The Baby is Home

We brought Shannon and baby Caroline home from the hospital today.  My husband Doug flew in from California, so we have a houseful.   I was going to fix a healthy dinner, but their friends came over to see the baby, so they ordered pizza and had a big baby party.  I was going to wait until everyone left so I could fix something for me to eat, but nobody was leaving and the pizza smelled so good and what was I to do?  Two pieces of vegetarian, thin crust pizza couldn’t be too bad could it?  Luckily for me, it really wasn’t.  It was a total of 360 calories, 12 g fat, 46 g carbs, and 16 g protein, and it tasted SO good!

 After dinner we walked for about an hour and then my 115 lb, cross-country running, swim team coaching, super jock 21 year old daughter Daryn had me lift 5 lbs weights while she was lifting 15 lb ones.  My arms are already sore, but I guess its about time I started toning up.

Caroline Kate

Here is our baby Caroline Kate. She is so darn cute!  She looks just like her Mommy did when she was 24 hours old.   I spent a lot of time with Shannon at the hospital today and was worried about eating the cafeteria food, but thankfully they had a super healthy salad bar, yum!

My daughter Daryn drove down from college to see her new niece.   Daryn, my son-in-law John, two year old granddaughter Isabelle and I went for a long walk around this cool trail by Shannon and John’s house.  It was fun and we had to go really fast because it was only about 50 degrees outside. That’s freezing in California degrees!

Daryn is sitting next to me right now with her head on my shoulder.  She said my shoulder is a lot bonier than it used to be.  She said she can also tell I’ve lost weight because my face is a lot thinner.  Yay, I have a skinny face and shoulders.  I wish my butt would catch a clue!

Breaking Bad 5-5

Look who's back!  My Breaking Bad Buddy Shauna!  Here's her post for today:

Debbie I have really been in a stooper lately. When I read your blog about Tim's advice to just keep blogging I can see how that would help. I'm so proud of you for sticking with it. WOW it must be fun living in sunny cal, and walking to your aerobics class and back home. You have inspired me today and I'm going over to the gym with my nextfit trainer. 45 min. and I'm coming home with a new attitude. Talk to you soon.

Shannon Had Her Baby Today

Woo Hoo, after about 40 hours of weird 10 minutes apart contractions, our little Cinco de Mayo baby granddaughter was born today at 1:53 PM.  She was 21” long and weighed 7lbs 8oz.  She is healthy and beautiful, but she still doesn’t have a name.  They were going to name her Caroline, but now that they’ve met her, they may change their minds.

We’re all totally happy.  I just went out for a quick 20 minute fast walk with my son-in-law and the dogs and I’m almost ready to call it a day… as soon as I log my food intake for the day.  I didn’t eat enough, but what I ate was very healthy.

I’ll have baby pictures tomorrow!

I'm Going to Be a Grandma Again

I flew to Salt Lake today.  My daughter Shannon is kind of in labor.  Her baby isn't due until May 17th, but she has been having contractions every 10 minutes for the last 15 hours.  It is 10 PM and she and her husband just went to bed.  I hope this is the real thing and they wake me up in the middle of the night and we all go to the hospital to have this baby.  I'd hate it if it were just false labor.... but probably not as much as Shannon would!

It sure is hard to be on a diet and exercise everyday when I travel so much.  I did okay on the meals today and got an hour walk in.  I held two dogs on a leash and  pushed my 2 year old granddaughter in her stroller .  So much for being selfish!

My Religious Post

Forgive me everybody, for I have sinned!  I haven’t been blogging, I didn’t write down my food intake for the last two weeks and I didn’t lose any weight this week.  I have not kept up my side of the bargain.  I have stumbled and I need to get back on the straight and narrow path to weight loss!

Now I’d like to bare my testimony.  I know that what Tim says is true.  I know that it will take at least 10 weeks of careful food planning and being accountable for everything I eat to change my behavior and develop good habits.  I know that if I do everything Tim asks me to do, I’ll lose the weight.  Amen!

