“Lifestyle Change” Week 2

September 26, 2011 at 11:37 am · Filed under "Lifestyle Change"

I prefer to call it a “lifestyle change” as opposed to a diet.

Diets are not my thing.

In my post last week, I wrote about how one of my very good friends told me (very politely may I add) that I was gaining weight.

She was right.

 I decided that it was time to make a change.

The truth is, I know how to do it.

I’ve lost a tremendous amount of weight in the past few years.

It’s just about getting into the right mind-set.

So.

My week in Review:

Last Monday:

I got on the scale.

I’m about to admit my weight publicly.

This is a big deal for me ladies.

169.8

I gained roughly 10 lbs since I moved to Israel.

I let out a sigh.

This is what happens when you don’t weigh yourself in over a year.

Things need to change.

The first thing that had to go was my daily pb&j sandwhich.

I substituted for a fruit cup.

For lunch I made a huge salad with an egg (protein is very important)

That night I cleaned the dust off my gym clothes and down I went to the gym.

I did 20 minutes elliptical, 20 minutes treadmill, and a 20 minute stomach core class.

I sweated profusely.

But I felt good about myself

Came home and ate a huge salad

I downloaded an AMAZING app for my phone called My Fitness Pal. It lets me input my food intake and exercise. This app def kept me on track.

Tuesday:

Watching my caloric intake with the app, I ate well and made sure I was not over my calories for the day.

Went to the gym- did the same routine.

Stomach core class 2 days in a row may not have been the smartest thing to do to my poor underworked abs.

Wednesday:

Gym

I'm the one sitting on the floor wearing a mumu

Friday:

Decided to mix it up with gym classes.

I have the day off on Friday and my girls were in school so it was the perfect time.

I went to an aerobics class (60 minutes)

Followed by my first Zumba class (60 minutes)

Now mind you, all of the people who have tried zumba tell me that they LOVEEEEEEEEE IT (or at least that what they write on their FB status)

I liked it.

I think I would have had more energy if it weren’t the second class in a row that I was taking.

None the less- AMAZING.

Saturday:

Went to the gym for 20 minutes since I had other time restricted obligations. But felt I needed to go- even if it were only for a little while.

Sunday:

We celebrated my boss’ birthday with an insanley expensive cake. I needed a bite. So that’s what I had. A bite. It felt good not to have a slice or two. Sometimes you just need the taste.

Did a kickboxing class that KICKED MY ASS (60 minutes). I was the one in the class trying to keep up. My instructor was so wonderful at the end of the class, encouraging me to take it slow.

Monday(Today):

I was bold- I got on the scale.

167.2

I lost  2. 5 lbs!

Go me.

***

All in all, I am ENJOYING the gym.

I never thought I would say that.

 Like ever.

But I find it to be relaxing and it’s my me time- someone who I usually never have time for.

I feel good about myself and am motivated to stay on track.

The tips I have so far:

Drink a lot of water

Eat lots of fruits and veggies

Remember your protein

Also- eat well after your work out

Take your time- even if you can’t keep up with everyone in class (or even with those people on your TV screen).

Give your body a break- don’t go to the gym every day (I’m learning this the hard way as my body is currently aching)!!

Stay tuned for next week!

Any tips ?

Comments (11)

Wordless Wednesday

September 21, 2011 at 2:07 am · Filed under Wordless Wednesday

Riding her bike near a cabbage field

Comments off

Turning Lemons into Lemonade since 2011

September 19, 2011 at 9:19 am · Filed under Fitness

I’ve put on some weight recently.

I’ve felt it in my clothes.

But I have not been on a scale since July 2010.

I hate scales, and so do most women (and men I’m sure).

I’m just afraid to step on that thing.

Damn I hate that cold metal.

A really good friend of mine looked me in the eyes today and said “You seem to have gained some weight”

And I proceeded to cry into  my Twinkie.

OK, there was no Twinkie involved because they don’t sell them in Israel.

{On a side note- if I were the one to bring them to Israel would I be a millionaire? Hmm}

Anyway.

She was right.

And of course, tears started streaming down my face, because really- no one likes to be told what they are already thinking.

I sat in my office and asked myself what I was going to do about it.

Was I just going to sit and cry about it?

No.

Action needs to be taken.

Then I remembered that two months ago when I signed up for additional laser hair removal treatments (of course), I was given a free gym voucher good for a 1 month membership.

Could that be my golden ticket?

