Post 2 of My Experience with the Denise Austin 360 Program--A Day with the Program

I'm so excited to share some more of my experience with the Denise Austin 360 Program. This is my second post on this program, and you can find my first post here.

In this post I will walk you through my day and show you just how I incorporated Denise's program and how it has given me hope, just as it does time and time again. I think seeing this program in action will really explain why this has touched my heart so deeply.

This day in particular was a slow day, with no outings except for sports in the evening. It was a nice respite.

On the outside, I'm a 40 year-old mom to a 4 and 6 year old, who partially homeschools, was a former public school teacher, attends church and church activities, has been married for almost 20 years, and has had 6 years of struggles as we continually work on getting my beautiful micropreemie daughter to eat enough to support herself after her feeding tube wean a year ago. On the inside, I'm kinda a mess. At least I feel like a mess a lot of the time. Maybe most of us do??

I woke up in the morning and we had to homeschool in my children's tiny room because my husband was meeting a client in our family room. (We run a small home business). It was certainly NOT easy accomplishing this and by the time we were done I knew that I had to do my daily Denise Austin workout or I would not make it through the day without yelling at my sweet kids. So I got them prepared to play while I worked out (They know that they cannot interrupt me unless there is blood) and I worked out in the family room as they played dolls and cars around me (but not closer than 3 feet because they must stay that far away and they know this :)

My workout today was a harder one which included cardio, kickboxing, and tabata. Everyone is just raving about tabata and it's benefits for weight loss, including Denise.

It was called "Super Charged Cardio Burn" and boy was it all of those things.

It was hard but her smiling face got me through. Her constant encouraging words are crucial to my staying in the game. Especially today as fatigue has got me by the throat. 

This picture somewhat sums up my workout space...Weights and dog toys. And small children not pictured here who are waiting with baited breath for me to finish my workout so that I can get them lunch.

Throughout the day I had been texting my cousin with an ongoing conversation about how dieting/eating for health/working out is a constant battle. For us, it is not something that will magically take care of itself, I don't think. Unless God does a miracle, which I don't doubt can happen, but I just don't see that miracle happening for me. So for the rest of my life, I will have to be completely health-conscious. I want so badly to get to my goal weight so that that battle can end. I'd just like to start the battle of maintaining, please. Really, I've been losing weight for 8 years now, twice in that period with very large drops, and I'm fairly tired of it. The diet yo-yo'ing is not healthy for the soul or the body. 

As I said earlier, it was a rough day physically for me. I'm really struggling with my schedule and how many social activities we are involved with. In previous months and during this week, I'd run to the store for some ice cream and pizza. They are my friends, right? They help make all things better, right? WRONG. It's only a temporary fix. Seriously like a one hour fix.

So I opened up one of Denise's motivational video's on her plan, and learned about "Rethinking Your Relationship With Food." My husband watched it with me, as he has lost 50 pounds and recently gained some back. (We are so close that we even gain weight together. Isn't that so sweet?? NO, IT'S NOT SWEET AT ALL). She talked about setting a curfew on the fridge and brushing her teeth to show that no more food is to be consumed after 8pm. But she also talked about allowing the occasional treat. She gets a scoop or two of ice cream every few weeks on a walk and she enjoys it. Food can be so enjoyable. I've never, ever been able to lose with restricting certain foods. Ever. When I lost my first 50 pounds and then I had to lose 65 after my pregnancies, I never banned foods, ever. And I fully intend to do this until goal and beyond. For me, it's about living a healthy lifestyle and eating healthy foods with the occasional treat. I need birthday cake on my birthday! I count calories and stay in the range that Denise recommended for me, and I make sure that I eat lean protein, fruits, veggies, and whole grains. And if I want that ice cream every few weeks, I eat it and I count it. This is wonderful behavior for a lifetime.

I love her smile and her non-judgmental nature. I do well with kindness and gentleness. She is passionate about health, fitness, and weight loss, but in a kind and empathetic way. And that's what I need, especially right now in the wake of me recovering from some difficult months with no exercise and poor food choices and a hurting soul.

So I went to the kitchen and got out a grilled chicken breast from the night before, measured 4 ounces, and put it in a whole wheat wrap with a small amount of cheese and BBQ sauce, which is similar to the foods on her plan. I counted the calories as I've been doing since I started her program. I stick to what she recommends.

