Day 8: Uhhh...

Ok, so I've totally fallen off the wagon as far as blog posting goes. And Friday night's meal of cheeseburgers, fries, and fried mushrooms from Chow Wagon didn't exactly conform to the low calorie/low fat/low cholesterol diet that I'm supposed to be following. And I didn't get to exercise on Friday or on Saturday. Ok, that's the bad stuff. The good stuff is as follows.

1) I've increased my intake of raw fruits and veggies. Since I'm lazy by nature, I really enjoy the pre-cut and packaged ones. Yes, I'm shameful. Oh, and I also cut my red meat consumption down to just two meals this week. Well, three, thanks to Friday's binge.

2) I did get right at 200 minutes of good, sweaty cardio. When I exercise, I push hard. I don't have lots and lots of time to devote to exercise, so I try to make it count for everything it's worth.

3) I'm still smoke free! I've resisted the evil urges to light one up by reminding myself that I'm accountable for my actions. If someone asks me if I'm still not smoking, I want to be able to honestly answer them in the affirmative.

All in all, it hasn't been a bad week, as far as health modifications go. But as far as other things...ugh.

See, I have guttate psoriasis. This type differs from the more common plaque type in that instead of larger, scaly areas, I develop smaller, scaly red bumps everywhere--arms, legs, feet, trunk, back, even my scalp. It's very unattractive. My skin usually stays relatively clear during the summer, mostly due to skin exposure to the sun. However, for some whacked-out reason, the hateful red spots have been reappearing this week. They're not thick on my body (yet), but my scalp is absolutely covered. This does not make me happy. I'm trying to get a handle on it with vitamin supplements as an alternative to having to go back on Humira. Now, Humira did clear my skin, and it also suppresses the joint inflammation and pain that I deal with due to psoriatic arthritis...but the side effects of this injectable include increased upper respiratory infections, fatigue, and increased incidences of lymphoma. Yikes. Scary stuff, there. So, I think I'll stick with my vitamin coctail for the time being and hope for the best.

One day at a time, that's all I can think about right now. So let's go, Week 2!

Days 3 & 4: Help, they're running together!

I tried twice yesterday to sit down and write my daily entry. I have two saved attempts, but I never did get finished with either. I'll have to save each of them to publish at another time, I guess, if the Spirit so moves.

Yesterday's exercise consisted of yet another Leslie Sansone DVD. This time it was Fast and Firm: 4 Really Big Miles! I cheated, though, and only did 3 1/2, since I just wasn't feeling the stretchy band segment. Still, I got 45 minutes of good, sweaty exercise while the 5 month old giggled with amusement as I bounced around the bedroom. I'm hoping that if Baby sees exercise beginning at this early age, he'll view it later on as a normal part of his day and will be more inclined for it to be a part his schedule. Maybe I can be a good influence in some way. Heh.

Today's exercise has been a bit out of the ordinary. It involved putting a horse back on the proper side of her fence. Don't ask. She's 26 years old and is as hard-headed as I am, except that she has four legs and weighs 1000 lbs, which makes her even more of a force to be reckoned with. I"m hoping that later on, perhaps, I'll be able to do at least a half hour DVD. Maybe. If she'll stay on the right side of the fence.

Day 2: Hey hey, c'mon get happy!

I didn't sleep so well last night. And this time, the boys weren't to blame. No, this time, it was my husband. He is a very, VERY active sleeper. Add to that the fact that he snores (loudly), and the next morning you will have a well-rested husband and a wife that does not wake up with a pleasant demeanor. Then, to add insult to injury, I nearly screamed expletives at the scale when it told me I've gained 2.6 pounds since yesterday. What??? Needless to say, between having no sleep and having to deal with a dirty, lying, no-good scale (just let me have my delusions, ok?), I was NOT a smiley, happy person.

After dropping the 4 year old off at school, I drove back home feeling all pouty. The absolute last thing I wanted to do this morning was exercise. However, since I have poured my soul out into this blog, I thought it would be in my best interest to hop my butt in gear. I perched the sleeping baby on the bed and began searching through my shelf of exercise DVDs, hoping to find one that would boost me up mentally as well as physically.

