Saturday, March 16, 2013

Decisions Decisions

Why is it that every time there is one big decision to make it seems there are a ton of other littles ones that come along and then eventually another big one? We have a couple big decisions going on right now. Nothing life changing and in the long run these things probably won't seem like a huge deal, but it's still hard. The bigger dilemma is that each final decision is going to be made by just one of us. One by Steven and one by myself. My decision I have been praying about and seeing some clarity in what needs done. Steven's choice is new and likely needs to be made in the next couple days. And yes in typical Navy style his has come up while we can only email.

It's funny while each decision is hard, I am actually thankful for each situation. They each have pros and cons but in the end will all work out no matter what we do. That doesn't mean that I don't want to break down and cry about them both, but at least I see the good in each situation. Sorry to be so nondescript about what is going on. I'm sure eventually I will be able to reveal everything, but not now. I can tell you this though, a year ago getting in shape seemed like a huge decision, it seemed like the hardest decision I had to made to change my lifestyle and now it is my everyday life. It is not a question if I am going to workout, the question is how many times this week. That feels great. I recently read that only 20% of Americans exercise regularly. I have to admit I am proud to be in that 20% now. And I am now down 115lbs because of my one big decision.

Pray about big decision. Pray about even ones that seem little. If you are confused pray. God will help guide you. Each night I pray with the girls before bed time and since Mady is still little I tell her that God wants to hear all the things we are thankful for from that day. So she prayed "Thank you God for milkshakes, and chocolate and the sun." I couldn't help but smile and laugh a little, but let's be honest I am extremely thankful for chocolate too :)

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

My typical Breakfast

My goodness it's been a while since I have blogged. Well I have decided to really start going into one thing I get asked about a lot with my weight loss. How do I eat? What do I eat? I promise I do eat. I just finished a frozen strawberry fruit bar. It was delicious by the way. Anyways, I thought I would get more specific than I have been about what exactly I eat which could maybe inspire others to eat a little healthier or add a few more fruits and vegetables to your meals.

Today I'll start with breakfast, since it is the first and most importnatn meal of the day. Admittedly I used to skip breakfast frequently. Especially in high school and college, but now I am religious about eating breakfast. I'm sure you know it is important because eating will start up your metabloism. It starts your day right or wrong. Skipping breakfast, clearly a bad way to start. But so is starting your day with something completely unhealthy. This doesn't mean that you need to eat all fruit and eggs all the time for breakfast, but it does mean to try to make your breakfast somewhat healthy. Starting your day with healthy eating can carry you through the day. It can give you energy. It can give you a good moment of eating to look back on and think see I can do this.

Okay, so I have a few go to breakfasts, I don't eat these every single day and I change things up, but for the sake of argument, yes I have pretty consistent breakfasts that I eat. One of my favorites is 3 egg whites scramled, either 1 piece of whole wheat toast or a whole wheat bagel thin and a piece of fruit. Its a good healthy breakfast that keeps my tummy full until about midmorning when I will have a little snack. I used to think it was hard to get up and make eggs every morning, but in all reality it takes like 5 minutes to go from no eggs to fully cooked and scramble eggs. Yes you can make them in the microwave too, but it's not my favorite way to do it. I use just egg whites to save on calories. I really have no other good reason. I know there are cholesterol things with eggs, I don't have cholesterol problems though, so I tend not to pay too much attention to that.

My next go to breakfast is instant oatmeal, 1 piece of turkey bacon and a piece of fruit. Oatmeal is good for you (I'm not exactly sure why, but it is) and it's easy to make. I am not an oatmeal lover, but I have found one way to make me like it more is to add a few chocolate chips. Okay I know this isn't the healthiest thing in the world to do, and if you are suseptible to keep eating sweets after starting, it may not be the best thing to do, but for me it has helped me to get into oatmeal, and I am trying to use less chips. Like literally 3 chocolate chips, I figure it can't be that bad for me. I do love bacon. It's not great for you, but I figure one piece of turkey bacon isn't that horrible and it provides protein!

My last common breakfast is cereal. I know, nothing fancy here, but sometimes when you are trying to get out the door early and you have the kids whining you just gotta do quick. My recent cereal obsession is Chex cereal. Have you seen all the flavors they have. Love them! And please don't tell me if they aren't great for you, I have it like once a week, it's not that bad. A big thing to remember with cereal is portion control. It's easy to pour a bowl and think it isn't that much, when in all reality it can be more than you want. I used to measure my cereal out. I can now eyeball it, but yes i would measure it so I could know exactly how many calories I was having.

So those are my breakfast go tos. I do love other kids of breakfasts too, especially a good breakfast casserole, which i actually have in my fridge right now. I made it for dinner and it is delicious. It is a lower calorie version of one my mom used to make every Christmas morning. Want the recipe?? Check it out here http://www.eat-yourself-skinny.com/2012/03/breakfast-casserole.html