Blah

That is how I feel, blah. I'm up 3 pounds, probably all water weight as I am trying to stay hydrated. I either caught a virus or food poisoning as my stomach as been in a knot for the past two days, I feel nausea and TMI I have constant diarrhea. You would think I would losing weight as I can't stomach the idea of eating much of anything. I graze when I am feeling well, but a few minutes later I am back to feeling yucky again. Guess who won't be eating very much at X-mas dinner. Humm....maybe that is a good thing.

Auto-Pilot

This was suppose to be day one of my 7-day juice fast. My husband injured his back. What does this mean for me? I didn't go grocery shopping for any of the things I needed for the fast. Poor thing was unable to pick our son up and I was afraid to leave them alone. I could have taken my son with me, however he was sick all weekend and since it snowed here it's a lot colder out now and I didn't want to risk him getting sicker or getting anyone else sick. I decided last night that instead I would do a 3 day water fast and then start the juice fast. That didn't happen either. Why? Auto-Pilot. I always make coffee for my husband in the morning and now that he doesn't have to be into work until 8am, like myself, I poured myself a cup of coffee as well, without really even thinking about it, and sat down to watch the news with hubby, enjoying the warmth provided by the coffee.

I doubt coffee is allowed, but I am still going forward with the water fast. Coffee has always helped with my other health issues, so I am not stessing it today, I'll just do it starting tomarrow, and I'll try to remember to turn the auto-pilot off.

Weight Loss hits another slump

Every time I think I am doing well I start to relax my grip on eating and I gain back 10 pounds in a matter of a week. I slowly start to eat more, get busy and skip a meal or two, or eat things I shouldn't. I don't want to feel like I am depriving myself of anything, but yet I overdo it most of the time, in the back of my mind a little voice is screaming "put down the fork and back away from the plate" as I go for a second helping of something I found partially delish when I am already full from putting to much on my plate to begin with. I don't listen to it.

I am a compulsive eater. I'm like a deal shopper who bought something just because it was on sale whether I actually needed it or not. The 8 pieces of chocolate I ate already today and the half bag of honey roasted peanuts will confirm. Why did I eat them, I certainly didn't need them and I had a modest breakfast so I was exactly hungry either. I ate them because frankly they taste good, especially the chocolates. I have a severe sweet tooth and add that to the need to snack on something crunchy the peanuts got added to the mix.

Even now as I sit and type this my stomach is screaming at me for even considering another trip to the break room for the dreaded but surprisingly wanted chocolate confections and for even thinking about lunch, which my break happens to be in 20 minutes. This conflict of emotions between my body, brain and stomach lead me to a web search on juice diets.

What lead me to juice diets or juice fasting is the craving for something sweet. I love apples, oranges and the such but seldom eat them for one reason or another....more likely because I just don't want to eat them plain or go through the trouble of peeling them. I also like to have something to drink all the time but I get bored easily with water and well I shouldn't be drinking coffee all day. So I found an interesting article by one Jason Vale, "the juice master". It outlined a 7 day juice fast that consists of drinking up to 5 juices a day. I was intrigued by it because it included cold juices made from fruits and vegetables as well as hot teas. There are a few ingredients that may be difficult to procure like wheat grass and spirulina as the closest health food place is 2 cities away and usually closed by time I consider making the trip into town. I would also need to find a cheap juicer.

I'm not sure what my husband will think of this diet or if I can even handle it as I will still need to fix normal meals for him and my son. Snacking will still be an issue but I recall something the author wrote and that is that I am making this decision on my own accord, no one is forcing me to choose this method over another so it is up to me to stick to it. Those are good words of wisdom. Since the grocery list is vast as I don't have most of the ingredients on hand my goal for starting this diet is Monday the 7th. Wish me luck. It is my hope that this will help jump start a change in my lifestyle and decrease my sugary cravings. My willpower is out there somewhere.

From Apple Bottom to Muffin Top

This post originally posted by Kelley of the Neurotic Mom. Check her out, she's one funny gal and loves to give things away from time to time. (Photo's removed from this posting). Oh and don't be depressed Kel....your daughter will be beautiful, just like her mother.

From Apple Bottom to Muffin Top

I'm sure this is a subject that many moms (and some dads) can relate to.

I used to be a size 6. Nothing spectacular, but I could squeeze my cute ass into a pair of low rise jeans without a problem. I didn't have a flat stomach, but the little pooch that I was always trying to get rid of would be a nice change from what I have now. (See skinny me over there? That was me on April 28, 2006. The night before my wedding. I looked good then.) I could shamelessly wear a bikini and feel confident about it. I even contemplated going topless on the beach on our honeymoon. The Hub wasn't so keen on that idea.

The pool was never an issue for me. Neither was laying out and basking in the warm sun. I didn't care if the bottom of my shirt barely met up with the top of my pants. Not that I went around baring my belly for all to see, but if it happened to make a guest appearance, I wasn't concerned.

And might I just say that my ass wasn't all that horrid to look at either. In fact, it was the first thing that The Hub noticed when we first met. I know, degrading to women, blah blah blah. But at the time I didn't care. I was proud. I still am proud of the way I used to look.

After having Bubby, I managed to shed the pounds. I actually got down to 5 pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight. So why could I not get back into my clothes? Simple.

Muffin Top.

That's right, I now have a muffin top. I hate to admit it and I hate even more trying to hide it. Nothing ever fits right. Before I was trying to find clothes that would best show off my ass(ets). Now I'm desperately trying to find clothes that are big enough to cover them up.

It's a shame that I have to donate all the clothes that are in the "skinny bin", but I just can't stand looking at it anymore. (That's me and one of my very best friends, Sean on New Year's Eve 2005. See how skinny I used to be? That sweater is in the skinny bin. It used to be big on me.) And now that I'm pregnant again, I will be getting bigger before I get smaller.

And I won't even touch on the stretch marks. That's a whole different post all together!

Now when someone says "Hey, baby!" I assume they are talking about an actual baby.

Maybe by the time I can fit in those clothes again they will be back in style. Then my 21 year old daughter can wear them. I'm depressed now.

Fruit Leather Recipe

I was doing research for a class today and came upon a recipe for making fruit leather. Fruit leather is basically thin dried out fruit puree and can be made from apples, peaches, apricots, you name a fruit it can probably be made into leather. I personally think this is a great treat as you can control what is going into the treat like sugar and it gives you a nice snack when you are craving something sweet. Think I am going to make me a batch of apple leathers tomorrow.

Here's the link - Enjoy!
How to Make Fruit Leather