The DVD that I grabbed was Leslie Sansone's Walk Slim: Fast Start 1 & 2 Mile Walk. When I first began the serious exercising in 2007, this was the first DVD with which I started. Leslie Sansone is very bubbly, and her exercise videos are the kind that just about anyone capable of walking can do. That being said, I will warn you that she talks a LOT, so most people either love her or hate her. Anyway, Leslie's upbeat banter with her fellow exercisers was apparently just what I needed this morning. After the first 10 minutes or so, I found myself smiling right along with her as I walked, side-stepped, kicked, and knee-lifted my heart rate into the aerobic zone. I actually continued to smile my way through the remaining 25 minutes of the workout...even through the intervals!

Now, if you know me in real life, you'll know that the "Little Mary Sunshine" approach usually does NOT work with me. (Yes, yes, I know you're dying from shock.) But it hit me this morning when I first realized that I was smiling back at Ms. Sansone's image on the TV: If I'm going to do this, I may was well be enthusiastic about it! I've always heard that even if you don't feel anything remotely akin to happiness, you should smile anyway because it really does make you start to feel better. Cheezy, right? Absolutely. But it's also true. I'm going to have to exercise probably most of my remaining days on this earth, so I'd better dang well find a way to make the most of my workout time and learn how to enjoy it. I did today, and in doing so, I managed to boost myself out of my pee-poor mood. Yeah, ok, you may want to check with me in a few hours to see how I am, but right now I'm smiling, so just let me have my fleeting, happy moments, ok?

Oh, just in case you're wondering, I'm still smoke-free! And you can bet that I'm enthusiastic about that, too!

Day 1: The ugly truth

My husband and I went out last night, as I had hoped we would. I tried to get as much debauchery out of my system as I could before today. I think it may have worked, at least for the time being.

Here's my moment-of-truth revelation. It hurts to put this info here, but it's a good way to ensure that I stay on the straight and narrow.

Weight: 199.4, as of this morning. I must have a lot of compact fat, since I can still manage to shove myself into a size 14 or 16.

Blood pressure: 127/80. Not completely horrendous, but not as good as it has been in the past.

Cholesterol: 231, as previously reported.

I have a BMI of 31.2, which puts me in the "obese" range. NOT cool. I've got to stay on track so that I can break out of this rut into which I've fallen.

I didn't exercise today, although I had planned to do so. It's been a rather stressful day...and not, may I add, due to my dietary/lifestyle changes. I have, however, made it through the day without smoking. And honestly, at the present moment, the urge to smoke isn't very strong. It probably will be after another few days, but I'll cross that bridge when I must.

So there it is--the truth of how out of shape I have become. The good news, though, is that I'm extremely stubborn, and I don't like to admit defeat or failure. I can do this. I will do this. One day at a time.

I shall eat, drink, and be merry...

...for tomorrow, I diet. And I'm intimidated. I know the methods by which I've decided to accomplish my 30 day goal sound harsh, but it's the only thing that will work for me. I'm fully expecting to be miserable for the first few (or several) days. My family will probably be even more so. :)

But I'm on a deadline, here. And if the doc had said to come back in three months instead of one, I really don't think I would take the matter as seriously, being as I *really* like to procrastinate.

I think that the hubby and I may try to get out for a night alone tonight, babysitter permitting. If we do, I shall party like it's 1999...er, well, you know what I mean.

For tomorrow, I diet.

Yep...It's time for a change

I now have my reason for following my own diet and exercise goals about which I recently blogged. It came in the form of a letter from my doctor's office. Now, as badly as it hurts my pride, I'm going to be completely honest. My cholesterol level has skyrocketed to 231. Yes, that's 31 points above the high-end cutoff. I nearly laid an egg when I saw the number staring at me. The letter also stated that I'm to return in a month so that the lab can run a complete lipid panel on me. Yay. NOT the news I wanted to kick off the weekend.

Now that I'm done berating myself for letting myself get so badly out of shape, I've decided to put together a plan that, in one month's time, will have my levels lower than what they are right now. Granted, they won't fall much, but I'm hoping that I can pull them down enough that the good ol' doc won't decide I need medication to help me control the situation. Here's where I am in the process...

