Amber's "2009 will be my year!" journal (CW)

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hey, Linda. You are right about the coworkers. They just aren't ready to make the changes that it takes to actually lose the weight. I just find it hard because they are the people that I spend the most time with and I want them to do better. Or at least not be complete saboteurs. I know that it is up to me though to make the right choices for me regardless of what anyone else does.

So, Friday I posted, but didn't put my food.
b- kashi, milk, coffee
l - chicken salad on croissant, black bean soup
s - veggie chips
d - chicken and broccoli curry over couscous
s - cheese on crackers

Yesterday we slept late and then tackled the MAJOR task of putting away the Christmas decorations. This was a major task because I never really had it organized in the first place and it had just gotten worse this year (and I got a bunch of new stuff). So we took everything out of the spare bedroom and carried it downstairs. We then staged it on tables in the main room. We sorted everything into tree stuff, house decorations, and gift wrap. Then we got it all compacted into as few boxes as possible. Then we brought it all back upstairs and were planning to put it back in the spare bedroom. I was able to convince DH that we should put it in the attic instead though. That meant more moving boxes up stairs. BUT, we got All the Christmas stuff out of the spare room and into the attic where I don't have to look at it all year!! It took us all afternoon and really wore me out, but I'm SO happy to have it done!

I'm counting an hour of exercise for that because I went up and down the stairs about a million times and was carrying boxes most of them.

Food:
b - kashi, milk, coffee
l - homemade chicken & bean burrito
s - peanut butter (just enough to tide me over til dinner)
d - italian pasta bake w/ chicken and sausage and Lots of veggies
s - scrambled egg

I'm not sure what the plan for today is other than lunch w/ the family and grocery shopping. My sister may come over to play Wii. I am thinking about seeing if she and mom want to go see Bride Wars tomorrow because we should all be off.

Have a great day!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

WOOHOO!!! YIPPEE!!!

WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT!!!!

HALLELUAH!!!!

I thought his speech today was great and very inspiring!! I'm so happy to be able to witness this particular moment in history!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Ok, now back to the regularly scheduled broadcast

Well, Sunday went as planned basically. Lunch with the family, then grocery shopping, then my sister and mom came over to play Wii. That was a lot of fun. My mom had a good time and was really funny on some of the games.

Yesterday I went to see Bride Wars with mom and my sister. It was a really funny movie and we really enjoyed it.

Other than that I did a few chores and took it easy.

I got my workout in this morning. Food hasn't been the best over the last two days. I ate Way too much popcorn yesterday and it was really buttery. Then today I went out lunch because a coworker is leaving. I had been craving buffalo chicken fingers and fries, so that is what I ended up having.

I recorded everything on Fitday. I managed to do ok yesterday calorie wise, but today I was a bit high. I actually was still under what Fitday says that I burn in a day though. I don't feel like posting it all here tonight, but I'll get back on track and post everything starting again tomorrow.

Have a great week!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Yesterday we did not get up to exercise because DH has been on call this week and our sleep patterns have been really messed up.
Food:
b - kashi, milk, coffee
l - peanut butter and jelly sandwich, vegetable soup
s - leftover movie popcorn
d - salad w/ parmesan peppercorn dressing, shrimp and sausage over cheese grits We went out to a local place and it was the special. It was SO good. I ate all my salad, but only about half of my dinner. I will probably eat the rest for lunch tomorrow or Saturday
s - small bowl of chocolate ice cream
I ended up at around 1654 calories

Today I worked from home. I have been really struggling at work lately. We have an audit coming up, but I'm just not interested in working Usually if I do a work from home day I really buckle down and get a ton of work done. Today I got some work done but not nearly as much as I could have. I just really can't get myself back in the swing of things lately. I've got to get it together soon though.

Anyway, I didn't get up with Dh to exercise this morning because I didn't have to "be at work" as early. I was also planning to go to the gym and take the yoga class this evening. Well, I finished working early and tried to go see a client of mine before going to the gym, but she wasn't home. So I ended up at the gym an hour early. I really wanted to go to the yoga class, but I couldn't figure out what to do w/ myself (in my gym clothes) for an hour. So I figured I would get on the treadmill for awhile and see how I felt. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill but my feet started to hurt (I think it's the shoes). Then I did 10 minutes on the stationary bike. At that point I decided that I was not up for another hour of exercise. I figured 40 minutes was enough for today.

