Hey yall,
Caitlin here- As you may know, Ashley and I want to make this blog very realistic. That means sharing the good and the bad. We want people to celebrate our triumphs but also to be able to relate to our failures. That being said, this is one of those confessional moments. So, how many people have heard the phrase "When it rains, it pours"? My spanish teacher in high school explained it as the spanish version of our saying "It's raining cats and dogs." However, to me it means something else. To me it means that when you let a little happen, a lot can happen. Make sense??? It is kind of like a dam. When it springs a leak it starts out small, but then suddenly it just breaks and all the water comes rushing forward. That was kind of how my trip home went. I began my journey home with good intentions. I was going to pack some food with me and avoid eating out. However, by the time I was done packing I had absolutely no room for food. If you know me and my ability to pack, when I say there was no room that truly means there was no room. I started my first meal okay- not great, but not terrible. I settled for a bagel with butter, and a big cup of fruit. After that it all went downhill. I ended up doing Arby's for lunch, and not only got a sandwich, but also got mozzarella sticks- definitely not healthy. Then while at my brothers I had a slice of cheesecake and some regular soda. Then to finish off the day I had burger king on the trip up north. As I said, when it rains, it pours! That being said, I did make some good choices while at home. For example, I had a big serving of vegetables with my Christmas meal, I had limited portions of starch, and I stopped eating when I was full. Now something else I must admit was that I brought on my own demise. You see, I made a dessert for my family that I knew I loved eating. I made it cause my family had never had it, and I wanted them to enjoy it like I enjoy it. The down side to this was that it was very difficult to limit how much of it i I ate. One way I countered this was to limit other goodies I ate. I did not eat nearly as much puppy chow and chex mix that I would usually eat around the holidays. So, overall I could have done a lot better for the holiday season, but I could have done a lot worse. I have definitely seen a positive change from how I handled the holidays last year to how I am handling them this year- and for that I am blessed. How did your holidays go?
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Food tricks
Hey yall,
Caitlin here. Have you ever caught yourself playing food tricks??? I know I do it all the time. What I mean is this: you find ways to give yourself permission to eat something that maybe you shouldn't. I know I definitely do that. For example, I am totally craving ice cream right now, but I must admit, I have already had a decent size ice cream cone today. I usually allow myself one cone per day, so I have already met my quota :( Well, as most of you know Christmas is on the way, and I am heading home for the holidays. That's when it happened....I caught myself in a food trick. I told myself that I should eat some more ice cream because I am going to be gone for a few days and if I don't eat it now the ice cream will be bad by the time I get home. Now mind you, I'm only going to be gone for 4 days. You and I both know ice cream will not go bad in 4 days, or at least it shouldn't. I was trying to play a food trick on myself so that I could eat unhealthy and not feel bad about it- how crazy is that?!? I have also caught myself before saying "It's only a bite/handful/nibble/etc so it doesn't count" but how many times does that bite turn into 5 bites, or you may only take a bite of one thing and then take a bite of 10 other things as well. Before you know it you are 300 calories in the hole for the day and you don't even realize it! I am trying to become more aware of my food tricks. Although I must say, eating one spoon of ice cream after I have already had some is helpful for me- it allows me to fill the craving I have without eating an entire bowl. It is all about balance and finding what works for you. So, who wants to 'fess up and say what food tricks you play on yourself???
Caitlin here. Have you ever caught yourself playing food tricks??? I know I do it all the time. What I mean is this: you find ways to give yourself permission to eat something that maybe you shouldn't. I know I definitely do that. For example, I am totally craving ice cream right now, but I must admit, I have already had a decent size ice cream cone today. I usually allow myself one cone per day, so I have already met my quota :( Well, as most of you know Christmas is on the way, and I am heading home for the holidays. That's when it happened....I caught myself in a food trick. I told myself that I should eat some more ice cream because I am going to be gone for a few days and if I don't eat it now the ice cream will be bad by the time I get home. Now mind you, I'm only going to be gone for 4 days. You and I both know ice cream will not go bad in 4 days, or at least it shouldn't. I was trying to play a food trick on myself so that I could eat unhealthy and not feel bad about it- how crazy is that?!? I have also caught myself before saying "It's only a bite/handful/nibble/etc so it doesn't count" but how many times does that bite turn into 5 bites, or you may only take a bite of one thing and then take a bite of 10 other things as well. Before you know it you are 300 calories in the hole for the day and you don't even realize it! I am trying to become more aware of my food tricks. Although I must say, eating one spoon of ice cream after I have already had some is helpful for me- it allows me to fill the craving I have without eating an entire bowl. It is all about balance and finding what works for you. So, who wants to 'fess up and say what food tricks you play on yourself???
