Goodness gracious, I wish we could find cheap insurance. Not just cheap insurance as in you-get-what-you-pay for insurance that isn’t that great, but cheap as in affordable.

When I priced up insurance for my family of five, I was told that we would pay $500 monthly.  It wasn’t a creme-de-la-creme sort of plan, just a basic one that covered basic expenses like well-child visits and sick visits.  Stuff like that.

Insurance is so expensive right now.  I have tried to pay as I go, and the price is almost outrageous for a doctor’s visit!  My doctor charges $120 per visit.  So, I feel like i’m stuck up a creek without a paddle.

What do you do for health insurance?  Is it affordable or not-so-much?

The hardest, most challenging and also rewarding thing that I am embarking on right now (aside from parenting and college), is the journey to lose weight.

I have been heavy most of my life. I have had a few spots here and there where I haven’t been heavy and also one successful stint in Onederland (165 baby!).

However, after becoming a parent, it seemed that the minute I thought about losing weight, I would get pregnant again. Or, I would still have a newborn at home. And believe me, it’s really hard to even think about losing weight when you are getting up for middle-of-the-night feedings!

When you are a mom, your life just isn’t your own. Especially when your children are younger. While I cherish my babies, sometimes at the end of the day, I feel physically and emotionally exhausted. Raising children is hard work — although very rewarding!

At one point I had thought about taking herbal diet pills or some sort of supplement to lose weight. Because I felt that I needed something to give me an edge.

Now, I make time for myself. I joined a gym that has daycare. And having a gym membership (especially one that offers childcare), is so important! I don’t feel guilty for taking an hour to myself and the kids have a change of pace!

If you are a mom, what do you think the most challenging thing about losing weight is?

In our society today, we are plagued with new illness and ailments. New kinds of cancers pop up everyday. Besides eating and exercising, one of the ways that we can help prevent cancer is to get our colon cleansed. They have devices called colon cleansing pills that can help cleanse the colon safely and naturally. But make sure you do your homework and talk to your doctor before taking any kind of medicine (over the counter or prescription).

Sometimes, when you are losing weight or in the process of a weight loss journey, you need a little help — a little pick me up if you will. There are times, when losing weight can involve a lot of different elements; mood level, hormones, eating habits, exercising habits and sleep habits. It encompasses everything including your environment and the people you surround yourself with.

Sometimes, people need help and for that help they turn to some kind of a diet supplement. These “helpers” can boost your metabolism or give you the vitamins you may be missing in your current diet.

Not sure if you guys heard about the Kevin Smith vs. Southwest Airlines debacle, but apparently, Mr. Smith was taken off an airplane because he was “a safety hazard” and the fact that he didn’t buy up two seats is a “health issue”. The thing is, he had both arms down on the seat, which by Southwest standards is supposed to mean that *You fit into the seat and so therefore do not have to buy two tickets*. I don’t know about you, but i’m with Kevin Smith on this one.

Speaking of health issues, I was looking at eczema pictures the other day. I have researched photos and cures for eczema. It looks like a very painful skin disease.

What do you think about the Kevin Smith thing…or eczema for that matter?

My poor little man has had a rough week. First, he sprained his ankle by doing an awkward Michael Jackson spin move in our living room (he was playing with the older kids at the time), and then he gets pink eye, and now he has some weird rash. I’m a little afraid that it is eczema. So back to the doctor’s office we go. I have seen the inside of his office so many times this week, I feel like we’re in danger of becoming best friends.

I was shopping in Walgreen’s the other night and came across the diet food/supplements/etc. area. I noticed some fast weight loss pills being promoted with Jillian Michael’s picture on them. The were fat-burners and promoted to be all natural. The jury is still out as to whether a diet pill could truly be all natural. I personally, would love to have a pill that could take away all of the weight and replace with optimum health. But i’m not sure that will happen anytime soon.

What do you think?

I have been getting healthy and changing many of my unhealthy habits. In addition to that I am revisiting weight loss supplements. I am determined to find the best weight loss supplement that promotes optimum health. I realize that supplements can help give me a leg up. They can especially help manage joint pain and such.

