I'm probably about due to win the bad blogger of the year award for my negligence! It's been a full couple of months! Let me take a moment to fill you in on what's been happening around here...
1. Wrapping up deer season. Our total count at the end of the year was nearly 320 deer, more than we have done in a long time.
2. Christmas! The celebrations felt a little strange this year. We are at a new church, so we weren't quite sure what to expect and ended up missing the week that they do the big Christmas program because we didn't know about it soon enough. And at that time we were still running back and forth every day to the meat shop, so we didn't have much time to enjoy the season in our new house. I didn't bake one single Christmas cookie. And there was pretty much no snow. But, Jesus was still born over 2000 years ago and we celebrated that with all our hearts, which is what really matters, right?
3. Settling into a "normal" routine at our own house (if there is such a thing as "normal"!) We've been rendering lots of deer tallow and I made my first attempts at tallow soap. It looks good--still curing, so I haven't actually gotten to try it yet.
4. Spent a night in the emergency room about two weeks ago with my heart feeling like it was going to pound right out of my chest. To make a long story short, don't take heavy doses of echinacea and then drink multiple cups of very strong coffee in a short amount of time. Turns out they don't do so well together.
5. Took a trip to Ikea for curtains, bedroom storage, and the like. Love that store!
6. Planning lots of big projects around the house. This weekend is a wall of bookshelves for the living room--yay! Also planning a trip to Florida in March...double-yay!
7. Hitting the books! Our school pace really slowed down during deer season, so now it's time for us to step it up. Ever hear about Charles Martel and the Battle of Tours? Fascinating story--go and look it up! I don't now how I got to be 31 years old and never learned about that. This is why I love homeschooling--I keep learning new things too!
8. Dan and I took our CPL (Concealed Pistol License) training last Saturday. We had a wonderful instructor who gave us SO much more information than just what's covered in the typical NRA class. Plus, I got to shoot several different handguns, which was great for me since I had never fired one before. The instructor said I'm a natural shooter and that with some training I could do it competitively. But I think he was just flattering me because I was the only girl in the class:-)
9. Repairing the hole in our kitchen ceiling. Yup, the hole. About a month ago our son took a bath and left the water in the tub (no big deal). Except that it turns out there was a teenie little hole in the tub...so all that water slowly leaked onto the kitchen ceiling for about 4 hours. We had to tear out a section of drywall about 4' by 5'. Last night Dan and I finally were able to get new drywall over the hole...
10. Working out at 5:30 am every day. Dan and I started Insanity last week and yes, it is insane. We're both looking forward to losing the "extras" we acquired through the fall months!
So, things are happening around here! We're really excited about what's to come. I will write soon about some of that in my next post in the Agrarian Home Based Lifestyle series. If I don't do it within the next week, someone please come and kick me. Thanks!
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Friday, July 1, 2011
Fitness Friday! 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge Update...
Welcome to Fitness Friday! For the next month or so I'll be giving you an update every Friday on how my personal "Weight Loss Challenge" is going. The last week and a half has been pretty good...I've done pretty well at sticking to my diet guidelines, and exercising consistently. Blogging about it helps--I don't want to have to come back here and tell you I was lazy! And thankfully, the numbers are starting to reflect the hard work!
Current weight: 150 lbs (halfway to goal #1 already!)
Waist: 30" (1 inch down)
Upper arm: 11 3/4"
Hips: 42" (this is my biggest problem area...takes REALLY hard work to see change there!)
Thigh: 24 1/2"
The first week of exercising was great. I had tons of energy and was able to work out at a pretty high intensity level. This week felt harder...like my muscles were in protest. I don't know too much about sports nutrition, but I'm wondering if that first week my body was running on excess stored carbs. With that "extra" depleted, I'd love to see some of those fat stores start to disappear too:) Interesting thought. The human body is amazing! One of the best things about paying attention to your body and your nutrition is learning about how it works and how best to "feed" it. It feels good to have some control in this area!
Current weight: 150 lbs (halfway to goal #1 already!)
Waist: 30" (1 inch down)
Upper arm: 11 3/4"
Hips: 42" (this is my biggest problem area...takes REALLY hard work to see change there!)
Thigh: 24 1/2"
The first week of exercising was great. I had tons of energy and was able to work out at a pretty high intensity level. This week felt harder...like my muscles were in protest. I don't know too much about sports nutrition, but I'm wondering if that first week my body was running on excess stored carbs. With that "extra" depleted, I'd love to see some of those fat stores start to disappear too:) Interesting thought. The human body is amazing! One of the best things about paying attention to your body and your nutrition is learning about how it works and how best to "feed" it. It feels good to have some control in this area!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
30 Day Weight Loss Challenge
I've had enough. Enough of looking in the mirror and saying, "That's not my body". Enough squeezing into jeans that barely fit because I refuse to buy new bigger ones. And most importantly, enough filling my stomach with empty calories (at best) and harmful junk "food" at worst. After boy #4 was born, I did pretty well losing the baby weight at first. I managed to get down to somewhere around 147 lbs. just with the help of nursing, and I was good with that. Keeping a few extra pounds on while nursing is a good thing. Then he started weaning himself sooner than I expected, and by the time boy #4 was 11 months he was pretty much done nursing altogether. And guess what...from about March until now, my weight steadily climbed up to 155 with no sign of slowing, putting me into the "overweight" category for my height. It's time to do something. My goal is to drop 10 pounds in the next 30 days.
