Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Teton Diet

Let me first start off by saying "You're Welcome"
 
Because after you eat a hamburger from Brakeman's Grill in Victor, ID, you will never again want what "the other guys" call a "burger" at a drive-thru fast food place.
 
Brakeman's is by far the best.
And if they are closed or are too busy to seat...you walk across the street to what looks like a closed business called the Station...and you eat a burger from them. Very close 2nd place in my book.
 
This is why Dolvett is my new BFF. He helps me avoid things like this until it's cheat day. BUT then gently reminds me that I should still be "smart" when tempted with something like this. Smaller portions, enjoy a salad first, Maybe no bread or cheese? But then again, it's MY cheat day so I ultimately get to decide.
 
 

We also make up for our cheat days by juicing. Perk LOVES to juice everything under the kitchen sink! The more fruits and veggies you pack into that thing, the better he feels. I definitely now know I will have a veggie garden box this summer in our back yard!!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

I really need a name for my home gym

 Well here it is. My home gym. There isn't much but it definitely has enough to get most of the job done. I'm pretty proud of my set up here because I can really work out hard and mix it up and get all the exercises in that I need.
 
I have a Proform Treadmill that has a kick ass incline option
Next to that is my old skool weight bench. It has an incline for chest presses, can do flies and then ham & quad curls and I've got quite a few weigh rolls so I can increase the intensity as I build up.
HA! We're still building up so I pretty much keep it at 25lbs for now!! LOL
 


I've also incorporated my old Reebok Step Bench. It's great because I can lower or raise it for different cardio jumps or body lifts. I also have a yoga mat (that the dog things is his) that I use for floor exercises or stretching. 

I have a large stability ball and a smaller one. The large on I actually had at my office and would sit on it while working to help build the core up a bit. Most times I'm afraid to say I did nothing more than bum rolls and bouncing on it! :)
 
I have a nice supply of free weight ranging from 2lbs up to 25lbs.
I would LOVE to get a kettle bell, but lifting one of those compared to doing the same exercise with say an 8lb dumbbell doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
 
Speak up ladies? Kettle bell. Is it worth owning???
 
I also bought this contraption.
I really wanted to have bands to work on shoulders and of course upper arms.
So far no kids have been yelled at and the cat could care less.
Win-Win for Me!
 
This is my leftover box. It contains a few older bands and a small medicine ball. It's kind of like me "go put it in or go find it in" basket 
 

 And lastly...my trainers.
I have the P90X set
I have the Insanity set
I use the Nike Training App on the iPad
I have exercise videos from Jillian Michaels (I totally ordered her 2 yoga dvd's tonight...honest to God I did!!), I have some Shakeology free DVD, the full Zumba kit, The Firm, MMA Deka 10 and countless others that are still themselves stuck in the 80's...VHS tapes!! I miss Buns of Steel and Step Bench from the 80's.
 
I really need to get a VCR so I can reinvest time!! I might need some hot pink spandex and a can of aerosol hairspray to pull it all off!!


Anyhow ladies, this is my gym. It's at home in my basement and it's where the kids know that when Mommy is working out, they need to be playing or reading or anything else other than being in the room asking a million questions, or tattle telling, or yelling that they are hungry.

This is where Mommy puts on her headphones and zones out to HOUSE OF CARDS for 55 minutes of ME time. Most times I just pretend I can't hear a single word they say when I'm in the zone.

Why 2014 will be MY year

You never really think about how out of place you could feel being away from your own home. The home you've lived in for 6 years, in a city you've lived in for 12 and in the only state you EVER lived it all together. You justify it as "I'm an adult and this is what adults do". Right?
 
You think life will just continue on the same way it has. No real big changes.
Right?
 
Wrong.
 
Moving from a big city in Utah to a small town in Idaho was a HUGE change for me.
Gone are my neighbors whom I would speak to almost every day. Just standing out in the front yard chatting about cars (Subaru's and Jeeps), recipes, money strategies, clothes, activities. You name it, the ladies and I discussed it.
 
Gone are the dozens of neighbor friends who would use that revolving door on the front of your house to make their way in and out all summer long.
 
Gone are being invited to house parties the women threw, church gatherings with the ward, waving hello to the other moms out pushing strollers, getting in their nightly walks around the block.
 
Gone are the quick trips to Target, the mall, dozens of cheap restaurants or crafty stores (man I REALLY miss Hobby Lobby!)
 
Gone. All gone.
 
