Week one

Well, a week has passed.  

What is different.  

Well, I have lost 2 pounds.  That's not bad.... I started walking this morning.  Had a little adventure.  I took Maverick with me.  Something scared him and he took off running.  His leash came out of my hand and then I had to run.....earthquake.......It was horrible.  I thought I had lost him.  I found him finally.  The only thing I can figure is that cars scared him.  I think I will leave him home tomorrow...lol.  I do feel better, but today I am very sore.  I will be up bright and early , walking again. It's amazing how much better I feel throughout the day.  I am starting my weight watchers point tomorrow also.  We'll see how that goes.  I have got to plan my meals and be sure I take food with me to work or I end up eating out and then feeling awful.  

That's my plan.  Ready, set, lets go......

P.S.  I am so proud of Ash.  She scared me when she called me today.  I thought something was wrong:)

Sorry, But I am not putting my numbers on here for awhile.  I don't want to freak yah'll out.  If you really want to know send me a message on facebook and I might share.....:)

-Hollie.

Today I Cried....

This morning I awoke at 6:30....Put on my walkin shoes & clothes, stretched & headed to the park all by my lonesome. I thought a lot about this journey I'm going on. How crazy it is to me that I'm actually doing it this time. I'm actually going to be thin & healthy. I'm actually going to be able to go on day-long hikes& ventures with my husband. It all got pretty overwhelming & then I just got pissed off at myself for letting it get this far. Two weeks ago I tipped the scale at 216 pounds. Wowwwww.  While I was walking all pissed off it just fueled the fire to push myself even farther. So as I was walking my 2nd mile, I just decided to give jogging a try. I only jogged  for a stretch along the trail, about 160 steps. Man, oh man, did my calves hurt after that. Then I walked a little more & jogged another 160 steps. I did this for 4 out of the 7 miles I walked this morning. That's right I WALKED 7 MILES THIS MORNING. Not only did I walk 7 miles, but I also JOGGED part of those 7 miles. I could not have been any more pleased with myself when I was driving home. I got home, jumped in the shower & then hopped up on the dreaded scale.

...............................

I thought my glasses were just foggy from the shower......then I thought, oh that can't be right......

I got off the scale, went to my room, put some clothes on & went back to the scale.......

Same number......

"What's the number?!?!?!?!," you are probably asking yourself...

Why 206 is the  number.

And this is me :D

Beaming from ear to ear.

Then this is me D,:

Crying all over the place.

[That is 10 pounds lost in the past 2 weeks!]

I went into the bedroom & Bret woke up to me crying like a baby. I told him & he just held me. He kept saying how proud he was & that I could keep on keepin on. Then I called my mom & she's freakin out cuz I'm crying..then I explain to her why I'm crying & she busts up laughing! She's like, 'Well why are you crying?!?!Bahahahahahaha.'

Of course she congratulated me & told me to keep going.

Now here I sit. In awe of myself. Even if it is "water weight" it is still gone & gone it will stay.

Oh & that photo up there...I think I look the worst in that photo. That was one of the best days of my life. Bret & I got to be VIP's for one of my favorite bands, Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos. We got to hang out with them all afternoon/evening, be up front at the show, go backstage. It was awesome & those guys are so amazingly talented & nice. In fact, next time they are in town I get to meet up with them again & do some haircuts! And let me tell you somethin....Next time those guys roll into DFW, I will be there & I will be thin. This weight is melting off of me & I couldn't be any more excited.

-Ashlie.

What I eat for Lunch! + A little look at Jorge Cruise's Book'The Belly Fat Cure'

A new week! Last week I lost a total of 2.5 pounds! haha. It's not much, but boy does it make me smile when I see the numbers on that scale go down! I have been trying to stick with eating mostly the same thing everyday. It's really hard for me to pick & choose things, I always end up wanting to eat something else(which is usually a bad choice of food.) Here's what I ate for lunch last week, just about everyday. 

-1/2 can tuna in water[drained] with a tiny spoon of mayo, dill pickle relish, shopped onion & chopped apple. [I usually make a big batch of 4 cans of tuna, 1 apple, 2 spoons mayo, relish & half an onion.]

-8-10 strawberries with a packet of Truvia[my life saver!]

-Whole wheat crackers

-& Veggies! [Bret makes them with some butter, salt+pepper & a few other spices, idk.]

Now I know some of you may be thinking 'oh, ,the mayo is killing you,' or 'no butter!' or even the crackers. Let me just say that every person is different. This is a really healthy, balanced lunch that I love love love to eat. If it works for me then that's all that matters!

I went to WalMart & just got a 12 pack of water bottles. I keep half at home & half at work. When they go empty, I just refill them & stick em in the fridge, so they are there & ice cold when I need them. I really don't like to drink room temperature water. Maybe it's just me, but if it's not Ice cold, I don't really like to drink it. [Also, I have drank nothing but water for a whole week now!]

Also to be noted:

I basically follow the Belly Fat Cure eating plans.[Which is why I can have butter & mayo! Also where I get my love for Truvia!] 

I realllly reallllly love this book & recommend it to everyone! 

His big thing is SUGAR. Sugar, sugar, sugar. Most people do not realize that this is probably the main reason as to why you do not lose weight on other diets or eating plans. 

He completely breaks down all the different types of sugars & lets you know what they do to your body. 

All you have to count for this plan is grams of sugar & servings of carbs, all of which he will explain & break down for you in the book. 

One thing that got me completely hooked on this is all the visual examples he gives you. I'm a very visual person, so it helps when I can see all the things I shouldn't eat & all the things I should. 

