Day 2

I completed day two this morning on the treadmill. I am glad I worked hard at it. This is going to get easier each day I know.

Ben asked, "Does the 30 for 30 challenge allow for chewing to be considered as aerobic activity?" I said NO! I decided I should put that on my blog for the record.

I was videotaped the other day at work. I am actually kind of excited to get the video back. I know that I didn't look horrible in it. This would have not been the case a little over two years ago. I remember being videotaped in graduate school and having to watch it played back in class...I was so embarrassed.

If you aren't using google reader, I highly recommend it. It is really helping me stay on top of the blogs I am interested in. If you want to see what I am reading/following, please check out my profile.

Obstacles for the 30 for 30 Challenge

I'm going to go ahead and write out all my obstacles for completing my 30 for 30 challenge, so I've said them. Then I'm going to suck it up, and DO MY CHALLENGE! Forgive this post for sounding a lot like whining, but I need to get it out! :)

1. Ben has to be moved out of his apartment by May 31st. (We just found this out today. He will be staying with a friend until we get married, but almost all his stuff will be here.)
2. Organizing my stuff so Ben can have his things moved in.
3. End of the school year crap (report cards, cum folders, etc.)
4. Two bridal showers
5. My second job (GED Center)
6. Other obligations that have crept in that we really can't back out on.

Ok, I could keep going, but I won't. I am doing this challenge!

30 for 30 Day ONE

I started the challenge with my treadmill. :) I am not sure if the calories are accurate, as I changed my weight mid-workout. Judging by the previous weight listed, it has been a LONG time since I have used this thing. I walked 1.69 miles. I know I will increase with things this month, but this first week of the challenge is just about getting moving.

Today, I am being video taped by the district to use in a professional development course I will be teaching in June. I am pretty excited about it. :)

30 for 30 Intro Challenge

Hey guys...I hope that you will consider joining me in this challenge. I'll be posting on my progress!

Photo Post and 30 for 30

My motivational chart for the 30 for 30 Challenge. I wish I was savvy enough with the computer to make an awesome logo for this, but I am unfortunately NOT. You are going to see a short video posted to You Tube about this. Please join me in this challenge!!!



Ben and I after having Sunday lunch at the North End Cafe in Louisville.



Tonight, I was being silly after we left Outback. I climbed up on top of a lighting post, and Ben took my picture. I felt larger than life. :)

Sunday NAPTIME....

Aaahhhhh, seriously, naps are one of my favorite parts of the week. I have sometimes thought I should live where there are siestas, those people are very intelligent. :)

I know that I have "just as much time" as everyone else, but it really doesn't seem like it. After my nap today, I am working on a presentation that I will be doing at a summer conference. My dad said something like, "If you have time one Saturday soon..." and I was about to scream. My entire month of May is booked. This is mainly with school stuff, and trying to squeeze necessary wedding planning in on the side. It certainly will make the time of the wedding approach quite fast.

I have a new picture to post from today, which I will do after my nap.

In Which Ben explains, "Why the salt and pepper shakers?"

Our first video blog! :)

Friday

Last night I had a great time with my best friend Wendy at the Josh Turner concert! :) I miss not being able to see her everyday at school. Tonight we are meeting up with the couple we met last weekend at Thunder Over Louisville. We are going to dinner, then to Borders to their coffee shop to play board games.

I am almost finished watching FAT: What No One Is Telling You. One scene really resonated with me. It was between a man who was going to get gastric bypass surgery and his cousin (who by appearances looked as if he had never been overweight). The cousin was criticizing him for taking the easy way out, and saying how if he just hit the gym things would easily get better. For him, weight loss is a clear linear progression. There is a whole segment of the population (myself included) where weight loss was NOT a clear linear progression, but instead a wild roller coaster ride.

Another thing that I found interesting was the body's natural desire to maintain a certain body weight. Even when we decide that we want our weight to be ___ number, our brain may decide something very different.

Looking Back in the Mirror...

While there are many things that I need to improve on for maintaining a lifelong healthy weight, there are a few things that I want to pat myself on the back for:

1. Fast food is no longer a constant in my life. I would almost always go once a day, and more often than I would care to admit, I would often go twice.

2. Coca-Cola has not been a part of my life for 26 months. Every now and again I get the strongest urge for one, but I have not given in.

3. I drink water like it is going out of style.

Sweetness Alert: Ben and I are staying pure until marriage. We have not seen each other naked, etc. Last night I pulled up my shirt (not to wear you could see my bra), and let him look at my "skin flap." He was so sweet. I have never felt so loved and reassured in all my life.

