The Fountain of Death

When we moved into our house we discovered that the previous owners had left a few "gifts" behind for us. Some were pleasant: mirrors, floating shelves and curtains. While others were, shall we say, pretty crappy. No, I mean, literally crappy. When we viewed the house in December, the backyard was covered in snow so we had no idea until the snow melted that the entire backyard was littered with mounds and mounds of dog feces! They must have had four dogs or one really big mother...you know what I mean...to leave that much crap laying around. Ken spent two hours one Saturday raking it up and only managed to clean 1/4 of the yard. I have to give Ken some big props though because the next Saturday he spent nearly the entire day in the backyard and cleaned it up so nicely. So now we are poop free but have yet to be rid of the giant yellow grass spots left behind by copious amounts of dog urine. I'm sure in another year...or two the grass will be back to normal, but in the mean time, things are a little patchy.

The other thing that the previous owners left behind was a giant lion-head fountain in the front entryway. Yes, you heard me - GIANT LION HEAD FOUNTAIN! This thing is the bane of my existence. At first it was a quirky novelty. We would turn on the "scary" (Russell didn't seem to enjoy the lion head) fountain to surprise guests. Ken, especially, got a kick out of filling it up and turning it on for special occasions. However, my relationship with the fountain soon turned sour when a certain little person decided it was a fun new toy (after he quickly overcame his fear of the monster). Now everything goes in the fountain: running shoes, PB & J sandwiches, hands, feet, sippy cups, cousins and diapers. It drives me nuts! This concrete, tacky, monstrosity has to go...and soon...or I will not be a happy camper. Cross your fingers for me that it will be gone by this weekend. Then all I'll have to deal with is a giant hole in the wall. No biggy.

-J

Wrench in the Works

I was doing so well...until the the weekend when I attended a wedding in Edmonton. Then my family was staying at my house until this morning and it was difficult to find healthy, cost effective meals to feed seven kids and seven adults. Boo! Skip to this morning when I stepped onto the scale - it wasn't a pretty sight. In two weeks I have only lost 4 lbs. On Wednesday when I weighed myself, it read that I had lost 6! How can you gain 2 lbs in one weekend?? I am hoping that some of it is water weight and that when I go back to the grindstone...I mean healthy routine and start drinking lots of water again that it will go back down...haha. Let's hope so!

The wedding was beautiful though and I'm so happy we were able to attend. My cousin, Stacey, made one gorgeous bride!

Congratulations Stacey and Ken! You two are going to have a fantastic life together!

-J

Quinoa For Breakfast?

Before you shake your head at me, you should try this recipe. It's healthy (the Quinoa is a good source of protein and amino acids), tastes great and can be adapted to suit your tastes. This is the way I ate it:

1/2 c. cooked Quinoa

1/4 c. soy milk (or less depending on how think you like things)

1 Tbsp Agave Nectar (or brown sugar)

1 Tbsp Flax seed

1/2 Apple diced

1 tsp cinnamon

Heat everything up in a pot on the stove until the apples are soft and that's it: breakfast! Feel free to tweak the amounts and the type of fruit you use. It would also taste delicious with a splash of vanilla instead of cinnamon and blueberries instead of apples. It's up to you.

-J

Do the Math

The basic tenants of weight loss are to burn more energy than you consume. But how do you know if you are burning more? The calculation to see how much energy you burn in a day without any exercise (otherwise known as your basal metabolic rate or BMR) in women can be found by doing this simple calculation: 655 + (4.35 x weight in lbs) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years). That seems complicated but it's really not. Remember, calculate the brackets first! I punched the numbers and my BMR came out to 1744.1. Therefore, in theory, to lose weight I need to consume less than that in a day. According to all the sites I googled, in order to lose a pound, you need to burn 3500 calories a week or 500 calories per day. So in order to lose 2.5 lbs/week, I need to consume 500 calories less than normal and burn 700 calories a day through exercise, that is, if I'm doing the math right but math was never my strong suit so hopefully this all makes sense. Currently I am eating a 1500 calorie/day diet; however, it seems that since my BMR is approx. 1740 that I really need to be consuming a 1240 calorie (500 calories less than what I need) diet in order to lose 1lb. That doesn't seem like enough food to me but maybe that's because I love food! Perhaps I should up the ante in my exercise so that I can keep my food calories? Hmmm...I'm not sure. What has worked for you guys?

-J

At a loss

I've been noticing lately that my pants have been fitting a little more snugly and my face has become more round...so...it's time for some serious action. My plan is to lose 30 lbs in 3 months which is just over two pounds a week. Ken thought I should shoot for 40 but I don't really think that is realistic for me so 30 it is!

How: ~1500 calorie diet high in protein, veggies and low in sugar and carbs

- Keeping a food journal to keep myself honest about what and how much I actually consume

- 30 minutes of cardio (walking, running, zumba etc...) a day coupled by 30 minutes of strength training (weights, crunches, squats etc...)

My weight and measurements are too embarrassing to post to the world but every two weeks I will post how much I have lost. And if I actually reach my goal, then I might post what my real weight and measurements were. In between, I hope to post some yummy, healthy recipes and tricks/rewards I use to keep myself motivated. Hopefully this will keep me accountable to myself and, perhaps, also to you.

I started on Monday and so far I'm on track. Wish me luck!

-J