This Week

Last week was the start of taking care of my grandmother... I do have to say that it was not as bad as what I thought. Even though she is in pain she has been very pleasant and has not been fighting with me like she does with my mom. In fact she hasn't been fighting with my mom either and has also been pleasant with her as well.

Last week went fairly good. Although it was the County Fair and we did go up a few days and yes *hangs head* I did eat fair food. I had a Gyro, the closest thing that I could find as healthy food. I do love them though. Other than that I ate and drank well. I didn't even get my fave at the fair LEMONADE, just stuck with my water.



This week my weight is 164.8!!
Lori I hope you can see this... I lost 1.8 pounds!!

Waist- 39 same
Hips- 39 same
Right Thigh- 23 same
Left Thigh- 23 same
Right Arm- 12.5 same
Left Arm- 12.5 same

Here was my week:

Monday- Got Tonique 2 and man she kicked my butt!
Tuesday- Walked about 3 miles, did an ROCKIN Workout on #tworkout!
Wednesday- 90 minutes Yoga
Thursday- Walked around fair for a few hours chasing down the almost 2 year old
Friday- 30 minutes Elliptical
Saturday- Cleaned out the basement all day!
Sunday- 30 minutes Elliptical

Goals

• Exercise more
• Keep drinking lots of water
• Keep eating better
• Work on meal planning
• Keep exercising more!!

I also want to congratulate Janice @fitcheerldr for being the Sista of the Week!

SoCal Cleanser is the sponsor of this week's Mamavation blogging carnival!!

How Living Consciously Can Affect Your Health (and Your Waistline!)~Guest Post~

How Living Consciously Can Affect Your Health (and Your Waistline!)

By: Liberty Kontranowski

It’s so easy to wake up and say, “Today, I’m going to start being healthy.” We’ve all done it. All of us. Your intentions are good, yes, but when you say this, do you really mean it? Do you have a plan in place? Do you have a goal of what “healthy” means to you? Do you have support systems at-the-ready in case you fail or have a setback? If not, it’s time to start living consciously. Without this process, keeping your vision clear and your path plotted will be harder than it needs to be – and the journey will seem more chaotic than joyful.


So what does it mean to “live consciously”? Living consciously simply means doing things with careful thought to how they may affect other areas of your existence – and, in this instance, achieving better health, weight loss or whatever your goal is.

Proactive thinking is a major component of living consciously. This means taking the time to envision where you want you to be (ideal weight, physical endurance, stopping all medications, etc), then doing things, whether big or small, to set yourself on the path to getting there. If you don’t know what your specific goal is, start there. Think about where (location-wise) you want to be while working toward this goal, what you will do to reach it, who you want to be doing it with and how you will feel while doing it. Think about these things in the short-term (the next few weeks) all the way through the long term (when you’ve reached your goal and beyond). Don’t forget to take a little extra time to envision how you’ll feel after you’ve met your goal – what a great feeling that will be!

Conscious living can also mean filtering the people you choose to let in your life. If you are attempting to become a more positive, optimistic person in your quest for a healthy lifestyle, then perhaps it’s time to move on from the nay-sayer friends you’ve kept in touch with out of obligation. Or the people who simply tell you the things you want to hear because they don’t really believe you’ll achieve your personal success. Surrounding yourself with other positive, successful people is a sure way to fire up your own sense of cheerfulness; in this way you are reinforcing good behaviors and subsequently letting go of negative ones.

Finding groups of like-minded people are a great way to gain support, hold each other accountable for small and large goals, and celebrate victories of all sizes. Online friendships can be just as powerful as face-to-face friendships, and can even be more encouraging. Imagine how much fun it will be to celebrate a 20-point drop in your blood pressure with 300 of your closest online friends. Good stuff, right?
While there are many different facets to living consciously, taking the time to envision what you want out of your health, from the smallest nuance to the biggest wish, will help clarify your thoughts. From there, you can choose behaviors and thought processes to guide yourself through your transition from work-in-progress to extraordinary. With a commitment to conscious living and purposeful decision-making, you can have the life you were destined to live.

