Health & Wellness Goals: August

I have, officially, seen my pre-pregnancy weight on the scale, which would be a great feeling, except for that part where pregnancy shifts everything around, so even though the scale might say that you're where you were before, your clothes are telling you that the scale is wrong. My calves are bigger than they used to be, my belly could kind of still pass for a pregnant belly if I'm not completely careful in what I wear, and there are some back bulges where I'd SWEAR there weren't back bulges in the past. But it's fine, for the most part. I'm eight months removed from having Caitlin, and for the most part, I can basically fit into my closet again.

It's fine.

Except...well, it's not always fine. Some of my dresses just don't fit well. Some of my boots seem to cut off circulation below my knee. And most of my t-shirts have had to be retired.

I'm not naive. I understand that bodies change with age and REALLY change after pregnancy, and I don't ever expect to look like I did in my 20s again. But I'm also pretty sure that if I went to my doctor right now, she'd tell me I'm overweight for my height, and that's something I'd still like to fix. Then there's the part of me that knows, at one point in my life, I was able to run more than three consecutive miles without feeling like I wanted to vomit or die or vomit, then die. And that part? Right there? She is beyond annoying and has convinced all of the other parts of me that I should get back to that point, while signing me up for a 5K to push the issue. I kind of hate her sometimes.

(I think tonight is going to be one of those times, when my C25K training app jumps from 10 minutes of running without a break to 20 minutes of running without a break. Way to ease me into things there, fellas!)

I feel like I am starting to get the exercise thing back under control, which always makes me feel better, but it's probably time I tackle the diet side of things, too, because guys? My sweet tooth is out of control. If you could have SEEN the number of tootsie rolls I put away last Friday in a binge of stress eating, you'd have been either impressed or disgusted, depending on your view of whether stress eating tootsie rolls is a good thing or a bad thing. I'm kind of inclined to consider it a bad thing at the moment, so I'm putting myself on a no-sugar plan for the month of August. No more stress eating candy or raiding my freezer stash of Girl Scout cookies (which are, uh, gone anyway after last week's craziness...). Sugar has been causing headaches and upset stomachs for me lately, anyway, so now seems as good a time as any to see just how much better I feel off of it for 31 days.

Who knows...maybe I'll even come out of it as one of those people who can have a small piece of dark chocolate here and there, and feel completely satisfied when it's gone! OR EVEN ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO CONSIDERS FRUIT A VIABLE DESSERT!!! That could be me, come September, right? RIGHT?!?!?

(Wrong. I am an 'eat every piece of chocolate within a 2 mile radius of my current location' kind of person. I will never be one of those moderation people. I hate those people.)

(In an 'I'm completely jealous of those people' kind of way, of course.)

(Why can't I be one of those people???)

Changing Course (Again)

I hate tracking calories.

I hate searching for foods, logging every single thing I eat, and annoying my husband when we go out to eat by spending twenty minutes trying to make sure I've included everything from my meal in my tracker. And I especially hate that the entire process, even though it seems to work in the short term, never seems to be a long-term solution for me, because I get tired of it so easily.

But, my sister-in-law has been using the My Fitness Pal app for months, now, and she looks fantastic. And my mother-in-law has started to use it, too. So has my father-in-law. And so has Steve.

(And here's where I admit that I am a competitive and vain individual. All of the family has jumped on the weight loss wagon because my brother-in-law is getting married in June. And I'll be damned if I'M going to be the family member that ruins the pictures, ok?)

So, in the last two months, I've tried logging calories and activity through my Fitbit, only to be derailed by my typical calorie counting complaints. I've tried restarting the C25K running program, but I've been knocked off course by a nagging ankle injury I got falling down the stairs on Christmas Eve. I tried to go with the strict no carb diet that helped me with my first pregnancy weight-loss, but I'm just not seeing the changes I feel like I should be seeing (Mostly, I think, because I'm eating waaaaay too many almonds for my own good. They're a healthy snack, when you're not eating a thousand calories worth of them a day. Go figure.)

So, I'm back to tracking calories. The key benefit on this app, though, is the food scanning feature, where scanning the barcode with my phone automatically uploads the calorie content/nutritional information, and that doesn't seem nearly as tiresome as manually looking up every little thing I want to eat. I'm hoping that this will provide even MY lazy dieting self with enough convenience to make the process stick this time.

