All posts in category Making It Happen

WIAW: Whole Foods Plant Based Diet

I stated on Monday that I was going back to a plant-based diet and I am now on day 4 and going strong.  I am already feeling lighter with more energy, and lets just say that last night was a whopper, yet I am not feeling tired at all (we’ll see how I feel come this afternoon!).  On a side note, I can’t wait until we get our third room finished for our new daughter.  She is the NOISIEST sleeper ever!  She grunts and makes all sorts of weird noises and when I get up to check on her she is totally asleep!  The first 3 months are the hardest, right?

Anyway, onto my Tuesday eats!  Thank you to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting this blogger get together every Wednesday!

Breakfast was eaten before I could snap a picture, but it was Oatmeal with ground flax-seed, vanilla soy milk, and frozen berries.  Not anything too exciting.

Lunch was leftovers from the night before and they were delicious:

IMG_0443Homemade veggie burgers dipped in BBQ sauce and a salad with mixed greens, cucumbers, avocado, and spicy hummus.  The recipe I used for the veggie burgers came from Oh She Glows and it is her Spicy BBQ Chickpea Burgers

I love the crunch that the sunflower seeds added, although, these would have been better on a bun (I forgot to get some from the store).  But I mus say they held together really well and it was a lot better than buying sketchy frozen veggie patties from the store with an ingredient list a mile long!

In the afternoon I saw that I had a banana and a zucchini that was on their last legs so I decided to make Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from Happy Herbivore. I love this recipe because my daughter calls them “cupcakes” and she will polish off 2 before I can blink my eyes.  She has no idea that is she is getting some fruits and veggies in each muffin.  My second pregnancy caused my first daughter to become a picky eater.  Too much eating out will do that to someone, so now I’m trying to get her back on the healthy eating band wagon a little at a time.

IMG_0445I added in some mixed fresh berries and it was a filling snack that held me over til dinner.

Dinner was something unexpected.  This week I meal planned and told myself that no matter what, I was going to stick to it.  Well, last night I realized that I didn’t have a couple of the ingredients I needed for at least two of the meals I was planning so I went in search of a recipe for something that I had the ingredients on hand for.

After a quick check of my Google Reader I found a recipe that looked easy and delicious: Coconut Ginger Curry Rice Bowl From PB Fingers.  Who doesn’t love a one pot meal?  The only problem is that I had run out of brown rice and had to sub with white.  The great thing was that it was done and on the table in less than 30 minutes.

IMG_0447I wish that I had fresh broccoli instead of frozen, but it works in a pinch.  I will be having leftovers of this for lunch.

After getting back on the plant-based bandwagon I am feeling great.  My cravings are going away and the scale even gave me some motivation this morning by showing me a lighter number.  My only concern is that I feel like my breast milk supply has gone down a bit.  I can’t tell if I am just being paranoid or if my little babe is eating more than normal.  I’m monitoring it for the next few days and it is probably in my head.  Other than that I’m feeling great, and only T-4 days until I can start exercising again (hopefully I will get the clear at my 6 week postpartum appointment next Monday).

Have a happy Wednesday!

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by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Goals, Recipes, Health, Good Food, WIAW, Meal Planning, Weight Watchers, Challenges, Diet, Health Benefits, Energy, Plant Based Diet, Commitment, Link Love, Making It Happen, Postpartum, Breast Feeding

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2013

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2013/05/15/wiaw-whole-foods-plant-based-diet/

Happy Mother’s Day to Me!

After having an absolutely horrendous week of eating whatever I could think of I decided to give myself a Mother’s Day present:  I’m going back to eating a plant-based diet.

The life of a mom with a newborn is taxing and I can feel it wearing on me daily.  The nights are a little rough and the days can get long and demanding.  With 2 kids and a husband I often feel like I get pulled in three directions constantly.  What better gift to give myself than the gift of health?

