24 Olive Street

i don't feel like it...

That was my feeling yesterday.

We joined the local Y this week (YMCA).

Partly so that all of us (even the bigger kids) can work out.

Partly because they have a pool that I can even take Addie to (and in the winter when there's not a lot of "active" stuff to do that's an awesome thing!)

I want to do the Color Run in August (even though I am not a runner) cause it just looks so fun. And I want to be able to run the entire thing, not walk.

We signed up for our gym membership I was all pumped.

And then that night I got absolutely no sleep. Like 3 hours. And I was beyond exhausted. I didn't want to go to the gym like I had planned.

And Addie wouln't remember that I had promised to take her swimming so I could easily skip today.

But...I sucked it up.

And started packing up my stuff. And realized that I really need to get seconds of everything to keep in my gym bag. You know, a 2nd deoderant, comb, hair stuff, etc so that I don't have to keep switching that stuff between a gym bag and my bathroom.

Thankfully I remembered I had just bought a couple of these cute little bags and it worked perfectly to throw in my gym bag.

When I got to the gym I realized I forgot several things...like flip flops for the locker room.

Gross.

I also forgot how much work it is to do this while toting around a toddler. That, in itself, is a workout.

I knew I didn't have a ton of time because the daycare would be closing soon. I just wanted to hop on the treadmill a bit, even if it was only for 20 min or so.

After turning on some tunes I started getting into a rhythm.

And about a third of a mile I started to do a brisk walk.

It wasn't much. But it's been a while since I've done much of any kind of exercise so know it'll take a week or so to even get to a reasonable pace. And I had to got get Addie out of the daycare or I would've done another mile cause I was just getting into a good pace.

But it's a start.

And after Addie and I went to the pool :)

journey - week 1

I don't plan on updating my blog every single week of the year & where I'm at on my 'word' for this year but since it was the first week I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm following a Paleo-ish diet. Meaning, I've adopted many of the principles of the diet but I'm not going to feel bad if I 'cheat' a bit here and there. Any by cheating, I mean eating something that may not be 'allowed' but that is still healthy. Example - last night we had chicken wraps so I had a tortilla shell. But I didn't add any cheese or sour cream to it so in my book that's still pretty healthy.

Another non-Paleo friendly but healthy recipe I tried last week were these banana oatmeal muffins. The texture is more like oatmeal than muffins and I don't think I blended the ingredients as much as in the recipe but they were still very good. Even my little one gobbled them up! Next time I will lower the amount of sugar added as I don't think it needed so much.

I get the whole concept of the Paleo diet but I also think it's not so bad to eat bread, dairy, potatoes, grains, etc once in a while. When you start looking at some of the Paleo friendly foods you then start seeing (or at least I did) that they're using GMO ingredients which, in my mind, is worse. Our ancestors certainly didn't have GMO's either! And in the long run I don't feel that it's necessarily healthier for me to eat more meats than grains. Just my opinion. But for now I think (I hope) it'll be good for me to lose some weight. And after that I'll work on limiting them in our diet because I think overall that'll be the best for my family.

I've also been keeping a food journal. I write down the calories/fat if I know it. I don't think you necessarily need to do this when you're watching your diet but I'm doing this for 2 reason: 1) It's a lot harder (at least for me) to cheat when you have to hold yourself accountable & actually write it down, and 2) I want to have a record for my doctor if I'm finding that I'm still not losing weight.

So here's some thoughts about the first week:

I did not cheat. At all. Yes, I had a couple non-Paleo foods. But they were still healthy ones. I had no treats. NONE. It was hard....not gonna lie. So many times I was trying to reason with myself...just one won't hurt. And then I thought about the cute shorts I want to wear in the summer. Or how I want to wear a bathing suit without feeling like a beached whale. For me it's ALL about willpower. I had to continually tell my self NO.

I'm hungry. Like, almost all the time. And a handful of cashews doesn't help all that much. Drinking more water doesn't help all that much. I think I just need to suffer through this phase. {sigh}

On the flip side, because I'm not eating high fiber, starchy foods I don't feel as bloated. And I haven't had much of that nauseous feeling I have after nearly every meal. So while I hate being somewhat hungry all the time, it also feels better.

I can't tell if this is good for my Crohn's or not...yet. The first few days I felt great. Then I had a few rough days. I think my body is adjusting to more veggies.

Speaking of veggies...I'm getting bored. Yes, already. There's not a ton of veggies I like...and some of them are Paleo no-nos which is a bummer. And I like even fewer fruits. I'll work it out. But it's a little boring when you can't make a sandwich, or a wrap, or most soups, or pasta.

I gave myself 1 free day - Saturday. And you know what, I felt like crap for part of the day. I got that bloated feeling after eating (we had lunch at Olive Garden). I have a feeling soon my free day will just turn into letting myself have a treat or maybe a sandwich but nothing more.

I still have 1 Coke a day. Although I didn't have one Friday. I will quit...eventually. Baby steps.

I would like to say after the first week that I've lost even 1 pound. But I haven't. That's frustrating but quite honestly I expected that. My body sucks. Just being honest. But I will trudge along!!! I'm hoping my body will get with the program and soon!

Here's to week 2!!

one word

Have you heard of the whole 'one word' thing? If not, you can head over to Ali Edwards' blog to check it out. She may have started the whole thing, honestly I'm not sure. I've never picked one. Never really appealed to me. There was never one word that 'fit'.

But this year for some reason feels a little different. Maybe because I'm ready to make changes? Not sure.

So for me, this is my one word for this year:

At first I thought it was going to be 'healthy'. Some of you know I have Crohns disease. And it sucks big time. I also have 30lbs that I need to lose which has been beyond difficult to lose since I don't eat all that bad to begin with. I don't gain any extra weight either (beyond what I already have). My body is kind of stagnant.

But as I thought about it, 'healthy' just didn't seem to fit. For me it's more of a journey on getting to a place where I feel better.

A journey to lose weight.

A journey to feel better.

A journey to try and get my Crohns a bit in check (even if it's just a little). No amount of diet is going to 'cure' me but it sure would be nice to feel a little better.

A journey to look good...for myself.

A journey to introduce more good foods for my family. Better choices.

I already started this journey years ago when I eliminated a lot (if not almost all) of processed foods. I make a lot of foods from scratch. I read ingredient labels & don't buy chemically filled foods (for the most part...everyone has to cheat sometimes!) I buy a lot of organic foods.

But I want to do more.

I bought an avocado for the first time ever yesterday. Haven't tried it yet. I plan on using it in this recipe.

For myself I'm loosely basing my "diet" (for lack of a better word) on the Paleo diet. I'm trying to knock out a lot of sugars, pastas, grains, etc. I'm trying not to serve so much rice, potatoes, beans, etc with meals. I'm no expert for sure and I won't get down on myself if I 'cheat' a little. I'm giving myself 1 day a week to eat what I want (in moderation).

I'm not cutting anything out entirely but just limiting certain foods. Although, the one thing I am trying to cut out is my Coke. It's my one vice...and it's a bad one when you have Crohns. I know that. My goal is to cut it down to only 1 or 2 a week.

I started a new 'Eating Healthy' board on Pinterest (you can also check out my main Pinterest page here). Last night I made Grilled Sesame Chicken Salad and it was SO good! I didn't have some of the ingredients but it turned out great just the same (had to use rice vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, didn't have almonds or black sesame seeds). I normally don't like uncooked cabbage but it was great and even my kids ate it!

So that's my word. Do you pick a word?? What is it?