Only time will tell, I guess...
Week nine weigh-in Weight, as of 1/7/13 (initial BBL weigh-in): 175lbs Weight as of 3/11/13: 162lbs Weight lost: 2.5lbs over the past 2 weeks, 13lbs overall  

And just so it doesn't seem like I'm ALL doom and gloom on this weight loss process, today was the first day I've actually started to feel a little more like myself again, like I CAN see a change in things from where I've started. I know I've eaten well for the last week. I know I've been able to squeeze in some physical activity for at least a few minutes every day for the last few days. I know that what I'm doing, it's working.

 

It's working slowly, but it's working.

Week Seven

*ahem*

Oh, right...I'm still trying to lose weight in the Biggest Blogging Loser competition. Do you know what's NOT good for that process? Celebrating your husband's birthday, Valentine's Day, a weekend trip to the beach, and your own birthday, all within a two week period. Not that I'm complaining or anything, because cake, chocolate, and booze on the beach are most definitely good things.

It's just that they'd be even better things if they also helped you lose weight. But whatever.

Anyway, the stats (Sorry, there is no picture this week, because I am officially back at work now, and I keep forgetting to take an updated picture...) (Also, do you like how I apologized for that? Like you've wanted nothing more over the last few weeks than to see a picture of me in gym shorts and a ratty t-shirt? And I've somehow failed you and ruined your entire life by not providing one?) :

Week seven weigh-in Weight, as of 1/7/13 (initial BBL weigh-in): 175lbs Weight as of 2/25/13: 164.5lbs Weight lost: 3.5lbs over the past 4 weeks, 10.5lbs overall
Losing 10.5lbs in seven weeks isn't bad, at all. In fact, it's pretty good, and I should be thrilled. And I am. Mostly. But that didn't make it any less frustrating when I had to wear a maternity skirt to work yesterday because my non-maternity clothing options are limited to the one skirt that I can wear high on my waist, two somewhat forgiving dresses, and a pair of jeans. I'd just like to wake up tomorrow, back to my pre-pregnancy shape. Who do I talk to about making that happen, huh?

Anyway, as one does these days, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. And I found this. And, well...cucumbers, lemon, and mint in water. It's not exactly ground-breaking stuff, right? But I LIKE cucumbers, lemon, and mint in my water, and I have a cute drink dispenser that I don't use nearly enough, and I like when my husband complains about how much space said drink dispenser takes up in the fridge (OH WAIT! THAT'S RIGHT! I DON'T LIKE THIS, STEVE! Geez.), so I started making this up every night, starting on Friday. And, well, it might be all in my head...

...but I think it might actually be working. I haven't changed anything else, but that one pair of jeans that fits me? They're starting to fit a little looser in the last few days. And that weigh-in from Monday? It was a pretty nice change from a weigh-in I did on Friday. And it's gone down more in the last two days. WITH CLOTHES ON!!!

So...yeah. Water. Drink it.

Go figure.

Week Three

Another week down, another pound lost. This should make me happy, I know. I'm making progress, I'm moving in the right direction, I fit into the next size down of my transition jeans.

And yet...

I'm not making progress quickly enough. I'm not as far along into the right direction as I wanted to be at this point. I only barely fit into the next size down of jeans, and I have to wear really, REALLY flowy tops to disguise that fact.

I just keep reminding myself that I am further along in this weight-loss process at this point post-pregnancy than I was after I had Brigid. And most days, that works.

Most days...
Week three weigh-in Weight, as of 1/7/12 (initial BBL weigh-in): 175lbs Weight as of 1/28/12: 168lbs Weight lost: 1lb this week, 7lbs overall

Week Two

Someday, I tell myself, I will get back to a regular schedule of posting here, and every post won't be a weight loss check-in.

Unfortunately, today is not someday...

Week two weigh-in time!

Weight, as of 1/7/12 (our initial BBL weigh-in): 175lbs
Weight as of 1/21/12: 169lbs 

Weight lost: 1.5lbs this week, 6lbs overall

This week was interesting. I'd made a deal with other BBLers that I wouldn't step on the scale until our weigh-in on Monday morning, but I was feeling terrible, and I was tired of not seeing any progress from a clothing-fitting-better perspective, so I checked in a little early. Like...Thursday and Friday and Saturday early. And it seemed like I was gaining weight. So...that sucked.

