Wrap it up!

Last night I did my second wrap from It Works!  I really am amazed at the results.  It just tightens everything up and I love it!

So far I am down 12lbs.  Losing the weight this time is harder and i imagine every time you yo-yo it gets harder.  I am working out everyday for 30 min either riding my bike, treadmill or stair stepper. 

I feel so much better already I cant even describe it.  You are not doing your body any favors by staying heavy.  Love who you are always but always strive to be healthy.  There is so much crap out there even in the food you buy at the grocery store.  Be mindful of what you put in your cart and read labels.  The closer the food is to being in it's natural state the better it is for you.

I buy organic fruits and veggies.  I can not eat raw non organic anymore as my stomach just can't handle whatever is on or in the regular veggies.  

I don't skip breakfast anymore.  I eat even if I am not super hungry because it really does help you sustain throughout the day and you are not so starving by lunch that you just eat whatever you can get in your mouth.

I have started meditating and deep breathing, your body needs a break from the day and you need to give it that break.  It has done wonders for my anxiety and my sleep.

Here is my progress with my wraps and diet.

After first wrap:

72 hours after first wrap

 2nd wrap

I am very happy with my results if you need to tighten loose skin this is the answer for you and this is the girl!

https://tonedbymichelle.myitworks.com/Home

You can do it remember you're the only person that can!

Love.

V

Recipes!

Healthy Cup Cakes

1 1/3 cups cold water
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
16 ounces angel food cake mix
1 teaspoon vanilla


Directions:

1 Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place paper baking cups in 30 -36 regular sized muffin cups.

2 Beat cake mix, cornstarch, vanilla and water in extra large glass or metal bowl on low speed for 30 seconds; beat on medium speed for 3 minute.

3 Fill cups 2/3-3/4 full of batter. Refrigerate remaining batter while cupcakes are baking.

4Bake 12-20 minutes or until golden brown and cracks feel dry; cool.

5 Frost with your favorite frosting or fruit - I prefer fat free cool whip and cut berries but have also plucked a bit of cake out of the center filled it with strawberry jam and then made a frosting with the jam and powdered sugar.

Anything Goes Stir Fry

1 teaspoon oil
2 bunches green onions
8 ounces chicken, pork, or beef
1 small head cabbage, sliced thin
2 carrots, shredded
1 ¾ cup water
2 packages ramen noodles

Directions:

1. Wash hands with warm water and soap. Wash fresh vegetables before preparing
2. Spray frying pan with vegetable spray or use a nonstick pan. Slice green onion and stir fry with oil. Remove onions from pan and set aside.
3. Slice chicken, beef, or pork in thin slices. Stir fry until done. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
4. Stir fry cabbage and carrots until cabbage wilts, about four minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Add water to pan and bring to a boil. Break up ramen noodles and add to boiling water. Add one flavor packet and discard the other.
6. Cook noodles until soft, about three minutes. Add green onions, cooked meat, and cabbage mixture to the pan and heat through.
7. Serve hot.

Servings:

Makes 6 servings
Cheesy Crunchy Chicken

1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
4 egg whites
½ cup 1% low fat milk
1 ½ cups cornflakes
1 cup shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese*
6 – 3 oz chicken breast filets; cut into strips
Non-stick cooking spray

*Use 2% reduced fat cheese if low fat is not available

Directions:

1. Wash hands with warm water and soap.
2. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
3. In one bowl mix flour with a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. In a second, separate bowl, beat the eggs with milk.
5. In a third separate bowl, crumble the cornflakes and mix with the cheese.
6. Generously coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
7. Dip chicken pieces in flour, then into the egg-wash, then roll in the cheesy-flakes mixture, coating the entire piece of chicken and place on the baking pan.
8. Discard any unused mixes after coating chicken.
9. Bake for 25 minutes, turning halfway through to ensure even browning.
10. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Servings:

Makes 6 servings, 1, 3 oz filet eachCrazy Curly Broccoli Bake

1 ½ cup whole wheat corkscrew pasta, dry
3 cups broccoli, frozen, chopped
1 - 10 ½ ounce canned low-fat cream of broccoli soup, condensed
½ cup skim milk
2 Tablespoons plain bread crumbs
¼ Teaspoon salt-free seasoning blend

Directions:

1. Wash hands with warm water and soap.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions.
4. Place frozen broccoli in large microwave safe and oven proof dish and cook for 2 minutes on HIGH.
5. Coarsely chop cooked broccoli.
6. Mix soup with skim milk, and add to chopped broccoli.
7. Add cooked pasta and mix.
8. Top with bread crumbs and seasoning blend.
9. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through.
10. Serve hot

Servings:

Makes 6 servings.

One day at a time . . .

Breath in, breath out, in, out every day . . . .

I have not had diet soda for 2 weeks just water and tea I have slept better and not had any heart burn at night.  I feel better physically but I am still struggling everyday.

I can't help but notice that everywhere I look there is food.  Every other commercial on TV is a fast food advertisement, driving down the freeway every other billboard has food on it.

