Justified

So my MOST favorite treats are CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES!
It's the best time for strawberries. Sam's had a lovely display of huge, delicious strawberries just begging to be dipped in chocolate. I can't get enough of them....I like them even more than ice cream!
How can I make room for these delicious bites of heaven in my already tight fitting pants? I knew there must be a way. And then I thought of it. Justification. I knew I could count on the internet to ease my mind as I indulge on chocolate covered perfection. Check out what I found at http://www.orcaracing.net/?p=71
I love justifying my actions, it makes everything so much easier! Except the losing weight part. And yes I justify eating ice cream every day because it's the only form of milk I usually get. And it helps keep the baby elephant in the healthy 99th percentile for his age...... and who doesn't like a chubby baby?!

Really?!

Guess who lost 21 lbs in 4 weeks....... NOT ME! Stupid boys. The hubs lost 21 lbs. I am happy for him but seriously, what da hewl? (what the hell in kid talk) He misses a few days of work, sleeps ALL day and drops weight like crazy. Oh, and he might have been super sick but so what... NO FAIR! Gosh guys. Give us gals a break! If I would have laid in bed for a few days the house would have fallen down around me, the kids would have been shipped off thanks to CPS, and you can bet that I wouldn't have lost ANY weight!
Congrats on your 21 lbs Honey...... I am so glad someone in our house is losing weight.

Yippee!

I have my elliptical back! Thank you SO much Shannon and Dave for bringing it back up to me! My workout room is looking AMAZING! I think I will buy another equipment/fitness mat and I can cover more of the wood floor. Maybe hang up some exercise routines, pictures, goals, etc. I should add some music.... anyone have any recommendations? I will for sure paint it when the weather gets warmer. I am SO EXCITED! My own little gym! Yippee!

Sorry

It's late. I'm tired. And I have a sick husband. Enough said right!?!

Good vs Bad

Good news: I walked, ran, and carried the baby elephant today.

Bad news: Working out made me hungry and I took a bite of food that was too hot and burned
my gums. (Who knew you could even do that?!)

Good news: My hurting mouth made it hard to eat.

Bad news: Ice cream feels really good on my hurting gums.

Good news: The ice cream had some ice crystals on it because it's been so long that I haven't
had any.

Bad news: The crystals are gone and so are a few frozen balls of cookie dough.

for sure!

I have no more excuses. Everyone is feeling good. I have stretchy pants. A treadmill (thanks Jen!!!) A spot for MY eliptical.....ehem....MOTHER. And a plan. 8:45am tomorrow morning I will be running. Well maybe I should start off with just walking.... but it will be at a brisk pace! If you call I will not answer because I will for sure be out of breath. I must go now to find fun workout music to download. I will tell you all about it tomorrow!

carrots taste better than cake

...carrots taste better than cake....carrots taste better than cake..... carrots taste better than cake.
Strangely enough I actually DON'T like cake! But I have a few exceptions..... and one of them is sitting on my kitchen counter tonight. (pumpkin cake)

crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch...... No that's not me doing sit ups. I am munching away on healthy carrots. GO ME!

What the?

9 glasses of water = a bazillion trips to the bathroom.

Ok so maybe I over exaggerated a bit...but I had more potty breaks in one day then I usually do in a week! I sure hope the pounds are flushing away with it!

The workout

Today was good. I worked out and ate better.
The workout.......pushing 3 kids and a car seat around in a shopping cart with bad wheels. Add a HUGE case of diapers and wipes and THAT ,my friends, is a good workout. Plus I parked really far away. Who knew that Costco is the place to be on a Friday afternoon? Everyone must have know it was try it before you buy it day. Which leads me to my portion controlled lunch. Chocolate milk, artichoke dip, pizza, Madras Lentils (so delicious I had to buy it), and a gummy fiber vitamin. Just one bite of each and I felt so satisfied I only ate HALF of my hand dipped ice cream bar of deliciousness! All in all I say it turned out to be a pretty good day.

Who knew I could figureout how to MAKE and ADD my own button!?! As my husband once told me "Even blind squirrels find nuts in the forest every once in while."
Grab my NEW button over to the right. Thanks!

Every little bit helps.....

I am sure we all know we should be drinking LOTS of water each day. In fact we should be drinking 1/2 our body weight. Example a person who's weight its 120lbs (ha, I wish!) should be drinking 60 oz of water. That is about seven and a half glasses!
And wouldn't it be nice if drinking all that water helped us loose weight?! Well it's your LUCKY DAY people because IT CAN! Drinking water has MANY benefits: healthy skin, flushing out toxins, regulates body temperature, helps with our metabolism, etc. Brace yourself because it gets even better!! While you are drinking all that water make sure it is ICE COLD and it can actually INCREASE your metabolism. That means you can be burning and EXTRA 10-20 calories per beverage! And if my calculations are correct drinking 7 glasses per day at 15 calories burned (this is just an average) will save you 105 calories a day! Just think...... you could have a bite of a doughnut, or maybe 6 Cheetos! WoW! So glad I read my Star magazine today or I might have never known!
I am actually a water drinker. I love it! But I like my water room temp. I will have to try cold water for the next week and see if it grows on me. It would be nice to burn some extra calories without really doing much.
Cheers!

