2012: The Year of the Hot Mom

Did you just laugh at me through your computer screen?  It’s okay if you did – I promise. :)

Girls, I don’t know about all of you but I am seriously just SICK AND TIRED of lugging around this extra weight!  I am twenty-two pounds heavier than my wedding day five and a half years ago.  TWENTY TWO! Now I don’t ever expect to be that skinny again – I was working out for an hour at the gym five days a week, plus on a strict diet.  I was in the absolute best shape of my life, but that was for a specific time in my life and I don’t expect to come close to that again. 

{August 4, 2006- the night before I got married – with two of my bridesmaids.}

But I will tell you that my lowest weight after Luke was born was only ten pounds higher than that.  I was Somersizing and eating super clean.  I wasn’t really toned, but I could fit into a lot more of my clothes than I can now. 

{July 2010 - about 10-12 pounds higher than my wedding weight.  This is the goal I’m going for now.}

Do you want to know something insane?  Like seriously crazy? I am fifteen pounds heavier than I was in May.  Gross, right?  That means that I have gained fifteen pounds in a little less than eight months.  And what is the reason for this?  Apathy.  I just haven’t been proactive about taking care of myself.  I know for sure that I gained weight about the time that Luke’s food issues started coming to the surface (I am a total stress eater for sure), and then I definitely gained weight over the holidays (because to be honest, I just love food! lol). 

I can’t describe it, really, but all I know is that I have had enough.  I have two weddings to be a part of this June, and I want to look good in those pictures.  I deserve it, my husband definitely deserves it, and even Luke deserves it – he deserves a healthy mom….certainly not one who is gaining fifteen pounds a year. 

It also helps that all my pants are getting too tight and I’m way too cheap to go out and buy new ones.  lol

SO. 

I have declared 2012 The Year of the Hot Mom.  So far my husband knows about this, as does my friend Lindsay.  And now all of you do, too.  Ha!

I have a specific goal to lose one pound a week for the next 18 weeks.  That puts me right at April 24th – with time to adjust a bridesmaid dress, if needed, for the wedding I am in on June 16th. 

I bought an elliptical off of Craigslist right before Christmas.  I used it tonight!!  (It’s the first full day we’ve been back home since traveling over New Year’s).  There is no earthly way I am going to get myself motivated to exercise unless it involves me watching tv or a movie.  In other words, if I actually have to think about the exercise I’m doing, it’s just not going to happen.  I used to work out on the elliptical machine at the gym last year, and I loved it.  I know some people hate them, but I actually enjoy them.  I can’t believe I just said that about exercising.  It feels like I just swore.  haha

I bought a digital scale a few months ago that shows pounds in .2 increments, which also really helps.  Before all I had was a crummy dial one from a flea market and it was super tricky to actually tell if you’d lost weight or not because it always came unbalanced.  I’ll be weighing myself everyday.

As far as eating goes, so far I’m going to just limit my portions and eat as clean as possible.  I know that sugar and carbs are weight triggers for me, so I’ll be trying to stay away from them.  My problem usually isn’t what I’m eating, since I eat very healthy foods overall, but how much of it.  My friend Lindsay lost about 40 pounds through portion control and exercise several years ago, and she is the queen of self-control when it comes to eating.  I try to picture her face when I want to eat.  lol!

 

Some other phrases I’ve heard that are helpful and play in my head:

“You are not a human garbage disposal.”

“Better to go to waste than to waist.”

“Are you really hungry or are you just bored?”

“Let yourself get to a 3 or 4 on the hunger scale (out of 10) before you eat something.  You don’t always need to be at a level 1.”

“Aim to only feel 80% full all of the time – never stuffed.”

“Is this really worth it?”

 

I just wanted you all to know that I am totally willing to help you be accountable if you need help along the way!  You could start your own “Hot Mom” program. (Or hot wife, hot girlfriend, hot nurse, etc. haha)

I am so ready to DO this.

It’s my year.

I’m coming back, baby! 

I’ll check back in next week! :)

Tasty Tuesday – No More Fear of Salad Dressing!

Wow, if that’s not the lamest post title ever, I don’t know what is! :) But seriously, before I started Somersizing about two weeks ago, I had never tried making my own dressing before. I had no idea how to go about it and I thought it would be all complicated and blah, blah, blah.

