Healthy Monday: What the what?

I was browsing through some articles on MSN in the 'health news' section when I came across an article entitled, Cows Churn Out "Human Breast Milk." What the what?

In China, where baby formula is often laced with industrial chemicals and causing infants to become ill and can even cause death, scientists have created a breed of cows that produce milk that is 80% similar to human breast milk.

It goes without saying that science has come a long way but I'm not sure about this one. I understand the reasoning for it, children need food and the formula in China just isn't any good. The idea of feeding my baby something that's been genetically modified makes me nervous, I mean, I felt guilty when I switched from nursing to full on formula after only three months when I intended to go a whole year. Yes, breast milk is natural and formula is created by science just like these new cows but formula has been around long enough that we know it's safe. I feel like this new milk needs to be tested and experimented with for much longer before it goes into market. Just because there's no immediate side effects doesn't mean there won't be something more damaging in the long run.

What do you guys think? Would you give your children this modified milk? Could you think of a better alternative?

Healthy Monday: My Weight Report

So after a week of trying to walk 4.5 miles every morning (noticed, I said tried), and trying to eat a healthy breakfast afterwards (we ran out of eggs) and drinking nothing but water all day (ok, so I had a glass of tea and soda, so sue me) I have lost...

Well I'm not sure because this morning I told myself that I would get on the scale before I drank or ate anything but I was dieing of thirst when I came back from my walk and well... Yeah. Tomorrow then, yes?

Healthy Monday: Support

Fitness

Losing weight and eating healthier is easier and seems a lot more possible when you have support either from a friend or another source.

When I lost twenty pounds (and actually kept it off up until I was pregnant) I had been subscribed to Fitness magazine. Reading stories of others who struggled and won the battle against obesity, diabetes and just a poor body image really inspired me to continue with my own battle. The articles also gave small hints and tips for weight loss. The magazine wasn't just about physical fitness but mental fitness and becoming proud of your body, weather you have tires or not. After all, how can take care of something you hate? On days where I'm feeling upbeat about myself and my body I'm much more likely to take care of myself.

If you don't want to subscribe to a magazine you can go to your public library to see if they have magazines and other resources. You can also go online for tips. MSN's health and fitness section was another that kept me going strong. Glamour.com has a wonderful section on health and fitness and another section on body image. There's so many great resources out there, but be careful what you choose to read, some places give bad advice and are geared towards pushing for get-fit-quick tips that don't truly work.

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New coupon code today for new follower #70 and it's from Rust Belt Threads. Do you remember them? They were recently featured in our last Friday's Faves.

Use code 10PERCENT to recieve 10% OFF your entire purchase.

Monday Madness

How cute is this little guy?

I like alliteration, don't you?

Well, I've lost a pound so I'm down to 133... again. Losing weight is hard after having a baby, I can work my little booty off at the gym for a month and be careful about what I eat and only lose a couple of pounds. It's amazing what hormones can do to ones body. My mom will be off work soon however (she works at a school) so my plans are to to bike early in the morning when it's still cool and quiet and there's not much traffic. Being a new bicycler, traffic is scary, especially around here since we're not a biking community and the drivers aren't use to handling those who choose to use two wheels. Oh well.

But good news! Remember that secret project I was working on? Well, I finished it this weekend and it came out beautiful. When I started painting it I was afraid I had chosen too light a color but once I added the other two colors and it really came together, I'm very proud. Pictures will follow.

On another note, I know it's been a while since I've posted a coupon code even though we have received new members, I'm still rounding up some codes for you guys, it may take a bit but you will get them.

A very healthy Monday to you!

Has anyone ever heard of Organo Gold? Or even red mushroom tea or coffee? Apparently it's supposed to have tons of benefits for you and has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years. Sounds like a hoax doesn't it? It's possible. But it's also possible that it does what it says it does and it's also possible that it's psychological, a placebo affect if you will. Well, one of my mom's coworkers gave her a packet to take home to try. It didn't taste too bad, it was very light but we added a bit of sweetener to it. The coworker said she's not as hungry as often since she started drinking it and another one said her husband, who has diabetes, has been able to keep his numbers under control since he's started drinking. The red mushroom is supposed to help detoxify the body and you can buy shampoos and soaps with it in it as well. Well, guess what? My mom bought a box of it off ebay, so I'm gonna try it once it comes in and see if anything changes in my weight.

So have you guys ever heard of this stuff or ever tried it yourself? What did you think?

This weekend, I spent a lot of time on my super secret project that has taken me about a week to do and may take me another week to finish since I'm having to do it outside and we're supposed to be getting rain. Sigh. Oh well, I can't wait to show you what I've done once it's all finished!