**
Liberty Kontranowski is a valued writer and blogger on the eDrugstore.MD writing team, with hundreds of health articles published online and in print. eDrugstore.MD, a US located online medications facilitator prescribes lifestyle medications.

~Weekly Weigh In~ 8/23

This week was just so crazy for me. Everything just always falls in my lap at once. It never happens a little bit at a time. I had my yard sale and that went well. I got rid of a bunch of stuff and made some money. I didn't get rid of the one thing that I really wanted to get rid of though and that is a huge coffee table that we have had for about 5 years now and no one bought it! Its is nice, so that is the only thing that actually made it back into the house.

My grandmother has been in the hospital for about a week now and she is more than likely coming home this week sometime. She is 84 and moved up here from Arizona about 3 years ago to be closer to my family. My parents bought a house for her right around the corner from them, because her house had not sold when she moved up here yet. She has been slowly declining in her health and her motivation to do anything. My mom has been at whits end with her. My grandmother is a little strange... She is totally negative about everything and anything, I personally think that she is suffering form a bit of dementia. She is due to be released this week sometime and my mom has asked me to watch her during the day and get her butt up and moving around. One of her problems is that she will eat and then go and lay down, that's why they found tons of food stuck in her esophagus while she was in the hospital. I was a Certified Nursing Assistant in the past, so I know just how to handle this type of work. So, it's gonna be interesting for awhile, until we get settled into a routine with her and oh I will also have my girls with me except when the oldest starts back to school in a few weeks. Yeah things will be very interesting. I just hope that I can figure out a way for me to keep up with working out.

I did not eat all that great this week. We had pizza twice and fast food once. I am going to make this week better though with good healthy food. My weight this week is 166.6. I have gained a half pound. I'm not to surprised by it due to the junk that I ate.

Waist- 39 same

Hips- 39 Lost 1 inch! Idon't know how that happened
Right Thigh- 23 same
Left Thigh- 23 same
Right Arm- 12.5 Lost 1/2 inch
Left Arm- 12.5 Lost 1/2 inch


Here was my week:


Monday- Got more stuff ready for yard sale on Thursday

Tuesday- I got my Pedometer in the mail and walked 4.5 miles, 2 of which was walking around the park & town with the girls. I also did about 10 minutes on the elliptical and a few weights. Then I also did  #Tworkouts from the Sisterhood of the shrinking jeans. I felt so great! I just wanted to keep going and do more and more.

Wednesday- Drop kicked my pedometer while moving boxes upstairs from the basement for the yard sale. Needless to say I broke the pedometer. Spent about 3 hours moving stuff up and down the stairs.

Thursday- First day of yard sale made about $80. I did manage to squeeze in 30 minutes on the elliptical. I was so sore from either moving all the stuff or from the #Tworkouts.

Friday- Second day of yard sale made about $40. I didn't do a whole lot because I was just so exhausted.

Saturday- Last day of yard sale made about $30. I gathered everything that was left over and sorted out some baby clothes and toys that a friend of ours was in need of. Then I took everything else and took it down to the Salvation Army Drop off. I was so glad to get it all out of my house. The only down side is I didn't get to keep up with the regular house cleaning. Was planning on doing that Sunday.

Sunday- My youngest daughter decided that she was going to bring over the neighbors little trike thing. Well, she was sitting on it, leaned forward and landed flat on her face on the concrete. She had a fat bloody lip and chipped her one tooth. I took her to my moms to have her look at it because she is an RN and she seemed to be fine. I am going to call the dentist first thing in the morning so they can have a look at her tooth. Right before I was leaving my moms my daughter was running around and decided to fall AGAIN on the concrete! This time she scraped up her forehead and nose just a bit. I swear I am gonna wrap this child in head to toe bubble wrap! She has gotten hurt more in her less than 2 years of life than my 6 year old has in her entire life! I was all gun hoe on cleaning and working out that morning til my daughter whom I am now calling "Boo Boo", decided to get all her boo boos.

