Dry Hair / Falling Out – I did notice this but I had just purchased a new bottle of shampoo and conditioner and thought that it was just a bad brand or bad batch.

Weight Gain – I’ve had two babies and even though I lost the weight after each it was a struggle. When I gained 15 pounds I thought that I was just slacking off on my diet and exercise.

Very Tired – Two busy kids and my own business…do I really need to say more?

Intolerant to Cold – I get cold easily anyway.

There are a bunch of other classic hypothyroid symptoms that you may have. Follow the link for a nice list of symptoms for various thyroid problems. If you find that you have several of these, don’t just attribute them to everyday life like I did. See your doctor and get checked.

First up is my Dance off the Inches: Hip Hop Party. Jennifer Galardi is the main instructor for this video and I really like her workouts. She has four girls with her for the workout. If you are at all subconscious about dancing in front of people, do this one alone the first dozen or so times! I think this video dance workout is really fun, but Jennifer can get her body to move in ways that mine just does not. When you finish this workout, you’ll have a new respect for the Spice Girls! I think I have the moves down now, but sometimes I still look more like a gawky giraffe than a sexy dancer.

The second DVD that I use is one of the Dancing with the Stars: Dance Off the Pounds. This DVD will kick your butt. There are three sections. Section one is the swing dance taught by Kym Johnson. Section two is the jive dance taught by Lacey Schwimmer and the third section is the quickstep taught by Dmitry Chaplin. The first and third sections fairly easy to follow. The second sections is really fast but fun. You’ll get the steps down after a few tries so keep at it.

Next, I’d like to try some of Jillian Michaels DVDs. She was on the biggest loser a long time so I’m sure she’s good. I love the way people are transformed on that show. Now, I just need Dolvett to make some DVDs!

In an effort to vary my workouts, I have been alternating between days of mixed cardio and strength training and days of pure cardio. A couple of years ago I purchased the EA Active kit for the Wii. EA Sports Active
is a fun system that requires little room to perform the exercises. If you stand in the middle of your workout space and take a big jump forward and back then side to side that is about the extent of the room that you need for any of the routines.

The EA Sports Active system has a 30-Day Challenge and then a selection of pre-programmed workouts. If you are good at designing your own workout, you can choose the exercises that you want to do during your routine. One nice feature of the pre-programmed routines is that you can skip any of the exercises that you do not want to perform (like the three laps of fast kick-ups at the track). or that are not appropriate for your fitness level. Speaking of fitness level, each of the pre-designed workouts has a hard and easy version. Generally, the exercises are the same, but the number of reps is less for the easy versions.

I like the EA Sports Active because it has several choices of music and you create an avatar that looks like you and you can pick some nice workout outfits for your Mii. You also workout in a beautiful simulated outdoor world that has a premium track, boxing studio, baseball field, and volleyball, basketball and tennis courts.

When you first purchase the EA Sports Active system, you can take the 30-Day Challenge. You work out two days in a row then take one day off. You following the workouts in sequential order and it increases your fitness level as you work out. You can also gather some cool virtual trophies along the way. For your lower body workout exercises, you place the nunchuk into a pouch on a leg band that you wear during the session. For upper body toning, you use a resistance band that they supply in the kit. I used my resistance band so much that it broke. I have not replaced it yet so I use lightweight dumbbells instead.

The only negative aspect to the EA Sports Active, as with all Wii programs, I think, is that you have to take care with the remote and nunchuk to make sure that they are positioned properly during the exercises and that you do not wiggle them between exercise reps.

Since I purchased my kit, EA has released a second version (EA Sports Active 2), which I hope to get soon. You can purchase buddy pack of the leg strap and resistance band too so that you can work out with a real person, in addition to your very cool Mii. So far, my husband and kids will not workout with me. I think it is because I got some AWESOME Wii Volleyball skills!

First up, is Taco Pie Night! Have you tried the taco pie? You layer soft taco shells with taco meat topped with nacho cheese. My kids love this and well, so do I. This dish can be high in fat and calories, but you can make it with a more nutritious twist.  I made the dish this time with ground turkey rather than ground beef. We top the taco pie with sour cream. This time I used a low fat sour cream instead of the super yummy full fat version. The outcome was a delicious soft taco pie bake and the kids didn’t even notice the differences!

Do you have any recipes that you like to alter to make more healthy? I’d love to hear about them!

Berry Smoothie

Recently, I have replaced several meals each week with a smoothie. A well balanced smoothie will replace you meal with adequate nutrients and calories. I love vanilla and black cherry smoothies or vanilla berry mixes. With the holidays recently passed, I have some cranberries on hand that I wanted to use. Fresh cranberries are too sour for a pure cranberry smoothie so I experimented with a blueberry and cranberry drink.

I use a Magic Bullet Blender for my smoothies. This little single serving

Magic Bullet Blender

blender is very handy for making smoothies, dips, sauces and dressings. The instruction booklet gives you a tremendous list of items that you can make with this cute little gizmo that go far beyond most imaginations.

If you have never ventured into the smoothie blending arena, you will be surprised how easy these drinks are to make. You need a liquid such as milk or water, a protein such as peanut butter or protein powder (I like 100% whey protein) and fruit. You can use any kind of fresh or frozen fruit that you like.

Most fruits will blend fully, like blueberries, bananas and peaches, while others may leave seeds behind, such as strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Often cranberries will blend to a fine size but is still slightly chunky in the finished drink. If you like you smoothies to have a slushy consistency or if you are using only fresh fruit, add a handful of ice cubes to your drink to thicken. Other ingredients that I like to add are plain greek yogurt and ground flaxseed.

How to Make a Cranberry / Blueberry Smoothie

Cranberries

Fill your Magic Bullet Blender cup one third to one half full with milk. Add one full scoop of vanilla protein powder and two tablespoons of flaxseed. Top off the cup with equal parts frozen blueberries and cranberries. If you use all fresh fruit, add a few ice cubes. Frozen fruit does not require ice cubes, unless you like a slushy texture.

Berries & Flaxseed

After the smoothie ingredients are loaded into the Magic Bullet cup, screw on the blender blade, attach the cup to the base and mix. As you begin to make smoothies on a regular basis, you will discover the amounts of milk, fruit other ingredients that you like and the level of ice that defines the perfect texture. Sometimes I add a few big scoops of plain greek yogurt to make the drink creamy.

This coming week I thought I’d try something different. I tend to eat the same things for breakfast and dinner leftovers for lunch. For breakfast, I usually have two pieces of whole wheat toast with agave and peanut butter. If you haven’t tried it….you should! This week, I think I’ll replace a few of my typical breakfasts or lunches with a fruit smoothie. I have a hard time doing this in winter because I get so cold. I read recently that intolerance to cold can be a lovely side effect of hypothyroidism. Nice. A new reason to thank my loser gland.

Anyway, I’m adopting Einsteins theory:

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

This week, I will not be insane!

So I’m here to say that after lots of tests and some new medication, I’m not as tired and my hair is nice once again. HOWEVER, these stupid fifteen pounds will not go away. I’m tired of my clothes being too tight and having that lovely muffin top. The most irritating thing is that most people tell me that I don’t look chubby, but I know that I am much heavier than I used to be and want to be. So, here it is:  I’m 5 foot, 3 inches tall and I am currently 136 pounds. Before I had my first child, I weighted 118. I would be thrilled in the low 120′s. I’m dedicating this blog to my journey to lose these stupid pounds. If you are in the same boat, I’d love to hear from you!