It's hard when you are addicted to something that you have to have.  Having to look it in the eye everyday, no where to escape you HAVE to eat.

I get depressed sometimes that I have let it get out of control.  But the only thing I can do is put on my big girl panties and make it better.  You have to forgive yourself, and I am trying to do just that.  But then again I am pretty stubborn.

Tomorrow I will post the recipes I have to get them sorted.  Have a good night my friends stay strong!

10 pounds down

Man this is so hard,  way harder than the first time I was losing weight.  The cravings are bad I think I am hungry when I'm not.  I know I can do it but it's hard I'm older.

That said I have lost 10lbs and I am proud of that.  I also started health supplements and wraps.

Here is what I am using:



If you want to try them, head here!  This is my girl Michelle and she can help you like she has helped me.

https://tonedbymichelle.myitworks.com/Home

I am going to share my first wrap pic with you as terribly embarrassing as it is I want to to see my results after just one wrap:

Before

After

Not a huge change but enough for me to notice and be happy with. 

These wraps are not to make you skinny just to tighten up some not tight things :)

I have been working out and am enjoying aqua aerobics and yoga!  Yoga is HARD!  But it is also very peaceful.  I am working out 60 minutes every other day and 30 minutes on the other days.

I will be posting some new recipes soon I have a yummy healthy cupcake one that is to die for!  Here is a sneak peek!

I will be posting way more often!!!!  So come back everyday!

Love,

V

My 100th 1st step . . . .

Wow the last time I posted on this blog was 1 year ago.  Guess what?  I lost . . . I gained the weight back.  I am ashamed.  I hate this addiction I have to food.

I have been so discouraged, I am so disgusted with myself.  How could I let this happen?  Where is my resolve?  What happened to my can do attitude?

I am pretty sure I ate it . . . along with everything else . . . .

This time it is harder for me to get back to eating healthy and exercising.  Harder then it has ever been.  Each time I try and each time I fail it gets so much harder.

Let me run down a list of things as they are now.

I have almost constant stomach pain, bloating and just general yuck
I have insomnia again
I am sure my blood pressure is higher than it should be
I have no energy
I am once again at the starting line and not at the finish

The journey for me will be long and hard but there are a few things that I still believe:

1. There is no magic pill that will make you skinny
2. There is no surgery that will make (or keep) you thin
3. Eating right is the only way to be healthy
4. Exercise is a key component in your weight loss goals

So I am back to trying hard to get away from too many carbs and portion sizes that are too big.  Once again starting to exercise 30 minutes a day either on my Wii Fit or my treadmill or my bike.

I do not have the motovation right now to do this but I am doing it.  The motivation comes later on, when I wake up in the morning and do not have aches and pains.  When I can eat a meal without feeling sick after.  That is when I will start to get it again.

Right now I have to fake it until I make it.  That's my new motto for this phase of the journey.

It's tough but I'm taking my 100th 1st step again today.

Valinda

Emotions

We blogger buds, I am an emotional wreck right now.  I think the last 6 months has caught up with me, I miss my Uncle Rich a lot, I re-live his last day over and over wanting to feel like the decisions I made were right, wanting to tell him one more time that I love him, that he was never alone that he was special to me.

My mom, I love her no matter what she thinks but it's not enough.  Not enough to fix her or us or anything.  This week I really feel like my heart has been crushed under an insurmountable weight that I can't breath and when I do it hurts.

But, I have not wavered in my resolve to lose weight, I have not eaten my feelings away.  Maybe that's why I am feeling them so much right now because I'm not hiding behind food for comfort.  It's so hard, I want to eat something disgusting and greasy something so full of fat and calories that when I'm done I'll feel like a bloated elephant.

However, I refuse to give in.  I will not let my emotions lead me to that ever again.  Food is not therapy, it is not a friend or a shoulder to cry on.

We eat to live and I no longer live to eat.  I am done with that part of my life.  Putting it behind me for a future filled with bright tomorrows.  If you are reading this please live your life to the fullest that is my prayer for everyone enjoy life it is too short.

Kisses

Valinda

Uncle Rich, My Grump

-2lbs

Well I'm down another 2 pounds which brings my total to 7 pounds lost on this new journey.  Such a small number with a big meaning.  1 sack of potatoes that you buy at the grocery store weights 5lbs, picture that off of my body . . . in that regard 7lbs is a huge number.

I did good today, I walked with a friend at lunch today, drank 2 bottles of water ( i'm working on it) made good food choices and only had one cup of coffee today, which was the hardest part of my day because I love my coffee!  I am italian after all, coffee and pasta sigh . . . . . . . .

Any way I was proud of myself and I am happy to be on he right track again.  I need to build up my stamina again to get back to the exercise I was doing before but I am working on it.

I am no longer snacking at night while I play my Facebook games, when I am snacking it's veggies.

My Dr. will be be happy I am back on track too.  Diabetes runs rampant in my family and the olny way to avoid getting it is to lose weight.  Did you know that if you lose 10% of you total weight no matter how heavy you are that you reduce your risk of developing diabetes by 30%? WOW!!