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Party Pounds
Hey yall,
Caitlin here- I don't know about you guys, but if you are like me, you have a bunch of parties to attend this season. I have been to 3 already this week and know I have at least one more to go this season. That raises the question, how can you survive all of these parties without packing on all the pounds??? Here are some tips that can help you have fun and not ruin all of your hard work throughout the year.
1) Watch what you eat.
Now I understand that this is a duh! statement. What I mean is this- eat lite throughout the day. This allows you to save your calories (or points plus) for later in the day. This does not mean you have to starve yourself. It simply means making healither choices and filling up on lower calorie foods. For example, yesterday I knew I had an ugly sweater Christmas party to attend. Thus, for breakfast, instead of having some waffles, milk, and fruit I decided to have 4 oz of greek yogurt (high in protein- great filler!), with a handful of blackberries w/ splenda mixed in, and a diet V8 berry blend. This filled me up with fewer calories and it was a great way to get in fruits, dairy, and veggies for the day.
2) Exercise
If you have a chance to, get in 15 min or more of exercise in during the day. By burning off calories this will give you more of a cushion of how many calories you can have at the party. Some great at home exercises could be cleaning the house (see previous post), lunges, squats, walking in place- just to name a few.
3) Be picky
While at the party be a little picky about what you eat. What I mean is this: scope out the table before you get your plate. See what healthy food there is and see what non healthy food there is, and then make a plan. Start with fruit and veggies on your plate- and get a lot of them, go easy on the dips. Then find the meats (if there are any). If you can get some chicken or turkey those are great choices cause they are lean meats. Then, pick out a few items you would like to have that might not be on the healthier side. For example, at my work party this week we were taken out to a nice italian restaurant. We had appetizers, a main course, and dessert. For my appetizer I ate some salad, and then a small portion of friend mozzarella. When it was time for the entree I began with roasted chicken, then I had 2 bites of alfredo with broccoli, and one bite of spinach manicotti. This allowed me to have a little bit of food that I wanted, I got in vegetables, and not over indulge or deprive myself. I then finished with two spoonfuls of cheesecake and a bite of apple pie. Again, this allowed me to have a little of everything I wanted, but I was able to leave the restaurant satisfied (not stuffed) and with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
4) Don't drink your calories.
Most people don't realize just how many calories are in soda. If you can stomach diet soda, get that. Otherwise get water. One thing I like to do is make my own lemonade. I just squeeze some fresh lemon in my water and add some non sugar sweetener. This gives me the sweet I am looking for in a drink with no extra calories.
5) Eat before you go.
I know this seems to defeat the purpose of going to a holiday party, but it's a great idea. Have a small snack before you go to that holiday hop or office party. Some good ideas are an apple/orange or veggies. They are low in calories, but decently filling. What this will do for you is make you less hungry at the party. This will help you not to fill up on high calorie high fat food that will most likely be at the party. It is now your job to not over eat! Eat until satisfied, not until you are stuffed.
Hope these tips help you to make it through the holiday season with your head held high. Any tips I missed??? Feel free to comment and tell us about them!
Caitlin here- I don't know about you guys, but if you are like me, you have a bunch of parties to attend this season. I have been to 3 already this week and know I have at least one more to go this season. That raises the question, how can you survive all of these parties without packing on all the pounds??? Here are some tips that can help you have fun and not ruin all of your hard work throughout the year.
1) Watch what you eat.
Now I understand that this is a duh! statement. What I mean is this- eat lite throughout the day. This allows you to save your calories (or points plus) for later in the day. This does not mean you have to starve yourself. It simply means making healither choices and filling up on lower calorie foods. For example, yesterday I knew I had an ugly sweater Christmas party to attend. Thus, for breakfast, instead of having some waffles, milk, and fruit I decided to have 4 oz of greek yogurt (high in protein- great filler!), with a handful of blackberries w/ splenda mixed in, and a diet V8 berry blend. This filled me up with fewer calories and it was a great way to get in fruits, dairy, and veggies for the day.
2) Exercise
If you have a chance to, get in 15 min or more of exercise in during the day. By burning off calories this will give you more of a cushion of how many calories you can have at the party. Some great at home exercises could be cleaning the house (see previous post), lunges, squats, walking in place- just to name a few.
