Monday, December 11, 2017

Don't Lose Your Mind Over Weight Loss


Lots of people start to worry about their weight about this time of the year, and that’s normal when you consider that most of us overeat during the festive season. However, you might think about implementing a new routine in the new year that will help you to shed the pounds and reach your ideal weight. This article offers some tips and tricks you can use to get rid of that flab without working too hard or losing your mind. Just take a read through these suggestions and then use them to create a plan. With a bit of luck, you’ll manage to get down to your ideal weight and gain some confidence in the process.





Consume lots of fruits and vegetables


Firstly, you’ll need to alter your diet to ensure you get your five-a-day. The best way of doing that is to plan your meals and make shopping lists. That way, you will ensure you come back from the supermarket with only the right healthy ingredients. There are hundreds of recipe websites online that could provide some inspiration if you aren’t a fantastic chef. Just search online and then look for meals you want to try that contain lots of different fruits and vegetables. Some of the best ones to include in your meals and snacks are:


  • Carrots
  • Cabbage
  • Beans
  • Bananas
  • Apples


So, what’s holding you back? Bookmark some of the best recipe pages today, and you should never struggle to work out which healthy meals to consume.




Purchase a gym membership


If you don’t mind the idea of working out in front of other people, perhaps a gym membership would suffice? In most instances, you don’t have to spend a lot of cash, and there are lots of options when it comes to fitness centres in your hometown. So, again, you just need to search online or ask friends for recommendations. When you locate a suitable gym; give them a call or visit the establishment to learn more. In almost all situations, you will get a free tour of the facility before you decide whether or not to sign on the dotted line. Of course, one of the best things about working out at the gym is that you can hire the services of a personal trainer. People in that profession can advise on the best ways to reach your weight loss goals.




Try working out at home


Some people hate the idea of getting all sweaty and working out in front of other people. That’s fine, and it just means you have to think outside of the box when developing your new routine. You could head out and purchase some equipment to aid your exercise. For instance, there are lots of cheap and affordable treadmills on the market today. You could get one of those and keep it at home. However, there are also hundreds of fitness DVDs you could watch if you plan to get fit without assistance. You also might like to think about jogging around the streets in your hometown at night.




Drink some diet shakes


If you’ve never tried a shake diet in the past, perhaps 2018 is the time to give that a try? There are lots of different ones available, and some seem to work better than others according to reviews. With that in mind, don’t make the mistake of investing in the first weight loss drinks you encounter. Instead, you should conduct some online research and read as much as possible. That way, you should manage to sort the wheat from the chaff without wasting any of your hard-earned cash. In most situations, you just have to replace two of your three meals each day with the milkshakes. You should then notice you lose a lot of weight if you stick to the routine.




Avoid chocolate and other junk food


Chocolate and other junk food might taste excellent, but it’s guaranteed to cause weight gain if you consume too much. Considering that, you need to get in the habit of leaving all that fatty and sugary food on the shelves at the supermarket. Psychologists design the layout of those places, and they are intended to make you buy junk food impulsively. That is why they always place chocolate near the checkout where you stand queuing. Don’t fall for their psychological techniques! You need to keep a sharp mind to ensure none of those items ever fall into your trolley! Also, never go shopping when you feel hungry because that’s sure to cause problems.




Visit your doctor for advice


If all else fails, and you can’t seem to lose weight after using some of the suggestions from this page, it’s sensible to give your doctor a call and arrange an appointment. Sometimes there are physical issues that stop you from shedding the pounds, and so your doctor will want to run some tests. If there aren’t any problems, the doctor should then offer advice based on their medical expertise. That might include:


  • Information about weight loss groups
  • Nutritional and dietary suggestions
  • Advice for workout routines


Some people have a low metabolism, and that can cause them to gain weight. If that applies to you, the doctor will show you how to get the best results from your fitness and dieting efforts. You just have to explain the situation and then listen to the advice.


Now you have some fantastic tips and tricks for losing weight; you just need to change your routine with that advice in mind. Make sure you exercise for at least half an hour every day for the best outcomes, and avoid snacking between meals as much as possible. If you get hungry, just grab some fruit from the fridge. Either that or you can purchase carrot sticks in small convenient snack bags these days. Just keep working towards your goal, and you will get there eventually. Also, make sure you take a look around before you leave this blog today as there are lots of other health-related articles you might enjoy. See you back here soon!


On a personal note, here's my walking story for National Walking Day a couple of years ago with an update.

How to Find Margin in Your Life


Have you heard of this concept of MARGIN?

Look at your life like a piece of ruled notebook paper. Then each day you start writing down all the SCHEDULED things first. Take kid here, must buy dog food because we are 100% out, homeschool each kid, proofread this book, dentist appointment, sports practice there.