But, I didn't gain weight last week. And I actually ended up losing some. And I'm happy about that, truly. I just wish this whole process wasn't such a mind screw for me. I just wish that I could watch what I eat, start working out some, and be back to my normal weight in a week or so.

I mean, that's not too much to ask for, is it?

Anyway, because I am determined to be positive about this process, I'm going to focus on a few things that DID work for me this week...

1) Yoga Studio: This is probably one of the better yoga apps I've been able to find for the iPad, and I've been searching for a good one for a looooooong time. It's $1.99, and I generally try to stick on the free side of things, but so far, I think it's been worth it. There are a bunch of app led classes, in three different experience levels (beginner/intermediate/expert), with multiple points of focus (balance/strength/flexibility), and I've only used those so far, but there is also the option of building your own classes from a laundry list of poses, if that's more your style. I find the flexibility classes to be my favorite, as running seems to be making my muscles even more tight than usual, if that's even possible.

2) Ease into 5K: Well, now, apparently this app is $2.99. But I know I didn't pay that for it when I downloaded it, so I'm assuming that's something new. But outside of that, I LOVE the C25K program. I did it for the first time when I was trying to get back in shape after having Brigid, and I'm doing it again while trying to get back in shape after having Caitlin. I only hope it sticks this time, so I'm not stuck doing it a THIRD TIME to get back in shape after just gaining a bunch of weight. I'd like to make running an ongoing part of my life, instead of something I just do when I need to fit into my clothing again.

3) Scrambled eggs with bananas: Ok, these aren't actually billed as scrambled eggs with bananas, they're listed as more of a substitution for pancakes, but basically? They're scrambled eggs with a banana. Anyway, I found this recipe on Pinterest, and even though it sounds (in theory) kind of gross, I thought I'd give it a shot. And you know what? These were actually pretty good. Bananas tend to mask the flavor of anything else you mix in with them, and the texture didn't bother me nearly as much as I thought it would. I added some PB2 chocolate powder to the mix, and drizzled some honey on top, and honestly? I could almost convince myself I was eating pancakes. I will definitely be making these again.

Any tried and true 'get healthy' tips or tricks that I'm missing? I'll take all of the help I can get!

Healthy Goals

I put on a ton of weight when I was pregnant with Caitlin. This wasn't exactly a surprise to me, since I did the same thing with Brigid, but that doesn't make me any more excited about losing the 35-40lbs I need to lose all over again now that the pregnancy is over. To up the motivational ante a little bit, I joined a group of my online friends in a Biggest Blogging Loser weight loss challenge over the next twelve weeks, with the winner (based on percentage of weight lost) taking home something like $500.

Between that and my desire to fit into more than the one pair of (normally) two-sizes-too-big jeans in my closet, I'd say my motivation to eat well and exercise has NEVER been higher. But, just to keep myself honest and on-track, I've decided I'm going to log my progress on this blog, as well.

So...the stats (and keep in mind that I'm only 5'2, ok?):
Weight, as of 1/7/12 (our initial BBL weigh-in): 175lbs
Weight as of 1/14/12: 170.5lbs

These are the easy days, comparatively speaking, when the weight comes off in larger chunks, because my body doesn't generally start fighting the process until I get closer to 150lbs. So, even though the number is still really high, I'm happy with a 4.5lb loss in week one.

And anyway, it's a good thing the scale responded as well as it did, because yesterday I was running on about four hours of sleep after my dear, sweet, lovely children decided between the two of them that 4:30am seemed like a good time for me to start my day, and ALL I wanted to do was sit around and eat the entire plate of chocolate chip cookies for lunch that my neighbor had dropped off on Sunday night, but I went with a salad and a grilled chicken breast instead, because I didn't want to undo all of the progress I'd made the week before.

I'm still a little bitter about that decision, honestly. Proud, but bitter.

Those cookies looked good, man...

(Ok, FINE. I did go ahead and have ONE with my lunch. AND IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!!)

(Did I mention that 4:30 wake-up call? A little sugar was needed to make it through the day...)

Always Be Prepared

When I was pregnant with Brigid, I ate nothing but Oreos and ice cream for almost nine months straight, and my weight gain reflected this. So when I got pregnant with Caitlin, I swore that this time would be different. I wouldn't eat ALL F THE SUGAR IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD! I would eat healthy foods. I would work out. I wouldn't have to lose 20% of my body weight when I had the baby.