Goals

• Exercise more
• Keep drinking lots of water
• Keep eating better
• Work on meal planning
• Keep exercising more

Be sure to check out the Fitness Friday Giveaways at various other blogs!

 
I also want to congratulate Shawnee Halligan @ShawneeH for being the Sista of the Week!
Earth Footwear is the sponsor of this week's Mamavation blogging carnival!!

~Fitness Friday Giveaways~ 8/20

Sorry this is a last Fitness Friday, so I scouted around to find some extra great fitness giveaways!

Enter to Win The Jillian Hessle HomeBody Workout at Little Yaya's, Review Retreat & Simply Stacie

Enter to Win a Fiona Sport bra at Born 2 Impress

Enter to Win a Gymboss at Huff and Buff

Enter to Win a Marcy Recumbent Mag Bike at savings.com. Ends 8/ 26.

Enter to Win Prevention's Personal Training DVD with Chris Freytag at The Fit & Frugal Challenge
Ends 8/25

Enter to Win a $100 Gift Card to Lady Foot Locker at 4 Baby and Mom. Ends 8/30

Enter to WIN Body Gospel Workout Program at Review Retreat!

Melt It Off With Mitch Gaylord

Fitness Friday seems to be coming a little early this week with all of these great giveaways people are hosting around the Blogosphere. Here is another great one from Little Yaya's.

Enter to win  Melt It Off With Mitch Gaylord! Ends 8/20! So hurry on over and enter to WIN!!

~Fitness Giveaways~ Jari Love

Enter to Win a Huge Jari Love Gift Pack valued at $128.00. The gift pack will include the following items: 1 Body Rock DVD, 1 Get Ripped to the Core DVD, 1 Get Extremely Ripped 1000 DVD, 1 Get Extremely Ripped DVD, 1 Get Ripped DVD, 1 Get Ripped & Chiseled DVD, 1 Slim & Lean DVD, 1 Get Ripped 1000 DVD, 1 T-shirt and 1 Diet Tracker!

You can enter to win this at Simply Stacie, Review Retreat, & Little Yaya's! That means you have 3 chances to win!!

Mamavation Monday- 8/16

Last week was a fairly good week for me. I didn't eat as healthy as I would have liked to, but all in all it wasn't to bad. Drank tons of water!

 I have been trying to get a yard sale together for while now and someone thanks to Kia gave me the boost that I needed to get it done! The clutter has just been putting me down it's all going this week!!! The last day will be bag day and if it doesn't sell then it will go right down the street to the Salvation Army Drop box! I even went to my moms yesterday to get some of my stuff from there. My whole Jeep was packed with stuff just from her house(not all of it was mine though). So this week I am TOTALLY clearing the clutter and getting rid of the JUNK!!

I think I am starting to become addicted to working out again, which is a good thing. Saturday I didn't do much besides sit around at a friend of a friend's house while the hubby worked on their truck. When we got home I sat and watched a movie for a bit with the hubby and just felt like crap. I decided to get on the elliptical for a bit. I was on for 30 minutes. After I got off I felt great! I even decided to lift a few weights while watching the movie. I felt even better!

While the hubby worked on this truck I was with the women. These women are very obese. I felt for them. This also brought back to light the vow that I told myself a long time ago that I would not let myself get to that. When I first started with Mamavation I was almost at that point that I would never let myself get to.

This week I have lost 1/2 lbs. (I think its what Leah was talking about that the muscles are swelling.) Since I started 7/12 I have lost 5.2 lbs! Wish it was more, but hey my jeans are sure fitting better! and here is why....

