Oh wow guys, I have neglected my little blog! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve intended to update, but haven’t. 🙁
We’ve had a LOT of things going on! It’s been soooo fun, but busy! First off, I want to update y’all on my macro counting/healthy diet/no treats thing that I’ve been doing!
I’m loving it! I really do feel like I’ve found a balanced lifestyle that I could live with indefinitely. I love counting macros because it just makes sense to me. It is very logical and makes healthy eating measurable and tangible. There is no guessing involved. It’s all there in black and white. You clearly set your goals and then track them each day. I also love that I don’t have to eat 100% perfectly all the time, yet I can can still be on track. I just really really love it!
I’m loving my macro percentages right now too because it allows me a little bit of carbs, but I still have to be very disciplined. It feels like the perfect amount of strictness (is that a word?) and reality.
I also have not eaten ANY treats for over two weeks now! I really love sugar, so that’s always a huge accomplishment for me. Just to be clear, I’ve still eaten plenty of food that has sugar in it, but I just haven’t eaten the typical treats like cake, cookies, chocolate, candy, etc. I’ve learned over and over again that it is SOOOO much easier for me if I just stay away from it!
Whenever I cut treats out of my diet completely, it’s always challenging for about a week and then it gets considerably easier! I think my hormones and blood sugars stabilize because I just physically don’t crave it as much. I also become mentally stronger the longer I stay away from it too. It’s good for me and definitely teaches me self control and discipline.
I’m determined to stay away from treats until I hit my weight goal, no matter how long it takes! My body has been a little bit jacked these past few months and hasn’t wanted to drop weight very easily, so it might take a little while. BUT, I’m up for the challenge! I can be very stubborn when I want to be and right now I feel unstoppable!
I kind of had a long pep talk with myself and just decided that I needed to kick it into high gear, give it all I got and work my butt off until I get the to weight/fitness level/health feeling/energy level that I want to be at! Once I get there, then I can relax a little bit and just live a “maintenance lifestyle,” which is quite a bit easier than “full out weight loss mode.” It still takes discipline, that’s for sure, but it’s just a little bit more flexible. Soooo, for now, I’m “all in,” and macro counting makes it sustainable and I don’t even feel all that deprived.
I will also mention that my weight loss so far has been slow. I lost a few pounds last week and was quite encouraged, but this week I’m back up two pounds! It’s frustrating, but I have noticed that a few of my clothing items feel ever so slightly looser. Soooo, even though I’m not seeing amazing results on the scale, I do believe some positive changes are happening. Regardless, I’m taking good care of my body and can just “feel” that my body loves what I’m doing….so I’m just going to keep on doing it!
I’m also pretty proud of myself because I’ve stayed strong amid a LOT of temptations! First off, I didn’t have a single piece of Easter candy! Yay me. I didn’t even feel deprived because I told myself that it’s not like I’ll never eat candy ever again. Candy and crappy (yummy) food is available ALL THE TIME, so I will be just fine if I stay away from it for a while because it will always be there waiting for me. Hee hee.
We also had another birthday at our house last week. My sweet, darling five year old is now six. Sniff, sniff. I made him a very yummy birthday cake that CALLED my name!
I didn’t have any of it! Zero, zilch, nada…not even a lick. AND, we had leftover cake at our house for days, so I had to fight that battle a few times. It also broke my heart to put the cake batter bowl and beaters into the sink without licking it. I’m a lover of cake batter, so that was a huge sacrifice…but I did it!
I also made cookies for my family last night and didn’t have ANY! Let me back up a bit, we had a wonderful relaxing weekend! Yesterday evening, we decided to go on a beautiful walk with some of the kidlets.
The weather was just perfect and I loved every single second of our walk. I’m guessing we walked about 2 1/2 miles. It reminded me of my childhood because we spent a little bit of time just exploring and wandering around in nature. It’s amazing how many outside smells make childhood memories come flooding back to me!
We even saw some sweet horses on our walk…
He was a darling, sweetie pie horse.
