Re-evaluating

Recent comments/conversations about my current stature gave me pause to look in the mirror - which I rarely do with true scrutiny - and wonder if I should re-evaluate my weight loss goals. I have heard, 'You're just skin and bones' and 'if you lose any more weight you'll look sick'. My response to the skin and bones comment is, I recognize that in parts of my body that really is the case - like my shoulders and across my upper chest and my face/neck - basically my upper body, but that is not where the problem area is. The weight is hanging around my upper thighs/hips - saddlebags - and belly. And then I show them my arm flap lol. Anyway, so I was wondering if 'they' were right. Am I skinny enough at this point? I think I could be ok with my belly. I think part of its current state is the result of having babies. I could live with it. My thighs, eh, they've been this way since birth. There's a reason my brothers called me thunder thighs. They have come down in size quite a bit, but no, I really am not satisfied with their current girth. Last night I was talking with a friend who ran into the same situation when she had lost weight. Ironically, it was about 155 pounds - about right where I am. Well, after today's weigh in, exactly where I am. As we discussed this issue, I explained that 150 is my goal, but I set WW at 140 in hopes that my weight will level out about 145. I realized in that moment, that if 150 is my bottom threshold, I will bounce back up to 160 with time. If I set 140 as my bottom threshold, then 150 will be the top and I will be in the range where I am satisfied. Basically I reaffirmed my goal - and after watching my weight trend for the last week, I need to keep going. It is the first week of summer and I'm already back where I was two weeks ago.

It's been suggested that maybe I need to do less cardio and more exercises that target my specific problem areas. I think I agree with the needing to target those trouble spots more. And as those areas shrink, the number on the scale will too. I guess that means I need to keep up my P90X :p I did it on Monday, but that was it. I just couldn't bring myself to do it the rest of the week. But I know from experience that it is what my body needs. ugh. lol

My exercise has been spotty this week. In the past when I've overeaten I'm able to soothe myself with the fact that I'll at least be exercising in the morning - or had exercised that day. But with the lazy days of summer, I can't depend on that excuse. Last night I indulged myself. I had the points for it too, so it isn't that bad, but I haven't had the consistent exercise this week to keep the weight-loss momentum going. The result was a 2 pound weight gain from last week. After my re-evaluation and realization that the only way I'm going to keep from backtracking is maintain some semblance of exercise, I guess I better 'just do it'.

Card Chart

In Jared's Kindergarten they use a card chart as a disciplinary tool. The color of each card has a set consequence with it, and they progress from one card to the next. Green means they were good all day. Yellow they were given a warning and had to sit in time out. Orange causes them to miss recess or centers. Red they are sent to the principle's office. Blue is a call to the parents. When they stay on green they get a superticket/sticker at the end of the day. If the whole class stays on green, they could fill a jar with marbles or some other thing. When the jar was actually filled they could watch a movie as a class. This system was very effective for Jared. So, we've wanted to use it at home too.

Matthew has been trying to figure out how we wanted to do our own card chart, and finally Sunday we did it. Here is the result:



I kind of winged it in the putting together, so I learned a lot as the project progressed. We had debated each person choosing a fabric for their pocket to individualize it, but we couldn't think of how to do it easily. By the end, I realized I could/should have used the bias tape to reinforce the pocket seems. In doing so, the edges of the individual fabrics would have been hidden. Oh well. Maybe there will be a next time.

We had a family vote on the fabric, and these pencils won.

Materials used:
fabric glue
fabric
clear plastic vinyl
bias tape (extra wide double hemmed)
grommets
matching thread

We measured the size of the fabric and vinyl and cut. We intended to just fold the vinyl up to create the pockets, but it was too challenging to get the bias tape over it, so I ended up cutting the pocket piece off so the vinyl would lay flat - much easier!! So, next time I would measure and cut the back piece and pocket piece separately. To help keep the fabric and vinyl lined up, I used the fabric glue to attach them together around the edges - just enough that the binding would hide it.

I did the pocket piece first. I attached the fabric to the vinyl with glue, then sewed binding only along the top. Next time, I would also add strips of the bias tape where I plan on sewing the pocket seams to create a more finished look as well as reinforce the seams. I'd probably glue them down so I could save the actual sewing to the end. Those strips would need to be done before attaching the top tape so that the ends would be hidden.

Once the pocket was prepared, I then attached it with pins to the back piece (which I'd already glued the fabric to the vinyl). Starting from the bottom, I pinned the bias tape along the outside of the whole chart. I put the edges all the way against the crease of the bias tape, but it didn't have to be that way if we needed more room on the pockets. After the binding was pinned, I sewed it on.

For the pockets, we used index cards as a guage for how big the pockets needed to be, marked it with a dry erase marker (since it's vinyl it would wipe right off with some water and a paper towel), and sewed a straight stitch from the bottom up to top of the pocket binding.

The final step was adding two grommets to the top of the chart - one on each corner. I played with hanging it up with ribbon. Stringing one piece of ribbon through both holes and hanging it from the middle did not work because the chart wasn't sturdy enough to lay flat. Two smaller ribbons tied on each grommet would have worked just fine, but we ended up just hanging it on our front door using clip magnets. For now, that will work well enough until we find a final spot for it.

Blue Skirt

Green Skirt

Summer Day 2 & 3

I was SO tired yesterday. I napped off and on in the morning, but finally pulled myself together and did Chicken Fat. It's a 20 minute exercise/calisthenics video for kids. Jared did it right along with me, so that was nice. It was raining, so we didn't walk in the morning. But, later in the day I needed to go to the store so we walked the half mile down to HEB and back. Between the coming and going and the actual shopping, we walked for 75 minutes - about the same amount of time as my 4 mile walk I had been doing.