Ouch, that was really hard to say.  I’ve been slipping back into my comfort zone.  Bad stuff is always happening, but it always will happen.  I’ve been rationalizing that other people need me.  I don’t want to be selfish and use the time it takes to plan, blog, eat right, and exercise, because I don’t want to neglect others.  That’s a dumb excuse!

I have to be selfish right now.  Today my exchange student missed the bus and came in and said “I need a ride to school”. I told her I couldn’t take her.   I was just leaving to walk to my water aerobics class and didn’t want to miss it.  Now I’m feeling guilty, but a little proud for not breaking my commitment to myself.  She called a friend and got to school on time, so it all ended okay anyway.

I’m the Compassionate Service leader in my church and a lady needs a ride to physical therapy every Monday and Wednesday at 10 AM for the rest of the month. I’m going to have to find other people to take her, because I have aerobics at 10 on those days.  I’m feeling really guilty about that as well   I hate guilt!  

Tim suggested I buy the book “Color Code” by Dr. Taylor Hartman.  In the book, Hartman categorizes personality traits into colors.  Tim said I’m a BLUE.  Blue people act on emotions and crave appreciation.  That’s me all right.  I guess I’d better buy the book and figure out what blue people do to lose weight!

It takes a lot of work to lose weight.  It is human nature to rationalize and slip back into old habits, and that’s what I’m starting to do. I know that not many people succeed in losing weight and getting into shape, but I don’t want to be average.  I want to succeed! Starting today, I’m going to put in even more effort to Choose The Right!

Week six, Day five.

Has anyone ever gotten tired of eating?  Trying to lose weight is tedious and blogging about it is tedious.  I’m lucky I’m not a binge eater and I don’t really have food cravings because if I did, I may have given up by now.  My biggest challenge is sticking to my goal of having 30 g protein, 25 g carbs and 8 g fat five times a day.  I’m getting to the point where it would be so much easier to just not eat!  I know that starving doesn’t work, so I just keep plugging away.  

Today I sat my keychain trainer up to the hardest workout and walked to aerobics, worked extra hard in the water and walked home really fast.  I burned over 600 calories and I plan on doing that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  I hope I’m in a better mood tomorrow.  I’d love to come up with something interesting and fun to blog about besides boring old food!

Week Six

I talked with my trainer Tim again yesterday.  I only lost one pound again last week and I'm at the half-way point.  I've lost 9 lbs and my goal was to lose 10 lbs in the first 5 weeks and 10 lbs in the last 5 weeks.  The fist 10 pounds are the easiest, so I've really got to do better!  He told me the best thing I can do is BLOG EVERY DAY. I was out of town again for most of the week last week but that’s no excuse for not being diligent.  Sitting down every day to write about my feelings, successes and disappointments will really help me, so again I am committing to writing a little bit every day.

Tim gave me some good advice about the foods I’ve been eating:

• Ground beef – rinse it in hot water before eating or mixing with other ingredients.  This will remove a lot of extra fat.
• Substitute ground turkey or chicken for ground beef.
• When eating cheese, avoid cheddar cheese and check labels for the cheese with the least fat and calories
• Instead of having cheese and crackers, have cheese with an apple.
• Avoid salt!
• Only eat Greek yogurt.
• Eat 3 or 4 egg whites a day.
• Boil some chicken breasts and have them available in plastic bags to grab on the go.
• Eat sliced unsalted almonds.
• Be sure to take 2 fish oil tablets with breakfast and dinner.

I’m also going to start harder and longer workouts.  Wish me luck!

