Category Archives: Health

Weight Loss Attempts

Health

Once upon a time, weight was not an issue for me. I’m honestly not sure how or when it became one. I have always been fairly healthy, and attempted to keep healthy habits. When my current husband and I started seeing each other, I did gain some weight, but I was not really overweight, I was HEALTHY. After having JW however, I began to really put on weight. It’s like between having a whole new person in the house to take care of, and the pain from my c-section recovery, I gave up on healthy habits and traded them for comfort foods. Lots of comfort foods.

My weight loss attempt

I am currently going about losing weight in two ways: I have started using Noom to keep me accountable and Emeals to meal plan and conveniently order my weekly groceries. I am also back to walking daily, and hoping to start running again. Those who know me personally know that I had to have a hysterectomy last year, and thankfully my doctor was able to clean up a TON of scar tissue from my c-section which should make running less painful… I’ve just been scared to test it too much.

I’ve been at it for a week now and have lost 3 pounds. According to Noom, I can expect to be down 12 more by February 10th (just in time to look a little trimmer for Valentine’s day!). I’m hoping that this is the case.

Are you trying to lose weight as well this year? Have you found a successful way to lose weight and keep it off? If so, please comment and give me some tips, I would love to hear whatever you have to say!

I should add- I cut out all carbonated beverages a few years back, and am now in the process of replacing sweet tea with lemon water. If I could cut out coffee, that would be awesome, but people may die.

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It’s been a rough week…

About Me, Dog Days, Family, Health, Life, , , , , ,

So, I can’t lie to you. It’s been a rough week. Getting back into the work/school routine has been less than fun… And I didn’t play the Power Ball, so I have no chance of having won and not going back. 😉 Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but we came back to school to find that two of my favorite students were transferring to different schools… It took everything in me to not cry at school.

On to something positive…

Training Trigger is going good! I can say that he is almost 100% housebroken, walks super great on the leash, and does perfect in his crate. Plus, he’s such a love bug! He tends to be a bit of a lap baby, but I’m okay with that. 🙂 I was able to get in touch with someone who got a puppy from a previous litter from his breeder (same mom and dad) and they said that their pup who is just over a year old now weighs 110 pounds! I may need to get the lap baby thing in check soon, but I really enjoy all the love…

As you can see, Trigger loves when I come home from work! He laid on me and wouldn't let me up when I got home from work!
As you can see, Trigger loves when I come home from work! He laid on me and wouldn’t let me up when I got home from work!

My Favorite Amazon Items This Week…

As you can see in the photo above, I have a brand new phone case. It is AMAZING! I have to have a wallet phone case, because I am constantly forgetting my driver’s license and debit card in either my purse or yesterday’s blue jeans, so this one is kinda perfect. What makes it completely perfect is that it has a removable magnetic case for your phone. It also has three separate slots for cash, receipts, and whatever other loose papers that you may have.

Galaxy Note 4 wallet case

We’ve had so much rain these last few weeks that I’ve been desperately needing rain boots (especially when my front yard turned into a pond!). I searched and searched, and finally found these cute and affordable ones! They are available in several different prints, but I got these black ones with white polka dots with the intentions of adding my monogram in red. I’ll have to update the photos when I finally get a few minutes to add the monogram.

 

Rainboots

Getting Healthier…

So, here’s the topic that I dread talking about… I really need to get healthier. I will be keeping you all updated with my weight, measurements, and workouts throughout the year. Without further ado, here are the numbers—

My Fat Loss Journey

If you would like to join me on my fat loss journey, I have a clean copy of the sheet I created that you can download here…

Well, until next time! I hope you’re all joining me tomorrow for week 2 of our 52 week home organization challenge!

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Trail Mix Day

Family, Health, Kids, Recipes, , , , ,

In keeping with my days of the year addiction, I found out that today is TRAIL MIX DAY! Now, I don’t really know why trail mix has it’s very own day, but I sure love it enough that I’m not going to complain. Heck, I could probably devote a whole week to nothing but trail mix. 😉

Homemade-Trail-Mix-Recipe7

Since my boys are still home from school (can September 8th get here fast enough?) and not really into my whole cleaning and organizing thing that I have going on for today, we are taking a small break to create our own trail mixes. After all, trail mix is designed to give you energy for strenuous activities right? So what better than energy for cleaning our rooms and getting ready for the school year!

Traditional old boring trail mix is nuts and raisins… We aren’t really big on boring trail mix in my house. And, to be honest, my boys love raisins, but I hate them, so they’re not going anywhere near my trail mix.

