No Summer Bucket List for US

Summer! Summer! We have been off of school for two weeks and some how our schedule has been full. I think that is my fault because I plan, plan and plan. I need to make things more simple. It is not necessary to be on the go all the time to have a good time. Whirlwind does not equal fun. So I had a moment where I had to take a step back and slow us down.

My plan is to have a playdate once or twice a week. Yes, this is slower for us. We generally have a very busy summer. My Monkey and I came up with a list of things to do. I will be mindful of not doing the same ole thing over and over. I decided not to do a summer bucket list because I feel stressed to get it all done in the next 8 weeks. We are going to try new activities that we are looking forward to watching a movie outdoors hosted by our community and feeding the squirrels in a park. We use to do that all that time so we're bringing back an oldie. I feel calmer I removed the "must have  4 playdates a week to have fun" mindset. When my boy was younger, I'd just invite whoever I wanted to hang with us. Now my Monkey has an opinion and he tells me who he'd like to play with. Rightfully so.

This summer I'm about keeping it simple. Make this summer what you want it to be. Slow down. The school year is so busy, it's time to exhale and take a step back. I'm so glad I saw this for myself. I am looking forward to a calm non-whirlwind summer.

Having four playdates a week is not what makes me a good mom.

My Meals and Snacks 6/9

This past week I shared what I ate on Facebook so I thought to put it all in one place with pictures and a little more information. I lost 2 lbs. this week! I swam or did water aerobics 4 times this week and drank 8 glasses of water each day. I am ready for week 2!

Breakfast: Oatmeal 

Lunch: Bean, taco meat (turkey), tomato and salsa burrito on a whole wheat tortilla. 

Snack: Fruit cup with grapes, strawberries and mango. 

Snack: Pretzels

Dinner: Sauteed Broccoli, breakfast turkey sausage and two over-medium eggs. 

Breakfast: Oatmeal pancake topped with yogurt and strawberries

Snack: Almond and a fruit cup with yogurt

Lunch: A spring mix salad with red bell peppers, onions, cucumbers with ranch dressing and grilled chicken

Dinner: Breakfast turkey sausage with sautéed cauliflower and broccoli topped with over- medium eggs

Skinny latte 

I woke up wanting lots of donuts, so I chose my pancake shortcake breakfast and it was so satisfying. Then at lunch I wanted one of those convenient store pizza then I said no, so I made my own. I love fruit and veggie juice as a snack. Roasted chicken with sautéed cauliflower, jicama and broccoli was dinner. This day was a hard day, I want bad food and lots of it. I beat my food monsters! 

 I grabbed a breakfast sandwich at a gasoline station because that's what happens when I choose sleep. Those calories were so high, I ate half of it. It was so good though, I made sure to smash it in the trash bag so I wouldn't go back for more. Sushi from Sprouts was for lunch. Snack was mango and almonds. Dinner was roasted chicken and jicama. 

This was my menu Sunday.  I started the day with oatmeal and a mocha. Lunch was sautéed spinach and grilled chicken. I like to sauté the spinach with olive oil, salt and pepper. The chicken was so yummy, I had it again for dinner with Zoodles! Have you had Zoodles? It's "noodles" made with a super awesome kitchen gadget. I like to sauté them and even add minced garlic too. 

That's my week. I am happy to answer any questions. I'd love to hear what is on your menu this coming week. 

My Fave Survival Snacks

After many years of eating poorly, I knew to be successful in weight loss it was a must to eat foods that I loved. I have tried in the past to lose weight and I did not stick to it because my diet was so restrictive. Not only am I loosing weight, I am learning to live in our world of food. There's food every where, it is up to me how I react to it. This time around I wanted to learn to be around food and eat in moderation. I eat what I love and I don't shove any thing down just because it's healthy. One of the things that makes me have good days are my snacks. I eat a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. I never skip them. I will share my latest fave snacks through pictures.  I like the variety of food in my lifestyle.