Well, I am a converted salad-dressing maker! :) On Phase 1 of Somersizing you can’t have any added sugar in your food. It is CRAZY how many salad dressings have sugar in them – even stuff like Blue Cheese. I spent about 20 solid minutes going up and down the dressing aisle, checking every label. I found an organic Italian that worked, but the taste was pretty gross so I just decided to do it myself.

Here’s what you need:

- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (buy the expensive kind – it really does make a difference! This huge bottle was only $4.99 with a coupon and on sale.)
- Vinegar (I’ve been using white wine vinegar lately)
- Italian seasoning blend
- Sea Salt (regular is fine)
- Black pepper (I need to refill my pepper grinder but either way is fine)

Combine equal parts EVOO (for all you Rachael Ray fans out there!) and vinegar.

Add spices, salt, and pepper, and whisk vigorously until combined.

I like to sprinkle feta chunks into my mixture as I whisk it together, and then top it with the veggies and spoon it all together. Yum!

Oh my gosh my mouth is watering as I type this! haha I basically just chuck whatever veggies I have in my fridge – peppers, mushrooms, pepperocinis, tomatoes, onions, whatever I have. Oh and lettuce, obviously. Sometimes I top it with hard-boiled eggs or tuna or this great all-natural turkey breast I found at the deli. Or pepperoni if I feel like being bad. :)

Last week I made an awesome salad with just the vinaigrette, spinach, red onion and tomato. It.was.awesome.

Yesterday for a snack I even did it the lazy way and just chopped up cukes in a bowl and drizzled the ingredients on top of it (I just topped it with blue cheese instead). Seriously, so good – and so pure and clean! No high fructose corn syrup or preservatives, like one of the lower-fat brands I already had in my fridge:

{A word if you are going to try this: it’s very tangy. I am the kind of girl who would go for the pepperoni and cheese at a party over the cookies any day, so this doesn’t really bother me. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you!}

Since you have to combine foods in certain ways and you can’t have any added sugar initially, Somersizing has really kicked me into eating a lot of clean foods faster than I had originally planned! I’m really happy at how that worked out, although my grocery bill is definitely a bit higher each week what with all the dairy and fresh produce I’m buying.

So there you have it – work with and tweak it until you like the taste for you! If you’re new to eating olive oil, they make lighter blends if you want to work your way into it. Just make sure it’s cold pressed – I read that cold pressed olive oil is much healthier for you but I can’t remember why now. If you were trying to make this for more than just one or two people, try stretching it with a little water to make it go further. Experiment with spices, too – see what you like best!

Now go make some salad! :)

Linked to:

Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesdays at the Table

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the party!!!! :)

Also, Darlene is offering a sale on her Cricut cutting mats – only $9.99! Check here for the details.

Easter, Fatty Food, TMI and a Rummage Sale

I really have nothing super important to say today, so I figured what the heck I'll just mash all of my random thoughts into one blog post! :)

Easter:

I have seen so many cute photo shoots with little girls in their Easter dresses and gloves, but just wanted to know what any of you moms of boys do with your little guys for Easter. Luke has an Easter outfit and obviously we'll take pictures of him in that, but is it mean to make him pose with some stuffed chicks and bunnies and carrots? (I found some reallllly cute ones.) Will he hate me forever?! More importantly, will my husband hate me forever?! lol

Fatty Food:

I recently started Somersizing (the Suzanne Somers "diet"). Weight Watchers was wonderful to help me get rid of my baby weight, but I have totally plateaued and I knew I needed to kick my metabolism back into high gear. I don't have the time to explain the system here right now, but suffice it so say that you can eat fat - and plenty of it. I have been so afraid of fats for such a long time that I think it is a bit of a shock to my system right now! I have been burping like a sailor! hahaha (That's the TMI part. ;)

Rummage Sale:

I went to a fab rummage sale on Saturday at one of the local high schools. I found some really fun items that I can't wait to show you THIS WEDNESDAY at the party! If you're new here, here's a link to what the party's all about! I hope some of you will join me - I love, love, love seeing what other people find for cheap!

See you Wednesday! :)