Okay I have quit following South Beach. I do think it’s a good plan - it’s basically eat less carbs? Alright what do I know, I don’t care about carbs or fats or startches or anything like that. I eat well, I only eat one portion, I drink lots of water every day, and I am going to have real butter! I’m just not going to eat the entire stick of real butter.

Friday I felt like hhmm, an orange would taste good - so I had one. Diets all seem to say different things - with LA Weight Loss I read that eating citrus was encouraged by one center because citrus helped you burn fat faster. But with South Beach they say no fruit for the first two weeks so you can stop having cravings.

I’m going to stick with eating good. I did stumble Sunday night and had Doritos and french onion dip (sure it sounds odd but it tastes good - I blame my brother for that just like I blame my friend Julie for introducing me to ranch dressing and pizza). Considering how much I am working out I know I will still lose weight.

I did lose four pounds (yay!) and of course I can’t tell if that is from working out or from South Beach. I don’t have any cravings, but I don’t like being restricted. I know what to eat or not to eat so I think I can do okay on my own. Plus I am working out five days a week and that is doing something.

Of course I will have to stop making banana bread every other week! It is just so good it is hard to stay away from. Yesterday we were gone all afternoon but rather then eating out (which was very tempting) we came home and had soup. My treat was a small slice of the banana bread, but I don’t want to do that every day.

Time for week two check in for Spring Operation Weight off for Moms. I had already decided to only weigh in on Mondays and today was the day!

I have lost four pounds!

I am so happy! I knew I lost weight because my pants fit different - but this time it’s not just they fit different in the waist. This time my pants fit different all over. I also had my daughter take pictures today - from the side and the front - and I’m going to do so every Monday. I didn’t last week but that’s okay with me. But I decided not to share for a month, then I’m going to show a months worth to show the difference.

I did quit following South Beach (more on that later) but after finding I lost weight I think I will go back to a modified version.

Do you have a SparkPeople page? Check out my page here and add me as a friend! I’m not really updating the actual page - there is a spot for a blog and such, but since I’m here I didn’t want to also do that there.

I had a weekend filled with kids. Saturday we didn’t get to the Y because they don’t have childcare and my brother had to help my Dad with something, thus no sitter. No biggie, we managed to get a few crafts done that were a long time coming!

But yesterday I grabbed a few of my nephews (okay, I had them dropped off) and had them hanging out here. My husband suggested we buy the kids a new video game because he is missing them so much and figures thats a good contribution he can make. So we buy Mario & Sonic at the Olympics.

I have always thought the Wii was a good workout tool - you do have to get up and move around and
that makes kids (and adults) tired. My kids rarely want to read how to play a game, they just want to jump in and get started. But this game takes a bit of reading - which each new game you play has the specific instruction when you start, if you select to read them.

So the kids are playing and getting frustrated here and there so I grabbed the controls and did one of the track events - wow hello biceps! Or triceps? Upper arms anyway. And I only did two races. It did feel good and I am going to jump on and play again soon.

After the Wii we all went outside and play basketball - oh what I learned there!

• Blocking an 8 year old will be fun for you and annoying for him
• If a basketball goal is set at about 6 feet, I can make it from way back there
• Seriously, I hit some awesome shots! It felt great.
• Teaching little kids (4 and 6 years old - my two) to play basketball can be fun
• If you hear someone say “your Mom is base” and you start running, everyone will join in the chase even if they declined to play before.

We had a great day. A little video game fun, a little outdoor fun, a little cooking fun. It’s just like I imagined living here would be - and I am going to make sure it happens again. Kids prove that working out and/or getting exercise is fun!

We are heading to the Y today and I will check in for the Spring OSW later.

I am feeling great! The past few days I have had awesome workouts.

On Tuesday I thought wow I can really do this. On Wednesday I pushed myself and ran a minute more then on Tuesday. On Thursday I did skip the Y because I cooked a family dinner for my brothers birthday party. And yesterday, Friday, I had my best workout so far.

