestyle.

Here's a list of some my favorites that I use all the time (I've linked these to Amazon to give you an idea, but obviously any brand works)



Food Scale- I use my food scale all day long, it helps with getting the right portion and sometimes if you weigh out your food you get "more" than if you had measured it out!

Measuring Cups- kind of obvious but measuring cups make sure you are getting the correct portion of food.

Scale- Your scale doesn't have to be a fancy one, just one that you can use to weigh in each week so you can see how you're doing. Please don't obsessed with what your scale says, sometimes the best way to measure if you're losing is with how your clothes feel on you.

Salad Spinner- Seriously I love this thing! You can clean your lettuce with out having to wait forever for it to dry. I also find it stays fresh longer, which saves you money. Every couple days I clean up more lettuce so that when I want a salad I can just grab some quickly. I buy whole heads of romaine instead of those salad bags, its cheaper!



 



A Notebook- I track all of my points, my exercise, how much water I drink and how many fruits and vegetables in a notebook. It helps hold me accountable and keeps me on track.

 

 

Hope these help you as much as they help me. Tell me in the comments about your favorite products!