Only three months left in the year and time to get serious so that we can meet some goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year. I have two more months to finish getting our 3-month buffer into our savings account. I will deposit some money tomorrow. We had hoped to get there this summer, but buying the 3rd vehicle put that off a few months. I am happy that we'll get there by the end of 2008, though. Then we'll take that money and use it to pay off my dh's car by the end of 2009.

Although my husband was told he'd get a raise in September, it didn't happen. So, he is going to press the issue this month with the person who mentioned it to him. He's WAY overdue for a raise as it's been almost 4 years without one. We have had less and less each month to work with as living expenses have risen, so I am praying that this goes through. I am so thankful for my job which helps get us through each month.

Tonight, I'll be taking inventory of all that we have here at home - food and everything - so that I know what items I need to buy and what I'm not going to need at all. Although I love my rebate shopping, unless I am going to get an item totally free, I am not picking it up. I am well-stocked on all kinds of personal hygiene items. I am also pretty full regarding groceries, so will plan some menus based on what I have here now and only buy what I need to complete them. I want to clear out our food stash and start again without a lot of processed and unhealthy foods here. We all need to go back to eating more veggies and leaner meats. It's time to get VERY serious about healthy living. Because I cannot eat gluten or nightshade foods, it's pretty time-consuming to plan meals. But if I go back to a basic evening meal of lean meat, salad and side veggies, then I don't have to plan too much.

Well, I'm tired and I need to help my son with his homework, so I best get offline ... have a great evening!

I'm so excited to step on the scale and see that I am five lbs. down from my highest this summer, probably about a month ago or so. It's the first milestone in my quest to get healthier. I have already gone off of two of my medications, too. One of them is the glucophage that was prescribed for my PCOS/Insulin resistance. I know this medication is needed to regulate blood sugar levels and so I may not be able to remain off of it, but I'm hoping that I can regulate these levels naturally with the healthier meals that I am eating. Three or four women from my church are meeting to run together several mornings a week and I hope to join them when I can. I need to figure out a training schedule that works for me and with my work schedule. Luckily, I don't mind running by myself - I actually prefer it - but I do have a 5K run in about 5 weeks and I would like to try to run as much of it as I can.

The rash from the German measles is not totally gone yet, but I'm feeling much better today. My husband is heading out of town for the evening and so it's just the kids and me tonight. My son is trying out for the cross-country team today after school. I will be getting the meetings with the teachers done this week for both kids and am happy about that. There will have to be another "formal" meeting regarding my son in another 4-6 weeks, but I feel that this preliminary meeting will do some good.

It's been neat to see how the kids are actually spending MORE time with me and my husband in the evenings. My daughter's schedule is a fairly light one right now, so we sat together and watched E.T. on ABCFamily channel last night. My husband had never seen E.T.!! I didn't know that until last night ... after 23 years together - LOL! Anyway, it's just nice that she isn't spending her afternoons and evenings in her room, but sitting with us and talking and whatever.

Guess that's all for now. I'm still pretty tired, so think I'll lay down for a quick nap before picking up my daughter from high school and then heading over for the cross-country tryouts! Should be an exciting afternoon!

I've been so fed up with my itchy fingers this week and so I spent a few hours last night and this morning typing all kinds of things into Google to see what came from it and I think that I finally have a diagnosis of the skin condition on my fingers. It is called dyshidrosis - the pictures and descriptions on the internet are the EXACT match for what I am suffering through. I am lucky that I do NOT have this on my feet ... my gosh, I can't imagine going through that. I also have itching on my arms and lower legs, but I think that is just eczema and/or allergies.

I'm thinking of putting myself through an eating regimen that will take out dairy and wheat for a few weeks. Not my first choice of action, but if the symptoms lessen, then I'll know that I may be dealing with some dietary issues as well. The Lansinoh that my sister recommended is helping some - I need to find a pair of cotton gloves to wear at night to help. Cerave lotion is good for using throughout the day, too. I'll be seeing my Dr. tomorrow for a check-up and am going to discuss this with him to see if he recommends a follow-up with the dermatologist or anything. I'm going to try some of the things recommended on this page ... boy, I hope that some of it works!

