A Load a Day

Have you ever heard of the Flylady? She's a Southern lady who developed systems over time to help her keep her housekeeping from becoming overwhelming. She breaks down what could be all day chores into manageable daily tasks that usually only take between 2-15 minutes to complete. I subscribe to all of her emails, but hardly ever read or follow them...but when I do, they are inspirational and helpful. And her website is wonderful...a real lifesaver (if one would follow its tenants...which I typically don't).

One thing she says is, "A load a day keeps Mt. Washmore away!" Now, if this isn't a Mt. Washmore, I don't know what is?

(notice the pile is taller than the dryer!)

These aren't dirty...they're all clean. I may do a load a day, but I RARELY fold and put them away. This is a learned habit from childhood. We did laundry this way at our house (I think I've mentioned this before). And on school days, still half asleep, we would go rummaging through the clean clothes pile looking for something to wear...usually the clothes were all wadded up and wrinkled. But, that's what we did. And I still do it this to this day, and I hate it. I love going to the closet and pulling out a shirt or a pair of pants neatly hanging on a hanger.

I even have them waiting here to hang up clothes as they come out of the dryer.

Or go to a drawer to find neatly folded socks and underwear a plenty! I know it takes a little bit of work to actually reap the benefits, but I'm just not in the habit of doing a load and folding and putting it away right out of the dryer. Another SAHMBIE habit that needs to be dealt with!

So, tonight, I'm going to haul all of the clothes out of the laundry room and spend a good 2-3 hours folding them while watching TV...another old family habit. At least Dancing With the Stars is on tonight (Kate free thank goodness)!

I'll let you know how it goes!

Day 7: A Day of Rest.......

I decided not to count points today either. I'm not sure how that will play out with regards to those 3lbs I lost. I hope I didn't gain them all back this weekend, but I'm not going to weigh in again until next Friday...so I'll have to wait until then to find out!

I will say that this weekend I've felt sort of GROSS, ya know? That feeling you have when you've just eaten a lot of junk and you just feel yucky? I have felt much cleaner and lighter this week eating smaller more balanced meals and fresh fruits and veggies. So, I may just continue with the plan on the weekends too. We'll see. Now if only I would add a little exercise in, I'd be on top of the world!!!! LOL

Say a prayer for me this week...I'll keep you updated.

Day 6...and a break!!!

Today I went out of town to sing in a wedding. Of course by the time the reception rolled around I was STARVING! So I ate some of the reception food...sweet and sour meatballs, chips and dip, chicken and pineapple kabob, tiny quiche. Trying to figure points out for all that just seemed silly, so I just decided that today would be my off day...but tomorrow might be too. Can you take off two days on Weight Watchers? But the truth is, on Sunday's I never eat a lot...usually just one meal. So I may still stay under my points. But today, I'm not even gonna bother. I ate mostly junk today. It's no wonder truckers are some of the most unhealthy people in the country! It's just too easy to swing by the gas station and pick up a bag of powdered doughnuts and Funyons for the road.

On a good note...drumroll please~~~~~~~~~~~~~I lost 3 pounds this week!!!! YAY!!!!

Let's hope I don't gain them all back this weekend! I'll let you know.

Day 5 and Still Alive!!!!

Goal 29-34!!!! I messed up the points. This is what a really get, not 39-44. Ooopsie! LOL But looking back over the week I saw that I was still in range every day except two.

Breakfast: none

Snack: none

Lunch: (Ate out at a Mexican restaurant w/ my hubby) Chicken Taquitos w. rice (I only ate half of it) 10points, chips and salsa 7points, water w. lemon and Diet Coke

Snack: Special K snack bar 2points, 2 KFC chicken legs, 6points

Dinner: Healthy Choice Dinner 4points, Diet Coke

Snack: beef jerky 2points, Smart Ones Dessert 3points

Total: 34!!!! YAY! I made some poor choices today, but still didn't overdo it!

Exercise:none (this is soooo hard to do)

Day 4: A Slip Up, But On Point....

Goal 39-44points

I said in the title that I had a slip up because I just HAD to have a sausage biscuit this morning. Our Arby's serves breakfast and I prefer theirs because it's not so greasy, but it still uses up a lot of points. In addition to that, I had a McDonald's hashbrown and a large orange juice. That one breakfast took up nearly half of my days points. But the thing is, after I ate it, I felt so yucky and full that I couldn't even fathom having lunch. But mid afternoon, I did have half a brownie leftover from yesterday. Then, when I was making my hubby some home made french fries, I had, well, several. So, eating that fried food wasn't so great either. So, I'm not extremely proud of today's food choices, but by the mid afternoon, I got it together.

