All posts for the month July, 2011

Start of the Week Sunday Goals!

Yay!  It’s Sunday again, which means another set of goals is just around the corner.  This couldn’t come any quicker considering that I felt the start of a binge today.  I go to church for 3 hours on Sunday starting at 11:30. I usually eat breakfast around 8 and don’t eat anything until sometimes 3:00!  That’s a LONG time to go with no food.  Oatmeal only goes so far people!  When I get home I tend to just start eating, no plate or utensils.  Today I had some roasted chicken, triscuits, ranch, & cream cheese.  Oh, and a couple of Almond Joy mini’s (ok, maybe 3).  I caught myself about half way through my tornado and took a step back.  Hopefully this little set back falls in the 90/10 rule.  If you eat good 90% of the time, that 10% won’t matter.

I’m pretty sure that I got cocky this week with how easy it felt to eat good and make good choices.  I just knocked myself off my pedestal though, so now I need to re-focus with some good goal setting.   Let’s see how last week goals checked out!

1. Gym 5 times……..CHECK!  Yes people, I finally made it to the gym.
2. One new recipe………..Didn’t happen.  I was going to try and make spaghetti squash spaghetti (instead of noodles) but every time I went to the store, they didn’t have any spaghetti squash. Boo.
3. Read for 1 hour daily…..CHECK!  I’ve finally made a dent in my boring book I’m reading.  I’m almost done with “The New Rules of Lifting for Women”.  Recap to happen sometime this week.  Man, I love to read!
4. Master grocery list…….Nope, even though I went to the store enough times this week.  It was the last thing on my mind for some reason.
5. Spend less time on computer…….No.  I made a Facebook Fanpage and did some other things as well.  I did do less mindless computer work.  You know, when your just bored and looking for something to look at, I did way less of that.
So here we are a new week and a new set of goals, who’s stoked?! Me!

Start of the Week Sunday Goals!


1. Go to the gym 5 times.  Getting sick of that one yet, cause I am!  I can’t deny that my week went a whole lot better considering that I started it with a workout.  
2. Do a mock run through of the first workout from “The New Rules of Lifting for Women”. This  book will now be known as TNRLW.  I’m tired of typing out the entire title.  The first workout can easily be done at home.  This way I can tell how much weight I will need when I start the ACTUAL workout.  I can see if just doing it with my body weight will make me sore.  Then I will really know how weak I have made myself by being this obese.  Oh well, I gotta start somewhere!  Workouts will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
3 Track.  It seems that this has to be on the list because if its not I get lazy.  My tracker will be tied to my hip.  
4. Baby proof my house.  Hanna is getting into EVERY THING!  She tried to put a piece of the cat scratcher into an outlet the other day, and my heart about stopped.  I’ve never moved so quickly.  And Apparently she’s learned how to crawl through the sideways chair to get to the cats food and water (and littler box, yuck!).  This kid is going to kill me.
5. Try to get the baby blanket I’ve been knitting finished.  Yes, I started it when I first found out I was pregnant almost a year and a half ago.  It’s time to get it done.  Good thing to keep my hands busy and eliminate food binges.  


Phew!  Another week, another set of goals.  This week seems very doable!
No Excuses!!!!!!!


Do you do any type of handy craft?
I can knit(barely), and a little sewing. 


What is a goal you are shooting to hit this next week? 

3 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 31, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Goals, TNRLW

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 31, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/31/start-of-the-week-sunday-goals/

Odd Feeling….

Sweat it Out:
45 Minutes Elliptical

Do you ever have those days that don’t feel like your regular routine days?  I’m having one of those days today.  I have done everything the same as the day before, but I feel odd.  I get this way the day after weigh in.  Its when I realize that I have done really good, but I have a whole week ahead of me until next weigh in day and that is 7 days that could be packed with who knows what.

Like I said in the last post my hub’s has been working non-stop, and he also told me of the upcoming days he will probably be working.  There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.  Don’t get me wrong we really need the money right now, so this is a total blessing and I don’t want to take it for granted, but it feels like life is kind of at a stand still.  The only positive (besides the money) is that my husband and I are not tempted to eat out and I have complete control over everything I eat during the day with no influence.  The negative is that I do the same things day in and day out, and it is getting a little mind numbing.   

I’m going to assume this is the reason I have the odd feeling.  Too much tv and computer make Carrie a little paranoid. I think when I start the weight lifting challenge in August that will be pretty time consuming and I am excited about it.

