Is everything okey dokey?

"No! It's Inky Stinky!" (Lucy to Ethel)
Actually, everything's really going good, I'm just super busy this week due to meetings at our church. We will be having services all week. I stayed on track with calories yesterday, except for I didn't do a full workout. I did clean the house and even set the timer so I would work fast. It's on my ipod as a way to burn calories, so I thought, why not kill two birds with one stone? I ran out of time to blog though, so..here I am. I haven't done my workout today yet, but I'm going to do the Zumba express. It's 20 min.and pretty intense. My arm is sore from the 45 min one with the toning sticks. I knew I needed to take a break from that for a few days.
Anybody have any tips to share? We're listening! Are you exercising? Let's hear how it's going, what you're using, etc.
Here's my tip today to share. At most health food stores they carry stevia glyceride. It's a healthy sugar alternative (not chemicals that are bad.) It comes in a liquid. They have flavors like French Vanilla too. It has no calories and tastes really good. I only like it in hot tea, not coffee though. Don't know why. Anyway, I made a drink out of it by putting a few drops in ice water. It was delicious! I was surprised. Zero calories, delicious and healthy, you can't ask for more.

Til tomorrow....

Day 5, I'm alive! ha ha

Yep, made it to day 5! I did 45 min. Zumba again today, and let me just say, I was seriously sore. It felt good though. I really think Zumba is the most fun out of all my workouts. I don't even want to admit to how many different ones I have. It's embarrasing. I have Jillian's (Biggest Loser) 30 day shred and Last Chance workout in my menagerie of workout dvd's. Yell at me and call me wrong, but the girls a jerk. ha! I put in the 30 day shred to do today, to mix it up a little, and had to turn it off because it's just no fun. With Zumba, I'm laughing, having a good time, and feel like I'm just dancin' around being silly to salsa music. That's the trick, wanting to do it again. If it's a chore and boring, I won't do it. Jillian never smiles on there either. It's like she's being tortured to even be there. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how it seemed to me....moving on..I have a new favorite drink. It is YUMM-O! I use Melaleuca, and they have a fitness line of drinks and bars etc. The new Sustain energy drink is Red Ruby Grapefruit. I love that anyway, and the drink tastes just like it. It replaces eloctrolytes and has only 10 calories. Definite new fav!
Ok, so I won't post again until Monday. I'll probably do something fun tomorrow, like bike riding, or play the wii, but not a major workout on weekends. Also, I do not count calories on Sunday. It's a free day for me. I don't know what works for you, but I always have to have one day a week to not think about it.

The verdict is in, and I've lost 1 lb. this week! Earth shattering isn't it? I'm ok with it because sometimes it takes a little bit before everything kicks in. Also good to remember that muscle weighs more than fat. Doing any strength training will take longer to see weight dropping. I feel better already, and that's motivation for me!

Here's a great quote that applies to so much in life, but great for what we're doing too. "You can't go back and change the past, but you can start today and change the future" Love it. Stole it from my sister's fb status! ha!

Goodnight friends! Have a great weekend. :)
p.s. here's a great website for tracking calories and daily recipes. My username is: ellenayjay. Add me as a friend!

Day 4

Today, I decided to do my wii fit. I did advanced step for 30 min. Imagine my disappointment when I found out on my calorie counter app that that only burned 85 calories. :( I just have 2 words for that, "BUM....MER!" So, I may have to do something else tonight, like treadmill or a Leslie DVD. Any ole' way, I have stayed on track with doing something everyday since that is the goal. I'm also staying under 1200 calories. It adds up so fast.
How's it going for you? Are you keeping your exercise resolution? If not, jump on board with me. It's so much more fun with friends.
Last night, I was really proud of myself. I didn't eat a snack when we got home from church. I actually wasn't feeling completely ok, so I figured I wouldn't chance it. Then, around 10, I was starving. I felt like I needed something and even headed to the kitchen...."just one cup of popcorn wouldn't be bad..." As I was on the way there, I thought about how hard I'd worked and went and brushed my teeth instead. I was happy to have won that little battle.

Wes(10 yrs.) told me a joke yesterday. Here it is: "What did the Alligator eat after he had his tooth pulled?"......The Dentist! hahahah....