Week five, day two

Insulin 101 

I’m a little frustrated!  I’m sticking to my exercise and diet program, but only losing about a pound a week.  I talked to my trainer, Tim, yesterday and he gave some good pointers.  The main thing I need to do is avoid simple sugars. I did some research and found that the reason why sugar has such a bad rap has to do with insulin. In the body, insulin is secreted in response to elevated blood sugar levels, such as those that occur after a meal, and it pushes that sugar into storage. First to be filled are the tissues of the muscles and the liver where the sugar (which is what your meal has become) is converted to glycogen. Glycogen is the body's fuel of choice for high intensity aerobic activity because it is readily available and because it is quickly converted to ATP for energy.

 Most people only have room to store about 500 calories of glycogen from any given meal. After these storage areas become full, insulin pushes the remaining sugar into the other storage area, FAT STORAGE.

Week four, day four

I love oatmeal with brown sugar and blueberries for breakfast.  It is packed with nutrients and extremely good for lowering cholesterol.  Brown sugar, even though it is better for you than white sugar, is still pretty darn bad for someone trying to lose weight.   Tim told me about a zero calorie sweetener called Stevia that is 10-15 times sweeter than sugar and healthier as well.  It is also better than other sugar substitutes. I did a little research and found that aspartame is the number one sugar substitute in the United States, but it has been linked to tumors, seizures, blindness and mood swings. (I don’t like the taste or after-taste of it either.) After hundreds of years of use in South America, decades of use and study in Japan, and many years of study in Europe and the United States, Stevia sweetener has not been linked to a single harmful side effect for humans.

I tried it on my oatmeal this morning and it was pretty good, thanks Tim!  I think the only place you can purchase it is in health food stores, but I’d highly recommend it.

I’m really doing well on my diet, so far this week.  I have been within 10% of my target numbers for calories, protein, carbs, and fats every day so far!

Week four, day two

It is good to be home!  I talked to my phone-in trainer, Tim, yesterday.  He was nice enough to give me a break from logging my food intake while I was out of town.  Now to get me back on track, I need to send him my daily food intake every day and I need to be within 10% of my target numbers for calories, fat, carbs and protein.  I was able to do that yesterday and I’m determined to do it again for the rest of the week.

I have another daughter who is expecting a baby. She's due next month and lives in Salt Lake City.   I’ll be going to stay a week with her too. (Go Granny Go!) Tim just happens to live in Salt Lake, and he said that if I can lose 10 lbs by the time I get there, he’ll work me out in his gym every day I’m there.  Great incentive!  I’ve never had a personal trainer before, let alone one of Tim’s caliber, so I’m totally stoked!

I can’t believe how into exercise I’m getting.  Yesterday , it was chilly for SoCal, (55 degrees) Normally when it’s that cold, the last thing I’d want to do is get in an outdoor  swimming pool.  But I was truly excited about going to water aerobics!  First, I walked for half an hour to the pool. then while we were in the water it started raining, but we just kept going.  I felt I was in Navy Seal training!  Then I walked back home in the rain.  Who is this woman?

Week three, day seven

Oh, the pleasures of flying stand-by!  I retired from the airline business last year, so I have the privilege of flying all over the world at a fraction of the cost of a regular ticket.  The catch is, I have to go stand-by.  It worked out perfectly when my daughter went into labor two weeks early.  I just went to the airport and got on the next flight to North Carolina and in seven short hours, I was there!  No such luck getting back home.

I tried to get home on Thursday, but didn’t make it.  I tried to fly out on Friday morning and didn’t make it.  I finally got out of that tiny little airport at 4:30 PM and got home about eight hours later.

Needless to say, it’s not possible to get much exercise when you’re sitting at the airport for two full days, and it’s also hard to eat right   I did the best I could.  I had my protein powder with me and that was a life saver.  Don’t leave home without it!

All in all, I was away from home for 9 days and still managed to lose one pound.  Not a big achievement, but at least I didn’t gain anything.  I talk with my coach Tim in the morning and I’ll get back in the healthy routine that I plan on sticking to!  

PS, I get to go back to Water Aerobics tomorrow, yay!

