Thursday, December 15, 2011

Baby got (less) back

Going, going, *almost* gone. Here's some healthy holiday motivation. My December photo update.




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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Unexpected Motivation

I just had THE most amazing dinner out i have had in a long time. It has been a long day, so on the way back from picking up the munchkins from Grandma's house, we decided to stop for dinner. After long consideration, we finally decided on Ruby Tuesday because neither of us had eaten there in a long time. I was AMAZED when i opened up the menu to find calorie counts right there in front of me, and even more amazed to see just how many healthy options they offered. I'm used to having maybe four things to choose from off of the entire menu if i want to stay healthy but almost half of their menu was healthy, and the offered a ton of side options, not just the usual "fries, rice, mashed potato" items. I chose trout, with grilled zucchini, and a plain baked potato (i ate half), my whole meal clocked in at under 550 calories. That is pretty unheard of for a dinner out, i've had salads that had more calories that that, AND to top it off, the food was really good!

This in itself would have made for a great dinner but to top it off, one of the servers totally made my day. The server at the table behind ours was sharing his story with that table about his weight loss. He had gone from 195lbs up to over 300lbs and then got inspired by a Biggest Loser/Bob Harper ad on the back of a special k box, and has since lost all his weight. Not only that, he was telling the table that he just just completely his first triathalon. I was so inspired and excited for him that i wanted to get up from the table and give him a high five! Unfortunately i was holding a baby and had a 2 year old wrapped around me at the moment so that wasn't really possible but i walked away from dinner with new found motivation. It's amazing how you can find inspiration in the most unlikely places.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Just Dance 3

Let me just start by saying that i have some pretty awesome friends. One of my best friends got me a copy of Just Dance 3 for an early Christmas gift so i have been trying it out. I haven't had a ton of time to do it lately due to teething babies and just generally being very busy but i have been giving it my all this week and it's a really really good workout! Games totally aren't just for sitting on the couch and being lazy any more.

Now i will admit, i feel like an idiot when i do it. I promptly banished my own husband from the room when i was playing it tonight (although i'm pretty sure he was sitting right around the corner laughing at me), and i carefully positioned myself so i couldn't watch myself jump around like a fool. After about 15 minutes of it i was out of breath, sweating like crazy, and really enjoying myself! LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem is one of my favorites, it's very high energy, lots of jumping around and solid arm movements, and i had a blast doing Anja - Dance All Nite, definitely a girls song, pretty sexy and fun, lots of hip moving action on this one. A friend and i agreed to do half an hour of the game and report to each other through text message, half an hour passed and we were still going and not wanting to stop. A couple of "just one more song" texts later and we finally decided to give it up for the night to move on to our brutal ab workout thanks to Bob Harper: Yoga for the warrior. All in all it was a good workout day. Almost 2 solid hours, and looking forward to doing it again tomorrow.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Working out is my addiction...My kids just don't understand

So i know quite a few of my readers are moms. I often get asked how i find time to do everything with my kids and find the time to workout too. Answer: It's the hardest thing i have ever done.

I'm currently sitting at my desk, trying to get up the energy and motivation to workout, and feeling guilty because i haven't today. I usually only talk about my weight loss on here, but the real story is, i have three kids. 2 of which are teething infants that refuse to sleep through the night, or even anywhere remotely near it. Being a mom is hard. Losing weight is hard. The two of them together? It seems impossible...but it CAN happen if you don't give up.

The number one thing to remember is that we all have bad days. We all have kids that have bad weeks, don't sleep, get sick, have appointments, and sometimes we just slip, or don't have time, or just feel run down. Don't let that stop you, don't sabotage yourself, don't say "i'll do it tomorrow". Do it now, get back on the wagon today. If you can't workout on a particular day, eat even better than you normally do, make a plan, get a good nights sleep so you can give it your all in the morning. Wake up and put those sneakers on first thing, and kick butt the rest of the day. That's tomorrows plan for me.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Weigh In - December 1, 2011

What a week! Strict eating, lot's of exercising, and all around healthier choices. I survived the week after Thanksgiving and it feels GOOD! I also survived the whole month of November pretty well, but i'm going to make December even better!

At my weigh in today i am officially down 5lbs from November 1st. I won't lie, i was hoping for a better number, but mother nature decided to deal me some fabulous cards this week, that along with the fact that i have been doing some major strength training this week, i'm super happy with the 5lbs. I am 7lbs above pre-pregnancy weight and 8lbs from my Christmas goal.