Anyway, when we got home all of my kids begged me to make cookies! I figured that cookies would be a wonderful way to end a wonderful weekend and walk, so I agreed. I even had this sweetie offer to help me…
Making cookies with my kids (and eating them!) is one of my favorite things ever! Sooo, I thoroughly enjoyed making them and watching my family enjoy them, but once again, I didn’t have ANY! Not even a taste of the cookie dough!
I must say that they turned out absolutely perfect this time too! Waaaaaaa.
Oh folks, they were warm, gooey and baked perfectly. I think this was my biggest temptation so far! But, I reminded myself that I CAN and WILL make cookies again someday. It’s not like this is my last opportunity I’ll ever have to eat them. AND, I survived….became stronger and am proud of myself because of it!
Really, I believe the key to success with weight loss is to just to keep on going and don’t give up! Consistency is the name of the game. Sooo, I’m just going to keep on going and see where it takes me!
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Well, I also want to tell you guys about a wonderful trip our family went on last weekend! We headed down to sunny St. George (Utah) and it was heavenly. The main reason we went down there was for a dance competition my daughter was in. Sadly, I only took ONE quick picture at her competition!
We videotaped the whole thing, but I only thought to take this quick selfie as we were leaving….
She did a great job and it’s always fun to watch her dance! Her team got a first place in both dances (several teams can also get first place, they just give you a place depending on your score.)
After her competition, we decided to head over to a gypsum mine that we visited several years ago. I actually wrote all about that trip on the blog too! You can read it here if you so desire.
It’s just an old abandoned gypsum mine on the Arizona/Utah border that is fun to explore!
When we went there three years ago, I don’t think it was a very well known place. I remember doing searches on the web to try to get directions to the mine so I could tell some friends how to get there. I could not find ANY information about the mine at all! Well, this year I Googled it and it was ALL OVER the internet!
Also, when we went to the mine a few years ago we were the only ones there the entire time we were there. Well, this year there were two other families there when we got there and another family came while we were there. Crazy.
Anyway, it’s kind of hard to give directions to the mine, but if any of you are curious, here is the exact GPS location: N 36 58.715 W 113 27.832
It’s just a cool place full of tons of gypsum that the kids love to mine! My 8 year old said it was just like Minecraft. Ha.
We brought some chisels, hammers and screwdrivers with us, which helped a lot. The kids loved digging and getting chunks of gypsum. My sweet 6 year old filled his pockets FULL!
He had to keep pulling his shorts up because the weight of the rocks kept pulling them down, lol!
I also gave my daughter a hard time because she was mining in full makeup, fake eye lashes and a bun (it was right after her dance competition!)
I told her it was nice of her to get all gussied up to go dig in the dirt!
My sweet baby loved exploring and picking up and throwing all the rocks…
He was in heaven!
Right before we left, we took this picture because even though it’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s a beautiful place!
We had a fun time!
We also took our kiddos to Zion National Park! We had soooo much fun and it was absolutely gorgeous!
Ya know, even though I grew up in Utah, my family didn’t really visit the National parks much (ahem…at all!) Maybe it’s because I was the 6th child and they’d already “been there, done that.” Ha ha. We went on some really fun trips when I was a kid, but they were not the “outdoorsy, exploring” variety. We did drive through Zions ONCE, but that was the only time I’d ever been there!
Sooo, it was a lot of fun to take our family there. We went on the Emerald Pools hike and it was just awesome!
It was the perfect hike for families! Yes, it could be potentially dangerous (like any hike), but it was relatively safe as long as you stayed on the trail and kept an eye on the kids!
Oh, I also must mention that when we got to Zions and parked the car, we realized we’d left the baby backpack at the condo (an hour away!) I panicked for a sec and then we just thought, “Oh well, let’s do this thang!” Thankfully, it turned out okay. Kev carried the baby most of the way, but the big kids and I took some turns too. It worked out well.
We also hiked up to Weeping Rock (the first picture I posted was taken there.) It’s a very short hike (like a mile, round trip,) but so beautiful! It’s a neat area where water continuously “weeps” out of the rock. There are beautiful hanging gardens on the rock too.