Week three, day three

OMG, it is going to be so hard to leave these two little sweethearts, but I’m going home tomorrow.  I sure hope I didn’t get too far behind on my 10-week program.  I haven’t weighed or measured myself, so I don’t know if I’ve made any progress this week.  I’ve tried really hard to stick to the program…but… I was totally weak today.  I had a piece of, da-da-da, the dreaded Birthday Cake :(   Aren’t you supposed to lose your taste for sugar if you go without it for a while?  You’d never know it by me. It was THE BEST cake I’ve ever tasted in my whole life!

I feel guilty and promise that I'm going to work twice as hard when I get home.

Our daily walks now include half the neighborhood. I'm the Pied-Piper Grandma of Newport, North Carolina.  Here's some cute pics.

Here's how they get around in this neighborhood.  I don't know who this guy was, but he sure was friendly!

Week three, day one

Whoops, I skipped a day or two sometime last week.  Time flies when you’re having fun!

                                     Here’s my little Easter Girls.

I'm still in North Carolina and today I had my phone-in meeting with my trainer Tim.  He was totally complimentary!  He was proud of me for sticking to the script, even though I’m away from home.  He said a lot of people in my situation would use this as an excuse to slack off on the diet and exercise.  He said I was doing so well that I didn't have to send him my phone log until I get back on Friday.  Yay Tim!

My darling friend Malissa wrote on her  Facebook about me.  (She’s a total fitness rock-star and as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside) and Tim commented.  I just have to post their comments:

Malissa Winters GET IN SHAPE, GRANDMA! For all of you that have struggled with a diet, routine etc. I invite you to please FOLLOW my friend Debbie on her "Fitness Journey" over the next 6 weeks (4 completed=10 Total) She is a beautiful inspiration, motivating people one week at a time with her awesome hard work and results. She is being held accountable for EVERYTHING she eats & her exercise etc. Debbie is pretty amazing and very determined to get happily get through this 10 week journey. For More Information on this 10 week Program, contact either Debbie via her blog  or Tim Misewicz here on Facebook or www.ten-weeks.com.


Good luck Debbie, you are Rocking It Girl! Keep up the amazing work, I can't wait to see you at the journey's FINISH LINE!! We are so proud of you! Congrats to you and your family on little Avreigh Joy!!!!
Many Blessings!

 

Linda Secretan likes this.

Tim Misewicz 

Even with a cross-country trip to see her brand new Grand baby, she's keeping her word! She is the perfect example for all those who let small bumps become brick walls...stopping them dead in their tracks. There's always an excuse to be found if you look hard enough, which is why this is so inspiring.

Yesterday at 10:21am

Malissa Winters 

You are absolutely correct Tim. If you want it bad enough there are NO EXCUSES, just RESULTS! I am so proud of her. I'm next!!

With that kind of friendship and support, I’d have to be a complete idiot to blow this awesome opportunity to succeed.  

Week two, day 5

It is so much fun here in North Carolina.  My son-in-law is such a kind and gentle man.  You’d never know that this summer he’ll be a Major in the Marines.  He really makes me feel welcome in his home.  He’s so cute with his wife and two daughters and I just love him.

I’m here to help, but my cute daughter is up and running around the house.  She’s feeling wonderful for a woman who just gave birth.  About all I do is cook, and I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping the family on my healthy diet. Other than that, I play with Teal and hold and squeeze little baby Avreigh.

Teal and I went on our walk again today. This time she took me on an adventure through the woods.  It was “a shortcut” to the Bogue Sound (close to the Atlantic Ocean). I had to carry her bike for about 2 blocks though the woods, but it was worth it.  It was awesomely beautiful!  I listened  to the “48 minute Kathy Smith walk” on my  keychain trainer twice and was working on he third time before we got home. We were both pooped, but I get to count this day as my other 500+ cal workout.