I had a wonderful talk with my husband about a week ago and it involved excuses.  I was going on about how when I get to six weeks postpartum it will get easier because I can exercise.  He totally called me out on my crap and said “you always say it will be easier when…”  fill in the blank.  I know that I have thought about these excuses before and light bulbs constantly go off in my head and I have plenty of AHA moments.  The problem is keeping myself motivated.

Do or do not, there is no try.

I thought I would take a little advice from Yoda and not put the word TRY into this post.  I almost wrote that I was going to TRY and get back to a plant-based lifestyle, but then I got taken back to my retail management days and I would get so annoyed when people said they would TRY to do the thing I was asking them to do.  It basically meant that they had an easy out clause with the word TRY.

This week will be all about getting myself back on track with eating (it is 70% of weight loss).  I’ve given myself permission to eat as much as I want to this week, but the only stipulations are that it has to have vitamins and nutrients of some sort, not be to grain heavy, and cannot come from an animal.  I’ve meal planned and I told the hub’s I don’t care if it doesn’t sound good the night I’m suppose to make it, that’s what we are eating.  He is surprisingly on board (I will mention that after this last pregnancy he is the heaviest he has ever been, and is motivated to lose some pounds).

I’m hoping that I will see great results like the last time I practiced this diet.  I lost weight, started sleeping better, was in a better mood, and I just felt great!  I’ve already had a great first day (which was Sunday, Mother’s Day mind you) and I am excited to get through this first week.

And because a post is always better with a picture, here are my two girls hanging out in our 80 degree house in their diapers (Air conditioner gets serviced on the 16th and it can’t happen soon enough!):

944667_4808877061090_1537861817_nHappy Monday!

2 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on May 13, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Goals, Health, Nutrition, Motivation, Meal Planning, Challenges, Diet, Plant Based Diet, Mindless Eating, Commitment, Making It Happen, Daily Struggles, New Mind-set, Postpartum

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on May 13, 2013

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2013/05/13/happy-mothers-day-to-me/

My Two Goals for 2013

I totally ditched resolutions this year.  Being pregnant, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to make huge strides this year like in the years past.  I can’t really “work out harder” or “lose 60 pounds” (although, I would love to be one of those women who says that breast-feeding helped them lose all the baby weight, but if past experience has taught me anything it is likely not in the books).  Instead of making a lengthy list of resolutions I decided that I would work on two different goals this year, and they both require only the first 3 months of the year.  Who knows maybe I’ll get ambitious in April and make some more hard-core goals, but until then I’m focusing on what is in my control as of now.

1.  Stay as close as possible to my current weight while maintaining a healthy pregnancy.  When I was pregnant with my first, my midwife (who I have changed since) told me that if I wanted to I could actually lose weight while I was pregnant and still have a healthy baby.  When you are 250+ pounds you have all you need to keep that baby growing for 40 weeks.  I gained 20 pounds with Hanna and I tipped the scales at 296 pounds.  I was miserable.

Currently I weigh 271 pounds which is 19 pounds up from my lowest weight of 152 pounds.  I must admit that I am pretty pleased with the fact that I have seemed to keep my weight in check even though I feel like my eating has been out of control at times.  It was probably all of that walking I did in the first 4 months I was pregnant.  And if I want to get technical (and lets face it, it will make me feel better) I didn’t get pregnant until after the fourth of July and I started my pregnancy at about 260 pounds so I could say I have only gained 11 pounds since I got pregnant (wow, I feel so much better now).

With the temperatures being in the negatives in the mornings and not getting above 25 degrees during the day, I consider it child abuse to take my child out in a stroller for 45 minutes everyday.  That, and my entire street is covered in a sheet of ice that would have me practicing ice skating the second I stepped onto its glassy surface.