I accidentally pulled the emergency stop on the treadmill and it stopped on me after ten minutes. That lost everything - the distance I walked/ran and the calories I burned. I started the machine back up and did another 20 or so minutes, but I just don’t remember. I pushed myself and did an extra thirty seconds (compared to Wednesday) of running. Afterward I did the weight machines and stretched.

My Dad was at the Y at the same time and the kids love playing basketball with him. So I grabbed the kids from the childcare and we all went to play basketball. Of course the kiddos are pretty short people so they couldn’t make a shot but they sure tried. We played for about twenty minutes and left.

I think adding playing basketball was a great idea because last night was the first time I was not exhausted and also sore. I felt great! I am excited that after just one week of working out every day I am really making progress.

Do you have a favorite message board? I am a member of just a few and I’ve found it’s hard to get involved with others. I am currently looking for a couple to join but haven’t looked too hard.

One of my favorites was the forum at Mom’s Talk Forum - I say was because the owner, Kelly McCausey, shut the forum down a few months ago. It was a nice place to chat with other moms about various topics. It was a nice place to be after a long day with kids or a long day working.

No April Fools - Mom’s Talk Forum is back! I’m very excited to be able to post there again and if you are looking for a Mama Home online, please stop by and say hi.

The Mom’s Talk Network website (http://www.momstalknetwork.com) has been quiet since Kelly McCausey assumed ownership back in October 2007, but no more.  Starting today the website will be brimming over with fresh Guest Blogger appearances and a resurrected Mom’s Talk Forum which I will be helping to breathe new life into as a Moderator.  Come on over and say hello today and be entered for a chance to win gifts, free advertising and even a cash prize.  Every blog comment and forum post made on April first will serve as an entry in today’s relaunch drawing

To see prizes: http://www.momstalknetwork.com/forum/april-fools-day-no-foolin-giveaways-vt1505.html

What great prizes! Do stop by and say hi.

It is the first week of the Operation Spring Weight Off - and here is my story.

I started this because I wanted to lose the weight I had gained since my kids were born. At the time my son was three years old and I figured I couldn’t blame all my weight on baby weight anymore! With my daughter, I think I gained 40 lbs and after having her, I did go up one pants size. I stayed that size, eating okay and not exercising all that much and then my son came along. If I remember right I gained around the same amount of weight, but honestly I don’t remember exactly.

After having him, I went back to my pre-pregnant size. I stayed there for a few years and then we had to move to the south because of Chris’ job. And for some reason, I gained a lot of weight there. Maybe we changed our eating plans, maybe I was depressed, maybe I started snacking more, I’m not sure.

At any rate, I joined LA Weight Loss and lost over 15 lbs in two and a half months. I think I lost 17 lbs? You would think I would remember losing weight! But honestly, I’m not obsessed with a number, I go by how my clothes fit and how I feel overall. I stopped following LA in May once we found out we were pregnant again - but I probably didn’t need to because it was just changing how I was eating, I wasn’t taking supplements or anything. And I had been doing LA since right around getting pregnant anyway!

But I quit - and then I gained 14 pounds over the next months. Looking back I shouldn’t have stopped. I needed to lose weight and like I said, I wasn’t doing anything to harm the baby. I had already gained another size!

And so now I am stable. I have lost ten pounds in the past few months but I wasn’t following a new diet or exercising more/differently. I joined the Y and have been regularly working out for the past couple of weeks. I am also going to start South Beach (if I can ever sit and figure a meal plan!) and continue to work out.

My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I’ll work on more later, but for now it’s losing fifteen. Chris is graduating at the end of May and that is my goal date.

I did my Y orientation today - the orientation is when they go over all the machines, teaching you how to use them, figuring out what works for you. We also went over heart rates and what I should shoot for in working out. We did a workout with all the machines, one rep per machine, after I did a very short warm up on the treadmill.