Week two, day 4

I’m in North Carolina at my daughter’s home.  She gave birth yesterday to a little 7 lb.19 ½” baby girl named Avreigh Joy.  The baby is healthy, beautiful, and happy and so is her Mommy (and sister and Daddy).  We brought them home from the hospital today exactly 24 hours after the birth.

Here's a picture of Teal, Avreigh, and Grandma getting in the car to go home from the hospital.

Dieting and exercise is really hard to keep up with in the middle of all this.  My 5 year old granddaughter Teal and I got our exercise in early this morning.  I walked and she rode her bike with training wheels.  We did a lot of stopping to  look at butterflies, bugs and pick wild flowers. I was walking in place, waiting while she was picking a flower, and she said, “Grandma, do you have to go potty?”

It was really fun.  My goal this week is to teach her to ride her two-wheeler without training wheels.  I hope she’s a quick learner, I’m not sure how long I can run up and down the street!

I’m sure glad I brought my protein powder with me.  It comes in handy when you’re hungry and all you have to choose from is fast food at the airport, fast food at the hospital, and fast food with the family.  Today on the way back from the hospital, we stopped for lunch.  I thought I was eating smart by ordering a charbroiled chicken wrap from Chick-fil-a.  It had a bunch of vegetables and some chicken wrapped up in a tortilla and sounded pretty healthy. It was, but when I got home and looked up the nutrients in that innocent little wrap I was shocked.  It had 410 calories (I’m only supposed to eat 300, 34g protein, (good, I should have 30g), 46g of carbs (I should only have 25) and 12g of fat (I should have 8g).

It wasn’t a catastrophe, I just went home and had a healthy home-made dinner and ended up pretty close to my daily number goal.

Week two, day 3

This isn't an April Fools joke!  My daughter Stacy in North Carolina is in labor with her second little daughter.  I'm on my way to the airport to be with Stacy, Jason, Teal and baby Avreigh (I think that's the way they're going to spell her name.)  I'll post pictures tomorrow!

Week two, day two

OMG, I drank an innocent glass of grape juice today. I just about fainted when I read the label and found I’d just consumed 160 calories and 40g of carbohydrates.  I wanted to stick my finger down my throat and throw it right back up.  I thought grape juice was supposed to be good for you!  It did have some vitamin C in it, but what a price to pay.  I can eat a 50 calorie orange that only has 11 carbs in it and get more vitamin C.  Good to know.  Also a good lesson to read the labels before I eat or drink something, not after.

I think one of the reasons I’m able to stick to my target numbers (300 calories, 30g protein, 25g carbs, and 8g fat 5 X day) is because I stopped drinking coke about a year ago. I used to love that stuff more than anything else I could possibly drink.  It was heaven every time I tasted that yummy “cancer in a can”.  Kangen Water helped me kick that bad habit.

I read a new study from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that said “reducing liquid calories, especially those that come from sugar-sweetened drinks like sodas, punches, and packaged fruit juices is one of the most effective ways to help people lose weight and keep it off.”  The single largest source of calories in the American diet is from liquids, with soft drinks leading the way. It’s also totally hard to track the amount of calories in beverages  because we enjoy those "unlimited refills" in those “Big Gulp” containers!

Now I drink at least a gallon of Kangen Water every day...and you can bet your sweet boots I won’t be drinking anymore of that evil grape juice!

Week 2 Day One

I’m feeling really self-absorbed writing about myself all the time, but I need to get past that.  If I can help others while I helping myself, it will be well worth it.  Today will be very educational for people who want to get in shape and lose weight because I talked with my phone-in-trainer Tim.

Tim is great; I’d highly recommend him to everyone. I’m going to keep you updated on everything he asks me to do, and if you follow this blog you’ll learn a lot.  If you sign up as a follower on the blog, you won’t be sorry!