Today my kids totally rocked in creating "This I Believe" essays based off the NPR program essays. It was a great day in the classroom.

Ben is taking care of a new list for things that are wedding related. On Saturday we are going to look for tuxedos.

I will be watching FAT: What No One is Telling You online (a PBS Documentary) this weekend.

Just When I Thought Wedding Planning Was Going to Be Easy...

Things were going so smooth, I almost wondered how people had a lot of stress planning a wedding. Then, last night mom and I had the first fight over the wedding. It was over our cake topper.

Ben and I want a salt and pepper shaker glued together on top of our wedding cake. Yes, I realize this is very odd, but it is OUR cake. This is what WE want. The cake topper is significant to the movie, "Fireproof." We are typing up a small write-up to tell why we chose that as our wedding topper. My mom tells us we cannot have it. I proceed to tell her that I will have that, no cake at all, or pay for my own wedding cake. I had her talk with Ben, and even as Ben stayed so even keel, she was still very upset. There were a few other things that she was edging to have a fight about, but I didn't engage her anymore. I called my dad and he said that he would take care of the situation, and although he thinks the cake topper is odd, if it makes up happy, he is fine with it.

Thunder 2009 Finale

I recorded this with my digital camera. This is my first You Tube video. I was quite proud of myself for this. :)

What Business Is It of Yours?

What a BLAST we had at Thunder yesterday! We met some great new people, and had an amazing spot to view the fireworks! I have posted a picture of Ben and I, along with one of me in the fireworks. :) So, about the post title...Ben was carrying two funnel cake plates to the trash, and this drunk guy loudly says, "Wow, two funnel cakes, gonna pack on the pounds." If I were not a Christian, oh the things that would have come out of my mouth!

This is the outfit that I wore to church today. I thought I looked very cute in it, so I had Ben take my picture wearing it. What is really cool was being able to see that the sides of the jacket could have been taken in an inch and half on each side, and the jacket is a size small! :) I'm also not so sure I like having bangs. They never seem to lay the way that I want them to.

I LOVE this new food from South Beach Living!

I have tried the apple juice sugar free mix. I look forward to trying the cranapple soon. These are both sugar free.

This afternoon after napping, Ben and I went to the mall to get him some shoes. We walk by a store, and Ben says, "Now there are some realistic mannequins." Ben didn't know that the store was Lane Bryant for plus sized women. This brought up an interesting discussion, as the mannequins really looked like normal healthy weight people you would see out in the world. I also explained to Ben not only do many stores have size 0 mannequin (or so it seems), but many times they have to pin the clothes so they can fit the unrealistically small sizes they portray.

Ok, I'm going to get off here. I am getting eight hours of sleep tonight.

In the Kitch....

I made Paula Deen's Ham Salad recipe today. I am having some right now. It is so yummy! The recipe is so DS friendly too.

I am setting up Google Reader. WOW! I didn't realize how nice it is to use this service. I have all my education blogs set up. Next, I will work to get my weight loss/ maintaining / and healthy eating blogs added. This service is going to make it easier for me to stay on top of the blogs I want to read. (I cannot believe how many I already have!)

Thunder Over Louisville

I'm going to see this LIVE tonight! Thunder is one of the largest fireworks displays in the country. The show lasts for about 20-25 minutes. Good times!

Day One: Sugar Detox

I made it through alive. It was tough. I didn't end up strapped to ome bed like they do for people who are detoxing from drugs, but it was a near miss. I thought about chocolate all day long! Grrrr!!!

I was telling my best friend Wendy about this. She gave me a good suggestion. She has one day a week where she can eat a special dessert. Outside of that day, things are off limits. She was right when she went on to say, it is not about "banning" certain items, but learning to find a balance with food.

Work was interesting today as fighter planes kept going over the school building all afternoon. They were practicing for Thunder over Louisville tomorrow. Ben stayed at my place to get the Direct TV fixed. We went for a really nice walk in the park, then to dinner at Tony Romas, and came back to watch Madea's Class Reunion.

Tomorrow I am going to Thunder Over Louisville for the first time. I am really excited about doing this. I told Ben that I had a few reasons I hadn't gone before (sad, since I am a Louisville native)....I want a real bathroom, and the crowds are rough, so I wanted a place where I could be and not be completely crowded. While those reasons are both true, I also think that I couldn't physically withstand the taxing demands of such a long day, and so much walking at 393 pounds. This is another new experience that I will savor!