So far my plan is to go on Monday-Wednesday-Friday to do the treadmill warm up (cardio) and then all the machines - working upper and lower body. On Tuesday and Thursday I will do the treadmill warm up and then swim - or not swim, depending on … whatever, my mood, time, etc. On the weekends I am going to be sure to be active with my kids - I’d like us to go for walks or even just play, like playing soccer in the yard.

My goal is to lose 15 pounds in two months. I also plan on running a 20 minute mile and a half - sure that sounds easy for some people, but I haven’t worked out since last spring, seriously worked out I mean. The mile and a half is something being done before Chris graduates in May - its a family run the morning of graduation. Sure it is a military run, but I’ve heard it is a slow pace (thus my wanting to do it in 20 minutes). I know I can do a 20 minute mile already, that’s not hard, but just add “run” to that and I shudder. I really don’t like running.

I had another great workout today at the Y. I did a mile and a half walk/run - I tried the cardio and the fat burn settings but ended up finishing on manual. Afterward I got ready to leave but ran into my Dad at the child care and we all played basketball for about a half hour. The kids were frustrated they couldn’t make a shot but of course they are short and the hoop is far up there. Dad has a hoop at the house and it is much lower so we will probably play basketball this weekend.

I’m meeting with a personal trainer - or at least he works for the Y, I just assume he’s a trainer - tomorrow afternoon. He is going to do an assessment and an orientation with me that shouldn’t take longer then a couple of hours. I had no idea what the assessment was - I figured I’d have to jump on a scale and … well, that’s all I could think of! But I talked to a friend and she said they will most likely figure body fat and weigh me and a few more things. I am definitely not looking forward to that!

The workouts make me tired, normal I’m sure, and I am going to start doing South Beach in the next couple of days. I plan on making weekly menus and the only bad part of that is taking into account feeding my kids. I’m sure they will  eat whatever I make though.

We went back to the Y again yesterday! I walked and ran just over a mile and then swam for about twenty minutes. I felt so tired after that! I’m trying to push myself on the treadmill - I grabbed a magazine but after a few minutes couldn’t read it. Then I read an article that said if you can read while you are working out, you aren’t pushing yourself. And I need to push myself.

On Monday I mostly walked a mile and also did the elliptical for a bit and I was tired afterward. I felt like I had a good workout. Yesterday I felt like I had a better workout. I’ve never followed a specific thing while working out, just working on machines here or there and walking or swimming. I am meeting with a trainer on Friday to go over the machines and do an assessment. I’m not exactly sure what we are going to do but I’d like for the trainer to give me a routine to follow.

We are going back today and I plan on doing the same thing as yesterday. Once I get a routine down I’ll switch the workout up. But for now, I just need to get moving.

I spent all of Sunday morning cooking and making desserts. I wanted to make a carrot cake, a cherry cheesecake and Dad requested a strawberry pie. First up is the carrot cake - I used the one most recently featured on the Pioneer Woman Cooks blog (love her writing and pictures!). Here are my ingredients - I did use wheat flour and organic sugar, as well as olive oil, and none of those seemed to alter the taste or cooking time.  Don’t mind the phone and computer - I had to look up the recipe and call my Grandma.

It was very easy to make and the only hold up was Dad having to run out and buy a cake pan. Yep, he had no cake pan! The mix ended up sitting in the bowl for a little while because of that. I didn’t mind that I had to wait to cook it because I forgot to get the butter out for the frosting. I haven’t made homemade frosting in a long time and wow, the frosting tasted delicious.

I had all of that left after frosting the cake. I used a regular cake pan and maybe I was supposed to use a bigger size?

Few people ate though we had ton of food and I ended up sending a large chunk of the cake home with one of my brothers and then had a piece. It was awesome. I love carrot cake!

We still have a lot left over and I’m not sure what we are doing with it. I may send it to work with my brothers, but other then that no ideas.