I should probably just stop here and remain sane but I don't. That's a full day.

Instead, I fill in everything else that I WANT to get done, like:
try to get in a shower
give that kid a haircut
go for a walk because it's 70 degrees in February in Kansas
do dishes (the kids can certainly help with that)
do laundry (teach kids how to do that)
take the kids on this cool outing
co-op planning
have some alone time with my husband
have a Nerf war with my kid
play Shopkins with my other kid
check into this and that
call this person
email this person
fill out this permission slip
try to send this article
TRY to figure out when I could possibly ever go see my grandmothers
make a meal for a sick friend
finish update on book
volunteer at the food bank with the kids

And my list goes on and on with important things and not-so-important things. Any of this sound familiar?

My page is soon full. Like full on the lines and in the margins. I have tried to book my entire 24 hours by planning about 73 hours of stuff. And we all know time does not work that way. But it causes us stress anyway.

The idea is that you should just write down what you really need to get done and leave the margins empty, thus leaving margin in your life. Some days it works and some days it doesn't but you have to keep trying or, no, you won't end up in the looney bin (I've tried), but you will end up a frazzled, overwhelmed, stressed-out, mean, quite likely physically ill human being.

Do you think God wants you to live that way? I know I didn't have all these children so I could be too busy all the time to even give them a hug in passing and too full in my mind with details to remember their names. Trying to make a good life for our kids should not mean filling every second of our own time while the kids are out happily making mud pies WITHOUT US.

I love life. I am curious and want to suck up as much life as I can before I die. But in that big-picture view, I am missing a lot of little things that are VERY important. In needing to get this TASK done, I am missing out on CONNECTIONS.

While I don't have as much margin as I'd like to these days, I'm trying to figure it out. Here are some of my tricks.

Prepare
Meal plan and make sure you have all the items you need. Look at your calendar and make sure what you're planning is doable. Don't plan coq au vin on a day where you will literally have 10 minutes to make it and eat it. Instead, have one of those go-tos like Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Soft Tacos or Crockpot Chili. I'm working on this (see below) but, interestingly enough, have not had time yet to finish it ;-)


Make sure you are stocked on dog food and Band-Aids and allergy meds and inhalers and toilet paper so you aren't running out at the most inconvenient time ever.

Teach your older kids how to do laundry so clean clothes are not an issue. At my house, I have not started this yet and need to! They bring clothes up from the dryer and they put away their own clothes, so that's something! (Update, since I wrote this we have moved and we have a super simple washer/dryer system on the main level. The kids do laundry now.)

Take a look at your schedule for the week on Sunday and picture how it's going to feel. If you start feeling stressed just looking at it, you need to make some changes. Your body doesn't like to feel like you're going to whoop it with adrenaline every day until you die.

Do something small every day toward a big goal
When I start on a writing project, I get FOCUSED. I am a work horse. I am in the zone. That doesn't work when you have 5 kids and you're with them all day and homeschooling. While I long to go on a weekend writing retreat (I'd go here and I daydream about it), I just am not that kind of mom. I've tried to be that kind of mom but I am a stick-close mom. I feel badly if I am gone for 5 hours after taking my son soccer refereeing then I go work at a Panera Bread. I've left my kids for exactly ONE overnight in almost 16 years. I don't see that changing soon.

That said, while I'd love to knock out so many different things (writing, organizing, etc.), I have to realize slow and steady does win the race. It's how I got my first couple of books finished. It's how I do a lot of things.

Plan one NOTHING day
I'm finding that since I gave myself permission to not pack our lives to the brim, we have started trying to take off Thursdays. So on those days, after lunch, after school is done, we can go to gymnastics for an hour up the road or not. We can go on a field trip or not. Go to the park or just laze around reading.

Combine homeschooling
If you homeschool, here's one small trick I use for homeschooling all 5 of my kids at once for History and English and sometimes even Science/English or Art/English.

Say "no" or "not right now"
This can be hard for those of us with little concept of boundaries (we need to read this book) and it can also eventually be your guilty pleasure and it can give you margin. I feel horrible saying "no" because I picture myself someday in a deep ditch wanting help out and everyone around me says "no" because I told them "no." Dumb, right? Sometimes "not right now" works as well and is less final so you have time to decide on something.

Realizations:

When my kid FaceTimes, it's like having an extra kid in the house (her friend she is FaceTiming). It's okay to say "no" if it's not a good time for the family.

