Everyday I'm a hustlin'

So its Monday. A long week ahead of me including an exam and several assignments that will be due. Ugh... Anyways, Jonathan started at his new school today. Of course I was nervous like any mom...will he feel nervous? Will the kids be nice to him? Will he make friends like he did at his other school? Well he walked in like the champ that he is and the other kids came up to him and said "HI!". I wish people acted towards other people the way kids do. They don't see big or small, fat or skinny, black or white. They just see a kid. And they want to know them and be their friend. My baby boy waved at me and said "bye mommy!" and it truly eased my heart. I hope he has the best day. Can't help but think about him. i love that kid.

So I am feeling a little blah today. I am unsure if my efforts this week will be enough to see the scale move.  I will be going to the gym today and will try my best to work it out but I am nervous about what the scale will end up saying. Oh well... I can only do the best I can do, right? As much as I would love to see a 1 in front of my weight loss, as long as its down, I'll be happy. Hey, I'll even settle for just 200.... oh man though, I really want to see that one though. 199.... even just 199....

So as I spoke about before, I have been taking only natural supplements. Throughout my 20s, I have filled by body with every type of diet pill. I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to feel my heart pound out my chest when I am simply sitting in a chair. I want to do things that will HELP my system. So I have been taking Flucoxanthin and Green Coffee Extract for about 2 weeks, as mentioned and recommended by Dr. Oz.  I am thinking of also buying this:

Dandelion root tea has shown "choleretic" effects, which means that it can stimulate the liver to increase bile flow. Once bile is released by the liver, its two main functions are to carry away waste and to break down fats during digestion. So overall, it helps promote healthy function of two extremely important organs of the body (liver and kidneys) and also help remove wastes. I am excited to add this to my healthy repertoire.

So here is my food intake for yesterday. I was really below yesterday but that is mostly because I was helping a friend and realized I missed a snack at 2 pm. Hope everyone makes good choices today!!

Danielle's beach sexy hair

So my beautiful friend Danielle wanted to do something a little different with her look, especially since we have been both on a journey for fitness and health lately. From  the Bonqueshas to the Kim Kardiashians and Jessica Simpsons, the ladies of the world have been obsessed with HAIR (and as you already know from my Unbeweavable post, i am a fan), so I offered to put in some hair extensions.  Well I did it for her today and I may be biased, but I think she looks AMAZING! Here are some pictures of my sexy friend! YOU GO GIRL!

Here are a couple of BEFORE pictures:

And here is my sexy hot friend with a little something extra... AFTER:

ignore the crying toddler in the background...

I know I am biased but she looks sooooo fricking cute!

Focused

So I stayed 100% focused during the party yesterday. Truth is, I didn't have much of a desire to even eat badly. Well okay, the macaroni and cheese almost did me in, BUT I stayed very focused with my eye on the prize! I also got my first weight loss compliment from someone that I didn't tell I was trying to lose weight. Terrance mom said "Jennifer... have you lost weight? You are looking good! I can tell." And that made me beam of course. Looking down at myself, I really dont see it but the fact someone took notice (and way before the 20 pound mark that it is said when people notice weight loss on you) makes me super happy.

Anyways, had  a great time with friends. Here is my favorite man in all the land:

And here is my Goddaughter Madison-

Jonathan's best friend Jordan:

And last but not least: THE BIRTHDAY TWINS!

Such a fun time!!!

Went out for hibachi last night because I did not feel like cooking and Chris loves some good hibachi. Also, I can have a huge amount of delicious sushi for a fraction of points! I left complete full and it was awesome. Jonathan however will not be going to anymore hibachi restaurants. He screams bloody murder at the fire and we always have to leave the table. At least I dn't have to worry about him playing with matches anytime soon.

11 minutes and 16 second mile today

1.54 miles in 18:17 and cool down to 1.6 miles (19 minutes 47 seconds)

No core today because it took 17 minutes to get my lazy ass to walk in the gym.

Getting into my groove

Gotta make this post short because I have a toddler ready to dip out of here. We have a busy day since its the twins birthday today and I am trying to get work and a workout in today. 