I called up my husband and asked him to look for the voucher that was collecting dust at home.

He found it.

I have 3 days to redeem it!

That means that if my friend wouldn’t have said that I was starting to look a oompa loompa (my words not hers- she’s not a total bitch) I would have never redeemed that voucher.

I am starting my weight loss journey tonight.

For the zillionth time.

Because really, it’s always been a struggle for me.

But besides for weight, I just really need to get in shape.

To be healthy.

And I can guarantee that I am not in any way healthy.

My bones ache like a 95-year-old.

But it ends tonight.

And to prove my commitment, I will post my results every monday for the next month.

I don’t even think I have proper gym clothes. I may have to pull out a tour t-shirt from a Bryan Adams concert that I went to last year (great show btw) and some sweatpants with as little holes in them as possible.

It’s on twinkie.

How do you get healthy?

Comments (17)

Math is Tough!

September 13, 2011 at 3:23 am · Filed under News Stories

I was reading an online article about how t-shirts are starting to send   “Anti- Education” messages  to young girls.

First it was controversy over this JCPenny sweatshirt:

which is kind of stupid if you ask me.

My brother NEVER did my homework for me now matter how pretty I was.

Then there is this one from Forever 21:

Allergic to Algebra.

I mean, are people really up in arms over this??

Really?

I remember back in 1992, there was big controversy over a talking Barbie who would say “Math Class  is Tough“. The American Association of University Women  spoke about the fact that it was sending a message that girls weren’t strong in Mathematics.

Her only real crime is her outfit

What I remember about that controversy was that it was the first time that I had ever heard that boys were better at math than girls. I finally understood why I sucked at math. Glad Barbie made me aware of my problem- because I could have had dreams of becoming  a scientist. I coulda been a CONTENDER!

Shirts are allowed to be cheeky if you ask me.

I believe that girls today are empowered little firecrackers, and that NO shirt (or 90′s Barbie doll) can change that.

What do you think?

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Larger Than Life

September 5, 2011 at 6:42 am · Filed under My daughters

This past summer, I feel like I have seen the most change in my girls: they are more articulate when they speak, they express their needs in a more specific manner and their motor skills are improving.

Every morning they wake up and ask to color.

They went through an ENTIRE pack of printer paper in a week!

My girls are getting to an age, where their drawings are starting to look like actual things.

It’s strange, it’s as if overnight they are becoming these little people.

The other week I asked my daughter to draw Mommy & Daddy.

She came back with this:

Drawings by 3.5 year olds add 10 pounds
They say you can learn a lot by asking your kid to draw you.
 
What I learned:
1) Mommy seems larger than life
2) Daddy looks tiny compared to Mommy
3) Mommy is chunky
4) Daddy is skinny
5) Mommy needs to blow dry her hair
6) Mommy needs to smile more
7) My kid knows how to draw eyebrows!
8) I need new shoes
 
What do you think? Am I imagining this- or does my kid think mommy is larger than life?
Also- have you ever asked your kids to draw you?
 
 

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Summer “Vacation”

August 29, 2011 at 6:59 am · Filed under Summer

This has been me as of late:

I be tired.

Summer “Vacation”.

No preschool.

In Israel, they have this thing where the last 2 weeks in August there is NO child care.

Anywhere.

No summer camp.

Nothing.

So the trains are usually packed with parents taking their kids to work- because what else can you do with them?

I was dumb enough to do that as well…

took her on her first train ride- then to work

She was So well behaved on the train- you know, that is until Satan himself come out of her while we were at work. 

She drove me crazy for the following 4 hours .

I’ve been trying to find things to do with them to keep them occupied.

This in turn forced me out of the house, and unable to watch my “Breaking Bad” marathon.

Bike Riding:

Beach Time:

Pool Time:

amusement Park Time:

Dress Up Time:

Park with Mommy Time:

Cleaning the kitchen time:

You missed a spot

(Because Mommy needs some help)

I am running out of what to do with them!

Thankfully- the heavens will part on Thursday and the Preschool doors will open once again.

Oh to fast forward to September 1st!

I wonder how other parents do it.

I mean- how do you keep them busy??

Ideas and suggestions are always welcome!

Comments (2)

The Truth is not Always what it Seems

August 25, 2011 at 3:04 am · Filed under Israel

I’ve been living in Israel now for over a year.

Time flys in this desert heat.

I can NEVER get used to this heat man.

I don’t usually write much about living here, it’s not like I don’t have what to write about, I just kind of don’t know where to begin.