Have you tried supplements for weight loss? What do you think?

My newly found passion this year is working out on the treadmill and of course selecting my favorite of the ellipticals at the gym. Personally, I think that I actually like working out on the elliptical more than the treadmill because it gives me a harder workout. Eventually, I would like to do the bulk of my cardio on the elliptical. It’s like jogging on air!

Right now, I am on a journey to better my health. It’s not an easy journey and I have come along down a bumpy road. Because losing weight is so much more than “will power”. It’s changing the way you think about food, yourself, and life all around you.

I have come to a point where I have a hard time realizing that you don’t need to celebrate with food. And my appetite at times seems rival to none. During those times, I find that I take weight loss supplements to curb my appetite or give me the nutrients I might otherwise be missing out of my diet.

I have been mulling over getting a gym membership. I want to. I need to. But with winter around the corner I don’t know if I want to drive to the gym (especially if we are going to be in this house for any amount of time because the gym is farther away).

Instead, I thought it would be nice to find a great deal on a treadmill or an elliptical machine for the house! I already have an exercise bike… but I would like to include other forms of equipment so as not to get bored.

Do you have a home gym? Do you like it?

So i’m on this journey right now to better health. And one of the things I would like to do is figure out how to lose belly fat. Having 3 kids in such a short period of time has taken its toll on my body (well that and various life stressors). So abdominal fat is a big problem for me. On top of stomach crunches and supplements, i’m wondering what else is out there to help combat against abdominal fat.

Recently, I had heard of the use of HGH for optimum health and muscle build. So, I did some research to find the best hgh releaser. I have heard of Sommatropinne and supposedly it is an effective HGH supplement.

So what are the positive effects of hgh? Below are some of the positive effects of HGH:

Reverse the signs of aging.
Build muscle
Reduce body fat
Strengthens bones & bone mass by retaining calcium
Controls blood sugar
Increases metabolism

Scientists are just beginning to understand the health and wellness benefits from HGH. But so far, it looks as though there are some very positive things about using HGH supplements.

The older I get, the more I realize that good skin care and taking care of one’s body is absolutely essential in this life! People today are aging differently than they did a long time ago. 40 used to mark a time in a woman’s life when she could officially consider herself to be “old”. But as i’m fast learning, 40 is the new 30. One of the best things to help your skin keep its vitality and youthful appearance is to apply the best wrinkle cream you can find!

The past couple of weeks have been eye-opening for me. I watched my behavior, wrote down my moods and realized that there is a lot more going on with me than just emotional overeating. There is an underlying cause to the emotional overeating and it is causing anxiety as well. However, I have been doing fairly well staying on track with my diet. I have lost another 3 pounds! Yay me!

I have been doing research on appetite suppressants to find which one might work for me. I keep hoping that someday they (the powers that be in the pharmacy world) will somehow find a magical pill to flush the fat.

I feel empowered that I am taking the bull by the horns on this area in my life. Sometimes, I wish it were easier. Just sayin’.

WOOT!  Here I thought I would only lose one pound, but I lost 3.2 instead!  That’s a total of 7 lbs!  I cannot even begin to contain my happiness over this!  Going to the meetings have helped me tremendously.  It keeps me motivated and I am actually excited about my weigh ins (even last week when I wasn’t certain that I lost any weight!).

I’ve been taking baby steps with this lifestyle change.  My normal approach to things is that of “all or nothing”.  Meaning, I overwhelm myself with every minute detail and stress over not doing things ‘perfectly’ the first time.    However, now, I find myself taking slower steps and making smaller changes.

I like being held accountable for myself.  I’m always so concerned about others and worried about everyone but me.  It’s nice to worry about me for a change!

I got my Hungry Girl book today and I simply love it! So many simple recipes that use regular stuff from in your refrigerator and cupboard! All of the recipes are super healthy but look super yummy! I can’t wait to start making stuff from it! Upon reading the different recipes, I can definitely see why this book is so popular and given 5 stars!

