It's 1-1-11 !!!!

I am not one to start New Year's Resolutions come January 1st. If I'm making a goal I want to start right then. I started this "journey" in July and did great the first 2 months and lost 30lbs. I have since stalled.
So even though this is beginning again on Jan. 1st I am grateful for something new to work towards and motivate me.
At first I thought "oh this will be fun. We will see how far I can go." But the more I thought about it the more I realized I need to shoot to win this thing... and by golly... I think I WILL. hehe
Today we did our New Year's tradition and went swimming. So fun... 29degrees outside and the water was 92degrees inside.
Food today was hard. Breakfast for everyone consited of bacon, sausage, baked french toast, hot chocolate, cream cheese, stuffed french toast filling. I really wanted some bacon, but I did not. I couldn't bare the thoughts of a new challenge and the first day caving. I mean REALLY?! Then came lunch. I needed extra fat, right? So I could have cheese and some bacon on my sandwich, right? REALLY? What was I thinking?! I even got it ready on my plate to warm up and ended up putting it back. Thank goodness.

Breakfast: 2 slices of french toast made with 3 egg whites & 1 egg and a little syrup
Snack: missed cuz swimming
Lunch: sliced turkey sandwich, little mayo, tomato, pickle, onion, lettuce, mustard
Snack: handful of almonds, dehydrated mangos (not much though)
dinner: Applebee's portabella mushroom covered chicken (forgot to order w/o cheese) with double steamed veggies, 1/2 oriental grilled chicken salad w/ a little dressing. I gave the salad chicken to Trey.

I'm finally got use to ordering a little different at restaurants but I am starting to realize... and need to start doing it... asking the smaller things like "what's this sautéed in?" Or like tonight I ordered steamed veggies. Healthy? Not quite. They still add butter to them. Arg. No wonder they taste so good at restaurants verses home. I MUST start asking!
I can't wait to start my new MM items! I get to pick them up on Monday with my mom. I think I will be getting the fish oils, glutamine and carintine.
Well, it's 9pm and one thing I must start doing is going to bed at a good hour. So starting now, I shall.
Note: other things I need to start doing better
]bed on time
measuring & weighing everything
measure water intake
asking for more details at restaurants, if I want to eat out.

Vatican Burpees

As a joke, I made a deal with Danny. The more water she drank the more burpees I would do. I told her I would even do them in front of the Vatican, while in Rome. She didn't believe I would...  
(these were the saddest EVER!)



Just to prove you wrong LOL!
I think my husband was more embarrassed than I. Note the Vatican City police, to the left, watching a stupid tourist make a fool of herself. They were not impressed.
Next time I go, I will knock 20 of these out easily!!

Old Friends, Kidney Infection and Anger

Journal

As I pound the keys, I will tell you that I’m in a pissy mood right now. The kids keep talking.. “mama… this”, “mama… that” and Ryan has started his “why” stage late in life. Why did it have to hit NOW! I don’t even know why I feel like this. I want to punch something including my face. 

I started a kidney infection yesterday. It’s just progressively gotten worse. I want to just sleep and run away but NO!!!! We have to go be “cheerful” and social. I was so excited to go see some of our best friends, R_ & R_, but now I just want to be left alone.

Arg.

Dinner was crappy. I just through something together. We had sushi rolls. The rice was crunchy (I don’t know why because last night it was great) and wasn’t even sticky rice. Where is my sticky rice bag? I had bought 2 different brands of seaweed to try which one is the best. Well, I FOUND OUT! The stupid things fell apart. You couldn’t even roll them without tearing! Stupid things!

I am slacking on so many things right now. My calling is slow right now so I think I am letting other things slide. 

My house is a mess. I can’t vacuum or mop or mow the lawn or trim my trees so I just haven’t cleaned the bathrooms or watered my plants or finished my projects or….

I still have my emergency preparedness stuff to do. I haven’t sent my monthly email out and am stressing that we or the ward are not prepared. St. George even had a earthquake a week or so ago.

Oh, the (kidney) pain! Ouch. It’s not horrible but enough that it throbs and it sucks. I had to text Danny to tell her what’s up. Mark doesn’t think I should go but I am determined to go. I missed my workout today but it’s ok, I hope.