Anyone have any fun weekend plans that I can live vicariously through?
What book are you reading right now?
I’m almost always reading two, if not more.  I’m a Gemini.  It’s my thing.  The first is, of course, “The New Rules of Lifting for Women”, and “The House at Riverton”, which has kind of been slow and boring.

2 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Frustration, Odd Day

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 29, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/29/odd-feeling/

What I Ate Weigh In Day!

Yay!  Today is the first installment of “What I Ate Weigh in Day!  This is the first weigh in day that I didn’t feel like eating everything in sight, and I know it was because I was going to have to post it here for all to see.

Let me start off by saying that I planned on not going to the gym today because I had some appointments that were in the morning and I didn’t want to shower twice.  But I am on track to make my “5 times going to the gym” goal.  Woohoo!

So the magic number when I got on the scale today was…….268.4!  That is a 2.8 pound loss.  Apparently, I need to keep this gym thing up, it seems to help.  Does anybody know what that means? No?

I made my 5% Goal!  This means that I have made my first official milestone goal!
Here are some of the benefits that I am reaping from losing 5% of my weight:

  • Lowers your body’s cholesterol levels
  • Can improve blood sugar control
  • Reduces aches and pains
  • Improves mobility
  • Can improve your breathing
  • Helps you to sleep better
  • Reduces the risk of sleep apnea
  • Helps prevent angina – chest pain caused by decreased oxygen to the heart.
  • Decreased your risk of sudden death from heart disease or stroke
  • May stop the need from regular medication
  • Reduces the risk of certain cancers
Can you believe that losing an amount like 14.4 pounds can help my body reap all of those benefits?!  

Now it is on to goal number two which is 10% of my starting weight.  The next goal weight is 254.5.  That number seemed impossible when I started this journey 6 weeks ago, but today I have tasted accomplishment and I want more.  

Next things next:  What I Ate Weigh In Day!

Breakfast: 1 egg with 3 egg whites, whole wheat bread with Peanut Butter, cherries, and sliced strawberries. 8 Weight Watchers Points Plus.


Lunch: Whole Wheat bagel thin with tsp. mayo, mustard, slice of Colby jack cheese, Black Forest Ham, sliced tomatoes, spinach.  Side of broccoli salad (raw broccoli with TBS of poppy seed dressing), and baby carrots.  13 Weight Watchers Points Plus.

Snack:  Weight Watchers Strawberry Creamie.  2 Weight Watchers Points Plus.

And a glass of my new best friend:

Dinner:  Chicken Cordon Bleu, green salad with English cucumbers, tomatoes, and a serving of ranch dressing. 11 Weight Watchers Points Plus.

Whole day: 34 Weight Watchers Points Plus target is 41 points. Guess I get to enjoy one more creamie.  Hehe.

Ok, one more thing I need to say before I sign off for the night.  I have to say some lovely words about my hub’s.  He has been working his tail off 14+ hours a day so that we can get our money issues behind us.  He sacrifices more than I can say in words for me and our daughter and I love him dearly for it!  Dustin you’re the best!

Last thing I promise!  I created a Shrinking Carrie fan page on Facebook.  Look at the side bar and take a moment to like my page.  Thanks guys!

7 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 29, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Weigh in, What I Ate Weigh In

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 29, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/29/what-i-ate-weigh-in-day/

Weighing in on Weighing in.

Sweat it Out:
45 Minutes Elliptical

***Disclaimer*** This post talks about poop, if you don’t like it stop by tomorrow for a different post!

My workout is pretty monotonous right now.  Oh well.  At least I got to the gym and I’m still bucket sweating so I feel ok about it.  No weights because I’m giving myself a break before I start the weight lifting challenge extroidinare.  I’m almost done with the first part of the reading.  The author is hilarious so it keeps the facts and figures interesting.  I cheated a little and looked at the back of the book at some of the workouts.  Whoa.  They look pretty killer, considering I haven’t done any serious weight lifting in a LONG time.  This will be an adventure for sure!

So my topic of interest tonight is on how often you weigh yourself and why you do as often as you do (say that 5 times fast!).  As I’ve stated in the past, I weigh myself everyday.  I do this for a few reasons:
1.  It’s a habit.
2.  I went so many years without weighing myself and I think the ignorance helped me get to the weight I am today.
3.  It helps me know where I stand for the day.
But the main reason I weigh myself everyday is to stay in tune with my body.  I know that doesn’t sound like a reason, but there’s a lot you can read in your morning weight.

