BLC-20 Plan

Monday, September 17, 2012

For the next 12 weeks, well...really ELEVEN at this point, I will continue to take part in the Biggest Loser Challenge, the 20th round. I am a Sparkling Sapphire and love this challenge. Part of our weekly "weekend challenge" for week one, is to blog about our plan for success over the course of the challenge.

Over the course of BLC-20, I really need to focus on my fitness. Participating in each challenge to the best of my ability is my main focus. I am currently on the Atkins program, per doctor's orders. I seem to be doing well with the nutrition, but I am still trying to adjust to my new energy levels. It is a challenge in itself to get myself motivated to exercise. I have been participating in the challenges so far, but I feel as though I am just going through the motions.

At this point, I am putting my foot down... on ME. I am kicking myself out of my current "energy" funk, and am going to do my best to turn this around. Over the next 11 weeks, I plan to continue to follow the Atkins plan, and compete in all given challenges with maximum effort. I am committed to this challenge, and committed to continue to work towards a healthier me. I do believe, that when I AM exercising, I do tend to feel better about myself and have more energy. My options are to either get up early, or workout after work. I am usually starving by the time I get home from work, and don't like to workout if I have just eaten. So, it looks like my best bet for now, is to get up earlier every day to work on myself. I've got the nutrition under control, now it's time to work on the fitness.

GO SAPPHIRES!!

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PCOS

Thursday, August 23, 2012

So, I haven't had a period since last October. My husband and I would like to have a baby(only after I have lost some weight, I want to have the healthiest pregnancy I can), so I went to a fertility specialist to see what was going on with my missing cycle. Come to find out, I have PCOS. After being CONSTANTLY fatigued, depressed, irritable, anxious, and gaining weight at a pretty steady pace, I wanted answers. A diagnosis wasn't good enough for me, I wanted to know what was causing it. I went through a battery of tests and I found out what is causing the PCOS. I am insulin resistant, and the doctor said that I am Pre-Diabetic. WELL, isn't that scary to find out!? Ugh... So he has put me on a strict diet, and wants me to follow Atkins. He says, I have too many sugars in my system, and need to lay off the carbs. Which is somewhat alarming to me in a way, because I don't eat a lot of carbs. Plus, I only eat whole wheat pasta or bread IF I do eat it, although I know that a carb is a carb. I do eat a lot of fruit, so that could be an issue.

Anyway, I started the Induction phase of Atkins on Tuesday, and so far I am doing ok on it. I have told myself that this is not just about losing weight anymore, it is about my health. I don't want to develop diabetes, obviously. The good news is, that it's not my thyroid that is causing the PCOS, and it isn't a problem with my brain. It is simply too much insulin and it is 100% reversible. There are no other issues with my reproductive system, my tubes are perfectly normal and so are the other hormone levels that he could test. So, in a way, it is good news, and I caught it early. I do have some build up on my ovaries, but that is the eggs that aren't releasing, thus causing cysts. But, he also said that over time, they will shrink and I should be back to normal.

SO, here's to beating this diabetes and taking control of my health!!! I am ALL in on this one... and am excited to learn that THIS is the reason I cannot lose, THIS is the reason I am exhausted and depressed constantly and THIS is the reason for the weight gain seemingly out of nowhere. I am happy to finally have some answers, and happy that the doctors were able to give me a reason for my struggles with weight and with my missing cycle. I CAN fix this. And I WILL...

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Monsters

Sunday, August 19, 2012

I am so irritated, and it involves my step kids and their biological mother. I am so tired of being the "bigger" person... So, I need to vent my frustrations to avoid doing or saying something stupid. There really isn't another place to say anything, as my kids are on my Facebook and Twitter, and I refuse to wrap them up in drama. So, anyway..

My two (step) boys live with my husband and I full time. I have raised them as my own and have had them in my care for almost ten years. My husbands ex walked out on the boys when they were 3 and 5 years old, and have been basically non-existent in their lives for the most part. It truly baffles me that she could walk out on two such beautiful babies. She only sees them on holidays and birthdays and basically occasions that she "has" to see them. There is no set schedule as to when she sees them or not, she just takes them when she feels like it. It is pretty crappy for the kids, and going into this relationship, I never intended on being their mother. I went into this thinking, I will just be their friend, and I won't force any sort of parent-like relationship with them. They will turn to me if necessary. Well, about three years into my husband and I dating, they did just that. They latched onto me as their "mother" and I happily filled that role for them. I do it without regrets and with unconditional love. They are my boys. I don't even refer to them as my step children anymore, only as my sons.