And I don't know what I'd do without Dottie's Weight Loss Zone?! It is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to do the Weight Watcher's plan.

Breakfast: Arby's sausage biscuit, 11points McDonald's hashbrown 3points, large orange juice 5points

Snack: bottle of water

Lunch: Diet Coke

Snack: 1/2 brownie 2points, Slim Fast Shake 3points, Weight Watchers Ice Cream 2points

Dinner: Healthy Choice Dinner 6points, Fried Potatoes 4points

Snack: 2 strips beef jerky 2points

Total: 38points STILL CAME UNDER!!!!

Exercise: raked the yard- 20 minutes

Day 3: Plugging Away and Loving It!!!

Goal 39-44 points

Breakfast: 1/2 an English muffin, 1 tsp. butter and one egg, 5points, Diet Coke

Snack: 4 small slices of cantelope (about a cup) 1point

Lunch: Healthy Choice entree 6points, bottle of water

Snack: Weight Watchers Ice Cream Bar (delish!) 2points, 1 brownie 5points (made 3 dozen for church...had to sneak at least one for myself! LOL But 5 points for one? Sheesh!), bottle of water

Dinner: Frozen Entree 6points, Diet Coke

Snack: 1 McDonald's Chicken nugget 1point, Small Coke 3points

Exercise: none

Total: 29points!!!! What the heck??? I'm not coming any where close to my allotted points! After I ate dinner, I actually felt STUFFED and couldn't have eaten another thing if I tried. And the only reason I took a bite or two of chicken nuggets (3 hours later) was because I was biting them in half for my daughter. I haven't been a bit hungry so far, which is great. And I'm still LOVING not cooking. Like I said, I am making simple dinners for my hubby and baby, but am not cooking big family meals. Eating these frozen dinners is helping me keep portions and fat and calories in check. And oh my gosh! They taste AMAZING! It's actually EASY to eat this way. I think I'm liking it...I think I could stick with this for a long period of time ya'll. Say a prayer!

Day 2 and Doing Great!!!

Goal 39-44 points

Breakfast: Special K Cereal w/Strawberries & 1 cup of skim milk, 6points

Snack: none

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chicken Spinach and Mushroom Panini (divine!) 6points, garden salad w/lite rasberry vinaigrette 2points, Diet Coke

Snack: Slim Fast Shake 3points, Cream cheese and crackers 6points

Dinner: Frozen Entree 4points, baked potato with Brummel and Brown butter 6points

Snack: Smart Ones Strawberry Shortcake 4points

Exercise: Walking 20 minutes

Total Points: 37! I did it again! I came under 39 again today. I'm finding that around mid afternoon, I've only used like half my points and need a whole lot more, so I start trying to add snacks to accumulate points. I'm not eating just to be eating though...I do feel a little hungry....so I eat!

And can I just say that I'm totally loving not cooking. Tonight, my hubby even made his own dinner...burgers on the grill. It's working well so far.

The First Day Went Pretty Well

Goal: 39-44 points

Remember, I'm doing a faux Nutrisystem thing, but am following the Weight Watchers points system to keep myself of track. I lost the little slider thingy that tells you what your points are according to the calories, fat and dietary fiber on the Nutrition Facts on the packaging. But I found the same counter online here! I'm so thankful for this ya'll! I've been using it all day!


Breakfast: First thing this morning, I actually forgot I was on this diet, and just out of habit picked up a a few pieces of this "cookie pizza" dessert thingy at my Bible study group. It was good, but about 4 small squares later, I realized I was counting points...yikes! It's funny how our habits are so ingrained that they take over even after we've resolved to do something completely different. Anyway, I had a few small squares of that dessert and a diet coke, so I'm going to count it as 6 points.

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Pizza (it was good!) 7 points, Diet Coke

Snack: Special K Chocolate snack bar 2points, 1/2 cup baby carrots 0 points, bottle of water

Snack: Slim Fast Shake 3 points

Dinner: 1/2 cup packaged chicken and broccoli noodles 3 points, Healthy Choice Meal
6 points, Diet Coke

Snack: Smart ones Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dessert (OMtotheGosh!!!!!! THESE ARE HEAVEN!!!!) 3 points

Exercise: none...the day just got away from me...but that's no excuse!

Point total: 30!!! Wow! I didn't even come close to the conservative side of my point allotment of 39. Yay me!!!! And I wasn't even hungry today. A success!