The most exciting part of my weigh in was my measurements. The #1 rule of weight loss should be to always, ALWAYS take your measurements. I *only* lost 5lbs in a month, and that would depress most people. However, i lost 11.75 inches over my body this month. That is HUGE! See what some dedication and healthy choices can do???

I will be doing strength training for the next three days, then cardio the rest of the week until my next weigh in. Send me some workout requests!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Survival of the fittest...Thanksgiving version

Well i'm pretty sure i successfully survived the biggest eating holiday of the year. Anyone else with me??? I indulged a couple of times for sure, but kept it to a minimum and i'm already back on track. No fattening leftovers in this house! I didn't even bake a single sweet thing, there was no need. It would either be A) Eaten or B) Wasted, and i'm really not sure which is worse.

I'm really excited with a new weight loss plan i have going on. I have some good friends of mine coming up with workout routines for me to try, review, and then i will be choosing my master trainer of the week based on which workout i found most effective. The only guidelines are that the workouts have to be things i can do at home, in a short amount of time (no more than 30 minutes), using only my body, hand weights, and resistance bands. They can be timed challenges, done all at once, or they can be reps challenges spread throughout the day.  I invite everyone to send me workout routines and i will review them! In a couple of weeks i will also start doing different workouts on my wii and to videos and reviewing those but i want to help out the people at home that want to lose weight but don't have the money for videos.

The workout i did yesterday was submitted by my friend Sam -

With resistance band: "do 3 sets of 8-10 reps of squats with arm curls...3 sets of 8-10 reps of short lunges with opposite arm from back leg up doing shoulder press...next do 3 sets of 8-10 oblique crunches with the band under one foot and holding both handles in one hand crunch to the side....In between each set do 10 jumping jacks, 10 kick yourself in the ass ups and 10 high knees!! Also take one foot back and put the bands in the back foot...next take your arms above your head with the bands as if you were going to do a tricep press....next bend forward at the waist with your abs not your arms.....do these crunches as well to work the middle part of your abs."

Super amazing workout. The cardio about kicked my butt. I had fun with it, cranked my music up, and was done in about 20 minutes. I'm also a pushup junkie so i added plain squats and pushups at the very end of the workout, just to blast my heartrate up.

I'm nearing my Dec 1st weigh in. I'm hoping that the few little indulgences i had on Thanksgiving won't hold me back, i have high hopes for this weigh in. I have cut out my fast food, soda, sweets, and most potatoes. I've also been making sure to take my vitamin b12 daily for a metabolism boost, and have been trying harder than ever to eat fresh veggies on a daily basis. My goal is to be 180 by Christmas. It's going to take some major workouts to get there but i'm ready to be toned again.

I have some really exciting (at least for me!) goals coming up soon. I will post them along with my December 1st weigh in. In the meantime, start sending me those workout routine ideas!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Turkey Day

Tomorrow (Today? Haven't slept yet!) is Thanksgiving. The day that most of us use as an excuse to eat whatever the heck we feel like eating. Now the old me, that would be about 4 servings of mashed potatoes, 5 or 6 rolls, 2-3 servings of ham, mac and cheese, a HUGE hunk of dressing (southern style, of course), and probably half a cheese cake. At least. I'm sure i would also down a whole 2 liter of soda on my own too, because that was how the fat me rolled. Rolled...ha!

Now i'm not saying that you should pass on the goodies and only eat salad while everyone else around you is actually happy, but following my previous example, yeah that will just get you into a pair of fat jeans faster than you can say "pass the cheesecake".

My last couple of Thanksgivings have been incredibly different. I still eat the ham (one slice) and the potatoes (one serving), but i pass on the mac and cheese and cheesecake. My biggest issue is still probably the soda and the rolls, but even those have drastically changed. I attempt to fill up on water before dinner, and have only one glass of soda, if any, and remind myself that those amazing, buttery, flaky goodies will get me back into my size 24 clothing, and all of my hard work will have gone down the drain.  This year i'm going to take it up a notch. I plan to workout this Turkey Day, something i have never done before, and i also vow to try the healthier options on the table. I may not like what i taste but i will be more adventurous in the hopes that i will find something more nutritious to replace those items i'm trying to stay away from. Tomorrow will be dinner with family, i can't control what is there so the plan is to just eat as cautiously as possible. Friday will be my own personal dinner, my menu is this...