Here is a recipe that I am going to try for breakfast tomorrow morning:

Fancy-schmancy oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 cup regular oats (not instant)
3 tablespoons canned pure pumpkin
1 tablespoon sugar-free maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 no-calorie sweetener packet
Dash of salt

Directions:

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small pot (use less water for thicker oatmeal, and more water for thinner oatmeal).

Add oats and reduce heat to medium. Stirring occasionally, cook for 5 minutes. Add pumpkin, maple syrup, cinnamon, sweetener, and salt to the pot and stir. Spoon into a bowl and enjoy.
Makes 1 serving.

This recipe is straight from the book and so easy! All of the recipes are given in 1 serving sizes. So it is super easy to multiply to get the amount you need!

I give this book 2 thumbs way up!

Finally, I have made a commitment to myself.

I have been a Weight-Watchers online member for about 4 months now.  While I love all things online, I found that this method wasn’t effective for me.  Why?  Because I need the accountability part.  I firmly believe that food addictions are much like any other addiction whereas you need to find a way to hold yourself accountable.  Having a viable support group that you see at least once a week is a great way to hold yourself accountable.

It was heartwarming to see how the group of people at my meeting supported one another.  High fives and happy dances aplenty when someone lost weight.  It is inspiring to be with a group of people so committed to changing their lives.  For so long I feel that I have been cheating myself and my family out of a full and active life.  Yesterday, I changed that.

Join me on my weight-loss commitment journey on this blog and my other blog!

Inspiration is a powerful thing whether you need it or give it.

You know… one of my best friends told me that the key to being successful with weight loss is to get excited about incorporating the positive change in your life. Then, on Dr. Phil this morning, I watched (a pre-recorded) episode where they discussed childhood obesity. Dr. Phil mentioned that it was imperative to feel empowered by the positive changes you are making in your life. To embrace getting healthy as something that will empower and guide you to be the best you can be! I can’t even begin to tell you how incredibly insightful I found both pieces of advice!

My friend said…. “Put food in its place by getting excited about what you are going to eat. Explore healthy food. After awhile, your body will crave good things instead of bad things.” Of course, there was a whole conversation that surrounded this concept and I picked out what I felt were the shiny nuggets of knowledge that inspired me! Maybe they’ll inspire you too?

So anyway, I realize that there is a whole gamut of diet pills out there that are labeled to help you lose weight. I think it is important to research and read reviews on those pills and also talk to your doctor before beginning to take them. In my opinion, it’s always important to ask your doctor before taking anything over the counter for weight loss.

I have been hearing about Hydroxycut lately and found this… Hydroxycut reviews. It lists some pros and cons about the product. For any of you that are curious… I thought i’d throw it out there.

It has been proven that there is no “quick fix” to losing weight. It is true what they say… the weight didn’t come on over night (even though it sometimes seems that way) and so it won’t come off overnight.

Let your journey to good health empower you! Enjoy the journey! Enjoy doing something positive just for you! It could make all of the difference when it comes to the quality of the rest of your life!

I know that on some level this is supposed to be a “mommy blog” but there are also a lot of “non-mommy” related thoughts that float through my brain on a daily basis.  One of those thoughts happened to hit me just now and so here I am blogging about it.

health insurance. Yep. You got it. The big H.I. topic that is on everyone’s mind these days. Especially as companies are either not offering good plans or are cutting down on manpower thereby leaving people high and dry without coverage.

Health insurance used to cost pennies. According to my dad (a really reliable resource since he lurvs history!), back in the day people didn’t have health insurance. It was considered fruitless. If your child was sick (or if you were sick), then you would go to the doctor’s, pay your bill and be on with your life. Sounds rather cozy right?

The problem is, in today’s world, health insurance has become much more a need than a luxury item. Companies have been forced to offer health insurance to employees because that’s sort of the way it has been for many years now.

What would be great would be to find health coverage that is affordable and offers similar (if not the same) benefits that a large company could offer.

I am currently on the search for such a company. Does anyone have any ideas on where to start looking? Many of the plans i’ve researched offer less and cost hundreds of dollars a month. In a word…. very expensive for a one-income family.