There is only 24 hours in a day

Oh Hello! You have probably forgotten who I am by now right? It has been over two months since my last post, although, trust me, I have thought about posting often, time just doesn't allow. 

There has been so much happening the past few months. The weather is finally beautiful and warm so we have been outside a lot. We have been on the go and have no signs of slowing down anytime soon. I have so much stuff on my brain but I will stick to my health in tonight's post. 

Let's go back to April when we had Easter. I did get into some mini chocolates which caused me a bit of a slippery slope for a week or two. Thankfully I didn't gain from that but it did cause me to miss my next weight goal by 0.8 of a pound.

My goal was to get under 200 pounds by May 17 which is when I left for a week in BC. I was SO close that it stung to miss by such a little amount especially when I know that I didn't do my best for two weeks. But it was also hard to be too upset because I had worked really hard and still felt great.

For the past few weeks I have been teetering RIGHT above 200 pounds. I went from 200.8 to 200.4 to 200.2. Last week I was FINALLY under 200 pounds. I weighed in at 198.4!!! I was SUPER excited to see a 1 in front of my weight instead of a 2. 

I do love the summer weather. I have been walking often, still going to the gym 2-3 times a week, playing soccer, on top of all of our house work and gardening. I have been pretty good with my eating, all while still enjoying my summer treats (as I sip my Bud Light Lime beer). This summer I have ventured out into the world of vegetable gardening. I bought all of my vegetables already started and planted them all a few weeks ago. My garden is now in the weeding stage where I have to weed it often. Perhaps I did not prep my soil properly? Next year I will look into some kind of weed killer before starting to plant my vegetables. I bought a lot of plants so hopefully we will have a successful "crop" this year and get some good eats!

So how am I doing it all?! Good question...I wish I knew haha! I have had to really focus on what is important to me. I am very organized so I still do my meal planning and grocery shopping the same as before. I squeeze in my workouts when I can and that includes utilizing our workout program during lunch times some days. On top of eating healthy and exercising I have still been following our automatic body program and taking the Nutrie products. It definitely helps with my energy level that's for sure.

One thing that has been very over whelming to me is trying to make the best health choices for myself and my family (especially my daughter). I am having a very hard time trying to educate myself on things that are natural and good for her. I can't tell you how many hours I spent researching and deciding if I was going to give her cows milk. My over whelming decision right now...sunscreen. There are SO many arguments that say that the chemicals in brand name sunscreens are worse for you than getting hit with the sun. Rylee (like myself) is very fair and would burn easily. I use a natural sunscreen on her BUT that being said with all of the trickery out there on word plays ect how can we know what is actually natural or not?!

It is absolutely exhausting. Part of my wants to just give up and take the easy way out. Part of my thinks "well giving her a chicken breast that is not certified organic is better than giving her kraft dinner". And part of me only wants the best for my family but I don't even know where to begin. I try to pick small changes that we can manage like changing our lunch/food storage containers to glass instead of plastic. But like I said I can't tell you how many hours I researched and seriously stressed over the decision to give her milk or not and that is only ONE small piece of her everyday food consumption. 

Some choices are easy - like juice. We do not give her juice. period. She LOVES, and I mean LOVES water - so why give her juice and make her not like water anymore? The odd time (maybe once a month) she gets diluted juice at daycare which I am totally fine with her having once in a while but it is NOT a daily occurrence. My mom also makes Rylee popsicles out of water with a bit of juice for flavour. So for US the right choice is to not give her juice. I understand that this is not the right choice for every family so as long as you 
have figured out what works for you then more power to you.

The problem today is labels. They are there for you to read but the amount of trickery that goes into the wording is UNREAL. You think that you are getting meat that is "Free Range" yet really Free Range is the NAME OF THE COMPANY that supplies the meat! Same thing with McDonalds 100% real beef. That is the name of the company that sells McDonalds their meat and so they advertise their products as 100% real beef. 

Food has become a huge problem in today's society and I don't even know how or where to begin to find correct, unbiased, non-judging information. 

So I apologize for not having written more posts lately but when it becomes a choice between the blog of fitness - fitness will win everytime ;)

But I don't have time...

How many times have you used this excuse for anything? Yes I said excuse. "But I'm really busy!" you say. I dont doubt that you are but if there is something you really want to accomplish, you will MAKE the time. 

I started back to work a few weeks ago and have a baby that is madly teething right now. I can now understand why it is SO tempting to stop at a drive thru on the way home. But for me my health is worth more than that so I put in extra effort to buy healthy groceries and make healthy meal plans. 

Rylee is doing really well at daycare but hasn't been napping as much as she should. Pair that with waking up earlier than normal and we have one over tired, teething, baby with a nasty case of a teething cold. But I am still managing to get the things done that I need to get done. How you ask? 

