Friday, May 28, 2010

Bloggy Interview #3

Well i hope you are enjoying these interviews, i am loving it!
Next up is my friend Jennifer. I met Jen about 4-5 years ago at church. Jen is so motivating and inspiring i love the fact that she works out at home and shows you do not have to spend tons of money on gym memberships if you are willing to do the work you can do it at home! she has a amazing faith in the Lord and had prayed for her husband to get healthy and God answered those prayers, ladies the Lord hears our prayers and he is faithful!!! here is a little snippet i took from her husbands blog and what he said about her:
Jennifer - My beautiful wife, my prayer warrior, and my best friend. It’s been a long road. Thanks for putting up with me, praying for me, believing in me, and supporting my efforts and eating to achieve this great weight loss. Thanks for being my # 1 fan. I LOVE YOU & I NEED YOU!
OK is that not that best??!
also you have to read this post, Jen helped write it and it shows a bunch of pictures of the journey of Dave losing weight. in the first picture she writes:
Dave, before making the decision to change his life and lose weight. Yet, we still were a happy couple! Dave thanks me for believing in him, but most of all, for not giving up in prayer. I prayed daily starting in April '06 when he began to pack on weight after our wedding. I did not believe it was God's will that my husband stay obese and die young from heart disease or diabetes. I prayed and prayed & knew God would do a work in Dave's heart for the sake of him and our family. The more Dave refused to go to the gym, the more I prayed. And then one day, Dave came home to tell me he would be starting personal training. Let's just say there were tears and a super grateful heart towards what God did in my husband's heart. "With God all things are possible"...Matthew 19:26
OK now on to Jen here is her interview.
*****photo of me from last March (before I got pregnant) and I weighed 137 lbs. Daniel is 2 in the pic. I lost the weight from that pregnancy by eating by Weight Watchers point system and working out diligently at my Turbo Jam videos
Name: Jennifer Morin
Kids (how many and how old): TWO: Daniel - 3 yrs. & Jacob - 4 mos.
tell us a little about yourself: I'm a stay@home mom. But have a BA in Liberal Studies and worked all my life, until Daniel came along. Love Jesus Christ, my husband and family.
have you always been interested in health / fitness: Yes, once I got a gym membership in 1995 (after high school) I always strived to be in shape. Had my own battles w/ weight gain, but am finally getting a handle on it, again. Got to my ideal weight before my last pregnancy, and am now 10 lbs. away from it.
what is a typical daily routine: Up & out of bed by 6:30ish, awaken by a hungry baby. Feed Jacob, feed Daniel, feed self & have my 1 cup of coffee. Get Daniel's medicine in him (for his asthma), dress him, and then shower or workout (depending on errands/appts. of the day). The baby eats every 2-3 hrs. these days, so chores, errands, and going to the park are woven into the appropriate time slots around his eating's. (Note: I do breastfeed so this can be a little tricky at times.)
how many times a week do you exercise: I make it a goal of at least 4X/week...but usually always get in 3X for sure.
when do you exercise: I have to do my workout as soon as I can in the a.m. before I start my day otherwise, I don't have the time or energy.
what is your favorite workout: I do the Turbo Jam home workouts of cardio and sculpting. Love them because they work!
biggest motivation: Being in shape and healthy to avoid taking meds in my 50s & 60s. Plus, I love looking great for my husband.
do you count calories, carbs, proteins, fat, points, do you follow a certain eating plan etc? why does that work for you: While breastfeeding, I use the Weight Watchers plan of tracking my points. It's easy to use, especially while I breastfeed. I want to lose weight, but not at the price of depriving my baby. When I stop nursing, I will count calories. At that time, I will do the research re: how many calories I need at the weight I am then & create a calorie deficit by cutting back on calories and burning them w/ working out. For me personally, even when doing the Weight Watchers eating plan, if I eat too much bread, tortillas, and pasta, I plateau, so I add more lean protein & cut back on carbs. This works because you get more bang for your buck (more food for less calories). You feel fuller and satisfied for longer!