Here's my diet tip of the day: When you're craving something sweet, have a piece of mint gum instead. It totally redirects your craving. Nothing new, I know, but a good reminder.

Happy Thursday!
Lori

Day 3...Weeeeeeeeee!

Hi guys, I'm on day 3, and I'm getting in the groove. Today I did 45 min. kicking butt, cardio Zumba. Man, it's intense! It's so fun though. My favorite parts are Belly dancing & the Flamenco. It really is fun. If you think you have to be coordinated to do Zumba, you do. You can do it the wrong way, and it'll still work because you're moving and sweating. It's just so much more fun to follow along the right way. It only takes a few times to get the hang of it if you try hard. I heard that an hour of Zumba burns 1,000 calories! Yeah baby!

Happy Wed!
Lori :)

Day 2 and a protein snack..

It's day 2, and I'm on track. I did a mile yesterday and played the wii with the kids. Today, I did 2 miles and plan on going bike riding with them this afternoon. I may do 20 min. on the treadmill with my LoLo burn app. It's so cool. You get to use your own music and have a trainer tell you a workout routine. I love it.
Yesterday, while I was doing the Leslie Sansone walking workout, Dasiy Mae(our Jack Russell)was staring at me like "what are you doing, mommy?" It really cracked me up. She thinks she's a ballerina, and starts "dancing" whenever anybody plays with her. There we were, me exercising, and Daisy Mae dancing beside me. I'm sure it couldv'e been on AFV. This is her sleeping after her intense dance routine. :)
Here's something you'll love. My Mom gave me this recipe for Sesame/Peanut butter balls. They are so good and a really healthy snack. Here it is:
3/4 c peanut butter (I used Smucker's all natural creamy)
1/2 c honey
3/4 c non-fat, instant milk powder
1 c uncooked rolled oats
1 & 1/4 c toasted sesame seeds (3/4 c in mix, 3/4 c to roll them in)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. boiling water

Use an iron skillet to toast the sesame seeds. I used organic. It only takes a couple minutes to toast them. Stir constantly. Set aside. Mix together pnb, honey, powd. milk and then add the oats and 3/4 c of sesame seeds. Add boiling water, vanilla and mix thoroughly. Shape in 1" balls and roll in the remaining seeds. Chill in refrigerater or freeze. Makes 2.5 dozen.

These are such a great protein snack with no sugar! Sorry about there being no pictures. I actually took some while I was making these, but I'm pressed for time at the moment. I'll add the pics soon.

Have a very happy day!
Lori

I'm gonna do it!

Day 1~check it out here.
I have decided to do this and today is the first day! I'm excited because I already had my goal in mind to be met by Valentine's Day. It's so cool that this ends on that day and I didn't even know about it until now. So, who's with me? I plan on blogging here each day how it's going, and if I start losing (I mean when) I'll post pounds lost too. This will be open and honest. If I'm doing bad, I'll have to embarrass myself and say it here. So, maybe, that'll help me with my focus. I'm terrible at staying on track with these things, but I seem to be motivated this time more than usual. So, here goes! Cheer me on! I almost forgot, my goal is 20 lbs.

I hope your New Year's resolutions are working for you. We can do this!

Lori~xo

Happy New Year!!!

I know it's been forever since I posted here, but I really do hope to be better in the future. Happy New Year! A time for a great, new beginning. I love that. So here goes my attempt to keep up better. So far, so good...

I have written a ton of new year's resolutions. I really want to improve myself, my family and my business. I think goal setting is a great way to keep up with the things you want. Balancing a family and a business is tricky, but I know I can be better. There's always room for improvement, right? Life is surprising, and keeping up can be a challenge. One of my goals is to get super organized. I'm one of those people who really envy people who have that gift of organization. I try sincerely hard, but it does not come naturally to me. For those of you that are, consider yourself blessed. How about sharing your favorite organizing tip? I'm sure the class would love to hear...
On a completely off the subject side note, I just glanced at the tv and saw there is a city with my maiden name on the weather channel(I didn't even know it existed) -weird..
So, anyway, I think I'll go watch the ball drop and kiss and hug everyone. It's a great way to start a new year. Hope you've had a lovely year and a Happy New Year too.

~xo