• Waist- 39 Lost 1.5 inches!!!
• Hips- 40
• Right Thigh- 23 lost 1 inch!
• Left Thigh- 23 lost 1 inch! 
• Right Arm- 13
• Left Arm- 13

 Here was my week:

 Monday- Walked about 3 miles

Tuesday- I jumped in a little late for the #Tworkouts from the Sisterhood of the shrinking jeans, so I decided to do 90 minutes of Yoga

 
Wednesday-  Walked about 3 miles

Thursday-  Went through a bunch of the girls toys and started getting stuff ready for the yard sale 8/19

Friday- Worked out for 60 minutes then 30 minutes on the elliptical

Saturday-  30 minutes on elliptical

Sunday- Got more stuff ready for yard sale

Goals

 Exercise more

• Keep drinking lots of water
• Keep eating better
• Work on meal planning
• Keep exercising more

Be sure to check out the Fitness Friday Giveaways at various other blogs!

  

I also want to congratulate Julie Kimberly (@christlikemommy)for being the Sista of the Week!

~Fitness Friday Giveaways~ 8/13

Enter to Win a Sweaty Band at Kelly's Lucky You. Ends 8/16

Enter to Win Dancing with the stars Dance Body Tone at This Mama Rocks! Ends 8/20

Enter to Win Tonique 2 at Huff and Buff Ends 8/17

Enter to Win Tonique Premier at Huff and Buff Ends 8/16

 

Enter to Win Tonique Mat at Huff and Buff Ends 8/18

Enter to Win Body Gospel at Wee Share Ends 9/18

Mamavation Monday- 8/9

Last week wasn't the greatest. I didn't get as much exercise in as I would have liked, but I did eat healthy and drank tons of water. It was also our towns fair last week and I didn't have any fair food!! The night that we went I made a roast and we ate before we left. My daughter even got to milk a goat! The man there told us that she was the best milker that he had had all day! Needless to say she wants goats now and has asked grandma and papa(who have a farm) if they could get some goats. They have already have horses, chickens, they used to have cows(that are now our freezers), and are getting a pig. The beef that we got from them is all grass and a bit of grain feed, so their is like no fat in it what so ever. When I make burgers I actually need to add some meat that has a little fat on it or else it takes forever to cook and gets really dry. Last night I made burgers and actually sneaked in some lean ground turkey and they didn't know the difference! So, I will be adding that more often.

The Verdict- No weight loss no gain.
Just lost a few inches!

Waist- 40.5

Hips- 40 lost 1 inch!
Right Thigh- 24 lost 1/2 inch!

Left Thigh- 24 lost 1/2 inch!
Right Arm- 13 lost 1/2 inch!
Left Arm- 13 lost 1/2 inch!


Here was my week:

• Monday- Walked about 2 miles
• Tuesday- Daughter had doctors appointment, so I wasn't able to squeeze in walking.
• Wednesday- Walked about 2 miles or more, walked down to the parade and around the fair.
• Thursday- Had to take my mom into hospital for an epidural. (She has chronic back pain and is trying to put off another surgery, by trying to manage her pain, but the epidurals aren't working for very long.)
• Friday- Walked about 3 miles.
• Saturday- Enjoyed the evening with the hubby riding on the Yamaha Raider and went to dinner to celebrate our 1 year anniversary(more like 7).
• Sunday- Spent some time with my mom, and didn't get a whole lot done.

Goals

• Exercise more
• Keep drinking lots of water
• Keep eating better
• Work on meal planning
• Keep exercising more
• Comment on all Mamavation posts

Be sure to check out the Fitness Friday Giveaways at various other blogs!

I also want to congratulate Julie Mansfield @jamnsfld76 for being the Sista of the Week!

Enter to Win a Bodybugg! At like a fat kid loves cake

I have been looking into getting a Bodybug, but I don't have the money to afford one right now... Although I did come across a giveaway for one at like a fat kid loves cake!  Hurry and check it out cuz the giveaway ends 8/8!!!