1) Quit smoking. Yes. I smoke. It's a filthy, nasty habit, and I've been looking for an excuse to quit anyway. Since smoking can drastically raise your cholesterol (not to mention it actually lowers the "good" type), it's time to kick the butt once and for all. It's going to have to be done cold turkey. Sounds like fun, eh? I don't do the "weaning myself off" thing very well. I need a clean break, no matter how badly it may hurt. I'll just have to figure out something else for stress control.

2) Get in the exercise groove again. I've got to quit griping about not having time to exercise and just go DO it. A gym membership, although much desired, is beyond my reach at the current moment, so I'll have to rely on the approximately 35 exercise videos in my collection (that are currently doing nothing more than collecting dust) to help make me sweat. Hey, I lost weight before working out to these videos; I can do it again.

3) Be oh so careful about the bad foods that I don't think I eat very often. Let's face it, I eat more junk than I should. I do consume fruits and veggies, but I probably don't eat them frequently enough. I already know the "good" from the "bad"...now I just need the willpower and self-discipline to put knowledge into action.

No problem, right? Right. I mean, this time it's my health on the line. So here's how it's all gonna roll. Sunday is the day. I'm cutting the smoking, I'm starting the serious exercise, and I just might be able to muster up the willpower to maybe keep a food journal. Maybe. Err...yeah. But really, I've got to start somewhere, so I may was well just rip the bandaid off all at once and get it over with. The next 30 days will be telling. Hopefully I won't lose my mind during the first week. But I'm GOING to keep record of it on here, complete with my starting numbers on Sunday. Wish me luck, pray for me...something. I'm going to need it!

What do you do?

I love my kids. Really, I do. But last night was...well, it wasn't great. Now, knowing that I have a 5 month old, you might suppose that the source of my horrible, restive night was due to teething, maybe, or just general fussiness. Nuh-uh. My 4 year old was the culprit.

As many Mommies can attest, the sweet age of four begins a time when a child's fears and insecurities really begin to blossom. Oh, not to mention the fact that my son has had a chance for his incredibly active imagination to play out all types of scenarios, no matter how plausible or far-fetched they may seem. At some point after his bedtime, he became consumed with the "There's a monster under my bed" theme. And this went on all....night..... Despite my continued efforts to reassure him that no monsters were to be found under the bed and that NOTHING was making a funny noise in his room, he remained insistent that the baddies were waiting for him to close his eyes just for an instant.

After I had returned my son to his bed for the third time, I had just about reached my breaking point. See, I'm the type of person that has to have some amount of sleep. I'm not one of the perky ones that can function on just an hour or two and awake rested and happy. My husband will tell you that. Speaking of the husband, his alarm was set for 3:40am so that he could arrive at his job by 5am. Yeeeeeah...Sleep and I have this love/hate relationship going on, kinda as in I love sleep, but it hates me.

So, this morning I wake up the boy to get him ready for school. He looks up at me and says, "Huh. Guess there really is nothing under my bed. How do you like that?" No, son, you don't really want me to answer that. Perhaps he will recall this statement tonight. But wait...silly Mommy...everyone knows that the monsters only come out at night! If they decide to torment my son again tonight, I'll be right there to rescue him...again. After all, isn't that what Mommies do?

You know what they say about best laid plans...

I woke up ready this morning. I had my to-do list prioritized. I had hair arranged and makeup applied. The baby was fed and ready to roll. Then I see the 4 year old's eyes. They're both a rather unattractive shade of pink that looks particularly not cool on an eyeball. Just when I thought I had eye-dropped the life out of the dreaded Pink Eye, it once again has reared its ugly head...er, eye. Whatever. In an instant, I saw my perfectly planned out day head straight down the tubes. *Sigh* And the boy is absolutely crushed over having to miss a day of Pre-K.

But there's always tomorrow, right? I guess today is God's way of reminding me that sometimes our plans don't always coincide with His plans. And given my track record of bad decisions, I think I'll go with His. :)

My Weight(y) Issue

The Rockin' Redneck Mommy is not so good about keeping up with her blog. Surprise! So, now that we've got that out of the way, here's what's on my mind today.

