Stuffing the Turkey, but Not Yourself

Ah, my favorite time of year doth approaches.

The smell of mojo marinated turkey, black beans and rice, stuffing, pumpkin pie.....oh man! Did I ever mention that I absolutely love food?

Well, I do.

My love for shoveling delicacies in my mouth, however, will have to be dampened by my passion to stay true to my new lifestyle.

That doesn't mean that I'm not going to enjoy a little bit of everything, I'm just not going to have an entire plate just for stuffing along with other plates piled with numerous items.

So for those of you who are also watching your intake, I figured I would share with you some of my tips that will get me through this holiday:

1. Just because it is a holiday, it doesn't mean you shouldn't work out. Wake up early if you have to and get a long cardio/strength mix workout. I personally will be stealing a workout from Rugged Regimen that combines 10 rounds of: running for 3 minutes, 12 squat jumps, 12 push-ups, 24 cross-body mountain climbers, 24 split jumps, and 12 plank to pushups. That should be a large burn and remember you have to eat back what you burn PLUS the base calories you have set yourself at to lose weight.
2.  You can enjoy everything, just control your portions. For instance, I won't be having a full serving of mashed potatoes, and rice and beans. I'll probably split the serving up. 
3. Load up on healthy veggies. I'm not talking about green bean casserole with the crunchy onions on top. Orange glazed carrots, mustard greens (like kale), roasted cauliflower, and fresh salads that aren't riddled with caramelized nuts and warm bacon dressing. These will help fill you up, while getting essential nutrients, and not going hog-wiled on calories.
4.  When making recipes, try and substitute as MUCH as possible. There are plenty of pumpkin desserts that call for cream cheese. Just buy the low fat one, it tastes the same (especially when mixed in with other ingredients) and it saves on the calories. Oh, and one other thing. Just stay away from the heavy cream. Let me break it down for you. 1 cup of heavy cream is just over 800 calories. 1 cup of low-fat half and half is 200. If you think there is a huge difference, there really isn't. If a cup of half and half doesn't thicken whatever you just added it to, just let it cook for a tad longer.
5. This is for the ladies. If you just don't think you can trust yourself to stop eating, something that helps me is wearing a shaper. If you have one that goes up over your chest (but below the hoohahs) it should help you not over eat, because if you do, it will be extremely uncomfortable. Any of you moms remember when your tummy was so big that if you ate past a certain point it would just all come up? Wearing a shaper is kind of like that, just not as uncomfortable or as severe. It works for me, I can't guarantee it will work for you.
6. If you are going to be drinking wine, here is a list of low calorie wine brands http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/04/top-10-low-calorie-wine-brands/2/ Remember that the more alcohol is in something the more calories there are. Red wines, generally, are also a better choice then sweet white wines.

So, those are the tips that I will be following this year. By all means, I am no expert, but I have learned a lot from a handful of people that know what it means to be healthy. I am just an average mom with a desire to become healthy and these are tips I know I can follow without feeling like I missed out on the tastiest holiday of the year.

Happy Thanksgiving all! 

And just a friendly reminder that Thanksgiving is a time for family, gathering, eating, and football. It is not a day for shopping. There are many retail employees that unfortunately can not enjoy this time on Thanksgiving because their stores choose to be open which is in my opinion just insane.

Staying True

Wow! I actually made it through a second week of my new regimen, and I couldn't be happier.  The old me would have already given up and been on her third bag of sour patch kids by now, but the new me is welcoming all the changes in my life.

I wanted to update everyone who dares to read my measly blog because in a way it keeps me accountable for my actions. So I might as well list of some of my accomplishments in the past week:

1. I have lost 2 lbs.
2. I have lost at least an inch at both my waist and hips.
3. I have maintained my calorie intake while eating healthy.
4. I burnt over 3000 calories.

On top of my physical accomplishments, I cooked some new meals, worked 4 days at my part time job, donated plasma twice, did homework, practiced plenty of piano, and played with my baby boy. To say the least, my week was quite busy. 

And guess what?

It starts all over again tomorrow! I couldn't be more excited!