Things to consider putting into trail mix are:

  • Nuts
  • Seeds
  • Dried Fruit
    • Raisins
    • Dried apples
    • Cherries
    • Cranberries
    • Goji berries
    • Blueberries
    • Strawberries
    • Apricots
    • Banana chips
    • Figs
    • Pineapple chunks
    • Mango
  • Grains
    • Shredded wheat cereal
    • Pretzels
    • Whole-grain cereals like Cheerios or Chex
    • Bran flakes
    • Whole-wheat crackers
    • Granola
    • Toasted oats
    • Puffed rice cereal
    • Air-popped popcorn
  • Sweets
    • M&Ms
    • Chips of various kinds (chocolate, peanut butter, carob, butterscotch)
    • Cacao nibs
    • Yogurt-covered raisins
    • Chocolate-covered coffee beans
    • Mini marshmallows
    • Chocolate-covered nuts
  • Savory Extras
    • Sea salt
    • Curry
    • Ground ginger
    • Cinnamon
    • Nutmeg
    • Cardamom
    • Cayenne pepper

Now for our choices…

Mom’s Trail Mix

Almonds, walnuts, peanuts, cashews, pecans, cranberries, and just a few dark chocolate chips.

It’s really yummy, healthy, and gives you lots of energy!

Micheal’s Trail Mix

Popcorn, peanuts, and M&Ms.

There’s a part of me that wonders if Micheal’s qualifies as trail mix, but he likes it, and it’s healthy, so we’re rolling with it.

Kyle’s Trail Mix

Banana chips, peanut butter chips, peanuts, almonds, dark chocolate chips.

I have to say that Kyle’s idea was actually better than mine! It was DELICIOUS!

Trail Mix Health Note:

As healthy as anything can be, it’s all only good in moderation. Therefor, it’s suggested to only consume about 1/4 cup of trail mix. Kyle and I measured ours out into bags that we can bring to school with us. I’m not sure how the popcorn will hold up, so our plan is to sit down for a movie and all munch on Micheal’s “trail mix” this afternoon.

Trail Mix - Baggies 2

 

Happy trails to you!

Alicia

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More Herbs, Less Salt Day

Health, Recipes, ,

Did you know that there’s a website called Daysoftheyear.com? It’s one of my favorite things to check out. I really enjoy learning new things, and I’m sure you do too, so every once in a while, I’ll share some of the “holidays” that they have with you. Today is “More Herbs, Less Salt” day.

More Herbs, Less Salt

In anticipation of More Herbs, Less Salt day (and Chicken month!) I made some of the most delicious chicken that I have ever cooked last night. I got the recipe from my Pillsbury Cookbook, but I made some adjustments to my liking, so I will be sharing what I did with you, instead of their recipe.

Garlic-Basil Chicken

garlic basil chicken more herbs less salt

Ingredients:
  • 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of dried basil leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Step By Step
  1. In shallow dish or pie pan, mix garlic, basil, pepper, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Coat chicken with garlic-basil mixture.
  2. In 10-inch skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook about 5 minutes on each side or until browned.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest part is cut to bone (170°F).

This was honestly the most delicious and moist chicken that I have ever eaten. I expected it to be dry, having been cooked in the skillet, but it was far from it. I hope you all will give it a try.

More ideas of More Herbs, Less Salt…

What are your ideas for using more herbs and less salt? I would love to hear them! Please comment here or email me the recipe at aliciainasmalltown@gmail.com. I can’t wait to hear from you!!!

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Excuses, Excuses…

Health, Running, Working Out, ,

You know, since I’ve been taking getting healthy seriously, I’ve had other people tell me all about how much they’d like to be able to eat healthier, go running, go to the gym, or whatever they think they would like to do… But here’s the thing, they always have an excuse as to why they can’t.

excuses don't burn caloriesSo here’s the thing… You can make all of the excuses that you want, but excuses don’t burn calories. I’ll give you the list of excuses that I have heard and then I’m going to tell you something that is even more powerful than all of those excuses and what I’m hearing when I hear those excuses.

  • It’s too hot.
  • I’m too tired.
  • I’m hurting.
  • It’s too cold.
  • I can’t do that.
  • I don’t have time.
  • I’m too busy.
  • I don’t want to go alone.

I’m sure I’ve heard a million more, but these are the most popular… Or what springs to mind at the moment. But here’s the thing, what your excuses are really saying to me is that you don’t actually want to get fit. You don’t want to get healthier. There is something that you want more than you want to get healthier. Maybe you just want to be lazy…

A thirty minute workout is only 2% of your day. Are you really that busy? You can’t wake up 30 minutes earlier? You can’t prepare by laying out some sweats and sneakers for a walk or run? If you keep saying you can’t, all I can really think is that you are really good at making excuses…

Remember, excuses don’t burn calories… Work does! So stop making excuses, get off your ass, and work out. Wake up earlier and go for a walk. Go to the grocery store and buy healthier foods. Stop making excuses, just make a step in the right direction.

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