This town I live in is great. The beauty alone is enough for someone people. I'm more a people person than a tree person. I need that interaction. For the most part, all of the women I've met are quite nice. With such a small town I'll usually see the same women at the grocery store as I do dropping Anna off at school. One of Autumn's friends moms, I saw ALL THE TIME at the store and never realized who she was until we were finally introduced in church.
 
Small town.
 
Well over December I fell into a slump. Being sad about all the things you're missing can really make it hard to enjoy what you do have. A big chocolate covered, lazy day in sweats slump. It probably started in October and November but really became prominent in December. I went lazy. I was completely unmotivated to do anything. A little sad at times missing how Christmas "would have been" back in Layton. And I let the ugly emotional eating Cindy come out. I don't deal with EE.Cindy much, but this time she came and she was strong. She brought with her about 7 extra pounds too.
 
So feeling fat, lazy, unmotivated is one thing. Feeling that and having your husband totally call you out on it, is another. Now let me clear something up...NEVER did Perk call me fat. A). he's not that type of man to EVER knock my weight and B). he knows better. But when the husband comes home from working all day and there is no dinner ready and no idea of what dinner should be...he's a little bothered. I was lazy. I didn't make any. I'm a SAHM and I didn't even think to make any. What? You people need to be fed?
 
He excused it the first time, but by the forth lazy excuse...he spoke up. I've known how I was feeling for a while. I saw the roles on my stomach become more noticeable and harder to suck in and the jeans harder to fit into.  I felt my energy levels keep getting lower and lower until the mention of how often I nap was actually interfering with my night time sleeping.
 
So I stopped and I started paying attention to fit blogs and fit instagram accounts. I had also read quick review about a diet with cheating allowed!! I had just started following Dolvett Quince on Instagram and was reading all about his new book coming out. I immediately
went to Amazon/Google/B&N to read the inserts. FEEL IN LOVE THE FIRST FEW WORDS!!!

First off, Dolvett is H.O.T. so looking at that face isn't hard, and being a huge fan of the Biggest Looser I figured this is the book for me. I trust the guy, I love the guy and he practices what he preaches. Let's do it.
 
So we bought the book and on Christmas morning and opened it up, said "LET'S DO IT" and started reading.
 
By far the best diet plan out there. Clean eating used to scare me. It scared me that I wouldn't be allowed many of the foods I really enjoy. And what's the point in living if you can't enjoy the things you really love?  I've tried diets where the first 3 days are called "detox" and you eat nothing buy green raw veggies and lean meat. That's it. NO OTHER FOODS OR INGREDIENTS. We actually tried it again months ago and I about died the 3rd day. Could not wait to get real food in my body.
 
Well this book is not like that.
The 3-1-2-1 stand for clean eating days and cheat days
Eat clean for 3, cheat for 1, eat clean for 2, cheat for 1.
Keeps your body guessing by mixing up the cheat days and keeps your metabolism in gear.
PLUS the clean eating days are pretty simple to follow. Like REALLY simple.
And when cheat days do come, you still need to be somewhat smart about them. Don't eat the WHOLE pizza, but enjoy a slice with a green salad on the side.
 
It's an easy to read book. He offers great suggestions and has a detailed weekly meal plan for you to follow. And the stuff on his menu won't cost an arm and a leg at the store. Yogurts, string cheese, lean meats, almonds,....pretty easy.
 
And the great thing is, as you eat clean, you feel so much better. I have way more energy that before and I think I'm loosing the cravings for the junk food. I used to buy the big bags of M&M's and I could eat them (by myself mind you) in 2 days. It's an addiction and I'm breaking that. I refuse to buy them anymore so I'm not tempted to eat them. But even now, when I pass them in the stores, if I've been eating clean they don't even sound good to me anymore. I don't really notice them when I'm in the aisle. That's progress!!
 
So this is the book that so far has helped me drop 6lbs. That was in  the first 1.5 weeks. (My cold derailed my plan last week but we'll jump right back on).
 
I've marked my meal and recipe pages with post-it notes for quick reference. I've highlighted and underlined and made notes on the things that have stood out the best to help me.
 
 
The book also has a complete exercise program set up by Dolvett to follow. Very doable without expensive gym equip or a membership anywhere.
 
So there you have it. This is the book that will help me, become the strong, fit Cindy I know I have in me. I've seen her before and I'll see her again!!
 
It doesn't mean that in September you'll see me jump out of an airplane, or hike the tallest mountain or complete in an Iron Man competition.
 
