I’m still under a no exercise order from the doctor so other than checking out the Shake Weight my sister brought over, I’ve not exercised in 8 weeks! I got another round of labs done this week and I’m hoping that things will look better and I can start at least some exercising. I haven’t weighed in in 8 weeks either so I was excited to see that, even after Thanksgiving, I’ve only gained 1 pound!!

This week I’ll be drinking my water and doing a lot of walking, since we are headed to Disney World. I have warned my family I will need to take breaks and rest whenever my body tells me to. What are your fitness goals for this week?

The post Mamavation Monday-After Thanksgiving appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I’ll be trying to limit the treats this week but…it is Thanksgiving and the cakes, pies and sweet breads will be enjoyed without guilt. There will be a very early wake up call on Friday as dad and I head out verrry early on Black Friday to snag some bargains. Friday’s lunch will probably take place in a mall food court. Luckily the 2 malls we hit both have Subway’s in the food court so we can eat healthy.

I’ve actually missed exercising and am waiting for the doctor to give me the ok. My current fitness goal…IF I’m released on time is to train for the Royal Family 5k at Walt Disney World in February. My 15 yr old son and I are hoping to run this race together, the entry fee is $45 each so we will see what happens.

What are your thoughts on managing Thanksgiving goodies this week? Leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Thanksgiving Week appeared first on The Mom Maven.

We ran out of butter so I bought some Shedd’s Spread sticks (to try to convince myself it was like butter). It is ok in my cooking and on some foods but it doesn’t cut it where I use butter the most…on toast and popcorn. Some of my friends suggested I try Smart Balance as it has some butter in it and might try that next.

I have maintained my weight so I am happy with that. Monday is our busy day and we always eat lunch out so I’m bringing the boys to Subway and that will be a nice treat for me too. I do have a favor to ask all of you who read and comment on this post-please take 2 seconds out of your day to help a sista out. I am in the running for an awesome blogging job. Part one of the application process is a social media popularity contest and I need your votes. There is no registration required and it just takes a quick click. If you wanted to be extra helpful, on the voting page there are buttons so you can ask your Facebook friends and Twitter followers to help too! Here is the link http://www.sam-e.com/job/entries/433.

Thanks for stopping by! Please let me know if you have an butter substitution suggestions and if you voted! (You can vote 1x a day per IP address-so vote often between now and November 10th!)

The post Mamavation Monday-No Butter appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The nurse took my vitals and was impressed with my weight loss and my blood pressure YAY! Then I wait for the doctor and in walks someone new…my doctor is no longer there and she is an ARNP. She looks at my records and asks why I hadn’t been in to get my lab results from April. I told her no one called me with any concerns and my previous doctor said “No news is good news when it comes to labs.” so I wasn’t concerned. She on the other hand was very concerned. You see, my labs from 6 months prior showed I am anemic and there was a note stating that more labs were necessary! The labs also showed that my triglycerides were somewhat elevated but, she wasn’t as concerned about that because I am losing weight and exercising and that was 6 months ago.

So back to the anemia, she placed me on a prescription iron supplement and warned me this was just a starter dose, about half what I needed, but while we waited the 3 weeks for my labs to come back she wanted to see how my body tolerated the iron. After talking to her at length, she is amazed I am still standing. She told me to continue exercising, but only to moderate levels 3 days a week and not outside in the Florida heat. Then I headed off to get the additional labs done to pinpoint why I’m anemic.

You may wonder if I had any other anemia symptoms…and I have but they were all explained away as effects of high blood pressure, obesity and per-menopause so no anemia red flags ever went up. In my talks with her we both figure I’ve been anemic for probably 2 years! She is amazed I haven’t been hospitalized because I am both active and very busy and should have succumb to exhaustion on many occasions.

I am taking my medicine and learning about anemia and triglycerides (though the recommended diets for each don’t mesh at all). I am focusing on the anemia as that is more prevalent at the moment. The iron supplement hasn’t had it’s usual adverse side effects on me, probably because I drink over 100 oz of water a day, but the rules for what I can and can’t eat 1 hour before and 2 hours after I take it are proving an inconvenience. I take the iron at night but it also says not to lay down for at least 30 minutes after taking it so I need to time it after dinner, before an evening snack and before heading to bed!

I did get 1 workout in last week and all of my water. I maintained my weight from last week, with all I was facing that made me happy. One other thing I did was enter the Subway Commit to Fit Challenge and you can too!How did you do last week? Do you have any ideas or suggestions about triglycerides or anemia? Please leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Doctor’s Visit appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I am very excited to say that I am down 2 pounds in the last 2 weeks to a new low of 225! I think that is great, especially in light of all the delicious Little Debbie treats I consumes at Type-A Mom! Granted, it has taken me 6 months to lose 13 pounds but a loss is a loss. Today I finally get my “normal” schedule back after a crazy summer and a September filled with travel. I will be continuing my water intake, healthier eating and getting in 2-3 days of exercise a week.