This takes me to the gym.  Normally,  (and by normally I mean when I lived 5 minutes away from my gym which had child care) I have no problem going to the gym.  Last year at this time I was going with no problems 6 days a week and working out for an hour a day.  Since moving, someone has been trying to test my gym going abilities by opening the gym at 8:00 (WTH?), and closing at 9:00.  This wouldn’t be a problem if my husband wasn’t out the door at eight and since his job has no set hours (oh wait, 24/7, on call always) I never can plan the times that I can get there.  This forces me to stand by the door in my gym clothes so I can pounce at the chance to get in a 30 minute walk or 40 minutes on the elliptical, if I have the energy still.

Excuses, excuses.

I’ll be honest and say the best way possible I can keep this goal is to completely cut out sugar and decrease my carb intake.  Here is the carb count for a diabetic:

Breakfast: 30 grams
Lunch/Dinner: 45 grams
Snacks: 15 grams

For fibrous foods with over 3 grams of fiber you can subtract out the amount of fiber from the carbs.  Example:  An English Muffin that has 27 grams of carbohydrates and 6 grams of fiber would count as a total of 21 grams of carbohydrates.

Even still, that is not a lot of options.  Especially for someone who is trying to keep her meat and dairy intake on the low side.

Still this may sound like lot of complaining, but it could be the sugar detox talking and I’m sure by next week I will be okey dokey.  To sum up:

Exercise even if it is a pain to find the time, and cut out all processed sugars.  Totally doable.

2. Have a healthy labor and a healthy baby.  I know I only have so much control over this, but mind over matter, right?  With Hanna I ended up having to have a C-section, and this go around I am trying for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean).  This means that I cannot be induced and have to go into labor naturally.  I will do what I need to do to get the baby out safely, and keep myself safe so we’ll see how this works out, it may be Caesarean city for this girl, but I gotta try!

Did you make resolutions?  How are they coming along?

2 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on January 8, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Challenges, Commitment, Diet, Gestational Diabetes, Goals, Making It Happen, Pregnancy

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on January 8, 2013

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2013/01/08/my-two-goals-for-2013/

Idle Hands

I have a horrible tendency, if I’m not paying attention, to sit home all day with the TV tuned to TBS watching reruns of shows that I have seen dozens (or more!) times.  I try to keep the background noise tuned to PBS for Hanna in the morning because for some reason Sesame Street is a comforting noise, but by the end of the day it always goes back to TBS.

What is it about the show “Friends” that makes it so I can’t turn the channel?  I’ve seen each episode over 10 times (confession: WELL over 10 times each), but it feels like sinning when I turn the channel, or heaven forbid turn the entire TV OFF.

When I was in Utah last week and I was discussing the woes of being a Stay-at-home-mom with my own mom, and how I can let myself actually sit in front of the TV all day long and not accomplish one single task, she told me a secret to when she was a SAHM: Projects.

I know, it seems so simple yet I cannot pry myself away from Friends long enough to come up with some projects that I need to get done.  So I have forced myself to sit down and come up with a list of things that I either need to get done, or would like to accomplish.

First off, I am not crafty.  I mean, I AM crafty if I need to be, but I don’t want a house full of homemade displays and such, but there are plenty of projects I can do for Hanna that have nothing to do with my house.  Of course I turned to my Pinterest arsenal and got to planning.  The only thing is that I need a sewing machine for most of them (pffft.  whatever sewing machine).  I may have to see if I can borrow one from a friend.

Hanna has a quiet book that I let her play with in church and she loves it, but I think she is getting tired of the same old pages over and over again.  So I’m going to add some fun pages that I found from this website:

I thought the potato head quiet pages look awesome and have loads of different playing possibilities.

I would also love to make her these felt “paper” dolls that can be found on this website:

Another suggestion that my mom had was to slowly paint my cupboards.  I eventually would like to paint most of my house, but I am going to start with my kitchen cupboards, which I want white (right now they are grey).  I think I can get it done with 1 gallon of paint so now I just have to start sanding them down.  That should keep me busy.