People usually ask about security-  if I worry that I’m going to be blown up by a terrorist while I sit on the train.

The truth is, you kind of get used to the unknown.

I mean, I am a New Yorker- a New Yorker that was living in NY on 9/11- so I guess if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere.

But most of my life, I have been the one telling people around me, or those who would ask, that everything you see on tv about Israel is kind of sensationalized.

I mean yes, you are often surrounded by gun carrying soldiers-

And by soldiers, I mean 18-22 year old boys.

Although technically after they leave the army, they cannot be called boys I suppose.

The women don’t usually wield fire arms.

All men and women MUST serve in the army.

There is no choice really.

The only way that someone can “get out of it” is if they are married, religious, or have mental or physical disabilities.

When you enter a train station, your bags are checked and  you have to pass your belongings through an x-ray machine.

When you enter mall parking, your car is checked and you need to open your trunk for inspection as well.

These are minor inconveniences for security sake.

The other week, my husband brought 3 boxes into the house.

When I inquired what was in the boxes, he nonchalantly said “Gas Masks”

Each citizen receives one.

When I asked him why there were only 3 and not 4- he said that he had lost his years ago, and you can’t get a new one unless you return your old one. Because he has no clue where his is, he needs to pay a fine to a government office and only then can he receive a new one.

Seeing the small boxes that carry my girls gas masks makes me want to throw up.

Last weekend, there were rocket launches from the Gaza strip to areas not far from where I live.

Sirens were set to warn residents to get into a bomb shelter.

Most homes have a room that is a bomb shelter- with steel doors and windows.

Since my house is older, it wasnt necessary to build a bomb shelter room back then so we don’t have one.

Which is scary.

Truth be told, my husband and I slept through the sirens at 8am Friday morning. I didn’t hear anything and neither did he.

Rockets hit a school in a city nearby- but seeing as though it’s summertime- no one was in the building.

A man was killed on his way to pick up his wife- he heard the sirens, got out of his car to find shelter, and a rocket hit him.

His wife is 9 months pregnant.

You read stories like these and your heart aches.

It could have been someone who I knew.

But- in Israel, you kind of feel like everyone IS your family.

You are all living  the same reality.

My husband’s college is in a zone where rockets can reach. He’s been receiving school texts that the school is closed until further notice.

Sometimes I just want to run back home.

flee this war-torn country.

people hate you for practicing your religious freedom…. for being who you are.

But it’s not all bad here.

I mean, if it were, the country would be empty.

People must fight for their land, for their right to exist.

Do I think I will be living here for the rest of my life- the answer is no.

But I wont lie and say that there is nothing magical about this country.

I can assure you that we will be back in the US within the next 3-4 years.

I just hope that until then, I don’t have to break out those small gas masks.

Comments (7)

Letters Lost

August 17, 2011 at 7:49 am · Filed under My daughters

I found this letter in my blog drafts just now… I havent seen this since I wrote it 4 years ago. It is a letter I wrote for my girls when I was 2 months along..
 
 
Dear Babies,
This is my first official letter to you. Right now you are tiny (size of a paper clip) and sharing a womb- play nice. Daddy and I can’t wait until you arrive. We hope for the best but plan for the worst. As much as we already love you I think we’re keeping our love for you at arms length- just in case the worst does in case happen.
I don’t feel like a mother yet. I worry about you, yes. I take care not to ingest or be surrounded by things that may be bad for you. I have horrible dreams at night that I lose you and I wake up in a cold sweat. All you will ever see me as- is a mother. You will not know me as a young childless woman, and it will be hard for you to picture me as one. I know sometimes I see pictures of my mother as a young teen and can’t imagine what she was like.
Your home will be surrounded by love. I don’t think I grew up in a home like that. I grew up in a home with parents that married out of convenience, not love, and that penetrated every aspect of my childhood. I vowed that my family would never be that way. Don’t worry- you have nothing to worry about-Daddy and Mommy love each other and have beaten all the odds to be together. I am looking forward to seeing a mixture of your father and I embedded on your faces.
We worked very hard to have you. I wanted you for so long and thought that it might never happen. Nature wasn’t on our side. Daddy had to give mommy shots every day and mommy had to go through a roller coaster of emotions and procedures. But now you are here. I would do it all over again. You will never wonder whether or not you were wanted.
I see my growing belly and it has become noticeable to the world around me. I was always jealous of women with their pregnant bellies walking around . I so wanted to be one of them, to know what it was like to be carrying a life. Now I know. But by the same token I am scared that you will be taken away from me and we will be left alone.
Our house is quiet now, it will be this way for another 6 months. After that, the noise will comfort us.
I will try to not only be your mother, but also your friend. I hope that I can find a happy medium between the two and make it work. I would never want you to feel that you cannot come to me or your father if you have a problem. I was lacking that in my own home and it is not what I want for you.
I am very happy that you will have one another. I hope and pray that you will love each other and have a bond that no one can break.
Looking forward to seeing your faces and loving you…
 
Mommy
 
 

Comments (6)

Thank You.