Here are the snacks that I am enjoying right now:

Kale chips are so satisfying. 

Jicama! I love it in salads, fruit salads, use it as a dipper or even just with salt and lemon juice. 

 I love juicing spinach, carrots and fruits I have available. I also love to eat fruit such as grapes, mangoes, strawberries and blueberries!

As I eat cleaner I have not let go of these delicious crunchy snack. Snap Crisps are my replacement for Hot Cheetos. 

I really love Edamame, but frozen is even better. They are crunchy and have a waxy texture that is so different in a good way. 

Oh I can eat these with hummus or just alone. Pop them like candy! Their flavor is sweet and fresh. 

These are my latest snack attacks. I also love nuts, parmesan cheese, and veggies dipped in hummus!

Eat what you love to be successful. I like to eat every two hours to keep the food monsters away. 

April: Down 5 lbs & Wore a Dress

Here we are at the end of April I have lost 5 pounds I have plenty to celebrate. I know I lost inches too, because my clothes fit way differently. Although I ate badly often on the first two weeks of April, I dedicated myself the last two weeks. I am thankful for several non-scale victories, size 16 jeans and I discovered a new workout, power walking.



I am down 56lbs! I started off at 270 pounds a size 26/28 and now I am size 16 jeans and XXL shirts. My birthday is July 2nd, my goal is to be 205 by then. That will be magical. Once I hit 180, I will decide what my final weight will be

Easter Dress- feeling on top of the world! My first dress since my wedding dress 16 years ago. 

 270 lbs.

270 lbs. 

Fashion is fun again! My Monkey loves to lock his hands and squeeze me!

Easter- I Won

I stomped Easter food. I focused on the reason for the holiday and rejoiced with my boys. Food was not a highlight of this holiday like it has been in the past. I did not plan on cooking a ham, but my Monkey requested a ham and mash potatoes and I threw in some peas. Since it was important for him to have a holiday meal I thought to make it just for him. Who knew there was a 2 lb. ham in the store? I didn't want it to last all week so I decided to make a little one. I only made 3 potatoes for the mash. There was no dessert either.

This was my Easter dinner. It was still 1,000 calories. It was a treat to have mash potatoes made with butter. Oh, man still so good. My boy absolutely loved it. 

I wore my first dress since my wedding dress 16 years ago. I felt ca-ute! My first leggings ever! I'm not sure where my Monkey got that tough pose. He is full of personality.
I must add that Spanx is all that and a bag of kale. It is so true that it holds us together. Wow! 

In order to count down on the amount of candy my boy got this year, I added $10 worth of quarters. The Boss and I wrote him little love notes and added those too. He was beyond excited and didn't even ask about candy! Big win! 

That evening we went for a walk with Chingon, our gangster boxer. A walk on a holiday? Who are these people. A family who is fighting to be healthy. 

So proud that I conquered Easter food. Thinking back to the past, I would have eaten a mountain of carbs and 4 different kinds of pie. I do not miss it. I'm being honest with you. Wearing a dress and feeling good about myself beats any piece of pie. Boom! 

I Use to be Chunky, Now I'm Obese, Trying to Get Back to Chunky, For Now

I am obese. Sure the first time I saw the chart at the doctor's office, it was hurtful. I have not always been fat. Growing up I was chunky. I was never skinny. In high school, I was a size 9/10 and weight 160. I remember my oldest sister telling me I needed to lose 20 pounds. Of course, I asked so she told me. I never lost the 20 pounds.

