Friday, February 24, 2012

Ups and Downs...But Successful Overall!

First week, accomplished!  Whew...at least I stuck with it, even though it was my husband's birthday Wednesday (delicious homemade tacos were his only request), my daughter was in the mood to bake the past couple of days (I am the world's worst snitch), and it was "my time of the month".  Really.  BUT, the final numbers seemed to come out well...weighing in at 185.5 this morning!  That's 4 1/2 pounds in one week...yes, I know this will not be a normal occurrence, but I will take it!  Woot woot!

I got an email from an amazing friend of mine this week!  I sent her an email earlier in the week, asking her how she managed to finally get all her baby weight off, and back down to the size she was when she got married.  I loved her response..."I hate to say it, but the old fashioned way!!  Calories in and out.  It's so dang hard, but soooo worth it." I loved her response, because it's so true!  That is the only way to get the weight off and keep it off.  That was a great inspiration to me, realizing that real results come from lots of hard work, discipline, and "just saying no" to all those treats I love so much!  She also mentioned that she downloaded an app on her phone called "Lose It."  I immediately did the same, and have been religiously recording every morsel of food I took in!  On average, I took in about 1,265 a day.  The app said I'd need to eat that many each day to lose about 2 pounds a week.  The fun part is that it predicted exactly when I'd reach my goal if I was successful in doing this...June 29th!  Talk about motivating--our family beach trip is scheduled for 2 weeks after that!!

Exercise did not get checked off my to do list at all...although I did clean my whole house all day Monday, so I counted that!  I couldn't believe how many calories the app said I possibly burned by doing housecleaning.  I do work up a good sweat, though!

Now comes what really is the hardest part...sticking with it!  Taking the first step was VERY hard for me, but now I have to continue making the efforts required to get myself disciplined and healthy again.  They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit; well, I'm now 7 days into that.

More challenges await me this coming week.  I just found out yesterday that my sweet Mother-in-Law (yes, I truly mean sweet...I LOVE her) will be coming to visit tomorrow for about 10 days.  When she's here, we eat out more and I tend to stop worrying about what goes in my mouth.  This WILL be difficult.  In addition, my birthday is Tuesday.  I am going to go ahead and claim that day as "Off the Diet."  The challenge there will be getting right back on track the next day...which will probably require throwing left over cake away, but it must be done!!

Official Weigh-In for 2/24/12:  185.5 lbs

Weight lost this week:  4.5 lbs

Total weight lost:  4.5 lbs


Good luck to anyone else out there trying to succeed in making a healthier life for themselves!  Any tips are always welcome!  Thanks!

L


Friday, February 17, 2012

First Day Success

So I won't normally update everyday, but I wanted to report on the first full day. I feel good...admittedly a little hungry as I climb into bed, but that's okay. Giving up the evening snacks is just going to be one of my challenges, since this is the time of day I get the munchies! I must get those under control...it's the worst time of day to eat, as well. I will have to learn some discipline--just part of the process!

All in all, however, it's been a successful, not too hunger-laden day. I felt satisfied with each meal, and even enjoyed a little handful of chocolate chips after dinner, since I had some points to spare! Here's a run-down of my food intake for the day:

Breakfast:
1 egg on 1 slice of whole wheat bread, with 1 tsp of ketchup

Lunch:
1/2 can of tuna (in water) with 1 TB of Canola mayo on 2 slices of whole wheat bread, with a little Dijon mustard.
A small apple

Dinner:
Linguini with clam sauce (a low fat version I found on the Internet...it was very yummy). Here's the recipe link: http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-recipe/linguine-with-clam-sauce.aspx
1/2 cup green peas
2 TB chocolate chips

And there you have it! My only little cheats today were: eating the last bite of my daughter's breakfast burrito, and snagging 2 cashews from the open container on the kitchen counter as I walked by! Oh well...so I wasn't perfect, but I did a pretty dang good job in my opinion! It will take a little time to get back to being as disciplined as I once was. It's all about retraining my body to crave the good things, rather than the junk! I am amazed how much I didn't care about cookies, chips, or buttery garlic rolls when I was eating well. It wasn't hard for me then...so now I just have to figure out how to get back there again! One step at a time...

Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Beginning...the hard part

Yes, the beginning is always the hardest part about change.  I should know--after 14 1/2 months, I'm finally making a real effort to shed this baby garbage that accumulated during my 2 pregnancies!  Love my babies, love being a mom...HATE the weight problem it has caused!  So, after reading a very inspiring blog of this amazing lady who worked very hard and lost all 60 pounds she gained during her pregnancies, and reading her recommendation that blogging was how she found success, I decided I must give it a try.  I'm generally pretty private about this aspect of my life, but if this is what it takes to get my very big derriere in gear, then so be it!


Before babies, I loved...yes, truly LOVED working out!  My husband thought I was a bit over-the-top, but I found so much satisfaction in it.  Then I got pregnant (expectedly, thank goodness), and my work outs ceased almost immediately.  I think I went to the gym maybe 3 times the entire pregnancy, which would explain the 50-pound weight gain!  Yikes!  After my baby girl was born, I slowly started doing a few things, but it wasn't until she was about 5 months old that I started getting to the gym again.  Finally started losing some weight, but after 18 months, I still had 15 pounds to go before getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  


Then I got pregnant with my 2nd!  This time, I decided I would make more effort during the pregnancy to continue to exercise...I even joined a new gym with a huge pool, thinking I could at least do water aerobics near the end when I feel too big and clumsy to trust myself around a step!  In reality, I went sporadically at best, and still managed to gain 55 pounds!  Yes, I was OVER 200 pounds after my little guy was born...very scary.  At my 6-week postpartum doctor's appointment, my doctor was concerned that I'd only lost 6 pounds from before my baby was born.  Hmmm...baby was 7 1/2 pounds...so, I actually GAINED some weight in that time!  (Well, truth be told, he was born the beginning of December, so Christmas happened during that time...we all gain weight that time of year, right?!)


And, this time the weight has hardly budged.  Baby Boy is 14 1/2 months old right now, and I am still weighing 189...only 17 pounds lost since that 6-week appointment.  Exercise is my biggest weakness right now.   I feel too exhausted to workout (my baby is STILL waking at least once during the night).  I'm in the middle of having my thyroid monitored by my doctor, as there's a very strong trend of hypothyroidism in my family.  So, we will see what turns up from that.  But truth be told, I am simply not eating well along with no exercise.  No wonder I'm stuck...and fat!


I am going to follow the Weight Watcher's program, though not actually joining.  Money is tight, so I am going to have to use the materials from years past to help me on my quest!  I am also going to start walking the mall a couple of times a week (until the weather warms up nicely) with my two kiddos in a double stroller, and do 3 days of strength training/toning at home.  


I will report on my progress each week!  Here's to a healthier, stronger me!!


So, here is my first official weigh-in:


WEIGHT:  189 lbs