Here's a few examples of some pages:

Belly Bad VS. Belly Good

 [There is a page like this for everything! Drinks, Baking Ingredients, Snacks, Dairy, even Ice Cream!]

He breaks down how much sugar & how many servings of carbs are in each thing. You will be seriously surprised at the values of some of these items. Even things you think are healthy, ARE NOT.

 Pages & Pages of recipes!

He gives a Belly Bad example, then gives a Belly Good example. Complete with photo & recipe!

Pizza's made on Wheat Pita Bread?!?! I think so! SO YUM.

  

I absolutely love this book. It is sooooo simple to follow & really opens your eyes  to all the hidden dangers in your food. Anyways, I hope this helps! 

-Ashlie

Get Up & Get Walking!

I must say that I am pretty freakin proud of myself today.. :)

This week I have been getting up at 6:30 & going to the park & walking. The first day it was just me & the pups..which was a nightmare! For those of you who don't know my pups, here's a little background info:

They are the sunshine of my life! I love them so much, and am so glad we were able to adopt them when we did & bring them into our home. They have taught me patience. Avery was severely abused before we adopted her in September of 2009. She is terrified of people, and will run and hide whenever anyone comes over. We have taken so much time with her, and she has finally made some progress. Our friends and family that come over regularly know her and she will actually go up to them and not run away.

  And Dexter...oh man is he something. We adopted him in May of 2010. The first week that we had him he was really sick. He was pooping blood and really weak and sleepy all the time. One morning I went to get him out of his kennel & the whole bottom was covered in blood. I took him to the vet & we ended up needing to buy 5 different meds. $300 and a week later, he was better & we got to see his crazy personality. He has some sort of dog autism-not even joking! The vet told us something is definitely not working in his brain the right way. We have had to be very patient with him as he doesn't understand why he gets in trouble when he is being naughty. haha, but I love them to death & our family wouldn't be complete without them.

Now that you know how my dogs are, imagine how it was walking both of them in a place with several new people. of course every time someone would walk pass us going to opposite way, Avery would be running behind & around me almost tripping me to get away from them & Dexter is all happy & interested to see them! Needless to say, that didn't last long. We walked 1.5 miles & I called it quits. But 1.5 miles is a huge accomplishment for me, as I haven't done any form of exercise since before the wedding last year & I haven't walked that far since high school. [Other than when we went to Sedona in July..we did some hiking, but it took me forever!] [Also, when we were in Sedona Bret's Aunt Martha bought us both a pair of the Vibram Five Shoes(seen above)! They are amazing! I love walking in them. They are lightweight & feel like you are barefoot. They are all-terrain. You can  walk on rocks, sticks, stickers, and even wear them in the water! They even work out muscles in your body you didn't know you had because of the toe design, which also helps with balance. I highly recommend them to everyone looking for a good shoe!]

The second day Bret didn't have to work in the morning so he went with us! He walked Avery & I walked Dexter. This time we went on a longer trail & not as many people were on it. Win & win! We walked 2 miles that day. Dexter starts dragging after the first mile, so I didn't want to over-do it for him. He's a small guy & has to walk pretty fast to keep up with us. When we got home he drank a ton of water then passed out at his spot next to my computer chair! Poor guy, he was exhausted! 

Yesterday I didn't walk. I had gotten a splinter in the dead center of my foot a few days ago & yesterday i had a huge knot because my body was trying to push it out. I definitely didn't want to walk far on it!

And today! Today Bret & I went without the pups & walked 4 miles! FOUR MILES! That is huge for me! I feel such a sense of accomplishment & my body couldn't feel any better! When we pulled into the driveway it started raining, so I got out & jumped rope for a minute in it. I was so glad to see & feel the rain! I think I am starting to fall in love with the way I feel when I get done walking. It is good motivation & I know this routine is here to stay! Not to mention it's a great time for Bret & I to talk & have a good long conversation. It's kinda hard to get to talk together lately with both our schedules being off, but now we have this designated time every morning to spend together. I do have to say that he is my biggest supporter! In fact, he is in the kitchen right now cooking up some eggs, wheat toast & a big bowl of strawberries! I love that man of mine. :)

-Ashlie

Day Two

  I am happy to report that I am no longer addicted to caffinated diet soda. My next step will be to wean off diet soda all together.  I just love it and don't feel satisfied by water.....help.....I know that any "diet" drink with aspartamine in it will only make me crave more sugar and is not good for your body. 
    
      I haven't started walking just yet.  I do have a plan though....Next week my youngest starts his football practice in the evening.  I will be dressed to walk and sweat...  I seem to do better when I have a schedule.  Go figure...

     As for my eating plan, ha, for now I haven't decided.  I have been on every plan out there, spent thousands of dollars, and just ended up gaining it all back , plus 10-20 lbs.  I just need to get through this week, and start my walking and then I will decide what to do. 

    -Hollie

Hi, Hello!

We are a mother/daughter team from deep in the heart of Texas! We started this blog as a way of motivation & inspiration for us to get moving & eat healthy. After struggling with weight loss for years & trying every known 'diet' to man, we are seriously ready to get serious about our weight. Our main problem is not being able to stick with a certain diet or eating plan. Now we are holding each other accountable & we are going to make this happen! 

We will be posting not only our own journey/journal entries, but also recipes, inspirational stories, photos, feel good photos and anything else we feel like we should share! Hopefully you will be inspired as much as we are! We would love to hear your stories, recipes, exercise plans, etc. So don't be afraid to comment & say hello! We would love to meet other friends & families who are on the path to melting down their waist size!