For starters it helps that I am very organized. I plan my meals in advance and prep my grocery list too. This helps with that large "chore". Right now my meal plans are very simple with dinners that take less than 20 minutes to prepare and the crockpot has become my best friend. 

I pick out all of Rylee's clothes for the week on Sunday so every morning I just grab that days clothes and we head out the door. 

While Rylee is finishing her supper I pack my lunch for the next day + snacks. By doing this I never have to run to tim hortons or the caf and buy something unhealthy. 

I pick one cleaning item each day to do so that I'm not spending hours cleaning at a time. Because no one has time for that! Haha

I put my workouts in my calendar. I am much more likely to stick to them of I put them in there. For the weeks my hubby is on afternoon shift I workout at home. I also have started taking the stairs at work and looking for extra ways to get activity in! Going for walks at lunch are great mood lifters and help to keep me from wanting an afternoon "pick me up" treat like a donut or chocolate bar.

I use my calendar/schedule and make lists ALL the time. There is no way I could remember everything if I didnt do this step. I also frequently set alarms for myself too to remind me to do something. 

Go easy on yourself and give yourself breaks. When you need a minute to yourself take one!

Pick one thing you want to focus on and start small. Don't try to revamp everything and do too much at once! 

I'm not claiming to know everything and yes I am aware I only have one child who is not involved in activities yet but that doesnt mean I'm not busy too! If it is important to you, you will make the time. 

There are lots of things that I struggle with still and am working to find a balance. Like for example I have no problem getting motivated going to the gym but when the gym isn't an option I find lots of things to do or reasons why I "can't" workout at home. I'm getting better at that though! 

This winter has SUCKED for everyone. We've been cooped up far too long and we are all feeling it! BUT! The snow will soon be melting and then we can get outside and be active in a whole new way again! 

My challenge to you is pick one thing that you want to accomplish. Make a plan, write it down, and start putting it into action TODAY! Not tomorrow! 

One for the money, two for the show

It is a dreary Monday morning here - I am wondering if we will get snow for Christmas this year. I don't think there have been too many Christmas days where we have not gotten snow.

I got to spend a lot of time last week with family and do a lot of reflecting. We had a great time together, and learned just how loved and supported we really are.

Yesterday we had a quiet day. We went to Church then had my mother in law over for some lunch (we/she has gotten so much food lately it has been a blessing to not have to worry about getting groceries). 

I spent much of the day working on expenses, meal plans, and my meal data base. I updated my meal data base with a bunch of new ideas - some we have tried, some we have not. 

As I look forward over the next few months I was trying to get some kind of idea what it might look like. I have just over two months before I return to work and I plan on making the most of it. I also know that once I return something will have to go because there is no way I can do it all, especially with the hours I work. My shift is from 8:45am-4:45pm. Awful hours! By the time I fight my way through traffic I will get to pick up Rylee at 5:30pm and she goes to bed at 7. Let's not forget making and having dinner and getting her bathed and ready for bed. So our evenings are pretty much a write off, especially when Sean is on afternoon shift. 

I have come up with a few tweeks to my current meal planning (which I love because it is super easy and efficient) and also came up with a new recipe organization method.

To be honest I didn't want to use an app in case I don't always stick with apple products. I didn't want to be retyping them again and again. I also don't want to switch to paper because one of my biggest stress causer is already how much paper we use that constantly has to be organized. I will sort and file papers and the next day 20 more will appear and I have no clue where they came from. So I have decided to go with a word document sorting system. I will make a file folder called recipes and then sub folders within that folder. I will have each recipe it's own document and it will be saved as the recipe name so it will be very easy to find.

Yesterday I also went to Wal-Mart (during dinner time so it wasn't busy) and man were the shelves completely picked over. There were SO many empty spots. People will be getting A LOT of tooth brushes, deodorant, travel size items ect. I have never seen a store so empty! I went to get some supplies to make some healthy muffins, and oatmeal bake today.

Today will consist of some cleaning up around the house and some baking to put in the freezer for the next few weeks/months as well as some food planning over the next few days. 

I still want to reach my goal of 25 more pounds down by March 1 - it might be tough now given I have stayed the same the past few weeks but I am going to keep working hard at it and re-assess later if need be. There is nothing wrong with changing your goals as you go along. I am going to be making my list of 2014 goals over the next few days as well!

Have a happy and healthy Christmas everyone!

Just call me Suzy Homemaker!

What a great weekend so far and it's only Saturday!

Friday is the beginning of my week for counting points so for me it is very important to have a solid Friday and Saturday to set my eating tone for the week. For some reason if I use too many of my weekly points on Friday or Saturday I have a hard time staying on track the whole week. Yesterday early morning I went to the grocery store with my meal plan and list and got all my healthy must haves. 