3) Be picky
While at the party be a little picky about what you eat. What I mean is this: scope out the table before you get your plate. See what healthy food there is and see what non healthy food there is, and then make a plan. Start with fruit and veggies on your plate- and get a lot of them, go easy on the dips. Then find the meats (if there are any). If you can get some chicken or turkey those are great choices cause they are lean meats. Then, pick out a few items you would like to have that might not be on the healthier side. For example, at my work party this week we were taken out to a nice italian restaurant. We had appetizers, a main course, and dessert. For my appetizer I ate some salad, and then a small portion of friend mozzarella. When it was time for the entree I began with roasted chicken, then I had 2 bites of alfredo with broccoli, and one bite of spinach manicotti. This allowed me to have a little bit of food that I wanted, I got in vegetables, and not over indulge or deprive myself. I then finished with two spoonfuls of cheesecake and a bite of apple pie. Again, this allowed me to have a little of everything I wanted, but I was able to leave the restaurant satisfied (not stuffed) and with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
4) Don't drink your calories.
Most people don't realize just how many calories are in soda. If you can stomach diet soda, get that. Otherwise get water. One thing I like to do is make my own lemonade. I just squeeze some fresh lemon in my water and add some non sugar sweetener. This gives me the sweet I am looking for in a drink with no extra calories.
5) Eat before you go.
I know this seems to defeat the purpose of going to a holiday party, but it's a great idea. Have a small snack before you go to that holiday hop or office party. Some good ideas are an apple/orange or veggies. They are low in calories, but decently filling. What this will do for you is make you less hungry at the party. This will help you not to fill up on high calorie high fat food that will most likely be at the party. It is now your job to not over eat! Eat until satisfied, not until you are stuffed.
Hope these tips help you to make it through the holiday season with your head held high. Any tips I missed??? Feel free to comment and tell us about them!
The meal
Hey yall,
Caitlin here- if you guys know me at all, you know that I am a picky eater. While growing up I lived on Mac and cheese- literally. I probably ate it 3x a week because I didn't like anything else. Another thing you might or might not have known about me are the three foods on my list that I NEVER ate. Those three things were: 1) Vegetables 2) Seafood 3) Pork-besides bacon. So in March I decided that I was going to make a lifestyle change. A meal for me before March might have been: chicken kiev- a breaded piece of chicken with a bunch of butter, potatoes, and anything else I felt like snacking on. I finally decided that something needed to change. That was when I began forcing myself to eat vegetables. I have come such a long way in that area. I now try to eat vegetables with every meal. Tonight was a big night for me though. I had a meal I thought I would never eat. What was the meal you may be wondering? I had tropical fruit, green beans, and.....tilapia! Yep, that's right- the girl that HATES fish, ate fish. I must say, I was not jumping up and down rejoicing at how tasty it was, but I didn't spit it out either. I am left with the conclusion that is was okay. Not fantastic, but definitely worth working into the diet more often. I must say I am proud at how far I have come with my food choices. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me!
Caitlin here- if you guys know me at all, you know that I am a picky eater. While growing up I lived on Mac and cheese- literally. I probably ate it 3x a week because I didn't like anything else. Another thing you might or might not have known about me are the three foods on my list that I NEVER ate. Those three things were: 1) Vegetables 2) Seafood 3) Pork-besides bacon. So in March I decided that I was going to make a lifestyle change. A meal for me before March might have been: chicken kiev- a breaded piece of chicken with a bunch of butter, potatoes, and anything else I felt like snacking on. I finally decided that something needed to change. That was when I began forcing myself to eat vegetables. I have come such a long way in that area. I now try to eat vegetables with every meal. Tonight was a big night for me though. I had a meal I thought I would never eat. What was the meal you may be wondering? I had tropical fruit, green beans, and.....tilapia! Yep, that's right- the girl that HATES fish, ate fish. I must say, I was not jumping up and down rejoicing at how tasty it was, but I didn't spit it out either. I am left with the conclusion that is was okay. Not fantastic, but definitely worth working into the diet more often. I must say I am proud at how far I have come with my food choices. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Spiritually Fit
Hey yall,
Caitlin here- as hopefully everyone knows Christianity is not a faith in which you can achieve perfection. There is no moment where you have learned all you need to know or reached the highest tier you can reach, or could say to yourself "I've done it! I've grown as much as I need to, I am perfect, and now I can stop striving." So then, since there is no 12 step program for Christianity, how could you define spiritually fit? What do you do to measure whether you are on track with your relationship with God? How can you tell apart those who would be a good mentor for you from those who wouldn't be a good mentor? Here's my take: I go to 1 Corinthians 3:2 "I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready." For me, someone who is spiritually fit is someone who has gotten beyond the "milk" of Christianity. What I mean is this, they know the basics: Jesus died on the cross for your sins, he has risen from the dead, and through that has saved us and has called us his own" to me, that is the milk of Christianity- the very basics. There is so much more to Christianity though! It is more than just believing Christ died to save you, you have to take it a step further and actually nurture a relationship with Him. For me there are two things that makes someone "spiritually fit" 1) They are continually nurturing their relationship with God. They seek Him out and make an effort to build their relationship with Him. 2) They know what they believe and they know why they believe it. I really think each person needs to take their faith beyond "I believe this because that is how I was raised" or "I believe this because that is what my pastor preaches." If you believe that baptism is essential for salvation that is great, but can you tell me why you believe it? If you believe the spiritual gifts are still alive and well in the church today, fantastic, but can you back it up with Scripture? To me one who is spiritually fit can explain what they believe to others and why they believe it. What are your thoughts readers??? How would you define spiritually fit?