Yesterday eating went well. I think I am coming slightly obsessed because I am starting to dream about food. Last night I dreamed I was eating at a buffet. Literally shoving food in my mouth and thinking "oh no! I wonder how many points I am consuming now!!". Uh, yah... awkward. Anyway, I spent much of last night looking through blogs of people who had weight loss over the past few months. I was really inspired by many. To see how they were once where I am and day after day, they pounded away at the pounds! Its great to see they also had frustrations and feelings of being tired and fed up, but just kept going. Last night I was kind of in a blah mood. Proud of how I'm doing thus far but looking down and seeing that I have sooooo much more weight to go. I know I didn't pack it on all at once, so i am going to lose it little by little anyway. Lose it by being dedicated and focused on this. I can do it. I know I can. 

Here is my day yesterday. I went pretty far under yesterday. That dinner makes it nearly impossible to keep with my points. I didn't work out though. I forgot my shoes yesterday. I am determined to at least get 4 days in this week. I MUST do it. I aimed for 5 to do better than I did the week before, but if I can't beat it, I gotta at least match it! 

Dinner tonight

Didn't work out to tonight ...boo. forgot my gym shoes. Enjoying leftovers of Turkey bolognese on top of spaghetti squash with weight watchers shredded cheese. Awesomeness.

Deliciousness

TGIF!! I am sooo ready for this week to end. While it hasn't been "bad" it has been incredibly stressful. The summer has truly spoiled me with time with friends and family. Now comes the life of solitude as I go back to cramming everything that I can left in only 24 hours of the day. This is the time I neglect everyone and pretty much become the worst friend on earth. lol. But I have great people in my life who understand and this year I am making an effort to squeeze in date nights, squeeze in girl nights, and squeeze in ME nights.

So I was finishing my tracking for yesterday and apparently I went WAY under points. Totally not on purpose. I made a delicious Bolognese sauce, which I took from Skinnytaste.com (as usual). I made a few modifications to it, for example, i do not like any kind of bacon or anything that tastes remotely like bacon, so I skimped out on the pancetta. i also used ground turkey instead of lean ground beef, and I used a few more veggies, for example adding yellow, green, and red bellpeppers and mushrooms ( I LOVE MUSHROOMS!).  See all ingredients below:

Skinny Bolognese Sauce

3PointsPlus Value

Prep time: N/A

Cook time: N/A

Serves: 16

Ingredients 1 Tbsp olive oil      1 cup(s) shredded carrot(s)    1 1/3 pound(s) uncooked ground turkey    1/4 cup(s) fresh parsley      1 cup(s) fresh mushroom(s)    1 Tbsp basil      1 small uncooked onion(s)    2 fl oz white wine      1/2 cup(s) uncooked bell pepper(s)      1 cup(s) sweet red pepper(s)      1 small yellow pepper(s)    1/2 cup O Organics Half & Half, Organic      56 oz Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes with Basil, New World Style

And it truly came out looking like this: 

ONLY THREE POINTS for this delicious, veggie laden sauce. Instead of going the pasta route, i decided to  do spaghetti squash. Tasted amazing and again, my dinner was THREE POINTS. Well, now that I look at my points for the day, that modification kept me severly low. 

Thirteen points under plus I exercised. Hmm. I may need to start doing something more in order to keep my calories and intake in order. I know I am eating healthy but I don't want to be that low of a deficit. I have some edamame at work today and I think I will be indulging in some of that. This afternoon. With me working out more, i really need to up my protein anyways. 

Tomorrow is my friend's children birthday party and while I am looking forward to seeing the kids play together, I am not looking forward to all the cakes, cakepops, and food I will be surrounded by. Just need to remain focused as I have been doing already. If I am able to work out tonight, then I will be 4 days in with my workout routine. I will be trying to push myself today even more on that treadmill. I am SO CLOSE to hitting 11 mins for my mile.  I will also be focusing on some core workouts. Due to pregnancy and a wonderful C-section, my core needs some work. I will be doing some planking exercises at least twice a week and when I reach the 15 lbs mark, I will be looking to get a body wrap. Not sure if those REALLY work, but anyway I can try and keep my skin somewhat tight, I will gladly take. I will try anything at least once.