Along with those things I would also like to:

  • Finish knitting the baby quilt I started when I found out I was pregnant with Hanna (I am NOT a procrastinator! Ok, maybe I am)
  • Start taking a weekly trip to the library since Hanna has FINALLY started letting me read books to her (this makes me so happy I could cry, I LOVE books!)
  • Peeling off all the labels to my old Kombucha glass bottles so that I can store bulk food items in them like shaved coconut, dried beans, lentils, and such.
  • Cleaning out my pantry so it makes sense.
  • Putting together a Vegan cookbook binder for all of my recipes that I have printed out and organizing them into categories.
  • Finish Divergent on audio book, and start another.  My 2012 reading goal is happening this year!
  • Organize my Pinterest boards, which I find ironic.
  • Re-vamp my blog and give it a facelift. This WILL happen the next time I am in Utah with my Graphic Designer brother.  And of course make it easier to navigate and organize it.
  • De-clutter the garage (this one may have to wait until next spring)
  • Go through Hanna’s room and re-arrange it, put old clothes in storage and get rid of some toys.  I literally have not done anything to that childs room since we moved 4 months ago.

Along with that list I feel like I have LIVED in my kitchen the last few days so a recipe roundup will definitely be making its way for What I Ate Wednesday tomorrow.  I will also have a recipe for a chocolate cheesecake that I will be sharing, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your eating philosophy) it has lots of dairy in it.  I am making dinner for our church missionaries tonight and every time I suggest a Vegan dish my husband gives me the stink eye.  On the menu: Chicken Enchilada’s with roasted green beans and Hershey’s Chocolate Cheesecake for dessert.  Side note:  Whatever is left after the missionaries leave goes in the trash, or to a neighbor (don’t you wish you loved by me).  Here’s hoping my stomach doesn’t get too upset!

BTW: Dustin is doing stellar on his one week challenge so far!

Later friends!

7 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Change, Distractions, Indulgence, Kombucha, Making It Happen, Planning

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 17, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/07/17/idle-hands/

Running Day 1

I use the term “running” very loosely considering it was more like a very slow jog.  Back in the day (early 20′s), I could run 5 miles a day at 6 mph.  My cool down was a brisk walk at 4 mph.

Yesterday I was “running” at 4.2 mph.  Oh how the mighty have fallen.  I know that seems kind of downer, but trust me, yesterday was pretty monumental for me.  I actually STARTED my workout with a runner’s high, and it was a great warm-up for the 25 minutes on the elliptical I did after.  It left me a pretty sweaty mess:

And that folks is an award-winning zit right there.

What I Felt Like During the run

To my lungs the run felt effortless.  In fact, I was barely breathing when I was done with the 6 minute intervals of walking and running.  I was kind of surprised.  On the second minute of running I decided to kick it up a notch and upped it to 4.5.  My lungs felt fine and I still was not getting my heart rate up very much, but then my left knee started to get a dull pinch in it so I put it back down to a 4.  The pain was in my left knee, which is strange because usually there is a small pain in my right leg (the leg I fell on, and injured myself with when I was 21).

The only thing I can say is that I am still very overweight and for right now listening to my body is best.  If I have to keep the pace lower so that my aches and pains subside I will do just that.  The weight will start to come off, and my lungs and body will sync up perfectly, I have no doubt.  I will not quit this running program just because I can’t go as fast as I want to go.  It will come with time.

On the Diet Front

For the first time in a week and a half I have seen a loss on the scale.  I changed a few things in my diet and I think it has made a difference.  I’ve added some more protein and I think it has been the missing puzzle piece.  I’ve started eating chicken and eggs again (mostly egg whites).  It seems like it’s the only way I can get my protein high enough without going over on my  carbs and calories.

I truly believe that there is no one way for people to eat.  I think that many people thrive in different kind of diets, and you have to pick the one for you.  Even on the weeks that I was eating perfectly I was not seeing losses, and felt like I was depriving myself of foods that could help me in my weight loss, and now I can say that I have honestly done something long enough to see how it affects my body, and adding meat back into my diet has not affected my energy levels at all.  Which is great!