Ben and I are going to do a slow dance for the traditional first dance, but I'd also love to do a fun dance that we learn that puts those people on Dancing with the Stars to shame. I was thinking of the song "Footloose." If we decide to do this, it is going to mean squeezing in weekly private dance lessons. I would love to "wow" our guests with something so fun.

Turning Over a New Leaf

Sugar. I am a sugar slut. It is time to start over. It started gradually, but now it has gotten to be a major problem. What is the result? I have gained weight. I am not happy about how I feel, so change is starting today. I'm cutting out the sugar. I know I can do this. I know that I will feel better if I do this. Having less sugar in my life is a great lifestyle choice.

The first few days will be the most difficult, but I can change.

Still Here!

I'm still here, but this has been a crazy week trying to get this book read nad questions answered, along with my regular stuff. I'll try to post back tomorrow evening after I am finished! :)

Weekend Slipped Away so Quickly!

I read 91 pages of the 300 pages I need to complete by Wednesday. I am going to work really hard at closing the gap tonight. I didn't read at all yesterday, but I wouldn't trade being more caught up on reading for the fun I had. :)

Ben preached at both nursing homes Sunday morning. Then we went to my mom's side of the family to celebrate Easter. I really like spending time with these people. After visiting for some time, we headed back to Louisville. We were going to the mall to get Ben several pairs of shoes, since his are shot. I forgot the mall was closed due to the holiday. We looked into seeing a movie, but nothing really called out to us. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant. I had shrimp and lobster ravoli. This dish was so awesome! :) I savored every last bite. We went for coffee, then watched Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself."

I am taking in the majority of my Easter candy to give away to my students today. It's time to be back on the straight and narrow.

A Tale of Two Meals...

Today Ben and I ate lunch and dinner together. For lunch, we went to Texas Roadhouse. This is a restaurant that we frequent because of its proximity to my house and it is reasonably priced. We've all heard about how portion sizes at restaurants are so huge. Today, that really struck me. We ordered the "baby blossom" and together were only about to eat about half of it. I ordered two sides. One of which was fries. I looked at the plate my fries were on, and the plate my meal was on. My MEAL should have been on the smaller plate that the fries came on.

For dinner, we made reservations at The Coachlamp Restaurant. The tab for this meal was $67 (with tip), for two meals and a dessert (no alcholic drinks). I was struck at the contrast of the size of plates our salad and entrees came out on. They were much smaller, yet neither of us left the restaurant feeling that we had not had enough food (nor did we clean our plates).

This makes me think about Dr. Ruby Payne's work on the hidden rules among classes:

Poverty: Did you have enough food? (Quantity is important.)
Middle-Class: Did you like it? (Quality is important.)
Wealth: Was it presented well? (Presentation is important.)

Though I don't have research to point you directly to (I know it has been done), we know that there is a big difference in the levels of obesity when you examine income levels.

That introduces the good ol' willpower into the equation. Since I don't typically frequent restaurants that require reservations, I have to be in charge of my portions. I have to decide that quality and presentation are much more important than the quantity of food that they place on my plate. I was reading on one blog the other day about portion control in the home for those who are really on a tight budget. Her biggest suggestion was to not put dishes of food out. It was to go ahead and put out the food on the plates, and bring them to the table.

The Weekend

This weekend I have to start a 300 page book. This book needs to be completed by Wednesday afternoon, so that on Wednesday evening I can answer the questions that go with the book. I am part of a Teaching American History Grant, and this is due on Thursday. The book isn' that bad, it is just getting it done.

Tonight I have to watch the boys, and then go to the store to get Ben's Easter basket. Saturday will invovle a bit of sleeping in, then I'm not sure what else. Sunday will be two services that Ben will preach, and time with family.

Enjoy Easter guys!

The Past Two Days!

Tuesday evening, I had a low-blood sugar incident. My sugar dropped to 53. I turned white as a sheet, started sweating badly, and got very disoriented. I am not diabetic. I had an incident like that when I landed in the Colombian airport. While on spring break, I had four different encounters where I felt like "Jello" (I couldn't think of any other way to describe it.)

I went to my PCP today, and have had labs ordered. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Oh Yeah!!!

One of the things on my list that I wanted to be able to accomplish by losing weight was: to be light enough that a man could pick me up. I let Ben read my list of things back when I first told him that I had weight loss surgery. He has been insistant on picking me up ever since then. :) It was me who kept saying, "No, not yet." Last night was THE night.