If you would like some important facts on drinking water, and to find out how much YOU should be drinking, check it out here:
www.diet.lovetoknow.com/wiki/How_Much_Water_Should_a_Person_Drink_a_Day

Housework = Fitness?

I once read that people who are fit tend to have well kept houses.
Apparently those people have enough self discipline to workout everyday (even when the don't want to) have the same discipline when it comes to keeping their house clean.
I fell like my house is well kept, but my body is apparently telling me otherwise.
I guess I should be lunging more while mopping, or using heavier dish cloths to wash the dishes. Perhaps I should be pulling out the fridge every night to clean behind/underneath it. I try to get all the bathrooms at least once a week. Maybe I should stop using Scrubbing Bubbles...... they really must be doing ALL the work! I could trade in my feather duster and get something a little heaver. Perhaps if I STOP using fabric softener on the clothes it would make doing laundry a little HARDER?!
I once again have to thank my kids for helping me out with this 30 by 30 plan. They sure do give me a lot of housework to keep up on. It's so nice that they are thinking of me!

Walked right on by.

So I know better than to go grocery shopping when I am hungry. I ALWAYS over buy and get treats that we don't need. But today I went shopping hungry. I had to. The kids were finally well enough to eat something and we had nothing in the fridge. I was worried for myself.... I'm not going to lie. But, today was a NEW day! I did so good! I walked right by the doughnut section! They smelled fantastic and I just kept repeating in my head...30 by 30.......30 by 30. Good thing I though of such a catchy slogan. Who knew it would actually work?!? I am proud to say the doughnuts did NOT make it home with me!
I was so proud of myself that I decided I should have a little treat. (after dinner of course!) I made myself an Oreo shake. I know what your thinking.....but hold on and let me explain myself first before you go rolling your eyes. I used reduced fat Oreos, scraped out the filling, and mixed it by hand! That's got to count for something right?! Little steps people....little steps.

In honor of...

To honor Harold Pullman Coffin I did exactly what he wanted today. NOTHING!
This is National Nothing Day, set aside each year for people to sit around for the entire day and just hang out. No celebrating, observing or honoring anything. It was created by Harold Pullman Coffin. January 16th, 1973 (thanks http://www.coolquiz.com/)
Oh crap! I honored HAROLD PULLMAN COFFIN! That is EXACTLY what I was NOT supposed to do! Gosh, I guess I will just have to try harder next year!

willpower

Willpower....Yep. Don't have it! But I could sure take a lesson from my sick 3 year old. This was my conversations with her throughout the day.
Me: "How about eating some applesauce or yogurt?"
T: "no"
a few hours pass
Me: "Carrots? Banana? Apple?"
T: "no"
Me: "Want to eat some soup? Bread? Leftover Chinese?"
T: "no"
* I tried the soup and the chinese just to show her that it was indeed both editable and delicious.
a few more hours pass
Me: "Want some Orange Julius? Ice cream? Cookies? Apple crisp? Chocolate?"
T: "no"
** I also tried the Orange Julius, Ice cream, and Apple crisp.....this time I wasn't even trying to convince the 3 year old it was any good!
I sure hope their medicine kicks in soon! They need to help me finish off the ice cream.....otherwise I guess I'll have to do it on my own.

After typing this post I have realized that as the day gets longer my healthy eating takes a turn for the worse. I guess I will just have to stop eating earlier............. like around noon?!?

repeat

Since I handled yesterdays workout so well the kids felt like I needed more of a challenge. So for today's workout they kicked it up a notch. Add one more sick child.... grand total FOUR!
The day was once again filled with step aerobics, weightlifting, and squats......but today's twist was the Grab and Carry.
To do the Grab and Carry correctly you must do at least 4 reps... one for each child of course! For those who are experienced with the G&C you can try the more advanced version. For this you will need at least two kids. One in each arm works great! Double the burn, half the time!
I have learned that when working out, especially doing the G&C, it is more entertaining when you do it with a friend....or in my case a complete stranger going by the title of Nurse. I had already completed one set of reps myself (going into the Dr.'s office) but when trying to start my second set (to get out of the Dr. office) I was challenged with 2 vomiting children. This is when the sweet nurse decided to step in and try the G&C with me. (And just in case you were wondering we both did the more advanced version.) When we reached the car the kids were loaded in and I was left to fend for myself. Which got me thinking......
I have heard that getting back into shape is easier when you have a partner. Someone to workout with, share tips, and help you reach your goal. My goal for tomorrow will be to get my kids feeling well again. My partner for this will be someone who goes by the name of Dad in our house. We feel like this is such an important task we have cleared our day. No Basketball games, Cheer leading, or work! For either of us! WE are SO committed to this new goal....... WISH US LUCK!