August 15, 2011 at 10:19 am · Filed under From the heart

I’ve been blogging now for 4.5 years.

I started with a very clear topic: infertility.

Now, well.. life changes.

My blog changed.

I’m a different person today than I was in February of 2007.

Sometimes I lose my way with this blog.

I want to go in a million directions, but then nothing comes out. no words are written.

I am a million people in one day.

I wear many hats.

A few hundred people visit my blog daily.

I still cant believe that.

Who are these people?

Who are you people?

What have I done to deserve an audience?

Some of my very best friends are Blogger Superstars.

I just have this tiny little blog- look ma, no ads!

I’m just a woman, trying her best.

I share.

I cry.

I laugh.

As you can tell, my last blog post was about a month ago.

I had some writers block.

and then…

then I got an email this morning that changed it all.

A woman emailed me with the subject line “Thank You.”

She proceeded to tell me that by writing about my depression and subsequent anti depressant meds- that I inspired her to do the same… and that now she is more present with her kids.

“I have been reading your blog for about 18ish months, but reading your post a few months ago was like looking into a mirror. Hearing you say you can now be with your girls and be present…it was like a ray of light came through the clouds. I thought I was the only one who felt like I couldn’t be present with my kids. I love my kids, I always have. I would do anything for them. I love my amazing husband, I always have – but I have not been present…looking back, it must be since since my first child was born, 10.5 years ago. It has only gotten worse since.”

 

“Thank you for not only having the courage to take that step for yourself. But to speak (write) about it, in a very public way, to be an example, so that other moms, like me – thousands of miles away could gather strength and know that we are not alone. So that we know other moms are going through similar feelings, and there is a way to move out of the fog; for the sake of our children, our marriages and ourselves.”

By that point tears where streaming down my face… (while I was on a packed train headed to work mind you.)

“Thank you…more than words can say…”

And you know what I say to this?

Thank YOU.

Thank you for listening and reading, and relating.

Thank YOU for making me feel like I am not alone.

Thank YOU for letting me know that I am not some sort of monster for feeling that way that I have felt.

We’re human.

And this blog has helped me reclaim me.

And all of you have helped me find me.

And held me up when I needed you to.

So to all of you I say- Thank you.

 
 

 

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Wardrobe Week Rewind

July 19, 2011 at 5:09 am · Filed under Wardrobe Week Rewind

I havent done one of these in ages!

So much catching up to do!

 Tuxedo Shirt:  J Crew

Jeans : Gap

Brown braided belt: F21

Gold Chain Necklace: F21 

Tip: The shirt was a bit boxey- so I added a thick belt to the larger part of my stomach again to hide the pooch

***

Abstract Cardigan:  J Crew

Tank Top : H&M

Jeans: Espirit

Pearl/fabric Necklace: F21 

Tip: Cardigans are the curvy gal’s best friend.  If you wear a print on top, always make sure to wear a solid on bottom.

***

Grey Cardigan: Gap

Tunic : F21

Jeans: Old Navy

Wooden Necklace: Truly, no idea. 

Tip: When your hair is a mess: a nice headband always does the trick!

***

Jean Vest: Bitten (SJP’s failed clothing line: everything was $8!)

Pale Pink Button Down : H&M

Grey Mini Skirt: H&M ($6!)

Mini Pearl & Floral Necklace: F21. 

Tip: I always like to layer larger shirts with something that cinches. In this case, I placed a jean vest on top with a relaxed cotton skirt.

***

Short Sleeve Cardigan: f21

Dress: F21

Belt: H&M

Necklace: f21

 

Tip: I bought this dress online, and didn’t wear it for over a year. It made my bust look HUGE. I decided to pair it with a cardigan (I know, again) but that drew attention away from the bust. Also, I added my own belt- instead of the tie belt it came with to add dimension to the outfit.

***

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