Finally time for me...
Hey all, it's finally Ashley. I have been on the down low recently, but now it's time to break the silence, and announce to all of you that I am finally going to be an east coaster again. In February I am moving to what my family has called home for the past several years, the DC beltway, and you know what that means? It's time to kick Caitlin's butt into gear. In the past several months changing our lifestyles has become important to both of us. Together a total of 65 lbs.
In the past 80 days I have learned a lot. I have learned that if I really want to loose weight and get into shape then I need to think differently. It's not about dieting, it's about changing your lifestyle. It's about learning to eat healthy, while if you want to eat some crappy dessert, then to do so in moderation, and most importantly to learn to modify it with more healthy ingredients. Talking about food, I find that what works for me is counting calories. In order to loose weight it's all about what goes in and what comes out, calories burned vs calories consumed. Accountability and motivation is huge, and I have found that www.myfitnesspal.com is the perfect place for that. It's like a facebook meets blogspot. It offers the food and exercise diary, while letting you make friends who make you stay motivated and accountable to keep trudging. Exercise is huge of course. I find myself at the gym 6 days a week. You gotta find something you like to do to keep going, for me it's water aerobics, and cardio like the elliptical and wave. Go set some mini goals so you dont set yourself up for failure!
In the past 80 days I have learned a lot. I have learned that if I really want to loose weight and get into shape then I need to think differently. It's not about dieting, it's about changing your lifestyle. It's about learning to eat healthy, while if you want to eat some crappy dessert, then to do so in moderation, and most importantly to learn to modify it with more healthy ingredients. Talking about food, I find that what works for me is counting calories. In order to loose weight it's all about what goes in and what comes out, calories burned vs calories consumed. Accountability and motivation is huge, and I have found that www.myfitnesspal.com is the perfect place for that. It's like a facebook meets blogspot. It offers the food and exercise diary, while letting you make friends who make you stay motivated and accountable to keep trudging. Exercise is huge of course. I find myself at the gym 6 days a week. You gotta find something you like to do to keep going, for me it's water aerobics, and cardio like the elliptical and wave. Go set some mini goals so you dont set yourself up for failure!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
You may not want to hear this but...
Hey all,
Caitlin yet again. I will most likely be doing the majority of the blogging for two reasons. 1) Ashley has her own blog to maintain, I do not. 2) I have a job where I can update while I work, she does not. That being said, you may not want to hear this but house cleaning is a great way to burn some extra calories. I have been scrubbing the stove for what seems like an hour (probably closer to half an hour) and I am only half way done. Now, house work should in no way replace regular exercising. Although, if you are going to a holiday party and looking to burn a few extra calories to compensate for the food you will eat- grab a vacuum or broom and get busy. This is great for a few reasons. First, you will feel good about yourself for having a clean house. Second, you will feel good about burning those extra calories. Third, you will hopefully be able to have a guilt free night while going to your special event. Here are some totals for you:
Doing laundry ~73 calories
Making the bed ~68
Cooking ~85
Washing the dishes (im guessing this means hand washing and not just loading the dish washer) ~78
Ironing ~78
Dusting ~85
Sweeping ~112
Vacuuming ~119
Scrubbing the floors ~ 129
Rearranging Furniture ~204
Yard Work ~170
Washing Windows ~102
Washing the car ~ 102
Gardening ~136
Mowing the lawn (let's be real here- this does not mean with a riding lawn mower!) ~187
Raking (Again, this does not include using a leaf blower!) ~ 146
Shoveling snow ~204- to all my northern people- does this seem a bit low to you??? Shoveling snow can be rough!