How are you doing? Hoe did you do last week? What are your goals for this week? Leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Heading in the Right Direction appeared first on The Mom Maven.

In just the last week I have traveled over 1000 miles, and never left central Florida. I have attended 2 conferences, 4 theme parks and walked over 65,000 steps! I am tired but re-energized at the same time. My goals for this week are to keep drinking my water,eat well and let my feet rest until I leave for Type-A Mom (I am in a lot of pain from my plantar faceitis). I’m craving Subway so hopefully I’ll get there this week too.

What are your goals for this week? Leave me a comment and let me know.

The post Mamavation Monday-Moving Forward appeared first on The Mom Maven.

My eating has been good, I’m getting in 2-4 fruits a day, which is amazing for me! Water isn’t a problem at all, as long as I start drinking it by 10am I can easily get in 100+ ounces a day. Last week one of my favorite meals was when hubby surprised me with Subway for dinner while I was a t a meeting!

My other goals for this week are to comment on at least 10 of my Sista’s Mamavation posts and to make it home in time to be a part of Mamavation TV tonight…I’ve missed 3 weeks in a row cause I haven’t been home in time…hopefully tonight.

I spent part of this weekend pondering if I should apply to be a Mamavation Mom again this round since this is application week…but I decided the timing isn’t right for me, maybe next campaign, there just isn’t enough time in my day to fully commit to the program right now with my summer job and some large projects looming. I can’t wait to see who applies this time. If you want to know more about applying for the Mamavation Campaign click here.

Have a blessed week!

The post Mamavation Monday appeared first on The Mom Maven.

I am not done trying to lose weight though. I feel I did well this week. I got in all my water every day, I worked out 2 days and I bought a pedometer. I made mostly healthy eating choices (except for Thursday’s lunch at Friendly’s). Wednesday night I had a yummy sandwich from Subway! I also had no soda…again!
I lost 1 more pound this week! This brings my total to 8 pounds, which is only half way to the goal I set at the beginning of the Move It & Lose It Challenge but…oh well.

This week’s challenge will be birthday cake and soda. Tuesday is my birthday, Wednesday I will be at Walt Disney World and I can only lug so much water with me and I can’t stand the water they sell at WDW sooo…I need to see how I can make this work. Saturday is my son’s and my father’s birthday and our large joint birthday celebration will be next Monday 5/31.

Overall, this week is much less busy than the last 2 have been so I am still striving towards the goal of working out 4 times a week. I bought a new Leslie Sansone Walk at Home workout dvd so I’m excited to start that. I also keep bidding on and losing the Zumba Beginners dvd on eBay. Here’s to another week of Moving and Losing!

The post Mamavation Monday-Last Week of Move It and Lose It Challenge appeared first on The Mom Maven.

WARNING The pictures in this post may scare you, they sure scared me. It is amazing how warped my sense of body image is. I cried after my husband took these pictures and I cringe every time I see them but…they are required for the challenge so…here they are.

Sorry you had to see those.

Ok, we also need to post a picture of our toes on the scale showing our current weight (since I am in desperate need of a pedicure and didn’t want to scare you, I wore my fuzzy pink socks). I ran into trouble though, my camera didn’t like to take a photo of all 3 numbers that were on the scale (hubby says it has something to do with the way the scale is lit) so…I took 2 pictures to get 1 weight…238 lbs. No weight loss but no weight gain either so I will be happy about that.

Ok now to my measurements…I so can’t believe I am posting all of this on the Internet…talk about accountability!! Bust: 48.5″ Waist: 43.5″ Hips: 56.5″ Each thigh: 30.75″ Each Arm: 15.5″. So there you have it.

My success last week was drinking my water I went from 24 oz a day to at least 48oz a day. This week my goal is 72oz a day.

My weaknesses last week were Easter candy, Hubby’s 3 birthday celebrations and not much exercise. This week my goal is at least 4 days a week of exercise for a minimum of 45 minutes each day and 1700 calories a day. I also want to try the new Subway Egg White Muffin Melt for breakfast this week.

If you are reading this on Monday don’t forget to join us tonight 8-10pm ET for the big reveal! The next 2 Mamavation Moms will be announced during the party!

Thanks to all of you who have commented and tweeted your support you don’t know how much it means to me!

The post Mamavation Monday-Move It & Lose It Challenge appeared first on The Mom Maven.