Take a look at how much your kids have friends over ... taking on an extra kid for hours or days at a time is a big deal. I'm cooking for an extra person when I already cook for 7. I'm mentally making sure I have that extra person with us when we go places. I'm paying for that person when we go places. I'm picking up after that person when they leave their things at my house. I'm endlessly texting the kid and the parent about pick-ups and drop-offs and details. "What's one more?" could turn into a margin-suck without you even realizing it. I am a HUGE FAN of playdates and teen hangouts, but they don't need to happen daily, is all I'm saying!

My kid doesn't have to make every single sports practice, religious ed meeting, Scout meeting, etc. My husband and I teach our kids it's okay to skip stuff every now and then and we are doing it by example :-) You are not a crappy community member and slacker: you are keeping your family sane. And, boy, do we savor those gorgeous spring evenings outside when we have skipped an event and stayed home to just PLAY.

Do you have any margin in your day? Time to just chill out? Visit with a neighbor who is lonely? Get yourself some empty brain space and empty to do list paper space and see what cool things come from that.

3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Lights #PerfectChristmasGift Review

Check out this amazing night light I get to review for Eva, who LOVES Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony, and who is turning 9 very soon! If your kiddo loves MLP, you have to check out these lights ... they also have Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie.






And for the boys ... so many options! Marvel, Batman, Star Wars, just to name a few. And, yes, more options for girls!

3DLIGHTFX 3D Deco Lights are the perfect gift this holiday season for boys and girls. They have a full range of comic book, super hero, Disney Princess, sports and car lights that look as though they are popping right out of the wall ... and a crack sticker is included to complete the effect! They are battery operated and cool to the touch so you can place them any where in the room! 

Your kids will love having these in their rooms and they're also the perfect editions to a den, family room, man cave or office (I know a 15-year-old who would like a Batman one!)! Find all of these amazing products here at Target and Target.com.

Here is the review post on this product with an update one year later on how the product is holding up!



Huge Cash Back Deals During the Swagbucks Green Monday Sale!


You can earn money while saving it during Green Monday! The Cashback Shopping site Swagbucks is offering big cash back - 2x or more - at a number of different stores today only. They're also offering big payouts on a varieties of different deals and offers from companies that would make great gift ideas. Get great deals without waiting in lines or even leaving your home! 

If you're not familiar with Swagbucks, they offer cash back in the form of points when you shop. Then you can turn those points into gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, Target, or PayPal cash. You can also earn points for discovering deals, watching videos, answering surveys and more!  

Click here to take advantage of the cash back, just create your Swagbucks account when prompted (it takes less than 30 seconds) and then you're all set! 

As a special bonus, if you sign up through me you get a 300 SB ($3) bonus when you earn your first 300 SB before January 1st! This site's a great way to extend your shopping budget, especially around the holidays!


And check out this post on how to make even more extra money for the holiday season using apps!

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Maximizing Family Time


Do you ever look at your life and think that you’ve got your priorities wrong? Do you wish you could spend more quality time together as a family? Check out these simple ideas for maximizing family time right now…

Start Saying No More

If you’re one of those people who just can’t say no, and that means that you’ve taken on way more responsibilities than you can really handle and maintain a healthy family life, you need to learn how to say no more. If helping out at the community center means you’ll miss dinner with your kids, say no; if doing an extra shift because someone is sick means missing your kid’s school play, say no. You’ll free up so much more time to be with your family when you say yes only to the things you really want to do.

Make Dinner Times Non-Negotiable

Even if it means you need to buy furniture so that you can all fit into the dining room comfortably, even if it means moving your appointments around, even if you experience resistance from one or more family members, make it known that barring an emergency, you expect everyone to be around the table to eat dinner time. Why? Because it’s the perfect time to relax, talk about each others’ day and just have the pleasure of being in the company of the ones you love the most.

Get the Family Involved

If you usually clean the kitchen or do the grocery run alone, although you might think that involving the kids will just make it take longer, ask them to help you out. Sure, it might take longer at first, especially if your kids are young, but it will ensure that the time you spend on chores and other busywork isn’t wasted — it’s also time you spend bonding with your children.

Get Rid of Time-Wasters

While we’re on the subject of chores, you probably have a lot of them, and other household issues that are basically a waste of time, which by reducing them, will buy you more time with your family. So, declutter your home and spend less time cleaning, hang a hook for your keys, so that you don’t waste so much time looking for them and switch the carpet for a much easier to clean wooden floor and you’ll have so much time for your family you’ll be looking for an escape.

Telecommute

If you have a job and it is one of the biggest factors in how little time you’re able to spend with your family, if it’s the right kind of job, ask your employer if they’d be willing to let you telecommute. By working from home, you cut out your commute, which obviously frees up some time, and if you’re able to work efficiently, you can finish up and be out playing with your kids instead of filling a chair just because you’re expected to, too.

I really hope some of these ideas help you to spend more time having fun and bonding with your kids and your spouse.