Ben. picked. me. up. Not the pick me up two inches off the ground, I mean scooped me up in his arms and picked me up! :) Like the, "Hey you are a princess, so I'll pick you up." I cannot tell you how happy this made me.

Next, he wanted to try giving me a piggy back ride (also on my list), but the whole leaning forward and rocking back for him to lift me kinda scared me. What was cool though was that I knew he COULD do it. I would love to have a picture of me on his back for some of our fun outdoor engagement pictures we will be taking soon.

Not so proud:
I ate until I was uncomfortably stuffed on Sunday evening. I felt awful for awhile. It has been a long time since I have ate like that.

Proud:
Saturday afternoon, I realized that I was starting to get full. I still knew I was ok to eat a bit more, but just a "bit." I looked at my plate, and decided that I wanted to eat some more of the yummy broccoli salad. I only had that.

Realizing how uncomfortable I had been on Sunday evening, and that I didn't want a repeat of that on Monday: I ate very reasonably sized portions.

Sunday Thoughts

I am sitting here eating my soup that I made using Paula Dean's recipe. It is really good! What I especially liked is that it was very easy to make. I did opt to use canned chicken to speed the process up. I also added an extra can of beans to up the nutritional value. I will certainly be making this soup again.

I didn't realize that Ben used to be heavier as a kid. Perhaps he told me before, but I really don't recall it. We were talking about little comments that people make that really stick with you. He was saying how he vividly remembers his father making fun of him for being fat. I told him about my one aunt who told her husband, "Be careful Donnie, watch your back, she is the size of an adult." (My uncle was helping me back into the boat on a weekend trip.)

Now it is time for a Sunday afternoon NAP!

Lots of Progress....

2 meals cooked
2 wedding bands ordered
3 wedding registeries completed
1 grandmother's house gone through

We watched a few movies, had good times with family, and some great meals. Life is good. :)

Bedding....

We are at our third and final store today to register. When we finish, we check over the list. The list says that we have requested 71 sets of sheets. Ben and I are not planning on going into the hotel business, so we ask the lady to fix the mistake.

Tonight Ben's brother Jeff calls to let us know that sheets are not disposable, and can be used again. :)

Registering was a task, and I am happy to have it DONE.

Two New Recipes from Paula Dean

These will be making an appearance in my kitchen very soon:

Chicken, Spinach, and Cannellini Soup:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 (32 ounce) boxes chicken broth
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (10 ounce) bag fresh baby spinach
1 (15.5 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Ham Salad:

4 (8 ounce) packages of cooked diced ham, drained well
6 hardboiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise

What the Heck is a Jellyroll Pan?

Yes....I am registering for gifts today with Ben and his mom. We were brainstorming gift ideas last night, and she was thinking of things that I might need. She mentioned a jellyroll pan, and asked if I had one. I said that I did not. She then asked if I needed one, to which I said yes. (She has been really helpful throughout this process in making me think of things I would not have considered before. I am blessed to have such a caring future mother-in-law) Now, what do you use it for?

I made a really pretty beaded necklace yesterday. It has a butterfly on it. I will take a picture of it soon and post. I am hoping to have one more dinner to cook and post about, but we have a lot to accomplish in the next few days. Spring break is passing by much more quickly than I would like.

My eating has been so-so. I cannot wait to get back to "my" diet, and snacking throughout the day as I am used to doing. Routines are what I thrive on. I'm going to love me some routines in a few days.

Bean: A Super Food

I have been reading SuperFoods: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life by Steven Pratt M.D. and Kathy Matthews.

Here is some of the low-down I discovered:

* Eat at least four 1/2 cup servings per week.

* Beans contain low-fat protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, folate, potassium, magnesium, and phytonutrients.

* In 1992, less than 1/3 of Americans ate beans during any three-day period. As income levels rise, bean consumption tends to decrease.

* Beans have many benefits: Heart Health: lower cholesterol levels. The fiber in beans helps keep blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal.

Beans and Obesity:
"The simple fact is that beans fill you up: they provide lots of bulk without a lot of calories. You are more likely to get full before you get fat. Beans high fiber content controls blood sugar and thus helps to keep hunger at bay while helping to maintain energy levels.

Beans may help prevent cancer, particularly pancreatic cancer and caners of the colon, breast, and prostate.

The other super foods are: blueberries, broccoli, oats, oranges, pumpkin, wild salmon, soy, spinach, tea, tomatos, turkey, and walnuts.

The super foods I regularly incorporate into my diet are: broccoli, salmon (about once a week), soy (getting better), spinach, turkey, and walnuts.