I know we have two new members, but unfortunately I don't have any coupon codes for you guys. I've been asking around but so far, nothing. As soon as I can get new coupon codes for you guys I will be posting them, scouts honor.

Healthy Monday... Lost count

Happy Healthy Monday. I'm sad to say I haven't been keeping up with my diet and have gained the weight I lossed *sigh*. I haven't been to the gym in forever and will probably postpone my membership since at the moment I'm struggling with the monthly payments since prices just keep going up and up. So I'm going to try and spend time on my bike when I can but there just isn't enough time in the day. It seems like something has been going on these past few weeks, just when I think we're out of the woods and I can relax a little and concentrate on other things something else comes up. But anyway...

I hope you ladies had a good Mother's day, my first Mothers Day ever was very enjoyable. Tessa's Dad sent me an entire DVD set of a particular series and Tessa got me (but my Mom paid) a vintage, Fire King jadite mixing bowl, it's so pretty! I just love Fire King. Mom and I went to Lowes to pick out flowers to plant on the patio, that was my gift to my mom since that was what she asked for, we had a nice time.

As for my weekend project I was supposed to get done, I wasn't able to get to it. I decided it wasn't really a priority project. Instead I have a new project that needs to get done as soon as I can. More to come on that later.

But enough chit chat, where are those coupon codes?

We have four new members totaling us at 61 which means four new coupon codes!

 

Use coupon code LITTLEMISS20 to receive 20% off at originallyme

 

Use coupon code MYMONKEY to receive 10% off from monkeyandfriends 

Use coupon code MAYMADNESS01 to receive 10% off at cardsbyjane

 

 Use coupon code NEWCUST10 to receive 10% off from HappyHolmzCreations

Healthy Monday #... Ah, who cares...

I wanna swim in THIS pool

This morning I weigh... I don't know to be honest, I'm too scared to step on the scale. With Easter being last weekend and having friends over during the week I didn't eat very healthy. The past few days have been better however. I also haven't been able to get any exercise in since my babysitter (my Mom) was out of time for almost a whole week and then when she was here I still couldn't go because she had things to do, now I just dread the gym.

What do you guys do when you don't want to go to the gym?

I'm hoping this month I'll have extra money to buy a bathing suit so I can make good use of that swimming pool at the gym this summer and use the pool as a motivation for exercise.

Healthy Monday: Body Image

I was watching the Today Show last week and they were interviewing a college student about how Barbie affected her body image.

Here's the link

Most of us have played with Barbies, myself included, but I never felt that that's what influenced my body image. I think what influenced my body image was that my body matured faster than all the other girls. I hit puberty well before I was thirteen and started to develop in the fourth grade, by sixth grade my bust was in full bloom (I wear a 36-38 D bra). But because I was so young but had a woman's body, my Mom still bought me clothes that were age appropriate and tried to hide my development. Because my body was developing faster and becoming curvier, the clothes that hid my body also made it appear bulkier. I felt fat, embarrassed, and uncomfortable in my own skin (It also didn't help that I was forced to wear sports bras that squished my breasts in and made me appear even bulkier). I was often sexually harassed in the 8th by other girls who called themselves my "friends," but I never considered them that way. There were mornings that I cried in my room because I desperately didn't want to go to school. Being the independent person that I am, I didn't go for help, I didn't tell my Mom or any other adults because I felt I could deal with it on my own, and I did, but it was hard. I also grew up around women that complained about their bodies constantly, which I think rubbed off onto me.

Young girls are bombarded by movies, T.V., magazines, peers and toys every day about how the female body should look, it's unavoidable. What young girls need is someone to teach them that they are beautiful just the way God made them, that it's okay to weigh a few extra pounds so long as they are healthy, that everyone's body is different, that there is perfection and beauty in "imperfection." All women need to be careful what they say around young girls about their own bodies, what we say really affects how children think.

Today, I embrace my curves, and now I wear a better bra and fitted clothes that instead of hiding my body, shows it off. I spent most of my life feeling like I wasn't good enough so every so often I still feel that way, but I'm working on it not just for myself but for my daughter. She shares my genes, most likely she'll develop early just like I did. Everyday I think about how I'm going to handle it when that day comes, and I pray to God that he'll give me guidance so she'll have a better body image than I did when growing up.

How do you guys feel about Barbies and little girls? Do you let your daughter play with them? Do you feel that Barbies shouldn't be played with or that it's okay as long as your daughter knows that she's not real and that it's unrealistic to have that kind of expectation for herself?

Before I end this post, I want to give credit to someone who showed me I was beautiful all long and is always there to reassure me when my ego takes a plummet,

Thank you so much, you have no idea what kind of a difference you've made in my life, you are my best friend and always know what to say to make me feel better, you know who you are.