Ham and Turkey
Baked potatoes (light butter and sea salt. Baked potatoes are easier to portion so that you won't overeat)
Roasted Asparagus (olive oil, sea salt, and minced garlic)
Sweet Corn ("I can't believe it's not butter", and sea salt)
Fresh Garden Salad (sea salt, pepper, light ranch)
Whole Grain Mushroom Stuffing

I had planned to make oatmeal cookies for dessert (since i'm still nursing, they provide multiple benefits) but i'm not even sure i will do that now. I think i will just have a small bowl of low carb ice cream, it's not fancy but it will satisfy. It kills me to not bake up a storm, but baking equals eating so i might as well just skip it and avoid the temptation.

So this is my plan, who's with me on making it a healthy day? I refuse to let the holidays stress me out about my weight. To me, it's just another day, not a reason to slack off.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Slow and Steady Wins the (skinny) Race

My weight loss has, sadly, stalled. Probably from all the junk i shovel in my mouth. My diet is less than healthy these days. I've always been an advocate of eating your cravings so that you don't wind up over indulging but my cravings are taking top priority these days. Now not to use my beautiful kids as an excuse, because this is all on me, but it is partly due to the fact that i don't sleep. Ever.

I'm finding it harder to fit in "diet" and exercise with 3 kids underfoot. It was pretty easy with Lori. Everyone was always asking me how i did it but there was no real secret. Lori went to bed at 10pm and i went to workout. She was a great sleeper, so there were never any problems. Now i have a 2.5 year old that absolutely refuses to sleep, and 4 month old twins that wouldn't know the meaning of sleep any more than how to solve an algebra problem. They are cute, but sleepers they are not. So sleepless babies + sleepless toddler + cooking and cleaning for a family of 5 = a lot of junk food and little time for working out. I will not be defeated!

I'm still hovering around 190lbs. My lowest was 176, and i got pregnant around 181. Not too bad on the whole, but not where i want to be. I don't want to be fitting in my prepregnancy clothing, i want it to be too big, and i promise that soon it will be. I have 35lbs to ultimate goal, and i will make it. My short term goal is 10lbs by Christmas, the rest by Lori's 3rd birthday, it just seems fitting. My journey started after she was born, losing close to 150lbs by the time she is 3 is a fantastic achievement, i can totally do it.

I have started back at the bottom. I did lose tons of muscle while on bed rest with the twins, so jumping back on the wagon with Bob Harper workouts and p90x is totally not happening right now, but i started with my wii fit, and that's where i'm starting again.

I will not fail. The countdown is on.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Back On The Wagon

Today is the day I am slowly getting back into my weight loss journey. It doesn't happen overnight, i'm going to have a hard time remembering that. I'm starting this week with cutting back on my calories, but only skimming a little off because i need my extra calories right now for nursing my twins. I'm also getting back in to being active. Not sure that i'm quite ready to pick my 30 Day Shred routine back up quite yet, but definitely ready to get moving and out of the house again. Next Monday I will be cutting out all soda, fast food, and sweets for 2 weeks to retrain my body to healthier eating. Then will continue the normal routine i had of only eating those things on my one cheat day a week. Sadly, in my new place, i don't have a gym to use so i'm going to have to be more creative with my workouts. I also can't be spending 2-3 hours a day on workouts with 3 little ones under foot now so suggestions on quick workouts would be great! Here is my plan for Back on the wagon: Week 1...

Food - Cutting back on calories and portion sizes. Will start to really shock my body back to normal on Week 2.

Workouts -

Monday - 2 Mile Walk
Tuesday - 1 hour Wii
Wednesday - 2 Mile Walk & Yoga
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 1 hour wii
Saturday - Walk
Sunday - Rest

Week 2 will include longer walks, and at least one day of Jillian Michael's workouts assuming i get my doctor's ok.


I'm starting this week at 196 and hoping for a 1.5lb loss. It's going to be hard getting back in the swing of things and figuring out what works again, but i'm up for the challenge.



Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Journey!

The boys came 6 weeks early but it still felt like i was pregnant forever.

Where Have I been?!

When I last updated here, it’s safe to say I wasn’t exactly on the road to losing weight and I’m not quite there yet but I am definitely on my way back down instead of up… It’s been a wild ride the last couple of months!