I worked it!

What a workout I had today! I did step aerobics, weight lifting, and squats all day!
The step aerobics consisted of me running up and down the 3 flights of stairs in our house checking on sick kids. Three out of the four were sick today.....all with something different. Upstairs contained the stuffy nose, middle level the cough, and the basement had the sore throat. Up and down stairs all day checking temperatures, giving medicine, wiping noses, getting drinks, finding lost toys.....it was quite the day.
The weight lifting was holding the coughing baby who weighs as much as a small elephant. The squats were also thanks to the small elephant. Squatting down to change a diaper. Squatting down to let the small elephant have tummy time. Squatting back down to pick up the small elephant who doesn't like tummy time. Up, down, up, down......and so the trend continued all day.
Thank you children for helping Mommy get her workout for the day.
I sure hope everyone feels better in the morning!

Once upon a time....

Yes... once upon a time these pants, along with many others, fit great! And that time was not that long ago.

I decided to post this picture myself so that it will not be able to be used against me in the future for blackmail purposes. It's definitely not a flattering shot but I think it shows the area of concern quite well. I have a little too much 'love' in my love handles. Too much 'muffin top' above the cup. A whole set of 'spare tires'.....and well, I think you get the picture.
Many of you have been kind in saying that I "look great after having 4 kids." I know you mean that nicely (well, some of you) but one day I hope to hear the words....."You look GREAT!" or how about .... "SERIOUSLY?! You have kids?!" perhaps even...."You two could be sisters!" Well maybe I went a little too far with that last one...My oldest girl is only 5 after all. And who doesn't want to be able to walk into their closet and get dressed with 2 items or less....those two items being a shirt and pants. My daily attire now consists of a pair of pants, shirt, tank top (loose fitting of course), jacket and maybe some sparkly earrings to draw attention upwards. There is much to be said on the powers of attention grabbing jewelry!
I have become quite the expert on 'hiding' my flaws. But it would be so nice not to have to hide anymore! Not saying I wouldn't have flaws.....just that I wouldn't mind having people see them. I find that most people don't like perfect. And I still want people to like me.

Day 2...well kinda day 1...and maybe not even that!

So today was going to be the day! Yes, I said going. But I guess in a way it kinda was. I ran the kids around all day ...in the car, hahaha for a second you might have thought that I actually ran! We had Dr. appointments, dance, cheer, errands, etc. Carrying around a 23 lb kid + a car seat has to count for exercise at some point right?!
I was able to eat healthier.......I shared my doughnut with the kids! Totally counts! That's like 1/2 the calories right there! Plus I didn't eat ice cream. I think it's fair to say that I am off to a GREAT start!
Perhaps tomorrow I will post a picture of the goal.....The jeans that fit once upon a time.
Let me know you are out there and leave a comment or two. And follow me! It's much easier than punching in www.30lbsby30years.blogspot.com!

The BIG idea

So it dawned on me that I will be turning 30 this year! How on earth did this sneek up on me?! I remember when I used to think that 30 was OLD! Well I still think it's old, but there is NO way I am as old as other 30 year olds are! Plus I still have 9 months.... Nine months to make some changes!
Having 4 kids has been the best thing ever! But keeping the extra 10lbs after each kid hasn't. (yes, I do know that 10 x 4 is 40 but somehow 10lbs got lost along the way and I am NOT about to find it)
The reason for my blog is to make me accountable to all the blog readers. I haven't been able to lose the weight because I have always had an excuse like: I plan on having another kid someday, or, I can't let the kids waste food! I must finish their plate. Regardless of the excuse I have never got down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I thought that maybe letting people know my plan would help me not let another year slip by with pants (that used to fit) going unworn, collecting dust in the closet. So here is the plan: Follow ME! Let me know you are out there. Leave comments! It might be frowned upon to beg for my own cheerleaders but I am going to do it anyway!
Some have said that 30lbs is a high number to reach for (Thanks MOM) but it sounded so good for my plan and as the saying goes "If you shoot for the Moon and miss you at least land among the stars". I am not expecting to be a size 0, or even wear a bikini. (remember the 4 kids?! no one wants to see that!) I just want to go into my closet put something on and not be afraid of flying buttons when I bend over or try to sit down!

Now for my plan of attack. I will NOT do trendy diets, exclude bread from my diet, or eat fish. I probably won't even give up ice cream. I will make healthier choices, watch my portions, and exercise more. That means you need to bring MY elliptical back Mother!! I hope you have enjoyed your 3 years with it. Heck, I might even tear off the plastic wrapping from my P90X DVDs I have stored for 4 years!

So it starts TODAY! Well maybe not to day....I had to go to Costco and their hand-dipped ice cream bars are to die for! But TOMORROW... YES! TOMORROW will be the start of a NEW me!