In August 2007, a year and a half after having my first son, my doctor pretty much told me to lose weight or risk facing some fairly serious health problems. My diet was horrible and exercise was practically nonexistent. As a result, my cholesterol levels were over the normal range, and my blood pressure (though not in the "dangerous" zone) was elevated. So I started the whole "diet and exercise" routine, and a year later, had lost close to 35 pounds. I looked great and felt even better. However, another year down the road found me pregnant with my second son. Now, mind you, I kept on exercising through all but the last several weeks of my pregnancy, but I had gained a few pounds...well, ok, about 15 (that hurts to admit!)...in the process of trying of trying to conceive said son. Although I managed (somehow) to stay within the acceptable weight gain limits, I'm still hanging on to some of my pregnancy weight...and the weight that I gained beforehand.

My wake-up call came yesterday afternoon. My mother-in-law threw a housewarming party for my youngest brother-in-law. Armed with her trusty camera, she snapped pictures of everything and everyone so that she could chronicle the event on Facebook. She has a tendency to catch one somewhat unprepared as she snaps away, so I'd love to be able to blame bad positioning and surprise for the horrible picture she took of me...but I can't. When I saw the picture she had tagged of me, I almost cried. I look HUGE! No, really, I mean Marge-large. It's baaaaaaad. I realized that all the work I had done three years ago had disappeared. Talk about a slap in the face.

Now, in my defense, I will say that I did not gain ALL of my weight back. Not even at my heaviest point in my pregnancy did I gain back up to where I started from in 2007, but I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be.

So, I'm setting my goal. And I'm writing about it on here so that I will (hopefully) feel a sense of accountability to stay on track. I need to lose 3o lbs. to put me at the goal weight I had for myself back before my pregnancy. Which, coincidentally, I never did reach during my first efforts.

How am I going to get there? I've found that, in order for me to drop ANY weight, exercise is a must. Dieting alone simply doesn't cut it for me. Therefore, I've got to get AT LEAST 3o minutes of good heart-thumping cardio a minimum of 4 days a week, preferably 5. Next, I'm going to have to work on portion control. I like to eat, so this is a daunting task for me. I'm going to have to be a LOT more conscious of how much I'm eating; otherwise, I'll sabotage all of my exercise attempts, and that would suck. Another issue for me is emotional eating, which sometimes causes me to eat when I'm not truly hungry, which is a big part of why my behind won't fit into my skinny jeans at this point in time. But, don't they say that admitting the problem is half the battle won? We'll see.

As you can see, I have my work cut out for me--even more so, since I have to schedule my life around a husband and two small children. But hey, that's life. Other women do it, so why can't I? I don't want to keep being the Fat Mommy I saw in that picture. And so, my weight loss journey begins...

Watch out...here she comes!

The Rockin' Redneck Mommy is coming out of her shell, for better or for worse. So, let me start off by giving you a look into who I am.

1) I'm a rock-n-roll gal living in a country world. If you'd have told me ten years ago that I'd be living in the sticks surrounded by dogs, horses and chickens, I'd have eyed you very strangely before calling the men in white coats to take you away.

2) I'm the wife to a man who can fix darn near anything with a set of Craftsman wrenches, a screwdriver and duct tape.

3) I'm the mommy to two beautiful little boys. The oldest is 4 and just started Pre-K. The youngest is 4 months. They each give me fits in their own special little ways.

4) This blog will probably contain absolutely NO information of practical or literary use. I may amuse you once in a while with a story about redneckin' or something that the 4 year old did, but my writing and descriptive skills are somewhat lacking. Chalk it up to having two kids that NEVER want to sleep at the same time. I can feel my brain cells shriveling as we speak.

5) I *will* ocasionally give my opinion about certain things/issues that are near and dear to my heart. While I mean no disrespect to those of opposing views, I will not apologize for my beliefs and how I express them. While I encourage RESPECTFUL debate, name-calling and general childishness will not be tolerated.

6) I probably will not make regular posts. I'll try. Really, I will.

Unfortunately, that's about it. Exciting, huh? All I can do is take this life one day at a time. If you'd like to read about my experiences and my take on this world around us, buckle up and hang on--the ride has begun!