I'm not gonna lie, it was a hard week, but it was rewarding. Seeing my progress has enabled me to push myself further each day.  One of the things that I have noticed that isn't customary for me, is that I get delighted to do my workouts.  The amount of relief that I get from the little stresses of adulthood is incredible. I have found that although financial worries are always a constant in my world, the gravity of it isn't as heavy.  Also, when I find some bits of motherhood overwhelming, that endorphin rush usually helps put things back into perspective.

All of you new moms out there, especially the SAHMs, understand that every day brings a new challenge and generally those challenges have the power to override any desire to transform yourself into the person you want to be.  Most of the strength I have gained has not been physical, but actually emotional, as it takes unwavering dedication to continue this journey. 

No matter what life places before your feet, there is no reason to drop the desire to continue in whatever path you choose.

New Beginnings

So...hey there everyone.

I know, I know, I have been slacking quite a bit. What has it been, five months?

Sounds about right...

So here is the deal.

Five months ago, I was on a new mom high.  I had just decided to leave my demanding job to stay at home with Link and was super excited.  I had that "nothing can stand in my way" mentality.  Included in that mentality was the idea to start this blog so I could tell the wonderful tales of motherhood from what I believed to be an interesting perspective.

Then, I decided to feel sorry for myself.

It is no surprise really. All new moms go through the same type of thing at some point, mine just took me a while to realize how deep in depression I really was.

I wasn't working full time anymore and my social life was close to extinct. The only human interaction I was getting was with my baby, husband, and immediate family. I understand that this may not sound like a horrible life; however, it was a HUGE adjustment. I made a living by being a social butterfly and by deciding to commit myself to my child I clipped those wings right off.

So instead of dealing with my feelings of inadequacy and regret, I turned to Netflix. Seriously, this addiction was at its worst because I was watching full series, even of stuff I had already seen before. I didn't want to exercise, or nonetheless blog, because all I cared about was Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives, Parks and Rec, 24, Breaking Bad, Supernatural, Scandal, Revenge, Once Upon a Time, Alias....I'm sure there are more... I know there are more.

I told you it was bad.

I somehow thought that I could just cover up my depression with my involvement in the fictional worlds presented by television, but I was completely wrong.  I had lost interest in the importance of my life. Sure, I knew I was essential as a mother, but I couldn't find any other reason why I was crucial. That is when I stopped caring about how I looked.

I would kid myself into believing that I was "slimming down" from my feeble attempts at losing weight, but I really was just rationalizing my poor health habits.  For months, I continued the cycle of working out, kind of watching what I was eating, weighing myself, tossing my hands up in the air asking "What's the point?" when the number on the scale did ANYTHING but go down, and then head for the emergency bag of whatever fruity candy I could conjure up.

Then, I had the amazing opportunity to go visit my aunt in Texas with my mom and step-dad. I even brought Link with me! It was a blast but while I was there I was reminded of the importance of taking care of myself.

 My mom has continuously encouraged me to better myself and although I would listen to her repeated advice in agreement,  I would tend to not take it to heart on a permanent basis because I am habitual in my ways. She is probably nodding her head right now because she is all to familiar with this back and forth between both our stubborn Cuban attitudes. My aunt, however, has her own kind of, what we call "Mesa mentality," and usually it scares the crap out of me.  In a good way.

It wasn't until after a morning Tabata session in Texas with my mom and my aunt that something snapped. I initially was aggravated because the amount of pressure I felt to lose weight between the two of them was overwhelming. I was feeling as if no one thought I could accomplish anything on my own.  I even said some things that were out of anger and I regret that. I ultimately realized that I was really upset with myself and not them. I had let myself go and I was infuriated.

After I returned home, I made a serious commitment to get back to being healthy and active. I started the Rugged Regimen, which my aunt showed me. I also have been eating a low-cal, high protein, diet to curb my desire for snacking.  I have started practicing piano instead of watching TV and also interacting more with Lincoln.  It has only been a week, but I'm finally starting to realize what it really takes to be a super mom. I'm done feeling sorry for myself and I am ready to start this new chapter in my life.

Thank you Mom and Tia Angie for being such a continued support in my life and sorry for being such a pain in the butt. I love you both.