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Weight Loss: How To Be Successful

May 13, 2010 By Becca 3 Comments
The updated USDA food pyramid, published in 20...
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I have been working on this weight loss journey for over 5 months now.  I have lost a total of 36 pounds!   With every pound I lose I feel a little bit more confident that I will continue to be successful.  Many people entering into a weight loss journey wonder how they can be successful.  I have just a few tips for those of you who wondering what the keys to success are.

  1. BELIEVE: I know it sounds simple but if you believe you can do it… you will.  I also think that you have to believe that you are worth it!  This is a tough step for many people who are trying to lose weight.  I wake up every morning and remind myself that I can do it.  I believe in myself.
  2. COUNT: This can mean a great number of things but for success it is important to discuss calorie counting.  Calorie counting is important.  It is vital in order lose weight that you burn more calories than you take in.  There are a few great sights with activity calculators that help to make this task easier.  Fitness Partner has a great activity calculator.  It is extremely easy to use.  All you need to do is enter your weight and the duration you plan to exercise into the calculator and a printable list of calories burned per activity will appear.  CaloriesPerHour.com also has an easy and wonderful calculator.
  3. MOVE: I know it stinks when you first start your weight loss journey but exercise is a vital part of success.  The more you move the more you lose.  In the beginning you may be able to lose without moving but the longer you are invested in losing weight the more necessary exercise becomes.  So get out there and walk if nothing else.  Do it alone, with friends or with the dog.  Just get out there and move.
  4. NEW: On this weight loss journey to a new you it is important to remember that you need to focus on new.  No I am not talking about clothing, although that is needed also.  The thing that needs to be new is your food.  It is important to switch it up some.  Studies have shown that people who eat the same breakfast every day become unmotivated.
  5. SUPPORT: It is important that you find some support.  This can be a family member, a friend, or even a stranger.  Yes I know that a stranger sounds unlikely but in situations such as Weight Watchers meetings many people find that there are people they relate to.  It is also nice to have someone removed from your life helping you with your journey.

I am still hoping to reach my first big goal… Lose  pounds by the time the kids are out of school.  I figure if the people on the biggest loser could lose 100 pounds in 17 weeks I can certainly lose another 14 pounds is 7 weeks.  It is an average of 2 pounds a week so I will have to work really hard.  I just have to believe, move, remember new, count my calories and most of all remember all of the wonderful support I have!

Becca

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Filed Under: Main, Weight loss Tagged With: Calorie, Food, Health, Physical exercise, Shopping, strategies for losing weight, Support Groups, Weight loss, weight loss journey, weight watchers

Weight Loss: Day 6

January 8, 2010 By Becca 1 Comment
Mixed berries, dollop of light sour cream, spr...
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Well I had an alright day.  All in all I am still doing well.  Today I am having various issues emotionally that are making eating well difficult.  The first issue is that I have bad for you food in the house for the first time.  It is hard for me not to eat it all.  I did well though and stayed away from it all.

The other issue is that I am having a stressful time with my daughter in school.  I have a meeting in the morning that I am stressed out about.  It is so hard to remain strong but I beat the overeating urge and came out of it on the other side.

Emotional eating has to be the biggest issue I face.  When I am stressed, pissed or upset about something I want to EAT!  It does’t even matter most days what I eat.  Just as long as there is something in my mouth.  Today I did none of that.  Rather then eat I kept myself busy.  I was able to clean the house, do some research and still have a good day.

I did have a meeting at my house tonight which meant I did not eat perfect.  I did control the amount that I ate.  This is HUGE for me.  I usually do not pay any attention.  Tonight I tried a little bit of everything.  I made sure that most of the things on the plate were healthy.  I used reduced fat sour cream and light mayo.  I think for the situation I did very well.

How do you all handle the emotional eating thing?

Becca

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Filed Under: Main Tagged With: Compulsive overeating, Disorders, Eating, Food, Health, House, Mental Health, Sour cream, Weight, Weight loss

Free Concert In The Park With The Kids

July 9, 2009 By Becca Leave a Comment

Last night we went to the Concert in the park with the kids.  We packed up a picnic and chairs and were off for the evening.  The kids were able to run all around and be kids and we were able to enjoy the music.  This is a 100% free event which is something that I always love.  The band was actually really good and played tunes from the beetles to John Lennon.  It is nice that there are still free things to do out there in the world.  With the economy in shambles and people struggling to put food into their mouths it is nice that there was something out there that could be enjoyed.  I think that sitting back, relaxing with the family while listening to some great music is what summer is all about.

