Reality

This week has been another tough week and it's showing on the scale. My youngest son was diagnosed with Perthes, which is when part of the femoral head dies from lack of blood flow, and my stress has been through the roof. I don't know if it's from the stress or not, but I've developed a constant pain in the back of my right shoulder. I pulled up WebMD's iPad app this morning to see what it could be. I wish I hadn't done that.

Inspiration

I have a video posted in the Videos section of the blog by Marlena, CEO of Makeup Geek. When I saw this video, I had to embed it because, to me, she's such an inspiration. She lost 90 pounds and has kept it off! I found the video when I first created this blog and had to share it.

Frustrated

This week has been very stressful and frustrating and I've noticed that I've been wanting to eat junk. I'm proud that I haven't been eating that stuff but I've been very tempted. Today was one of the worst days this week because of having to fight with the insurance company (long story and I'll go into it once it's all over - if that ever happens).

Challenge

I kinda, sorta met another girl in PA who has similar weight loss goals. We connected via SparkPeople but we've never met in person. We've been emailing, texting, and Facebooking to get to know each other and, so far, it's working out very well. We decided to create a challenge each week to keep us motivated and on the right track. This week's challenge is to keep a food diary.

Rambling

I just finished class and I'm happy it's over! Math usually isn't my cup of tea but this accounting class really opened my eyes to a few things. While I learned a good bit, I'm so happy it's finally over.

I now have about 2 weeks of no textbooks, no reports, no homework, no nothing! I'm looking forward to having more time to focus on other things, like getting healthy.

Funky Situation

Since hurting my back last week, I've been grounded, so to speak. I haven't been able to workout and I've tried very hard not to let this affect my motivation. However, I feel like I've failed. I haven't done anything at all for a week and today I started eating some junk - mozzarella sticks and even a brownie. But, I did't eat a whole brownie. I had like one bite and that was it.

Lean Cuisine Delicious Rewards

For all you Lean Cuisine fans out there, have you heard about Delicious Rewards? It's a program that rewards you for eating select LC foods. There's a red code printed inside of select box and bag meals that you can enter to their website. You can redeem your points for prizes. If you eat 25 LC meals (with the codes inside) by March 31, you can receive a free LC designer lunch bag. See bags below.

Planters NUTrition Energy Bar - RAVE

Finding a low calorie option to curb a sweet tooth can be difficult but I struck gold when I found Planters NUTrition energy bars. They are absolutely amazing and it provides the sweet and salty tastes I crave. It's the diet version of a Baby Ruth but so much better!

I love these things but I have to limit myself. I could sit down and eat the entire box but that's not going to help me achieve my goal. Each is only 170 calories, 9 g of fat, 17 g carbs, and 5 g of protein.I can eat one of these in the afternoon (you know, when I get that 2:30 feeling) and I'm satisfied. I'm not totally sold on it being an energy bar but I could be missing something. 

This bar is definitely something to eat if you're craving something sweet and salty. I used to be a big fan of Hershey's with Almonds but the only thing I eat now (to curb those cravings) is this bar. It's simply amazing!

The price varies from store to store but I've never paid more than $4 for a box. In my area, these are cheaper at Wal-Mart Supercenters than at grocery stores so it just depends where you purchase them and what the prices are like in your area.

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

One of the people I follow on Pinterest posted this recipe and I had to re-pin it and share it here. To see this recipe in its original form, click here.

Ingredients


4 tomatoes, halved horizontally
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preparation


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Top with Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil and bake until the tomatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Nutritional Information


Serving Size 1

91 calories
6 g. fat (2 g. saturated, 4 g mono)
4 mg cholesterol
6 g carbohydrates
3 g protein
2 f fiber
375 mg sodium
363 mg potassium

Cravings - What Do They Mean?

We all have cravings for different types of food at different times. But, do you know what they mean? Yeah, I didn't either until I "Googled" it. I learned some pretty neat stuff! Take a look at what your cravings mean.

If you're craving chocolate, your body needs magnesium. This can be found in raw nuts and seeds, legumes, an fruit.