Things I have learned from Weighing Myself Everyday
-That fatty meal that I just ate, won’t show up until the day after tomorrow.  So that means if I eat something fatty again today I’m already set back two days.
-Holy crap Carrie, cut back on the salt.
-Whoa, you totally didn’t drink enough water yesterday.
-You didn’t eat enough yesterday.
-That number is a fluke, try again tomorrow.
-Wow, I ate a lot of cheese.
-Did I poop yesterday?
-Um I should probably poop sometime today.
-I’m pretty sure there is 2 pounds of poop in me.
-I need to cut back on the cheese so I can poop.

Ok, so a lot of what I learn from weighing in is that I need to poop, and eat less cheese.  But in all seriousness, have you ever weighed yourself  before and after a BM?  There is quite a difference.  This is very frustrating for me because it always falls on a weigh in day that I don’t BM until after my meeting and I lose another 2 pounds.

Aw, I feel so much better getting that off of my chest.  Sorry to get so graphic, but it has really been bothering me lately.  I guess I’ll start loading up on the Metamucil and get things back to regular.

Do you like the taste of Metamucil?
I LOVE it.  It’s like having a glass of juice or something.  It may be because I use to drink it so much I grew taste buds that really enjoyed it.

How often do you weigh yourself?

3 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 28, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Poop, Weigh in

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 28, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/28/weighing-in-on-weighing-in/

Ho, hum….

Sweat it out:
45 Minutes Elliptical

Being a stay at home mom sometimes leaves me with days that I don’t have a ton of stuff to get done.  Today was not one of those days.  I had to get supplies to do tie-dye shirts for an activity, and then make Hanna some baby food.  I know, it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it takes orchestrating when you’re making baby food.  I’ve got it down to a science.  I usually take two days out of the month and those are the days that I make all of the upcoming fruits and vegetables puree’s for little Hanna-bear.  Plus, I can only run the blender at certain times during the day so that Hanna doesn’t wake up from her nap.

The point is that I can always find a reason to not workout.  Hanna slept in until 8 which throws my whole day off because then her naps are messed up.  I thought to myself that maybe I shouldn’t go to the gym because I need to keep her schedule, but then I read this article about having no excuses for not working out.

I will workout if I plan it into my schedule.  After I read that article I immediately put my gym clothes on and went to the gym.  I had a good sweaty workout too.  And it didn’t throw Hanna’s schedule off at all. I need to just not think and go.  I could probably apply that philosophy to a lot of different areas of my life.

Did you workout today?
Have you ever tie-dyed?  

5 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 27, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Workout

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 27, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/27/ho-hum/

Waiting it Out…

I’ll write a post while I wait out the Presidential message that is airing over my “Hell’s Kitchen”  show.  Ugh, I hate politics.  I have a hard time around election time, you want to be informed on the issues, but it just makes you more angry.  Just my opinion.

Anyway,
Sweat it Out
45 minutes on the Elliptical

That’s right, I started out my Monday with a shweaty workout.  Maybe its because I’m doing a different elliptical machine or because I’m drinking an a** load of water, but I have been a sweaty mess when I’ve gone to the gym!  It felt so good today!  I kept the tempo in strokes on the Elliptical with the music I was listening to.  It was just what I needed to start the week off with a bang!

A new addition to my workout starting on August 7th will be a weight routine.  I am reading the book “The New Rules of Lifting for Women”.  ”Lift Like a Man, Look like a Goddess”.

I like to lift weights.  I like to feel strong.  I remember when I was in high school (still over weight)  and was at the community center  exercising with a group of friends.  We were playing around in the weight room while we were waiting for a slide class to start and we started doing some bench pressing.  All of my friends were athletic and so imagine my surprise when not only could I bench more than them, I smoked them!  If I remember right I benched almost double of our strongest friend.  Ever since then I noticed that I had some decent muscles under all the fat I was hiding it with.

I’ve joined the Prior Fat Girl Group Challenge to try this books way of exercising for 6 months.  Big commitment, I know.  I will do this challenge to the best of my ability, considering that I am at least 100 pounds overweight and there may be some difficulty in some of the moves.  The book says that you will possibly weigh the same, but gain muscle replacing fat.  I’m only on page 25 right now, and will give a summary before I begin the program.  It also has a nutrition program that goes along with it, but I will be sticking to my Weight Watchers routine.

I will also be taking my measurements as well as weighing in.  Measurements will be done once a month.  First measurements will be taken on August 7th when I begin the program.

Wish me luck on this new endeavor!

Have you ever used a workout program like The New Rules of Lifting for Women or Body for Life?

5 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 26, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Goals, The New Rules of Lifting for Women, Workout

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 26, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/26/waiting-it-out/

Start of the Week Sunday Goals!