***I wanted a cheeseburger. That would have made me happy for the moment only.

After lunch I came back to the computer and looked at my progress. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with it. Again, there are so may reasons why I lived so many years significantly overweight (probably very similar to most people who struggle with this), but for now I'm just sharing with you that I'm not there anymore. I worked my way down 65 over approximately 2 years (See, I lose weight veeeeeerrrrrrryyyyy slow because I don't restrict types of foods and I don't have enough "willpower" do lose 2 pounds a week. So to lose 7 pounds in 6 weeks is amazing for me, especially as I build lots of muscle! Oh man, you should see the muscles that I've developed in these 6 weeks! Denise does not lie when she tells you that "this program is going to make a huge difference, you'll see!" 

People who have known me from different walks of life have seen me as thin, chubby, very, very overweight, and "normal." I am quite sure that if people read this who have known me over my lifetime, will be surprised in one way or another. We all battle things, and weight is a battle for me. 

My goal is 145. I got to 146 and held there for quite some time. I have no wish to be a bikini model. My husband thinks I'm amazing regardless of my size and I think the same of him. I just want to be healthy and have energy and be active. I've got 14 pounds to go. 

I was able to complete some chores and eat dinner and feed my children dinner. I looked outside my window and saw the moon and know that 8pm is coming soon, and the kitchen will be on curfew. Teeth will be brushed, and I will watch a few shows and be thankful that another day's battle has been completed today. 

**You can find my first blog post on this program here. 

**You can find my third blog post on this program here. 

**You can find my fourth blog post on this program here.

I was compensated for this post, but my writing is my utmost honest opinion. I promise. 

My Experience with the Denise Austin 360 Program

This is the first post on this blog that is not homeschooling related, and I am so excited to be sharing this part of my heart with you. I love homeschool and education and writing about it, as they truly are a passion of mine, but I've also got so many feelings regarding weight loss and health, as it has been a heavy part of my life (no pun intended) for about eight years now. 

I could write a novel about my weight and why I spent approximately nine years of my adult life overweight. But for now I will simply share a small part of my journey and how that journey has led me to Denise Austin's 360 Program. 

I lost 50 pounds about 8 years ago, had two babies--one which was born as a micropreemie and had difficulties due to that, had to go on extensive bedrest and was prompted to eat eat eat due to my baby's small size in utero, and I gained the weight back. Again, I lost the weight, plus more, leading to a total 65 pound loss. It was grueling and it took about two years. I ate less and worked out and cooked nutritious meals. I was able to maintain that for quite a while, even through tube-feeding my daughter all day and then later her feeding tube wean at 5 years-old. Then unfortunately May was a very stressful month for me and I lost my mojo. I wasn't able to continue my cooking and my weekly routines and it set some very, very bad feelings and habits into motion. I began not prioritizing myself and my health. My daughter had surgery to close her feeding tube hole. I was too busy. Then my precious dog of almost 12 years got cancer and we had to say goodbye. I dove straight into a bucket of chocolate and didn't come up for air until I realized that my clothes did not fit and that I had to put a stop to it, because if I continued, I could easily be back to where I was within 6 months. 

After losing a significant amount of weight, and putting some of it back on...It feels nearly impossible to get back in the game. But it was absolutely necessary.

In the past I had used workout programs that were very difficult and I just couldn't bring myself to do that. I barely had the energy to get up in the morning. I started by going to my friend's pool with my kids and just moving around in the pool. My only goal was to move my body a little bit. I began trying to come up with a strategy to get this 19 pounds off again, and I just couldn't find something that felt right. The program in which I had lost all of my previous weight had changed and it didn't suit me and I felt lost. Then I remembered something which I had been eyeing for a while, which was Denise Austin's program.

Denise and I go way back to the days of my freshman and sophomore year of high school. I used her "Hips, Thighs, and Buttocks" VCR tape to exercise every day. When I was a sophomore I had a boyfriend who was attending college far away, and so I was lonely and I dedicated myself to Denise's tapes. I adored her! She was upbeat and so happy, and just had a feeling of "lightness" to her. I held onto those VCR tapes for years and eventually gave them away when VCR's became a thing of the past. 

It wasn't until I was 40 and suffering from a 19 pound weight gain and depression that I was to meet her again. 

I will go into more detail in my later posts, but for now, I'll give you a brief overview of what the program is and why it has been crucial in gaining my life back. 

It is a ten week program that tells gives you a complete menu to cook, daily workouts that Denise has chosen for you, and motivational videos.