Becca

Filed Under: Family Fun Tagged With: becca, family, Family Fun, Food, free, free event, free events, kids, Music, summer activities, summer family fun

Pirate Cake

February 17, 2009 By Becca 3 Comments
Simple pirate cake!

Simple pirate cake!

No pirate party is complete without a pirate hat cake.  This cake was so simple and so fun.  It is a must for any pirate party!

Here’s how I did it:

  1. Bake 2 round cakes
  2. Let the cakes cool
  3. Ice the top of one cake
  4. Place the second cake on top of the first
  5. Cut about 1/4 of the circle off
  6. Cut the smaller piece in half
  7. Place cake up vertically
  8. Ice and decorate

Please visit family fun for more detailed directions to this cake.  This cake is sure to please.  Let me know how yours comes out!  To check out a tea pot cake for your little princess please click here.

Becca

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Filed Under: Becca and Alli's craft corner, Fun Recipes, Main Tagged With: Baking, Baking and Confections, becca, cake, cake ideas, Chocolate, Cooking, decorations, family, Food, Home, kids cakes, Parties, pirate, pirate cake, pirate hat cake, pirate party ideas

59 Days Until Christmas

November 4, 2008 By Becca 6 Comments
Thanks to everyone who pitched in! It was awes...

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Christmas Gift Baskets:

Gift baskets can be a great way to show people how much you appreciate them.  They can be a great gift for distant relatives, teachers, bosses and just about anyone else you can think of.  The great thing about gift baskets is that they can either be bought or made at home.  I personally think that if you have the time and it will be easy to ship you should give it a try on your own.  It is like the homemade ornament that the kids make in school.  It may look like less then a Lenox ornament but it is so much better because someone made it for you.  There are many places that you can buy gift baskets if you do not have the time and energy to make your own gift basket.  They include Harry & David, GiftBaskets.com, and even 1-800 Flowers.  These companies and many others offer a greta option to the person with no time and some extra money.

If you are like I am you are not one of those people and you will be making your own gift baskets.  There are many themes that you can follow while making your Christmas gift basket.  Here are some that I have done in the past.  I think that the possibilities are endless.

  1. A wine and cheese basket.  This is a great thing to bring to a holiday get together.  Once you find a nice basket, box, or ice bucket you will add 2 bottles of wine, a few different types of cheese and some crackers.  I think that crackers such as Carrs crackers look better in the basket.  I have even added in a half a dozen chocolate covered strawberries from time to time.  People love it when you walk in with this great gift
  2. A movie night Basket.  This type of basket could include someone’s favorite DVD, a year of Netflix or two tickets to get out and go to the movies.  I have used a red and white stripped popcorn box for this one.  In it I add candy, popcorn a gift certificate to buy a drink before the movie and even some movie related memoribelia.
  3. Christmas Ornament Basket:  This is a nice idea for a young couple who is spending their first Christmas together.  In a basket or box type Christmas decoration put a bunch of Christmas Ornaments.  Do not forget to include the “First Christmas Together” ornament.  This will be a memory  that they will cherish for years to come.
  4. It’s A Wonderful Life Gift Basket:  In the movie George and Mary give a gift basket to the Martini family.  This would be a nice gift for someone who is spending their first Christmas in their new home.  Include a loaf of bread with a tag attached saying “so that you might never know hunger”, a bottle of wine with a tag reading, “so that prosperity may reign in your home forever” and a box of salt with a tag attached saying, “So life will always have flavor”.  You may also want to add a copy of the movie to be enjoyed again and again.

As you can see there are many things that you can do with a little gift basket idea.  These are just a few of the many many ideas running through my head.  A gift basket could be remembered for years to come.