I would do this pregnancy right.

Then, I discovered soup. And not the clear broth, lots of vegetables kind of soup. The thick, creamy, nothing but cheese and whole milk kind of soup. And all of my resolve flew the coop.

So, once again, I find myself needing to lose an excessive amount of weight. And since clothing seems to be my primary motivation for doing so (meaning, I miss my favorite sweaters and skirts!!), and since most of my workout clothes are absolutely ragged, AND since the Gap outlet was offering 30-50% off of all of their Gap Body clothing, with an additional 40% off on top of that, well...
Guys! I got two pairs of boot cut compression pants, a pair of flared compression capris, and a pair of compression leggings, plus two tank tops with built-in support (which, combined with a sports bra, is the only way I can get enough support for the girls when I run), and two long-sleeve running shirts (with thumb holes! to keep the sleeves from riding up! my favorite!) for less than $80. I am all kinds of excited about this haul, over here.

Now, if only it were January 9th, when Brigid starts back to preschool, so I could actually find the time to start that Couch to 5K program I'm so excited to do again...

Six-ish Weeks and Counting

Yesterday, one of my co-workers told me she could always tell when I got into the office in the morning, because she could hear me sigh as I sat down. I generally refer to it as 'grunting', but I'm glad she went with 'sighing' instead. It sounds much more feminine and sweet. It also sounds much more inaccurate, but still...

I'm going with it.

As of this coming Friday, I will be six weeks out from my due date, and I would be lying if I didn't say I would pay all of the money in the world to speed these weeks along a bit. I am feeling cumbersome and uncoordinated and just...tired. Steve and I have plans in the next few weeks to clean out the office off of our family room, so we can turn it into a combination spare bedroom (in time for my sister's visit over Thanksgiving, since the room she normally sleeps in is now Brigid's room) and playroom, so I can open up some family room space currently occupied by toys for all of the stuff that comes along with babies. And all I can think about is how much work it's going to be for poor Steve because bending over and picking something up isn't exactly my strength right now.

But, instead of wallowing in my 'I'd give anything to be able to take a deep breath. JUST ONE DEEP BREATH!!!' despair (because even THAT is too much effort for me right now), I'm making plans. I bought a treadmill last night, because I started running after I had Brigid, and I felt fantastic, and I imagine it's going to be kind of hard to run outside of the house when there are TWO schedules to work through, so running IN the house might just make my job easier. I found and charged my Fitbit, so I can start tracking activity and food intake now, to maybe get those terrible pregnancy habits I HAD been forming a little more under control earlier than I did the last time.

Mostly, I'm doing this because I am beyond tired of waddling, and I want to feel like I'm maybe going to make things easier on myself in the long run, but also because my metabolism is now three years slower than it was after Brigid, and I really should have been watching things closer during the ENTIRE pregnancy, but you know...hindsight. And all of that.

And of course, I spend quality time with all of my sweaters and skinny jeans and boots that no longer fit over my calves at least once a week, because as materialistic as this sounds, missing all of my clothes was a seriously motivating factor after the first pregnancy. And I will take whatever motivation I can find right now.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take my 17th trip of the day to the bathroom, and it's going to take me a few minutes to leverage myself up and out of this chair...

Pregnancy. It's so glamorous!

Eat ALL the Things

I am hereby placing a personal ad for someone to come, stand over my shoulder, and smack me in the back of the head every time I go to take a bite of something. Because the over-eating on my end is getting kind of ridiculous. I am not even really hungry, and yet, if there is food in front of me, I will eat it. What is that about?

I mean, yes. I am more hungry than normal. That is to be expected at 6+ months of pregnancy, and honestly, eating more because I am more hungry doesn't bother me in the least. What does bother me is that I can't stop, even when I've eaten to the point of being uncomfortably full. Because I know I should have stopped, and I want to have stopped, and still...I haven't actually stopped. I DO NOT LIKE THIS, AT ALL.

So. I'm hiring an assistant. Who wants in on this for the next three months or so? Atlanta is beautiful in the fall, I promise. Plus, I myself am funny, and a good driver, and my office has comfortable chairs, and I will pay you in uneaten Air Heads or Laffy Taffy or cookies or tacos or Chex Mix or whatever else you can stop me from eating.