My son took this pic and you can see the water dripping down. It is an absolutely gorgeous area of the park!
In all seriousness, the entire park is jaw-droppingly beautiful! At every turn, there is a picturesque view. It really is unbelievable!
I took this pic on our way back from Weeping Rock.
It was such a serene area of the park. There were a few deer hanging out nearby that were obviously very used to people. Our kids liked watching them for a little bit.
I also took this darling pic of Kev and the baby…
Whenever the baby has his binki in, he HAS to pinch someone’s skin. He is particularly fond of the skin on the knuckles. It’s so sweet. Soooo, Kev said he kept wanting him to put his hand up so he could pinch it. Too cute. I LOVE that little squishy pie!!!
We had so much fun exploring the park and can’t wait to go back! We’d love to take our bigger kids on the Angels Landing hike, which is one of the coolest, yet most dangerous hikes in the park. I’m sure I’d be a nervous wreck, but I still want to do it!
Well, I think that’s all I have to say today! I’m actually heading to New York City (one of my favorite places in the whole entire world!) this weekend with a group of my high school friends (we’re all turning 40 this year!) I cannot wait! I never ever go on “Girl’s Trips,” so this will be wonderful! I hope I can hop on here and update the blog before I leave, but if not, I’m sure I’ll be posting stuff on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so if you want to follow me there, I’d love it!
I hope y’all have a wonderful night!!! xoxo
I absolutely love Saint George and Zion! The rocks are so beautiful. My mom grew up in Utah too 🙂
I never get tired of St. George and I am now in love with Zion!!! That’s neat your mom grew up here!!
NO GUESS WORK – BLACK & WHITE – those types of lifestyles are really the only ones that actually work!
And um, no cookies – LOOK AT YOU and your extreme willpower, kick ass! 🙂 I made fiance like 2 dozen BUTTER RICH cookies the other day. When I make that kind of thing… I don’t even think it’s food – so I would never even think about putting it in my mouth! LOL!
LOL, thanks GiGi!! Yes, considering I’m a cookie monster, it’s always a huge accomplishment when I resist!!! That is so sweet of you to make cookies for your fiance and you don’t even eat them!
Let over cake and cookie dough and you avoided it all. That is amazing! Those would be my downfall.
Ha ha, thanks Abby! It was so so tough, but I’ve noticed it does get easier the more I avoid it!
I am completely envious of the area you live in an how absolutely beautiful it is there. Not that Georgia isn’t beautiful, but having those mountains in the background is just stunning!! There are a few things that never leave the back of my car and the ergo carrier is one of them. I’ve been stuck before carrying my little one around and that gets tough!
Thank you so much Jessica! I really love the beauty of where I live. We lived in New England for a while and it was so beautiful there too! My brother and his family live in Georgia (my sis-in-law is from Columbus) and I love it there too!!!! I should just keep our baby backpack in our car too. What a great idea!
I remember forgetting our baby backpack when our oldest was 18 months old, and we all just agreed to carry him on a hike. There were four of us and come to find out, my son was quite a chunk.
I just googled the directions to Zion. We took our foreign exchange student to Yellowstone National Park last year and this year I’m wondering if a trip to Zion would be in order. It’s about a 9 hour drive for us, but it looks beautiful in your photos!
I was so worried when I realized we’d forgotten that backpack, but thankfully it worked out okay!!! I really think you would love Zion!! If you enjoy the outdoors and hiking, you will be in heaven! Bryce Canyon isn’t too far away from Zion and it’s amazing too!!! I was just telling my husband that I would love to go to Yellowstone!
It really does look beautiful!!
Thank you! I really was in awe by the beauty everywhere I looked. Loved it!!!
Wow! Great job sticking to your goals.
Looks like a fun place for a family trip.
Thanks so much Char! It really was a fun family trip!!!
LOVE to see your family pictures and see the kids growing up. I have never been to Zion or Bryce but it is on my list ! My brother lives in Idaho and I need to get out west. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Karen!! You would love the National Parks! We’re up in Idaho quite a bit too because most of Kev’s family lives there!