 

In working on the schedule (see post below), I was trying to figure out where to put my exercise. I have done some research on exercising and I believe that I have stumbled on some information that will be beneficial to me. Most of this year when I have exercised fairly regularly, I have been running for about 30 minutes … intense exercise for a shorter period of time. My results? NOTHING!! Seriously, when I was really consistent, I wouldn’t lose a pound and the way my clothes fit didn’t change much either.

I read this yesterday, “Aerobic exercise will burn fat – but only after you’ve depleted your available blood sugar – which, for most people takes at least 20 to 30 minutes of being in the aerobic zone. Countless overweight individuals are on the exercise bikes and tread mills, pedaling and running, until their heart almost pounds out of their chest but they are not burning fat. The first 30 minutes only burns off blood sugar – after that you’d need another 30 minutes to burn any fat. Exercise equipment sales are on the rise and so is obesity – does that make sense to you? Aerobic exercise like walking or swimming will burn a greater percentage of body fat. Aerobic exercise is an effective way to lose fat only if you are motivated enough to workout frequently, aerobics only burn fat during the workout so if you want encouraging results you need to be able to exercise daily and for longer periods.

Aerobic exercise is the real secret to burning fat. Walking, jogging, bicycling, elliptical exercise and stairclimbing are all great fat burners. Most people give up too early in the workout. During the first 10 minutes of aerobic activity, glycogen (stored carbohydrates) is the primary fuel source. If you stop after 20 minutes, you’re only getting half of your workout done! You get the cardiovascular health benefits, but you don’t get much fat loss. Because you don’t burn significant amounts of fat until glycogen stores are depleted, the key to maximum fat loss is to work out aerobically for 30-60 minutes continuously per session.

The truth? Walking is the best type of exercise for healthy weight loss. Walking burns fat. Walking also builds lean muscle which “feeds” on the body’s excess fat. When activity is light and easy we tend to burn a much higher percentage of fat. Fat is a slow burning fuel that requires oxygen so if oxygen is delivered to muscle cells in sufficient quantities the cells can easily burn fat for most of its energy requirement. It means to burn fat directly we should exercise at a lower level of effort and for longer duration.

Walk daily, eat whole foods, drink plenty of water, and turn your body into a healthy, energetic, fat burning machine that incinerates fat 24 hours a day! Once you move closer to your ideal weight, then adding some aerobic exercise is a great way to maintain your weight and support your heart, lungs, muscles, and circulatory system.

People with endomorph body types (those that are considered “apples” or gain weight around the middle) usually find weight loss a constant struggle. Endomorphs tend to easily store body fat and often have more internal fat deposits lining the organs in the cavity, making fat loss even more difficult. The endomorph needs to develop a higher degree of motivation to produce the drive required to lose weight continuously.

The best diet by body type and the right exercise for a healthy endomorph is required to burn fat effectively:

- increase metabolism

- perform some type of low intensity, high duration physical activity frequently but don’t over-train

- train well within lower end of the target heart rate zone

- try not to get out of breath when exercising, especially for the first 8 workouts

- increase the level of workout intensity slowly as fitness levels develop and weight is lost

- count calories but lower calorie intake slowly

- do not cut out meals completely

- consume fruit & vegetables regularly, plus other low calorie foods.

I read similar information on several sites and it makes so much sense as it applies to my unbalanced hormonal situation (insulin resistant, so I have blood sugar issues). So, I called my neighbor today and asked her if she wanted to start walking with me sometime in the afternoon. I am going to get in a 60 minute walk in the morning and make that time for prayer and possibly Bible study if I can read while walking! My neighbor says that she has gained 10 lbs. over the last year (and I think she told me last year that she had gained 10 lbs. then, so she’s up 20 lbs!). She said that she was thinking of calling me to get our walks going again, so I’m more than willing to help her by going on another afternoon walk. It’ll be good to get the metabolism moving again and the time spent in the sun will help with my winter “blues.” My morning walk will be inside on the treadmill most likely.

I’m going to sit down with this info and work on a “diet,” starting at a certain calorie level, say 1800 and working my way down to about 1500-1600 over time. My daughter and I will weight train on Mon. and Thurs. afternoons before she has karate practice. Once I get all of this established as my regular routine, then I want to add in some yoga and pilates. I’m actually very excited about all of this as I finally feel like I have a grip on something to try that might just work for me! Wish me luck!