Food:
b - kashi, milk, coffee
l - chicken strips, small handful of fries, small amount of light ranch (for dipping) this was leftovers from lunch the other day
s - apple w/ peanut butter on it
d - italian pasta bake
Calories for today 1457

Ok, that's it for tonight. See ya this weekend.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Well, this wasn't the most on plan week that I've ever had.

Yesterday I didn't get up with DH to exercise (I'm so proud of him for getting up anyway). I knew I would be working somewhat late so I decided to go in a little late. Then I had a lunch visit with one of my older foster kids. I had forgotten that I told her I would take her out for lunch. So, I always let her choose the place. I was hoping she would choose chinese since that is one of her favorites, but she didn't. She wanted to eat at a seafood place that is known for its large portions of fried seafood. I ended up getting the fried shrimp, fries, and corn on the cob, with hushpuppies of course. I know I didn't do well at all. I had allowed myself to get too hungry first and then overate.

so food was:
b - kashi, milk, coffee (only been drinking about half my coffee lately)
s - nut, raisin, and chocolate mix
l - shrimp, fries, corn, hushpuppies, sweet tea (I know it's bad.)
d - leftover shrimp, sausage, and grits from the other night
s - specialty popcorn - almond biscotti flavored YUM

I ended up being at a clients house until 8:30 last night so I got home Way later than I had been planning to.

I weighed in yesterday morning and was at 215.6, in other words, I gained this week I expected it though. I didn't workout much and made some bad choices. I didn't get nearly enough fruits and veggies in this week.

Today I'm working on getting back on track, but still not completely back. I haven't been feeling the best today so it is harder.

We got up and exercised this morning which was a good start. Dh is working on a plan to workout 4 days a week and he missed a day Wednesday, so he had to do this morning to stay on track. I am really enjoying his dedication.

Food so far:
b - kashi, milk
s - spoonful of peanut butter
l - half an Arby's turkey bacon ranch sandwich and 3 fried mozzerella sticks

I will possibly eat the other half shortly. Dinner will be chili. We have the guys over today. Chili is something they really enjoy and it is a good day for it since it is cold and rainy.

I'm still down 2.4 pounds since starting which is not too bad, I guess. I have not been keeping track of my Wii Fit challenge stuff very well this week. I will have to go back and look over it all to determine where I am on that goal.

I have to really work on my fruits and veggies this coming week. I think if I could get that going I would be doing SO much better.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

I did end up eating the other half of my sandwich and having a good sized bowl of chili w/ cheese and crackers. Later I had some cheese dip w/ tortilla chips. I'm sure I could have chosen something healthier, but didn't.

Today's food:
b - kashi, milk
l - pork chop, hashbrown casserole, biscuit, green beans, english peas, strawberry cake (there was a birthday in the family today)
d - homemade chicken and mushroom quesadilla, homemade guacamole, refried beans, tortilla chips

Today I've been pretty lazy. I started working on a puzzle last night and spent part of this afternoon working on it.

I'm going to do better this week! I promise!

 

[DisDee]

Hey Amber, sorry I haven't stopped by in awhile. I've been in a big old rut since returning from vaca. I promise to check in more often, and lend you some support!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hey, Dee! I somehow missed that you had "stopped by".

I haven't been posting over the last week because I had gotten pretty frustrated. I haven't been doing very well with my eating or exercise, but I had a pretty good excuse. But, I couldn't share it yet... so I just stopped posting. But now I'm ready to spill the beans

I'M PREGNANT!!!

As of Thursday I am 8 weeks! I was waiting to start telling everyone until I went to my first doctor appointment. I saw the midwife (here after referred to as CNM - Certified Nurse Midwife - cause it's easier to type) on Thursday. I had an ultrasound and got to see the teeny tiny blob of a baby and hear it's little heartbeat We started telling our family and I told my immediate coworkers. Dh has been a bit nervous about telling people because he's worried that we will end up jinxing ourselves. I told him that I don't think so and I just can't stand waiting to share the news anymore.

I had been doing well and not feeling too bad up until this week. I had a few days of extreme tiredness a couple of weeks ago, but other than that no real symptoms. But this week I started to get some morning (noon & night) sickness. It hasn't been extreme, but it has caused me to just eat anything and everything when I can. I find that if I keep my stomach fuller, then I don't feel nearly as bad and don't tend to get sick. So, I've been eating less than stellar foods just to fill my stomach. I'm going to work on doing better in the coming week. I want to try to get more fruits and veggies in and also try to get the 4 servings of dairy that are recommended. Geez, that's a lot!

I've been struggling to exercise. We had been doing morning exercises and I get too queasy if I exercise first thing. I'm going to try eating something first and hope that works. If not, I'll just have to work hard to fit in exercise in the evenings.