Well, we are here. So time to be “chipper”. BITE ME.

[I am so grateful for great friends. I don't know why I was so worried. I love R_ & R_. I ended up having so much fun. I have missed them. It really cheered me up and encouraged me more to keep going. Thanks guys!]

I started antibiotics and was doing well the next day. The pain was better but I was nauseated. I told Danny she might get me to puke after all. LOL However, I won!

FrEaK OuT

So I wasn't REALLY freaking out I just have to completely understand things.… Well, maybe a little panicking.

My email: [I cut out many items… not wanting to share all her paid secrets :oD ]

So I have some (or rather a lot) of questions. I understood the plan and think after I left just spaced it all because of everything that is going on. :o/

First on Supplements. I went to get some and just stared in wonder. :o) soo…

[When I was given the list of supplements we were hesitant. We are not ones to take them; believing that they are not necessary. However, we would do what she told us and would give them a try. I can now testify to the benefits of them. I can tell the difference and enjoy using them…

     They only help the natural development of the body. Just as a multi - vitamin substitutes that which our body, now-a-days, doesn’t get in foods & the environment like it’s suppose to.. So do the other items aid in what our body needs while working and building it’s muscles.]


*Multivitamin
*EFA/Omega
*Glucosamine
*Glutamine
*Calcium
*L-Carnitine
*Protein Powder

[I grew up laughing and making fun of those who drank weight loss shakes to replace a meal. I thought it was pointless and ridiculous. I NEVER wanted to be that person (of course I never wanted to be fat either haha)…. Never say “never”…. Protein shakes are now my BFF! Haha. I will probably have them the rest of my life! They are my dessert when I am craving something sweet in the evenings. Berries (though they are a carb I would treat myself at times) & chocolate protein shake; blending with a little water so they are thick like a sorbet. Yum. When I’m in a hurry or don’t want ‘meat’ I grab a couple scoops in water. Fast and easy protein. They are WONDERFUL!]

[So many various questions on foods that I sounded scared (I will spare you the details). haha. Recently, she told me how she wasn’t sure I would make it 2 weeks… I proved her wrong, but pray I can continue to prove her right… with her faith in me.]

I don't want you to think in terms of "good/bad" food, or things you "can/can't" eat... This is not a diet, I want to teach you how to eat and choose foods properly 

however, the best way in the beginning is to keep it simple and choose to eat relatively similar meals, at least initially (boring I know, but get use to it, and just use more spices) [soo true!]

Can nuts be substituted for proteins at snack time?

We always think we can get away with this but no. Nuts are FATS but can be substituted for other FATS; avocados, olive oil, flax seed, egg yolks, other oils, other nuts, nut butter

Can I eat any whole grain breads or crackers (no sugar), such as homemade bread & wasa crackers, in place of the rice & Ezekiel muffins, oatmeal, etc?

Yes, IF the carbs and calories are equivalent...  

[Also fruit is a carb. I never thought about that before.]

Diet notes:

[sparing you more info thru here]

Last but not least Meal Plan:

[This has been my life saver… because I understood this I do not feel deprived, bored or controlled in what I eat. I feel like I can go out to eat and understand what I can eat.]

Breakfast- Carb, protein, fat

Snack- carb protein

Lunch- carb pro veggie

Snack- carb pro fat

Dinner- pro fat veggie

Snack- carb fat

[Granted this WOULD change]

[This is what is so nice about hiring Danny. If the plan is not working she can change it to what works for YOU!]

[This is one answer I remember almost daily:]

Can I switch meals around like dinner for lunch or vice versa? or snacks for meals? Still eating all the same food in the day but just in a different order. Or do I need to keep it the same because of how they burn through the day and keeping levels consistent?

Learned nutrient timing is key. 

I guess I want to know my options so that I don't get board. Last night I freaked out [so yes I did freak out lol] because I have found I can't handle having plain chicken breast a lot. The Gag reflex kicks in. :o)

[I thought this was great advice for all:]

You are obviously freaking out.. and I don't want you to think you are giving up on life or anything!! 