Every day I open up the homepage and I see the workout that she has chosen for me. It alternates with cardio and strength. The absolute best part about the workouts are that you are able to choose if you want level 1, 2, or 3 when you set up your program. I had initially chosen level 2. My thought was that I had been in the best shape of my life 5 months ago! I could do it! Luckily my husband came in right when I was setting it up and asked me what in the world I was doing. Why did I want to make this hard on myself? Why did I want to set myself up for failure?? So I selected level 1, and 6 weeks later I am still on level one and I absolutely swear that that is the reason why I am working out 6 days a week and enjoying myself so much. 

Throughout her workouts, Denise smiles and talks about being healthy and happy. The two are connected. She often asks me to "smile" and I sincerely believe that this attitude is what is leading me back to health. I have found that it is an absolute necessity for me to work out. The endorphins that are produced are an absolute must to leading a happy life, for me, as well as giving me the desire to eat healthfully.

In the program, she tells you the calorie levels that you need to follow and she provides a complete menu with instructions. I have chosen not to follow the exact menu because I am so so so busy with homeschooling and church and activities and my young children. I am strictly following the calorie recommendations and the meal ideas. I use a few of the breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and read the ingredients in each so that I can integrate the food part as much as possible into my life. This is where the main weight loss comes from, of course, as we've been learning in the last years. However, when I do not work out, I find it very difficult to stick to the calories necessary for weight loss. It gives me that extra push.

This week her motivational video was on gratitude. The videos are short but pack a powerful punch, and I try to watch the same one more than once, especially if I am having an especially trying day.

There is also an area to record your weight and measurements on a graph. I will get into that in my next post about this program.

I really wanted to make sure that I loved it before I did a glowing blog post on it. I always strive to be honest and I wanted to make sure that I absolutely loved it. Denise Austin's program has been absolutely critical in helping me climb this mountain and gain my health and happiness back.

**I have written a second post on this program. Please read it here. 

**My third post on this program has been written here. 

**My fourth post on this program has been written here. 

I was compensated for this blog post but it in no way affected how I viewed the program or wrote about it. It is my honest opinion.

Experience More Literacy and Math Workbooks

I'm going to be honest here and say that I'm utterly exhausted this year. I think I might have said that recently in other posts...Maybe every post? I'm so exhausted that I don't even remember. It is the first year where I am following another curriculum in which I am not in control, and it makes me tired. Don't get me wrong...it does wonderful things too, such as holds me accountable and ensures that my daughter is learning the appropriate objectives for kindergarten. At this point in my homeschooling, I want direction. Even as a long-time elementary school teacher, I need direction. But the downside is that it almost feels like a race to keep up at times. 

Needless to say, when I do Mother Goose Time for Strong B and even Tiny B, it is like a breath of fresh air, and I want to hold onto this time for as long as I can. I will probably be having Strong B start kindergarten the year after next instead of next year (he was a preemie as well and shouldn't start next year anyway if he had been born at the appropriate time) so my prayer is that we have this year and next year with this sweet curriculum. I can only imagine how much we will grow. I feel no pressure during my lessons with Strong B because I know that if he doesn't "get it" this month or next, he will eventually. We are going slowly and enjoying every moment.

We've been using the Experience More Literacy and Math workbooks from MGT for the first time for him this month. You should have seen his face....He was so excited that it was finally his turn! 

Doing book work is totally new for him and he truly enjoys it. At four years-old, I feel no need to absolutely do book work, but since he is enjoying it, I see no reason not to. It helps him to even further grasp the contents that I am teaching during his MGT lessons.

Jack the Poodle also enjoys the workbooks, obviously.

Tonight we took out the workbooks again because he wanted to, and worked on math. We counted, noticed differences, and discussed shapes.

I purposefully allowed him to use this awful pencil grip for this picture so that I can be reminded for years to come as to how I tried to break him of this habit. Ugh!

Oh, the sweet days of preschool and kindergarten...It's a popular saying that as a mother, the days feel so long but the years feel so short. I think it must also be true of homeschooling. It's an enormous endeavor and every day I'm reminded of the giant responsibility that I carry. I'm so tired but so confident that I'm making the right choice for our family.

*I  receive Mother Goose Time curriculum in exchange for my honest sharing of experiences, resulting from our personal use. All opinions/thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by others.