Have a hankering for salt? Your body needs chloride. If you're like me, you must always have salty food before or after your sweets. Chloride can be found in raw goat's milk and unrefined sea salt. Now, before you start "ewwwing" at the goat's milk, you can also eat tomatoes, celery, lettuce, seaweed, and olives.

Gotta have that soda? You might need calcium. We all know that calcium can be found in milk, but what other options are available? You can get calcium from turnip greens, mustard, broccoli, kale, cheese, sesame seeds, and legumes.

For my female readers, most of us tend to have strong cravings when mother nature visits. If you're one of those women, you need zinc. Zinc can be found in red meat, seafood, leafy and root veggies.

So, the next time you're craving one of these, try the alternatives to find out if they work for you.

Relief

I called my doctor this morning to get in about my back again. Unfortunately, my doctor is out sick today so I ended up in Urgent Care. I'm actually glad I went there instead of my doctor's office because they gave me relief while I was there. I had to have xrays taken and that was painful but they showed that I don't have a slipped disc. I really don't know what to make of that though. If it's not a slipped disc, what is it? 

After visiting Urgent Care, it made my resolve to lose weight much more powerful. Right now, I have very little pain in my back and I feel fantastic. Well, almost fantastic. I'm very tired and I know that's because of the pain medication I received. All I want to do is lay on the couch, close my eyes, and take a nap. However, that's totally not feasible because it's just my youngest and myself here.

I can't wait to have my back healed so I can get back to my routine. I can't tell you how crappy I feel from just laying/sitting around for a week. My body isn't going to know what's going on when I start working out again. I guess I need to look on the bright side and believe that my body will be in shock and I'll lose mad pounds. We'll just have to wait and see what happens when things get back to normal. 

Okay, it's time for me to get going. I have about 17 hours of Jersey Shore to watch and I'm going to get started!

Spring Forward and Fall Behind

Today is the first day of Daylight Savings Time and I'm all screwed up. According to the clock, it was after 11 am when I woke up this morning, which means I got next to nothing accomplished. I can't believe how fast today has gone!

I love when we "spring forward" because it means the days are longer and that warmer weather is on its way but I always fall behind when the time changes. The first week or so is the worst for me because my body is still stuck in standard time. It's so frustrating because it takes me so long to get adjusted.

I have to take the boys to the dentist tomorrow morning and I'm a little concerned that I'm going to oversleep, and that's the last thing I need. I know the hubby will make sure I'm up but that may cause a tiff because I don't like it when he wakes me up. He's gruff and almost rude when he tries to wake me up...lol. I don't like that and I get a little, um, shall we say, irritated.

While today wasn't as productive as I would have liked to have been, I did manage to help my oldest complete his science fair board (it was due on Friday but he wasn't in school so we had to finish it today). My back is still bothering me but it feels like it's getting better every day. I'm not walking as hunched over as I was a week ago but it's been a week; I'm really tired of dealing with it and I just want it to go away.

Okay, it's time for me to get going. The boys need to get ready for bed and so do I.

Weigh In

After dealing with severe back pain this week, I wasn't expecting any kind of loss when I stepped on the scale this morning. I have to admit that it took me a little while to actually get on the scale because of the pain in my back, but I managed. I also have to admit that my food choices have been less than stellar this week but I have been mindful of how much I've been eating. Imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scale and saw a loss!



Yes, I said a loss. It wasn't a big loss but a loss is a loss. I was so excited to see a loss especially considering what I've been dealing with this week. This week has shown me that no matter what my situation is, I can still lose weight. I can't express how great that makes me feel. I now know that if I'm ever down again, I can still persevere.

Oh, I've created a group on Facebook for weight loss support. If you're interested in joining, click here. During a battle with weight, it's important to have a strong support system in place. I'm fortunate to have that at home and I want to provide that for anyone who needs support during this time.

Okay, it's time for me to get going. Spring is coming, which means sunny skies and warm temperatures so get off the couch and get outside! As soon as I'm able, that's exactly what I'm going to do!