You need to trust this process, and you will only be "bored" if you choose to be bored...

I eat chicken nearly every day, but I do NOT have it plain.. ever!!

are you kidding me?! anyone would gag on that!!

It doesn't have to be plain.. be creative, use sauces, marinades, vinegar, mustard, salsa...

cook it different..

I grill mine, boil and shred it like taco meat, put in the crock pot with salsa, bake, chop, use ground chicken, brown it in the pan, etc

OR I trade up the chicken and do turkey, or fish, or scallops, or egg...

DO NOT LET THE FEAR GET THE BEST OF YOU

I found today, a friend who will teach me how to do a bunch of marinades and sauces for the chicken, turkey and fish. All with in my realms. She is the Queen of meat & marinades, so I feel like I will survive and not starve. hehe

Ah see, there's some sense!!

Over all, should I be having so many proteins, veggies, fruits, carbs, & fats in the day? What are my options? 

At this point I was stressing her out, I'm sure Lol. I am soo sorry Danny. Many months later she informed me that she wasn't sure I was going to make it 2 weeks with the way I was 'freakin' out. Haha. I don't blame her.

[To EVERYONE OUT THERE.... this is sooooo true!!!!! YOu may have all the knowledge but you MUST DO IT!!!!!]

like learning how to drive, you can ask all the scenarios, how to get from one place to the next, but to get there, you actually need to just get in the car and go.

Trust trust trust... I will not steer you wrong...

If you eat something and aren't sure, ask...

just begin...

YOU WILL NOT GET IT PERFECT this week.. next week... maybe by the time you have it down, I'm going to change it

Just roll with it;)

Scary stuff, I know.

You have done all you can to get yourself in your current situation... I'm going to help you get out, you just need to do what I ask;)

I rambled on enough here so.. I think that is it.

I will see ya later! I am excited. Oh, Mark asked if I'm ready to get my butt kicked? I said, YEP! Can't wait.

You're not going to kill me though, right? :oD jk Bring it on!

I can't promise anything... (though no one has died yet) be careful what you ask for!

Rachel

First Weigh In

So I did my first weigh in and before pictures. Oh boy. I broke down and wore my sports bra and biker shorts. No one will see them except for Danny, me and whom ever I decide. I am just grateful for digital cameras.

Date	7-5-10
Weight	245 lbs.
Neck	15.5
Chest	46.75
Waist	41.5
Hips	50.25
Upper Arm	17
Lower Arm	13
Thigh	30
Calf	18.5
Skinfold
Bicep	29
Tricep	44
Suprailiac	31
Subscap.	23
Body Fat	40.6%

Choosing our Trainer

Mark & I met Danny on Tuesday. This is what I emailed her later that day.....

Rachel June 29 at 6:53pm

So I am way excited about this. Yea! 

I have to tell you that this morning Mark and I talked and, as usual, we decided we would not make a yes or no decision right then but talk about it and get back to you. He is not one to be pressured into things. 

So we walked out of the office and I asked what he thought. He said, "You know how I told you I wouldn't say yes or no in there? Well, I would have said yes in there." He was very impressed with you and your philosophy, as was I. We think along the same lines as you, that it's not a quick fix. It will take time. Even though we will be going to Italy, that is not the reason for getting a trainer; we planned on it anyway. Italy is just an extra time incentive. :o)

Found a Referral

www.dannyjfitness.com

Rachel June 10 at 9:39am

Hey Danny,

I was referred to you by S__ & N__. I'm looking for a personal trainer, obviously :o). But I was also told I need one who is pt cert. Nickie wasn't sure if you are. I recently hurt my back and found out I have a mildly torn and bulging disc. I wouldn't hesitate doing anything before but now I don't dare do much weights because of the risk factor.

If you are not pt cert., Nickie said that you probably know someone who is. Do you mind referring me to that person?

Thank you so much for your time

Rachel

Though she does not have a physical therapy certificate she trains at a physical therapy studio's facility. She recommended we have a consultation with a therapist, before hand. So we agreed and decided to move forward and "interview" her.