My Pretend Nutrisystem Plan

I went grocery shopping today and am happy to say that my fridge is all stocked up with fresh fruits and veggies, Slim Fast shakes, bottled water and Diet Cokes. My freezer is packed to the hilt with frozen entrees and my pantry is full of low fat snacks and healthy breads. There's no way I can fail this week (unless I decide in a panic to hop in my car and make a run for the nearest KFC! LOL)!

I know a lot of you probably disagree with my "pretend Nutrisystem" plan and with purchasing all these "diet foods." But in all honesty, I'm just tired of trying to figure it all out right now. I don't want to measure or count or THINK! Trust me, I have educated myself over the years on nutrition and fitness. I'm no expert, but I'm no dummy either. I know I could cook all this stuff myself and probably save some money in the process. But I just don't want to right now. I'm trying to make this as easy as possible so I can hopefully get in the habit of eating small portions and lighter meals. And what could be easier than popping a low fat dinner in the microwave, preparing a nice green salad in those 3 minutes and cracking open a bottle of water? Um, not much! LOL I mean, these folks have done all the counting, measuring and even the cooking for me, all I have to do is follow it for a consistent amount of time and I should lose weight. So, I'm giving this a week, and if I like it, I'll do it another week and maybe another and another.

There's probably like 20 frozen dinners in there.

Have you ever had these Smart Ones Desserts??? They're AMAZING!!! I'd rather have one of these than a big tub of Ben and Jerry's! Seriously!

Lots of drinks.....

Lots of fruits and veggies...still in the grocery bags. Yeah...I'm not very organized.

Whole grain bread and Special K with Strawberries (I LOVE that cereal!)

In other news, I mentioned in yesterday's post that I'm making some strides in my housekeeping efforts. I'm trying to get little things done here and there and am doing a little bit of multitasking to complete different tasks. Everyone says it, but doing a little bit at a time, doing your work in small, manageable blocks, really does work. I'm doing better. Not super great, but better.

I'll keep you updated this week.

Come Hell or High Water!!!

I'm going to make a plan and stick to it! I'm setting a couple of diet and exercise goals this week and failure is not an option!!! I'm gonna give this a week to see how it goes. If I don't like the plan, then I'll tweak it, but I will do this for 6 days...no matter what.

Let me start off by giving ya'll a little update because I've been totally blowing my journaling efforts. We're 4 months into this thing and weight wise, I'm exactly where I was when I started on January one. Exercise...nada. Housekeeping...some improvement. Personal hygiene (teeth brushing, hair combing, getting dressed, taking a shower)...a GREAT improvement. Meeting personal interest and business goals...Great improvement. A light at the end of the sahmbie tunnel? Yes, definitely! We're not out of the woods yet, but January 2011 is still a ways away, and I'm not giving up without a fight!!!! I'm feeling good about some things that were bringing me down, and my attitude is sooooo much better. I feel your prayers!

Ok, on to the diet plan for the week.

I'm pretending to be on the Nutrisystem plan!!! LOL Sans the expensive start up costs! I had a close friend who did Nutrisystem for a little while with some success, but said that you didn't get as much food as you would think. You still have to provide your own fresh fruits and veggies and some bread products. So, I thought, I'm gonna pretend that my fridge is stocked with special prepackaged meals and snacks that I paid an arm and a leg for and restrict myself to eating those for a week! But instead of having a nutritionist put all this together for me, I'm going to use the Weight Watchers point system to keep myself on track. Brilliant plan huh?

For breakfast- I'm going to eat an egg and whole wheat toast w/ a little Brummel and Brown or a Slim Fast Shake

Midmorning Snack-piece of fresh fruit

Lunch-Small garden salad and a Smart One or Lean Cuisine Meal

Midafternoon Snack-Not sure

Dinner-Small garden salad and a Smart One or Lean Cuisine Meal

Evening Snack-Air popped popcorn (old school...like my grandmother used to make! LOL)

Exercise-30 minutes of something...walking, stationary bike, aerobics DVD

The reason I'm doing my pretend Nutrisystem diet and buying a lot of prepackaged stuff is because these people have done the work for us. I mean, Slim Fasts are protein shakes with lots of vitamins and minerals, those prepackaged frozen dinners are low in fat, low in calories, balanced meals (I love this because I HATE figuring out all that mess) and of course, adding in fresh fruits and vegetables is just good for you and filling.

This time next week, I'll let you know how it all went down and how much I spent on the food.

I'm ready!!!!

A pic of me taking a pic of myself. LOL Oh my...I'm looking more and more like my mom!