In general, I believe in moderation. A bowl of ice cream now and then isn't going to kill me. Snacking on chips and salsa isn't all that bad. But when it's a BIG bowl every night plus a whole bunch of chips and salsa right before bed...that's just getting out of control. And one thing I've discovered since having kids is that, for whatever reason, I no longer have much self control when it comes to food. I can't do moderation. To really see any change I have to do something drastic.
Now, don't go and get nervous for me. I'm not going to starve myself or anything (I'll show you what I ate for breakfast in a minute!) My "diet" goes something like this:
1. Aim for 1500-1600 calories a day
2. Cut out pretty much all refined/added sugar
3. Avoid excess carbs. I know from experience that I have more lasting energy and feel much better when I get most of my calories from proteins and "good" fats, with a hearty dose of veggies to fill me up.
4. Record what I eat in an online food diary, at least until things are a little more under control. Having to write down every last thing makes me think twice!
I also plan on exercising daily. I've been using The Biggest Loser: The Workout - Boot Camp
(already on level 2!), plus doing pilates and fitness ball exercises for my abs and core.
I'll also be keeping you up to date once a week on my "stats". I'm just as excited to see how these numbers change as my weight! Here's my starting point:
Weight: 155
Waist: 31"
Hips: 42"
Thigh: 25"
Upper Arm: 12"
Anyone care to join me? My total weight loss goal is 20 pounds, but I'm going to focus on tackling the first 10 right now. If you want to make a similar decision, please leave me a comment and tell me your goals! I'd love to have some extra help and support! Also, here are a couple links you may find useful:
Online food diary/calorie counter
Free Nutrition Type Quiz --very informative, and was really accurate for me.
And, as promised, here's what I ate for breakfast! I can't really take credit for the idea...I saw it on Food Network a few days ago. And, by my calculations, it's only about 250 calories a serving!
"Deconstructed" Sweet Potato Hash
Serves 2
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
1 T. butter
water
salt
tarragon
2 eggs
Melt 1/2 T. butter n a small frying pan, then arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer. Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook gently until water has all evaporated and test doneness (about 20-30 minutes). Near the end of the cooking time, sprinkle with tarragon. If necessary, add a little extra water if they need a little more time. Remove to serving plates.
Meanwhile in a separate pan, heat remaining 1/2 T. butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook slowly over medium heat while sweet potatoes cook. Put on plate at the same time as potatoes.
Fry two eggs using whatever method you like and add one to each plate. Season it all to taste and enjoy!
In general, I believe in moderation. A bowl of ice cream now and then isn't going to kill me. Snacking on chips and salsa isn't all that bad. But when it's a BIG bowl every night plus a whole bunch of chips and salsa right before bed...that's just getting out of control. And one thing I've discovered since having kids is that, for whatever reason, I no longer have much self control when it comes to food. I can't do moderation. To really see any change I have to do something drastic.
Now, don't go and get nervous for me. I'm not going to starve myself or anything (I'll show you what I ate for breakfast in a minute!) My "diet" goes something like this:
1. Aim for 1500-1600 calories a day
2. Cut out pretty much all refined/added sugar
3. Avoid excess carbs. I know from experience that I have more lasting energy and feel much better when I get most of my calories from proteins and "good" fats, with a hearty dose of veggies to fill me up.
4. Record what I eat in an online food diary, at least until things are a little more under control. Having to write down every last thing makes me think twice!
I also plan on exercising daily. I've been using The Biggest Loser: The Workout - Boot Camp
(already on level 2!), plus doing pilates and fitness ball exercises for my abs and core. I'll also be keeping you up to date once a week on my "stats". I'm just as excited to see how these numbers change as my weight! Here's my starting point:
Weight: 155
Waist: 31"
Hips: 42"
Thigh: 25"
Upper Arm: 12"
Anyone care to join me? My total weight loss goal is 20 pounds, but I'm going to focus on tackling the first 10 right now. If you want to make a similar decision, please leave me a comment and tell me your goals! I'd love to have some extra help and support! Also, here are a couple links you may find useful:
Online food diary/calorie counter
Free Nutrition Type Quiz --very informative, and was really accurate for me.
And, as promised, here's what I ate for breakfast! I can't really take credit for the idea...I saw it on Food Network a few days ago. And, by my calculations, it's only about 250 calories a serving!
"Deconstructed" Sweet Potato Hash
Serves 2
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
1 T. butter
water
salt
tarragon
2 eggs
Melt 1/2 T. butter n a small frying pan, then arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer. Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook gently until water has all evaporated and test doneness (about 20-30 minutes). Near the end of the cooking time, sprinkle with tarragon. If necessary, add a little extra water if they need a little more time. Remove to serving plates.
Meanwhile in a separate pan, heat remaining 1/2 T. butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook slowly over medium heat while sweet potatoes cook. Put on plate at the same time as potatoes.
Fry two eggs using whatever method you like and add one to each plate. Season it all to taste and enjoy!
 |
| I like my eggs over medium. Yum! |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)