Prom 1994

After getting married in 1998, I gradually gained 100 pounds. The 16 year old girl in me would roll her eyes and say "as if".  I tried Weight Watchers over the years. Once I lost 15 pounds in 2003 along with my husband. I had such a bad attitude and I just did not want to eat healthy. I clearly remember fighting with my husband because I wanted a cheeseburger and fries for dinner and he wanted to eat our healthy dinner.  I went back to my bad eating habits and it came back quick. Exercise was never  something I did for more than a few days. I always thought "It's just not me".  During my pregnancy I lost 30 lbs because my appetite was much smaller then I was use to. I was shocked I could only eat half a cheeseburger. That's nuts.  I remember one day, I was driving and I did not recognize my arms. It was such a odd moment. I had my son and I weighed 200 pounds. It was odd to have a body 30 pounds lighter because I didn't feel nor see it until I had my boy. I look at pictures now and I do not recognize the girl in the pictures. I have not seen 200 lbs on the scale in 8 years. I could fit into a extra large for about a minute. I gained the weight back and stayed the same for years from 230 to 240. Often I tried to eat healthy and it would only last 3 to 4 days. I lacked motivation and courage to get healthy. I hated what I was eating and I would be monster mad. I gained an extra 20 pounds all of a sudden. My back hurt constantly and I felt like it could give out any minute. I hated to bend over and used my toes to pick up things. Yep, I just said that. It's true. I also suffered from chronic leg pain since I was 6 years old. I knew weight loss would ease my back and leg pain.

weighed 270

During the summer of 2012, I swam every day for 30 minutes. I love to swim. I thought why not change my eating habits just a little. I didn't do any thing drastic. I just kept track of my calories on My Fitness Pal and I stopped eating a 4th meal. The swimming was a great calorie burner. By the end of the summer, I was at 240. I could not tell in my clothes nor how I felt. Although, the scale said I had lost 20 lbs I didn't feel good about it. Several times I tried to eat healthy following that summer. For me that's on Mondays. You know the day for new beginnings. By Thursday I was done. When motivation struck I would loose 5 lbs and get down to 235. I would be so happy I would celebrate with food and the 5 pounds came back quick. I did this for months.

weighed 270

My leg pain was unbearable. I could not sit nor stand without hurting. I had had enough. September of this year was my time to push full force ahead. I am getting older and knew age was not on my side any longer.
I walked five times a week starting on September 16, 2013. It was the first time I exercised consistently. It felt so good to get out and walk. Feels like it wasn't even me. I don't exercise. Who's this person. By the end of that month I had lost 5 pounds. This is it. I had to face it and fight not to gain the five pounds I lost. The weekends are the worse for me. I loose motivation because I feel like it's the weekend and it's party time. I had to be strong and tell myself "fun is not food". Monday came around and I kept the 5 pounds off! I felt like a winner and knew I could keep on. My winner strut was on.  I set a goal of 10 pounds for October and I have lost 3 lbs so far. I have now lost 28 lbs. My leg and back pain are gone! I actually bend over to pick up things. ;) Now that I have lost 28 lbs, I feel it in my clothes. It feels great to see the changes. I'm ready to see more. I will push down the cupcake voices and win.

This week I started Couch to 5K. It's hard and it burns. I push through and keep my eyes on the prize. A life without limitations.

weigh 239



Stay tune because I am not done yet and I want to share it with you!

P.S. I've never shared my numbers with anyone other than my husband and sister. Yep, I weigh as much as a linebacker. I'm determine to change that number.

New Jean Size!

Still fighting to lose more
Down 52 lbs!

I have dropped a jean size! I am now in a size 16.  I did that. I accomplish that. It's unbelievable to me that yes that's me in the reflection in the glass freezer door at the grocery store. I like this new girl, I really do. Even if she still struggles with her food monsters. Some times they win, more often I win. I'm pressing the restart button again, but that's okay as long as I get back on. I had a good food day today and I will finish the week strong.

I have not been this size in 12 years. It's all very exciting and saddening too. It makes me sad I did not start sooner. It was just not my time to do it and I was not ready and I just did not want to. I had no desire. I will just take this moment to be happy and proud of what I have accomplished. I struggle some days more than others, but I am winning in the end.

Here's to size 14. I'm fighting, punching and high kicking my way there!

I weighed 270 in this picture