Acne Scar Removal

If you've ever had acne, I'm sure you're going to find this post interesting. I've been dealing with acne for a long time and, like most people, I thought it would clear up by the time I became an adult. Well, I was sorely mistaken! It seems like my acne has gotten worse over the years. I've discussed this with my doctor and, of course, she always tells me it's because of hormonal changes. Well, that may be true for my current acne, but that shouldn't have anything to do with the scarring I have from the acne I had in my teenage years.


Since I've been laid up today due to my back, I conducted some research on home remedies for acne scar removal (specifically pock marks because that's what I have). I've done this research before but the internet always comes up with new things daily. I've gone so far as to purchase chemical peel solutions from Amazon.com but I don't use them because you can't wax around the treatment area for like a month (sorry, I have to have my brows done).

Anyway, today's research turned up some new information that I'm definitely going to try. eHow Style had some suggestions that I haven't seen before, such as using cocoa butter on your face to revive elasticity. Cocoa butter is a very inexpensive alternative so that's what I'm going to try first. If my back is better tomorrow, I'm going to run out to get some. If it's not, I'll have my husband get it for me.

While I was reading this article on eHow, I noticed an advertisement for silicone sheets. Curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on it. After taking a look at the site, I decided that I'm going to get some of these sheets. There are before and after photos and they sold me on the product. I decided on the small silicone sheets (self-adhesive) and the price isn't bad ($34.95 + shipping). Here's what the site says for the small silicone sheets:

Guaranteed Adhesive Small Silicone Sheet Scar Treatment. Includes Washable and Reusable Silicone Sheet. Effective for 6 Months of Treatment, Initial Improvement In 1 To 2 Weeks, Average Healing Time Is 1 To 3 Months.

 So, why not give it a shot? What do I have to lose, other than $40? I'm going to take a photo of the areas I'm going to treat before I begin treatment and I'll document those areas regularly with photos. Give me a few days though because I've got to get my back figured out first.

If you've tried any treatments for acne scarring, please comment with the treatment and any results. I'd love to learn what works and what's a waste of time and money.

No Workout Today

I was planning on working out this morning until I woke up. My back was bothering me some yesterday but I thought it would be much better this morning. I was totally wrong. In fact, my back feels worse today than it did yesterday.

That means no workout for me today. I have no idea what I've done to my back but I can barely walk or stand up straight. I haven't been wrenching on anything or doing anything stupid so I really don't understand why it's acting up. It's so frustrating to have aches and pains without a good reason.

So, I'm taking it easy today and I'm never far from the heating pad. This has the potential to throw me off track, if I let it, but I'm not going to let it. I'm very conscious of what I'm eating because I'm not as active today as I have been. I don't know when my back will be better (I'm hoping by tomorrow) so I'm going to take it easy as much as I can.

I need to be 100% certain that my back is better before I get back to working out so I don't hurt myself. I really wish I knew what caused this so I know not to do it again. Okay, I'm going to chill out on the couch for a little while to see if laying down helps.

Girls' Day Out

Yesterday began at 5:45 am and didn't end until I fell asleep on the couch, somewhere around 10 pm, I think. My mom, cousin, and I traveled 3 hours to the western shore of MD to go wedding dress shopping with my sister. I can't believe she's old enough to be getting married! It was a long day but I had a great time.

My FitBit got a workout yesterday because of all the walking. I didn't realize it until we left the first boutique, but I had climbed 4 flights of stairs. Now, the first boutique did have steps inside but it was only like 3-4. I guess going up and down them so many times registered as me climbing 4 flights. I couldn't believe I had gone up and down those stairs that many times.

My diet wasn't as good as it could have been but I was stressing out over it. I had 2 frappes yesterday but, in my opinion, they were well deserved. Yes, I was over on my caloric intake but it didn't bother me much. Probably because I wasn't over by much. We went to Denny's for lunch and I ordered Tilapia Ranchero with cheddar mashed potatoes and a shrimp skewer. It was really good and it's on the Fit Fare menu! So, I was conscious of what I was eating and I'm proud of myself for looking for the low cal menu section and ordering from it!

Okay, it's time for me to get going so I can write my plan for tomorrow. It's the only day this week without appointments so I'm going to try to enjoy it.