Tim has been training people for over 25 years and has tried many different ways to help people lose weight.  Having people eat what they want, but sticking to the daily nutrient numbers he suggests is the only way to get them to stay on their diet. Trying to follow someone else’s list of what to eat works for a while, but in a very short time people tire of it and drop out.  He promised that if I believe in him and do the work he asks, I’ll see the results.  I do believe in him 100% and I’m excited to get in shape by my 
BIG 6-0.

Planning meals and logging nutrients is a huge pain.  It takes a lot of time and planning, but it is paying off.  I lost 4 lbs my first week.  YAY ME!  If you’d like a copy of the sheet I use to track my food and exercise, I’d love to send it to you.  Just give me a call at 949-419-6510 or send me a message at  DebbieFabbri88@aol.com

Tim suggested that I have a whey protein shake before and after every workout.   Whey protein absorbs very fast and it helps your recovery.  He also asked me to take two omega-3 fish oil tables in the morning and two in the afternoon.  These fats help you burn more calories.  He suggested I buy them at Costco because they turn over their stock so often that their supplements are extremely fresh.   If you take a fish oil tablet and burp it up, it is a sign that the tablets are old.

Tim changed my goals a little for the coming week.  I still need to workout six times a week, but I need to burn 500 calories at least twice a week for a total weekly burn of 2500 calories.  He lowered my daily calories goat to 1500/day.  I’m usually under that anyway, so that should be easy.  

Today I drank a shake, walked for ½ hour to water aerobics, worked out in the pool for an hour, walked home (burned 600 calories) and drank another shake.  Then I donated a pint of blood to the Red Cross and they gave me a pin for donating a total of 1 gallon of blood (8 different donations) so I’m feeling pretty darn proud of myself.  Way to go Grandma!

Week one, day seven

I don’t have to workout on Sundays, but my husband and I went for a walk for about an hour after dinner. It was a great time to talk about all the little things that we don’t usually bother telling each other.  It was fun!

I fixed tons of vegetables for dinner and some chicken breasts.  We have two exchange students who live with us, and one of them wants to eat everything I eat so she can lose weight too, and it’s working!   She went from 99 lbs to 97 lbs. Her Mom’s going to kill me!

Breaking Bad 5

Here's Shauna's 5th edition.  Can't figure out why she's not interested in any of my boyfriends!


"Shoot gal you can keep all those boyfriends. I just want one that can
crack a whip and say let's get goin girlfriend. You know my dream has
always been to get a cowboy with a testamony. I've been doing pretty
darn good today.

A protein shake for breakfast, a salad and small steak tips for
lunch. Dinner will be another shake and some oranges for a late
snack. Debbie you totally motivate me with your water class, so I
think I'll be going swimming tonight as well. shake it up baby now
twist and shout with all the grannies. yee haw"

MY NEW BOYFRIENDS!!!

I can't resist posting this.  My sister Sherrie sent it to me because it reminded her of our Mom.  It's pretty darn funny, but the sad part is, it could be us in a few short years if we're not careful!


I think if we go steady with Will Power and just use John we may never have to date the rest of those losers!

 

MY NEW BOYFRIENDS!!!
I am seeing 5 gentlemen (give or take) every day!.
 


As soon as I wake up, Will Power helps me get out of bed.

Then I go to see John.

 Then Charlie Horse comes along, & when he's here, he takes up a lot of my time & attention.

When he leaves, Arthur Ritis shows up & stays the rest of the day. He doesn't like to stay in one place very long so he takes me from joint to joint.

After such a busy day, I'm really tired & very glad to go to bed with Ben Gay.

 What a life! Oh, yes, I'm also flirting with Al Zymer; or whatever his name is. I forget!

and I'm thinking of calling JACK DANIELS, Jim Beam, Jose Quervo or JOHNNY WALKER to come over and keep me company.

 Now remember: Life is like a roll of toilet paper.....the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. So have fun, think 'good thoughts' only, learn to laugh at yourself, and 'count your blessings!!!!!!!