Reduce, reuse, recycle

I know, I know.  A lot of people think we're crazy to use cloth diapers.  But really, it saves money.  It reduces the amount of trash we're throwing away.  They get reused over and over, after a good sanitizing wash.  We recycle as much paper and plastic and metal as possible, and we don't use paper plates or paper towels, so it just makes sense to me to use cloth diapers, too.  Plus?  Look how cute they are!  (made these for a friend's baby a few years ago.)

And another friend made these for us last year!  We use them several times a week.

Why this post today?  http://castleink.com is offering scholarships for posts about reducing, reusing, and recycling!

It's amazing what happens in a couple of weeks

And I'm not talking about the whole eat-better-lose-weight thing.  Because that's pretty much not been my focus the last two weeks.  <bag>

I've really been debating this teaching deal.  I love kids.  But do I love other people's kids enough to teach them and then still come home and be a happy mommy?

So I started reevaluating things.  Talked it all over with the husband and a few other people.

I have applied to nursing school.

Nursing school can be very expensive.

We're looking for any sources to pay for this because I need to be done ASAP.  So if you win the 500 million dollar lotto, send a little love my way, eh?

I'm applying for this (not school sponsored) scholarship, which is based on a popular vote of a web essay.  I hope y'all can vote for my essay HERE.

Not Monday yet, I know

I was getting the kids ready to walk and my fabulous landlady mentioned a great walking route -- up the main road a block away, 9 blocks pretty much uphill, then it's alllllllll downhill down a nice little paved trail, and back through town.  It's about 2-1/2 miles total.  That's the longest I've walked in a long time.  Pushed the stroller most of the way, though VOD helped a bit.  We're both exhausted and the littles are all over the place.  lol

I haven't been on track with my eating as far as eating good stuff, but I haven't gone over my calories today.  And tomorrow is a new day!

Livestrong

I've been tracking my calories and walking every day.  I've only managed to stay within my 1800 calorie goal one day so far this week, but have significantly cut my caloric intake.  It's that time of the month here, so I've had a bit of bloat and lots and lots of cravings, many of which I've given into, though I have avoided chocolate completely.  I have only had one headache this week.  It was last night and wasn't too bad.

Still having a bit of Pepsi every day, but that has been drastically cut back.  I totally ate comfort food for dinner last night -- homemade mac and cheese with bacon and onions.  hello.  I also ate a huge salad and a nectarine.  lol.  Eating more fruits and veggies and less junk overall.

However, because I've only managed to stay within my calories once, I don't think I'm adding a new change next week.  I really don't want to sabotage myself because I want and expect these changes to stick.  If I stay in my calories the rest of the week, I may change my mind by Monday.  The one I will be adding is "no eating after 8 p.m." which may actually help stay within the calories.  HA!


Even on my worst cycle day with cramps and backache, we still walked about half a mile yesterday.  I'm pretty proud of myself for that.  It's been so awesome to have Little Mister ask me every day to go for a walk and run in the stroller and play outside.  He's loving having a more involved and active mommy, and I know VOD is, too.  She got really upset with me yesterday when she got in trouble, because I told her she got to stay home from the walk and clean her room.  I relented and she picked up her dirty laundry when we got home.

As of right now, I'm down 7 pounds from my high weight this week with the pre-period bloat, which is down 4 pounds from my high last week.  I know that will slow down eventually, but I'm loving seeing some results so quickly!  I feel less bloated and have more energy for the most part.  Can't wait to see what happens in the coming weeks and months!

p.s.  I have no idea why some of the words in this post have hyperlinks.  Bizarre-o.

I'm disgusted

I haven't actually tracked my food intake since like October.  I know I've been eating too much.  My body tells me so in many ways, but gaining weight to the point my fat clothes are snug is a very.bad.thing.

So, the last few days, I've written down every single thing I've put in my mouth.

I'm just appalled.

This week's change is to drastically cut my calories and track everything I eat on Livestron.  Now, I'll still be eating around 1800 calories a day.  That's the number my trainers came up with when I wasn't working out hard.  Since I'm not working out hard yet, just walking still, I'm starting there.

This change will affect other things.  How much Pepsi or sugar I can ingest.  The type of grains I eat.  Fruits, veggies, proteins.  Those sorts of things will be affected.  I intend to cut WAY back on Pepsi this week.

I'm willing to bet, though, that at the end of the week, I'll be feeling just that much better and proud of myself for sticking to it.  Like last week.  I walked Monday and Tuesday with the husband, and Wednesday through Sunday with the kids.  Even on days I felt not so great, we still got out and walked.  And that is a change I am proud of.

These shoes were made for walking

It's Thursday.  I decided this week would be the beginning of the changes.

I made a list of things I know I need to do to get healthy.  Some are smaller changes than others.  Quitting Pepsi is probably going to be the biggest challenge.

I'm not ready for that yet.

This week, I've walked 4 days.  Two with the husband, two with the kids.  It's pretty cool when I've decided, "oh, I'll walk tomorrow," to have my kids all come and ask to go for a walk with me.  That's motivation.  Maybe I can get the kids on board with keeping me on track the week I quit Pepsi.  

Anyway. I have two more days to go and intend to walk both of them, no matter who decides to come with me.

The crazy part is that I've been craving more fruits and veggies while implementing just this one change.  Still drinking Pepsi.  Still eating sugar.  Those are other things on my list.  There are a lot of them.

After successfully completing this week with walking, I'm going to choose another change to make next week.    By the end of the summer, I should be pretty far into my list and feeling much better, whether the scale reflects the changes or not.  The number on the scale isn't what's driving me.  My health sure is though.

I'm going to try and post twice a week from here on out:  Once to post the change I've chosen for the week and the other post as an update.  Wish me luck.

Good *bleary eyed* morning

I haven't been doing so well with my resolutions for the year.  I own that.

Life often isn't kind.  We've had a lot of struggles this year already.  It's only March 5.

I asked my husband a few weeks ago if he would walk with me every day.  He sort of blew it off.  Then last night, he asked me, "So when are we going to start walking?"  Um.  Tomorrow.

So we woke up at 6 this morning.  We left the littles asleep in the capable care of their older sister (who got ready for school on time!) and went for a walk.

In the cold.

Before we'd even gone a couple of blocks, my back started hurting.  I know this extra weight is what's doing it.  It's not a good feeling.

But we walked for about a mile.

Did I mention it was cold?

Came home and I got in the shower.  Nice and warm.  I'm all clean and feeling fine now, and my back feels happy after getting warmed up again.

There are other changes afoot today, this week, this year.  This sentence keeps replaying in my head:

If I want to see drastic changes, I must first make drastic changes.

And that's pushing me to do the things I want and need to do.

Even early in the morning, when it's cold.