Anyway, I'm going to start back journaling and tracking my foods. I will be doing "bad" diet things like eating ice cream sometimes though since I have to have my dairy and all

Well, wish me luck! I'm excited and nervous all at the same time!

 

[DisDee]

Amber, I am so happy for you! This is such an exciting time, so do all that you can to keep you and baby healthy. I know its tough when you're not feeling great, but try to choose healthy foods that will be good for you both. Keep us informed of how you're doing, and above all-enjoy the excitement of the pregnancy!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Thanks, Denise! I'm really excited!

The feeling queasy thing is not very much fun and it is making eating healthy really hard. I have been trying to eat healthy snacks and meals, but I am not used to the constant grazing. Plus I usually get most of my veggies at dinner and I can hardly eat half of my dinner these days.

Today I felt like I ate nonstop all day, but the good news is that when I put it all in Fitday it wasn't That over the top calorie wise. I ended up at 2,037 calories. It is more than I usually allow for, but probably about the right amount. According to Fitday I burn about 2900 calories a day without exercising, which seems WAY high to me - and that is Before I start to add calories for the baby building. Anyway, so I'm probably going to allow my calorie intake to be in the 1900 to 2400 range for now and see how my weight responds.

Food:
snack before getting out of bed - spoonful of peanut butter
b - kashi, milk, orange juice
s - banana, "puppy chow" - coworker brought it, crispix coated in powdered sugar
l - healthy choice meal but I picked out the carrots (they were grossing me out), handful of ritz crackers
s - string cheese, apple, handful of ritz crackers, small amount of peanut butter on 2 of them (this was spread out across the afternoon)
d - pork chop, creamed corn, blackeyed peas
s - kellogg's fiber plus bar, milk

No exercise today. I've got to get back into the routine of doing some exercise. I've been very lazy lately. Dh strained his back over the weekend and stayed home to doctor it today. I'm not sure if he will be exercising in the mornings this week or not. That could be a good thing though. I wake up when he gets up and therefore don't sleep as well. Then I am more tired throughout the day and in the evenings. The less tired I am the more likely I am to actually exercise in the evenings.

Well, have a great tomorrow!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Yesterday I ate a little less constantly, but was probably higher in calories. We went out for lunch at work for a coworker's birthday. I had a cheeseburger with fries. I know it wasn't the best choice, but I do rarely eat beef or other red meat so I allow myself a burger here and there.

I felt moderately better yesterday and even better today. I still am having moments of queasiness, but not bad and not too often. I have gagged a couple of times over the last few days, but haven't actually had to throw up. That's ALWAYS a plus!

I didn't write down all my food from yesterday, but I'm gonna try to remember it.
yesterday's food:
b - kashi, milk, oj
s - banana
l - cheeseburger, fries, ranch dressing, sweet tea
s - ritz crackers with a little peanut butter
d - leftover spaghetti
s - chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie (from Kashi) with milk


Today's food:
b - kashi, milk, oj
s - banana
l - 1 slice of pizza (leftover from the weekend), half a can of minestrone soup, 12oz can of soda
s - apple, 1oz cheese, 2 chocolate caramel nut clusters
s - 1 choc. caramel nut cluster, 1 mini reese cup, milk
d - chips, salsa, nachos w/ beef, chicken, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole - we went out for Mexican. I only ate a little of the nachos, I would say close to a quarter of it.

I can't eat much at dinner for some reason these days. I started eating the mexican and I have a tendency to eat it too fast. I got a few good bites into the nachos and started feeling a little bad. I slowed down and then stopped shortly after that. I didn't feel queasy exactly, but just not great. I took that as my sign to stop. I'm still full now, but may end up having a small snack later. I try not to go to bed w/ an empty stomach because I wake up feeling better that way.

I have yet to get any sort of exercise in, but I will probably try to go to yoga tomorrow afternoon.

I am 9 weeks tomorrow

Oh, I've been weighing myself pretty much daily and staying right at the same weight. That works for me!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

I've decided that I probably won't post my food daily. I still need to be mindful about what I'm eating and try to eat healthily. But, I'm not going to not eat when I feel like I need to eat. I think that journaling my food helps mostly when I use it to stop myself from overeating.