Becca

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Filed Under: Christmas Countdown Tagged With: A Christmas Countdown, A Count Down Until Christmass, Basket, Chocolate, Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, Christmas and season, christmas ornament, christmas ornaments, Food, Gift, Gift basket, Shopping

61 Days Until Christmas

November 4, 2008 By Becca 1 Comment
Cookie

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Christmas Cookie Baking Tips

As time gets closer I think that it is important to examine some tips to assure that your Christmas cookies will be the best that they can be.  My mother-in-law, Linda, is the cookie queen.  She has taught me most of what I know about baking cookies.  Some tips are from her and some are things that I have learned over time.  It is important to me that my cookies come out right for various reasons.  As I posted earlier I would like to use cookies as gifts for various people on my list.  I also love to watch the kids get all excited about a plate of cookies.  We also can not let Santa down.  He really likes his cookies and I want them to turn out just right. So here are the tips that I have.  If they are followed you should have nothing but perfect cookies this Christmas.

  1. Test your oven.  A few days or weeks before you plan on baking it is important to test your oven to assure that your oven is holding the proper temperature.  This can be done by buying a thermometer in the grocery store for a few dollars.  This will help you to see if your oven is truly at the proper temperature.
  2. Preheat your oven to the desired temperature.  This is a vital step.  I honestly used to ignore this one.  There is actually a reason that they say to preheat the oven.   Preheating assures that your cookies will cook evenly in the
    amount of time indicated on the recipe.
  3. Measuring matters:  While baking it is important to remember not to eye your ingredients.  While this is an acceptable method while cooking it can be a tragic mistake while baking.  Make sure that you measure with measuring cups.
  4. Use shiny aluminum cookie sheets.  This is important to remember.  Dark pans tend to hold heat longer and will burn your cookies.  A Linda hint is top buy new pans each Christmas.
  5. Make sure that your pans are cooled after each batch.  Linda also says that it is important to rinse the tray and dry it well between each batch.
  6. Do NOT grease your cookie sheets.  Unless the recipe says that you need a greased pan do NOT grease your pan.  This will burn the bottoms of your cookies.
  7. Leave about 2 inches between each cookie.  If the cookies are large you may want to leave some more room.
  8. Cookie Racks.  I bought these last year and have decided that they are a must have while baking cookies.  Without a wire cookie rack your cookies will be soggy nd who wants a soggy, wet cookie?  I know that I do not.

So there you have it.  Some simple and easy ways to assure that your cookies come out just right.  I will post some pictures closer to the time of our cookie baking days with the kids.  It should be a great time and the cookies should come out perfect.  If you have a tip I would love to hear it!

Becca

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69 Days of Christmas

October 18, 2008 By Becca 2 Comments
Father Christmas // Santa Claus // Père Noël

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So here we are with only 69 days left until Christmas. At this point I want to get an idea of what the kids want this year. I think that accessing what they want and what are priorities is an important thing to do! Abigail has said that she is going to ask Santa for a Wii. Because I know that they will be getting harder and harder to find as we get closer to the season I think this should be near the top of my list.

Emma has not asked for anything. She is a challenge at Christmas. Her birthday is at the end of November so it is had to choose what she wants for what! I think that for her birthday she will like the new Barbie movie. Perhaps the doll for Christmas. She also may want some American Girl Doll stuff. I know this would be a fine hit for either of them.

The crime of it is that none of my Children NEED anything. Year after year we get more and more toys in this house. We live in a VERY small house! We can not handle one more doll, Barbie, play food, dress-up or anything. I am sure that we are not alone. This year because I have some time to plan we are going to have a Thanksgiving Give Away.

Rules of the Thanksgiving Give Away:

1. Each child must choose at least 10 toys that are in good shape that they do not play with anymore.

2. These toys have to be in good shape. If I find one that is not I will throw it out and they will have to try again.

3. The kids will come with me to bring their chosen toys to the GoodWill. This will show them that we should give back!

All of this will then make room for new toys and treasures. I think that cleaning out the old and making room for the new is not only a good lesson but it will teach them that it is ok to let things go. I think that this is an important lesson. So many people have trouble getting rid of this. I am included in that which is why I want to teach my children that it is ok. It is reusing as part of reduce, recycle and reuse. I think all in all we will leave with a great lesson and give another child a toy which they may not be able to afford otherwise.

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Filed Under: Christmas Countdown Tagged With: Abigail, AbigalBreslin, American Girl, Barbie, Children, Christmas, Emma, Food, kids, KitKittredge, leaves, MaxThierot, planning, santa, Santa Claus, Thanksgiving, Toy