Let’s start with the obvious…I have 2 new, beautiful, tiny baby boys. Dorian Edward and Jasper Elijah were born on 6-27-11, 6 weeks early. Dorian “Baby A” was born at 6:19am, 4lbs 13oz, and 18in long with a head full of beautiful blonde hair. He was completely healthy, just tiny. His little brother Jasper “Baby B” was born just 6 minutes later at 6:25am, 4lbs 10oz, 18 ½ in long. Jasper wasn’t quite as ready for the world as his big brother and required oxygen but both are growing fantastic. They had to stay in the NICU for 8 days for feeding but were little troopers and are home with us now and growing like weeds.

So why wasn’t I hear for the last few months, updating about how I was staying healthy through my pregnancy like I had promised I would be doing? It was hardly a normal pregnancy unfortunately so healthy and weight gain were one of the last things on my mind. We had problems from the very beginning. At our very first visit we were told to expect “vanishing” twin…and worried for weeks that we would lose one or both babies. As time went on, and they continued being healthy, my health declined. I caught every illness going around that I possibly could. Seasonal flu, 3 head colds, at least one sinus infection, stomach flu, and some nasty bronchitis-like coughing for months. Some of that hit me back to back, I had one spell of 7 weeks that I was sick nonstop. On top of this I had several hospital stays and no less than three pre-term labor scares. I was in and out of the hospital with constant contractions since about 24 weeks. Thankfully I received steroid shots at 28 weeks to mature the boys lungs so they were born much healthier than they could have been. I also had constant soreness, was on bedrest for 11 weeks, and could barely walk. When I did I was about as slow as a snail! Hardly makes it easy to be busting my butt doing some Jillian Michaels workouts, although it would have been hysterical to see me try I’m sure!

So after such a less-than-routine pregnancy, of course labor and delivery followed the same pattern. My body had been trying to evict the poor boys for months, and I went into labor for the last time on 6-26-11. Thinking I had the stomach flu, I called my doctor around 11pm that Sunday night, and headed into Labor and Delivery to get some fluids. I started having contractions on the way to the hospital, and by the time I got there I couldn’t even walk because I was in so much pain. Got very annoyed with a nurse (that was wheeling me up to the labor floor) who was trying to get me to talk to her while I was in the midst of having a contraction and trying not to puke, and then continued to puke all over her shoes, she asked if I felt better so I puked on her again. Some part of me did feel better at that point lol! Got to my room, got in the bed, and waited on my fluids while being very miserable. My doctor came in 10 minutes later and we figured out that I was not sick from stomach flu, I was in labor, and had been all day. We were having babies! I needed no labor inducing drugs, the boys were ready on their own. I got my epidural and just waited….6 hours after getting to the hospital, Dorian’s heartrate dropped drastically and they started setting me up for an emergency C-section…and 15 minutes later I was pushing them out. C-section not needed (you can thank me for sparing you all the gory details!). Quick labor, quick delivery, and quick recovery = Happy mama!

So that has been my extremely exciting few months, and you are all pretty well caught up. So now it’s back to my original goal of health and weight loss!

During the pregnancy I gained 44lbs, which was a little under what my doctors expected so I was happy. Since delivery I have already lost 25, if not more. Can’t wait to lose the rest!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Surviving the Holidays

I'm sure by now that most of my followers have assumed i have fallen victim to all the holiday goodies and have ballooned back up like a blimp in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Didn't think that? Well if i was a reader, i would have!

Honestly I've been *GASP* avoiding my blog like it is going to give me a major case of the cooties. Sometimes you have so much to say that you just don't know where to start and a vicious cycle starts. Before you know it, you have spent months arguing with yourself and your news turns in to old news and nobody really cares about it anyways. All that worrying for nothing. So is the world of blogging.

Let's start with weight loss. At my lowest i reached 176, where i happily stayed until this week. See i didn't fail over the holidays! Silly negative nancy's wanting me to fail, it's not gonna happen!

However there are some rumors floating around that losing a lot of weight can increase fertility.


I guess the rumors were right...


Although honestly "they" fail to mention just how fertile weight loss can make you...

12/13/10 First ultrasound

"Well there's a reason you've been so sick...there are two in there!"

We were warned of risks of losing one of them, and we were scheduled for multiple ultrasounds. We worried for 10 days until the next one, only expecting to see one surviving baby...

12/23/10 2 babies, 2 wonderful heartbeats

We have now had our 3rd ultrasound, both babies are healthy! We have great heartbeats and lots of movement. We can't wait to meet them!



Babies are expected in Summer 2011 :-)

So I guess it's safe to say that my blogs won't really be about weight LOSS for the time being, but we will just switch gears to healthy, happy pregnancy.