Anyway, I had a pretty nice weekend. Friday we stayed in and chilled. I had a headache and ended up going to bed really early. Yesterday the guys came over and we all went out to lunch at Wild Wing Cafe. The plan was to order enough for lunch and dinner, so that no one had to cook or go out later. I ordered the queso dip to share and ate a LOT of it. Then I had chicken fingers and fries. I only ate one chicken finger and a couple of fries though because I was full from the dip. Then I went shopping for a bit while they went home to play games. I had 2 chicken fingers and a handful of fries for dinner. Other than the shopping, I watched tv and read all evening. I was actually a bit bored, but too lazy to come up with anything else to do.

Today we had lunch at my grandma's as usual. We celebrated my aunt's birthday, so my cousin and her daughters came. They were excited to find out about my pregnancy. I also got my haircut because my cousin volunteered to do it while she was there She always does my hair anyway, but I usually have to go out to her shop.

The rest of the afternoon dh and I spent sitting outside in the Gorgeous weather we had and worked on a puzzle. We finished it today. It was fun.

Dh cooked pork and chicken and made guacamole for dinner. So we had burritos with guacamole dip. It was YUMMY!!

So, tomorrow is back to the grind blech. It's not that bad, but I'm just not excited. We have a big audit coming up so everyone's stressing, but I just really don't care. That's probably bad = I shrug.

Have a great week!

Oh, yeah... I forgot my teeny tiny bit of exercise today. I walked home from my grandma's house after lunch. It isn't much at all but at least I got a little bit of movement in. Like I said earlier it was a beautiful day today! I had on short sleeves and was very comfortable. I realize that it is too early in the year for it to stay that warm, but I would get a lot more exercise in if it would stay warmer! I feel as if I could manage a daily walk, but haven't been in the mood for anything else these days.

 

[DisDee]

Hi Amber, Hope you're feeling well and all is good!

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hi, Dee! Yes, I'm feeling pretty well these days. I have to be sure that I eat at regular intervals though or I start to feel a little woozy.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

We've had a pretty good day today. It started out a little rocky though. Dh has been sick all week and so he was coughing and hacking all night long. (It has been that way all week, too, which means I didn't get much sleep this week) Anyway, we had both been planning to sleep pretty late today to make up for our lack of sleep during the week. But, he is on call this weekend and his pager went berserk at about 8:30am. They had a major power outage and his pager just went off every two or three seconds for about a half an hour, until he finally just turned it off. Anyway, by that time we were both wide awake so we ended up getting up.

We gave each other our Valentine's gifts. We don't normally do Valentine's gifts, but did this year. Anyway, I gave him a set of Vosges chocolates - truffles, chocolate bar, and hot chocolate. I choose them because we had hot chocolate and bought chocolates from the Vosges store in Las Vegas when we went last year. We both Really enjoyed it, so I thought it was a good memory gift, as well as yummy.

SO, he gave me his gift first and guess what he got me... 4 bars of Vosges chocolate!! When I opened it he said, "to remind you of Vegas" We laughed and laughed when he opened my gift. I guess it shows how connected we are and how well we know each other.

The chocolate set I got him is all a particular flavor and he got me a variety, so we didn't get Identical presents. I'm sure we are going to really enjoy sharing our presents.

I know chocolate isn't the best gift for trying to stay on the healthy eating path, but we won't eat this all in one or two sittings. It is a slow and savor it kind of chocolate.

So, after we gave each other gifts, we lounged about a bit then decided to go out for lunch. We had agreed that there was no way we would brave the dinner scene, but we figured lunch wouldn't be too bad. We went to Cracker Barrel. It was pretty busy, but we didn't have to wait very long. We both got breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it. While we were out we bought two new puzzles to work on also.

We started one tonight. It is a Disney Limited Edition that is a painted scene of Mickey and Minnie in Venice. I can tell that it is going to be pretty hard.

We're just relaxing this evening and taking it easy. I'm hoping to get a decent nights sleep tonight. My mom called earlier and wanted us to come to her church tomorrow. I told her that I am not planning to be out of bed in time to go to church. I would like to sleep till noon if I can pull it off!

I have been not doing great on my food intake lately. I've eaten out or gotten fast food way more than I should. Most days I'm getting at least one serving of fruit in, but veggies are hit or miss. A lot of times the thought of healthier foods completely turns me off lately. I want "bad" foods or greasy fried stuff mostly. I'm trying to keep it moderate but it has been hard. One example is that I usually will have a vegetable based soup as part of my lunch a few days a week, but lately I am not at all interested. I will heat it up and eat a few bites, but it just doesn't taste good to me. I may just be tired of soup, but it seems to be since I started with my pregnancy symptoms. Hopefully some of that will pass when I hit the second trimester.