What it means is that I'll be healthy. And comfortable in my skin. Even wearing a bathing suit and not one that will cover things or smash them in, or conceal...  Get ride of the fatty thighs and wiggly arms. Get rid of having to cover up because "I" think it looks bad. Get rid of the self doubt, the low self esteem and become the mom and wife not only do I know I can me, but the mom and wife my family deserves!
 
For me this book is a miracle in that it came at the exact right time I needed it to. It's helping me, which in turn is helping Perk on his weight loss journey as well.
 
I hope anyone looking for a little help will pick up Dolvett's book and get as inspired by it as I have! Best of luck!

HOLY CRAP! I'M REALLY 39!

This means this is my last year in my 30's. After this year it will be all "oh back in my thirties..." Gawd that sounds so old. I'm an old ninny.
 
BUT I'm not out of the 30's quite yet...so I plan on making this last year AWESOME!!

But first let's see how an old lady of 39 celebrates her birthday!

The prior weekend Perk took me to the exciting town of IDAHO FALLS! Yes magical. We went to dinner at Sand Piper (which was not as good as I remembered it from the Pocatello Sand Piper) and decided that since we had plenty of time before our Hunger Games movie began, we'd run over to the Bed, Bath & Bullshit and walk the store. 10 minutes before they closed.

Oh yes. We did!

We sat in the massage chairs and got free workups. Perk put his feet in this contraption that had him moaning and rolling his eyes back. Okay maybe not to THAT degree, but he was "relaxed".

See Perk and I both worked at Bed, Bath & Bitches years ago so we know how this sort of stuff goes down. Customers drag their feet in the store at 8:55pm, pacing around, not really looking for anything special. Then you have that young couple who comes in to scope out the bridal register, before they are even engaged, and they sit and play in the chairs, or lay in the staged beds.

We've worked it, we know how it goes. You can't really kick the customer out. You can give little hints like "attention shoppers...we're closing in 5 minutes" warnings. Or when you walk past them you say "are you finding everything, we're just about to lock up". But you can't kick them out. You can however cut the power to where the massage chairs are...and once that's done its a pretty quick exit from there.

Bastards cut our power mid massage. Oh well. It was still nice! And free!

 
So on the day of my actual birthday (January 6), Perk brought home some pretty flowers and snowmen cupcakes. We had plans to go out to dinner as a family but one by one they dropped like flies. First Perk's head cold suddenly because something you'd see McDreamy operate on while watching Grey's Anatomy. Then both kids realized they simply didn't want to go to dinner where they wouldn't be surrounded by kids and toys and monster high dolls.
 
NO WAY IN HELL AM I COOKING THE FAMILY MEAL ON MY BIRTHDAY!!
 
Finally my last chance was Autumn.
She'd never pass up a chance to eat out so she became my date.
We hit the Royal Wolf (delicious!) and then stopped at Brolim's for cheesecake (even more awesome). All in all it was a good birthday.
And yes, we did eat the cheesecake while parked in the grocery store lot. My birthday. My way.
 
39 will be a good year for me. Maybe my best...but that will be another post!!

Friday, January 10, 2014

December went by in a flash!


I cannot believe how fast 2013 went.
The whole month of December is a blur! and an expensive one at that!
This was our first Christmas in our tiny little town, so Chris and I made sure to make the most of all the free events the city puts on.
We saw a live manger, had free potatoes & chili at the Dutch oven place, had movie night at the elementary, spent time at Teton Springs to see Santa and enjoyed a local craft fair (who doesn't LOVE a craft fair?) and horse drawn carriage rides on Main Street.
 
This sure beats standing in line at a crowded mall to see "Santa"! 


We decided we wanted to spend Christmas morning in our own home so we traveled to Salt Lake the weekend prior to visit with family and friends. Even the dogs were excited to go! We loaded the car FULL and headed to visit with family and friends. It was a packed trip with little downtime.
 
 
Christmas morning came and the girls were super excited.
Finally all those threats of "We'll call Santa!" had come to an end and the girls sure reaped the benefits of being good this year!
Even Petunia got into the Christmas spirit...or just gave up fighting and let Anna dress her in a festive outfit!
 
It was a busy holiday season and I'm kind of glad it's over. I baked. A LOT. Which also means I ate. A LOT...which will bring me to my 2014 Goals posting .... soon!!


Senior Pictures

 
Autumn had her senior pictures taken in the fall. I think they turned out AMAZING!
 
I cannot believe she is 18 and on her way to graduating high school.
I feel both proud and quite old at the same time.