weight – Page 2 – a hippie with a minivan

There's an app for that…

Now that I got an ipod touch for xmas.. I understand the catchphrase so much better.

I used to have a Zune for music, podcasts and videos and a palm for grocery list, recipes, reading etc… but going to a Mac made both of those no longer possible to use.. so this not only replaces both but works so much better…

Wilhelmina is nearing a year it is getting a bit easier to get things done so I am trying to get into more of a routine so that weekends will be less of cleaning and more of family time… I am also ready to get rid of this weight finally and I won’t have another pregnancy to get me off track this time…

So I have downloaded and have been using a few apps that have been helping me out…

One of the apps is called HomeRoutine and it has been a way to get me motivated in the house. I have only been using it for a week but I love it. I customized it for what I want to get done in the day and then I am able to check off the things as I do them… I tried the same system on paper or a dry erase board in the past but it was never as satisfying and never kept me as motivated as this one does. Not only does it have daily routines, but it also has “zones” which are parts of the house that change each week to focus on for 15min each day so that the little jobs that you often forget to do get done…

With weight loss, journaling what I eat has always helped me out. I am happy with the way we eat, but journaling it makes me accountable for portion sizes some days or even makes me realize that I need to eat more others. I tried the “LoseIt” app for journaling and I love it. Not only does it keep me journaling but it comes with a small online community and lots of motivation. Whatever you add into the app is uploaded automatically onto the website (if you choose so) and it is an amazing feeling to get comments when you log a bit of exercise or even a small amount of weight loss… it is so motivating.

Another great app that I found is Home Budget. I have been using Quicken for years but again, with the transition to Mac, it makes it hard and having the numbers always on me, letting me enter expenses right away if I want makes it easier to see where our money is going. With one income, and 6 people, we really need to stick to it…

ibook is great for reading though I miss the automatic scrolling I used to have on my Palm and after a few years of using the same grocery list on the palm, I am starting to get used to using the app that I got for the ipod. I am also slowly entering all my recipes into the “Paprika” app so I can have all my favourite recipes in one place. Another thing that I loved with my Palm.

I have to admit that I might be a hippy in many ways, but technology can not only be helpful, but makes it fun also and it is all in a small enough device that I can stick it into my wallet and always have on me.

Do you have an ipod or iphone? I would love to know you favourite apps too!

Marche dans le Marais…

Right after I wrote my post last week about being discouraged, I went for a walk in a marsh near my home which is also a bird sanctuary. It was a beautiful day, so I got the kids ready and headed out…

I received my new Ergo recently also so it was a perfect opportunity to put Wilhelmina on my back and have my hands and front free for the camera.

I am ashamed to say that I had never been there before, it is a 15 minute drive so I have no excuse, but I will be going back often I hope…

The walk itself is not long at all,and if I didn’t have the boys I would have done it twice at least, but going at their pace and taking tons of pics was really nice.

I saw so many birds but wasn’t able to capture them all… Since coming back from Annie’s I have a new interest in birds, I used to love watching birds but now I want to identify them and learn their calls… and what an amazing place to do so!

(Tree Swallow and Yellow Warblers)

(Great Blue Heron)

It was a lot of fun being out with the kids and just enjoying the walk…

Of course getting a bit of exercise was also great, but because I didn’t feel challenged at all by the walk, I headed out to the pool in the afternoon… I am starting to see a lot of opportunities to help me get fit this summer and a lot of places to discover…

Discouraged…

If you have been reading my blog for a while then you know that I have been struggling with my weight for a long time now… I have always been overweight and I have always felt insecure with the way I look.

Now, is not different.

About ten years ago I was at my highest weight and decided that I would lose it. I went to Weight Watchers and over the course of about 6 months lost 50 lbs. I was feeling great and feeling more confidant and more healthy…

I still had weight to lose but I was on the right track. Of course, life got in the way and I got pregnant, something that I really wanted but of course was not the best for my weight loss. Then came Colin, then Khéna and again I lost a bit of weight but was still about 20 lbs from where I had been before my first pregnancy. I was swimming, I was feeling great bit the summer hit, I went on vacation and fell out of the routine and the weight crept up again.

Now, 3 months after having Wilhelmina, I step on the scale and feel like weeping. I am right back were I started all those years ago.

The more you weigh the less energy you have and the harder it is to get up and get going, and with 4 kids, including a small nursing baby, the timing never seems right.

I need to do it though. I need to do it for myself. I need to do it for my family…

Wilhelmina is most likely our last baby. This time, I am saying to myself that when I lose weight, there will no longer be a pregnancy to throw me off.

So, I making the vow to myself and here publicly. I am going to be using a food journal again… though I won’t go back to weight watchers, the journal I did when I was on it, helped me a lot. It was also what I did last time I lost weight. I am also going to start walking more and go back to swimming again. Hopefully doing those things will help me get back on track and feeling better.

tired and sore but feeling great…

Tonight I made Annie’s vegetable Korma… it was amazing!!!

I ate and then debated with myself for about a min about going to the pool or not (swimming after eating spicy food with cauliflower etc. is not always the best plan)… but I got my things and left…

When I got there I saw a friendly face who gave me a few words of encouragement to get back into things and somehow while we were waiting the conversation turned to homschooling and I found myself needing to explain what it is all about… (he was one of those who had never even heard of it… I have to admit that I was really not in the mood tonight to do that because he was trying to debate me on it…

Anyway… got in the pool and there were two lanes open for laps and it was a bit crowded with about 6 people per lane… but I put my music on, and got into whatever rythm I could with the others and just kept swimming… and after about 20 min some people left and at the 35 min mark I was the only one left in my lane… so I was able to do the last 20 min at a good rythm…

I didn’t do as many laps as I was doing before I broke my routine, and I took a few 1-2 min breaks than I usually did… but I did a lot more than I thought I would be able to do… I really think the music has a lot to do with it… when I am a but tired I tell myself to just finish the song… or I get a song that has a faster beat and I follow that beat for a few laps…

My muscles are a bit sore but I really feel great… I am debating on whether I am going to go again tomorrow (I don’t want to hurt myself) but I won’t be able to go wednesday or thursday…

I’ll see…

It really does feel great though… I need this to be a routine again and knowing that it won’t be to hard to catch up to where I was is encouraging..

well… the intention was there…

So I got ready to go to the pool by getting everything together… made supper so it was ready when Simon got home… ate and then got dressed and left…

Got to the pool to discover that it is March break and there are no lanes for laps…

I really hate this pool sometimes… I know that I haven’t been going much so I shouldn’t complain… but the hours are terrible, the water is cold and often cloudy… there is too much chlorine and and there is always something that catches your eye at the bottom of the pool (how do people lose a tampon???)

If I could go somewhere else I would but this is the only pool in the region (and is 5 min away from me) and the closest pool after is a 45 min drive…

Anyway… I guess I’ll start back next week…