A Day's Lesson of Dogs with Mother Goose Time

You'll have to forgive me for the utter realness of some of the following pictures. I wanted to show you one day of Mother Goose Time lessons, and to be truthful, most of my lessons take place in a somewhat messy house. It's life with two young children! And when you're homeschooling, it's almost impossible to maintain a house of order if you want to maintain your sanity. 

We pulled out Day 11 because the lesson was on dogs. This just happened to line up with the homeschooling curriculum from my daughter's charter school on that day, which was "Pets." Perfection! I liked MGT's lesson much, much better, so I used theirs instead.

Jack the poodle is ready for his day's lesson and was ready to be an active participant as well.

I chose to do three of the activities for the day. Usually I only choose one to two, but since I withdrew Tiny B from her one-on-one occupational therapy outside of the classroom, I am adding in more fine motor practice and crafts in our studies. 

We did a "Make and Play" activity which was doggy shakers. I made sure to have them do all of the work to get as much fine motor practice as possible.

MGT has incorporated these high quality puzzles this year. They are beautiful. And yet another chance for fine motor practice as well as the visual practice that I don't know much about, but is so important according to her occupational therapist.

Jack enjoyed putting the puzzle together too. Coincidentally, one of the pieces is slightly gnawed off, Makes it more original I guess.

We used the new beautiful foam cube to roll different feelings and act out those feelings as a dog.

Jack acted the feelings out too, but for some reason, his seemed more "real." Hmm.

I'm so thankful for these fun days of Mother Goose Time and wish so badly that it could follow me through all of our homeschool days. For now, I will cherish it.

*I  receive Mother Goose Time curriculum in exchange for my honest sharing of experiences, resulting from our personal use. All opinions/thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by others.

MGT Invitation to Create

Have you ever been so busy that you become miserable? Not miserable as in depressed, but miserable as in sad and mad that you don't have time to do or enjoy the things that really matter? 

Well, that's where I am this week. Just two weeks ago I was overjoyed with where my life has taken me. Tiny B is finally tube-free truly (without even a hole in her tummy anymore), I am homeschooling (Oh, how I love this! I wish I could describe to you just how much I love this), I made it through a very rough spring and summer and my heart is finally healing from the loss of my beloved poodle of my heart, and my new poodle is like total visual evidence that God does take care of our hurts and gives us beautiful gifts...But this week I realized just how busy busy busy we are and how much that needs to change. Some people thrive on busyness, and I'm realizing just how much I am not one of those people. So I have been really looking at the things that I love in my life and need my time, and that includes homeschooling and Mother Goose Time (I truly mean this from the bottom of my heart...what a gift both are to me), my family, my health and fitness, and bible study. The rest really needs to be looked at and some things will stay and some will go. I envision a life for us that is built upon God, love, and purpose, and for our family, we need to spend time creating each of those things and not rushing through them.

I guess that sort of pertains to what I'm going to talk about in my next two blog posts. The Mother Goose Time community has really been delving into what process-based art is. The art in the curriculum now is about 50 percent process-based art and 50 percent product-based art. In this post, I just want to simply show you a process-based art project. When I see them pop up in the curriculum, my first inclination is to take a deep breath and exhale, and prepare myself for the relaxation and deep-thinking that is about to take place. 

Process-based art is art that focuses on the process of creating, allowing the child to be in charge of what their end product will look like, and the emphasis is put on creating the product rather than the end product. Product-based art is art that focuses on certain skills and the child's goal is to have a nice-looking end product. Both have their place and I'm so thankful that MGT is doing both.

MGT's Invitation to Create is an activity that I can set out for Strong B while Tiny B does her kindergarten lessons. I know that he can enjoy himself for a long time doing this, and the best part is that I don't have to guide him much if I don't want to or can't. It's also an activity that I can simply hand to my mom when she comes over to babysit. She is an artist and loves it, but even if she wasn't, it is still very easy to manage.

This summer she took a Waldorf art class for teaching children art. Everything that she learned is what MGT is doing. In my next post I will get into the philosophy behind process-based art but for now, here is simply how it was done. 

I gave her the Invitation to Create card with the instructions.

She discussed owls with him and showed him pictures of the owl. He drew an owl.

He used the materials however he wanted. She watched.

He glued cotton balls onto his owl's tummy. 

He took some twigs and made them into feet.

I asked my mom if she drew the owl. She said that she didn't and that he did it all himself. I looked at the detail and loved how he drew the feathers and the wide eyes. I also loved how he chose twigs that looked so much like feet.