Also if you add a serving of nuts (except peanuts) to your diet every day it reduces your chances and additional 10%.

Type 2 Diabetes is a man made disease.  We invented it by being lazy, eating crappy processed foods and way too much sugar and sodium.  But you can reverse the effects if you take charge of you diet and weight now!!!!

My dad said something the other day to me and it made me laugh and also made sense to me he said and I quote " When man invented the wheel he invented laziness" yes your mind was just blown . . . .

Until tomorrow

Kisses

Valinda

I might have had a drink or two in the picture . . .

Fun and family!

Hello blog friends!

I had a pretty rough weekend (emotionally) and I ate some pizza, but I still exercised and we went to my brother and sister in laws house on Saturday and hung out at the park with the kids, I didn't exercise as much as everyone else (I was busy playing with Aiden!) but I did get some and it was nice being out in the sun and cool weather.  Thanks Jen for suggesting it!

I have been eating better, money has been really tight but I am hoping that maybe I can get enough money together to buy myself a new treadmill for my birthday.  My treadmill really got me on track last time but due to circumstances out of my control it stopped working.  I think I paid $150 for it at Wal-Mart (no laughing) but I will say that little thing was perfect.  I could move it by myself and I just loved it.

I have an elliptical but I think I need to start on the treadmill and work up to it because it discourages me very fast when I am on it.  So fingers crossed I can figure out the finances for that one!

I cut up some cucumbers tonight, I have been on a chip kick and I am trying to rid myself of it, I realized that I really only wanted the dip!  The chip was just the vessel to my dip obsession so I am using cucumbers instead!  Imagine that!  I get the dip and none of the chip and the vitamins that are in the cucumbers, I do not know why I didn't think of it sooner! (probably because I was stuck in fat land but I digress)

SO I will have some recipes for you later tonight as soon as I wash the dye outta my hair!

Kisses,

Valinda

Yep that's me I haven't hit a softball in years!

Not such a great day . . .

Well eating and exercise wise it was fine but it was a stressful emotional day for me.  I really try hard to treat people with respect and I am always amazed that 80% of people do not return the courtesy.

For someone like me emotions are dangerous to dieting because I am an emotional eater, when I am mad, upset, sad, tired I eat so days like today are really hard for me.  I made it through though without resorting to trying to eat myself better.  For that I am proud!

I feel out of step sometimes, like I have lost myself trying to find myself.  As a child and teenager I was a horrible person.  Selfish, greedy, disrespectful you name it I was it but that was not who I truly was and in my heart I knew that but I could not let anyone push me around, let anyone walk on me because weakness back then meant torment for me and my brother and sister.  I had to be strong and make sure they didn't get pushed around so I did everything I thought I should do to be tough even though hurting people hurt me too.

But then something happened, I realized that if I didn't change my life I would end up like so many people I knew, a drug addict, and alcoholic in jail that's where I was headed so I decided that leaving New York was the only way to change.  I needed to go somewhere that I could start over, be the person I was inside without all the baggage of reputations and pretensions to keep up.

So I found myself in Arizona, not know anyone including my family here and at first it was difficult, so I ate because I hurt and was still very angry inside.  So I slowly started to build a life out of nothing, my husband saved me, showed me that I could be loved for who I am not who I was.  He put up with so much to be with me because back then I was pretty messed up but he stuck by me and slowly showed me that I was worth something.

My Aunt and my cousin ( you know who you are ) were also there for me in some of my troubling times, I know they didn't like me all the time but I knew they loved me and I had no idea what to do with that. . .

So anyway I digress, I guess I needed to get that out because wow I was not expecting to write all of that but I'm glad I did because this is the root of my eating disorder.

Thanks for hanging in there if you read this whole post lol tomorrow I will be more productive but for tonight thanks for listening, I needed that.

Kisses,

Valinda

Tuna and a Bike Ride

Good evening friends!  Today for dinner I had tuna on wheat toasted in my convection oven and it was AWESOME!  After 3 days I already feel better.   My stomach aches are almost gone now where I was having them every night.  The heartburn is gone too.

Just the little bit of exercise I am doing is making a huge difference.  Getting your heart pumping, your legs moving and lets be honest here who has better weather than Arizona right now amirite??  76 degrees when I left the house for my ride!

So I'm feeling encouraged, I have done really well sticking to my "new" old eating plan and am feeling full after my meals.  Drinking water, slowly it's hard getting back on that one but I determined to do it.

I will revel in my small accomplishments and  enjoy my baby steps for now.

What about you?  Share your accomplishments in the comments so we can all hoot and hollar over the great things you have done!

My posts will become more useful, I intend to go over how to read a nutrition label and speak about the dreaded carb choices, portion sizes and veggies I need to go back to my nutrutionist this week so she can make sure what I am saying is correct!  Till tomorrow or later tonight!

Kisses

Valinda

This was where I was last year this month :(