Healthy Monday #4

I now weigh 131! Which Means since last week I've lost two pounds. I would love to lose a couple of more this week before Easter; my goal is to get under 130 by then.

I think what's helped is that I've started riding my bike a little every day, even if it's just around the neighborhood. Also, I've started drinking two cups of coffee in the morning; supposedly, caffeine helps boost metabolism (followed up by TONS of water)

 I thought I'd share this link with you guys, it's a slide show of some really helpful tips to cutting back calories without depriving yourself

I have a question for you bike riders out there. I really like hats, specifically fedoras and I would like to wear them more including on my bike rides but I feel like they'll fly away, especially on main roads with cars zipping by. So how do you keep it on? Any ideas?

Healthy Monday #3

I dropped a pound this week! So now I'm at 133.

Do you guys count your calories? I kind of do. I don't keep track of how many calories I eat in a day, but with certain foods I measure out my portions or follow certain "rules" I give myself. For example, I measure out a serving for a bowl of cereal and that's all I'll usually eat in the morning, sometimes I'll eat fruit with it. This way I don't go crazy and fill my bowl with too much. With dinner, it's a little harder to figure out whats considered a serving, depending on what it is. This is where my rule fits in. Last night I ate hamburger helper and broccoli. I piled on what broccoli I wanted first, and then gave myself a smaller portion of hamburger helper. I was still hungry so instead of going for more helper, I ate the rest of the broccoli. During weeks I remember to do this, I don't indulge too much and I lose a pound or two.

Do you guys give yourself rules when it comes to controlling your eating habits? 

Healthy Monday #2

Ugg... I gained two pounds (134). The past couple of weeks I haven't been able to go to the gym much because I've been so busy with this huge order, which is finally done! Yay! So, it's back to the gym and back to trying to eat healthy for me.

Does anyone else go to the gym or some kind of exercise? What do you feel really helps you? What keeps you motivated?

What keeps me motivated is my iPod. As long as I have good music I can keep moving for hours (I don't exercise for hours though, I have a baby waiting for me you know!) 

Healthy Monday #1

You know, I get tired of blogging about all the same stuff over and over again. I've noticed a common theme on other blogs is to have a blogging schedule for every day of the week. Which is something I'm going to experiment with, and will probably change up as I'm figuring out what works for me, so bare with me here :)

Since I'm trying to get back to my pre-baby weight and this blog is about my life and very much apart of it, Monday will become about healthy things and my adventures in losing weight. But before I dive into this post I'm going to give you a little bit about my weight history.

The heaviest I'd ever gotten was 160, and for someone who is naturally curvy (even at her skinniest) and is only 4'11" that's a lot; and that was in high school. My Mom and I went on Weight Watchers and I lost 40 lbs. I felt fab. But it didn't last long, I lost it too quickly and gained 20 pounds of it back, putting me at 140. My Freshman year of college I took a health class and P.E., both are a requirement. My health class really gave me a motivation I never had before to lose the weight right and keep it off (Yes there is a wrong way to lose weight). I started burning off 400 calories at the gym every day with the help of my trusty iPod, I cut certain things out of my diet, like mayonnaise, white flower, and butter. I still ate fast food burgers but I asked for the small meal and had my burger made dry (which means no mayo or secret sauce), I also stopped drinking soda. I got my weight down to 123 and kept it off for 2 years. And then I pregnant. I was very careful about my weight during my pregnancy and only gained what I was supposed to, which was 30 lbs. Now, for those of us who have have children know that you lose some of the weight when you give birth. I lost 15 lbs as soon as Tessa was born, and because I was breast feeding her I lost 8 lbs that first week, leaving me to shed 7 lbs. Easy right? No. Something about having a baby and your change in hormones makes losing weight much more difficult, and gaining weight so much easier. On the weekend of my birthday I gained 5 lbs in addition to the 7 I already had. So far I've only lost 3 lbs of the 12 that I need to get rid of.

My original goal was to try and have the weight off before Easter so my dress (which had fit anyway) would fit better. But then I gained 5 pounds so now my goal is to lose at least two more pounds, so I can be back at the 7 to be able to zip up my dress.

So, now that you know a little bit about my history and goal, my original post was going to be about healthy snacks. Whats your go-to when you need a little somethin' somethin' before a meal? Mine is homemade popped popcorn. It's full of fiber so it helps to make you feel full and keeps you from making poor choices when you need something to eat. I don't salt or butter mine. Salt makes me hold on to water which makes me bloated and causes the numbers to go up on the scale and of course butter is just fattening. But I don't like having to cook it all the time. So does anyone have a quick, easy, healthy snack tip you would like to share?

I look forward to hearing from you!