We are in a trade show this weekend with Nutrie and I knew I was going to be there all day -- right across from a cotton candy machine and popcorn booth none the less. So, I planned ahead and packed some of my favorite foods for lunch. This was my food for the day:

We had a lot of fun at the show talking to people and I think the best part was seeing the look of surprise on all of their faces when they tried the protein shake because it actually tastes good! I also had a great time with our other distributors. Check out our booth:

Before I left this morning I put a roast in the crock pot with some veggies then when I got home all I had to do was mix up some gravy and we had a very yummy healthy dinner. So not only did I stay 100% on track yesterday but I also stayed 100% on track today. I think for a treat tonight I will have my fuel heated up like rich hot chocolate. So yummy. 

Tonight we were going to go to a service at our church but Sean's parents just got home from Florida so they are coming over for a visit. Then we are just going to relax before we do it all again tomorrow!

At the trade show we are in there are tables set up by moms selling their used stuff. I went right over there first thing and got Rylee 5 new sleepers for $10, a large story book for $1, and a DVD for $2. Then when we walked around the place I bought her two owl hats that are just too stinking cute to pass up! I will post a picture of them soon! 

Meal planning and grocery shopping

I am writing this post even though it may provoke some intense teasing from people, however, if you know me you really shouldn't be surprised.

When I first started doing meal planning it took me A LONG time to do each one. Honestly, over an hour. But each week it got quicker and quicker to the point where it now takes me just a few minutes. I do two week rotations because I find that groceries are cheaper than doing it once a week and I don't really want to be bothered to grocery shop every week. I do however get fruits and veggies once a week.

I like to be very organized and I like things simple. Especially now that I am grocery shopping with a baby in tow (most times) I like to be efficient. I don't like to go to more than two stores -- I go to a cheaper store like Wal-Mart, No Frills, or Food Basics for the regular stuff and then I go to Superstore or Remark to get my produce as the produce from the other stores doesn't last very long and is not high quality. I don't get everything from Superstore or Remark because it would double my grocery bill. 

So to start I skim the weekly flyers to see what is on sale. If there are items I like then I build them into my menu plan and I also go through my freezer to see what items I already have on hand. The great thing these days is most places ad match so if there is something that I like in one store I can still get it at other stores for the same price. For example, last week I bought a box of chicken burgers at Wal-mart for $4 something even though Wal-mart's price was $10 because they were on sale in the No Frills flyer. When I plan on ad matching something I note the price first and also which flyer it was in so at the store I can check the price there. Sometimes it is just cheaper to buy it without ad matching. I know this sounds like a lot of work but honestly it is very simple -- remember I don't like complicated things!

So once I note what is in the flyers I go through my calendar to check what is on the schedule for each day before I make my menu plan from a template that I have in Excel (I love that program and use it whenever possible). By adding events from the calendar I can plan the meal around what we are doing. If I don't have time to make a full meal I will make a quick one or make a crockpot meal. If I have more time I might make a more in depth dinner. Once I make my meal plan I print out two copies, one for the fridge and one to make my grocery list from. 

When I make my list I have it broken down into sections so that I don't get to the other side of the store and realize that I forgot a produce item that was hiding at the bottom of my list. I cross off each meal one at a time on my spare copy once I have added what I need to my list so I never miss anything. If I don't know if I already have something I put a ? next to it and check before I leave. 

Then when I am at the grocery store I can focus on getting my items and getting out of the store. I have tried using my phone for a grocery list to reduce carrying extra paper but honestly I really like the paper. I have had it happen more than a few times where I have accidentally erased half my list on my phone then have no idea what I needed. By having the paper there is no way to erase part of my list!

I also leave some wiggle room so that I can buy things that are on sale (not necessarily in the flyer) to put in the freezer for a later date. You can also see that on my menu plan Thursday nights are listed as Flex nights. Since I don't always feel like eating what is on the menu that night I can pick a different nights dinner and make it that night instead. Or if we end up eating out on a night that I had already bought the groceries for then they don't go to waste because I will have it Thursday night (hopefully that makes sense).

The other thing I keep (also in excel) is a meal data base. I have different categories of meals and I can mix and match especially when we are looking for some new ideas. I also use a board on Pinterest (can't get enough of that site) so that I can keep new recipe ideas handy. I try to add in one every two weeks. 

Maybe this all makes me a nerd, but hey, I'm okay with that. This makes my life much simpler and it helps me to save a lot of $ that is often wasted at the grocery store. What makes it even more simple is that my breakfast is delivered right to my door, no grocery store needed! If you are going to give it a try remember that it will take some time at the beginning. 

If you want a copy of my menu plans send me an e-mail or inbox message with your e-mail address so I can forward it on to you.  

Until next time!