First off, remember when I told you that I weigh myself everyday?  Today I gasped a little bit when I saw the number.  I won’t say it out loud because I don’t want to jinx myself for this weeks weigh-in.  All I’m gonna say is that if it stays the same number until Thursday I will do a happy dance (maybe I’ll even record it for you all to see).

Just so you know, I love this weekly post.  One of the things I miss about working in management is the making of weekly goals.  It’s like a to-do list that feels so good when you get to check something off of your list!

Let’s recap last weeks goals and see how I did!

1. Go to the gym 5 times this week.  I will give myself a silver star for this one because I went to the gym 3 times and cleaned my house for 5 hours one day.  I think that is pretty good activity considering I’m usually a couch potato.

2. Track everything you eat everyday=  Check!  Even the mini binge I had the other day.

3. You will bring healthy snacks to Harry Potter=  Totally failed this one.  Apparently movie theaters are a trigger for me.  I brought the snacks , but only ate the carrots.

4. I will not go out to eat=  I’m not going to lie, we had $1 burrito supremes this week.  And we were so busy this week that Cafe Rio slipped in there once.  Let me tell you it is a HUGE improvement from the way we use to eat on Dustin’s week off.  We ate at home the rest of the week.  Yay us! (Here I’ll say “week” one more time because I didn’t say it enough in the last paragraph)

5. I will make a grocery list and stay under $100.
=  This one I made, but only because we had some extra cash from coin star and a $25 rebate MasterCard.

All-in-all I only made 1 of these goals that didn’t have an excuse tied to it.  Oops!  Well, here’s to a new week with new goals to achieve!  So gear up for the new week, and get ready for some goal setting!

Start of the Week Sunday Goals!


1. I will go to the gym 5 times this week. This will be a goal until I make it happen.  It will most likely be a goal every week until I have to quit reminding myself.  
2. I will make one new recipe this week.  I like this goal the last week I did it.  I need to diversify my recipe book.
3. I will read for one hour before I go to bed.  I have so many books that I need to read, but the tv seems to get in the way.  One day I will make a goal to turn it off at 7:00, I’m just not ready this week to do that yet :/
4, I will come up with a master grocery list to make grocery shopping easier.  My dad does this every week.  He has a detailed grocery list that maps the store he shops with.  It makes it so you’re not running all over like a chicken with your head cut off, and helps you to not buy unplanned things.  Money saver as well!
5. I will spend less time on my computer.  I spend way too much time on the computer.  And I need to be spending time with my daughter.  Sometimes its just mindlessly reading dumb articles or blogs I don’t really follow.  So I will limit my time to when Hanna is napping or after she has gone to bed, with a couple SHORT checks throughout the day.  But I will not plant myself in front of the tv while on my computer.  


Aw, I have direction this week.  It feels so good ;)


What’s a goal you have for yourself this week?
How many goals can you set before you feel overwhelmed?
Five, otherwise I lose site of why I’m goal making.  The object is to make the goal and not overwhelm yourself.  

1 Comment
by Shrinking Carrie on July 24, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Goals

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 24, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/24/start-of-the-week-sunday-goals-2/

Slobber=Money.

Sweat it Out Friday
45 Minutes Elliptical
15 Minutes Abs

Sweat it Out Saturday
5 Hours House Cleaning (yup, that counts as activity!)

The last couple of days feel like they have been crazy.  It all started on Thursday night when I caught Hanna sucking on my cell phone.  From then on whenever someone called me I could hear them, but they couldn’t hear me.  So frustrating.  I spent all day on Friday searching for a new phone plan while my husband got called out to work.  I had to call him from the phone stores since he couldn’t hear me talking on the other end.

Switched from AT&T to Verizon.  AT&T is great if you love in a big city, but out here in the sticks the service is not so good.  Hopefully, the reception is much better so that Dustin can use his phone at work. It costs A LOT to switch carriers.  We haven’t switched for 7 years, I had no idea the hoops you have to jump through.

The lesson learned is that no electronics should be within reach of a certain slobber monster.  So far she has ruined my phone and my power cord to my MacBook.  I live in fear for the day she starts walking.

Friday started out very laid back.  I’m still trying to get Hanna on her old nap schedule since before vacation.  Good luck.  She wouldn’t take her morning nap until 11:00 and then I thought since it was so late I was getting out of going to the gym.  I was shocked when my husband forced me to go with him!  Have I created a monster?  Usually if I say I’m not going he just goes with it, but not this time.

When I got to the gym I thought that we would just do 30 minutes of cardio and then I surprised myself and did 45.  It felt good and afterwards I was a sweaty mess.  It felt awesome!