So there you have it.  My first day running, although a little frustrating, was a success!  The thing that keeps me going is knowing that I will improve.  I have nowhere to go but up!

 

6 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Challenges, Commitment, Diet, Energy, Making It Happen, Running, Workout

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/05/15/running-day-1/

Get to Fifty in Sixty!

I survived!!!!!  I can check 24 hour fast OFF of my list!  And look at this pretty little (and by little I mean GIANT) salad I broke my fast with:

It totally hit the spot.  I wanted to make sure that I didn’t end up eating the rest of the night (like I do when I normally fast), and so I ate this salad 2 Cutie Oranges, some dried cherries, and a Kombucha.  Then I did the dishes, turned off the light, and the kitchen was closed for the evening (“kitchen closed” will always remind me of my mom).

Starting Weight

When I stepped on the scale this morning my weight was 257.2.  This was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be, so it is a great way to start out this new beginning!  I am calling this new challenge Get to Fifty in Sixty!  This title may be a little off considering that I have 66 Days to complete my goal of getting to 50 pounds.  Originally I was thinking that I wanted to get to 50 pounds total loss, which  at the time would have been 20 pounds.  After calculating the numbers I would actually need to lose 24.4 pounds.  What the heck, I’m going to go for it!

The Official Challenge:  Get to 50 pounds lost by July, 4th 2012!  

My ending weight should be 232.8!  The reward?  I’m thinking that I will buy a new workout outfit, and a new casual outfit.

How will I achieve this goal?  

I have come up with a few goals for the next couple of months and although there may be a lot, a few of them don’t require that much time.  One goal that I have already accomplished this weekend is to join My Fitness Pal (if you want to be friends my username is carrieseals, friend me!).  I had actually joined MFP last year and so it won’t let me change my starting weight, and the weight loss chart is off, but oh well, what are gonna do!  I was using Livestrong.com’s Daily Plate before and I have found that the calorie goal is totally out of whack.  Example:  I put the same exact stats into both system requesting for a 2 pound a week loss and Livestrong told me to eat 2176 calories a day (which I have ALWAYS thought was too many calories) and My Fitness Pal told me to eat 1400 which I think is spot on.  Here are the complete goals for this challenge:

  • Complete 24 Hour Cleansing Fast
  • Re-activate My Fitness Pal Account
  • Drink over 100 oz’s of water EVERYDAY.  I’m usually pretty good about this, but on days when I run errands I fall a little short, and my body needs a LOT of water to feel normal.
  • Do some form of exercise 6 days a week.
  • Workout at least 3 times a week with the girls from the church
  • Get to the activity center at least 3 times a week even if that means two-a-day workouts
  • Find a weight lifting program.  I think I have over done The New Rules of Lifting for Women.  The workouts have become repetative and boring.
  • Finish reading How to Disease Proof Your Child, and one fun book.
  • Get more social with people in my church branch.  See if someone would help me out with Hanna so I can go to the gym in the morning instead of having to wait all day for Dustin to get home.
  • Track daily on My Fitness Pal and do daily stat posts periodically throughout the week.
  • Meal Plan Weekly
  • Only go out to dinner once a week.  We don’t have a problem with this right now since we don’t have a lot of restaurants near us!
  • Blog.  99% of the time I enjoy blogging with my whole heart, but when I am not on track it gets to be a constant reminder of how bad I’m doing.  It has also been a great tool to keep getting back to basics.  One that I need to utilize more often when I’m having a hard time.
  • Utilize my social networking.  The more focused I am on losing the weight, the more it happens, and it happens even more when I am connecting with people who know what I’m going through.  Have you liked me on Facebook yet?  Are you following me on twitter?  I plan on using these tools to my advantage (without letting them cut into family time).  

Seems like a pretty good list, right?  I am so excited for the next few weeks and I just know that the outcome will be a positive one!

What are you doing to start your week off right?  

What is a goal you have for this week?

Ever fasted?  Easy, hard?  Felt any difference?  