I haven't really exercised any this week either. I did walk over to my parent's house and back on Tuesday, but that isn't really much. The weather was SO nice here this week, but I ended up having to work late Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday so I couldn't really take advantage of it. Friday I left work a little early because it was really nice outside at lunch time, but by the time I got home it was overcast and starting to cool off a lot. I'm hoping to start doing a little better in the next few weeks. However, we have a major audit at work that starts March 2nd and one of my cases got pulled, so I will have to work around that some. I think I'm about ready, BUT it depends on what my higher ups say when they read my file.

Well, gonna go chill some more.

 

[traceycooper]

Hi amber
just read your journal & wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS ON THE PREGNANACY
& well done for trying to stay healthy & active too - your baby will thank you

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

Hi, Tracey! Thanks! I'm really struggling right now with the healthy eating and exercise, but I'm trying to stay conscious of it. I'm hoping that as long as I at least keep health in the forefront of my mind, then eventually I will do better. I just don't have the energy these days.

Last night DH was coughing, etc most of the night and kept me awake pretty bad. A couple of times I considered going to sleep on the couch, but ended up not doing it. I got better sleep after about 6am and slept until around 10:30. DH slept until almost 1pm though I know he needed the rest, but I could have used some peaceful rest too!

Anyway, his best friend came over about 2pm and we went out for lunch. I choose this local place called "The Stack". It is a burger place where you choose what toppings go on the burger. I got pimento cheese, mixed baby greens, sprouts, and hard boiled egg on mine. The sauce was a roasted garlic aioli. Yum! Then we ordered a large serving of sweet potato fries because they are SO yummy. In the past the burger didn't come with any fries, but this time and last time each burger came with regular fries. So we had a bit of french fry overload, but that was fine with me I ate half my burger and too many fries. I brought home the rest of the burger and some fries.

Other than that I've just been lounging around while Dh hangs out with his buddy. I'm so tired. I could go back to bed right now.

I can't wait until I start to get some of my energy back. I know that it would help if I did some exercise, but I just can't get the motivation lately.

I'm gonna try to get to the gym some this week.

 

[Foxfiregrrl]

It's snowing in Macon today!!! I stood in the snow and took a bunch of pictures. I didn't end up playing in it too much though because it was cold out there!

We are 12 weeks along. We had a doctor visit on Wednesday. DH went with me and we got to here the heartbeat. It was really cool! The baby's heartbeat was 164 bpm. I had gained 3 pounds since my last visit. I weighed in at 225, but that is not what I weigh at home. My blood pressure was 120/70 which is like perfect.

Everything seems to be going along fine. I have not been having too much sickness. I have some queasiness if I don't eat often enough and I've had an evening or two when I just felt sick for no reason. One night I couldn't eat dinner and threw up pretty bad, but that has been the only time that happened.

I still have very little energy though. I haven't made it to the gym either. Part of the reason is that we have been prepping for an audit at work and I haven't been keeping the best hours.

This weekend has been busy. I went to a scrapbooking crop on Friday night with my mom, 2 friends from work, and one of their roommates. We had a good time and got some things accomplished. It was a lot of fun.

Then yesterday Dh and I went with my parents to the "Mercer Big Dance" that is held every year. We've gone the last 3 or 4 years and always have a nice time. I had to take it easy this year, but still did some dancing. I was worn out though.

We slept late today and not long after I got up I looked out the window to see it snowing! It snowed for about 20 minutes and didn't stick at all, then it stopped. I was pleased that it snowed, but disappointed that it didn't last. Then we went to my grandparents for lunch and came back home. It was drizzling at that time. Then within 30 minutes it started to snow again and this time it didn't stop. It has basically been snowing ever since. It is sticking to the grass, cars, and my wood porch, but not to the road or my concrete patio. It is supposed to be below freezing tonight, but then be in the 50s tomorrow. So, I'm sure it will all melt away and we'll have to work tomorrow But at least we got to see a little snow. Dh was being a bummer and didn't want to play in it. I decided not to either because I didn't want to get all cold and wet. We have a big umbrella for our patio set and we always forget to put it down. We had both noticed that it was getting covered in snow and said that we needed to take it down, but didn't. Then just before we ate dinner I looked outside and saw that the pole broke and it fell over. I was so irritated with myself for not having gone outside and taken it down. I think we can fix it back together, but still it is aggravating.

Oh, yeah, my cats were totally freaked out by the snow! Puff put her paws in it and was like "no way" and came right back inside. Raven wouldn't even touch it.

Well, have a great week!