My youngest turned 13 yesterday. We had a great day celebrating with him. I bought a small helium tank and filled about 40 balloons to place in his bedroom for him to wake up to. 13 is a special birthday! He loved waking up to a room full of balloons and thought it was a really cool surprise. We had a great afternoon playing outside, his favorite dinner of tacos, and then off to the local ice cream farm for some mini golf fun, driving range, batting cages, arcade and ice cream. What a great day!

Well, in the middle of the day, it came to my attention that their biological mother, has begun referring to me as "monster".. as in, "Step Monster"... Not that I care what she says about me, because I don't, I really hate the way that she constantly tries to turn my boys against me. I have been raising her kids, and taken them in as if they were my own, and yet she still tries to bad mouth me and teach them that I am the enemy. I have been arguing a lot with my oldest, who is 15 going on 45, (haha), and it is typical parent/teenager head butting. I am sure that she knows that we butt heads on things, and has now started referring to me as a monster. I hate how she puts my boys in this position. It is not fair to them. They are in between a rock and a hard place and I am sure that it is messing with their heads. To me, that is purely emotional abuse. They don't need this. My husband has told her to cut it out, but no matter what, she always ends up starting drama with me again. I never say a bad word about her to the boys, even though in the heat of the moment, I desperately want to. But, I am always trying to be the bigger person. No matter my feelings, shes hurting them. Causing them confusion and they don't need this stress. Her raging jealousy over their love and respect for me as their mother, has really turned HER into a monster. Not me.

Part of me knows deep down that my boys Do love me. Do respect me. Do see how I have done everything I can to keep them happy and good kids. Their grades in school have turned from straight C's to mostly A's with an occasional B. Their maternal grandparents have both individually thanked me for turning the kids around and have both noticed a major change in their behavior, and overall attitude towards life. Which is certainly moving, seeing that their daughter is the kids biological mother. People around me praise me all the time for being a wonderful mother to them, and for raising them with such unconditional love. My parents have told me how proud they are of me, and my entire family has accepted the boys and embraced them as their own. It truly is wonderful.

The other part of me is living in fear of the day that they really do turn against me. That she will have succeeded in convincing the kids that I truly am just a "monster" and the enemy. I know that being their biological mother, that she does have some sort of influence on their thoughts and emotions. They will always listen to her on some level. And that hurts. It hurts that I have been a mother to these two wonderful children that she chose to walk out on all those years ago. I have taken them under my wing as my own, and yet she could, at any moment, rip that all away from me. I love them so very much and still feel as though she may succeed in her mission to make me out as the "monster".

Today, the day after my youngest's 13th birthday, their biological mother was supposed to take them for the afternoon to celebrate his birthday. She picked them up, unwrapped presents in the car, with her "new" boyfriend, took them to a restaurant down the street and returned an hour later. An HOUR. An hour with her son that she gave birth to 13 years ago.

And I'm the "monster"...

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Roasted Brussel Sprouts recipe.. Yummy!!

Monday, May 21, 2012

I tried this recipe tonight, and it was soo good!! I added Pine Nuts to it also. My kids loved them! I never thought I would get my kids to eat Brussel Sprouts!

simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_br
ussels_sprouts/

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Pretty irritated and need to vent...

Monday, April 30, 2012

This is not how I intended on starting my week. I am pretty irritated this morning, and I need to vent somewhere. If no one ever reads this, that's fine. I just need to get it out. My step-son's mother is UNREAL. I am so tired of her childish games. Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and she texted both of my boys, saying, "Tell Dad his FIRST wife says Happy BIrthday." Followed by another message saying, "HAHA Tina will be PISSED!"... UMM!!! Really? HOW OLD ARE YOU? It is really irritating that she continues to try and drag the kids into her drama. I don't really care what she says about me, what she thinks of me, or about her petty games. It upsets me because she refuses to leave the kids out of it. These boys are MY boys. I have raised them since they were little, and she has been pretty much nonexistent in their lives. She ONLY sees them when she has to, for holiday and birthdays and never takes them just because. They live with my husband and I full time, and they have even told me numerous times that she is a crappy mother and they wish that I was their biological mother. I would adopt them in a heart beat, if she would give up her rights, but she won't do that. Only to spite me, nothing to do with them. I am even angrier that her rude twisted comments got under my skin. Not because of her trying to "piss" me off, but because she continues to try and drive a wedge between me and my boys. I am so sick of her jealous, vindictive and juvenile attitude. GROW UP.

She may be the first wife, but I am certainly the better mother.

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