They both really enjoyed it and he got a chance to truly think about what an owl looks like and what he wanted his owl to look like. There was decision-making and creativity happening. 

We've since done several Invitations to Create and he loves not being told what to do and how to do it. He spends so much longer on these projects than he does on the product-based art. I can see that he feels like a true creator during and after these projects, and he feels an ownership over the end-product. 

I'm off to bed now as tomorrow I will continue to run myself a bit ragged until I get my priorities squared away. I am aiming though to take some time to just exhale and enjoy my day as it happens, and not just focus on how much I accomplish or how well I accomplished it :) 

*I  receive Mother Goose Time curriculum in exchange for my honest sharing of experiences, resulting from our personal use. All opinions/thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by others.

Family Stamps with Mother Goose Time

We did our first lesson with Strong B using Mother Goose Time (MGT) as his only curriculum. He feels very important because of this, of course. After watching his sister use this curriculum exclusively last year, he is ready to step up to the plate.

"Family Stamps" was an adorable lesson that was a fantastic introduction to the theme of the month, which is Family. He took stamps which are family members, drew a house, used the stamps in the house, and described what he stamped and where he stamped, using positional vocabulary words (under, beside, above, etc). *The poodle stamp is not included in the MGT stamp set. I added that :)

I love the "assess" reminder at the bottom of the lesson. Assessment is a huge part of lesson planning. It really should drive instruction. So, if they don't understand those words, then I can bring it up again tomorrow. 

MGT suggests putting the finished product in their portfolio, which they brought back this year due to popular demand. 

This activity brought about lots of talk about families and how different families can look. Most importantly, we talked about no matter what members a family has, a family is built on love. 

We then went on to trace the letter A from the circle time display and then draw an A on the whiteboard. 

I love this four year-old boy. He is so excited for the year ahead of us. 

*I  receive Mother Goose Time curriculum in exchange for my honest sharing of experiences, resulting from our personal use. All opinions/thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by others.

Another Year with Dance n' Beats and Mother Goose Time

I am so excited to start another year of Dance n' Beats with Mother Goose Time. I truly missed it this summer! Of course we had the DVD's from this past year, but there is just something special about unwrapping a new DVD and doing dances that correspond to the exact same music that we listen to for our monthly theme CD as well as to our monthly theme that we are studying!

This month we our theme is Family. And here is a picture of our new puppy Jack with the DVD. Because who can resist a puppy pic? Jack says, "I am a standard poodle and I approve of this program."

It comes with thirteen dances, and as I mentioned before, they are the same as the CD that we get in the main MGT curriculum.

There are twenty-one basic moves that are included in the dances. The names of the moves are written on the screen as they are performed. My kiddos don't read yet, so this isn't helpful to them, but it is to me so that I can call it out. I have to be honest though and tell you that I usually don't call out the moves, or even interact with the kids at all while the DVD is on! It is so beneficial for them to simply focus on mimicking the "teacher's" moves. 

The guide really does go in-depth with the lyrics and movement of each song. There is also an accompanying lesson for each song. Sometimes they involve art and sometimes more movement. I didn't do any of these last year, as last year was "The Year That Tiny B Taught Herself How to Eat," and I was overwhelmed, but this year, it is definitely a goal for me. What an amazing way to have the kids have more "buy in" to this dancing program! Strong B, who is four, could definitely benefit from these lessons and making the songs "his own" and taking ownership of the concepts/dances/songs/rhythms that are taught.

Here are the kids dancing to "Grandma's Glasses" from the page I showed above.

It always starts with the same Warm Up Song which is nice because the kids become really familiar with it.

Wait, is that Jack with a rubber chicken?

I love the backgrounds in the different songs. This one is very fall-like. 

I also have to point out that my boy is totally loving this, as he has taken a while to come around to it. We've had other boys over who love it, but Strong B has always only halfway done it or only lasted a few songs. This time he was all in! Maybe turning four helped him in this area.

Tiny B was sooooo inspired by the leader's tutu that she insisted on making a mid-performance costume change. 'Tis the life of a performer. She made me pause the DVD. 

I'm looking forward to watching them do this DVD throughout then month and see how they learn and then master the moves. Then we have next month's DVD to look forward to.

This is our second week of homeschooling and I'm feeling pretty good. Tired, but good.

*I receive Mother Goose Time curriculum in exchange for my honest sharing of experiences, resulting from our personal use. All opinions/thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by others.