And who could refuse an offer like that?

Shredded

Well, I did it. Despite the joys of toddler wrangling with an angry and full-of-energy two-year old at 10pm last night, I still managed to start the 30 Day Shred.

And I kind of hated every minute of it.

Of course, most of that hate came from the fact that I really can't stand the running dialogue that trainers insist on keeping up through work-out DVDs, because the work-out itself is pretty good. It's quick, but intense, which is what my schedule calls for right now, and I am definitely feeling the effects of it today. But for some reason, the more I hear the little voice in the TV telling me that I just need to 'push through the pain', the more I think, 'You know what? I really don't need to push through anything. I'm just going to go eat some cake now, thank you very much...', and I'm pretty sure that's the opposite of what they're shooting for.

So, I should probably fix that, if possible. I'm planning to trade out Jillian's constant harping about how a twenty minute work-out DOES NOT ALLOW FOR ANY DOWNTIME tonight for some upbeat music, and I think I might actually enjoy the shredding process as a result.

Or, at least not openly despise it, which might be the best I can hope for when it comes to exercising these days...


(Has anyone ever actually made it through all 30 days of the Shred? Or does anyone know anyone who has? Outside of that before and after photo I've seen on Pinterest, I've never heard of anyone sticking with it, and I just want to know if it's worth it, or not...

Did I mention I'm going to be in a bathing suit/beachside wedding photo in five weeks? I need to make sure I'm not wasting my time, here!)

Let's talk about smoothies...

My child refuses to eat anything green. She is the biggest fan in the world of just about every fruit known to man, but if you try to slip her a vegetable of any kind, you might as well just end dinner immediately.

It's not happening.

So, my husband has taken it upon himself to try to disguise the vegetables in her favorite foods. We've tried every puree out there, like cauliflower in a cream sauce or squash on her grilled cheese. But nothing has worked. I swear...she's on to us. Even if you can't taste it, she knows it's there.

It would actually be kind of impressive, if it wasn't so darn infuriating.

One of his attempted tricks involved making her a green 'milkshake' (smoothie), consisting of spinach, yogurt, strawberries, and a banana. She hated it.

I, however, LOVED IT!

I honestly couldn't believe how much spinach I was consuming in one sitting, and I've been hooked ever since. So, now I'm on the hunt for new smoothie recipes. My favorite involves A LOT spinach, a little peanut butter, a banana, some Greek yogurt, and a little honey to take away the bitterness of the yogurt. And it's good! I'm excited! I've never minded spinach in the past, but I'm definitely consuming a lot more of it now!

But, I probably need to branch out a little. I'm trying to keep the vegetable/fruit content high, the proteins a little leaner, and the sugar at a minimum, which is actually kind of harder than it looks. Are there any other smoothie fiends out there? Where would you go to find some new combinations?

Sugar Rush

One of my resolutions/'things to do' this year was to give up sugar for the months of January and February. Part of this decision was driven by my sister's upcoming wedding in the Dominican Republic, because...goodbye to jeans and sweaters and hiding from the general public, and hello to bathings suits and cameras and pictures that will be around for-e-ver.

Things are definitely not beach or wedding ready in the weight department, you know?

But the other part of the decision hinged on my ridiculously crazy sweet tooth, and the fact that I can shovel through a bag of M&Ms like nobody's business if I don't monitor myself incredibly carefully.

Oh, and also, the realization that all of those Oreos I consumed while pregnant may just be the cause of my daughter's own sweet tooth didn't hurt. Thankfully, her sweet tooth extends just as much to grapes as it does to chocolate at the moment, but who knows how long that will last?

One way or another, I need to set a better example for her.

And I'm trying. Really, I am.

But then, I had a bad day yesterday. And it kind of compounded a couple of other bad days that have been had recently. And Steve was traveling for work. And Brigid didn't want to go to bed. And I didn't really want to deal with any of it. So I took to stress eating any form of sugar I could find in the house, which just happened to be stale candy corn.

I'm pretty sure that's the definition of a sugar problem right there, because candy corn isn't my sugar of choice on a good day, but stale? There was probably a better decision to be made at that moment, is what I'm saying.

I'm a work in progress, I guess. Here's to making that better decision today!