Carrying a small child (up to 15 lbs) up and down stairs ~289
You could have one very clean house and one very tight tummy- here's to house work *Huzzah*
Confirmation
Hey all,
Caitlin again. I promise you Ashley will start posting at some point lol. When Ashley and I first began tossing around the idea of doing the blog we both agreed that we should first pray about it. I know it may sound a bit silly to pray about starting a blog- but there is a lot we would like to accomplish with this blog, so we thought it would be wise to pray about it. Well, as a part of my quite time with God I am reading the book The Power of a Praying Woman. First off, I would recommend this book to all women. It is a great book about how to pray for yourself and how to grow stronger in God- it has truly been a great book to read. Well, last night I got to the chapter titled Lord, give me wisdom to make right decisions. The whole chapter was about how to pray for wisdom and seek God in the decisions you make. It really made me feel like God was confirming to me this whole blog thing. Ashley and I had just talked about seeking God about this and then that night in my quite time I read about seeking God in all your decisions. I personally think that is a really cool confirmation. Any thoughts?
Caitlin again. I promise you Ashley will start posting at some point lol. When Ashley and I first began tossing around the idea of doing the blog we both agreed that we should first pray about it. I know it may sound a bit silly to pray about starting a blog- but there is a lot we would like to accomplish with this blog, so we thought it would be wise to pray about it. Well, as a part of my quite time with God I am reading the book The Power of a Praying Woman. First off, I would recommend this book to all women. It is a great book about how to pray for yourself and how to grow stronger in God- it has truly been a great book to read. Well, last night I got to the chapter titled Lord, give me wisdom to make right decisions. The whole chapter was about how to pray for wisdom and seek God in the decisions you make. It really made me feel like God was confirming to me this whole blog thing. Ashley and I had just talked about seeking God about this and then that night in my quite time I read about seeking God in all your decisions. I personally think that is a really cool confirmation. Any thoughts?
Different ways to be fit
Hey faithful few who read the blog,
This is Caitlin. As you may have figured out this blog is going to kinda be based around the journey from going from plump to petite, but I will not be alone in my journey. Ashley will be joining me on this journey. So the first thing that will make the blog different from most is that I will not be the only one posting- Ashley will also be posting. Don't worry, we will make sure to specify who is writing the post. As you also may know, there are three main things in my life- and in Ashley's as well: Faith, Family/Friends, Football. As the post title says, there are different ways to be "fit." One of the goals of this blog is not only to be physically fit, but also to be spiritually fit. Thus, not only will we be sharing our weight loss journey but we will also be sharing different Bible passages that have spoken to us, or stuff that God has shared with us during our alone time with Him. We really want to use this blog to be an encouragement for others to get out, be active, and make a positive change in their physical and spiritual life. We hope you are willing to follow us on our journey. There is so much more we want to accomplish with this blog- so we will keep giving teasers as we go, until we are finally ready to begin our journey and see this blog to its full potential.
This is Caitlin. As you may have figured out this blog is going to kinda be based around the journey from going from plump to petite, but I will not be alone in my journey. Ashley will be joining me on this journey. So the first thing that will make the blog different from most is that I will not be the only one posting- Ashley will also be posting. Don't worry, we will make sure to specify who is writing the post. As you also may know, there are three main things in my life- and in Ashley's as well: Faith, Family/Friends, Football. As the post title says, there are different ways to be "fit." One of the goals of this blog is not only to be physically fit, but also to be spiritually fit. Thus, not only will we be sharing our weight loss journey but we will also be sharing different Bible passages that have spoken to us, or stuff that God has shared with us during our alone time with Him. We really want to use this blog to be an encouragement for others to get out, be active, and make a positive change in their physical and spiritual life. We hope you are willing to follow us on our journey. There is so much more we want to accomplish with this blog- so we will keep giving teasers as we go, until we are finally ready to begin our journey and see this blog to its full potential.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
This could be the start of a beautiful friendship
Hello readers,
This is Caitlin. This is the start to hopefully many a blog. You are hopefully witnessing a big event in history- our first blog! Ashley and I are in the process of coming up with some great ideas for this blog- but probably not until Feb or so- so please check back- and make sure to tell your friends. This is one blog that will hopefully be worth sharing!
Cait
This is Caitlin. This is the start to hopefully many a blog. You are hopefully witnessing a big event in history- our first blog! Ashley and I are in the process of coming up with some great ideas for this blog- but probably not until Feb or so- so please check back- and make sure to tell your friends. This is one blog that will hopefully be worth sharing!
Cait
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