11 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on April 30, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Challenges, Commitment, Get to Fifty in Sixty, Goals, Making It Happen

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on April 30, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/04/30/get-to-fifty-in-sixty/

24 Hours of Starving Myself, Also Known As A Cleansing Fast

This weekend I have had a chance to get the kinks out.  I’ve had some wonderful support from family and from my awesome readers who have left me with so much positivity and motivation to start my new challenge.  I’ve been thinking for the past few days of how I am going to achieve the new goals that I am setting for myself and with all of the possibilities come excitement  and anticipation for all that is waiting for me!

One of the things that I knew would be at the top of my list to kick-start me into a fresh perspective would be to complete a 24 hour fast.

What are the benefits to fasting, you ask?  Well let me tell you…

According to All About Fasting:

When we cease the over-indulgence that has become so common in our modern world, even for a short while, our lives and our priorities become clearer. Do these “short while”s occasionally, and you have a tool that will greatly add to your life.

Fasting will:

  1. rest the digestive system
  2. allow for cleansing and detoxification of the body
  3. create a break in eating patterns, while shining a spotlight on them
  4. promote greater mental clarity
  5. cleanse and heal “stuck” emotional patterns
  6. lead to a feeling of physical lightness, increasing energy level
  7. promote an inner stillness, enhancing spiritual connection

So where am I right now in the fasting process?  About 18 hours in and counting.  With pregnancy and then breast feeding, I got our of practice from the once a month fasting I normally practiced with my church.  What better timing than to help it with my weight loss goals, right?

Unfortunately, after having a VERY bad last week, and a “last supper” dinner last night, my body is detoxifying pretty badly right now.  And meal planning will definitely not be happening until after I have broken my fast (at 6:00 tonight) since every time I look at food my tummy starts to grumble.

What I am looking forward too?:

  • Mental clarity
  • physical lightness
  • a break in craving sugar, fats, and salt
  • starting my week off right
  • the accomplished feeling I will have after doing something that was hard (yes, going without food for 24 hours is hard, even more hard when you are a food addict!)
If I can get through this I can get through a lot more than I give myself credit for.  And I must give props to the hub’s for doing it with me, my husband is a trooper folks!
What will I be breaking my fast with?
Salad.
A very LARGE, totally plant-based salad.
Stay tuned tomorrow for full details on “the plan”!
2 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on April 29, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Benefits of Fasting, Challenges, Making It Happen, Plant Based Diet

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on April 29, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/04/29/24-hours-of-starving-myself-also-known-as-a-cleansing-fast/

Day 1 4/30/2012

Let me start out by saying that I appreciate the comments and emails that have been sent to me after yesterday’s post.  They do not go unnoticed and have really helped me out through this trying week.  I don’t have days like this very often, but they are usually followed by a bout of motivation which is exactly what I need right now.

I’m taking this weekend to really think about what I’m doing to accomplish my goals.  I started this blog in June 2011 and since then I have bounced around 30 pounds lost, and to be honest, I really thought I would be further along than I am.

Monday 4/30/2012 starts a new journey for me.  The journey where my highest weight will no longer be 282.8 pounds.  I don’t want to keep patting myself on the back for the same 30 pounds that I have already lost and it is time to start giving myself gold stars for getting beyond that number.

I realize that giving myself a 20 pound weight loss goal is unreasonable in just the short time of 6 weeks (which would be the anniversary of my blog), so instead I give myself until fourth of July.  That is a little over 2 months to get to the fifty pound mark where I can really do some celebrating.

I will start with a weigh in on Monday 4/30/2012, and do CONSISTENT weigh in’s every Thursday.

As far as the other details of this goal to make it to 50 pounds lost, I’m not really sure.  But I do know that I will take this weekend to really think about them, and do a full post about them on Monday when I have my first official weigh in.

I’m ready to get past this funk, and make things happen!  Who’s with me?!

13 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on April 27, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Making It Happen

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on April 27, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/04/27/day-1-4302012/

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