what do you do when you really want to eat chocolate or ice cream or (insert favorite food): I do have a sweet tooth. I love sweet and chewy...so I eat a Fiber 1 bar when I have that craving. (Which we all need more fiber in our diets to help w/ the weight loss challenge). Yogurt (not the frozen kind) is another sweet alternative for me. But to make it even better, I added about 1/4 cup of strawberry yogurt to a 1/2-1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese the other day. Cuts the calories from the sugar that is in yogurt, and the cottage cheese (which is a great protein food) totally took on the full on flavor of the strawberry yogurt. It was yummy!
do you restrict what your kids eat?, or how much they eat: YES! I do not buy any kind of chips to snack on at home, limit crackers to only the saltine kind and give a few to Daniel at a time. If I see that he's hungry, I fix him a meal. I don't let him sit down w/ a sleeve or bag of crackers. He never had birthday cake at parties until he was over 2, then he finally realized that the bread roll I gave him was not like the cake everyone was having. Now, however, he wants cake because everyone is having it, but only takes a couple of bites and refuses the rest because he doesn't have that sweet tooth from not having it in the beginning. I really limit his sugars too. Trips to the dentist are expensive and I don't want a junk food junkie kid. It's at birthday parties that he eats hot dogs, chips, cake, and that kind of stuff because that is what is being served, all the while, I'm cringing. But he can eat all the veggies, whole wheat breads, fruits, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. he likes. If it's healthy, it's an all-you-can-eat for him.
How do you keep yourself from eating your kids' leftovers after a meal: I take it straight to the trash and dump it! However, this is a struggle of mine.
How do you keep your diet in check when you're super tired and sleep deprived: Just make sure I eat 3 meals and 2 healthy snacks and eat before running errands to avoid the fast food trap. And drink a lot of water.do you stop eating at a certain time of night: No, but I eat dinner at 6 p.m. usually & go to bed about 8:30/9 p.m., before I have a chance to get hungry again.
what time of day is your most vulnerable? what strategies do you use to counteract that: Lunch can keep carrying on for me. Example: I eat a sandwich, then grab a string cheese stick, then a banana, and then a Fiber 1 bar. If I want more after that, I just refuse and fix myself a giant glass of ice water, that's what I should probably start with. I just try to keep reaching for low-fat, healthy food when I can't seem to reach that full feeling.
hormones, how big of a role in your weight (loss): I don't think they interfere too much, except on the high-anxiety/stress days that make me feel like I have a hallow leg & can't get full. After a couple of these days, I realize that I'm grabbing food every time I walk through the kitchen and then I just tell myself that I'm not really hungry and just drink that ice cold water.
your biggest tip to a mom just starting out in trying to get in shape: Just keep exercising. Find something that works for your lifestyle (like taking the kid to the bluffs in a stroller, at-home DVD (Turbo Jam is great & fun), or gym, etc.) Set your goals of 4-5X a week and strive, if you get 2 or 3 workouts in, that's way better than not setting a goal and getting none in.
biggest tip to a mom trying to lose weight: Just buy healthy food at the grocery store (no sodas, chips, cookies, etc.) and fight giving into fast-food for the sake of not cooking. Cook at home as much as possible, cook veggies w/ every dinner, avoid processed/pre-made foods as much as possible too. This will keep you and your kids healthier.
what is your biggest temptation when it comes to food? I love Taco Bell and Del Taco. If there is a hunger emergency (been away from the house longer than I expected and 3 yr. old is starving), I get 2-3 fresco tacos (no cheese, only 3 pts. each) and Daniel gets the bean burrito w/ no cheese. And no sodas. This gets us by without blowing it. If I ever eat out, it's no cheese, dressing on the side, no gravies, nothing fried, no mayo or secret sauces. Substitute w/ BBQ sauce, squeezed lemon. And NO SODAS!
who is on your ipod? Don't have one...just told hubby I'd love one.

any final thoughts for all those mommies out there. or for me =): I just had this revelation this week: The first day of our diets/new way of eating, we do good - so I thought to myself, try to treat everyday like the first day. And don't cheat the night of your weigh in morning!
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