Today I have cleaned the entire house, did all the laundry, and picked up my beautiful Bountiful Basket of fruits and vegetables.  Aren’t they beautiful?!

Loving the Instagram App for iphone.  It has some interesting filters for pictures.

Have you ever had an electronic ruined by slobber or water?
Did you workout this weekend?

Leave a Comment
by Shrinking Carrie on July 24, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Bountiful Baskets, Working Out

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 24, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/24/slobbermoney/

Taking a Step Back/Weigh in

Normally, I post at night after little Hanna-bear has gone to sleep, but I need a distraction from the mini-binge that I felt a brewin’.  I went a little off the path today because its weigh in day, and I have to get it out of my mind that I should get a “free day”.  There will be no such day as a “free day” for this lady.

I weigh myself on my own scale on weigh in day (I have a high quality scale that is trust worthy).  I do that because I’m naked, haven’t eaten, and get to potty before I get on the scale.  I want to know the “real” number, not the clothed, watered and eating number.  Does that make sense?  When I got on the scale today I felt a little defeated……but its not because I didn’t lose weight.

I weighed in today at 271.2.  That is a 1.4 pound loss.  I know I should be happy over a loss of any kind, but the last 3 weeks have been all 1.something pound weight losses.  I would be ecstatic if it was just 6 points higher for a 2 pound loss.  At this rate it will be around 2 years for me to lose all the weight I need to lose.  That just seems discouraging at the moment.  I got started eating for lunch and found myself not stopping.  So I’m taking a step back and re-evaluating my priorities.

I’m pretty sure that I can find the culprit of me not losing as much as I’d hoped.  The Sam’s club hot dog, cherry coke, or possibly the free popcorn at Harry Potter.  2 Almond joy minis, mini cheesecake bites, Pork ribs etc.  Now that I’m looking back over some of my eating, its a miracle I lost the 1.4 in the first place.  I am a lot more grateful at this moment.

Moving forward, I know what I did wrong, and I know what I need to do right.  A new weekly post that will be coming to the blog is “What I ate Weigh in Day”.  I will keep a post food journal of what I eat on weigh in day so that I am more accountable for the things that I am eating on the day formerly thought of as my “free day”.  Let’s be honest, on Weight Watchers you get to eat what you want as long as you stay in your points, I’m not deprived anything.  There is no reason for a “free day”.

Do you give yourself a “free day” from healthy living?

5 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 21, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Food Binge, Frustration, Weigh in

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 21, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/21/taking-a-step-backweigh-in/

Five a Day Challenge!

Sweat it Out:
30 Minutes Elliptical Intervals
30 Minutes Weights, Legs

Man, my arms are stiff from yesterday!  I love that feeling!  My legs feel like Jello so hopefully they will be stiff tomorrow as well.  That’s how I know I got a good workout.

Back in the day when I first lost 86 pounds, I was a recovering Diet Coke addict.  My dad loved it so much there was a fridge in our garage dedicated to Diet Coke 2 liters.  I had a nasty habit of swigging it straight from the bottle (drove my family nuts!).  When I started working out and doing Weight Watchers I challenged myself to start drinking more water.  I NEVER drank water and it was going to be a challenge.  I came up with a plan that after one of the 2 liters of Diet Coke was empty I would fill it with water and continue swigging it from the fridge (I’m sure the swigging just became a habit).  I didn’t even notice a change and felt better than having all of that carbonation.  Plus, I lost 15 pounds in two weeks!  All form stopping carbonation (and eating better).

This was the one habit that I continued on with even though I was continually gaining weight.  Lately I’ve been drinking only about 64 oz. a day, if that.  So I’ve decided that I am going to challenge myself with my water drinking.  I’ve heard that you should be drinking half your weight in ounces of water a day.  That would mean that I would have to drink about 135 ounces of water a day!  That seems INSANE! But not so much that I won’t try it!  My Nalgene bottle holds 32 ounces, and I am challenging myself to drink 5 a day, that’s 140 ounces.

I definitely don’t think that I’m going to lose 15 pounds like I did the first time around.  I don’t really drink a whole lot of carbonation anymore anyway and come on, I’m like 12 years older, things are slowin’ down.  But I have been doing it for the last 2 days, and I already feel better.  I do have to pee every five minutes, but I will just have to deal with that.

Do you have a water quota throughout the day?
Do you feel better when you’ve drank a lot of water consistently?

Weigh-in tomorrow!  Fingers crossed that it’s a good number!

1 Comment
by Shrinking Carrie on July 21, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Water

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 21, 2011

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2011/07/21/five-a-day-challenge/

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