~Fitness Friday Giveaways~ 8/6

Enter to Win a HydraCoach at Going Bananas over my monkeys Ends 8/14

Enter to Win a Pair of New Balance 759 Running Shoes at Feisty Frugal and Fabulous Ends 8/20

Enter to Win a Moving Comfort Fiona Sports Bra also at Feisty Frugal and Fabulous Ends 8/9

Enter to Win a Healthy Living Giveaway at Mom Reviews Ends 8/16

Giveaway includes:

• 
  
  Oscar Mayer branded canvas tote
• 
  
   a yoga mat
• 
  
  Denise Austin’s Power Yoga Plus DVD
• 
  
  Denise’s 3-Week Boot Camp DVD
• 
  
  a Speed Rope jump rope
• 
  
   the Denise’s Daily Dozen book
• 
  
   the Now That’s What I Call Music! #33 CD
• 
  
   The CalorieKing Food & Exercise Journal
• 
  
  coupons for free Oscar Mayer turkey bacon
• 
  
  Denise’s 10 Best-Kept Secrets to Healthy Living
• 
  
  and four recipes.

Enter to win a pair of be present's Agility Pants at My 365 To A Size 5 Ends 8/15

Mamavation Monday- 8/2

Well, this week has been a pretty good week! I've stayed active almost every day this week, drank tons of water every day, and ate healthier foods. My coffee pot broke Tuesday so I have been doing the old boil n brew method. Needless to say I have been drinking less coffee and have been dealing with headaches due to less caffeine, but I don't think I am gonna get another coffee pot, because I drank to much when I had it.

Here was my week:

• Monday- Walked to the Park and walked/ran around it 3 times(Just found out that it is a 1/2 mile! so I went 1.5 miles around the park + the walk there & back!)
• Tuesday- I was not in the best of spirits so I took a day of, but still ate and drank good.
• Wednesday- Cleaned my house from top to bottom, took just about all day.
• Thursday- Did 90 minutes of Yoga and felt great!
• Friday- Was not as sore as I was after doing Yoga, like I was last week, waahooo!! I walked in the evening and took the dog. He was a great motivator, kept pulling me to go further, then towards the end I  had to keep pulling him so we could make it home.
• Saturday- Walked to the park and went around 2 times(1 mile).
• Sunday- Cleaned out my Jeep.

One of my Goal from last week was to start meal planning. I stated gather up recipes, trying to get ones that are healthy and that my family will eat. It's hard because I swear my husband is the pickiest man in the world. He is truly a meat and potatoes kinda guy. He hates seafood, rice, onions, and  anything spicy what so ever. I think that is one of the biggest reasons that I hate to cook. It's been somewhat of a challenge trying to find recipes that satisfy everyone, but I have found a few.

Here are my stats for this week:

(sorry the pic isn't the greatest and I couldn't get it to turn)

DO YOU SEE THAT! DOOO YOOUU SEEE THATT!

YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?

I LOST 4.6 POUNDS!!!!

Waist- 40.5 A loss of 1.5 inches!!

Hips- 41

Right Thigh- 24.5

Left Thigh- 24.5

Right Arm- 13.5

Left Arm- 13.5

Goals:

• Keep drinking lots of water
• Keep eating better
• Work on meal planning
• Keep exercising more
• Comment on all Mamavation posts

I truly have to thank you all for being so supportive and caring! If it wasn't for Mamavation and the Sista's I would not have even come this far in the short amount of time that I have. You are all truly AMAZING and I love you all. I am not just saying this because of Leah's post I truly whole heatedly think that each and everyone of you are amazing and because of you I would not have lost it!

This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Gruve Solution! I would so love to win this! You can also follow them on twitter @Gruvesolution.

I also want to send out a big Congrats to @RachelSteffen for being the Sista of the Week!! You Rock it Girl!