Today, I am having a hard time convincing myself to exercise. We'll see what I do. Day 3 and I'm already peetering out. Not a good sign :p

In Cloth Once More

After a month of sposies, I guess we're back in cloth. Matthew and Aaron were gone a lot last month, so disposables were in order. Now that things are settling down, they don't feel like quite the necessity - though it sure is nice and easy. Aaron was actually the one to push me back into cloth. He requested the jungle diaper. I tried using one of Jared's night diapers but he insisted on the jungle one. I asked him if he missed his cloth diapers and he told me yes. So, apparently he likes the CDs. heh, although the other night I put him in his big bulky night diaper before he was actually in bed and he complained about it being too big. It was funny watching him trying to walk with all that fluffiness!! Usually he's in bed and it doesn't matter.

When he is in sposies, Aaron doesn't have any problem getting everything needed for a diaper change - diapers, wipes, powder. Yesterday was the first time I really gave him the opportunity to get a CD. I'd actually gotten all the supplies and tried to change him, but he wanted his blanket to have the PF (prefold). Finally I cleaned him up and told him to go pick out a diaper for me. He came back with three PF and a frog diaper (FuzziBunz). It was kind of cute. I'm glad he enjoys being in the cloth. When he was a newborn, he HATED them!! He has never been one to like being wet, and as a baby he let us know it!

Maybe we'll try potty training again soon.

Southwestern Chicken Black Bean Soup

Southwestern Chicken Black Bean Soup 2 pts for 1 cup soup (without cheese or chips)

Ingredients

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 cups fresh corn or frozen corn
1 can (15-1/2 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
16 baked tortilla chip scoops, crumbled
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions

In a large kettle or Dutch oven, saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the same pan, saute onion and jalapeno pepper until tender; add garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Stir in the broth, corn, beans, lime juice, salt, hot pepper sauce, pepper and reserved chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Top each serving with crumbled tortilla chips and cheese. Yield: 8 servings (2 quarts).

Editor's Note: When cutting hot peppers, disposable gloves are recommended. Avoid touching your face.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (one cup soup with 1 tablespoon cheese and two crumbled tortilla chips) equals 227 calories, 4 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 37 mg cholesterol, 647 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 21 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 2 lean meat, 1-1/2 starch, 1 vegetable.

******
Made June 8, 2010. I was happily surprised to see the soup by itself was only 2 points for 8 servings. I added the chips and cheese separately when I calculated my points because it was easier to get an accurate accounting.

Variations:
*I cooked it in the crockpot on high for 4 hours. I cubed the chicken (which was frozen) and added all the other ingredients except the cilantro which I added in the last half hour. The leaves did look kind of bleached by the time the timer went off, so next time I might wait to add them. But, it did give them a chance to add their flavor to the soup.

*I did not add the jalapenos, so this soup was not as spicy as it could have been, but it had a wonderful flavor.

*I used white corn instead of yellow, so it looked really bland. Probably if I had used jalapenos or yellow corn it would have looked more colorful. I was surprised it didn't call for diced tomatoes. Perhaps a future trial might include a can of ro-tel in place of jalapenos.

Coming Home

I wanted to blog last night, but ended up turning the computer off in case our power went out with the storm overhead.

Maybe it's the relaxing pace of summer hitting me, but yesterday I actually pulled out my spiral with the recipe plans and WANTED to make dinner again - and I did! I had this feeling like I'd been on vacation and finally came home. And really, I have been mentally checked out. We spent just about all our grocery money on restaurants and laundry and dishes have been done minimally. So, I guess without the rush-rush of school and piano afterwards plus all the other demands, I feel like I can concentrate on being home and all that requires. It's nice to enjoy my responsibilities and my kids.

I even finished my two skirts I'd started last month. I'm pretty excited to have two new skirts hanging in the closet. I will post pictures in a little bit. I did step-by-step pics for the blue one to put up a tutorial. With all the sewing I've done lately I may add a sewing link.

Summer Day 1

Well, I managed to do CardioX this morning AND a 15 minute walk. yay!! I have my doubts about how long I'll really be able to do a double duty workout b/c I was only half-heartedly doing the P90X, but we'll do something at least. We didn't have time to go to the track to walk, so we just took one around the neighborhood. I think 15 minutes is just about right for Jared.

Weigh-ins:
Saturday - 153 something
Sunday - 154 something

I was glad that my Sunday weight seemed to line up better with my Saturday weight. There was a 3 pound difference between this week and last week's weight. crazy! My eating habits weren't that great this week with all the birthday celebrating, so I'm glad that there was still a weight loss at all.

I had my first real public appearance in my swimsuit Saturday. I was told it was time to get a new one because this one was hanging off of me lol I do agree that I could use some new bottoms at least b/c they were pretty loose. I guess that's a benefit to a tankini :)

I think I'm ready to do some clothes shopping. I was telling Matthew that I'm a little afraid to do that because I'll be comfortable in my clothes and it's more likely that I'll give up at that point. I think that was one of my contributing factors for stopping last time. I can probably get away with waiting on my day-to-day clothes. I've found t-shirts for $2 at Target, so I'm really ok there. My pants are big, but they are still wearable. The big need is in my Sunday wardrobe and underclothes. I can't wear the t-shirts to church, so I've pretty much been left with one blouse for church and it's a sweater. All my others are really too big or are long sleeved. I need to finish the skirts I started, and that would help a bit too. My other hesistancy is the 'what if' factor. What if I get pregnant in the next couple of months? Would it be better to spend money on maternity clothes? or to have the regular clothes? And what if I buy a bunch of new clothes, get pregnant and then can't ever fit back into this size? decisions decisions....